Steam-powered martial arts: My virginity cultivation technique has been broken.

"So close! I was just a hair's breadth away from mastering the method of reversing virginity cultivation!"

Ku Ning stood in the corridor, his eyes fixed resolutely on the hazy sky. Not far away, tall chimneys stood, billowing thick smoke. Taizhou Shannan City, where Weiyuan Escort Agency was located, was not only the capital of Taizhou, but also one of the top ten steel-producing cities in the north of the empire.

He was unwilling to let twenty years of hard work go to waste! He didn't want to be a slave! The feeling of falling from heaven to hell was worse than death.

No matter the cost, he would reclaim his power. After escaping death, his internal circulation was disrupted, his yin and yang were reversed, he felt cold during the day and hot at night, and his meridians would contract and expand intermittently. These were common symptoms after the breaking of his virginity cultivation technique. Only by relying on a potent medicine called Guiyuan Dinghun Tang could he be spared from the torment.

This medicine was originally for treating madness. Those who survived after breaking their cultivation of the "Boyhood Kung Fu" would have mental problems to some extent. They took it by chance and found that it was more effective in restoring their physical and mental health than ordinary conditioning medicines, so it was passed down.

He benefited greatly from the drug, and more importantly, he was different from others in one way: after taking the drug, his brain would work at high speed, and his thoughts would have a third-person perspective similar to an out-of-body experience. Later, he discovered that in the out-of-body state, he could see many things that ordinary people could not see, such as the trajectory of true qi.

True Qi is energy. According to the research conducted by sorcerers in this world, it is composed of three elements: a substance called "spirit" in the world, "intention" generated when a person engages in mental activities, and "Qi" in medical theory. The three combine in a certain way to form True Qi, and the way of combining them is the practice.

The process of a martial artist refining martial arts true qi is completed directly through the cultivation method, just like using software directly on the Internet. His ability directly enables him to see the code and understand programming.

He had practiced the Vajra Child Skill for twenty years. In a moment of inspiration, he saw hope in restoring his power and changed its code.

The main reason why it is extremely difficult to cultivate other martial arts after the "Boyhood Skill" is broken is that it is too domineering, extremely strong, extremely yang and extremely pure, and does not tolerate external true energy. The body of a person who has been cultivating since childhood has already fully adapted to its existence and operation during the growth process, and even its own advancement has to change its previous trajectory. This is why it becomes more and more difficult as you go further.

The Vajra Child Skill has nine levels, which means one must cultivate nine exclusive techniques, searching for common ground amidst one difficulty after another, layering them up until finally becoming incredibly powerful. However, the despairing reality is that with each additional dose of the medicine, the duration of this ability shortens and shortens.

"Monk, the lady wants you to go and preach the Buddhist scriptures."

Ku Ning went to the kitchen to put down the medicine bowl, and then heard the lady's personal maid, Xiao Qiao'er, running over breathlessly, calling out urgently.

Zhang Weiyuan's legal wife, Madam Liu, was a Buddhist. She invited him because when he was first brought back, he was dressed as a monk, but he looked like a demon, and no one took him seriously. Madam Liu naturally avoided him as much as possible. This Buddhist scripture lecture was a recent event, and it was clear that her real intention was not what it seemed. Perhaps she had heard about his relationship with his fourth concubine and wanted to get involved.

During these past few days of sermons, Madam Liu has tried every means to tempt her. Unfortunately, Madam Liu's surname is Liu, but she is actually a tree stump.

He had a poor appetite and no ambition to become Prime Minister Cao, so he chuckled, grabbed a handful of soybeans and a handful of black beans, and gestured for the maid to open her palm and put them in.

"I have something to attend to today, so please give this to your wife."

"What do you mean by this?"

"Zen wisdom".

Ku Ning clasped his hands together in a very standard gesture, bowed, and left.

He understood: "My affair with the fourth concubine has probably been exposed, and I can't wait any longer."

He touched his right eye, and the disguise spell dissipated, revealing an exquisitely crafted sphere the size of an eyeball made of brass.

This was a prosthetic body, the Copper Eye, that he had secretly sought out half a year ago when he and Zhang Weiyuan went to Dongdu to escort goods. It was a friend he had once studied at the same temple with, who had later left the monastery to become a sorcerer and whom he could entrust his life to. Once he regained his powers, it could be used as a trump card.

There was another reason why Ku Ning felt no gratitude towards Zhang Weiyuan: the other party had destroyed one of his eyes simply because he had shown resentment when he was being tamed, and a red-hot iron nail had been driven into it.

He laughed maniacally and said, "I've lost a leg. Even a slave needs something!"

At that moment, the once-proud prodigy understood the meaning of reality. This was not the White Pavilion Temple; there was no master's protection here. He possessed memories of his past life and should have understood these truths long ago, but his comfortable life had eroded his sense of crisis.

He changed after that. Everyone knows that if you're sick, you need to get treatment, you need medicine, and medicine costs money. The difficulty lies in where the money comes from.

Those who insult others will be constantly insulted in return.

Zhang Weiyuan was extremely concerned with his reputation, and because he had suffered a serious injury in his early years, he was most afraid of being criticized for his incompetence. In addition to his legally wedded first wife, he also took three concubines, keeping them at home as decorative objects, a complete waste of their talents.

He was greedy and stingy; otherwise, he wouldn't have grabbed a half-dead, amnesiac man like Ku Ning from the roadside and taken him home to exploit him. He was only kind to a few women, providing them with plenty of food and clothing and buying them whatever they wanted. However, his condition was that they behaved themselves and never left the house.

Ku Ning was forced to become a slave under Zhang Weiyuan, his life was at Zhang's disposal, he worked like an ox or a horse, and ate worse than an ox or a horse.

Most of the time, he only had one soybean residue cake for a meal. This was made from soybean residue left over from cattle and horses, mixed with rice milk; even pigs and dogs wouldn't eat it, let alone humans. Given such treatment, it was wishful thinking to expect Zhang Weiyuan to pay for his medical treatment.

Under the dual torment of body and mind, Ku Ning's carefree personality, which had been suppressed for twenty years by the strict rules and regulations of the temple, awakened from his previous life as an orphanage.

He'll settle scores and avenge any wrongs he has. Anyone who makes his life difficult will be repaid a hundredfold!

Having been nourished by precious medicine for many years, Ku Ning's physical condition, nurtured by true qi, far surpassed that of ordinary people. Even though he was almost drained dry that night, he still retained some of his essence. With the meager nutrition absorbed from the bean dregs, he gradually recovered his original appearance over a year.

His appearance could be described as dark clouds covering the moon, the moon hanging on a mountain peak, and fish leaping below. Beneath his thick eyebrows were eyes as bright as the moon, and between his eyes was a straight nose as high as a mountain. His lips below the nose were often upturned, always smiling at everyone, giving people a feeling of sincerity and joy. With this appearance, he seduced the fourth concubine. Dry wood meets raging fire, and he began his journey of living off her.

"Once the effects of today's medicine wear off, we should be able to complete the last piece of the puzzle."

That night, the sky, which had been clear during the day, was filled with dark clouds, followed by a violent storm with thunder and lightning.

Ku Ning sat cross-legged in the small, leaky thatched hut next to the stable, sweat mingling with rainwater on his forehead. In the last moment before the medicine's effects wore off, a wave of familiar energy rose from his body.

"I'm back! My powers are back!"

He then realized something was wrong. After practicing in reverse, the original pure and powerful Yuan Yang True Qi, which was like the sun in the sky, became extremely cold and yin, like undried asphalt. It began to flow into his dantian through his meridians, sticky, dark, and unclean.

"How could this happen!"