I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely-Chapter 51 - 50: Turtle Breath Technique

"Excellent, excellent, excellent."

Guo Qianming suppressed the excitement in his heart, his expression unchanging. Still, he hurried over. Even from a distance, he could feel the imposing Sword Qi emanating from the Sword Artifacts within the Sword Box.

They were definitely top-quality items. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

And so, Guo Qianming took out one of the Level 5 Iron Swords and began to inspect it closely.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Guo Qianming couldn’t help but praise it profusely. "This sword is quite impressive. While it may not be a one-of-a-kind Treasure Sword, it’s certainly a high-quality piece."

"How about this?"

"Three thousand taels. I’ll give you three thousand taels apiece."

"Deal."

Xu Qing nodded, not bothering to haggle.

"Good. Straight to the point."

Guo Qianming laughed heartily.

The two of them then completed the transaction.

The nine Level 5 Iron Swords sold for a grand total of twenty-seven thousand taels, while the cost had merely been nine ordinary Iron Swords.

"Shopkeeper."

After putting away the silver notes, Xu Qing looked at Guo Qianming and asked, "Do you know where I can buy Martial Arts techniques in the Black Market?"

"Martial Arts?"

Guo Qianming paused for a moment, then asked, "What type of Martial Arts specifically?"

"A technique that can hide one’s true strength," Xu Qing said.

"Hiding your strength."

Guo Qianming pondered for a moment. "To be honest, most of the Martial Arts techniques for sale in the Black Market are fakes, or at best, half-real."

"Even though it’s called the Black Market, it’s still regulated. Certain things can’t be circulated freely here. The rules are just a little more relaxed, that’s all."

"If someone actually dared to openly sell Martial Arts techniques in the Black Market, especially those from the major Martial Arts Halls, they’d be caught in no time. There’s no escaping it."

"So?"

Xu Qing’s tone was calm.

"Ahem..."

Guo Qianming gave a light cough and said, "Actually, I happen to have a technique on hand. It’s called the Turtle Breath Technique. Not only can it hide your strength, but it can also conceal your aura."

"How much?" Xu Qing asked.

"Ten thousand taels."

Guo Qianming held up one finger. "This is a special kind of Martial Arts technique, one I came across by a stroke of luck. It only has one drawback: it’s incredibly difficult to master. It requires you to hold your breath underwater for Cultivation."

"In other words,"

"the slightest mistake means you won’t just fail to master the technique, you could also damage your lungs. And if your lungs are damaged, your future in martial arts training will be difficult."

"But even so,"

"it’s still ten thousand taels of silver."

"Too much."

Xu Qing shook his head. "One price. I’ll give you five thousand taels, and the Turtle Breath Technique is mine."

"You cut the price in half!"

Guo Qianming said, "This is a special Martial Arts technique, after all. The starting price for any special technique is ten thousand taels."

"Five thousand taels."

Xu Qing shook his head. "If that’s not acceptable, I’ll look elsewhere."

"This..."

Guo Qianming lowered his head, gritting his teeth as if he were taking a huge loss. "Fine. Seeing as you’re a business partner, five thousand it is."

"Heh."

Xu Qing just chuckled.

And with that, the two struck a deal.

The Turtle Breath Technique was his.

Xu Qing took a close look and saw that it was just a hand-copied manual. The original was undoubtedly still with Guo Qianming. Since Guo Qianming had the original, he had surely sold this Turtle Breath Technique to more than one person.

Of course, if Xu Qing mastered the Turtle Breath Technique, he could also copy the manual and sell it to others, but he would need to find buyers first.

Besides that, Xu Qing could actually copy his Baji Fist and sell it in the Black Market as well.

However, ordinary combat-style Martial Arts weren’t very expensive, selling for only one or two hundred taels of silver. But if a Training Technique was involved, the price was completely different—it would increase tenfold.

Afterward, Xu Qing left the weapon shop and went to the Black Tiger Spiritual Food Store. He met the owner, Black Tiger, and took out silver notes worth twenty-two thousand taels.

"I’m here to buy meat," Xu Qing said.

"Right away."

Black Tiger recognized Xu Qing at a glance. They had done business several times now, and the process was familiar. He accepted Xu Qing’s silver notes and went to the warehouse to get the meat.

Soon, Xu Qing received one hundred and five catties of Black Mountain Tiger Meat.

"Mm."

Xu Qing confirmed there were no issues and left with the Black Mountain Tiger Meat.

"Safe travels, customer," Black Tiger said with a fawning smile.

Black Tiger took a deep breath, thinking to himself, ’This customer is really something else. He’s bought so much Black Mountain Tiger Meat lately.’

’If he’s eating it all by himself, at that rate of consumption, he must be at least a Huajin expert, possibly even at the Dan Jin Realm.’

「The scene changed.」

Xu Qing was already back at his residence. Ever since his killing spree in the Black Market, no one had been blind enough to cause trouble for him again.

"Spiritual Food."

「That evening.」

Xu Qing took out a piece of Black Mountain Tiger Meat and ate it raw. It tasted good, was very chewy, and even had a certain sweetness. There was no bloody or disgusting sensation at all.

’To be honest, I’m quite curious how ’Spiritual Food’ is cultivated. And what exactly is a ’Flesh Field’? The secrets behind this run deep,’ Xu Qing mused.

