Chapter 3: The Secret Scripture of Cultivation

  The next morning, before dawn, Yu Ze Cheng got up early and woke up his 10-year-old brother. He took him to the rooftop of their house, facing the direction where the sun would rise, and started practicing his "Mighty Tiger Roars at Heaven" technique by taking deep breaths and meditating.

  This kung fu requires getting up early every day, waiting for the arrival of the first ray of sunlight to absorb pure yang energy and cultivate it.

  The Měng Hǔ Xiào Tiān Jué is said to have been passed down by the Xianren to the leader of the Měng Hǔ Gang. The disciples of the Měng Hǔ Gang can start practicing at the age of six, and it's easy to learn and practice. As long as you put in some effort, absorb the morning sun's energy every day, and persist, ordinary people who are not extremely stupid or untalented can all reach the Dà Chéng realm before the age of sixteen.

  Actually, some geniuses can achieve great success in three years of practice, and ordinary disciples can also achieve great success in six years. Moreover, this kung fu can be accelerated through the help of seniors after four years of practice, allowing one to reach the state of great success at the age of ten, after which they can proceed to practice other inner kung fu of the Five Tigers Sect.

  Yu Ze Cheng has been cultivating for eight years now, but he still can't succeed in his cultivation. His younger brother Yu Ze Gong has only been cultivating for four years, yet he has already caught up with Yu Ze Cheng's level. In the Miao Hu Bang, martial arts are paramount to standing out, but Yu Ze Cheng himself is unable to reach the Great Completion realm no matter how hard he tries. If his younger brother surpasses him, what face will he have left as an older brother? This thought fills Yu Ze Cheng with anxiety.

  Even if the Mysterious Tiger's Roar reaches the Great Completion realm, the amount of true energy cultivated is still not that much. Compared to other family-inherited internal skills, it is inferior by countless times in terms of true energy and combat. It can only serve to strengthen the body, prolong life, and nourish one's health.

  The only benefit is that this inner power is extremely stable and will never go astray, and once it reaches perfection, the practice of other five internal skills of the Mantis Fist Sect: Black Tiger Strength, Golden Tiger Skill, White Tiger Energy, Purple Tiger Secret, Blue Tiger Scripture, will all be learned instantly, as these internal skills are all evolved from this Mantis Roar Heaven Technique. Now many disciples of the Mantis Fist Sect no longer practice this inner power, but instead directly practice other five ultimate skills.

  At this time, the distant morning sun rose, and Yu Ze Cheng woke up his drowsy younger brother with a pat, then ran the true energy to prepare for absorbing the first ray of sunlight.

  The moment the sun rose above the horizon, the first ray of sunlight shone on Yu Ze Cheng's body. Immediately, he shook all over, circulating his true energy to its limits and absorbing the power of the morning sun.

  The rest is inhaling and exhaling, the exhaled air is like a layer of white mist, which is the characteristic of the Tiger's Roar to Heaven Technique. With the help of the Xuanyang force, it washes away the stale air inside the body.

  The rest of the time was spent in vain, and there was still no sign of a breakthrough in the true energy. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. However, there was nothing that could be done about it.

  Linhai City is located at the southern end of Tangguo, with the Wanwan Dashan Mountains to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west. It is a major transportation hub, bustling with people coming and going, and merchants constantly arriving, making it incredibly prosperous.

  Innumerable merchants from various countries of Luzhou, sailed across the Bohai Sea and docked at the coastal wharf, or went to the inland areas of Yunzhou for trade, or purchased local specialties produced in the Daxishan Mountains. Their first stop was always Linhai City.

  The Shan, Mu and Shi tribes in the Great Mountains of Ten Thousand would occasionally send merchant teams to Linhai City to buy salt, iron tools, tea leaves and other living materials, selling special products from the mountains. As a transit station, Linhai City naturally prospered.

