Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

In Wuling City, within the Li Family estate, the rear courtyard was arranged with refined elegance. Pavilions, flowing water, rockeries with swimming fish, and blooming flowers surrounded the space. In this graceful garden, a woman in white training attire that accentuated her alluring figure practiced with a longsword. The blade sliced through the air, producing sharp whistling sounds.

After several days of rest, Li Mengqi had fully recovered from her injuries. She cultivated her family’s inherited sword-based true technique, the Ice Sword Technique, which tempered ice-attribute true strength. Although the true intent diagram allowed martial artists to bypass forging their martial conviction, true intent was still closely tied to that conviction. Once true intent formed, it in turn influenced the spirit and drove the martial artist’s conviction to align even more closely with the corresponding intent.

Influenced by the ice-attribute true intent, Li Mengqi had become increasingly cold in temperament, giving others a sense of distance. She was exceptionally compatible with ice-related true intent, yet her talent for comprehending other forms of true intent was mediocre. Thus, she pursued a cultivation path centered on a single true intent. If taken to its utmost, this path was no weaker than cultivating multiple true intents.

Time passed quietly. A young woman in yellow clothing, with a slightly round baby-faced appearance and a touch of innocent charm, entered the courtyard. She sat at the stone table inside the pavilion and watched Li Mengqi’s sword practice with great interest. Though her sword techniques radiated biting coldness, the movements themselves were graceful and filled with elegance. Performed by a beauty as cold as frost, the flowing swordplay had striking visual appeal. She seemed like an otherworldly immortal untouched by mortal dust.

”Sister Mengqi’s ice-attribute true intent is becoming stronger and stronger. She will likely master it fully within two years, melt away all excess strength, and transform true strength into its ice form. When that happens, she will become a Force Transformation realm expert before the age of fifty. Her talent is truly remarkable,” Li Wensi said with admiration and awe.

Li Mengqi had been her role model since childhood.

Soon, Li Mengqi finished her practice, stopped, and turned toward Li Wensi in the pavilion.

”You are here. How did the matter go?” Li Mengqi asked.

Once she stopped cultivating, the icy aura around her faded, making her appear much gentler and without the unapproachable air from moments before.

”Brother Mengxi sent word back. He has already given compensation to that Young Master Zhao Hao, a total of 100,000 taels of silver plus one additional condition. That same day, Young Master Zhao Hao used the condition and requested to exchange it for a true technique. Brother Mengxi asked me to find you and have you pick a decent saber true technique containing the essence of wind, to be delivered to him,” Li Wensi replied in her soft voice.

”Understood.” Li Mengqi nodded lightly.

As a prestigious family that operated auction houses and merchant guilds, the Li Family had amassed many true techniques, though these were primarily kept as private collections and rarely released. Even in secret auctions, they seldom offered them. Only when no martial artist had consigned a true technique for a long time would the Li Family select one from their library to stimulate auction activity.

”By the way, Brother Meng came earlier. He saw that you were cultivating, so he did not disturb you. He said that, as you requested, he checked the Soulcall Tower assassination listings. Young Master Zhao Hao’s name indeed appeared, and the mission has already been accepted. It was most likely issued by the Tang Family,” Li Wensi said.

Soulcall Tower had deep backing. Ordinary esteemed families or sect disciples who were targeted by its assassins could do nothing about it. Since they could not defeat it, they chose instead to join it. Many esteemed families and sects arranged for their own people to infiltrate Soulcall Tower to constantly monitor its kill listings. If a mission targeting their own appeared, they could prepare in advance.

As long as one survived Soulcall Tower’s assassination attempts for half a year, or successfully counter-killed three of its assassins in a row, the assassination mission would be invalidated, and Soulcall Tower would no longer accept contracts targeting that martial artist. This was Soulcall Tower’s compromise with the esteemed families and sects. Without such a system, no matter how powerful its backing, those families and sects would have long banded together to eradicate it.

”All right, I understand. Do you have anything to attend to today?” Li Mengqi asked as she looked at Li Wensi.

”No.”

”If not, then go to Heavenly Blade Peak first and deliver a message to Mengxi and Young Master Zhao. Tell them that Soulcall Tower’s assassins have set their sights on Young Master Zhao and that Mengxi should prepare early,” Li Mengqi said calmly.

Once the message was delivered, Li Mengxi would know what steps to take.

”Okay, Sister Mengqi.”

Li Mengqi watched Li Wensi’s departing figure, her expression thoughtful. She was considering what kind of technique to choose so it would not seem perfunctory.

A saber true technique that contains the essence of wind... There are many of those, but most are rather mediocre. I should ask the elder of the library pavilion to see whether any newly collected and more powerful saber techniques are available.

***

On Heavenly Blade Peak, Lin Zheyu climbed upward rapidly. The higher he went, the more terrifying the saber intent’s pressure became.

I want to see how far you can climb.

Tang Weizhong followed leisurely behind Lin Zheyu without worrying at all.

His lightness techniques and movement skill proficiency were indeed far inferior to the other man’s. However, Tang Weizhong’s understanding of intent had already pushed his momentum to the peak, only a single step from transforming into true intent. Zhao Hao could not compare to him at all. The deeper a martial artist comprehended true intent, the stronger their spirit and will tended to be. Therefore, Tang Weizhong did not believe for a moment that Zhao Hao could withstand the saber intent better than he could.