After all, in Qingbei Town, setting aside the Inner City, in the Outer City, among all the merchants, gangs, Escort Agencies, Martial Arts Halls, and so on, only the Three Great Martial Arts Halls—the Cangying Martial Arts Hall, the Broken Stone Martial Arts Hall, and the Yinghong Martial Arts Hall—possessed a ’Flesh Field.’ No other faction was qualified to even come into contact with one.

The ’Flesh Field’ was the very foundation of a Martial Artist.

Without a ’Flesh Field,’ one couldn’t cultivate ’Spiritual Food.’ And without ’Spiritual Food,’ the higher a Martial Artist’s Realm, the more they had to eat. If they ate ordinary food, a Huajin Martial Artist could devour an entire ox in one sitting and still not be full.

They had to eat ’Spiritual Food’ just to maintain their daily lives.

"The Turtle Breath Technique."

Xu Qing took out the hand-copied manual for the Turtle Breath Technique and began to read it carefully. ’Good heavens, you have to hold your breath underwater for over an hour.’

"Tsk tsk..."

’In that case, to cultivate the Turtle Breath Technique, one would need to be at least at the Huajin Realm. Only then could they use their Power to temper their internal organs and extend the time they can hold their breath.’

’Either that, or you’d need exceptional natural Talent.’

Xu Qing mused, ’Also, this technique has another drawback. It’s easy to injure your lungs during Cultivation. No wonder Guo Qianming was willing to sell it to me for five thousand taels.’

"Whatever."

Xu Qing shook his head. ’For me, there’s no Martial Arts technique I can’t master. These drawbacks won’t affect me. Buying it for five thousand taels wasn’t a loss.’

"Record," Xu Qing said.

BZZZT!

The next moment, with a thought from Xu Qing, the Encyclopedia of All Things flashed with a fluorescent light. The Turtle Breath Technique manual in his hand also pulsed with a white glow, as if countless tiny figures were flooding into his mind.

[Recording Complete!]

[Turtle Breath Technique Level 1: 0/50 (This is a special Martial Arts technique created by an Extraordinary on the Martial Path of the Second Realm, who imitated a thousand-year-old turtle. Once mastered, it can hide one’s strength and conceal one’s aura.)]

BOOM!

Xu Qing’s mind trembled.

Vaguely, Xu Qing’s consciousness seemed to enter a mystical space. There, he continuously practiced the Turtle Breath Technique, holding his breath underwater as if he had transformed into an ancient turtle.

BZZZT!

Finally, Xu Qing opened his eyes. He had already mastered the Turtle Breath Technique. The rhythm of his breathing had changed, becoming long and drawn-out, and his aura seemed to vanish completely.

It was like he was in hibernation.

Then, Xu Qing assessed his condition. The Qi and Blood within his body were concealed, and his physical strength was difficult to detect. It was as if he had instantly fallen from the Dan Jin Realm to the Huajin Realm.

’It can only hide one Realm of strength,’ Xu Qing mused, somewhat dissatisfied. ’This won’t do. Besides, with Du Cangying’s strength at the second step of the Martial Dao, he could very likely see through the Turtle Breath Technique’s disguise.’

’Looks like I’ll have to upgrade the Turtle Breath Technique after all,’ Xu Qing thought.

Furthermore, to upgrade the Turtle Breath Technique, he had to use it to enter water and hold his breath for one hour to gain one Experience Point.

Moreover, the Turtle Breath Technique was a special form of Martial Arts. Upgrading from Level 1 to Level 2 required fifty Experience Points, a much higher threshold than other techniques.

"There are less than ten days left before the month is up. I’ll just stay home and cultivate the Turtle Breath Technique during this time," Xu Qing mused. "It would be best to raise its level a few times."

「The next day.」

Xu Qing bought a large vat, filled it with water, activated the Turtle Breath Technique, and submerged his entire body inside.

「An hour later.」

[Experience +1]

SPLASH...

The sound of splashing water rang out.

Xu Qing emerged from the vat, completely drenched.

"Again."

After a short rest, Xu Qing activated the Turtle Breath Technique again and held his breath underwater.

Hour after hour passed.

...

[Experience +1]

...

[Experience +1]

...

Xu Qing slept for only three hours a day, dedicating all his remaining time to the Turtle Breath Technique. That meant he practiced it for twenty-one hours every day.

He basically lived in the water.

One day... two days... three days...

「Time flew by.」

「Eight days later, in the morning.」

"Today is more or less the deadline."

Xu Qing ate a piece of Black Mountain Tiger Meat to replenish his energy and stamina. ’I’ve practiced the Turtle Breath Technique for eight days straight, for twenty-one hours a day.’

’Today is the day I reap the rewards.’

[Turtle Breath Technique Level 1: 168/50 (Upgradeable!)]

"Upgrade," Xu Qing commanded.

...

[Turtle Breath Technique Level 2: 118/100 (Upgradeable!)]

...

[Turtle Breath Technique Level 3: 18/200]

...

Two upgrades.

Xu Qing experienced two successive epiphanies, completely mastering the Level 3 Turtle Breath Technique in a short time. After the two upgrades, the Level 3 technique had undergone a massive transformation.

First, when Xu Qing activated the Turtle Breath Technique with all his might, he could completely hide his Cultivation and appear as an ordinary person. His aura could also be completely concealed.

Furthermore, unless someone had reached the Second Realm, it would be absolutely impossible for them to see through Xu Qing’s Cultivation.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent."

A smile appeared on Xu Qing’s face. "Time to go to the Cangying Martial Arts Hall."