Chapter 23: Capable of both offense and defense

The Golden Goose Technique primarily trains the leg muscles, tendons, and bones.

This technique is extremely difficult, placing high demands on one's natural talent and comprehension.

With the foundation laid by the Mad Bull Fist, Lin Zheyu's muscles and skin were full and robust, having already reached the Bone Tempering Realm. Consequently, performing the movements felt relatively easy.

The Golden Goose Technique consists of eight layers in total. Upon reaching the perfection of the third layer, one's strength can reach the peak of the Viscera Refining Realm.

Upon reaching the fourth layer, one's strength reaches the Blood and Qi Realm.

Afterward, with every subsequent level increase, the body's blood and qi undergo a qualitative transformation.

If one could cultivate the Golden Goose Technique to the perfection of the eighth layer, they could reach the level of the Fourth Blood and Qi Transformation within the Blood and Qi Realm.

In the path of leg techniques, proficient martial artists are extremely rare.

Leg techniques capable of reaching the Fourth Blood and Qi Transformation are especially precious.

Although it was merely a mid-tier second-rate martial art, its preciousness was comparable to top-tier second-rate martial arts.

When leg techniques are practiced to a profound level, one can advance or retreat at will, moving as swiftly as the wind, naturally standing in an invincible position.

In the courtyard.

Liang Song had drawn dozens of circles of varying sizes on the ground.

On the ground, over a dozen wooden stakes about twenty centimeters in diameter were placed. Lin Zheyu stood atop the stakes, moving rapidly.

From time to time, he would leap down from a stake, maneuvering back and forth within the circles using peculiar footwork.

This was the unique footwork of the Golden Goose Technique.

To master the Golden Goose Technique, one must first learn its unique steps.

Under Liang Song's instruction, Lin Zheyu spent a full three hours before he had firmly memorized all the footwork.

However, his application was still somewhat unrefined, requiring a vast amount of hard practice to perfect.

"Take a break. Haste makes waste."

"Martial arts cannot be rushed; it is about maintaining a balance between tension and relaxation."

"Rest for a bit, go back and prepare for your storytelling, and come back tonight to continue practical sparring," Liang Song told Lin Zheyu to stop.

Lin Zheyu stopped, panting.

He looked at the data in his consciousness; the progress of the Golden Goose Technique was good.

【Heaven Rewards the Diligent】

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 6

Skills

Mad Bull Fist (Proficient 3%)

Golden Goose Technique (Not Yet Initiated 68%)

After a morning of cultivation, he was only thirty-two percent away from initiating the Golden Goose Technique.

With a bit more effort tonight, he would be able to initiate it.

With the cultivation experience from the Mad Bull Fist, Lin Zheyu was no longer a martial arts novice, and he picked up the Golden Goose Technique very quickly.

However, this was only the beginning.

The difficulty of cultivating the Golden Goose Technique was much higher than the Mad Bull Fist. Once he reached the second layer, the progress rate would drop.

He would need a vast amount of time to practice leg flexibility, training them to be as agile as arms.

"No rush on the Mad Bull Fist; I'll focus on raising the level of the Golden Goose Technique first," Lin Zheyu thought to himself.

As a technique primarily focused on legwork, the Golden Goose Technique allowed for both offense and defense. If he encountered a powerful opponent, he could also use it to escape with his life.

More than ten days had passed since his last increase.

Lin Zheyu had now accumulated twelve taels of silver.

What restricted the speed of his strength increase was not the amount of Source Power, but a lack of silver.

Without enough silver to purchase medicinal herbs, even after using Source Power to increase his stats, he would have to spend a vast amount of time replenishing his blood and qi and strengthening his physique.

"I need to find ways to broaden my income streams," Lin Zheyu thought privately as he walked toward his home.

He needed to change his attire before heading to the Bidan Teahouse to tell stories.

...

By the time he arrived at the Bidan Teahouse, the building was already filled with people.

Lin Zheyu noticed many new faces, and one particular group caught his attention.

"Manager Wu, who is that middle-aged man?"

Lin Zheyu pointed to the man sitting at the center table.

He was a middle-aged man who appeared somewhat elegant, accompanied by several beautiful women and surrounded by several burly men.

One of them was Jia Yanyong, whom Lin Zheyu had seen yesterday.

