54: Chapter 54 Returning to Origin Force

"This is an imperial sword!"

Chen Mo was overjoyed. With this thing, he wouldn't say he could walk sideways in the city, but at least no one would dare to touch him casually. This deal was worth it!

"This subordinate understands!" Chen Mo tucked the waist token into his chest to keep the Secret Manual company.

"There is more."

Ye Zhiqiu picked up the official document again, seemingly having lost interest in him. "I have already spoken to those below. Your current status is 'Special Agent' of the City Guard Department. You are not part of the regular establishment and do not need to report for roll call and training every day, which will make it convenient for you to follow Jiang Hongli. When you have sent that Young Miss away, or when you have achieved some results with this Returning Origin Strength, then you will be formally transferred back to the General Bureau to follow my orders."

This offered plenty of freedom, even if it was just a pie in the sky.

Chen Mo knew exactly what was going on. This arrangement was good; he got the benefits without having to endure the frustrations of the military camp, and he could use Jiang Hongli's influence to act like a tiger relying on a fox's might.

As for being transferred back to the General Bureau later... that was a matter for the future; he should enjoy the benefits right in front of him first.

"Go." Ye Zhiqiu didn't even look up. "Turn left when you go out, find Fatty Wang at the Quartermaster's Office, and collect two sets of clothes and a decent sword. That broken piece of iron at your waist is embarrassing."

"Yes! This subordinate takes his leave!"

Chen Mo saluted again, then turned and walked out of the main hall with light steps.

It wasn't until he walked out of the courtyard and was blown by the cold wind outside that Chen Mo felt a chill on his back. In just that short while, his clothes had been soaked through.

He touched the stiff book and waist token in his chest, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

Returning Origin Strength. Internal Skill. Lifespan. This trip, he had bet correctly.

Inside the main hall, deathly silence returned. Listening to the sound of Chen Mo's receding footsteps, Ye Zhiqiu put down the official document she had been holding for a long time without turning a single page.

She turned her head and looked at the gloomy sky outside the window. "One hundred and twenty or thirty years old..."

She whispered the words she had used to fool Chen Mo earlier, a self-deprecating smile curling the corners of her lips.

The Innate realm could indeed extend life; that was true.

But from ancient times to the present, among ten thousand people, there was not one who could reverse the Acquired body to reach the Innate realm.

This kid Chen Mo, he had Comprehension Ability and ruthlessness, but his start was indeed too late. Perfection in Skin Refining at nineteen years old—in a small place, he would be considered a Genius, but in the capital, he was just of average talent.

Wanting to cultivate to the Innate realm relying on a simplified version of Returning Origin Strength? It was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

However, one must always have some hope, right? Just like the blades of grass in this chaotic world, clearly knowing they would die when winter came, but when spring arrived and they sprouted, who wouldn't struggle with all their might to grow?

"I hope you can give me some surprises." Ye Zhiqiu muttered to herself.

She valued Chen Mo not only because of his Comprehension Ability, but even more so because of that drive in him to do anything to survive.

Such people had hard lives. And that girl Jiang Hongli was most in need of such hard-lived people by her side to block disasters.

Ye Zhiqiu withdrew her gaze, spread out a sheet of rice paper again, and picked up her brush to dip it in ink. She wrote only one character on the paper: Chaos. The ink was dripping, filled with Killing Intent.

Chen Mo returned to the dilapidated rented courtyard, and the first thing he did was bolt the door.

One bolt wasn't enough, so he moved a heavy square table to prop it up from behind. After doing all this, he plopped down onto the only stool and gasped for air.

Just now at Ye Zhiqiu's place, the sweat on his back had soaked his undergarments, and now that the cold wind was blowing, it felt extremely uncomfortable sticking to his body. But he didn't have time to bathe.

He took out everything from his chest and laid it all on the table. The black iron waist token, with a ferocious tiger head—that was his protective talisman. Two sets of brand-new black robes—that was his skin. Finally, there was the yellowed booklet—Returning Origin Strength.

Chen Mo rubbed his fingers over the cover of the booklet twice, the rough texture of the paper making him feel at ease.

"Longevity..." He muttered, and flipped to the first page.

There was no flashing golden light as he had imagined, nor were there any little figures jumping out to demonstrate martial arts. It was just dense, packed text, along with a few diagrams of Meridians drawn like earthworms.

"Settle the Qi into the Dantian, keep the intent on the Guanyuan... guide the Qi sensation like a gossamer thread, pass through the Huiyin, and rush to the Weilü..."

Chen Mo's brain hurt from reading it. This thing was on a completely different path from the Five Animal Frolics. The Five Animal Frolics was an active exercise; one just had to imitate animals moving, and as long as one was willing to practice, one could always find the way. But this Returning Origin Strength was an Internal Skill, focusing on "intent" and "Qi." It was invisible and intangible.

For ordinary people practicing this, nine and a half out of ten would ruin themselves, and the remaining one would still have to rely on a pile of medicine.

"Medicine." Chen Mo remembered. Although Ye Zhiqiu gave him the book, she didn't give him any medicine. "Poor scholars, rich martial artists"—this saying wasn't just for show. If one didn't combine practicing Internal Skill with a medicinal bath to nourish the Meridians, the body would be hollowed out before the Qi sensation was even cultivated.

Fortunately, he had prepared early. The Body Tempering Outline included a few basic medicinal formulas. Although they couldn't compare to the secret medicines of those large Sects, they were enough to lay a foundation for him right now.

Chen Mo got up and took out a packet of pre-mixed medicinal powder from an earthen jar under the bed. This was what he had bought with half a month's salary, scraps of bone strengthening powder from Huichun Hall, which he had figured out and mixed himself.

He boiled water and poured in the medicine. The originally clear well water instantly turned dark brown, bubbling away, and a smell like sour dishcloths rushed straight to his brain.

"It really smells bad." Chen Mo pinched his nose, stripped off his clothes in a flash, lifted his leg, and stepped in.

"Hiss!" As soon as he sat down, Chen Mo gasped, his facial features almost shifting out of place. It was hot. It wasn't just the heat of the water, but more like countless ants holding red-hot needles were pricking his pores. The medicinal power burrowed into his pores; that sour sensation was even more painful than being beaten up.

"Endure it." Chen Mo gritted his teeth, forcing himself to cross his legs and assume the "Five Hearts Facing Heaven" posture required by Returning Origin Strength. He closed his eyes. In his mind, he began to visualize the so-called "Qi sensation."

According to the book, one had to imagine a ball of fire three inches below the navel. Fire, my ass.

Chen Mo sat for half an hour; besides feeling like his butt was being cooked, his Dantian was completely dead silent, without even a fart. This was the sorrow of those with mediocre Aptitude. If it were those Geniuses, the ones whose hundred Meridians were all connected, they would probably generate the Qi sensation within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

If it were before, Chen Mo's mentality would have already collapsed by now. But now... "Deep Blue... no, panel!"

Chen Mo chanted silently in his heart. Swish. That semi-transparent panel, which only he could see, appeared abruptly before his eyes.

[Name: Chen Mo] [Age: 19] [Lifespan: 67 years] [potential points: 18.5] [Martial Arts Mastered:] - Five Animal Frolics (Perfection 100%) - Turtle Breathing Technique (Minor Achievement 45%) - Returning Origin Strength (Not Initiated 0%) Seeing the last line of text, Chen Mo smiled. Although it was 0%, the fact that this line appeared meant that the System had "recorded" it.