Chapter 10: Revenue Generation and Experimentation

……

“The city is so strictly regulated, with fighting and brawling prohibited. How do those two brothers get away with it without the authorities intervening?” Lin Zheyu asked.

“As long as they don’t do it in the open, don’t cause any deaths, and the victim’s kin and friends don’t go making a scene at the magistrate’s office, the authorities won’t bother.”

Steward Wu gave a wry smile; this world was just that cruel.

“Then why don’t the kin of the previous steward go and make a scene?” Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

In this world, clans and families always helped one another. Whenever someone ran into trouble, they would all step up to support them.

“They were dealt with.”

“Jia Yanming stepped in and offered some silver as compensation. Combined with Jia Yanyong’s martial prowess and the intervention of the Feihong Gang, all the kin who tried to cause trouble were silenced.”

Steward Wu said.

This world was cruel. Hidden beneath the veil of peace was the brutal law of the jungle.

“I see…”

A sense of vigilance rose in Lin Zheyu’s heart. He continued to ask, “Do you know what kind of strength Jia Yanyong has?”

He had only just begun to practice martial arts seriously; before this, he had only done stance training. His strength wasn’t very high, and he was worried he wouldn’t be able to win.

“That, I’m not sure.”

“I’ve seen the man. He’s huge, at least a meter ninety, even more robust than I am. He has a fierce look about him and many scars on his body. I suspect he’s killed people before.”

Steward Wu said with a grave expression.

Lin Zheyu frowned slightly.

Living in such a backward civilization was troublesome. The imperfect social system was far too unfriendly to people like him who were out on their own.

“Why don’t you come and live at my place?”

“We have many able-bodied men in the Wu family, and Wu Village is extremely united. They wouldn’t dare make a move in the village.”

“You’re all alone in Songyi City without any kin to back you up. They’ll be even more unscrupulous if they decide to act,” Steward Wu suggested.

“No need.”

“If I really have no other choice, I’ll come to your place to stay.”

Lin Zheyu shook his head; he wasn’t used to living in other people’s homes.

If it really came down to it, he would just join the Yixiang Teahouse. Wasn’t that Jia Yanming’s goal anyway?

By then, he could write a few more good stories, have Steward Wu hire someone to tell them, and collect royalties for himself—he could even create a new revenue stream.

‘Hey, that idea might actually work!’

The more Lin Zheyu thought about it, the better the idea seemed.

……

The two-hour storytelling session ended, and as always, Lin Zheyu drew thunderous applause from the room.

Quite a few young masters had come today, and they were incredibly generous with their tips, which left Lin Zheyu feeling refreshed and satisfied.

“Why is the protagonist of this story still a scholar? It’s getting really tiresome to listen to,” Liang Song complained as he peeled a peanut and tossed it into his mouth.

Ever since Lin Zheyu started telling stories at the Bidan Teahouse, he had been sticking to the *Liaozhai* series.

The stories were almost all about the unspeakable, romantic entanglements between flower spirits, fox demons, and scholars. While they were all brilliant, Liang Song, as a martial artist, was getting sick of them.

Why did such good stories have to be cluttered with boring scholar romances?

It was truly annoying to listen to!

“Once this story is finished, I’ll switch to a story about the martial arts world for you,” Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

“Right, that’s exactly what I want.”

“Listening to you talk about the love stories between scholars and those flower spirits and fox demons all day is just tiresome,” Liang Song said, his eyes lighting up.

‘And yet you listen to them with such gusto every day!’

Lin Zheyu muttered to himself, not daring to say it out loud.

After all, his master was currently his biggest donor!

“Master, let me ask you something. Do you know the Feihong Gang?” Lin Zheyu asked.

“The Feihong Gang?”

“One of the three major gangs in Songyi City. I’ve met their leader once; his strength is just so-so.”

“Why? Have you been targeted by the Feihong Gang?” Liang Song asked, glancing at him sideways.

“Not exactly.”

“It’s just that the steward of the Yixiang Teahouse wants to poach me to tell stories there, and I didn’t agree.”

