Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

Fang Dongtian chimed in from the side, "With you all watching over her and her loved ones by her side, she feels at ease, and her primordial spirit can easily return to its place."

Lu Linglong chuckled, "Last time it was my own carelessness. I had just reached the third level of meditation and hadn't figured out what was going on before I plunged headlong into it. In the past few days, under Master Fang's guidance, I have figured out some tricks. As long as I don't deliberately crave those visions in meditation, I won't fall into the trap of greedy meditation again."

"But there is a prerequisite: you must find a quiet place when you enter a meditative state. If the surrounding environment is too noisy or someone suddenly disturbs you, it is easy to lose your composure."

As she spoke, she looked at Li Chang'an and said, "Now I understand why he never replies to my messages!"

Listening to Lu Linglong chattering away, Lu Jin finally felt relieved. He had been worried that Lu Linglong might crave the various fantasies of maternal love that appeared during meditation because of the lack of maternal love she had experienced since childhood. But now it seemed that this child was much stronger than he had imagined.

“Linglong, since your great-grandfather and I are both here today, why don’t you try practicing your abilities?” Fang Dongtian said.

“Old Fang, you…” Lu Jin frowned.

"It's alright, I think Linglong has the ability." Fang Dongtian waved his hand and said, "Linglong's problem stems from this ability. Learning to control it will benefit her. Besides, we're both here, what problems could she possibly have? Even if there are problems, Baiyun Temple has a few old guys who can help!"

Lu Jin nodded: "Alright, Linglong, you give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Lu Linglong raised an eyebrow. She knew the advantages and disadvantages of her ability, so she had been restraining herself and avoiding it. But no matter how much she avoided it, one thing was true: she found it very enjoyable and exhilarating to use this ability.

She knew this feeling of pleasure and exhilaration wasn't good, but it was undeniably pleasurable.

So when Master Fang and Grandfather asked her to use her abilities, she couldn't help but feel eager to try them out.

Lu Lin looked at Linglong with a worried expression. He had seen Lu Linglong use her abilities before, but the way she used them felt unfamiliar to him.

Li Chang'an was quite interested; to be honest, he had never seen Lu Linglong use her abilities before.

"Here I come."

Lu Linglong stretched out her finger and made a cut in her palm. A small stream of blood seeped out, but instead of dripping, it floated in mid-air as if pulled by an invisible thread, gathering into red blood beads.

"That's enough, Linglong, don't let it flow too much!" Lu Jin felt sorry for her and quickly reminded her.

Lu Linglong was speechless: "Grandpa, this little bit of blood is just enough to test blood sugar, not even enough for a complete blood count. We need more."

Fang Dongtian said, "Give me some! Give me some! This is a little, but don't give me too much. Just enough to condense into a dagger."

With a thought, Lu Linglong gushed out several more streams of blood, which merged with the blood bead in mid-air. The blood clump tumbled in the air and instantly transformed into a small dagger.

She reached out and grasped the dagger, beginning her practice. The dagger danced in her hand, tracing red streaks.

After practicing a couple of times in the quiet room, Lu Linglong felt it wasn't enough. She leaped into the bamboo forest behind and flicked her wrist, throwing the dagger away.

The flying blood-stained blade traced several arcs in the air like a throwing knife, weaving between the bamboo poles. With a flick of her finger, the dagger returned to her palm.

"Gathering and scattering at will, as easily as using one's own arm, is a very interesting ability. I just wonder how the power of this blood dagger compares to a real dagger?" Li Chang'an thought to himself.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Linglong gripped the dagger, stepped forward, and swung the knife at a bamboo stalk as thick as a wrist.

The blade was incredibly fast, slicing the bamboo cleanly and swiftly. The cut was smooth and silky, as if a hot knife were cutting through butter.

"It's very sharp," Li Chang'an thought to himself, looking at the smooth fracture.

In the bamboo forest, Lu Linglong was like a pink butterfly, wielding her blood-red blade and slashing in all directions, causing bamboo stalks to fall one by one under its attack.

Fang Dongtian stood at the edge of the bamboo forest and said, "Don't just focus on chopping; try controlling the distance and angle. Do you understand the sensation after the Blood Blade leaves your hand? How far can you control it?"

Lu Linglong threw the dagger again, letting it slowly swirl in the night sky.

She closed her eyes and used her Qi to sense the location of the dagger.

The dagger flew further and further away, ten steps, fifteen steps, and when it reached about twenty steps, she frowned slightly. The dagger swayed in the air, seemingly unsteady.

"Twenty steps is the limit. Any further and it will be difficult to control. The main problem is that I have too little health. If I had more, it would be easier for me to control it!" Lu Linglong recalled the dagger.

