CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 83: BLACK MARKET (PART 1)

His eyes scanned over Lou Yi continuously, observing his reactions.

Huang Longgang stood beside him, sneering as if watching a good show.

Jia Hong, on the other hand, casually glanced elsewhere, seeming not to see any of it.

Zhan Weida was infuriated, roaring, "Zhou Yang, what the hell do you mean by this?"

Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes, vicious as a starving wolf: "Mind your tone, Junior Brother Zhan, I won’t give you a second chance."

Zhan Weida was about to flare up again, but Lou Yi intervened, looking calmly at Zhou Yang.

"If there’s nothing now, we’ll fetch it next time."

With that, he pulled Zhan Weida away and left.

This left Zhou Yang and the others stunned, their hope of watching a spectacle dashed.

On the way back, Zhan Weida angrily said, "This Zhou Yang is too arrogant. Should I get someone to teach him a lesson?"

"No need." Lou Yi shook his head, "I’ll take care of him myself, it won’t take long."

Hearing Lou Yi’s calm tone, Zhan Weida was a bit surprised. He wanted to call him out for boasting, but Lou Yi’s confident tone didn’t seem feigned.

"Here, take this, I have plenty at home." Zhan Weida handed his Purifying God Incense to Lou Yi.

"Thanks." Lou Yi accepted without ceremony, as he indeed needed it at the moment.

Inner Sect Disciples have a dedicated living space and can move out from the side courtyard.

However, Lou Yi had too many secrets, so he returned to his rented place.

Closing the door, he took the Purifying God Incense out of the red paper, half a foot long, wholly brown-red, emitting a faint aroma.

He inserted it into the incense burner and lit it, and the fragrance instantly thickened dozens of times, calming Lou Yi’s restless mind.

He steadied his horse stance, settled his qi in his dantian, and slowly pushed out his arms, while his chest continually expanded and contracted.

Straight punches, shock punches, swing punches, hook punches, piercing punches... deep breaths, shallow breaths, abdominal breathing, chest breathing...

He ensured his breathing was not disrupted amidst the varied punches and infused the essence of the punches into the complex breathing.

In a trance, Lou Yi felt a warm current rise from the soles of his feet.

It surged rapidly past his knees, soon reaching his chest and abdomen, lingering for a moment before disappearing without a trace.

He looked at the attribute panel, noticing changes in the cultivation technique and realm sections:

[Name: Lou Yi]

[Age: 19/56]

[Realm: Pre-Martial Artist (0/600)]

[Cultivation Techniques: Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique (Stage 1, Beginner 0/20), Hu Family Breathing Technique (Beginner 0/10)]

[Skills: Lou’s Axe Skill (Mastery 0/100), Extreme Fist (Proficient 0/30), Stone Throwing (Mastery 0/30), Light Body Technique (Mastery 0/60), Basic Spear Technique (Beginner 0/6), Secret Skill: Dragon Piercing Technique - Fragment (1)]

[Talent: Petrification (Proficient 0/60+3 Stone Spirit+1 Phoenix Blood Stone)]

[Energy: 21]

Over this period, through daily visits to the cemetery and occasional news from Liu Yuan, he barely managed to gather over twenty points of energy.

Lou Yi eyed the faint ’+’ sign appearing next to the Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique and imagined a force pressing it.

Instantly, countless images flashed before his eyes.

At the center was a boy resembling Lou Yi by six or seven tenths, attempting to practice the Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique in a parallel world.

At first, he too felt awkward, unable to harmonize punches with breathing like the real-world Lou Yi.

However, with deep effort, even an iron rod can break.

With time, and repeated failure, analysis, and progress.

Eventually, he could achieve a basic integration of breathing with punches.

Punching without disrupting his breath, retaining power and form amidst changing breathing patterns.

In reality, Lou Yi’s body shuddered and then began practicing punches on the spot.

Simultaneously, his chest cooperated with the punches’ rhythm, rising and falling like chords.

Breathing and punches merged into one.

Lou Yi felt a warm current rise from his left foot’s sole, rushing upward.

It wound around at his chest and continued downward until it reached the right foot’s sole.

Throughout this process, all muscles, meridians, and blood vessels that the current passed felt warm, as if hammered like wrought iron.

Except, this hammering was very gentle, once or twice showing no apparent effect.

But with persistent, diligent practice, a likely harvest is achievable.

Compared to those who can’t master it, putting in any amount of effort yields nothing.

Lou Yi looked at the attribute panel and saw the Yellow Extreme Breathing Technique’s status change from (Beginner 0/20) to (Novice 0/60+1 Heart-Eroding Grass).

In the realm section, in the top right of Pre-Martial Artist (0/600), a ’*’ symbol appeared.

Upon clicking the ’*’ symbol, a prompt appeared: After mastering the breathing technique, daily practice increases realm proficiency by two points.

This means, without forcibly enhancing through massive energy expenditure.

Lou Yi only needs to practice the breathing technique daily, and within a year, he can break through to become a martial artist.

This speed is absolutely top-tier among ordinary people.

Especially since Lou Yi started learning martial arts late, making breakthrough difficulty several times greater than average.

Based on the homework Lou Yi did before, most Inner Sect Disciples at the Extreme Fist Sect require one to two years to break through.

Of course, some geniuses might break through in three to four months, or some unfortunate people might never cross the threshold in ten years.

Nevertheless, Lou Yi still felt it was too slow.

To speed up, he had to improve his breathing technique proficiency.

Energy could be accumulated slowly, but as for the Heart-Eroding Grass...

"What, why do you need this Heart-Eroding Grass thing?" In the Martial Arts Arena, Zhan Weida sat with Lou Yi in a corner, puzzledly asking.

"Why, is it rare?"

"Not exactly, just a bit unorthodox, rarely seen on regular days." Zhan Weida patted his chest, "But, Young Master Liu needs it, so I’ll find a way to get it for you."

Two days later, a peculiar plant was placed before Lou Yi.

The stem was dark red, covered with fine thorns.

The leaves were fern-shaped, dark green with serrated edges. Even with Lou Yi’s physical strength, he could feel some friction upon touching it.

Zhan Family, renowned for its herbal trade, needed less than two days to resolve Lou Yi’s biggest hurdle to advancing his breathing technique to the next level.

In a stroke of luck, Tian Su Clan’s maid Xiao Qian also delivered a Black Market Token to Lou Yi on the same day.

Lou Yi wasted no time, donned his human skin mask, transforming into an average-looking man, and headed toward the western suburbs of Tai City.

The manor housing the black market appeared no different from an ordinary wealthy family’s estate.

Yet, at the entrance stood six armed guards, each bearing a stern look and exuding an atmosphere of deadly seriousness.

As Lou Yi approached, they each directed a cold gaze at him, imparting immense pressure.

Lou Yi showed the black token, and only then did the guards allow him to enter. Inside, a row of maids in red dresses quietly awaited.

The foremost maid led Lou Yi further into the manor, passing through extensive corridors, through dark empty chambers, finally arriving at a massive artificial mountain.

The artificial mountain stood two stories high, constructed from numerous oddly-shaped stones larger than people, its black entrance barely accommodating one person.

The maid slightly curtseyed with a bow: "Esteemed guest, this is the entrance."

Seeing that the maid had no intention of entering, Lou Yi had no choice but to step into the cave alone.

...