Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

Time passed slowly. More than two months went by, and in the blink of an eye, September arrived. Autumn had set in, and the weather had grown much cooler. Lin Zheyu scarcely went out, spending most of his time training in martial arts within the courtyard. In the mornings, he comprehended the Tortoise Breath true intent. In the afternoons, he practiced the Violet Thunder Dominance Fist. In his spare moments, he took out the Toxicology Codex to study. His days were exceedingly fulfilling.

”Brother Zhao is at it again. This level of perseverance is truly formidable.”

Li Mengxi walked in from outside the courtyard, and upon seeing Lin Zheyu training, could not help but sigh with emotion.

In the courtyard, Lin Zheyu was clad in heavy armor, practicing the Violet Thunder Dominance Fist with labored breaths. Faint thunderous sounds emerged from his chest, and as his fists blasted out, they were accompanied by that subtle rumble of thunder; the might they carried was astonishing.

”Brother, if you were as diligent as Young Master Zhao, perhaps you could have broken through to the seventh transformation like Sister Mengqi back then,” Li Wensi said.

”And you still have the nerve to talk about me. If you do not work harder, you might not even break through the sixth transformation in the future,” said Li Mengxi as he shot her a sideways glance and chuckled.

”How could that be! I will definitely break through the seventh transformation like Sister Mengqi, and then advance to the Marrow Refining realm. When that time comes, I will also cultivate the Ice Sword Technique and comprehend Ice true intent.” Li Wensi puffed out her cheeks and snorted.

”With your temperament, Ice true intent does not suit you. That Fire Cloud True Technique would suit you much better,” Li Mengxi said and laughed heartily.

”I am going to practice it anyway. When I become stronger, I will beat you with the Ice Sword Technique.” Li Wensi rolled her eyes and said stubbornly.

Li Mengxi picked at his ear and revealed a look of disdain.

”How long has Brother Zhao been training, and when will he finish?” Li Mengxi asked Li Wensi.

”How would I know. I just arrived myself, and the moment I came, I saw Young Master Zhao training. But Young Master Zhao’s comprehension and aptitude are truly terrifying. In just over two months, he has brought the Violet Thunder Dominance Fist to this level. I feel that when he throws a punch, it carries a trace of thunderous might. The momentum is extremely frightening. Brother Mengxi, do you think he could really cultivate Violet Thunder true intent using only a fragment that lacks a true intent diagram?” Li Wensi asked curiously.

The cultivation of true intent did not rely solely on comprehending true intent diagrams. It could also be achieved through cultivating techniques, tempering martial cultivation conviction, and refining martial cultivation will. Only when conviction, spirit, and mind became closely aligned with true intent could true intent be transformed. This was the most ancient traditional path of martial cultivation. The earliest generation of Force Transformation realm experts had all walked this road.

”How could it be that easy?” Li Mengxi shook his head and said, ”To walk the traditional path of martial cultivation requires far more than diligence and comprehension. One’s disposition must be extremely compatible with the true intent.

”That genius from the Luo family, Luo Shaoning, relied on his natural talent and wanted to walk the traditional path of martial cultivation. The technique he chose was the Violet Thunder Dominance Fist. I heard that he spent ten years comprehending it in the Land of Thunderfalls, yet still failed to comprehend Violet Thunder true intent,” Li Mengxi said with a sigh.

The traditional path of martial cultivation was too difficult. Those who could successfully walk it almost all possessed the Grandmaster realm potential and had a high chance of becoming Martial Innate realm experts. This path filtered out many martial artists whose aptitude was insufficient, leaving them with no hope of ever advancing to the Force Transformation realm.

In that era, most martial artists stopped at the Marrow Refining realm, and only the very few who comprehended true intent could continue onward. It was only after the invention of true intent diagrams that these martial artists gained a chance to advance to the Force Transformation realm, allowing martial cultivation to flourish.

Hearing this, Li Wensi said with deep agreement, ”Oh, that really is difficult.”

Even she had heard of Luo Shaoning’s reputation as a genius. That even he had failed to walk the traditional path of the ancient martial artist was enough to show just how difficult that road was.

”Lately, I’ve been letting you spend time with Brother Zhao. How have you two been getting along? Brother Zhao’s character and conduct are quite good, and his martial cultivation talent is exceptionally outstanding. He would make a fine husband,” Li Mengxi asked with a smile after taking a sip of the tea Ya Lan had brought over.

He had arranged for quite a few women to interact with Lin Zheyu, but Lin Zheyu had not been particularly interested in any of them. They were indeed beautiful, but only possessed a good appearance, lacking the temperament and qualities that could attract Lin Zheyu. Only Li Wensi, with her innocence and cuteness and a faint resemblance to Liang Yunhui, received a genuine warmth and friendliness from Lin Zheyu.

”Brother, don’t you see how old he is and how old I am? Besides, I want to keep advancing in martial cultivation like Sister Mengqi, to become a Force Transformation realm martial artist, or even a Grandmaster realm martial artist. I don’t want to marry and have children so early,” Li Wensi said as her face flushed slightly and she shook her head.