“I heard that the steward is a ruthless man who often sends his younger brother, Jia Yanyong, to do his dirty work in the shadows. Jia Yanyong is a member of the Feihong Gang.”

Lin Zheyu explained.

“It’s fine. They wouldn’t dare act recklessly in the city. At most, they’ll give you a beating; they won’t kill you.”

“If something really does happen by accident, I’ll help you report it to the magistrate,” Liang Song said with a squinting smile.

Lin Zheyu: “……”

If reporting to the magistrate were useful, why would anyone bother practicing martial arts?

“Right, I’m not worried, just checking.”

“If it really comes to it, I’ll just agree to Jia Yanming’s offer. It’s just that you’ll have to trouble yourself to find a new place to listen to stories, Master.”

Lin Zheyu said, pouring a cup of wine for his master.

The two sat and chatted for a while, and the topic shifted back to the Savage Bull Fist.

Lin Zheyu had now mastered the basics of the Savage Bull Fist, and he had many new questions about his training that he wanted to ask.

As they exchanged questions and answers, Liang Song’s eyes grew brighter as he looked at Lin Zheyu.

The disciple he had taken on a whim actually had such high comprehension.

He had only started learning the Savage Bull Fist yesterday, and today he had already grasped the technique to such a profound degree.

“This kid’s comprehension is just like mine!”

Liang Song couldn’t help but marvel.

He looked Lin Zheyu up and down, his brow furrowing slightly.

“Looking at your complexion, your blood and energy are severely depleted. You’ve been overtraining; you need to balance work and rest.”

“It’s not that the harder you train, the faster your strength improves.”

“If you want your body to grow stronger quickly, blindly training yourself into the ground is useless. You have to give your body enough time to recover.”

“Otherwise, it’s very easy to leave hidden injuries in your body.”

“When you’re young, you can suppress these hidden injuries, but when you get older, they will erupt.”

“Many martial artists from poor backgrounds only know how to train desperately. Their strength might improve, but they end up with a body full of ailments.”

“They’re fine when they’re young, but they start going downhill in their thirties, and by their forties, they lose their lives because they can no longer suppress their internal injuries.”

Liang Song warned.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lin Zheyu nodded.

He had borrowed five taels of silver from Steward Wu; with a few medicinal soups, his body would recover quickly.

By then, his strength would take another big step forward.

Although the Source Power’s transformation of his body had caused a depletion of blood and energy, it had also laid a solid foundation.

As long as he kept up his nutrition and drank a few more medicinal soups, he would be able to replenish it soon enough.

……

On the way back, Lin Zheyu spent all five taels of silver on herbs for replenishing blood and energy.

Passing by the market, he bought two pounds of pork before heading home, feeling satisfied.

“My current physical state is poor. If I train, I’ll reach my physical limit very quickly. Can I still obtain Source Power this way?”

Lin Zheyu pondered.

He decided to test it.

After eating his fill and resting for a while, he began to train in the courtyard, grunting with effort.

Half an hour later…

“It hurts like hell!”

“I knew it wouldn’t work.”

Lin Zheyu lay on the ground, not wanting to move.

This time, after training to his physical limit, he had gritted his teeth and persisted for a few more minutes as usual, but he hadn’t gained any Source Power points.

“It seems I can only gain it if I train to my limit while in peak physical condition.”

“Taking a break for a few hours in between and then continuing works too; that’s how it was last time.”

Through multiple attempts, Lin Zheyu was gaining a better understanding of his cheat.

He guessed that Source Power was a strange energy born when his essence, energy, and spirit were twisted together and sublimated upon breaking through his limits.

When his body broke through its limits, his essence, energy, and spirit would sublimate in an instant, reaching a miraculous state.

In this state, he felt his essence, energy, and spirit highly concentrated, twisted into a single strand, giving birth to that strange energy.

Source Power might be related to this highly concentrated energy of essence, energy, and spirit.

He had just trained to his physical limit in a weakened state, but he hadn’t gained any Source Power points.

Lin Zheyu guessed it was because his body was too weak, and the concentrated energy of his essence, energy, and spirit wasn’t sufficient.

……

(End of chapter)