Chapter 4: Template: Erlang Shen Yang Jian (Please keep reading)

Chapter 4 Template: Erlang Shen · Yang Jian (Seeking follow-up reads)

“Inhale～ Exhale～”

Over a decade of habit in standing meditation (Zhan Zhuang) allowed him to quickly adjust his breathing and enter the state.

Coordinating with the breathing technique inherent to the stance, Lin Qi soon felt waves of heat evaporating from his waist, surging rapidly through his body.

Threads of Qi and blood wandered through his body; muscles, bones, and blood vessels—the entire body came alive, tempering his muscles like a furnace.

Recalling the key points of the Hunyuan Stance in his mind, his muscles trembled, his chest heaved with his breathing, his whole body grew hot, and his skin turned red.

Exhaustion, soreness, numbness...

The stuffy air and the physical discomfort tortured Lin Qi’s spirit.

“Drip～”

Sweat, like beads of water, dripped from his forehead, quickly soaking his short-sleeved shirt.

Persist, persist!

Lin Qi gritted his teeth and held on, his joints emitting “crackling” sounds.

He was like someone running a long-distance race, relying entirely on a single breath to keep going.

Once he gave up, all his previous efforts would be wasted.

He didn't know how much time had passed; Lin Qi’s consciousness became blurred, and he relied solely on his willpower to hold on.

On the panel, the template column also changed.

【You have completed one effective workout, template progress has reached 100%】

【Template: None (99.9%+0.1%)】

...

The moment the progress reached 100%!

“Boom～”

In an instant, Lin Qi’s mind went blank.

“Ah!!”

His consciousness fell into a void of darkness, entering a nihilistic gloom where only a golden tattered banner lay silent.

But at this very moment, the tattered banner suddenly shook, blooming with brilliant golden light that illuminated the entire space of his consciousness.

Golden patterns flowed across the banner, radiating an endlessly mysterious aura and brewing with the power to destroy everything.

“Boom～”

The banner shook again, and in an instant, dozens of dazzling golden light orbs were shaken out, circling around the banner.

A moment later, one of the golden orbs rushed out and transformed into a massive scroll.

Pale mountains and handsome rocks, strange forests and eerie trees.

A stern youth stepped forward; he was as handsome as jade, his physique majestic, resembling a heavenly god.

Clad in battle armor, wielding a divine weapon, with a divine eye on his forehead, he released his hawk and hound, blocking the front and cutting off the rear, launching a mountain-searching and demon-subduing campaign against the monsters and ghosts in the vast deep mountains.

The scroll continued to unfurl, golden light spreading, and a mysterious charm enveloped it: searching mountains and subduing demons, capturing dragons and slaying flood dragons, splitting mountains to save his mother...

It recounted one legendary tale after another.

He didn't know how much time had passed when the stern youth suddenly raised his head, stepped out of the scroll, and his body expanded. Amidst the endless golden light, his divine eye shot out a beam of golden light.

“Boom!!”

Lin Qi’s consciousness was instantly struck by the golden light...

【Template: Erlang Zhenjun · Yang Jian (Fusion: 1%)】

“This is...”

Lin Qi came to his senses and looked at the panel. It had undergone a massive change; in the template column, “None” had become Erlang Zhenjun.

Behind it appeared the words “Fusion: 1%”.

The next second, a massive amount of information rushed into his consciousness.

“The higher the fusion rate, the higher the martial arts talent. At 100%, you fully possess the talent of Erlang Zhenjun.”

Lin Qi sorted through the information, a glimmer of realization appearing in his eyes.

At the same time, his heart was shaken. Erlang Shen?!!

Erlang Shen, a figure from mythology, folklore, novels, comics, and film and television works.

He held countless titles: Erlang Zhenjun, Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun, Chuanzhu Dijun, God of the Hunt...

Gifted with extraordinary talent, immense strength, boundless magic power, an indestructible primordial spirit, a body sanctified...

An all-around powerhouse, a hexagonal warrior.

Lin Qi could not suppress his excitement. This was Erlang Shen! He was an immortal, the strongest among the third-generation disciples under the Primordial Heavenly Lord (Yuanshi Tianzun) in mythology.

Even with just 1% of his talent, he was a genius in the eyes of others.

“Ah!!”

Just as he was excited, a mysterious energy injected into his body. In an instant, intense pain exploded from within.

“Crack, crack～”

His bones fractured in an instant, the pain causing Lin Qi’s entire face to twist.

This was the transformation of the template talent!!

Lin Qi realized that the process of talent fusion was also a process of remodeling and reshaping the body.

Afraid of worrying his parents, he struggled to take his dirty martial arts uniform from his backpack, twisted it into a ball, and bit down on it.

“Crack, crack!!”

“Ahhh!!”

It hurt, it hurt so much!

Bones shattering, muscles tearing, the numbness, the itching—compared to this, the pain of standing meditation was practically a luxury.

Genetic optimization; his entire body was being reshaped. His tendons, bones, and muscles were undergoing a heaven-defying metamorphosis.

Lin Qi writhed on the floor like a caterpillar, sweat and dust mixing together.

