He stuffed the steamed buns into his embrace, grabbed his fishing rod and fish basket, and returned to town. As he passed by a bookstore on the front street, he saw a middle-aged scholar in a gray and white long gown standing there. His scholarly aura was rare in this small town. Qin Suihan, the bookstore owner, not only sold classics of true learning, from the Three Character Classic and Thousand Character Classic to the Book of Rites and Spring and Autumn Annals, but also many martial arts novels and tales of the strange. Therefore, children in the town who could read loved to hang out in the bookstore, poring over books without buying, all gifted with the innate awakened bloodline of freeloaders.
Qin Suihan stood at the entrance of the bookstore and had already seen Lin Zhao. He smiled slightly, looked at Lin Zhao's catch and the bulging buns in his arms, and offered a scholar's customary bow from a distance.
Lin Zhao was slightly stunned, immediately put down his fish basket and rod, and returned a similar bow to Qin Suihan with proper etiquette.
Then, he picked up his gear and quickly darted into a small alley in the back street.
...
Qin Suihan's figure flickered slightly, and beside him appeared an old man in a gray long gown. He narrowed his eyes, looked at Lin Zhao's retreating back, and chuckled, "He's indeed no longer the Lin Zhao of before. His soul is vastly different. Is this the legendary soul possession?"
"Perhaps so."
Qin Suihan remained noncommittal.
The old man in the gray gown sneered, "You watched Lin Zhao grow up from birth, and now you're watching him undergo soul possession with your own eyes. Can you truly remain indifferent? If he hadn't returned your bow just now, would you have already made a move to obliterate this possessed soul?"
Qin Suihan smiled faintly, turned to him, and said, "They say doctors have parental hearts. Why do you, a doctor, have such a heavy killing intent?"
"All beings are ants. To individuals like us, what is a single life?"
"Hmph~~~ Just kill if you want to? Have you forgotten the sword behind him?"
Qin Suihan waved his hand and directly returned to the bookstore, while the old man in the gray gown shook his head, then his body flickered and he silently disappeared into the twilight street.
...
Lin Zhao excitedly returned to his lodging, brewed fish soup, and then ate five large steamed buns in one go, a long-awaited full meal. He ate until he was almost stuffed before stopping. After a short rest, he still carried his ancient sword and practiced his fist stances in the courtyard. The farmer's three punches stances were very simple, resembling an old farmer reaping wheat. The postures were somewhat strange, but the emphasis was on a steady breath and a prolonged fist intent.
After a while, he glanced at the courtyard gate and felt helpless. The gate had been kicked open, and Zhao Jin hadn't bothered to fix it. So, he had to do it himself. He found some wood and sticks and temporarily patched the gap in the courtyard gate, then continued practicing his punches.
Until bedtime, Lin Zhao performed dozens of sets of punches. After sweating profusely, he used a bucket of water to wash himself before getting into bed. As he lay down, he could faintly feel the true qi flowing within him. The true qi in his sea of qi was constantly replenishing. Combined with the farmer's three punches, he was truly a different person now.
...
The next morning, he woke up early.
A new day, and he continued to busy himself for food!
For breakfast, he ate three steamed buns and a little fish soup. After eating his fill, he took advantage of the refreshing morning to practice a few more sets of punches. The moment his stance opened, he exuded the demeanor of a boxer on the verge of mastery. When the true qi circulated through his body and his fist intent flowed, he was filled with a sense of killing intent. Although Lin Zhao's sea of qi had been burned through before, preventing him from practicing martial arts, he had been practicing punches for many years. In fact, the fist intent of the farmer's three punches had been accumulating for seven or eight years, far beyond that of a novice.
As for the path of martial arts, Lin Zhao had gradually understood it all by integrating the memories of the young man.
In this world, the human race primarily resided in the southern part of the continent, while the northern regions were occupied by the demon, devil, monster, and ghost races – the four northern demonic races. As for Tianchi Ridge, where the small town was located, it happened to be on the border between the human race and the northern demonic races. The Great Chen Dynasty, which had been annihilated, had a group of convicts and refugees here who formed the Tianchi Army. They fought against the northern demonic races on one hand, and on the other, they dealt with and cooperated with the Great Shang Dynasty in the south, living in the cracks of this world.
The martial arts of the world were divided into two categories.
The first category was spiritual cultivation, where cultivators absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, refined it for their own use, and sought the Dao to ascend to heaven step by step. Spiritual cultivation had many classifications, including the legendary sword cultivators, Confucian scholars, strategists, Daoists, Mohists, and so on. Broadly speaking, spiritual cultivation required a large amount of spiritual energy to sustain. Every spiritual cultivator needed to consume a large number of rare heavenly treasures to ascend step by step.
Spiritual cultivation was divided into fifteen realms. Realms 1-5 were: Condensing Qi, Heart Movement, Light Opening, Grain Abstinence, and Divine Treasury, collectively known as the lower five realms. Realms 6-10 were: Purple Mansion, Void Severing, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Star River, known as the middle five realms. The upper five realms were for truly top-tier cultivators, and in Lin Zhao's youthful understanding, they were utterly unreachable, he didn't even know their realm names.
Therefore, becoming a spiritual cultivator was very costly. Unless one belonged to sects in the mountains or wealthy clans, ordinary families couldn't even consider it.
It was precisely because of this that the second category of martial arts cultivation emerged.
