You Promised to Be an Idle Son-in-Law, How Could You Become a Land Immortal?

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Dragon Chasing the Sun, Zhaoqing Mountain

Of course, Chen Yi had no idea what Xiao Jinghong was thinking. If he did, he would have vehemently refused.

A few days after the banquet, he returned to his usual leisurely state.

He had thought his casual remark that day—”build high walls, store up grain”—would have brought Xiao Jinghong to him.

The reality, however, was that Xiao Jinghong had been so busy these past few days that her feet barely touched the ground.

According to Pei Guanli, she was busy preparing to establish a Mutual Market with the Mountain Race.

Site selection, measurements, calculations, and even the contract with the Mountain Race—all these matters needed her attention.

It was as if she were about to start a massive project at any moment.

Although Chen Yi didn’t pay too much attention, from the few snippets he’d heard, he had a rough guess as to why Xiao Jinghong was acting with such urgency.

’The Xiao family must have sensed something was amiss and are trying to find a way to save themselves.’

That would explain why Xiao Jinghong didn’t ask him to elaborate on his ”build high walls, store up grain” advice.

Chen Yi kept all these thoughts to himself, neither dwelling on them nor speaking of them, focusing only on living his own quiet life.

’Right now, I’m just a ”powerless” weak scholar, after all.’

Of course, he could fool others, but not Pei Guanli.

「That night.」

While Xiao Jinghong was out, Chen Yi returned to the Purple Bamboo Forest for the first time in days.

As he stretched his limbs and practiced his Pile Skill and Martial Arts Techniques, he listened to Pei Guanli’s incessant chatter.

”Brother-in-law, please just help me.”

”Help me convince Sister Jinghong. I don’t want to go back to the Mountain Race yet.”

”Brother-in-law, I’m begging you...”

Seeing Pei Guanli’s pitiful expression, Chen Yi thought for a moment and asked, ”You’ve been away from the Mountain Race for so long. Don’t you miss home?”

Pei Guanli shook her head vehemently, the pair of bells on her jingling. ”No, no, not at all! Home is no fun at all.”

”If I go back, Ah Ma and my older brother will just make me focus on my Cultivation.”

”And the people in the clan, too. Not only do they not play with me, but they’re also completely preoccupied with arranging my marriage. I’m not going back.”

After listening, Chen Yi asked casually, ”What about your parents?”

Unexpectedly, Pei Guanli’s round face scrunched into a frown. ”They... they haven’t been back in a long time.”

”Oh?”

”I don’t know either. Ah Ma said they went north when I was very little, something about an important matter.”

Chen Yi found this odd. ”They’ve never contacted you?”

Pei Guanli pouted and mumbled, ”No. I have no idea what could be so important.”

”But I saw Ah Ma still has their Heart-Connected Gu, so they should still be alive, right?”

Chen Yi nodded in understanding. After a moment’s thought, he said, ”When Jinghong returns tomorrow, I’ll give it a try.”

”But I’ll warn you now, she might not agree.”

Pei Guanli didn’t care about that and her face lit up with joy. ”I knew it! You don’t want me to leave either, Brother-in-law.”

”...”

’Let’s not get things mixed up. She really shouldn’t say things like that.’

’If someone overheard, they might get the wrong idea about us.’

But Chen Yi wouldn’t say this out loud.

For the next while, he methodically practiced the Big Spear Pile Skill, Mountain Shattering Fist, and the Wandering Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique.

The reason he hadn’t abandoned the Wandering Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique to focus on the Meteor Butterfly Step was not only to hide it from Pei Guanli for the time being, but also because he had discovered the Wandering Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique had its own merits.

Compared to the agile and unpredictable Meteor Butterfly Step and the direct, straightforward footwork of the Mountain Shattering Fist, the Wandering Dragon and Phoenix was better suited for close-quarters combat and grappling.

Just then, Pei Guanli once again challenged him to a duel to test her recent progress—

Almost at the exact moment Pei Guanli executed the Meteor Butterfly Step and struck with her palm, Chen Yi used the Wandering Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique to circle around to her side.

A single short strike from his Mountain Shattering Fist to her lower ribs was enough to make her wave her hands and call for a stop, wincing in pain.

”Hiss... Brother-in-law, I’m clearly about to break through to the Eighth Grade Realm, so why can’t I beat you?”

Seeing her pitifully rubbing the sore spot, Chen Yi naturally didn’t explain the real reason.

But he did point out one thing: ”Your Body Technique is indeed swift and versatile, but you’re too impatient. Have you ever seen anyone use their full strength in every single move like you do?”

Pei Guanli was taken aback. ”Then what should I do?”

”When you strike, use only seventy percent of your Power and keep thirty percent in reserve to adapt to any situation. If you can do that, you’ll be able to handle any Martial Artist at the same Realm as you.”

This was a piece of experience Chen Yi had recently grasped. It was simple, practical, and more than enough for a Martial Arts novice like him with a solid foundation.

Pei Guanli pondered his words thoughtfully, then began to move in circles within the bamboo forest, her feet performing the Meteor Butterfly Step and her hands executing the Hundred Flowers Palm.

She was immediately putting the ”use seventy, save thirty” method into practice.