“That’s how you train yourself,” Lu Jin said. “The dagger is too light. Try to make your blood coagulate more solidly, increase the density, and your strength will be more stable.”

He added, "Don't use new blood."

Lu Linglong nodded and re-condensed the blood blade. This time, she did not rush to attack, but calmed down and repeatedly compressed the blood.

The dagger had shrunk in size, but its color had deepened, changing from bright red to an almost dark crimson.

She picked up the smaller dagger and weighed it in her hand, finding it surprisingly heavy. She then casually placed it on a thicker bamboo stalk next to her, and with a "whoosh," the dagger sank into the bamboo, the tip protruding from the other side.

"It's much harder than before."

Lu Linglong muttered to herself, then flicked her finger to pull the dagger back.

In the following drills, Lu Linglong practically used the bamboo forest as a testing ground.

She tried splitting the Blood Blade into two, controlling one in each hand to attack different targets simultaneously, tried to sneak up behind people with the dagger, and tried to control the blade while running at high speed.

A small patch of broken bamboo lay scattered haphazardly in the bamboo grove.

Chapter 138 Whispers

Li Chang'an leaned against the courtyard wall, watching quietly. He could vaguely sense a bloody smell on Lu Linglong's body, not from the wounds, but from something deeper inside.

This ability is much more useful than the throwing knives from Jiajia Village, but it can only be used with one's own blood, and one's own blood supply is limited.

An average person has about five liters of blood in their body, which, if spread out, would form a small pool of blood.

But it's impossible to actually use that many.

Losing even one liter of blood can easily lead to shock.

Two liters would likely result in death within a short period of time.

In other words, Linglong currently has less than one liter of usable health.

This greatly limits her abilities. If she had the ability to quickly generate blood, her own abilities would be greatly enhanced.

Of course, one should not blindly pursue power; one must also consider the side effects of this ability.

What exactly was that eerie, bloody aura? Li Chang'an looked at Lu Linglong, but he couldn't see through it. His intermediate state body could only see himself, not Lu Linglong's current state.

In the bamboo forest, Lu Linglong stopped, a layer of fine sweat beading on her forehead, but her eyes were bright and sparkling.

"That was awesome!"

She muttered to herself, then turned to look at Fang Dongtian and Lu Jin.

Lu Jin's gaze swept over the mess of broken bamboo in the bamboo forest, but he didn't say anything.

Fang Dongtian stroked his beard and slowly nodded: "Your control has improved a lot since last time. But don't be too proud of yourself. The root of your ability is not in control, but in your heart. No matter how sharp the knife is, if your heart is not stable, you will eventually hurt yourself."

Lu Linglong wiped her sweat and said seriously, "I know, Master Fang."

Seeing that Lu Linglong was about to dismantle the Blood Blade, Li Chang'an said, "Linglong, throw the Blood Blade over here so I can take a look."

Lu Linglong was stunned for a moment, then flicked her finger, and the dark red blood blade drew an arc in the air before flying steadily to Li Chang'an.

Li Chang'an reached out and grasped the hilt of the knife, weighing it in his hand. It was slightly heavy, lighter than an iron dagger of the same size, but very dense, with a smooth and cool surface, like holding a piece of solidified blood jade. Other than that, he couldn't see anything else.

Suddenly, Li Chang'an remembered that he had once used the "Man and Sword as One" technique to place the magic sword under the perspective of the intermediate state being, thus seeing many details.

Would this method be effective against Linglong's Blood Blade?

Li Chang'an immediately tried it out, using the method of man and sword becoming one in the Yuyang Sword Manual, and infusing his own will into it.

"oops!"

Lu Linglong gasped softly, feeling her connection with Blood Blade severed.

Immediately afterwards, the blood blade, which had lost her control, suddenly collapsed, turning into a pool of blood the size of a palm, which landed in Li Chang'an's palm.

Li Chang'an looked at the blood in his palm. Just now, when he entered the state of oneness with the sword, his intermediate state body sensed the blood sword, which contained a large number of delusions.

Those delusions were so violent that the moment he noticed them, they invaded his mind and echoed in his head as a dense cacophony of whispers.

Those whispers were noisy and violent, meant to enrage him, to make him kill—anyone, even himself—anyone, to vent his fury.

Faced with these voices, Li Chang'an remained unmoved. His true self sat high above his mind, watching those external delusions.

Watching them come on so fiercely, yet finding no place to respond, is like a wave; if no wind stirs it, it will dissipate on its own.

Soon, the whispers disappeared from Li Chang'an's ears.

Li Chang'an looked at Lu Linglong.

Lu Linglong also looked at him blankly.

"Brother Chang'an, what just happened?"

Li Chang'an said, "It's nothing, Linglong, but your ability is indeed a bit too volatile!"

"Irritable?" Lu Linglong was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It means you are very capable." Li Chang'an did not elaborate on this to Lu Linglong.

