Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

After lunch, Zhao Lin chatted with his parents in the house for a while. In the afternoon, he went out to the courtyard to watch his older brother fashioning a hobby horse.

It was clear that Zhao Shan had poured his heart and soul into it. The horse’s head was carved so vividly it seemed alive, and the wood he used was aged elm. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Zhao Lin had also played with hobby horses as a child, but his were much cruder—just a bamboo stick he straddled, pretending it was a horse, using a willow switch to whip its "rear."

He would run around everywhere, finding friends to pair up with for mock battles. It was nothing compared to the one before him now.

"Brother, have you ever seen the Wuzhu people?"

Zhao Lin asked after watching for a while, taking the opportunity when his brother took a break.

"The Wuzhu?"

Zhao Shan wiped the sweat from his head with a towel and thought for a moment. "You mean the barbarians, right? Big noses, small eyes, bow-legged?"

"Yes!"

"I’ve seen them. The foreman at the Artisan Workshop is one of the barbarians. He’s a real brute."

"Where are they from?"

"The old craftsmen say they came from the northern grasslands. It’s only been in the last ten or twenty years. Why do you ask?"

Zhao Lin smiled. "No reason. Just curious."

’Could it be that in this life, the agrarian and nomadic peoples are actually good neighbors, living in harmony?’ he wondered silently.

’But it doesn’t seem that way...’

’Ah, forget it. These major affairs of state aren’t for me to worry about. As long as there’s no war, it’s fine.’

Zhao Lin stayed at home until evening, rushing back to the Xingyun Sect before nightfall.

...

「Wuxiang Institute, Training Chamber.」

The stone door was shut tight, but the faint sounds of punches and low shouts could be heard from within.

A moment later, the stone door swung open, and Zhao Lin walked out, his body emanating a cold, yin aura.

For the past few days, he had been training here, studying the cold yin energy within his body.

The Cold Ice Silkworm’s Essence Soul was different from the other five. It didn’t release a white mist or transform his body. Instead, each day, it would release a single, fine, silvery-white thread, like a strand of silk.

This thread would travel along his meridians and flow into his Qi Sea, where it merged with the mass of cold yin energy.

This mass of cold yin energy was unremarkable when it stayed within his body, but if he infused it into his fist strength when he punched, his Stone Roar Fist would instantly transform into the Ice Fist.

The wind from his punches was bitingly cold.

Zhao Lin trained in the stone chamber for an hour and felt as if he were in an ice cavern, shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

’It’s time to learn another Cultivation Technique. Otherwise, I can’t use this Cold Ice Force in front of others.’

With this in mind, Zhao Lin waited in front of the training chamber for a while until the cold aura dissipated, then he started walking toward the training grounds.

"Elder, this disciple wishes to learn another Cultivation Technique."

Zhao Lin went to the meditation chamber and stated his purpose directly to Elder Water Mirror.

"You’ve come at the perfect time. Even if you hadn’t sought me out, I was planning to speak with you about this."

Elder Water Mirror chuckled. "The only Cultivation Technique you know is the Stone Roar Fist, which is indeed a bit lacking. But you can’t blame Zhu Huaishan for that. He was bound by the sect’s rules and couldn’t teach you any of the more decent techniques."

"So, tell me, what would you like to learn? Fist strength, palm strength, claw strength, finger strength, or leg strength?"

The Wuxiang Institute had numerous disciples, so the relationship between the technique-imparting elders and their disciples wasn’t as close as in the Liuhe Sect.

However, Zhao Lin’s talent was outstanding, so Elder Water Mirror regarded him with special favor and was exceptionally warm toward him.

Zhao Lin replied without hesitation, "This disciple is dull-witted. I hope the Elder can offer some guidance."

Elder Water Mirror nodded in satisfaction, stroking his beard. "There’s an old saying: ’Practice fists but not legs, and in old age, you’ll be left with nothing.’ You should shore up this weakness. Otherwise, when someone attacks you with kicks, you won’t even be able to reach them."

"Furthermore, Fist Skills are too direct. They have plenty of power but lack versatility. I suggest you also choose to study either a palm or a claw technique."