  The strategy of the Chen royal family in ruling Tangguo was a hereditary mode, relying on other hereditary families and aristocratic families attached to the Chen family to serve them. This result was the final outcome of countless struggles produced by the establishment of Tangguo for 600 years. In the early days, the fourth emperor had a large-scale imperial examination, promoted civilians, and wanted to break this hereditary family governance model, but ultimately came to nothing.

  Like the city of Linhai, there is a saying that there are six major families, among which the ruler of Linhai City, the Chen family branch of Tie Maozi Wang, thoroughly controls the Linhai Wharf, and is a lone standout.

  The Tie family was mainly engaged in the manufacture of weapons. For generations, they had been making weapons for the Chen family and producing war equipment. They controlled many iron and coal mines in the southern part of the Tang State.

  The Shi family's ancestors were originally from the Shizhuang tribe in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and they were once slaves who led horses for the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Now, they have become one of the prominent families in Linhai City, and they are also a branch of the Chi Water Gate. Only their merchant caravan can enter deep into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and this time, Ma Laohei was able to invite out a master like Bai Hezi, thanks to his wife Shi Sanmei's connections.

  The Li family owned the largest shipyard in the seven states of Guangzhou, and even merchants from Luoyang and Yan'an would come to order ships. They operated a maritime trade, and were also members of the Four Seas Money House, which was spread across the southern regions, with countless wealth.

  The Yu family controlled the trade channels between the two countries of Mu and Tang, they also had their own business association in the state of Mu. Other merchant groups who wanted to conduct trade between the two countries had to pay a toll to them, with this, the Yu family was considered one of the richest families.

  Now that Ma Laohei has eliminated the Wild Wolf Gang, he has unified the underworld forces in Linhai City. Brothels, wine houses, hotels and boats are all within their sphere of influence.

  These aristocratic families actually intermarried with each other, just like Ma Laohei's wife was Shi Sanmei from the Shi family, Cui Renxiong's daughter married into the Tie family, and Wang Xuesen was a collateral branch of the Chen family. Yu Zecheng's father was a younger son of the main house of the Yu family, because he fell in love with his mother, the family opposed it, and finally drove him out of the house, breaking off relations with the family.

  But none of these things matter to Yu Ze Cheng, he is just a small chef. After finishing his training, Yu Ze Cheng began to wander the streets, preparing to buy two good books to read.

  Although Yu Zecheng gave all the rewards to his mother yesterday, he now has a good income from his job and can afford this soup. Whether the ingredients delivered are qualified or not is just a matter of one word from him, and naturally someone will show respect to him.

  Yu then checked the copper coins he had accumulated over the past few days, totaling 1,123 taels. He thought his mother's hairpin was broken and he wanted to buy her a new one. He also wanted to bring back several sugar people for his younger brother and sister. The remaining money would be used to buy books. A book cost 150 copper coins, which was enough. He had to buy a few good books to indulge himself.

  Yu Ze Cheng happened to be walking past Xu's restaurant at the front gate, and he thought of what his mother had said yesterday. Yu Ze Cheng deliberately took a closer look at the restaurant. It just so happened that he saw a girl from the Xu family secretly looking at him. When she saw Yu Ze Cheng looking over, the girl immediately blushed and ran back into the store with a bashful expression.

  Yu Ze Cheng watched as the girl ran away, apparently she knew who he was. She was indeed fair and delicate, with a hint of beauty, Yu Ze Cheng couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart.

  While walking on the main street, Yu Ze Cheng first bought a new copper hairpin for his mother, spending one hundred coppers, which was her favorite style. The shop owner insisted on one hundred and twenty coppers, but Yu Ze Cheng haggled with him until the shop owner was speechless and sold it to him for one hundred coppers.

  Yu Ze Cheng really enjoys this kind of haggling, Teacher Zhu Li once said that this is actually a kind of war, a confrontation, using words and actions to influence the enemy's mind and beliefs, persuading and changing the enemy's stance, which is even more thrilling than clashing swords.

