38: Chapter 38 The Way of Contemplating the Moon

As the morning light grew dim, Lin Qing woke up slowly on the stone table in his small courtyard.

The autumn morning in the prefectural city carried a hint of moist chill. On the branches of the osmanthus tree in the corner of the yard, a few sparrows chirped and hopped about, shaking off the dew that had condensed last night, which fell onto the bluestone slabs and shattered into tiny wet marks.

Lin Qing stretched lazily. Over the past few days, he had been running around for the Wang family's case, combined with his daily duties at the Zhenwu Division, making his life extremely busy.

This kind of non-stop schedule meant his first Second-Order Stance Training had yet to reach Perfection. However, it would be today.

After breakfast, he retrieved a lustrous jade bottle from beneath a green brick under his bed, took a drop of earth core milk, and his mind instantly became clear.

Lin Qing walked to the open space in the middle of the yard, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, waist lowered and hips dropped, hands slowly rising to form a ball-holding shape in front of his abdomen — this was the opening stance of the Black Mountain Peak-Stabilizing Stake.

Black Mountain like a peak, internal breath like a river, maintaining the center to reach far, steady as a rock.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the osmanthus leaves, spilling over him and making his black martial attire shimmer with a faint luster. Lin Qing's movements were not fast, but every Move was incredibly precise, and every fixed stance was as steady as Mount Tai.

One hour, then another stick of incense's time later, an unprecedented sense of harmony swept through his entire body like a tide.

"It's done!"

He could clearly perceive that the proficiency bar for the Black Mountain Peak-Stabilizing Stake was completely filled at this moment. However, Lin Qing did not immediately stop to check the panel. earth core milk was precious; since its medicinal power had not yet dissipated, he continued to Cultivate the next technique.

Lin Qing took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and changed his hand movements, transitioning from the ball-holding stance to the mountain-pushing stance, then into the pagoda-holding stance — this was his second Second-Order Stance Training, the Thunder-Running Body-Forging Stake.

The Thunder-Running Body-Forging Stake differed from the steadiness of the Black Mountain Peak-Stabilizing Stake, emphasizing "speed" and "rigidity." Every Move carried the sharp sound of breaking wind, and his internal breath transformed from a harmonious shallow pool into a rushing torrent, like mountain thunder.

As he practiced one movement after another, a faint blood-red hue quietly emerged on the surface of his skin.

That blood-red color was extremely faint, like a layer of gauze, enveloping his entire body.

"Blood Qi like Gauze!"

A flash of unbelievable surprise crossed his eyes.

Blood Qi like Gauze meant that a Martial Artist's Blood Qi power had reached its absolute peak, capable of forming an invisible layer of protection on the body's surface. It was also the threshold for ascending to a Second-Order Martial Artist.

It had only been about twenty days since Lin Qing broke through to a First-Order Martial Artist. Multiple Health-Nourishing Techniques and First-Order Stance Trainings continued to operate within him, creating a foundation far deeper than that of ordinary people.

A Realm that Master Shi Jian, the master of the Panshi Martial Arts Hall, could not reach in his entire life was easily achieved by Lin Qing within twenty days of breaking through to the first order.

But he was a calm person after all, and he continued to practice the Thunder-Running Body-Forging Stake.

"Phew—"

The morning cultivation ended. Lin Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down at the stone table.

With a thought, he opened the panel.

[Host: Lin Qing]

Realm: Skin and Flesh Realm (Time to Breakthrough: 280 days)

Fused Cultivation Techniques: Black Mountain Peak-Stabilizing Stake, Mountain-Suppressing Pile Art (Expand)

Recorded Cultivation Techniques: Thunder-Running Body-Forging Stake (12/400), Muscle-Strengthening Bone-Solidifying Stake (0/400), Bone-Nourishing Tendon-Adjusting Stake (0/400), Origin-Returning Body-Refining Stake (0/400), Lunar Visualization Method (3/10000)

Body Control Rating: Mortal Realm Limit

Recorded Martial Arts: Falling Stone Fist Technique (0/100), Cloud-Piercing Sword Technique (0/100), Mist-Treading Steps (0/100), Sinking Rock Palm Technique (0/100), Wind-Slaying Saber Technique (0/100)

The time for the second-order Breakthrough had shortened to 280 days, which was within his expectations. Furthermore, as subsequent techniques reached Perfection, the Breakthrough time would decrease even further.

