Chapter 46: Deep Waters

The Six Harmonies Saber technique was simple, unadorned, concise, and brisk.

Coordinating with his blood qi, Lin Zheyu’s internal energy was staggering. With every strike of the saber, the force was profound and the momentum overwhelming.

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

Utilizing the Golden Goose Skill integrated into his Six Harmonies Saber attacks, Lin Zheyu moved rapidly across the courtyard.

Saber light permeated the entire yard.

As if venting some inner frustration, he poured his entire strength into every move, rapidly exhausting his physical stamina until sweat soaked through his clothes.

An hour later, his complexion turned somewhat pale.

His strength, speed, and stamina had all dropped significantly.

His limbs felt somewhat limp, but he had not yet reached his limit.

Another half hour passed, and he finally felt a hint of total exhaustion.

After pushing himself for another six or seven minutes, Lin Zheyu’s essence, energy, and spirit instantly coalesced into a single point, giving him a sense of sublimation.

He had finally broken through his limit.

Leaning on his saber, he gasped for breath, his exhales blowing the fallen leaves on the ground.

Having reached the Blood Qi Realm, his breath was long and his lung capacity was terrifyingly immense.

【Heaven Rewards the Diligent】

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 3

Skills

Bull Fists (Proficiency 5%)

Golden Goose Skill (Fourth Layer 13%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Layer 0%)

Six Harmonies Saber (Proficiency 12%)

"I guessed correctly; this time, it really only increased by 1 unit of Source Power."

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his consciousness; the number following Source Power had become 1.

The last time he broke through his limit, he had gained two units of Source Power at once, but now it had reverted to one unit.

"In other words, every time I break through my limit now, I gain 1.x units of Source Power."

"As my strength continues to rise, this 'x' will slowly increase until one day it becomes two units of Source Power," Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

He lay on the ground to rest for a while.

Even as a Blood Qi Realm martial artist, he was still too exhausted to move after breaking through his limit.

However, reaching the Blood Qi Realm had one major advantage: his recovery speed had increased.

His blood qi had just been completely depleted, but once one reached the Blood Qi Realm, the energy contained within the blood was immense.

Though he felt utterly spent, by squeezing his body, he could still refine thin wisps of blood qi.

The blood qi flowed through his veins to his entire body, dispersing into his muscle cells to nourish his fatigued body and accelerate his physical recovery.

After resting for a while, Lin Zheyu felt the soreness in his body subside.

Blood qi acted like a martial artist's reserve energy; it could not only be used to unleash powerful attacks but also accelerate physical recovery.

"I need to keep raising the Golden Goose Skill."

"As my strength increases, the Source Power required for each new layer grows. To raise the Golden Goose Skill to the fifth layer, I will need at least 5 more units of Source Power," Lin Zheyu mused.

He felt that even with the strength of the Blood Qi Realm, he was not entirely safe.

When he heard Chief Xu say that the City Lord was incomparably powerful and could suppress an entire city alone, Lin Zheyu was profoundly shocked.

Every City Lord was appointed by the Emperor of Great Wei.

Depending on the scale of the city and the importance of its geographical location, a City Lord of corresponding strength would be dispatched.

Songyi City was merely an unremarkable small town, yet its City Lord was already this powerful.

If the City Lords of every city were this strong, how terrifyingly powerful would a rebel army have to be to conquer so many cities?

"The waters of this world run much deeper than I imagined!" Lin Zheyu murmured.

...

The medicinal decoction in the pot was not yet finished.

It had been simmered twice over the past three hours, but it needed one more round of simmering to fully extract the medicinal potency from the herbs.

He poured out the decoction and added fresh water to continue the process.

He simmered it until the afternoon before all the medicinal potency had been extracted.

Picking up the medicinal soup, he drank it in one gulp.

This single bowl contained the ingredients of eight doses of Blood-Nourishing and Bone-Strengthening Soup.

