Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

The crowd scrambled to help Bi Hongpeng up. His body was ice-cold, his face deathly pale, and one of his arms dangled uselessly. His injuries were clearly severe.

Everyone gasped.

One punch. Just one punch!

Zhao Lin had sent the top disciple of the Lingshan Sect—a cultivator at the Third Layer of the Qi Realm—flying.

What kind of overwhelming Cultivation Technique was this?

Zheng Yuanzhuo’s expression changed, and he blurted out, "Celestial Frost Fist!"

He was the only Blood Realm martial artist present, and his senses were far sharper than anyone else’s.

When Zhao Lin had thrown the punch, a powerful gust of wind had surged, and Zheng Yuanzhuo immediately detected a sinister, chilling aura. His reaction was the same as Xiang Shaofeng’s; he believed Zhao Lin had used the Celestial Frost Fist.

’Which sect’s Cultivation Technique is the Celestial Frost Fist?’

Zheng Yuanzhuo’s eyelids twitched as a flicker of terror arose in his heart.

"Let’s go!"

He knew that staying any longer would only lead to further humiliation, so he briskly led his three disciples away.

They had arrived full of pomp and circumstance, but they left utterly defeated, with one disciple unsteady on his feet and another cradling a limp arm.

"I never expected Zhu Huaishan to have raised such an outstanding disciple. This old man is impressed! However, the Celestial Frost Fist is a Blood Realm Cultivation Technique. Forcing yourself to cultivate it will damage your very foundation. You’d best watch yourself!"

In the end, Zheng Yuanzhuo still couldn’t accept it, flinging that parting shot before striding away.

"What’s this Celestial Frost Fist?"

"What did Sect Leader Zheng mean by that?"

Hearing the three words "Celestial Frost Fist," the people from the various sects and dojos were baffled, but no one stepped forward to question Zhao Lin.

If Zhao Lin’s easy defeat of Hou Gui had merely earned admiration, his last punch had inspired outright awe.

Yuan Cheng, however, didn’t seem concerned. He smiled and asked Zhao Lin, "That old coot mentioned the Celestial Frost Fist. You’re not going to have any problems, are you?"

"He was just posturing. Don’t worry, Senior Yuan."

Zhao Lin didn’t elaborate. He neither confirmed nor denied that he had used the Celestial Frost Fist.

’With Zheng Yuanzhuo’s experience,’ Zhao Lin thought, ’he can probably guess where I come from. In the future, he wouldn’t dare provoke the Liuhe Sect even if he grew ten times the nerve.’

...

「Outside Qinghe County, on the Five Tombs Plain.」

The sky had cleared, and white clouds drifted lazily by. A horse stood by the stream, idly munching on green grass and flicking its tail from time to time.

Zhao Lin planted three sticks of burning incense before Zhu Huaishan’s grave. He bowed three times, rose, took three steps back, then turned and walked to the stream, gently taking hold of his horse’s reins.

’My business here is done,’ he thought. ’It’s time to return to the Xingyun Sect.’

The cultivation herbs he had brought with him were almost gone. Any further delay would affect his training.

The horse obediently raised its head and nuzzled his chest.

Just as Zhao Lin was about to swing himself onto the horse, his gaze fell upon the stream flowing gently past his feet. It was so transparently clear that a feeling of easy contentment washed over him.

He could clearly sense his state of mind merging with the green mountains, lush forests, and flowing stream before him. A fresh, nascent wisp of energy began to sprout within his body.

"This is..."

A thought stirred in Zhao Lin’s mind. He aborted his attempt to mount the horse, walked to the stream’s edge, and sat down. Gazing at the babbling water, he casually plucked a blade of grass and began twirling it between his fingers.

’Qi flow is like water,’ he recalled, ’and the meridians are like great rivers. The water flows ceaselessly through the flesh of the human body, and the acupoints are the whirlpools formed where currents converge...’

Zhao Lin recalled the words of the Water Mirror Elder.

He had a sudden epiphany. The Ren and Du meridians were deep and subtle, like a gently babbling brook. Perhaps the method of forcefully assaulting them was not right for him.

’It slips in with the wind at night, moistening all things, soft and silent...’

Zhao Lin recalled two lines of poetry from his past life. In the next instant, something inside his body seemed to SNAP.

