Before long, Tong Jia came over with the prepared medicine, Ling repeatedly expressed her gratitude, then obediently drank it and lay down...

In her heart, this female physician had changed from "Song Cheng's woman" to someone with a name—Tong Jia.

"Rest well, recover soon," Song Cheng left the words behind.

"Mhm, mhm!"

Ling eagerly and obediently agreed.

Song Cheng and his wife departed, and the door closed once again.

Ling stared at the quiet door, her emotions at their utmost complexity.

Though she was a personal maid to a young lady, and not to say her whole being was covered in "Heart's Eye," she was definitely not a fool.

The simple words of Song Cheng had already made many things clear to her.

Song Cheng had followed her, then helped her cover her tracks, helping her avoid a certain death situation.

But as for who killed Shi Yi... considering the circumstances of today, it seemed the answer was already clear.

If Song Cheng had merely killed Shi Yi, at most Ling would have thought something like, "How is that possible, I don't believe it, how could a country bumpkin have the power to kill Shi Yi who was nurtured as a strong warrior from a young age."

Even if she had seen it with her own eyes, she would only be shocked.

Shocked...

It had to be something impossible.

It had to be her disbelief in Song Cheng's ability.

But now, she wasn't shocked nor did thoughts like "How is that possible, this can't be" spring to her mind.

When that young man pushed the door open, elegantly placed two branches of freshly rained-on apricot blossoms by her bedside, and nonchalantly said those words... in that moment... the young man had transformed from a country bumpkin into a devil from the dark abyss.

Bloody, powerful, terrifying, unfathomably deep...

Ling had experienced great ups and downs in this short day, yet now she could wait for the dust to settle, for the storm to pass and the sky to clear.

'He must have overheard my conversation with Shi Yi, that's why he had the intent to kill.'

'He really had no choice but to do so, because if Shi Yi came back, he would certainly suppress him at every turn, even to the point of putting him in a life-threatening situation.'

'He should have killed me too, because I was not good to him.'

'But he didn't kill me.'

'Instead... he helped me.'

'He could have killed me effortlessly, but he didn't... he even picked flowers for me...'

Tears rolled down Ling's pretty cheeks, stirred by emotions too complex to define.

After a long while...

And much longer...

Ling, propping up her dizzy body, sat up and grasped the branches of apricot blossom by the bedside.

The apricot blossoms were snow-white and fragrantly scented, and they were very pleasant to smell.

Ling sniffed them once and it was as if she saw a new season, as if her life had also turned a new chapter.

But remembering the young man's tactics, she couldn't help but shiver again.

Amidst the fear and the fragrance of the flowers, an inexplicable sense of dependence emerged from the bottom of her heart.

"I will heed your words, rest well, and recover as quickly as I can."

...

...

Three days later.

In the courtyard...

Song Cheng and his wife were practicing with swords, dressed in a new set of cloth clothes.

These clothes were newly bought.

Previously, the couple only had a set of winter coats they wore fleeing from Tang River Village, and a set of cloth clothes they bought in the town.

But as the weather warmed up, the winter coats became utterly unsuitable to wear, so they bit the bullet and spent nine hundred wen to buy another set for changing.

Tong Jia's sword practice was becoming ever more proficient, while Song Cheng glanced at the status panel.

[Points to add: 7]

[Realm: Yellow Level Grade C]

[Cultivation Technique]

Xuanwu Willow Brushing Force (3 Force) (Yellow Level Grade C) (Perfection)

Extreme Force (Yellow Level Grade C) (Great Achievement) (30/32)

Grass Sea Astonished Snake Form (Yellow Level Grade B) (Incomplete)

In these past few days, he had stuck to the principle of "add points when available," hence the Extreme Force was already close to the state of Perfection.

He quickly invested 2 points into it, instantly bringing Extreme Force to the level of "Perfection."

The panel changed again.

...

Xuanwu Willow Brushing Force and Extreme Force merged to become Xuanwu True Force (4 Force) (Perfection).

The skill White Snake Swallows Sparrow turned into Transforming into Jiao.

Another line of information appeared:

With a hundred times of tempering the Cultivation Technique, the subtlety of it is seen, you have perfected your own strength, and your insight into a higher Realm is furthered.

Xuanwu True Force has a 6.4% chance to evolve into a Yellow Level Grade B technique.

...

Song Cheng glanced at his power.

Carrying a common long sword on his back, his data had changed from "41~80" to "43~86."

The young man suddenly drew his sword.

A feeling of almost complete activation of strength throughout his body, a complete through-and-through sensation came, his flesh seemed to be made of a killing machine's material, and his sinew and bone the machine's parts...

With one swing of his sword, that force capable of scorching the soul erupted from low to high, like an old Jiao emerging from a deep pool.

And his hand turned into a vast vortex, various forces swiftly mobilizing, as though all rivers flow to the sea, then converging in his hand, extending to the sword.

His strike was as strange and dangerous as a midnight snake hunt.

Yet at the end of the strike, with another tremor, the void erupted with a terrifying shriek.

