Cultivation Begins with Skill Points-Chapter 160: Lin Family Mother and Daughter

"Young Master Zhong, these are some dried fruits I personally selected. Please have a taste."

By a large river, several carriages were gathered, with guards and servants setting up camp and starting fires to cook.

Zhong Lin was sitting cross-legged on a green stone, meditating and cultivating. A girl of about sixteen or seventeen came over to deliver the dried fruits.

She wasn’t tall, but her figure was curvy like a gourd, with big, adorable eyes and fair skin. At this moment, she was looking at Zhong Lin shyly.

Zhong Lin took the dried fruits with a smile, and during the exchange, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he touched the girl’s fingers. The girl blushed instantly as if she had been shocked.

"Thank you, Miss Lin."

"No... no need to thank me. If it weren’t for you, Young Master Zhong, our family might have met with disaster long ago. It’s just a small gesture, not worthy of thanks."

Miss Lin’s voice was like pearls falling on a jade plate, clear and pleasant.

The caravan before him was something Zhong Lin encountered when he returned to the official road yesterday. The caravan lacked a male head, consisting only of a lady with the surname Zhang.

Originally from Yuhuan County, she and her husband were in the fur business there, and they had a son and a daughter.

Last year, her husband passed away due to illness, and in her grief, Lady Zhang managed to gather their family assets, planning to take her children to Coastal County to seek refuge with her brother.

Unfortunately, she encountered treachery. The steward who had accompanied her all along developed greedy intentions after her husband’s death and conspired with the guards on the road to seize their family assets.

Such a scene was encountered by Zhong Lin, who then saved the day heroically.

The steward was killed on the spot, and as for the subverted guards, they were suppressed powerfully by Zhong Lin.

With his cultivation at the perfection of the Second Grade Meridian Passage Realm, who could oppose him?

For now, they invited him to accompany them for a while, which happened to be on his way, so Zhong Lin did not refuse, leading to the current situation.

This girl, named Lin Shihua, was Lady Zhang’s eldest daughter, about sixteen years old, young and beautiful. Naturally, she harbored affection for such a handsome and skilled young man like Zhong Lin.

Lin Shihua delivered the dried fruits, her face full of happiness, and bounced away.

"Sister, sister."

A little head peeked out from a carriage.

Lin Shihua walked forward to lift her brother Lin An from the carriage. At the tender age of six, he first experienced the loss of their father, and then narrowly escaped a deadly ordeal. Lin Shihua embraced him with a heart full of pain.

"What’s wrong, Xiao An?"

"Sister, I want to become an apprentice to Brother Zhong and ask him to teach me martial arts."

Little Lin An pointed at Zhong Lin in the distance, his face full of determination.

"Martial arts is tough. Why do you suddenly want to learn it?" Lin Shihua asked gently.

"Because I want to protect Mother and you, never letting anyone bully you again. Father said that I am a man, and a man must protect his family."

Little Lin An said loudly.

"Xiao An is so good, then learn martial arts well. When you grow up, you will be able to protect me and Mother."

"Mm, I will definitely be able to. If Brother Zhong could teach me, that would be great. Sister, can I ask Brother Zhong?"

Lin Shihua glanced at Zhong Lin’s direction, her expression also slightly bewildered. Becoming an apprentice to learn skills wasn’t something settled with mere words. She also feared that if Zhong Lin rejected him, her brother Lin An might be hurt.

"An’er, don’t mess around. When we reach your uncle’s home, let him help you find a teacher to apprentice and learn martial arts."

The carriage curtain was lifted, and the graceful Lady Zhang stepped out.

Lady Zhang, in her thirties, looked just in her twenties due to her well-maintained appearance. She was dressed in a light blue gauze dress, simple yet elegant. Her skirt was embroidered with white flowers, exuding elegance. A jade pendant hung at her waist, emitting a soft glow in the sunlight. Her fair face needed no makeup, resembling morning clouds reflected on snow. Her brows and eyes contained a sense of beauty, and her smile revealed tenderness.

She walked lightly, approaching slowly like a blooming lotus, emanating a gentle fragrance.

The mother and daughter stood together, looking more like sisters than a mother and daughter, with one being a pure white flower and the other a striking rose.

It was no wonder that steward harbored vile thoughts. If he succeeded in his scheme, not only would he gain the family’s wealth, but also this pair of mother-daughter flowers.

"Young Master Zhong was but a passing acquaintance, yet he saved our whole family’s lives. How could we trouble him further?" Lady Zhang scolded little Lin An.

Though Zhong Lin was unwilling, he nodded in agreement.

"Got it, Mother."

Lady Zhang sighed and looked deeply in the direction of Zhong Lin, her eyes flashing with something indescribable.

Zhong Lin naturally couldn’t be bothered with the family’s conversation at this moment. He was sitting cross-legged on the green stone, contemplating his next cultivation.

The twelve layers of the Meridian Passage were already fully completed. The twelve regular meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians were entirely opened, making all the hundred meridians in his body unobstructed and reaching the perfection of the Second Grade Meridian Passage Realm.

And next was... the First Grade Pure Essence Realm.

In the Martial Arts Nine Grades, the Pure Essence Realm is the final realm.

The Pure Essence Realm is also known as the True Qi Realm.

The inner breath is formless and intangible, while true qi is tangible and substantive, hence it is called "true" qi.

Zhong Lin used his inner breath to perform various martial arts techniques. Even when capturing or striking people, one could only see the formless and violent airflow. However, if he mastered true qi, everyone would see a giant hand.

The "Dragon Subduing Palm" he previously executed could turn into a dragon-shaped force with just one palm strike. If the inner breath transformed into true qi, others would see a golden Divine Dragon.

Even after the true qi becomes abundant, it could transform into a giant dragon in a region, suppressing everything.

The cultivation of the First Grade Pure Essence Realm is not difficult. One only needs a perfected Meridian Passage, potent inner breath, and a Pure Essence Pill to promote the inner breath to a higher level of true qi, making it a natural transition.

Therefore, the true difficulty of stepping into the First Grade Pure Essence Realm lies in unlocking the twelve regular meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Now with Zhong Lin’s perfected Meridian Passage Realm, the inner breath permeates all the body’s meridians and points. All he needs is a Pure Essence Pill to easily step into the First Grade Martial Arts.

He reached into his robe and took out a jade bottle, pouring a green elixir from it.

The elixir was no bigger than a thumb, entirely green like a treasured gem, with a faint medicinal aroma wafting from it. Just a whiff could make the inner breath in his Dantian surge.

"Fortunately, I brought several Pure Essence Pills when I set out. Otherwise, I’d have to return to the sect." Zhong Lin thought to himself in relief.

The crafting of Pure Essence Pills isn’t complex. With Zhong Lin’s status as a Fourth Grade Alchemist, he could craft them with ease. However, these are only effective for martial artists at the perfection of the Meridian Passage Realm. Who would carry them otherwise?

Zhong Lin always planned ahead. For him, the cultivation in the Meridian Passage Realm was not difficult; following the proper steps sufficed. The Silkworm Silk Strength greatly aided the unlocking of the meridians and points.

But who would have thought that during his escort mission with Jiang Yuan, he would integrate numerous Heavenly Grade techniques. The "Five Elements Mixed Essence Skill" proved highly efficient in unblocking meridians and points.