I can increase my power through breathing.

Chapter 23 Eagle Wolf Guards Offer a Heavy Bounty; Zhou Qing Merges Martial Arts
September 16th, the thirteenth year of the Yuanfeng era.

Zhou Qing, the swift-knife madman, appeared in Blackstone County, beheading Lin Feng, the deputy commander of the Eagle Wolf Guard, killing the county magistrate Lin Yue, and destroying the Zhou family.

This incident shocked both the martial arts world and the imperial court.

As the military backbone of the imperial court, the Eagle Wolf Guard's deputy commander, Lin Feng, was a top-notch martial artist. Unexpectedly, he died at the hands of Zhou Qing.

Although Magistrate Lin Yue was only a second-rate martial artist, he was a seventh-rank official appointed by the imperial court. Killing an official was tantamount to rebellion.

In an instant, arrest warrants for Zhou Qing were issued all over the country.

Zhou Qing jumped from 100th on the wanted list to 80th, and the bounty also changed dramatically.

Anyone who can provide accurate information about Zhou Qing's whereabouts will be rewarded with 30,000 taels of silver and a second-rate internal skill.

If one can kill Zhou Qing and take his head to any of the Eagle Wolf Guard's offices, one can obtain a first-class internal martial arts technique and also comprehend the divine intent and cultivate for three months.

The so-called divine intent refers to the power of momentum that a master of the innate realm has transformed into a higher level of intent power, and then imprints the intent power on special objects, usually paintings.

Cultivating by harnessing the power of artistic conception allows one to increase their momentum more quickly.

If a top-tier martial artist has divine intentions to comprehend at all times, their cultivation speed will increase by dozens or even hundreds of times.

Such a treasure is something that even ordinary top-tier forces do not possess.

Even if an ordinary grandmaster masters possess the power of intent, it is difficult for them to create divine intent; only some senior grandmasters can do so.

Most top-tier forces, even if they possess divine intents, only have one or two. However, the Eagle Wolf Guard has all sorts of divine intents. No matter which type of power they cultivate, they can find the corresponding divine intent to comprehend.

The Eagle Wolf Guard's offering of a hefty reward has stirred up many martial artists in the Jianghu, especially those who make a living by offering bounties, who see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Many skilled martial artists, even those at the first-rate level, mobilized to search for Zhou Qing's whereabouts, even using their connections in the martial world. They hoped to be the first to find him and obtain the generous reward, precious internal martial arts techniques, and the opportunity to comprehend the divine intent and cultivate.

In the martial arts world, things were in turmoil, with countless undercurrents and rumors and news about Zhou Qing flying everywhere.

However, Zhou Qing, the person involved, went into seclusion in the deep mountains and forests after leaving Heishi County, and the outside world's disturbances had no effect on him at all.

[After a year of arduous training, your understanding of the Swift Wind Nine-Fold Waves Sword Technique has deepened, and your application of the technique has become highly proficient. You have surpassed the beginner, minor mastery, and advanced stages, and have reached the mastery stage.]

After another six months of arduous training, the Gale-like Nine-Layer Waves Blade Technique reached its pinnacle. Its application was effortless, each move seamless and natural, striking precisely where it was aimed. It could unleash nine consecutive slashes on the same spot in an instant, each slash stronger than the last. You began experimenting with integrating the Traceless Blade Technique into the Gale-like Nine-Layer Waves Blade Technique, refining and perfecting it.

[After three years of arduous training, you have integrated the silent, invisible, and traceless strikes of the Traceless Blade Technique into the Ninefold Waves of Gale Blade Technique. Combining the advantages of both techniques, you have created a new blade technique called the Thirteenfold Waves of Traceless Blade Technique!]

[After four years of arduous training, you have perfected the Thirteen Waves of Tracelessness, allowing you to unleash thirteen strikes in an instant. Moreover, the strikes are instantly concealed, making them unpredictable and impossible to defend against.]