A sensation of heat spread through his body, but it lacked the discomfort he had felt previously.

The Blood-Nourishing and Bone-Strengthening Soup lived up to its reputation as a potent medicine meant only for those in the Blood Qi Realm; after drinking it, the speed at which his blood qi increased grew even faster.

He carefully felt this sensation, cleared his mind of distractions, and sent out a thought.

'Use 3 units of Source Power to upgrade Golden Goose Skill.'

In an instant, a mysterious energy surged forth.

Entering a special mental state, Lin Zheyu began a tireless period of training.

Time seemed to fly by; he lost track of how many years—or what felt like years—had passed. Amidst the ceaseless training, the blood qi within his body grew continuously.

The thin wisps of blood qi that originally drifted in his blood condensed into a mass of blood-colored misty energy, nourishing him as it flowed through his veins.

Under the nourishment of the blood qi, his body underwent a second metamorphosis.

Once again, Lin Zheyu understood why it was said that blood qi is the foundation of martial arts.

Once one possessed blood qi, the nourishment and strengthening it provided to the body was incomparable to that of an ordinary person.

Under the nourishment and strengthening of the blood qi, his physique transformed, becoming increasingly strong, and his muscles became dense and firm.

Within every muscle lay an incredibly terrifying and powerful force.

A few breaths later.

Lin Zheyu opened his eyes from his endless training.

The physical reconstruction was complete.

A rumbling sound echoed from within his body as dense blood qi energy flowed through his blood vessels, spreading throughout his entire body.

Lin Zheyu felt his body was filled with explosive power.

【Heaven Rewards the Diligent】

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 0

Skills

Bull Fists (Proficiency 5%)

Golden Goose Skill (Fourth Layer 67%)

Turtle Breathing Technique (Third Layer 0%)

Six Harmonies Saber (Proficiency 12%)

"It has reached 67% progress. I still need 2 units of Source Power to reach the fifth layer."

Lin Zheyu checked the data and continued his training.

After reaching 67% of the fourth layer, the blood qi in his body had increased significantly. As it circulated through his body, he controlled the blood qi energy and channeled it into his arms.

The influx of blood qi caused the muscles in his arms to swell slightly, becoming somewhat menacing.

"Hah!"

Feeling the explosive power emanating from his arms, Lin Zheyu let out a soft exhale.

His gaze turned sharp. Gripping his saber tightly, he swung it downward, unleashing a cold, piercing saber qi.

"No, my arms cannot withstand too much of a blood qi burst."

Lin Zheyu frowned.

Just now, when he channeled the blood qi into his arms, he felt a throbbing pain in his muscle fascia. When he swung with full strength, a slight cracking sound came from his arm bones.

This was a sign that the power released by the blood qi had exceeded the physical limit his arms could endure.

If he were facing an enemy, even if that strike killed the opponent, his arms would have ended up fractured.

"It seems I must also upgrade the Bull Fists or the Six Harmonies Saber," Lin Zheyu contemplated.

His breakthrough to the Blood Qi Realm relied on the Golden Goose Skill, and the parts of his body with bone as hard as iron were only his legs.

As for the Bull Fists and the Six Harmonies Saber, they were only at the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm and could not withstand the violent eruption of excessive blood qi.

After thinking it over, he decided to focus on the Bull Fists to raise its realm.

The Bull Fists primarily focused on fist techniques, with all his strength concentrated in his fists. Once the Bull Fists were upgraded, his arms would reach the level of iron-hard bones.

Only then would he be able to withstand the powerful bursts of blood qi when using the Six Harmonies Saber.

More importantly, while practicing the Bull Fists these past few days, Lin Zheyu had vaguely sensed a mysterious intent within the technique.

He had never felt this mysterious intent in the Six Harmonies Saber or the Golden Goose Skill.

Within the Bull Fists, there seemed to be a hidden "fist momentum."

If he could practice it to a high level, he might be able to comprehend it.