“What’s the use of being powerful if it has flaws and can’t be used often?” Lu Linglong pouted.

"Linglong, although you tried using your abilities today without any problems, you still need to continue cultivating your character in the next few days. Read more scriptures and have fewer idle thoughts. Completely calm your mind," Lu Jin instructed.

"Yes, sir, I've got it."

Lu Linglong nodded obediently, but the next second she couldn't sit still and asked about the challenge.

Fang Dongtian also looked over: "Old Lu, what are you planning to do?"

"Then naturally we should first try courtesy before resorting to force."

Lu Jin straightened his suit sleeves: "Since we're going to establish a embassy in Tianjin, let's follow their rules. Make sure all the guests are invited properly, and all the necessary arrangements are made. Make sure everything is done properly."

"Whom do you want to introduce you to?" Fang Dongtian asked.

"Who has the most power in Tianjin right now?"

"The World Association".

"Then let's find the World Society."

Fang Dongtian glanced at him: "I heard that you and Feng Zhenghao have a good relationship. Last time, at your disciple-acceptance banquet, Feng Zhenghao personally brought his children to support you. If he is willing to stand up for you, then two of the Ten Elders will be there. That's more than enough of a show of support."

Lu Jin said, "Feng Zhenghao is more like a businessman than an eccentric. He is polite to everyone and doesn't offend anyone. If you expect him to help you for free, you'll have to give him enough benefits. Besides, his Tianxia Society has expanded rapidly in recent years, and it doesn't necessarily have a good reputation in Tianjin."

“Since he doesn’t have a good reputation, why are you still looking for him? Aren’t you afraid of making things worse?” Fang Dongtian said.

“We’re going to challenge the club anyway, what need is there for a good reputation?” Lu Jin laughed. “It doesn’t matter whether Feng Zhenghao has a good reputation or not, as long as he has influence in Tianjin.”

Fang Dongtian thought about it and realized that it made sense.

Then, Lu Jin dialed Feng Zhenghao's number. The phone was answered after only two rings. Feng Zhenghao's voice was gentle, with just the right amount of warmth.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Jin explained that he had something to discuss the next day. Feng Zhenghao did not hesitate at all, smiling and saying that he dared not refuse the invitation from Elder Lu. The two then agreed on a time.

It was late at night. Fang Dongtian had arranged several guest rooms. Lu Linglong said goodbye and went back to her room. She had spent most of the day enjoying herself in the capital and controlling her blood, so she was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Li Chang'an returned to his room but did not lie down immediately. He examined the blood on Lu Linglong's hand. It had been too brief; it was just a fleeting glimpse. He had heard some whispers, but from that fleeting glimpse, he vaguely sensed something.

"If we observe further, we might be able to find some solutions."

At this thought, Li Chang'an suddenly remembered something. In the story, Lu Linglong's ability seemed to have a special move: injecting blood into the other person's body and then exploding it.

If Lu Linglong were to inject her blood into her own body and then use her intermediate state to observe, would she be able to see for a longer period and gain a clearer understanding?

Chapter 139 The World Association

The next morning, the group set off from Baiyun Temple and drove to Tianjin.

Lu Jin drove the car, with Li Chang'an and Lu Lin in the back seat and Lu Linglong in the passenger seat. They chattered incessantly the whole way, asking when the challenge would start and counting on their fingers what delicious food Tianjin had to offer.

Lu Jin laughed and said, "Are you here to be a cheerleader or for an autumn outing?"

"We can do both!" Lu Linglong said with a smile.

Not long after, the car entered the TJ city area and stopped in front of the Tianxiahui headquarters building.

The building is entirely covered by a glass curtain wall, reflecting a cool light under the sun.

At the main entrance, Feng Zhenghao, the president of the World Society, was already standing there. He was wearing a well-tailored dark suit, his hair was neatly combed, and he had gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

Feng Shayan stood to his left, her short hair neat, wearing a black fitted suit, her posture upright, her gaze calm. Feng Xingtong stood to his right, his face bearing the warm smile unique to young people.

Upon seeing Lu Jin arrive by car, Feng Zhenghao quickly went forward to greet her.

"Mr. Lu, I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner." Feng Zhenghao said with a warm smile, "You didn't even give me a heads-up before coming to Tianjin, so I could have sent a car to pick you up."

"President Feng, you're too kind," Lu Jin said with a smile. "I have a favor to ask of you this time, and it's you I'm the one who has to trouble you."

"Mr. Lu, you're being too polite. If you need anything, you can just make a phone call. There's no need to come all this way in person. Please come in."

After saying that, Feng Zhenghao turned to look at Li Chang'an, his gaze lingering on him for a moment, a hint of undisguised admiration flashing in his eyes: