Retirement begins with summoning Yuan Tiangang

Lin Feng was a little unsteady on his feet as he walked down the mountain.

It wasn't that my legs were weak, but rather that I felt empty inside, as if someone had ripped a piece out of me.

The bluestone steps stretched out beneath my feet, one after another, endlessly.

The pines and cypresses on both sides were still so green, rustling in the wind. But to his ears, they sounded no different from the old trees on the back mountain of Hexi Town. They were all trees, and they all made a sound.

Qinglong walked a few steps ahead of him, his hands behind his back, his pace neither hurried nor slow.

The dark brown cloth robe looked a bit old in the morning light, but it gave him an indescribable sense of neatness.

Lin Feng stared at his back for a while, his mind filled with all sorts of random thoughts.

Qingyang Academy is doomed.

Bailu Academy has no chance of success.

Back to Hexi Town?

Dad definitely won't say anything, Aunt Yao will definitely feel sorry for him, and Uncle Xiao Hei will definitely yell, "Kid, if you can't make it here, just come back!"

But he didn't want to go back.

It's not that I'm afraid of losing face, it's that I feel... unwilling to accept it.

After coming out, you're going back so dejectedly?

He gritted his teeth.

"Uncle Qinglong."

Lin Feng suddenly spoke, his voice a little dry.

Qinglong didn't turn around: "Hmm?"

"Could you...could you teach me cultivation?"

Lin Feng was stunned when he said this.

He didn't know why he asked the question; it was as if he had been holding it in for a long time and finally found a way to let it out.

Qinglong stopped and turned to look at him.

The morning light shone from the side, illuminating half of his face while the other half remained in shadow.

His eyes shone brightly in the light, like two deep wells, their bottoms unfathomable.

"You want to learn?" Qinglong asked.

Raymond Lam nodded emphatically: "I'll think about it."

Why?

Why? Lin Feng was stumped by the question.

Finally, he managed to stammer out, "I want... I want to see how far I can go."

Qinglong looked at him for a while and nodded.

"OK."

Just one word.

Raymond Lam's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Why would I lie to you?

The Azure Dragon turned around and continued downwards.

"But let me make this clear first: cultivation is not child's play; it's very tough. If you complain of being tired halfway through, I'll throw you back to Hexi Town."

"I'm not tired!"

Raymond Lam quickly followed, saying, "Don't complain no matter how hard it is!"

"Don't speak too definitively," Qinglong said calmly.

"Let's go, let's find a place to stay first, and then I'll tell you the ways of cultivation."

The two descended the mountain and, instead of returning to Qingyang County, headed directly north.

Qinglong said that staying in Qingyang County was boring; there were too many people and too much trouble.

Why not head north to Yunhai City, the capital of Yunhai Prefecture? We can teach him cultivation along the way.

Lin Feng had no objection.

He now follows Qinglong wherever Qinglong tells him to go.

Once outside the territory of Qingyang County, the number of people on the road gradually decreased.

The dirt road is flanked by rolling barren slopes, with the occasional patch of fields planted with drought-resistant crops that look withered and droopy.

The autumn wind swept in, carrying the smell of earth and withered grass, dry and cold.

After walking for more than an hour, the sun was high in the sky.

Qinglong found a sheltered slope and said they would rest there.

Lin Feng put down his bag and plopped down on the ground.

He then realized his legs were a little sore. He had gotten up early that morning and climbed the mountain, and now that he was relaxing, he felt tired.

Qinglong took a water pouch out of his cloth bag and threw it to him.

Lin Feng took it and gulped down a few mouthfuls. The water was a bit cold, but it was very thirst-quenching.

"Uncle Qinglong," Lin Feng said, wiping his mouth.

"You just said you wanted to tell me the secrets of spiritual practice?"

Qinglong also sat down, took out an oil paper package from his pocket, opened it, and inside were several hard, hard cakes.

He broke off half of the bar and handed it to Raymond Lam: "Let's eat and talk."

The pancake was hard and difficult to bite, but it had a wheat flavor after chewing for a while.

Lin Feng nibbled on the food, his eyes fixed on the Azure Dragon.

"The first step in cultivation is the Acquired Realm."

Qinglong chewed on a biscuit, his words a little muffled but clear: "To put it bluntly, it's about building up your physique and strengthening your muscles and bones."

He paused, and seeing that Lin Feng was listening attentively, continued, "The human body is like a container. The Acquired Realm is about making this container strong and solid. The stronger the container, the more and more stable it can hold."

Lin Feng nodded; he understood this principle.

"The Acquired Realm is divided into nine levels." Azure Dragon held up three fingers.

"The first three stages strengthen the muscles and bones of the limbs. The middle three stages strengthen the muscles and bones of the torso. The last three stages strengthen the muscles and bones of the head."

With each sentence he spoke, he bent one finger; after three sentences, all three fingers were bent.

"Once all the muscles and bones in your body have been forged, the vessel will be ready. Only then can you attempt to draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and step into the Innate Realm."

After Qinglong finished speaking, he looked at Lin Feng and asked, "Do you understand?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment: "Then... the more solid one's foundation in the Acquired Realm, the stronger one becomes in the Innate Realm?"

"right."

Azure Dragon nodded.

"Many people are eager to break through, rushing to the Innate Realm before they have a solid foundation in the Acquired Realm. As a result, their foundation is unstable, and they can't make up for it later. Such people will only ever be like that."

Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat.

He didn't know, and he didn't ask.

"Uncle Qinglong," Lin Feng asked again.

"So, am I... considered to be in the Acquired Realm now?"

Qinglong glanced at him and reached out to pinch his shoulder.

