"Finally shot it down!"
Lin Changâsheng walked forward, glaring at the Divine Eagle with hatred. "Iâll skin you and stew you alive!!"
This Divine Eagle was exceptionally plump, even bigger than a fat goose, covered in jet-black feathers, with a golden streak on each wing. It looked absolutely stunning.
"Just who is tracking my movements?"
Lin Changâsheng narrowed his eyes, an urgent sense of danger rising in his heart.
Right now, the most pressing matter is to seize every moment and increase his own strength.
At the moment, all he had was a bright green hairpin Wenjing gave him, imbued with the power of two strikes from a Martial Arts Grandmaster, but that was borrowed strength. Only true power counted!
"Wait, this Divine Eagle was circling overhead for days. Someone else could have easily placed a tracking method on it. Better just throw it away."
Lin Changâshengâs eyes flashed, and in the end, he tossed the Divine Eagle into a river, watching as it drifted downstream before mounting his horse and heading into Min Nan City.
Min Nan City.
The main city of Min Nan County, at least five or six times the size of Mu City, and incredibly bustling.
Itâs divided into east, south, west, and north gates.
Lin Changâsheng entered through the east gate, and the first thing he did was sell his horse. Then he checked into the Minfu Inn in South City.
Zui Xiang Ju was the biggest restaurant in South City, and by noon, it was ninety percent full.
Second floor of the restaurant.
Lin Changâsheng sat by the window with Dawn, wrapped in black cloth, slung over his back.
"Thereâs still over half a year until the Liuyun Immortal Sect recruits disciples! I missed the chance last time, but this time, Iâm definitely going to try!"
"I was only six years old last time. Now, the timing is perfect for this year!"
"From what I know, to join the Liuyun Immortal Sect, you have to have a Spirit Root. Thatâs all about luck! Thereâs only a one in one hundred thousand chanceâjust thinking about it gives me a headache!"
"..."
In Lin Changâshengâs ears, dinersâ voices kept reaching himâmost of the chatter was about the Liuyun Immortal Sectâs recruitment coming next spring.
Stories like some wealthy family in the city getting robbed, or a night with Zui Hong Louâs top courtesan costing a fortune, or seeing immortals flying across the sky on swords...
"Iâll get a cultivation technique first, and when the time comes, Iâll test whether I have a Spirit Root or not."
Lin Changâsheng made up his mind, thinking to himself.
Getting a cultivation techniqueâIâll start with the Golden Bell Shield. Lin Changâsheng stood to pay his bill, found the Minfu Inn shopkeeper, and spent 200 wen coins to ask for information on the various clans in Min Nan City, including the Chen Family.
Min Nan City had five great clans and two major martial arts halls.
They were:
The Chen Family, with their Golden Bell Shield horizontal training, bodies as tough as iron.
The Tang Family, whose flying knives never miss.
The Tian Family, with their Hundred Herbs Hall and alchemy skills.
The Lei Family, famous for firearms and Lei Zhenzi.
The Nie Family, unmatched in lightweight skill.
As for martial arts halls, there was Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hall and Mad Blade Martial Arts Hall.
The five great clans donât take disciples. Itâs unrealistic to get the advanced Golden Bell Shield technique quickly!
"Looks like Iâll give Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hall a shot first!"
Lin Changâsheng thought privately.
The Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hall didnât just have fist techniquesâthey also had the Minor Circulation Breathing Method. If he could reach entry level with that, he could combine it with his Sun and Moon Breathing Technique!
A new cultivation method would be born. Maybe then, heâd break through his realm?
If he became a Martial Arts Grandmaster, getting the Chen Familyâs advanced Golden Bell Shield technique would be way easier. As far as he knew, every one of the five big clans had a first-class peak expert keeping watch.
......
Outside Min Nan City.
Fifteen miles out, in the Qingshui River.
"Shot down a Divine Eagle with a single arrow!"
"You canât run from me!"
A middle-aged man in green clothes, short-bearded, stared at the soaking-wet dead Divine Eagle on the ground, his expression cold. He turned and vanished in a flash.
......
Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hall.
Located in a huge estate in the south of the city, with several disciple recruitment locations inside city limits.
The methods for recruiting disciples were similar to Iron Hand Martial Arts Hall back in Mu City, but here, the entry fee was 12 taels of silver. If you didnât reach entry level in three months, youâd have to pay again.
It was said that way back, Min Nan City had five big martial arts halls, all charging 20 taels for entry. Later, when Tiger Roar and Mad Blade Martial Arts Hall lowered their fees, they quickly grew in numbers. After a bloody war, only these two halls remained.
"Hey there, young man! Join our Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hallâentry fee is 12 taels of silver. If you havenât reached entry level in the Minor Circulation Breathing Method in three months, youâll need to pay another 12 taels to stay. Once you reach entry level, no more fees ever again."
At the South City recruitment spot for Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hall, a sly old man with small eyes, a pipe in his mouth, and a fox-fur hat glanced at Lin Changâsheng and said.
"Alright, I get it!"
Lin Changâsheng nodded.
Any cultivation techniqueâonce I get entry level and simplify it, Iâll have it perfected in days!
taels of silverâa fair price just to buy the Minor Circulation Breathing Method.
Lin Changâsheng paid 12 taels of silver, registered, received a Disciple Identity Token, and under the guidance of an instructor named Zhang Zhaozhong, entered the Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hall.
Inside the cultivation field, left side for meditation practice, right side for fist technique training.
New disciples start with instruction in the Minor Circulation Breathing Method cultivation technique.
"Master Lin, this is a new disciple, Lin Changâsheng. Iâm leaving him with you now!"
Zhang Zhaozhong led Lin Changâsheng to a sturdy middle-aged man instructing over fifty teenagers. "Changâsheng, youâll follow Instructor Lin Zhibaoâheâs in charge of teaching the Minor Circulation Breathing Method!"
Inside the cultivation field, over fifty young men and women glanced at Lin Changâsheng before ignoring him.
Lin Changâsheng nodded, bowing with fist to Lin Zhibao. "Greetings, Instructor Lin!"
"Hmm. Today, Iâm just starting from scratch on the Minor Circulation Breathing Method. Take a seat right here."
Lin Zhibao placed Lin Changâsheng, then resumed his lecture.
Because of the system panel, Lin Changâshengâs cultivation was hidden. Unless he actively used it, no one could tellâhe looked like an ordinary youth.
"The Minor Circulation Breathing Method is a skill that nourishes essence and energy!"
"Our Hall Master Li has fully mastered this artâthanks to it, his cultivation is at the first-class expert peak! If you work hard, you too could become legends like Hall Master!"
"Now, Iâll teach you the method and important points for the Minor Circulation Breathing Method! Every morning is the best time to cultivate. Face the rising sun, focus your mind on the Dantian, imagine a sun there, then breathe in rhythm with your ageâone inhale, one exhale counts for two years... loop like this... thatâs how you nourish your essence!"
"Once you reach the nourishing essence stage, youâll start to feel qiâthat means youâve reached entry level!"
"Try it yourselves according to what I said!"
Lin Zhibao patiently explained everything to the fifty-plus students.
"Visualize a sun in your Dantian!"
Lin Changâsheng was intrigued, closed his eyes, breathing and counting his age, the cycle ongoing. Every so often he glanced at his system panelâno change yet.
Time slid by.
One by one, the other students left; only Lin Changâsheng and three other boys remainedânone of whom sensed qi yet.
Lin Zhibao glanced at the scattering teens, completely unconcerned.
Martial arts require talent and determination. Those kids without perseverance were just there to pay fees and boost the hallâs funds. Thatâs how the martial arts halls made their money.
You have to give to gain.
Though the Hall Master gave out the Minor Circulation Breathing Method, he gained tons of wealth, used to acquire even more powerful techniques.
Of course, if a student actually reached entry level, then they were real Tiger Roar disciplesâa win no matter how you look at it.
"Hmm? A qi sensation?"
Suddenly, Lin Changâsheng felt something different. His eyes lit up and he got up, cupping his fists to Lin Zhibao. "Instructor Lin, Iâll head back for today. Iâll return tomorrow!"
"Alright," Lin Zhibao nodded.
Lin Changâsheng walked out of Tiger Roar Martial Arts Hall and soon returned to the Minfu Inn.
[Minor Circulation Breathing Method (Entry Level 1/1000)]
Lin Changâsheng shut his door, locked it, and checked the system panel in the corner of his vision.