The Huiyin Acupoint of his Ren Meridian and the Changqiang Acupoint of his Du Meridian seemed to come alive, spontaneously beginning to absorb the flow of qi.

’Success!’

Zhao Lin was both shocked and overjoyed. He had never expected to have a sudden epiphany here, catching a glimpse of the gateway to the Third Layer of the Qi Realm.

"The ways of the world are truly unpredictable," Zhao Lin murmured to himself. "Fate works in mysterious ways!"

He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, thinking that if he had just stayed in the Xingyun Sect, he might still be banging his head against a wall over this.

A moment later, he swung himself onto his horse, gave a deep bow toward his master’s grave, and galloped north.

...

「Ten days later, Zhao Lin returned to Yan Province.」

He first entered the city to let his family know he was safe, then went to the Xingyun Sect and immediately sought out the Water Mirror Elder.

"Disciple pays his respects, Elder."

"Mm. You’ve finally returned."

The Water Mirror Elder’s expression was as placid as an undisturbed well, but Zhao Lin detected a trace of displeasure in his tone.

’Is he upset that I came back late?’

Zhao Lin had wanted to ask about the results of the Water Mirror Department’s spring competition, but he wisely held his tongue.

The Water Mirror Elder glanced at him and said, "It has been two months since I last assessed your cultivation progress. Hold out your hand."

"Yes."

Zhao Lin did as he was told, extending his palm.

The Water Mirror Elder extended two fingers and placed them on Zhao Lin’s wrist. Sweeping through with his Jade Illumination Skill, he immediately discovered that the acupoints of the Ren and Du meridians were open. "You’ve opened your acupoints?" he asked, shocked.

"I had an unexpected breakthrough on my way back, Elder."

"Not bad. This could be considered an unexpected... benefit."

The Water Mirror Elder had meant to say it was a pleasant surprise, but realizing it was inappropriate given that Zhao Lin was returning from a funeral, he quickly corrected himself.

"The most difficult part of the Third Layer of the Qi Realm is opening the acupoints. Since you’ve already managed that, I trust reaching the peak of the Third Layer will be no issue. The next major hurdle is the Blood Realm."

"You have outstanding talent, and you’ve also taken the Five-Spirit Pill. I have high expectations for you!"

"You flatter me, Elder."

Zhao Lin thought to himself, ’What talent? If it weren’t for the Spirit Beast Scroll, I’d be completely useless.’

The Water Mirror Elder’s expression softened slightly. "The Sect Leader attended the spring competition this year," he said, "and he was very displeased with the performance of the Wuxiang Institute’s disciples."

"He remarked that their skills were feeble and they lacked a killer instinct. So this year, he’s having us all ’sweep the mountain’ together, so they can get some blood on their hands."

"Sweep the mountain?"

Hearing the phrase "sweep the mountain," Zhao Lin’s spirits lifted, but he quickly concealed his excitement.

He was no longer a newcomer; he now had a general understanding of many of the sect’s internal affairs.

"Sweeping the mountain" wasn’t about cleaning. To be precise, it meant a culling.

The Yanyun Mountain Range contained countless peaks, many of which were designated medicinal mountains. They were categorized by the grade of the herbs found there: First Grade Medicinal Mountain, Second Grade Medicinal Mountain, and so on.

Most of these medicinal mountains were home to strange beasts.

Some of these beasts were themselves precious medicinal materials—like bear gall, Red Monster Tendons, and Tu Deer antlers—and hunting them before they reached adulthood was forbidden.

But there were other beasts, fierce and aggressive, without a single part on their bodies that held any medicinal value.

With so many medicinal mountains, it was impossible for martial artists to do all the harvesting. If ordinary herb gatherers entered the mountains and encountered these ferocious beasts, they would most likely meet an untimely end.

Thus, periodically culling these beasts became a routine annual task for the Xingyun Sect. It was mostly handled by high-ranking deacons or disciples at the Blood Realm, allowing ordinary herb gatherers and disciples of lower cultivation to safely forage on the mountains.

When he first learned of this, Zhao Lin had felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he were reading Journey to the West: all the demons with no connections were beaten to death, while those with powerful patrons got off scot-free.

’This is a great opportunity,’ he thought. ’Maybe I can add new Essence Souls to the Spirit Beast Scroll, or even upgrade the ones I already have!’