A bare-chested young man in his early twenties sat cross-legged on the bed, palms flat against his lower abdomen. His eyes were tightly shut, his expression intensely focused. Strands of white smoke could be seen rising faintly from his jet-black hair, as if he were undergoing a steam bath—an utterly peculiar sight.
An hour later, the youth slowly opened his eyes, abruptly withdrew his palms, and leapt off the bed.
Just then, a "thump-thump"knocked on the door from outside.
Entering was Ling Xiao's father, Ling Zhan, still clutching a wine flask as if it had never left his grasp. He looked at his son with a hint of excitement.
"Your mother said you beat up the two dogs guarding Ling Rui?"Ling Zhan plopped down on a nearby chair and asked.
Ling Xiao nodded. "Yes, Father."
Ling Zhan's eyebrow shot up. "You can cultivate your Xuan Power again?"
Ling Xiao shook his head. "Not yet, but... it won't be long before I can resume cultivating Xuan Power."On this continent, internal energy was called Xuan Power, so from now on, let's refer to it as Xuan Power!
"Really!"Ling Zhan jumped to his feet in excitement, then his expression darkened as he forced a bitter smile. "With your meridians destroyed, unless you find a fifth-grade or higher miraculous pill, there's barely a glimmer of hope to repair them. Otherwise..."Ah, Xiao'er, we've been deceiving ourselves all along!" With that, Ling Zhan downed a mouthful of strong liquor, attempting to numb himself with the fiery spirit.
Ling Xiao watched his father, clenching his fists before slowly releasing them. "Father, don't lose heart. As the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way. If we strive hard, we can surely reclaim control of our destiny.""
Ling Zhan glanced up at his son, sighed softly, then turned and walked out of the house, leaving only a lonely silhouette behind for Ling Xiao.
"Rest assured, Father Pingyi. Your son is no longer the same as before."
...
Within the grand estate of the Fifth Elder.
In the courtyard before the west wing, an eighteen-year-old youth clad in a blue robe practiced his sword techniques.
"Blue Rainbow Piercing the Sun!"The youth bellowed as he leapt into the air like a soaring eagle. His long sword whirled like a sunburst before thrusting forward, unleashing a half-meter-long blade aura that radiated a fierce, piercing energy.
Landing steadily, he withdrew his sword stance, a faint smile playing across his face. Paired with his narrow, single-lidded eyes, it was clear at a glance this was no broad-minded individual.
He was Ling Rui, the direct grandson of the Fifth Elder and the second son of Ling Chong, the financial steward.
No sooner had Ling Rui finished his move than a rather attractive maid approached, carrying a basin of water. She stood before him and said, "Young Master, please wash your face."
Ling Rui chuckled softly, running a hand across the maid's delicate cheek. "Little Mei, you're so thoughtful."
"Young Master, you're so naughty,"the maid pouted, turning her pretty face away in mock reproach.
"Heh heh, young master is a naughty boy by nature. Don't lock your door tonight—tonight, young master intends to be very naughty."Ling Rui took a towel from the basin, washing his face as he chuckled.
Xiao Mei's rosy cheeks flushed crimson all the way to her ears. She softly replied, "Yes, young master."
After washing his face, Ling Rui seemed to remember something and asked Xiao Mei, "Have Pockface and Dognose come back yet?"
"Not yet,"Xiao Mei replied.
"Those two idiots, can't even handle a simple task properly,"Ling Rui muttered lightly, tossing the towel back into the basin.
Just then, two figures stumbled clumsily through the door. Could it be anyone else but Pockface and Dognose?
One clutched his nose, the other hunched over, clutching his groin, both wearing mournful expressions. Spotting Ling Rui, they rushed forward and knelt before him, wailing, "Master, please avenge your servants..."
"What happened?"Ling Rui asked, baffled.
Pockmarked, his nose throbbing, struggled to speak clearly. Finally, Dog Nose managed to stammer out the events.