He didn't know how long he persisted before Lin Qi lost consciousness.

Three hours later, 11:30.

“Whoosh, whoosh～”

In the stuffy heat, accompanied by the whirring of the fan, Lin Qi slowly opened his eyes.

The scene from just moments ago surfaced in his mind, and he felt a lingering fear. It was too painful; it was worse than death—the ten great tortures were nothing compared to this.

“Phew～”

It was finally over.

As he crawled up from the floor and looked at himself in the wardrobe mirror, he was covered in grime, and the sticky sweat felt unbearable.

“Gurgle～”

The next second, a sound came from his ears, and a violent hunger surged into his mind with lightning speed.

“Water, food!”

Lin Qi quickly opened the drawer, took out the remaining few red Qi-blood capsules, and swallowed them all. Then, he grabbed piece after piece of compressed biscuits—the snacks he usually ate to satisfy his hunger after training.

He ate them mouthful by mouthful, and in a short while, he had finished them all.

He opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of drink, and drank it frantically. After finishing three bottles, he continued to eat.

Looking at the fruits and leftovers in the fridge, he began to wolf them down.

After eating, Lin Qi felt a sense of satisfaction.

But suddenly, an inexplicable smell drifted through the air.

“Sniff～ Sniff～”

“What is that smell? Ugh?”

Lin Qi smelled a foul stench, like the filth from a sewer that had been sealed for years.

It was coming from his own body. Looking at his body, he saw dust, sweat, and streaks of black liquid—the waste metabolized from his body.

Ten minutes later.

Lin Qi walked out of the bathroom and lay comfortably on the bed, feeling reborn.

“I’m alive!”

Looking at the ceiling, he felt the satisfaction of being well-fed.

Lin Qi felt his entire body was light, as if he had undergone a marrow-cleansing transformation.

Before he could think too much, exhaustion and sleepiness crept up on him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

...

The next day, September 2nd.

“Ring-ring!”

Lin Qi opened his eyes and, as usual, turned off the alarm and sat up.

The first second, he looked at the panel.

【You have awakened the Erlang Shen · Yang Jian template. The higher the fusion, the higher the talent.】

【Having fused with Erlang Shen’s talent, your body has transformed, and your talent and comprehension have been improved.】

【Your stomach’s digestive capacity has been strengthened.】

...

【Name: Lin Qi (17)】

【Profession: Martial Artist】

【Template: Erlang Shen · Yang Jian (Fusion: 1%)】

【Qi-blood Value: 5.3→5.4】

【Techniques: Hunyuan Stance, Tiger Form Fist (Minor Success), Basic Spear Technique】

【Fist Technique: Tier 1 80%】

【Spear Technique: Tier 1 60%】

【Movement Technique: Tier 1 57%】

...

Lin Qi silently looked at the Erlang Shen entry in the template column, his calm heart unable to suppress the excitement.

Fusing with Erlang Shen’s talent—just 1%—had already strengthened his physical talent and comprehension.

He stood up and moved his body, feeling endless energy surging from within.

Although his Qi-blood had only increased by 0.1, he felt that was only because his resources were insufficient.

If he could consume enough Qi-blood potions and other resources, his Qi-blood value would skyrocket.

At the same time, he found his body had become lighter, and the exhaustion and soreness had been swept away.

Lin Qi clenched his fist, power transmitting from his waist—it felt better than ever.

The fusion of talent hadn't just reshaped his body; in the words of novels, it was a marrow-cleansing transformation.

“And it even relaxed my muscles; I don't need to go for therapy anymore, saving a huge sum of money.”

After muttering to himself, he went out to the bathroom to wash up.

“Swish, swish～”

While brushing his teeth, Lin Qi looked at himself in the mirror and was surprised.

“I think I’ve grown taller!”

Lin Qi was surprised to find that his height and physique had undergone subtle changes.

His shoulders were broader, and his muscle lines had become more defined.

After washing up, he went to the living room and checked against the height chart on the wall.

“One meter seventy-eight!”

He had grown two centimeters, and Lin Qi was delighted.

In this era, martial artists, with sufficient nutrition, had an average height ten to twenty centimeters taller than those from a few decades ago.

The average height of male martial artists had even broken through one meter ninety, pulled up by those who were over two meters tall.

“Xiao Qi, you’re up. Come have breakfast.”

Fang Huiyi brought out steamed buns and sat them on the table.

“Mom, your health isn't fully recovered yet, you should rest more.”

Lin Qi brewed some black coffee and sat down.

“It’s fine, I know my own body, don't worry. You eat more.”

Fang Huiyi said dismissively.

Lin Qi looked at the portion on the table, which was twice the usual amount, and began to feast.

He was indeed very hungry.

A few minutes later, all the buns on the table had been eaten by Lin Qi.

“I’m off, I’m going to school.”

“Stay safe!”

Fang Huiyi watched Lin Qi leave, her face looking tired again. She glanced at the bedroom: “Let A-Zhen sleep a bit longer.”

Then she turned and went back into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Lin Zhen.

...

(End of chapter)