"As for finger techniques, they take a long time to master and aren’t very powerful at lower realms. There’s no great benefit to learning one now."

Zhao Lin had heard similar advice from Zhu Huaishan before. He said respectfully, "Please enlighten me, Elder."

Elder Water Mirror nodded. "Leg techniques focus on either power or speed. Since you’re naturally strong, I’ll make the decision for you: practice the Torrential Rain Pear Blossom Leg."

"This leg technique is incredibly swift. Its defining feature is speed—so dazzling it’s impossible to defend against."

"As for Palm Skills and claw skills, our Water Mirror Department has many Cultivation Techniques to choose from..."

Elder Water Mirror spoke with great enthusiasm, rattling off more than ten different Cultivation Techniques for Zhao Lin in one breath, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of each.

His demeanor showed great pride in the Cultivation Techniques of the Water Mirror Department.

The Overlapping Waves Palm, the Water Dragon Palm, the Cloud Mist Palm, the Water Silk Palm...

The Blood Coagulation Claw, the Three Yin Claw, the Dragon-Catching Claw, the Five Lakes Claw...

When Zhao Lin heard the name "Three Yin Claw," something stirred within him.

He didn’t actually care much about which technique he learned; the most important thing was finding one that could produce a Cold Yin Qi Strength.

’But the name Three Yin Claw... why does it sound like a demonic art?’

’In the novels and films he remembered from his past life, claw techniques were usually used by vicious, cruel villains.’

’The last time he was chasing Drilling Mountain Leopard, that bandit leader had also used a claw technique. The sharp power of the claws had left a deep impression on him.’

’But on second thought, techniques themselves aren’t inherently good or evil. Who’s to say the one with the small handgun is the good guy, and the one with the submachine gun and rocket launcher is the bad guy?’

Zhao Lin pretended to listen with great interest until the end, then said, "Elder, I want to learn the Three Yin Claw."

Elder Water Mirror raised an eyebrow, surprised that Zhao Lin had made this choice. "Why that one?" he asked.

Zhao Lin answered frankly, "This disciple happened to have a breakthrough while picking the Yin Erosion Lotus. I feel that I might be suited for cultivating Cold Yin Type techniques."

"You just mentioned that the Three Yin Claw can produce Profound Yin Qi, which is what gave me the idea."

Elder Water Mirror pondered for a moment. "Have you thought this through? Very few in the sect cultivate the Three Yin Claw. As far as I know, the most recent was a senior from nearly a hundred years ago, and he has long since passed away."

"If you choose to cultivate this technique, I can only pass on the incantations and provide general guidance. You will have to figure out the specific path on your own."

He paused here, then continued, "However, the Profound Yin Qi of the Three Yin Claw is incomparably potent. It is said that when mastered to the extreme, it can pierce gold and shatter jade, and a mere wave of the claw can conjure ice."

Zhao Lin feigned hesitation before making up his mind. "This disciple has decided. I will learn the Three Yin Claw!"

"Very well, then so be it."

Water Mirror didn’t try to persuade him further and immediately imparted the incantations for the Torrential Rain Pear Blossom Leg to Zhao Lin.

Since he didn’t know the incantations for the Three Yin Claw himself, he told Zhao Lin to return in a couple of days after he had requested a copy from the sect.

For the next few days, Zhao Lin came to Water Mirror every day to study the techniques.

Although this was partly to create a cover, he also planned to seriously cultivate the Three Yin Claw.

Just as Elder Water Mirror had said, fist strength was powerful but lacked versatility. Learning a claw technique would help shore up his weaknesses.

The "Three Yin" in Three Yin Claw referred to Taiyin, Shaoyin, and Jueyin.

The Profound Yin Qi of its claw strength was drawn from the six Yin Meridians: the Hand Taiyin Meridian, the Hand Shaoyin Meridian, the Hand Jueyin Meridian, the Foot Taiyin Meridian, the Foot Shaoyin Meridian, and the Foot Jueyin Meridian.

While cultivating these two techniques, Zhao Lin would also spend his free time at the Celestial Water Pavilion, searching for the cultivation notes of his predecessors.

And so, the days flowed by like a gentle stream.