The two climbed one behind the other. Soon, they reached the mountainside and continued ascending toward the two-thousand-meter mark. Li Mengxi was also at that height. Around a thousand meters below the summit, the comprehension effect was equivalent to using a true intent diagram. As long as one could endure the terrifying pressure of the saber intent, the true intent within it would resonate with the true intent diagram and provide enormous assistance in understanding true intent. This was why so many martial artists traveled across great distances to comprehend the saber intent on Heavenly Blade Peak.

Still climbing? Your willpower is decent. Even I can only reach about two thousand five hundred meters. However, I’d like to see how high you can go, Tang Weizhong sneered inwardly as he watched Lin Zheyu’s back.

Soon, his speed involuntarily slowed. The terrifying saber intent enveloped his entire body and exerted considerable pressure on him as well.

”Huff... huff...”

Lin Zheyu’s chest rose and fell as he breathed, slightly out of breath.

As he climbed higher, the saber intent grew increasingly terrifying. The awe-inspiring pressure enveloped his entire body, forcing him to devote more and more of his mental will to resisting it. Yet his face showed no exhaustion, and his eyes instead glimmered with brightness. Under the crushing force of the immense saber intent, the fist momentum within him that had been compressed to its limit seemed to ignite with Dominance and fury and began to rebound.

”What is Dominance? What is an invincible conviction...? The belief of being unmatched, of breaking all techniques with one force, does not only exist when one is at an advantage. Even in disadvantage, this invincible conviction, this invincible Dominance, still exists. It may even burn stronger!” Lin Zheyu murmured as light flickered in his eyes.

At this moment, he had already forgotten about Tang Weizhong behind him and immersed all his focus in comprehending the Dominance true intent. An invincible will of the strong was not merely the oppressive force a strong person emitted when facing the weak. Any weak person would naturally feel the imposing pressure of a strong individual. That was Dominance from the perspective of the weak, but it was not the essence of Dominance and did not qualify as Dominance true intent.

”The difference between Dominance true intent and the pressure of the strong is that this true intent remains overwhelmingly dominant even in the face of an unbeatable opponent. This Dominance is not mere arrogant ignorance... But if it is not arrogant ignorance, then where does the essence of this Dominance true intent lie?” Lin Zheyu murmured.

The momentum compressed within his body churned violently, trying again and again to break out against the crushing saber intent. But each attempt failed. Lin Zheyu continued sensing the saber intent’s overwhelming Dominance, searching for the true answer. What exactly was Dominance true intent?

While deep in thought, Lin Zheyu unknowingly climbed past two thousand meters, leaving only about a thousand meters between himself and the summit. Here, the saber intent grew even more terrifying. This was where Li Mengxi had stopped earlier to rest, recovering some of his essence, qi, and spirit before pressing further upward.

Upon reaching this point, the terrifying saber intent jolted Lin Zheyu out of his comprehension. A surge of powerful blood qi erupted from his body; it was a blood qi that had undergone seven qualitative transformations and was overwhelmingly strong. Li Mengxi, who had been resting nearby, sensed it instantly and was shocked. This blood qi... was stronger than his own!

But when he tried to probe further, the turbulent blood qi vanished without a trace. It was as if it had been nothing but an illusion. Lin Zheyu returned to his usual unremarkable appearance.

”Huh?” Li Mengxi let out a startled sound. That had absolutely not been an illusion. He had truly sensed an overwhelmingly powerful surge of blood qi from Brother Zhao Hao.

Brother Zhao hides himself very well. Is he really a martial artist from the northern region with no background...?

Doubt rose in Li Mengxi’s heart.

His own breakthrough into the Marrow Refining realm came only after undergoing six qualitative changes of blood qi and reaching the Furnace Transformation. Even within the Li Family, such talent was considered exceptional. For the Blood Qi realm, three qualitative changes formed a threshold, and five would already qualify as genius level. Crossing the sixth threshold and achieving six qualitative changes placed one among the top tier of geniuses.

Those who exceeded six changes and achieved seven or even eight were geniuses among geniuses. As for those who reached nine changes and entered the Dragon Transformation, every one of them was a monstrous prodigy. From the sensation he felt earlier, Zhao Hao’s blood qi had been far stronger than his.

Could Brother Zhao Hao have reached seven transformations of blood qi before breaking through into the Marrow Refining realm? Has he truly never cultivated a true technique? thought Li Mengxi. He looked at the panting Zhao Hao as if seeing a monster.

Judging from their earlier conversations, Brother Zhao Hao genuinely seemed ignorant of true strength and only knew the name of the true intent diagram. If he was acting, then Li Mengxi could only admire his performance.

”Brother Zhao, you are impressive. To climb to this height and still seem composed.” Li Mengxi stepped forward, pushing distracting thoughts aside and speaking with sincere admiration.

He knew the strength of Lin Zheyu’s momentum. It was not strong, clearly just recently at Initiation, and far from Advanced Mastery or transforming into true intent. For Lin Zheyu to reach this height under the crushing saber intent meant he relied entirely on a formidable mental will.

”You flatter me, Young Master Li. I have lost this match. This is already my limit,” replied Lin Zheyu, shaking his head.