Chapter 21: Strengthening Internal Breath

Duan Rong carried an unsheathed Ox-Tail Saber, tucked three silver coins of monthly wages and a small packet wrapped in hay paper containing five thin slices of Deer Antler Slice into his robe, and walked out of the Escort Agency Inner Treasury alley in a somewhat dazed state.

There was no helping it; this was the sequela of the Devouring Artifact Spirit, which could also be called a side effect.

Although he could still clearly feel that a mass of "strange" things had been stuffed into his brain.

It seemed that after the previous devouring, he had already adapted to it somewhat.

Duan Rong only felt his brain was a bit sluggish and unable to engage in deep thinking, unlike after the first time he devoured, when he stood there stunned for a long time; the first time, he truly could not figure out the situation.

His current feeling was like driving on a road full of obstacles, where he had to keep swerving around, and speed simply could not be picked up.

Duan Rong controlled his body in this way, went to the Middle Courtyard cafeteria, and stiffly ate his dinner.

Afterwards, he did not practice, but instead returned directly to his dormitory, locked the door from the inside, and fell asleep.

Just like the last time he devoured an Artifact Spirit, he slept very deeply and soundly this time.

A great dream for the whole night!

In the dream was the back of a thin youth in luxurious clothing, who held a red-tasseled great saber that did not match his stature, waving it stiffly, style by style...

One could roughly glimpse the scenery around the youth, which consisted of pavilions and towers that had already blurred; although the background was somewhat faint, one could see the majesty of those buildings just from the general outlines.

"The identity of this youth... is likely extraordinary..." thought Duan Rong in his sleep.

The great dream passed without a trace...

Duan Rong suddenly woke up; he rolled his eyes and knew that the devoured Artifact Spirit had already been digested and absorbed.

Duan Rong jumped off the bed, opened the door, and saw a cold moonlight in the narrow courtyard in front of the dormitory.

Everything around was deathly silent, with faint sounds of insects.

Duan Rong looked up toward the southeast and saw a bright Morning Star and a crescent moon reflecting each other from afar.

Duan Rong estimated the time based on the position of the Morning Star.

"It is only the Chou hour now. I have only slept for three hours."

"The time to digest and absorb the Artifact Spirit seems to have become shorter!" A look of contemplation appeared in Duan Rong's eyes.

"And the last time I absorbed an Unranked Artifact Spirit, this time I absorbed a Rank 1 Artifact Spirit."

"Could it be that the higher the rank of the Artifact Spirit, the shorter the time for digestion and absorption?"

"Wouldn't a high-rank Artifact Spirit have a larger amount of information?"

"Or is it that... high-rank Artifact Spirits are more refined, permeated by time, have fewer miscellaneous thoughts, and are instead easier for the Divine Sense to absorb?"

This was, of course, just a guess; Duan Rong did not know the real reason.

But the verified fact was that the higher the rank of the Artifact Spirit, the shorter the time for digestion and absorption.

As for what the reason was, he could slowly explore it.

Duan Rong walked out of the door and stood in the cold moonlight within the narrow courtyard.

At this moment, his mind was as clear as water, and everything around was deathly silent; it was the perfect time for Standing Stake.

Duan Rong took the folded paper packet out of the inner pocket of his robe, opened the paper, and in the moonlight, he could see five paper-thin slices of deer antler, which were a faint purplish-red color.

Duan Rong pinched one slice and held it in his mouth, wrapped the others back up, put them into his inner pocket, and then stood in a bow stance with his legs, sank his waist to sit virtually, circled his hands in the void, and began the Hunyuan Stance.

He stood like this for a full two hours.

Not until the sky was faintly bright did Duan Rong straighten his waist and disperse his cultivation.

He was clear about how much consumption this Hunyuan Stance, with Internal Breath circulating, required; yesterday afternoon, he had only stood for one hour and felt empty inside his body.

At this time, having stood for two hours, he still felt full of energy; although he was very tired, the Qi and blood throughout his body were circulating vigorously.

Duan Rong smacked his lips and discovered that the deer antler slice held in his mouth had completely dissolved.

Duan Rong immediately understood that this deer antler slice had taken effect.

"Medicine supplements are indeed stronger than food supplements!"

Seeing that the sky was about to brighten, Duan Rong drew water from the well in the courtyard, washed the foul sweat off his body, put on his clothes, returned to his room to tie on his Escort Waist Token, took the sheathed Ox-Tail Saber from the head of his bed, and prepared to go to the Martial Arts Arena to practice his saber techniques.

Just as Duan Rong stepped out of the courtyard gate, he saw Kong Bin also walking out from the Ding Room dormitory courtyard next door.

One of them was in the Ding Room and the other in the Bing Room; they were just adjacent.

When Kong Bin saw Duan Rong, he leaned over and whispered, "Have you heard?"