  He spent another twenty copper coins to buy some candies for his younger brothers and sisters. Then he bought some necessities for the family. At this time, Yu Zecheng still had eight hundred and eighty copper coins left, and he was thinking about whether to buy a sugar man to reward himself, after all, he was only fourteen years old. Just then, he heard a shout from afar: "Selling off, selling off, big sale of books!"

  Is there a big sale on books? Yu Ze immediately quickened his pace and walked over, the shouting voices came from a large mansion. Seeing this mansion, Yu Ze immediately sped up, there must be cheap things inside.

  This family, surnamed Li, is a prominent household in Linhai City. The head of the household was originally the Minister of Shangshu in the Tang Dynasty and later retired to his hometown to live out his days. He passed away a few days ago, and it's said that during the funeral procession, all the major families showed their respect, with even Iron Hat Wang attending the ceremony in person.

  The old man died, and his son Li Da Guan Ren, who inherited the family business, was a notorious prodigal son in the whole city. He was a regular at Bi Cui Lou, indulging in both whoring and gambling. With no one to control him now, he could do whatever he wanted.

  As expected, the entrance of Li's house was filled with all sorts of objects, from large chairs to small ceramic items. This prodigal son had begun to sell off what he considered to be useless household items, and the ones that sold the most were the various books accumulated by his father and ancestors over several generations.

  Seeing piles of books scattered around, Yu Ze's eyes widened instantly. This prodigal son is really ruthless, not caring about his family's property at all.

  Yu Ze Cheng hastily rushed over, joining the ranks of the selectors, and began searching for his favorite books in this pile. He quickly scanned through the Analects, Mozi, poetry and essays, but what he liked most were travelogues, where he could appreciate the scenery and customs of various places.

  Yu Ze then made a selection, and finally chose three books. One was "Xian Qin Examination", which recorded the past of the legendary Xianqin Empire in ancient times. One was "Miao Xiang's Record", which recorded the customs and habits of the distant Miao Xiang region. And one "Ben Cao Gang Mu" recorded various rare spiritual grasses and useful medicinal materials.

  Yu Ze Cheng still wanted to continue selecting, and at this time discovered that under Li Da Ba Jia Zi's buttocks there were several more books. These books were neither paper nor leather, and it was unknown what material they were made of, emitting a strange glow.

  Looking back, that brilliance completely disappeared, and he unknowingly walked past, handing over the three books he had chosen, asking:

  "How much do these three books cost?"

  Li Da Guan Ren glanced over and said:

  "Twenty copper coins for one book."

  Normally, a book is printed or copied by hand. Printing with copper plates is for passing down one's own books to future generations. To print or rent copper plates, professional workers are hired to arrange and print the text on fine paper. The cost of printing a book is very high, usually around 200 taels of copper per book.

  When asking someone to copy books, they would ask some talented scholars like Xiucai, so the text is beautiful and there are no typos. Moreover, the name of the scholar will be signed, in case the scholar passes the imperial examination and becomes a celebrity, this book will also increase in value. Of course, the remuneration and meal expenses are not small numbers, at least 150 copper coins for one book.

  The books here are only twenty copper coins each, this is really a big sale. Yu Zecheng nodded and said:

  "Okay, I've bought it. By the way, big brother, what's the book under your butt? Can I take a look?"

  Mr. Li said:

  "You little brat, get out of here! Is this the place you came to? This is a secret recipe, passed down from our ancestors, it's the cultivation method of the immortals, practicing it can make one become an immortal and attain the Tao. These are all extremely precious books that are hard to come by even with a lot of money."

  After finishing speaking, he took out the book and handed it to Yu Zecheng. There were three books in total. One was called "The Supreme Heavenly Way Blood Seal Technique", one was called "The Formless Annihilation Spirit Consciousness Transformation Technique", and the other was called "The Universal Heaven Soul Slaughter Refining Evil Spirit Method".

  Yu Ze Cheng looked at these three books and suddenly felt a thrill throughout his body, recalling countless Jianghu legends. Could this be the legendary cultivation manual?

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