Chapter 8: Spiritual Feedback to the Physical Body

On the way home, a familiar figure emerged from a corner.

“Mr. Lin, I wonder how you’ve considered yesterday’s matter?”

The person was Jia Yanming, the manager of Yixiang Teahouse.

Unlike Manager Wu, Jia Yanming had a standard build, a stern face, and an extremely sharp gaze; he looked very much like a high-powered executive from his past life.

“Apologies, Bidan Teahouse has been kind to me.”

“I actually visited your teahouse back then, but I was chased away by the waiter before I could even step inside. What a pity.”

Lin Zheyu wore a look of regret as he spoke.

Jia Yanming had been present at the time. He had cast a cold glance at him, his expression one of utter indifference, as if he were looking at a beggar coming to his door.

He had impatiently waved his hand at the waiter, ordering him to chase Lin Zheyu away.

“Do reconsider. We can discuss the compensation again.”

“At Yixiang Teahouse, we can offer you a base pay of 300 wen, and then calculate based on the number of customers. For every 10 customers over the base amount, we will increase your pay by 10 wen, and so on.”

“Bidan Teahouse is small in scale; your prospects for advancement there cannot compare to our Yixiang Teahouse.”

“As long as you come to our teahouse, we will…”

“Apologies, I am not considering it for the time being.”

Lin Zheyu interrupted Jia Yanming and walked past him.

“Still young, having read a few years of sage books, he doesn’t understand the cruelty of the business world.”

“He does have a bit of loyalty, knowing how to repay kindness, but, heh…”

Jia Yanming watched his retreating back, his expression unreadable. He murmured softly, lost in thought.

……

Back at the courtyard, Lin Zheyu took off his green gown.

This outfit was uncomfortable to wear; he still preferred the martial arts training gear.

He took the qi-nourishing and blood-enriching medicinal herbs he had bought yesterday from the room, poured them into a medicinal pot, and began to decoct them.

“Phew, this is truly back-breaking work. If only I had a maid, how good that would be.”

Lin Zheyu wiped the sweat from his forehead and panted heavily.

He had trained for several hours in the morning, leaving his body extremely fatigued. Now, having chopped wood, fetched water, and boiled it, he was even more exhausted.

Lin Zheyu slumped to the ground, panting.

Right now, he didn’t want to move at all; every movement was a test of his willpower.

“No, how can I give up so easily!”

Lin Zheyu cheered himself on.

After a month of practicing stance training, his perseverance had grown significantly.

He slowly stood up from the ground; this single action alone exhausted the willpower he had just gathered.

“Should have gone all out at once. If I had known, I wouldn’t have trained so hard at Master Liang’s place.”

Lin Zheyu said, feeling the pain in his body.

He rested for a while longer, gritted his teeth, and began to train.

“Heaven is about to place a great burden on a man, it must first苦其心志 (tax his mind and will)…”

Lin Zheyu recited the famous passage from his past life to encourage himself. Enduring the pain in his body and the exhaustion and aversion emanating from his mind, he began his training.

If he couldn’t even endure this bit of hardship, how could he achieve great things?

He took his stance.

His strength was somewhat lacking, but his posture was standard.

He!

Ha!

Lin Zheyu shouted as he began to practice his punches.

In the courtyard stood wooden stakes for punch training, wrapped in old clothes to act as buffers. Lin Zheyu had prepared these beforehand.

*Bang, bang.*

*Bang, bang, bang.*

His fists landed on the wooden stakes, emitting thudding sounds.

As time passed, Lin Zheyu became more and more focused, and the thuds against the stakes grew louder.

All things are difficult at the start. Once he forced himself to begin training, he could grit his teeth and persist through the rest.

*Rustle, rustle.*

A light breeze blew, causing the leaves to rustle.

Under the moonlight, Lin Zheyu was soaked in sweat. His face was pale, and his lips couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

His eyes were bloodshot, and with every punch he threw, the muscles in his arms trembled uncontrollably.

This was a sign that he was reaching his limit.

“Persist!”

“Just a little longer, I’m almost there!”

Lin Zheyu gritted his teeth, his mind stretched to the limit, using his powerful willpower to resist the intense pain radiating from his body.

Another ten minutes passed.

The feeling of breaking through his physical limits and his spirit sublimating in an instant arrived. His essence, energy, and spirit condensed into one at this moment.

He let out a long breath and collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.

His muscles twitched continuously from extreme fatigue.

“Done.”

A smile appeared on Lin Zheyu’s pale face.

He had gained another unit of Source Power.

【Heaven Rewards Diligence】

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 3

Skill: Savage Bull Fist (Not yet initiated 5%)

“Savage Bull Fist is still 95% away from initiation. It should take about 20 days to reach it.”

“I wonder how effective Source Power is and how much of an improvement it can bring to the Savage Bull Fist.”

Lin Zheyu was filled with anticipation.

He rested on the ground for a full half-hour before getting up.

He stretched his limbs, stripped off his clothes, and stepped into the bathtub he had prepared earlier.

“Refreshing!”

Wrapped in the warm water, Lin Zheyu shivered, feeling the muscle fatigue fade slightly.

“Let’s test the effect of Source Power.”

Unable to suppress the anticipation in his heart, he decided to try it right now.

‘Use 1 unit of Source Power to improve Savage Bull Fist.’

As his thought was transmitted, 1 unit of Source Power vanished.

Immediately, the progress of Savage Bull Fist began to jump rapidly: 6%… 10%… 20%… 50%… 80%… 100%!

……

A mysterious energy surged from deep within his cells, beginning to remodel his muscles and fascia.

At the same time, his mind fell into a strange state.

He felt as if he were in an inexplicable space. In this space, Lin Zheyu had only one thought: to practice the Savage Bull Fist!

He practiced the Savage Bull Fist frantically, punch after punch, never stopping, tireless, like a madman.

He didn’t know how much time had passed in this magical state, but his understanding of the Savage Bull Fist grew increasingly profound.

A few breaths later, he snapped back from the hazy memory.

His eyes widened slowly, filled with astonishment.

Incredible!

Lin Zheyu felt as if he had practiced the Savage Bull Fist for a long time, without sleep or rest.

His comprehension of the Savage Bull Fist was now extremely deep.

Suddenly, a strange sensation came from his nose; it felt as if something was flowing out.

He touched it with his right hand and, by the moonlight, saw a smear of blood.

“This is… a nosebleed?”

Lin Zheyu was stunned. He suddenly felt dizzy, and his body felt incredibly weak.

His vision also became somewhat blurred.

“What’s going on?”

“Why does it feel like my body is even weaker?”

Lin Zheyu gripped the edge of the bathtub with both hands, waiting a while before he could recover.

A sense of hunger and weakness emanated from every cell in his body, and his dark skin turned somewhat pale.

Lin Zheyu thought for a moment and understood.

“The effect of the Source Power forced my mind into a special state. In that state, time was greatly extended, and my mental projection practiced frantically without stopping.”

“The training results from that state were fed back directly to my physical body, causing it to train and grow stronger as well.”

“But because there wasn’t enough energy, it could only consume my body’s energy reserves, leading to a deficiency in qi and blood.”

Lin Zheyu mused, having figured out the process.

He held onto the edge of the tub, waiting a while until his vision cleared again.

*Splash…*

Lin Zheyu stepped out of the bathtub, and his vision went black again; a wave of dizziness hit his head.

He hurriedly gripped the edge of the tub with his hand, waiting a while longer before he recovered.

The deficiency of qi and blood was quite severe.

(End of chapter)