Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Yongning City. Haoyue Martial Arts Hall.

"That last punch was a little high. Keep it lower."

Zhao Lin was instructing an apprentice around his own age in fist practice, explaining the moves as he demonstrated them.

"Watch closely... Keep your fist low, hold back your strength a bit, and make it an empty stance. Don’t plant your foot, so it’s easier to link to the next move."

The apprentice followed Zhao Lin’s instructions and tried again. He found his movements were much smoother and said with a face full of admiration, "Instructor Zhao, you’re amazing. You pinpointed the problem right away. No wonder I always felt awkward whenever I got to this part."

"Of course he is. Instructor Zhao is a disciple of the Xingyun Sect’s Wuxiang Institute. He can see the root of the problem at a glance."

Another, more mature-looking apprentice chimed in.

Standing under the eaves of the main hall, Ma Chaoxian withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice to the short, sturdy man beside him, "So? The guy I found is pretty good, right?"

The short, sturdy man nodded. "Not bad. He’s got real skill, much better than that flashy but useless fellow the Iron Fist Martial Arts Hall hired."

"Naturally. How could a disciple from the Wuxiang Institute be the same as one from an outer institute?" Ma Chaoxian said, looking rather pleased with himself.

After settling in at the Wuxiang Institute, Zhao Lin had remembered Ma Chaoxian’s invitation. A little over half a month ago, he came into the city to check out the martial arts hall.

He didn’t go there directly. Instead, he first made inquiries at the nearby shops and residences. The martial arts hall’s reputation was quite good, and it didn’t seem to harbor any criminals.

When he finally visited the hall and spoke with them for a while, he found the hall masters to be reasonable people who didn’t make any outrageous demands. Only then did he agree to take the position of head instructor.

Martial arts practice emphasizes a balance between exertion and rest. Not wanting to take money for nothing, Zhao Lin made time to come down the mountain every six or seven days to instruct the hall’s apprentices in their Fist Skill.

Because he was easy-going and conscientious, without any of the airs of a major sect disciple, all the apprentices at the hall loved to seek his guidance.

Over time, his reputation spread, attracting many young people from the area to join the Haoyue Martial Arts Hall.

Besides instructing apprentices, Zhao Lin also "pushed hands" with the hall masters from time to time.

The so-called "push hands" was a civil form of sparring. Both parties would refrain from using any Inner Strength, reduce their power and speed to the level of an ordinary person, and focus solely on sparring with techniques.

The Haoyue Martial Arts Hall had three masters. Besides Ma Chaoxian, there was Li Kui and Zhang He.

The three men came from different lineages and followed different styles.

Pushing hands with them also broadened Zhao Lin’s horizons and improved his practical combat experience.

"Younger Brother Zhao, this is this month’s tea money."

As evening approached, Zhao Lin bid farewell and prepared to leave the martial arts hall. Ma Chaoxian saw him to the door and handed him a bag of silver.

"This... isn’t it too early? I haven’t even been here for a full month yet."

Zhao Lin glanced at the silver but didn’t reach out to take it.

"Don’t be so formal. It’s just a few days early. Wouldn’t it seem too distant if I waited until the very last day to pay you?"

Ma Chaoxian laughed and shoved the silver into his hand.

This time, Zhao Lin didn’t refuse. He nodded. "In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony."

"Please, don’t..."

After leaving the martial arts hall, Zhao Lin didn’t return to the Xingyun Sect. Instead, he walked two streets in the opposite direction to West City’s "Stone Archway" district.

The Stone Archway district was crowded with shops, nearly half of which were apothecaries. The heavy scent of medicinal herbs could be smelled from a great distance.

Ever since learning about the September Autumn Harvest, Zhao Lin had begun to make preparations.

First, he had to improve his sense of smell.

Rare herbs weren’t like common weeds that could be found everywhere; they mostly grew in remote, inaccessible places.

Furthermore, each herb had different characteristics. Some grew in the shade at the foot of mountains, some preferred dark, damp swamps, and others were cold- or drought-resistant, growing in the cracks of rocks.

An ordinary person could only rely on their eyes, searching arduously. But Zhao Lin was different. He had a keen sense of smell. As long as he knew the scent of a particular rare herb, he could follow its trail and find it.

This time, the Fragrant Mink’s Essence Soul would finally have its chance to shine.

Recently, Zhao Lin had been eating large amounts of fruits and vegetables, as well as some sour and sweet foods that nourish yin, all to condition his palate.

Sure enough, the white mist released from the Fragrant Mink’s square in the Spirit Beast Scroll had become denser than before.

In addition to this, he was also consciously training his sense of smell.

Just having a keen sense of smell wasn’t enough; he also needed an extremely strong ability to differentiate scents. Even the police dogs from his past life had to undergo olfactory training, and the same was true for a person.

The scents of herbs were generally sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, or salty. Identifying a rare herb from among them was not easy.

Zhao Lin’s method was to buy dozens, even hundreds, of different herbs and memorize each of their scents.

Then, he would randomly mix them together, close his eyes, grab a large handful of about a dozen different herbs, and place them in a wooden box.

He would take the box to a quiet, deserted place, stand far away, and try to identify which herbs were inside just by sniffing the air.

Through repeated practice, Zhao Lin could already stand fifty zhang away and accurately identify the herbs in the wooden box.

But this still wasn’t enough, because a real environment was far more complex. The mountain forests had the smell of dirt, the fragrance of flowers, the sweetness of wild fruits, the rank stench of animal droppings and urine, and so on.

All these scents mingled together, and with the added interference of wind, sun, and rain, the distractions were significant.

To simulate these interferences, Zhao Lin placed the wooden box in the dining hall kitchen, in a bamboo grove on the mountain, in the stables, and even underground...

On the day of the Autumn Harvest, the elders would announce which mountain peak was to be harvested. At the same time, they would also present previously gathered rare herbs for the disciples to identify.

Zhao Lin was confident he could train his nose before then and become a human-shaped Fragrant Mink.

’Many animals can smell truffles buried deep underground. Even if a rare herb is buried in the earth, I’ll be able to find it!’

Nine Participations Hall, Jishi Nunnery, Yiyuan Hall...

The apothecaries in the Stone Archway district were numerous and varied, and the streets bustled with a lively crowd.

Zhao Lin looked straight ahead, walking toward a shop named "Xuanwu Apothecary."

As its name suggested, this apothecary didn’t sell ordinary herbs but rather medicinal ingredients used for martial arts training.

Thanks to his exceptional hearing, Zhao Lin had overheard disciples from the Wuxiang Institute mention that this apothecary was actually run by the Xingyun Sect.

In addition to ingredients, the shop also sold ready-made General Soup and Qi Replenishing Soup, though their formulas were certainly not as good as the ones used by the sect’s own disciples.

The prices were slightly higher, but the quality was guaranteed.

"Brother, you want the formula for General Soup?"

A man with a square kerchief wrapped around his head and wearing loose-fitting training clothes sidled up to him and asked.

When martial artists were out and about, they often addressed strangers as "Senior Brother." It was similar to "buddy" or "bro" from his past life and wasn’t meant to be taken literally.

Zhao Lin glanced at the man and refused curtly, "No need."

’Medicinal formulas for martial arts are all trade secrets for their respective sects. It’s impossible that one would end up being sold on the street. Besides, I have no desire to open an apothecary or found a martial arts hall. So even if it were real, let alone fake, I wouldn’t be interested.’

"It’s the real General Soup! Money-back guarantee if it’s fake..." the man said, unwilling to give up.

Without looking back, Zhao Lin waved his hand dismissively and stepped into the apothecary.