Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Roar!

Another roar erupted as a ferocious beast over three meters tall burst forth, its whole body covered in black fur like a giant bear. Its aura was extremely powerful—even stronger than the fifth transformation beast Lin Zheyu had slain before.

”Heh!”

The corner of Lin Zheyu’s mouth lifted. With a flick of his right hand, the Golden Scale Saber shot into the ground with a sharp sound. He pushed off forcefully with his right foot and launched forward like a fired cannonball. The beast’s tough hide and moderate strength made it perfect for practice.

Bang!

His fist whistled through the air and smashed into the beast’s thick arm with a heavy thud.

Roar.

The beast roared and swung a massive claw at Lin Zheyu’s head with terrifying force.

Lin Zheyu stepped back with his left foot to evade the fierce strike and threw another punch. He did not need to rely on the Golden Goose Technique for a beast of this level. This time, he was mainly honing the Barbaric Ox Fist and practicing his control over fist momentum.

Thud, thud, thud.

Heavy impacts echoed as man and beast exchanged brutal blows. Trees around them splintered under the shockwaves, one after another crashing to the ground.

”Good!” Lin Zheyu shouted, exhilarated. His momentum qi surged upward, and he resembled a humanoid beast himself, every bit as domineering and ferocious as the creature before him.

Bang!

Ugh!

The beast let out a stifled grunt as a punch struck its chest. It countered with a swipe to Lin Zheyu’s right shoulder, knocking him back several steps.

”Not bad. That hit actually hurt.”

Lin Zheyu slapped his shoulder and charged again. His current defense was stronger than the beast’s. Its claws only caused mild pain, and with a slight circulation of blood qi, the sensation vanished as if he had never been struck.

Awoooaar!

Seeing the human still full of vigor after such a long fight, the beast lost its will to battle. It let out a roar and immediately tried to flee. But Lin Zheyu would never let it escape. A beast of this strength, captured alive, would sell for 800 or 900 taels of silver at least. His blood qi erupted as he started to utilize his Golden Goose Technique, his speed skyrocketing. In the blink of an eye, he intercepted the fleeing beast.

Boom!

He swung his fist again and struck. Since he had finally encountered a beast with decent strength and a tough hide, he planned to capture it alive.

Instead of selling it immediately, he would keep it penned and release it occasionally to polish his Barbaric Ox Fist.

***

Crackle.

In the forest, the campfire crackled faintly. It was nearly extinguished now, leaving only a pile of glowing embers.

Thud, thud, thud.

After eating and resting, Lin Zheyu untied the tightly bound giant bear-like beast and charged at it again with raised fists. The massive creature had been beaten into utter submission. It could not run and could not win. It covered its head with its paws and lay curled on the ground, motionless.

Lin Zheyu was rendered speechless.

Has this beast completely given up and decided to lie flat and get beaten?

Hiss, chirp, chirp.

Lin Zheyu stopped, but Little Black perked up with excitement. It waved its claws ferociously and kept pouncing at the unmoving bear. Back then, Little Black had been chased miserably by this same beast and had endured quite the humiliation.

Roar.

The giant bear roared, lifted its head to glance at Lin Zheyu, then lowered it again in resignation, covering its skull and allowing Little Black to attack unhindered.

”Enough. We can’t keep tormenting it. Let’s sell it.”

Lin Zheyu stopped Little Black and tied the beast tightly once more. The creature was quite large, but he hoisted it up.

”Little Black, let’s go,” he called out, signaling for it to follow. As long as he was not entering Bafang City, he always kept Little Black with him.

Upon entering the market square, Lin Zheyu once again drew gasps of astonishment. He had become a local celebrity. Each time he arrived, he carried a Blood Qi Realm beast over his shoulder with a highly intelligent beast trailing beside him.

”Damn, that beast is strong. It’s at least at the fifth transformation of blood qi!” someone exclaimed. He was a martial artist of decent strength himself, already at the third transformation of blood qi.

”So strong. It’s no wonder he refuses all recruitment offers from the major factions. If I could hunt two or three Blood Qi Realm beasts every few days, I wouldn’t accept any recruitment either. This ability to earn money is truly enviable,” an elderly man sighed.

Comparisons could kill a man. He himself was strong, having hunted beasts his entire life with rich experience, and was considered a top beast hunter in the market. But compared with Lin Zheyu, the gap was vast.

”Old Wei, don’t feel discouraged. Look at that man’s strength, then look at your own. That fierce youngster is at least a Marrow Refining Realm martial artist. How could a mere fourth transformation martial artist like you compare?” Another old man shuffled over and chuckled.

