Cultivation Begins with Skill Points-Chapter 133: Foot Three Yin Meridians

"Dragon Capturing Hand."

Zhong Lin seized the moment when the poison fire dispersed, reaching out with his right hand into the void. His inner breath transformed into a hand, morphing into a massive Qi Force hand the size of a millstone, fiercely grabbing towards Ding He.

Ding He’s face changed drastically. He hadn’t expected his poison fire to be dispelled so easily, and now Zhong Lin was using some unknown martial arts technique to grab him.

Instinctively, he withdrew the flute from his waist and fiercely struck it towards the Qi Force hand. As the flute cut through the air, it produced a piercing sound.

Bam!

Zhong Lin’s Qi Force hand shook violently, and the flute in Ding He’s hand exploded. He himself was engulfed by the True Qi hand, spewing a mouthful of blood as he fell from the sky.

"Slash!"

A golden sword light flashed. Ding He screamed tragically, dying on the spot.

Jiang Yuan watched everything unfold. In just a few moments, the aggressive Ding He had turned into a corpse. A martial artist of the Upper Third Grades had died right before his eyes, and the series of techniques were breathtaking.

"Senior Brother’s might."

Jiang Yuan’s eyes were burning. He knew Zhong Lin was formidable in alchemy, but he had not expected his combat skills to be so terrifying. An Upper Third Grades martial artist was killed so easily in this place.

Niu Dali quickly stepped forward, rummaging through Ding He’s corpse. Moments later, he came over with a token.

"Princess, look."

Jiang Yuan reached out and took the token, which was made of gold and bore a dragon pattern, with a large "Martial" character engraved on one side.

Jiang Yuan clenched the token tightly, crushing it into a dough-like mass, and an icy tone came from his mouth.

"Jiang Wu..."

Zhong Lin raised an eyebrow. Just hearing the name informed him it was likely one of Jiang Yuan’s princely siblings, similar to last night’s assailants who didn’t want Jiang Yuan to return to the Capital City.

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the rage within his heart, and said sternly, "Pardon my disgrace, Senior Brother."

"No matter, my task is to protect you back to the Capital. These incidents were expected. I just didn’t think your brothers could employ an Upper Third Grades martial artist to assassinate you. Truly, their reach is astounding. I wonder what next measures they have in store."

Upper Third Grades martial artists are rare and notably arrogant by nature. To enlist one for assassination must have cost this prince greatly.

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "There should be no more. These two assassination attempts have shown them your capabilities, Senior Brother. Ordinary assassins stand no chance against you. Only an army could surround and kill, and they lack such capability."

Last night’s deployment of a few hundred soldiers was already the limit. A military encirclement is impossible, given that the old Emperor is still alive and those ancient monsters in the Imperial Family aren’t dead either!

"I hope so. Do not disturb my martial training again."

Zhong Lin turned and boarded the carriage, continuing his study of the Shangyang acupoint.

Jiang Yuan threw the "dough" in his hand away, saying coldly, "Niu Dali."

"Here, at your command."

"Cut off his head and send it urgently to my dear brother."

"...Yes."

Niu Dali lowered his head even more, not daring to delay.

"How long until the Capital City?"

"Reporting to the Princess, at the current speed, we should arrive in a month."

"A month? Then let them live for another month. They have shown no kindness, so I shall not show mercy. Blood relations have entirely been exhausted by these two assassination attempts. If they don’t want to live, then let them all perish."

Jiang Yuan’s voice was icy, like the depth of winter, devoid of any vitality.

The caravan soon set off again, and indeed, as Jiang Yuan said, there were no more assassination attempts along the way, allowing Zhong Lin to study the acupoints of his body and rapidly increase his strength.

The caravan traveled for half a month, and with the help of "Silkworm Silk Strength", Zhong Lin completed training in the Hand’s Three Yang Meridians.

By then, all the arm meridians were cleared, and the inner breath in the Dantian was compressed by another one percent.

Inside the carriage, Zhong Lin opened his palm, and a golden dragon-shaped Qi Force swirled in his palm. This golden dragon was only three inches long, entirely ephemeral, with faint dragon scales appearing.

"Third Grade Inner Breath Realm Qi Force externalization, Second Grade Meridian Passage Realm objectification. Now that I have fully cleared the arm meridians, the power of fist, palm, and claw martial arts has greatly increased. This Dragon Subduing Palm is just an ordinary martial art, yet when performed with Second Grade cultivation, it’s astonishingly different."

Zhong Lin clasped his palm, and with a dragon’s roar, the golden dragon in his hand dissolved.

"Next, I need to clear the Third Layer Foot Three Yin Meridian, which includes the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian, and Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian. The meridians they connect are even more complex, with the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian alone having forty-two acupoints: Gongsun, Yin Bai, Shangqiu, Diji, Blood Sea, Chongmen... Completely clearing the Foot Three Yin Meridian requires breaking through one hundred and twenty-four acupoints."

Thinking of this, even Zhong Lin himself twitched his mouth. This is just the third layer, no wonder so many Upper Third Grades martial artists are stuck at this stage.

"The first layer requires twenty-nine acupoints, the second sixty-two, the third one hundred and twenty-four... It truly is like the saying, ’one layer of meridian is one layer of heaven’!"

"Fortunately, I have mastered ’Silkworm Silk Strength’, otherwise, like Master, I would have to slowly erode each acupoint with inner breath. According to Master, it took him two years to perfect his inner breath after reaching the Inner Breath Realm at thirty-five, and now, despite being over seventy, he remains stalled at the Meridian Passage Realm, even with an unlimited supply of Protecting Veins Pills. I wonder how those loose cultivators manage their cultivation."

Zhong Lin shook his head and smiled bitterly, increasingly appreciating the difficulty of cultivation in the Meridian Passage Realm.

Slowly, he stood up and stepped out of the carriage.

It was noon, and the caravan was camped by the river to prepare meals.

Zhong Lin’s sudden disembarkation surprised everyone. Except for basic needs, he was never out of the carriage, and it wasn’t mealtime yet!

Niu Dali thought Zhong Lin had instructions, so he hurried forward.

"Greetings, Master Zhong. Do you have commands?"

He dared not slack off with this master. An Upper Third Grade martial artist and Fourth Grade Alchemist, such titles commanded reverence anywhere.

Moreover, the Princess had said, even if he disrespected her, he must not disrespect Zhong Lin.

Seeing Niu Dali’s anxious expression, Zhong Lin revealed a faint smile.

"Nothing. I’m just tired from training, came down to relax a bit. Carry on."

Niu Dali’s eyes were peculiar. Tired from training? You feel tired from training?

In everyone’s eyes, Zhong Lin was a martial arts fanatic, hiding in the carriage every day to train. No wonder, at such a young age, he was already an Upper Third Grade martial artist.

"What’s ahead?"

Zhong Lin glanced at the faint silhouette of a city in the distance and casually inquired.

"Reporting to Master, ahead is Linyue City."