Chapter 8

Lü Cheng kept transforming himself into a child and then back to his original state, enjoying the process as if he had returned to the past. At the same time, he was practicing the Turtle Breath Technique, suppressing his breath, and the Body Shrinking Technique. If Xie Naxin or Zhao Siyan saw him, they would be greatly surprised.

Xie Naxin and Zhao Siyan were sworn brothers, and they did not hide their secret techniques from each other. However, even so, they did not ask to practice each other's martial arts. They knew that mastering a martial art was not something that could be achieved in three to five years. It was better to focus on cultivating internal energy rather than being distracted.

Of course, if everyone could master a martial art in one or two hours and achieve great success in ten to fifteen days, learning a few more martial arts would be fine. Moreover, these were just auxiliary techniques. Xie Naxin, being slender, was suitable for the Body Shrinking Technique, while Zhao Siyan was naturally suited for the Turtle Breath Technique.

Lü Cheng used both the Turtle Breath Technique and the Body Shrinking Technique, but he found that he couldn't concentrate on both. When he used the Body Shrinking Technique to turn himself into a child, he noticed that his face seemed to deform. Lü Cheng was shocked. He touched his cheeks and found that one side was larger than the other. He knew this was due to the Turtle Breath Technique and quickly abandoned it, returning to his normal state.

Although his face returned to normal, Lü Cheng still felt a slight pain in his right cheek. Originally, he had treated the Body Shrinking Technique as a toy, but now that the toy was broken, he needed to fix it. He tried using the technique without the Turtle Breath Technique and found no issues. However, when he used both techniques simultaneously, the Body Shrinking Technique occasionally malfunctioned, causing his face to deform or his limbs to shrink unevenly.

Lü Cheng tried incorporating his sensing ability. When his face deformed again, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he could use his sensing ability to guide his internal energy to repair it. However, at first, his attempts made his face even more distorted. In the end, he had to use a basin of water to look at his reflection to restore his appearance.

This was because Lü Cheng's internal energy was insufficient. If he were at the third or even fourth level of internal energy, he wouldn't have such problems. Of course, with the help of his sensing ability, he could avoid mistakes when using the Body Shrinking Technique.

Facing his reflection in the water, Lü Cheng noticed a strange phenomenon. When the Body Shrinking Technique malfunctioned and deformed his face, he could use his sensing ability to guide his internal energy to repair it. At first, he was unfamiliar with controlling his sensing ability and often made his face look bizarre. Sometimes, he had to restore his appearance and then use it as a reference to fix his face.

Using his sensing ability to guide his internal energy through the facial meridians to change his face, Lü Cheng initially aimed to prevent his face from deforming. Suddenly, he thought of a question: Could he change his facial features? When he saw a strange face in the water, Lü Cheng was both surprised and delighted.

Once he could change his appearance, Lü Cheng couldn't stop. The Body Shrinking Technique could change his appearance, but it was proportional. Lü Cheng, however, could completely alter his face. It sounded difficult, but in practice, it wasn't. As long as he used his sensing ability to control his internal energy and change the muscles on his face, theoretically, he could change any part of his body.

However, Lü Cheng's internal energy was only at the second level, and he was still in the early stages. Even if he could change his appearance, he could only maintain it for the duration of a stick of incense. After that, his internal energy would run out, and his appearance would return to its original form.

Lü Cheng now clearly understood that although his internal energy had reached the second level, it was still far from sufficient. He could use the Turtle Breath Technique freely, but the Body Shrinking Technique occasionally malfunctioned. Changing his appearance also required internal energy support.

"Cheng'er, why did you bring back two rabbits today?" Lü Zhong, who now enjoyed meat every night, whether it was mountain chicken or wild rabbit, was surprised to see Lü Cheng bring back two large and fat rabbits. Such rabbits were not easy for even experienced hunters to catch.

"Today's luck was particularly good," Lü Cheng said. He no longer used the "waiting for a rabbit to hit a tree" method to hunt. When he channeled his internal energy to his feet, the rabbits couldn't outrun him. Moreover, his sensing ability could alert him in advance, allowing him to predict the rabbits' movements.

Lü Cheng's sensing ability now had a range of two zhang. While it might not be enough for other tasks, it was sufficient for hunting a wild rabbit or mountain chicken every day. There weren't many large wild animals at the foot of the mountain, but small prey was plentiful for Lü Cheng. As a servant of Song Family Village, Lü Cheng needed to chop two loads of firewood every day, but he could complete this task in a moment. What he needed most now was to eat a lot to replenish his energy and help his internal energy grow faster.

It was often said that the poor studied literature while the rich practiced martial arts. Lü Cheng now deeply understood this. Cultivating internal energy required extracting energy from breathing and diet. Without meat every day, it was difficult for internal energy to grow rapidly. Especially with Lü Cheng's fast cultivation speed, his need for meat was even greater.

In the past, a two to three-pound wild rabbit was enough for Lü Cheng and his three fathers to share a meal. Now, with his internal energy at the peak of the second level, he needed to intensify his cultivation and supplement his nutrition. Unlike the children of Song Family Village, who had no worries about food and clothing and only needed to practice diligently, Lü Cheng had to do his duties as a servant and worry about his meals every night. Lü Zhong's monthly allowance of three taels of silver was not enough to buy meat for every meal.

The two rabbits were stewed in a pot, filling it to the brim. Soon, the aroma filled the entire courtyard, making everyone's mouths water. Lü Cheng, as usual, went to fetch wine. When he returned, Xie Naxin and Zhao Siyan were already there. They could have eaten at the village, but the food there was just a bit of meat, which couldn't compare to a pot of rabbit stew.

"Brother, you have meat every day here. We don't want to eat at the village anymore," Xie Naxin said, sniffing the air and drooling. Since Lü Zhong no longer required Lü Cheng to cultivate internal energy, they often ate meat here.

"Then come here every day. You are Cheng'er's godfathers, so it's natural for you to eat the game he catches," Lü Zhong smiled, not expecting Lü Cheng to bring back game almost every day.

"Brother, Cheng'er is growing. You should gamble less and contribute more," Zhao Siyan said, carrying a jar of wine. Eating meat here for nearly twenty days a month, even if Lü Cheng was their godson, they felt a bit embarrassed.

Xie Naxin was a gambler. As soon as he received his monthly allowance, he went to the casino and wouldn't stop until he lost everything. Once he lost it all, he had to wait for the next month's allowance.