Something strange had happened...

The whole yard suddenly fell into silence.

It was the kind of dead stillness where the chirping of insects abruptly ceased, and even if one focused and strained one's ears, not a hint of noise could be heard.

Young Mrs. Tong, who was practicing with her sword, felt a jolt as if she had heard a tiger's roar and instinctively stopped her swordplay, leaped aside, and stood by with intense vigilance.

But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be nothing more than her husband casually swinging his sword.

She patted her chest and said, "You scared me to death."

Song Cheng chuckled, "Hurry up with your training, and I'll teach you."

He had decided to advance the teaching of the "Mysterious Turtle Step" in his schedule. Once his wife reached the pinnacle of Power Force, he would directly impart the "Xuanwu True Force" to her.

However, he was not certain whether the "Xuanwu True Force" could still be enhanced.

He was quite fond of laying a solid foundation.

A skyscraper rises from the ground.

In the process of cultivation, he had seen that not all cultivation techniques were the same.

Both at the Yellow Level, Grade C, "Willow Brushing Force" was a cultivation technique and "Xuanwu True Force" was also a cultivation technique; yet, they were entirely different.

It could be said that even if one put in the same effort and were at the same realm, different cultivation techniques would lead to vastly disparate levels of strength.

If the cultivation techniques of a similar nature were a good fit, one could continue practicing them.

Truth be told, earnestly deriving a cultivation technique was absolutely incomparable to having a ready-made technique right before one's eyes.

To derive a cultivation technique by yourself required countless points.

A ready-made cultivation technique only needed to be flipped through, adding a point would suffice.

However, a derived cultivation technique could be stronger.

Song Cheng sheathed his sword and pondered.

Soon, an idea took root in his mind: to use external cultivation techniques to improve his realm and quickly become stronger, but not to neglect collecting lower-level techniques for self-derivation, steadily and solidly, to become the strongest...

'If I could gather thousands of dharma methods, what kind of technique could I derive in the end?'

Song Cheng was full of expectation, yet he knew such a thought was just a daydream.

How hard was it to obtain cultivation techniques?

Acquiring just one would take an immense effort, let alone thousands of them.

However, the path to longevity was long, and the future was vast.

Survive first.

...

As Song Cheng was contemplating, a knock on the door suddenly came from outside.

"Song Cheng, it's me."

Ling's voice.

Song Cheng stepped forward to open the door.

Seeing the young man, Ling bit her lip, lowered her head, and said, "My health has greatly improved, thank you and Dr. Tong."

Song Cheng smiled, "Come in and have a seat."

Ling obediently followed him inside, also warily observing Song Cheng.

This formidable young man now seemed so ordinary, yet beside him, she felt an unprecedented sense of security.

"I'm sorry for before," Ling suddenly apologized.

Song Cheng laughed, "It's all in the past."

As he spoke, he turned and entered the room, took a tied-up bundle of medicinal packets, and handed it to Ling, "Secret ginger tea formula. Drink a bowl every morning, and you won't catch a cold again."

Ling solemnly accepted, saying, "Thank you, Big Brother Song... Song... Song Cheng."

Song Cheng: ???

He glanced at the maid before him, whom he had treated harshly, and suddenly noticed that her affection level had, unknowingly, reached 95.

It was very strange...

Suddenly, Ling added, "Big Brother Song, I came here today to take you to the armory. A few days ago, didn't you say you wanted to choose a suitable sword? I'll take you. If anyone asks, I'll just say that the young mistress greatly values your cultivation—no one will dare to stop us."

Song Cheng certainly needed a sword.

A good sword could indeed offer a considerable boost in strength.

Nonetheless...

"Miss Ling, please just call me Song. I'm only seventeen this year; both you and the young mistress are older than me. The young mistress is four years older than me, so you must be four years older too, right?"

Ling pursed her lips, but stubbornly refused to call him "little Song," and after a moment's thought, she said, "Then... Mr. Song, let's hurry on."

...

After a short while, the two of them arrived at the armory.

Song Cheng entered.

Ling eagerly promoted the fine weapons on the side, almost desperate to stuff the best treasures into Song Cheng's arms.

Song Cheng was puzzled by the maid's behavior.

Yet, he wasn't in a rush to select...

He patiently felt each and every weapon, not even sparing the discarded ones.

Then, from a pile of scrap metal, he picked out an odd thin iron rod.

When he grasped this thin iron rod, his stats suddenly jumped from the ordinary sword's "43~86" to "46~92"...

This meant that the rod alone provided a "5" boost in strength.

And if the rust was to be scrubbed off, who knew how much more could be added!

Song Cheng curiously toyed with the slender rusted "rod."

It was an upgraded version from the one at Tang River Village blacksmith shop.

It seemed he had quite a fate with such weapons.

Or maybe these untold weapons had been scattered across nearby lands, collected by many households, yet viewed only as scrap metal.

"I'll take this one."

Song Cheng gripped the thin iron rod tightly.

Ling: ???????

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