”Heh, even among Marrow Refining Realm martial artists, those who can do what he does are extremely rare. Do you think hunting ferocious beasts is that easy? Every beast is cautious. Just finding their hiding place is hard enough, and once you find them, their thick hides make killing them even harder,” replied Old Wei, shaking his head.

Lin Zheyu remained expressionless and ignored the chatter. Entering the market square, he dropped the beast onto the ground and began auctioning it. A living beast at the fifth, nearly sixth, transformation of blood qi was rare in the market and highly valuable. After rounds of bidding, the highest offer reached 1,100 taels of silver.

The buyer was from the Giant Spirit Gang. Like other factions, they tried to recruit Lin Zheyu, but he refused immediately.

***

Six days quickly went by.

Beasts above the fifth transformation were uncommon. Aside from that giant bear, Lin Zheyu had not encountered another of comparable strength, which he found disappointing. A suitable opponent would greatly help him refine the Barbaric Ox Fist and improve his use of fist momentum.

A few more days passed, and Lin Zheyu was close to being able to unleash a blow with threefold power. At this rate, the combined power of the Barbaric Ox Fist and the blood qi burst technique would soon surpass the destructive force of the Raging Wind Slash.

In the morning, in his courtyard, Lin Zheyu strapped on five hundred kilograms of weighted gear and trained with heavy breaths. The last two times he broke through his limits, he earned 1 unit of Origin Force. Today was the day he would obtain 2 units at once, so he trained with exceptional vigor.

Huff, huff, huff.

The courtyard echoed with Lin Zheyu’s harsh breathing. The weight on his body gradually lessened as time passed. After three hours, his twisted expression broke into relief and satisfaction. He exhaled deeply and collapsed onto the ground in a spread-eagle position, his muscles trembling faintly.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 2]

[Skills: Raging Wind Slash (Perfection), Boiling Blood Secret Art (Competence: 78%), Golden Goose Technique (Ninth Stage: 100%), Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual (Third Stage: 99%), Tortoise Breath Grand Method (Third Stage: 100%)]

In his consciousness, 2 more units of Origin Force appeared.

For the past six days, Lin Zheyu had been studying the Boiling Blood Secret Art whenever he had spare time. Cultivating this secret art was easier than he had imagined.

The Boiling Blood Secret Art worked by controlling blood qi power and stimulating acupoints throughout the body with specific sequences and force levels to awaken latent potential, and Lin Zheyu’s mastery over blood qi had already reached an astonishing degree.

Back when he mastered the Tortoise Breath Grand Method to Perfection, his control over blood qi had already surpassed that of other martial artists at his level. Later, when he fused the blood qi burst technique into the Golden Goose Technique, his control improved even further.

Even among those in the Marrow Refining Realm, martial artists who could surpass him in blood qi control were exceedingly rare. As a result, Lin Zheyu could cultivate the Boiling Blood Secret Art with remarkable speed. It would likely take less than a month for him to reach Perfection.

After this round of improvement, I should be able to bring the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual to Perfection. But even at Perfection, my physical defense will still fall short compared to that terrifying beast from before.

That beast’s defense had been monstrous, far beyond that of an ordinary Marrow Refining Realm beast. Its hide alone could withstand Lin Zheyu’s threefold strength strikes, and its bones were so tough that even a twelvefold-powered slash failed to cut through them. Instead, the recoil caused Lin Zheyu, who had not yet trained the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual, to bleed from his tiger’s mouth and suffer minor fractures in his arm.

After resting for a while and squeezing out every bit of blood qi from his body, his recovery sped up significantly. Soon, he sat up and fetched a set and a half of Absolute Dust Blood Coagulating Powder from inside his house, pouring it into a wooden basin.

Use 1 unit of Origin Force to enhance the Hundred Refinements Treasure Manual.

As the thought was transmitted, that familiar sensation returned. His consciousness sank into the inner space, beginning endless cycles of strengthening.

The closer one came to Perfection, the weaker the manual’s tempering effect became. Lin Zheyu’s physical defense had already reached a level comparable to Marrow Refining Realm beasts. Ordinary tempering methods now bring almost no improvement. After reaching Perfection in this technique, he would have no choice but to use a different training method if he wished to further strengthen his body.

Lin Zheyu sat with his eyes closed as vast amounts of mysterious energy surged out and guided the medicinal power, beginning to strengthen his muscles, tendons, skin, and bones.