Chen Yi watched her for a moment before finding a stalk of Purple Bamboo of suitable length and thickness.

He weighed it in his hands, then straightened his posture. Gripping the lower end of the Purple Bamboo with both hands, he followed the memory in his mind and assumed the opening stance of the Dragon-Falling Spear Spear Technique.

The next moment, he stepped into a lunge, and the long Purple Bamboo staff in his hands shot out like a spear.

The body of the bamboo bizarrely twisted, rising and falling like a great dragon taking flight.

—First form of the Dragon-Falling Spear Spear Technique, Dragon Chasing the Sun!

Then came the second form, Zhaoqing Mountain; the third, Breaking River Sea; the fourth, Dragon-Trapping Rope... all the way to the eighth form, Inverting Heaven and Earth.

Each form was stronger than the last, each thrust fiercer than the one before.

Even though Chen Yi was a beginner and only used ten percent of his strength, the Purple Bamboo in his hands still erupted with a trace of might.

Like a whirlwind, it stirred the air around him.

Even Pei Guanli, immersed in her own Martial Arts practice, was startled. She stared blankly as he performed the Dragon-Falling Spear technique, her beautiful eyes wide with shock.

”Brother-in-law... where did you find this Spear Technique?”

Chen Yi didn’t respond. After completing the set of Spear Technique forms, he felt the inside of his body boiling like a stormy sea.

A moment later, the turmoil subsided.

Along with it, his Qi Mechanism vanished, deflating completely like a punctured balloon.

[Successfully learned Spear Technique: Dragon-Falling (Earth Tier). Level: Initial Insight]

[Martial Arts: Spear: Uninitiated 0/1 (Upgradeable)]

Without bothering to check the notifications, Chen Yi felt his depleted Sea of Qi and waved a hand dismissively. ”Go get me something to eat.”

Pei Guanli snapped out of her daze and hurried off to get food.

’That’s strange. I clearly only used ten percent of my strength.’

Leaning on the Purple Bamboo for support, Chen Yi began using the Black Tortoise Concealment Technique to recover his Qi Mechanism while simultaneously using his Opportunity to upgrade ”Martial Arts: Spear”.

[Martial Arts: Spear: Entry-level 0/10 (Upgradeable)]

As a surge of Profound Mysteries flooded his mind, Chen Yi sifted through the information for a moment and instantly understood why his Qi Mechanism had been depleted.

To unleash the full power of this Dragon-Falling Spear Spear Technique, one needed to be at least at the Seventh Grade Realm, where Qi Force has transformed into True Qi and can be projected externally.

If one forcefully practiced or used it before reaching that level, it would lead to the depletion of their Sea of Qi, just as he had experienced.

’They’re both Earth Tier, so why is the Meteor Butterfly Step usable?’

Chen Yi pondered for a moment and couldn’t help but shake his head. ’No wonder.’

Every single form of this Dragon-Falling Spear technique actually connected with the Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism.

He glanced at his remaining Opportunity and decided to continue upgrading his Spear Dao to the Minor Success stage.

As a vast amount of profound and wondrous Spear Dao Profound Mysteries appeared, he roughly estimated that it was about equal to the sum of Martial Arts Step, Martial Arts Body, and Martial Arts Fist combined.

The sheer volume of these Spear Dao Profound Mysteries was comparable even to the Medical Dao.

’No wonder they say, ”A year for the blade, three years for the sword, and a lifetime for the spear.”’

’This Spear Technique is truly easy to learn but hard to master. A simple thrust is easy, but using it well is difficult.’

Pei Guanli quickly returned. After eating something, Chen Yi went back to the wooden building with her to rest.

Along the way, the Tiger Girl pestered him with questions, but he had limited energy and brushed her off with a few perfunctory words.

Pei Guanli didn’t press further, feeling only that she now shared a new secret with him.

”Brother-in-law, don’t forget to talk to Sister Jinghong tomorrow.”

Chen Yi replied that he understood and went straight back to his room, collapsing onto the bed.

’The Dragon-Falling Spear Spear Technique is powerful, but I can’t unleash its true potential anytime soon. Even just practicing it...’

He thought for a moment.

’It’s not that I can’t practice it. I’ll try using the Black Tortoise Concealment Technique tomorrow.’

The Breath Concealment Technique could seal the pores all over his body, preventing any Qi Mechanism from leaking out. It was a method worth trying.

Otherwise, if he could only practice the Dragon-Falling Spear technique once a day, when would he ever reach proficiency?

With that thought, Chen Yi got up again, assumed the Pile Skill stance of the Black Tortoise Concealment Technique, and continued his Cultivation.

’Since my Cultivation is insufficient, I’ll just have to spend more time practicing.’

「Just after midnight—」

[Daily Intelligence, Yellow-level Middle Grade: At noon, in Jiaxing Garden of the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion, Xiao Wan’er will reprimand the Medicine Hall Steward. A minuscule amount of Opportunity may be obtained.]

Chen Yi’s eyelids twitched slightly, but he immediately immersed himself back into his Pile Skill Cultivation.

’Xiao Wan’er, reprimanding someone?’

’I wonder what she looks like when she’s angry. I imagine it’s... hmm... I can’t picture it.’

’A proper live-in son-in-law should only have eyes for his wife, right?’