”So what if he’s older? Elder Wang said it himself—Brother Zhao has considerable talent in the Tortoise Breath True Technique. Once he masters it, he will definitely live longer than you. And after marrying and having children, it’s not as if one can’t practice martial arts. Sister Mengqi mainly delayed marriage because cultivating Ice true intent affected her spirit, making her emotionally indifferent.” Li Mengxi patiently persuaded her, saying, ”Although Brother Zhao has disguised his appearance, judging from his bearing alone, his looks must be excellent. He is more than worthy of you.”

”I’m not listening, I’m not listening. Hmph, go find someone else,” said Li Wensi, shaking her head wildly and making a face at Li Mengxi.

A helpless expression appeared on Li Mengxi’s face. This girl was already so grown up, yet she still acted like a child.

”If you’re unwilling, why do you keep running over here?” Li Mengxi said, speechless.

”Because I’m bored. You and Sister Mengqi don’t play with me, and everyone else is so annoying. You don’t know this, but Young Master Zhao is very good at telling stories. They’re all stories I’ve never heard before, and they’re really interesting,” Li Wensi said with a smile.

”Suit yourself. Just keep doing this. Come by often and listen to Brother Zhao’s stories when you have nothing to do,” Li Mengxi said calmly.

Seeing Li Wensi show such an expression, he could not help but mutter inwardly, feeling that there might be a chance for the two of them. He turned his head toward Ya Lan and asked, ”How long has Brother Zhao been training in heavy armor?”

”He’s almost done, I believe. Young Master Zhao has already been training for over two hours. Based on past experience, it should end in less than an hour,” Ya Lan said softly.

She looked toward Lin Zheyu as he trained, a trace of admiration flashing in her eyes. During Lin Zheyu’s time in the Li Residence, she had been responsible for attending to his daily needs and was very familiar with his habits. Almost every four days, he would train while wearing heavy armor, pushing himself to the point of utter exhaustion. She had never seen such terrifying perseverance in anyone else in the Li Residence.

”Mhm.” Li Mengxi nodded lightly and muttered in a low voice, ”What a beast. This guy trains so crazily every few days. How does he even keep it up?”

Li Mengxi could not understand why Brother Zhao trained so frantically. In his view, excess was as bad as insufficiency, and this level of madness was going too far. Moreover, after reaching the Marrow Refining realm, ordinary training methods, no matter how intense, produced only minimal improvements to the physique and could at best temper one’s mental will.

Amid the scattered chatter between Li Mengxi and Li Wensi, Lin Zheyu finally exhausted all the strength in his body. With sheer willpower, he struggled on and trained for another dozen minutes, once again breaking through his bodily limits.

”Huff, huff.”

Lin Zheyu gasped for breath, his entire body limp on the ground, unwilling to move.

”Young master, this is your medicinal decoction.” Ya Lan walked over, carrying the decoction she had prepared in advance, helped Lin Zheyu sit upright, and fed it to him.

Being attended to felt truly good. Without Ya Lan present, Lin Zheyu would have had to lie on the ground for more than ten minutes, recover a bit of strength, and only then get up.

”Brother Zhao, you truly have remarkable perseverance. Every few days, one can see you training this frantically and breaking your own limits,” Li Mengxi walked over and said in admiration.

Although this method did not greatly improve strength, the process of breaking one’s limits was also a process of tempering mental will. After witnessing Lin Zheyu’s way of training, he finally understood why Brother Zhao Hao had been able to climb to a height of over two thousand meters despite being weaker than him. His mental will was simply too resilient.

In the process of repeatedly breaking bodily limits, Brother Zhao Hao had tempered his mental will to an extremely terrifying degree. However, in Li Mengxi’s view, this way of refining mental will was too crude and was not as effective as comprehending a true intent diagram.

”Stop mocking me. How could my outdated training method compare to the effect of comprehending a true intent diagram?” Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

After more than two months, he had grown familiar with Li Mengxi, and there was far less formality in their speech.

”I am speaking sincerely. How can that be called mockery? Brother Zhao, I do not like hearing that,” Li Mengxi said with a smile.

After drinking the decoction, Lin Zheyu recovered some strength and walked over to sit beside the stone table.

”You are such a busy person. How do you have time to come over today?” Lin Zheyu asked with a smile.

”I ran into something interesting and came specifically to ask you to come along,” Li Mengxi said.

”We are going out of the Li Residence?” Lin Zheyu was slightly stunned. He had not left the Li Residence for more than two months.

Seeing Li Mengxi nod, he said with some surprise, ”I am still listed on the Soulcall Tower bounty list. Would it not be inappropriate for me to go out now?”

”It is fine. Safety is guaranteed. It will not just be us, but Sixth Uncle will also come along. With Sixth Uncle present, the Soulcall Tower assassins are nothing to worry about,” Li Mengxi said with a smile.