Chapter 36: 36 Xuanwu True Strength

Before long, Tong Jia brought over the boiled medicine. Ling'er thanked her repeatedly, then obediently drank it down and lay back.

In her heart, this female physician had also transformed from "Song Cheng's woman" into someone who possessed a name—Tong Jia.

"Rest well and recover soon," Song Cheng said, leaving behind this sentence.

"Mm-hmm!"

Ling'er hurriedly and obediently agreed.

Song Cheng and his wife left, and the door closed once more.

Ling'er looked at the quiet door, her emotions in a state of extreme complexity.

As the Young Miss's personal maid, while she couldn't be said to be full of "Heart Eye" from head to toe, she was certainly no fool.

Song Cheng's simple words had already made her understand many things.

Song Cheng had tracked her, then helped her deal with her footprints, helping her evade a situation that would have meant certain death.

But who killed Shi Yi? Combined with the situation today, it seemed there was already an answer.

If Song Cheng had merely killed Shi Yi, Ling'er would at most have had thoughts like, "How is this possible? I don't believe it. How could a country bumpkin kill Shi Yi, who had been provided with every resource since childhood and raised to be a powerhouse?"

Even if she had seen it with her own eyes, she would only have been shocked.

Shock must mean that an impossible thing had occurred.

It must mean she did not believe Song Cheng had that capability.

But now, she felt no shock, and no thoughts like "How is this possible? This is impossible" burst forth.

The youth had pushed open the door, gracefully placed two new apricot blossoms that had bloomed in the spring rain by her bedside, and spoken those words as if nothing were the matter. In that instant, the youth had transformed from a bumpkin into a devil from the dark abyss.

Bloody, powerful, terrifying, and unfathomable. Ling'er had experienced great ups and downs in this short day, yet now she was actually able to wait for the dust to settle and the rain to clear.

'He must have overheard the conversation between me and Shi Yi, which is why he was moved to kill.'

'He actually had no choice but to do so, because if Shi Yi returned, he would certainly suppress him at every turn, or even put him to death.'

'He should have killed me too, because I was not good to him.'

'But he didn't kill me.'

'Instead... he helped me.'

'He could have killed me with a casual gesture, but he didn't... he even picked flowers for me.'

Two lines of tears rolled down Ling'er's pretty cheeks, though it was unclear what kind of complex emotion this was.

For a long, long time... Ling'er braced her dizzy body, sat up, and reached out to grasp the two apricot blossoms by the side of the bed.

The apricot blossoms were snow-white, emitting a strange fragrance that was very pleasant.

Ling'er only smelled them once, and it was as if she had seen a new season; her life seemed to have turned a new page as well.

But remembering the youth's methods, she couldn't help but shiver again.

Between the fear and the floral scent, inexplicably, a strange sense of reliance emerged from the bottom of her heart.

"I will listen to you, rest well, and recover as quickly as possible."

Three days later.

In the courtyard... Song Cheng and his wife were wearing new cloth clothes and practicing the saber.

These clothes were newly bought.

Previously, the two of them only had the set of winter padded jackets they wore when they fled from Tanghe Village, and one set of cloth clothes bought in the county town.

As the weather warmed up, the winter padded jackets were completely unwearable, so the two gritted their teeth and spent nine hundred wen to buy another set to change into.

Tong Jia's saber practice was becoming increasingly proficient, while Song Cheng glanced at the panel.

【Add Points: 7 points】

【Realm: Yellow Grade Grade C】

【Techniques】

Xuanwu Fuliu Jin Jin Strength (3 Strength) (Yellow Grade Grade C) (Completion) Jue Jin Jin Jin (Yellow Grade Grade C) (Great Accomplishment) (30/32)

Grass Sea Startling Snake Form (Yellow Grade Grade B) (Incomplete)

These past few days, he had continued to follow the principle of "add points whenever I have them," so "Jue Jin Jin Jin" had already been raised to the verge of Completion.

He quickly invested 2 points into it, instantly raising Jue Jin Jin Jin to the "Completion" level.

The panel changed once more.

"Xuanwu Fuliu Jin Jin Strength" and "Jue Jin Jin Jin" merged, becoming "Xuanwu True Strength" (4 Strength) (Completion).

The skill "White Snake Swallows Sparrow" became "Transforming into a Flood Dragon".

Another line of information appeared: The technique has been tempered a hundred times, revealing its own wonders; you have perfected your own strength, and your glimpse into a higher realm has advanced a step further.

"Xuanwu True Strength" has a 6.4% chance to deduce a Yellow Grade Grade B technique.

Song Cheng scanned his strength.

Carrying an ordinary long saber, his data had changed from "41~80" to "43~86".

The youth suddenly drew his saber.

A feeling of his entire body's strength being almost completely mobilized and connected surged forth; his flesh and blood felt like the material of a killing machine, and his sinews and bones were the parts of a killing machine. As he swung the saber, that force of flesh and blood, capable of making even the Soul feel scorched, surged violently from bottom to top, like an old flood dragon emerging from a deep pool.

And his hand transformed into a massive vortex, various forces mobilizing at high speed, coming as if a hundred rivers were returning to the sea, then gathering in his hand and extending to the saber.