"What?"

"Li Chong is dead!"

Duan Rong stopped and was stunned. "Dead? How did he die?"

"He was scolded by the Miscellaneous Servant leader in charge of him, and the night before last, he used his Belt to hang himself from the dormitory beam. I only found out after hearing Zhang Zheng talk about it; Li Chong's uncle even went to the front courtyard to make a scene yesterday," Kong Bin said, then glanced at Duan Rong and suddenly asked, "Brother Rong, how is your Internal Cultivation Method coming along? Have you managed to succeed?"

Kong Bin used the matter of Li Chong's death to strike up a conversation with Duan Rong, just wanting to probe Duan Rong's tone to see how his Internal Breath cultivation was going.

"Not yet!" Duan Rong's heart was shaken, and he said coldly.

Hearing this, Kong Bin glanced at Duan Rong's stunned appearance, and his heart felt a slight joy.

He had captured a wisp of Internal Breath for a moment yesterday, although as soon as he tried to circulate it, his Mental Power scattered, and the Internal Breath collapsed.

But he believed that after three days of trial practice, he would definitely be able to circulate his Internal Breath initially.

Looking at Duan Rong's appearance, he probably hadn't even found the way yet.

Kong Bin felt extremely good for a moment, so he stopped talking, left Duan Rong behind, and walked toward the Martial Arts Arena.

During this period, Kong Bin had been repeatedly struck by Duan Rong; his drugging was discovered, he was suppressed in the assessment, and his initiative to befriend was met with a cold shoulder.

Kong Bin did not like to talk, but he was actually extremely proud inside. On the examination day three days later, he hoped to turn the tables and suppress Duan Rong.

Duan Rong was immersed in the shock of Li Chong's death and did not notice that Kong Bin had already left, still standing stunned at the dormitory entrance.

He remembered the last time he saw Li Chong was on the day of the assessment.

But he had already forgotten, when did Li Chong leave on the day of the assessment?

Perhaps no one noticed?

Duan Rong originally still felt that he was more dangerous than Kong Bin, but now it seems he really overestimated him; this child is too fragile!

Duan Rong remembered his past life, in the news, those children who would want to die or live over the smallest matters.

"This guy is truly a tragedy!"

Li Chong is clearly an idiot when it comes to interpersonal relationships, and he is always baring his fangs and brandishing his claws, constantly courting death.

Duan Rong suddenly recalled a sentence a writer he read in his past life once said: the most detestable person, if you study them closely, you will always find that they are merely a pitiful person.

Duan Rong sighed with emotion before walking slowly to the Martial Arts Arena.

He collected his thoughts, found a secluded corner, held his saber, and began to practice the routine.

After last night, through the digestion of the Devouring Artifact Spirit, Duan Rong's grasp of the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber Martial Technique has already reached the realm of Proficiency.

However, his Internal Cultivation Method's Internal Breath First Layer has not yet been completed.

The Internal Cultivation Method is, after all, a slow and steady process.

The strengthening of Internal Breath within the meridians is also accumulated strand by strand.

Although he is already incomparably familiar with the circulation of Internal Breath after digesting and absorbing the Spirit Tool, the strengthening of Internal Breath is not a task that can be accomplished overnight.

No one can become a fat man in one bite!

After Duan Rong finished the routine and ate breakfast at the cafeteria, he returned to the Martial Arts Arena and began Standing Stake while holding a Deer Antler Slice in his mouth.

Apart from eating and sleeping, Duan Rong put almost all of his energy into strengthening his Internal Breath through Standing Stake.

With the medicinal nourishing power of the Deer Antler Slice, Duan Rong discovered that no matter how long he stood, he never felt a sense of depletion.

One Blood Velvet Antler slice every two hours.

Adding the two hours in the dormitory courtyard, Duan Rong stood for a full ten hours; when he returned to the dormitory and climbed onto his bed, it was already the deep night of the Chou hour.

Although he was very tired, Duan Rong fell asleep smiling.

The next morning, Duan Rong came from the dormitory courtyard to the Martial Arts Arena again; he discovered that the Internal Breath between his meridians was already as thick as a strand of hair and about three inches long.

This is already quite remarkable!

This was formed by the convergence and fusion of five strands of Internal Breath!

This Internal Breath coiled within his dantian, and it responded to his Mental Power with every breath.

Duan Rong's heart suddenly stirred; he wanted to test the method of circulating Internal Breath when executing moves.

Practicing Internal Cultivation through Standing Stake is for the purpose of strengthening Internal Breath!

But the circulation of Internal Breath when executing moves is the combination of Qi and force, which can also be called Internal Breath power output!

This is also the fusion of Internal Cultivation and combat techniques; only in this way can the true power of martial arts be unleashed.

(End of chapter)