What truly caught his attention was the appearance of a brand-new technique in the recorded Cultivation Techniques column—the Lunar Visualization Method.

The proficiency requirement was an unprecedented 10,000 points, far exceeding any technique he had practiced before.

Sun Shaoping's words from the past flashed through Lin Qing's mind.

Visualization methods were the key to unlocking Divine Thought and breaking through to the fifth order. Lin Qing had originally thought he would need to leave the Hundred Thousand Mountains and go to the outside world to encounter them. Now, by a stroke of luck and with the help of the System's great power, he had actually recorded one in advance.

Lin Qing was no fool; the moment he saw the name of this technique, he knew what was going on.

Taiyin was the moon.

It must have been last night during the Mid-Autumn Festival, while he was drinking wine and admiring the moon in the courtyard, that he unintentionally triggered some kind of Opportunity and unexpectedly comprehended this visualization method.

If the moon worked, what about the sun?

Lin Qing suddenly looked up at the sky above.

It was now noon, and the sun hung high overhead, its golden light pouring down like molten lava. Lin Qing squinted, trying to look directly at the sun, attempting to imitate the way he had admired the moon last night to try and record the Solar Visualization Method.

But after only a moment, dense black spots appeared before his eyes, like countless flying insects dancing in front of him, and his eye sockets throbbed with a sour, swelling pain.

"Hiss—"

Lin Qing quickly withdrew his gaze and rubbed his eyes, thinking to himself: "If I keep looking like this, I'm afraid I won't comprehend a visualization method, but I'll comprehend glaucoma instead."

When admiring the moon last night, the moon hung high in the night sky with soft light, allowing him to visualize it calmly. The midday sun was simply too fierce; it would be better to wait until evening when the sun set and the afterglow was soft before trying to visualize the sun.

Lin Qing put away the panel and stood up. With the Perfection of the Black Mountain Peak-Stabilizing Stake, he could feel that his body's energy consumption had increased again. However, with ten thousand gold in hand, he was full of confidence.

Lin Qing did not plan to Cultivate this afternoon.

Firstly, according to the time, by the time the two-hour effect of the earth core milk dissipated, the sun would have already set. His heart was itching now, and he desperately wanted to see if he could record the new method, so he would pause his afternoon cultivation for now.

Secondly, now that his consumption had increased, it was time to go out and make a large purchase.

He always acted steadily and never put all his eggs in one basket. This purchase would naturally be carried out across multiple shops.

The streets of Jincheng were now bustling with people. The liveliness of the morning market had just passed, and the clamor of the afternoon market had begun. Shops along the street opened their doors to guests, hawkers' cries rose and fell, and the air was filled with the aroma of various foods.

However, when Lin Qing arrived on the main street, he felt the subtle gazes of the people around him. The major case of the Wang family had caused a sensation in the prefectural city for a time, and he, the Little Flag officer of the Zhenwu Division who had spearheaded everything, had suddenly become a prominent figure in the city.

Plans had changed! He had frequently run to the Wang family courtyard over the past few days, and his face had long been exposed to the public. Now, even visiting multiple shops to buy Vicious Beast meat was no longer safe.

In a flash of thought, he came up with two solutions.

The first was naturally the black market. No matter how the authorities regulated it, private transactions between Martial Artists were always inevitable. Instead of letting those Martial Artists conduct shady deals in various dark corners of the city, it was better to gather them together, hence the birth of the black market. In the Great Xia State, there were black markets even within the Imperial City.

The second was the Wang family. As a first-class martial arts family, the Wang family was already involved in the Vicious Beast meat business. Although they were now gradually declining, they hadn't reached the point of instant collapse. With the Wang family's scale, providing Vicious Beast meat to a small First-Order Martial Artist like him would naturally be a piece of cake.

After some simple consideration, Lin Qing decided to seek out the Wang family. As the saying goes, the black market is dangerous.