Martialists.
So-called martialists only cultivated a breath of true qi. Martialists did not seek resonance with heaven and earth, nor did they seek to merge with the Great Dao. They only sought to forge bodies of bronze and bones of iron, and fists that could split the sun and moon. A breath of true qi and a set of boxing techniques. Truly peak martialists were utterly unafraid of spiritual cultivators. Therefore, most common folk and soldiers chose to be martialists because it was the most economical. All that was needed was some medicine for injuries, and with enough food, one could practice punches and strengthen their physique. The price of step-by-step progress was simply enduring more hardship and enduring more years than spiritual cultivators.
Therefore, there has always been a saying in the martial world: If one isn't poor, who would become a martialist?
However, most people in the army were martialists. Take the Tianchi Army stationed outside the town, for example. Commander Chu and most of the strong individuals under him were basically martialists, with few exceptions.
...
Because of this, Lin Zhao was clear-headed. With his pockets jingling empty and barely having enough to eat for the next meal, if he didn't learn martial arts, what else could he hope for? There was no other option but to learn martial arts.
After practicing a few sets of punches in the early morning, Lin Zhao's fist intent became even more potent. With the presence of true qi, he was also gradually integrating more deeply into his fist intent. He could feel the flaws in his previous practice and was naturally correcting and refining them. In short, he was becoming stronger and stronger.
Just as he was about to pick up his fishing rod and fish basket, a loud noise erupted, and the gate was kicked open again!
"Damn it..."
Lin Zhao frowned, thinking, "My door is broken every day, is this place a public toilet!?"
The gate was half-shattered. Standing in front of it were two people. Zhao Jin, with a bruised chin, stood behind, and in front of him was a burly young man. He didn't look old, but he was physically strong, with powerful muscles, and an arrogant demeanor. He sneered, "Hmph, I thought it was someone important, but it turns out to be just a skinny monkey. Zhao Jin, you're truly pathetic, you can't even deal with this kind of person?"
The newcomer was none other than a child from the back streets of Tianchi Town. He was a few years older than Lin Zhao and Zhao Jin, named Huang Lin. It was said that he had a relative who was a general in the Tianchi Army, and Huang Lin himself also practiced martial arts.
"Don't underestimate him."
Zhao Jin frowned and said, "This kid is cunning!"
"Hmph!"
Huang Lin raised his eyebrows, looked at the ancient sword behind Lin Zhao, and said with a smile, "Lin Zhao, hand over the sword, then slap yourself a few times, and kowtow to Zhao Jin to apologize. I'll let this matter go."
Lin Zhao immediately put down his fishing rod and fish basket, gently rolled up his sleeves, and remained silent.
"Indeed a mute!"
Huang Lin sneered, stepped into the small courtyard, and said, "Do you really think you can defeat me? With that wild style of boxing you practice, what was it called?"
Zhao Jin said, "A dog's leg cannot be served on a table."
"Right, right."
Huang Lin smirked and pointed at Lin Zhao, saying, "One punch and I'll make you kneel, then crawl under my crotch. Otherwise, I'll beat you so badly you won't be able to get out of bed for half a month, and you'll starve to death in bed. Anyway, you're an unwanted bastard."
Instantly, Lin Zhao's anger flared. He was an orphan who had lost his parents since childhood, and he couldn't stand such words. So, he pulled his right leg back, raised his fists naturally, and directly assumed the stance of the farmer's three punches. Faint wisps of fist intent began to flow around him.
"Tsk tsk..."
Zhao Jin couldn't help but mock, "You really think you're going to fight Huang Lin? Aren't you afraid of being scared stiff? Huang Lin broke through to the introductory stage last month. He's now a genuine Level One martialist, a body-refining martialist. Aren't you afraid of being punched to death, you sickly child?"
Lin Zhao still didn't speak, only his eyes, like an eagle's, stared intently at Huang Lin's eyes.
This gaze made Huang Lin extremely annoyed. It was like encountering a hungry wolf. Although he had an absolute advantage in realm, his heart inexplicably began to waver.
"You little brat, I'll gouge out your dog eyes first!"
Huang Lin let out a fierce roar, his imposing aura erupted, and he instantly lunged at Lin Zhao. His fist, filled with true qi, struck Lin Zhao's eyes like thunder. Indeed, the speed and power of a Level One martialist were already terrifying.
"Swish!"
As Huang Lin's punch whistled past, it only grazed Lin Zhao's hair. In the next second, Lin Zhao, having dodged the punch by lowering his body, unleashed his fist intent. With a "Dry Land Sprouts Up" punch, he directly aimed for Huang Lin's chin. The speed was too great, and the boxing technique too fierce, that even Huang Lin, a Level One martialist, couldn't dodge it. However, the moment his chin was struck, Huang Lin's leg also fiercely kicked Lin Zhao's abdomen.
"Stomp, stomp, stomp~~~"
Lin Zhao staggered back, a dull ache in his abdomen. Huang Lin, on the other hand, was bleeding from his nose and mouth, dazed by Lin Zhao's punch. Enraged, he swept another punch horizontally.
The moment he threw his punch, Lin Zhao sprang backward, his waist slightly arched like an enraged bull. Then, he threw a punch, "Qi Rushes to the Bull!"
...
With a loud crash, Huang Lin's body flew out, smashing the entire courtyard gate into pieces.