He gripped her very tightly, making Lin Feng grimace.

"You..." Qinglong released his grip.

"You've taken some good pills, and your aptitude has improved slightly. You've also practiced that 'Wind-Breaking Fist' technique, although you did a terrible job, at least you laid a foundation. Now..."

He paused for a moment: "I've touched the threshold of the Acquired Realm, but I haven't officially entered it yet."

Lin Feng was a little disappointed, but quickly cheered up: "Then how do I get started?"

"Simple."

Qinglong stood up, patted the crumbs off his hands,

"Starting today, you will practice horse stance for two hours every day, carry a stone for one hour, and take a medicinal bath every night. When you can lift a 200-pound stone and play with it, that will be considered the first weight of the day after tomorrow."

Lin Feng's mouth dropped open: "Two...two hours of horse stance?"

"Not enough? Then three hours it will be."

"No, no, no! Two hours is just right!" Lin Feng quickly said.

Qinglong smiled faintly, almost imperceptibly, but Lin Feng did see the corners of his mouth curve slightly.

"Let's begin then." Qinglong pointed to a rock about half a person's height next to him.

"First, practice your horse stance. I'll watch."

Lin Feng wore a bitter expression, but still obediently walked to the open space, got into a fighting stance, and assumed a horse stance.

I learned the posture from my father, from Zhang Kai, and also from Uncle Mo Wen.

He thought he had done a pretty good job, but Qinglong walked over and gently kicked him in the knee.

"Lower point".

Lin Feng squatted down a little.

"Lower it further."

He squatted down again.

"Still low."

Lin Feng was practically squatting on the ground, his legs trembling violently: "Uncle Qinglong... is that low enough?"

Qinglong glanced at it and nodded: "Barely. Maintain this posture for one hour."

Lin Feng's vision went black.

An hour?

He can't even last an incense stick's time now!

But he didn't dare say it.

Gritting my teeth, I endured it.

The sun slowly climbed higher, its warmth radiating down my back.

But Lin Feng felt his legs getting more and more sore and numb, as if countless needles were pricking them.

Sweat streamed down my forehead and dripped into my eyes, stinging painfully.

He blinked, too afraid to move.

Qinglong sat to the side, took out a small notebook from his cloth bag, and flipped through something.

She would occasionally glance up at Lin Feng, but she wouldn't say anything; she would just stare at him.

Time seemed to pass incredibly slowly.

Lin Feng felt that this one hour was longer than the three days he spent queuing at the entrance of Qingyang Academy waiting for the results to be announced.

Finally, Qinglong spoke: "Time's up."

Lin Feng sat down on the ground with a "plop," panting heavily.

My legs don't feel like my own anymore; they're sore and numb, and I have no strength at all.

Qinglong walked over, squatted down, and pinched his leg a few times.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Lin Feng cried out in pain.

"Endure it." Qinglong's men didn't stop.

"This is to help improve your blood circulation; otherwise, you won't even be able to walk tomorrow."

After massaging his legs, Qinglong made him carry stones.

Lin Feng tried to move the rock, which was about half a person's height, but he couldn't.

Qinglong didn't help; he just watched from the sidelines.

Lin Feng's face turned red as he strained with all his might, and he finally managed to lift the stone a little, but he put it down in less than three breaths.

"Continue," Qinglong said.

Lin Feng gritted his teeth and continued.

That's how we spent the whole afternoon messing around.

Practice horse stance, carry stones, practice horse stance again, carry stones again.

By the time the sun was setting, Lin Feng was so exhausted that he lay on the ground like a dead dog, not even wanting to move a finger.

Qinglong took out a small iron pot from his bundle, lit a fire, and cooked a pot of porridge.

The porridge had some dried meat and wild vegetables added, and the aroma made Lin Feng's stomach rumble.

"Get up and eat," Qinglong said.

Lin Feng struggled to his feet, picked up the bowl, and wolfed down his food.

The porridge was very hot, but he didn't care and ate it with his mouth full of porridge.

By the time we finished eating, it was already dark.

Qinglong started another fire and produced a wooden bucket out of thin air. No one knew when he had prepared it, but it just appeared out of nowhere.

He filled the bucket halfway with water, then threw in a few herbs and put it on the fire to boil.

"This is a medicinal bath."

Qinglong said,

"Soaking in it for an hour can help you restore your strength and strengthen your muscles and bones."

Lin Feng looked at the bucket of dark, murky liquid, a little apprehensive: "This... can I use it for soaking?"

"Take it or leave it." Qinglong turned and walked away.

"If I don't soak it, it will hurt even more tomorrow."

Lin Feng gritted his teeth, took off his clothes, and climbed into the tub.

The water was so hot that he grimaced.

But after soaking for a while, he felt the soreness all over his body gradually lessen, and a warm current seeped into his skin and penetrated into his bones, making him feel so comfortable that he almost groaned out loud.

He leaned against the barrel wall, looking at the starry sky above.

The stars were very bright, one by one, like a handful of broken diamonds scattered on the ground.

The distant mountain shadows were dark and menacing, like crouching giant beasts. The wind was a bit chilly, but soaking in the hot water made it feel warm at all.

"Uncle Qinglong," Lin Feng suddenly spoke, "do you think... I can master it?"

Qinglong was sitting by the fire, poking at it with a branch. Hearing this, he looked up and glanced at him.

Whether you can do it or not depends on yourself.

He says,

"I'll teach you the methods and show you the way, but you have to walk that path yourself. How fast you walk and how far you go is up to you."

Lin Feng nodded and didn't say anything more.

He closed his eyes, feeling the medicine flowing through his body.

It's a very strange feeling.

It seems... things really are different now.