He struck with the saber, treacherous and perilous like a snake hunting at midnight.

But at the end of the strike, with another tremor, a terrifying, sharp whine erupted in the void.

A strange thing happened; the entire small courtyard suddenly went quiet.

It was a deathly silence where the "insects" suddenly stopped chirping, and even if one listened attentively, not a single noisy sound could be heard.

Young Mistress Tong, practicing the saber, heard it like a tiger's roar; she subconsciously stopped her saber, jumped away, and stood on guard with extreme tension. But upon looking, it was merely her own man having struck a casual blow.

She patted her chest and said, "You scared me to death."

Song Cheng smiled and said, "Practice as soon as you can, I will teach you."

He decided to also put the teaching of the "Mysterious Turtle Steps" on the schedule; once his wife reached the Strength Peak, he would directly impart the "Xuanwu True Strength" to her.

However, he was also uncertain whether this "Xuanwu True Strength" could be improved further.

Regarding the matter of laying a solid foundation, he was actually quite keen.

A ten-thousand-foot tower rises from the ground.

In the process of cultivation, he also saw that techniques and techniques are different.

Both being Yellow Grade Grade C, "Fuliu Jin Jin Jin" is a technique, and "Xuanwu True Strength" is also a technique, yet they are completely different.

It can be said that even if one puts in the same effort, and even if one is at the same realm, different techniques will bring about a world of difference in strength.

For similar techniques, if they are compatible, one can continue to cultivate them.

To tell the truth, honestly deducing techniques is actually absolutely incomparable to having a ready-made technique right before one's eyes.

If you deduce a technique, you need countless points.

For a ready-made technique, you just need to flip through it and add points.

However, a deduced technique will also be stronger.

Song Cheng sheathed his blade, deep in thought.

And a thought quickly formed in the bottom of his heart: use external techniques to improve his realm and become stronger as quickly as possible; but also do not neglect collecting low-level techniques to self-deduce, advancing steadily and surely, so as to become the strongest. "If I can gather ten thousand methods, what kind of technique can I eventually deduce?"

Although Song Cheng was full of anticipation, he also knew this thought was just a daydream.

How hard are techniques to come by?

One has to go through hell and high water just to get one, let alone gathering ten thousand methods.

However, the road to longevity is long, and there will be plenty of time in the future.

Better to survive first.

Just as Song Cheng was thinking, a knock on the door suddenly came from outside.

"Song Cheng, it's me."

It was Ling'er's voice.

Song Cheng stepped forward to open the door.

Seeing the young man, Ling'er bit her lip and lowered her head, saying, "My body is much better, thank you and Tong Dafu."

Song Cheng smiled and said, "Come in and sit."

Ling'er obediently followed him inside, and then looked at Song Cheng cautiously.

This terrifying young man appeared so ordinary at this moment, yet by his side, there was an unprecedented sense of security.

"Before, I'm sorry." Ling'er suddenly apologized.

Song Cheng smiled and said, "It's all in the past."

As he spoke, he turned and entered the room, picked up a string of medicine packets tied with rope, handed them to Ling'er, and said, "Secret Ginger Tea, brew a bowl every morning, and you won't catch a cold ever again."

Ling'er took them solemnly and said, "Thank you, Song... Song Big Brother."

Song Cheng:??? He glanced at the maidservant he had persecuted, and suddenly noticed that her favorability had somehow become 95.

It was very strange. Immediately, Ling'er said again, "Song Big Brother, I came today to take you to the Weapon Repository. Didn't you say a few days ago that you wanted to pick out a handy blade? I'll take you to see it. If anyone asks, I'll just say the Young Miss values your cultivation highly, and no one will dare to stop us."

Song Cheng indeed needed a blade.

A good blade could also bring a not-insignificant improvement.

However... "Miss Ling'er, you should still call me Little Song. I am only seventeen this year; you and the Young Miss should both be older than me. The Young Miss is four years older than me, you should also be four years older than me, right?"

Ling'er pursed her lips, but refused to call him Little Song no matter what. She thought for a moment and said, "Then, Mr. Song, let's go quickly."

Before long, the two arrived at the Weapon Repository.

Song Cheng went inside.

Ling'er stood by, desperately pushing good weapons, wishing she could stuff the best treasures into Song Cheng's arms.

Song Cheng did not know what was up with this maidservant.

However, he was in no rush. He patiently touched one weapon after another, not even sparing the discarded weapons.

Subsequently, he picked out a strange thin iron rod from a pile of scrap metal.

When he grasped this thin iron rod, his data jumped abruptly, changing from the "43~86" of an ordinary blade to "46~92"... This meant that this thin iron rod could provide a separate strength bonus of "5".

And if the rust were polished off, who knows how much more it could add! Song Cheng curiously toyed with this long, thin, rusty "rod".

This was an upgraded version of the one from the Tanghe Village blacksmith shop.

He seemed to have quite a connection with this kind of weapon.

Or perhaps, these weapons of unknown origin were scattered throughout the surrounding area, collected by many households, but treated only as scrap metal.

"I'll take this one."

Song Cheng gripped the thin iron rod tightly.

Ling'er:???????

(End of this chapter)