[You have begun cultivating the Golden罡 Technique because you have already opened the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians, and your Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique has reached perfection. The meridians in your body are more resilient and wider than those of ordinary martial artists. After one year of arduous cultivation, you will complete the Great Circulation. After a second year of arduous cultivation, you will have perfected the Golden罡 Technique.]

[You began your arduous training in the Flying Willow and Green Smoke Technique... After four years of rigorous training, you incorporated the Swallow's Three Swallows Skimming Water technique into the Flying Willow and Green Smoke Technique, naming it "Floating Crossing."]

[You begin your arduous training in the Illusionary Demon Body Technique...] [You begin your arduous training in the incomplete Nine Syllable Mantra...]

Time passes day by day.

Fifteen days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Swish!
Zhou Qing's consciousness returned from the mysterious space.

Name: Zhou Qing

Realm: Ninth level of the Acquired Realm (Peak First-Class Martial Artist)
Mastered martial arts: Rejuvenation Skill / Level 10 (Characteristics: Enhances internal energy healing, increases lifespan by half a century, increases poison resistance by 300%, improves physical constitution)
Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique / Nine Levels (Characteristics: Indestructible, Furnace of Qi and Blood, 100% Reflection, 50% Force Reduction, Unbreakable)
Golden Strike Technique / Level 6 (Special Feature: Golden Edge)

Thirteen Waves Without a Trace / Perfect (Special Features: 400% Blade Speed ​​Burst, Charge, Stealth)

Floating Crossing/Perfect (Characteristic: Body moves like flying catkins, floating and crossing, speed bursts up to 400%)

Phantom Movement Technique/Perfect (Trait: Phantom, Speed ​​Burst 500%)

Nine-Character Mantra Seal Fragment / Three-Character Mantra Seal (Characteristics: Defense increased by 1000%, compresses internal energy, and unleashes potential)
Talent: Nine-Breath Breath Control (By breathing for nine breaths, one will be blessed with mysterious supernatural powers, automatically refining the power of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth into Dao Source. One point of Dao Source can be automatically obtained every day, and each point of Dao Source is equivalent to one year of arduous cultivation.)
Daoyuan: 0
Fifteen days is equivalent to fifteen Dao Source Points, which is equivalent to fifteen years of arduous cultivation.

Zhou Qing has mastered the Golden Gang Technique, the Nine-Layered Waves Blade Technique, the Flying Willow Green Smoke Skill, and the Illusionary Demon Body Technique to perfection. Moreover, he has integrated the Traceless Blade Technique into the Nine-Layered Waves Blade Technique and the Swallow Three-Flips-Water Lightness Skill into the Flying Willow Green Smoke Skill, creating two even stronger martial arts techniques.

The Thirteen Waves Without a Trace and the Drifting Crossing.

He also mastered all three of the true seals recorded in the fragment of the Nine-Character Mantra Seal.

"Not bad!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Zhou Qing's face.

Although his cultivation level did not improve, his personal strength increased significantly. His lethality, explosive power, defense, and movement techniques all improved dramatically. With his current strength, he could take on several of his predecessors from fifteen days ago.

To be honest, with the combination of Piaolingdu and the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique, fifteen days ago he wouldn't even have been qualified to touch the hem of his own clothes; he could only follow behind and eat dust.

With Zhou Qing's current strength, if he were to face Lin Feng, a first-rate martial artist, again, he could kill him without even activating the Hundred Refined Golden Body Technique.

Because the power of momentum attacks wielded by top-tier martial artists are useless against him.

When the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique reaches its perfect state, his mind and will are tempered to be indestructible. Even the power of momentum, which has reached its peak, can hardly affect him. Without the advantage of momentum, there is no difference between a first-rate martial artist and a second-rate martial artist.

However, Zhou Qing is currently only a first-rate body refiner. If he wants to master the power of momentum, he still needs to cultivate first-rate internal skills, open the ancestral aperture between his eyebrows, and strengthen his mental power.

Immediately, Zhou Qing ended his 'ascetic practice' and left the deep mountains.

(End of this chapter)