Jia Yanyong's eyes were bloodshot, his large tiger-like eyes squinted into slits; his vision had not yet fully recovered.

"That is Xu Jingwu, the leader of the Flying Rainbow Gang," Manager Wu said.

Hearing this, Lin Zheyu wore an expression of "as expected."

He had beaten up Jia Yanyong yesterday, and today the other party had come looking for him.

Fortunately, the Bidan Teahouse was Lin Zheyu's home turf, so he wasn't particularly fearful.

After all, Liang Song was here too.

Lin Zheyu looked toward Liang Song by the window; Master Liang was staring blankly out the window.

"Is he very strong?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"You brat, you didn't provoke him, did you?"

Manager Wu looked at Lin Zheyu with some nervousness.

If it were just Jia Yanyong, Manager Wu wouldn't be afraid at all.

Back then, he had only suggested that Lin Zheyu stay temporarily at the Wu Family Village because he was worried Lin Zheyu would be bullied while alone.

But if he had provoked the leader of the Flying Rainbow Gang, it was a different matter entirely.

The Flying Rainbow Gang had many members and the leader had a powerful background. If he truly offended Xu Jingwu, it would be trouble.

"I don't think I've provoked him, right?" Lin Zheyu said.

"Then it's fine." Manager Wu breathed a sigh of relief. "How did you get involved with Leader Xu?"

"Yesterday, after I finished my storytelling and was heading back, I ran into Jia Yanyong on the road."

"Jia Yanyong informed me that Leader Xu thought my stories were quite good and invited me to go to the Flying Rainbow Gang this morning to tell him stories."

"Naturally, I was very happy to hear that. After all, someone wanted to hire me to tell stories, and I could earn quite a bit of money, couldn't I?"

"But when I asked how much they would pay, Jia Yanyong actually said there would be no pay. He said it was my honor to tell stories for Leader Xu, so where would the money come from?"

"I thought to myself, wanting to hire me to tell stories without pay? No way. So, I refused," Lin Zheyu said innocently.

Manager Wu: "..."

Listening to Lin Zheyu's narration, Manager Wu opened his mouth, suddenly not knowing what to say.

"Sigh, I really don't know what to say to you."

"What kind of person is Leader Xu? Even if there's no pay, many storytellers would be dying for the chance to tell him stories."

"If you tell them well and gain his appreciation, you won't have to worry about your future," Manager Wu said regretfully.

He glanced toward Xu Jingwu and whispered an instruction: "You must tell your stories well today. If you do well and gain Leader Xu's appreciation, your opportunities will come."

Manager Wu was still a good man. Although he worried about losing Lin Zheyu—his "secret weapon" for attracting customers—he still considered Lin Zheyu's future.

This was also why Lin Zheyu had insisted on staying at the Bidan Teahouse in the first place.

Manager Wu treated him with sincerity, and Lin Zheyu reciprocated with sincerity.

"By the way, besides this, you don't have any other grievances with them, do you?"

"Oh, Jia Yanyong wanted to beat me up and forcibly kidnap me, so I could only resort to self-defense."

"During the defense, I threw a handful of chili powder into his eyes. I'm not sure if he went blind," Lin Zheyu said, looking at the squinting Jia Yanyong, whose eyes appeared somewhat red and swollen.

Manager Wu: "..."

He didn't know what to say anymore.

It would have been fine if he hadn't gone, but he actually hit someone; this was a bit of a slap in the face.

In the world of martial arts, sometimes a fight is just about saving face or settling a grudge.

Manager Wu sighed. Young people were truly fierce; when encountering such things, one couldn't just use force.

He patted Lin Zheyu on the shoulder and urged him to focus on his storytelling.

If things became uncontrollable, he would have to ask the owner to step in and mediate, which should resolve it.

But he might have to pay quite a bit of silver afterward.

"Don't worry, Master Liang is also here. It won't be a big problem," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

Manager Wu glanced at Liang Song and shook his head slightly in his heart.

He knew Liang Song was powerful, but even the most powerful person had limits.

In his understanding, Liang Song could handle ten men at once, which was already impressive. Facing the members of the Flying Rainbow Gang, plus their powerful leader, what could Liang Song actually do?

...

(End of Chapter)