Ling Rui kicked each of them once and barked, "Idiots! You're both Level 4 Martial Trainees, yet you can't even beat a worthless fool? You've brought shame upon me!"
Dog Nose stammered, "Young Master, he... he was incredibly fast. We couldn't even see his movements clearly and fell right into his trap."
Pockmarked Nose nodded vigorously in agreement beside him.
"You bastards! Are you telling me he can already cultivate Xuan Power? You idiots!"Ling Rui snarled, his face twisted with rage.
Just days ago, he'd provoked Ling Xiao precisely to eliminate this laughingstock of the Ling family from existence. Yet after striking him from behind, the brat hadn't died—and now dared to taunt his men? How could Ling Rui not be furious? A worthless废才dared to disregard him? Yet as this thought crossed his mind, doubt crept in. Wasn't that kid a废才? How had he beaten his two lackeys so thoroughly they couldn't fight back? Could it be that the brat truly had mastered Xuan Power?
Impossible. His meridians were destroyed. Even the Supreme Elder had declared him incapable of cultivating Xuan Power for life. This must be a coincidence.
"Young Master, every word we said is true! That brat used dirty tricks—he punched Pockface in the nose and... kicked me in the crotch! Then he stole all our gold coins!"Dog Nose wailed with a mournful expression.
"Stop embarrassing me here! Xiao Mei, give them ten gold coins each for treatment. Now get out of my sight!"Ling Rui snapped, displeased. A faint worry stirred in his heart.
Xiao Mei nodded and led the two men out of the courtyard.
Ling Rui grabbed his long sword, roared, and swung it with all his might at a tree standing two men tall in the courtyard.
The sword struck, and the tree fell.
"Hmph. Even if you manage to rebuild your Xuan Power, so what? The clan trials begin in two months. Unless you can't take them, I'll make sure you vanish from this world,"Ling Rui gritted out coldly.
The night air was as cool as water, the bright moon hung high, and tree shadows danced across the ground.
It had been over half a month since Ling Xiao had broken through his first meridian.
Now, he prepared to break through his sixth meridian.
Previously, he had estimated it would take three months to open all twelve meridians. Yet now, each breakthrough required only two to three days. Ling Xiao was ecstatic. Only now did he realize how miraculous the Threefold Return Qi was—it could accelerate cultivation several times faster than conventional internal arts. Ling Xiao pondered this endlessly, eventually speculating it might stem from simultaneously practicing the Heavenly Frost Qi, Cloud-Dispelling Force, and Wind God Technique. He couldn't help but feel profound reverence for the Three Absolutes Elder who had created this unparalleled method.
Having opened five meridians, Ling Xiao's body brimmed with vitality. His once frail, sickly frame gradually grew sturdy, his skin regained its healthy color, and his entire being radiated a vibrant, handsome radiance.
"If not now, then when?"Ling Xiao focused his mind, flipped his palms downward, and two streams of heat surged from his Yongquan acupoints. They split into five rushing currents before converging into a thumb-sized, tangible energy sphere that charged toward a blocked meridian.
"Boom!"The energy sphere collided with the blocked meridian.
"Ah!"The excruciating pain made Ling Xiao cry out involuntarily, his lips already bitten until they bled.
First attempt failed!
Ling Xiao was already numb to this outcome. He understood that meridians couldn't be breached in a single strike. Instead, he needed to continuously compress and condense his mystical energy, launching repeated assaults—much like ancient soldiers battering a city gate with wooden rams. Eventually, the iron door would yield under relentless pressure.
With this precedent, Ling Xiao remained undeterred. He compressed his mystical energy once more and charged toward the blocked meridian.
"Boom."
"Boom."
After over a dozen assaults, he finally cleared another meridian.
"Ha!"Ling Xiao leaped off the bed and plunged directly into the water barrel already placed in the room, his face radiant with joy.
Having now opened six meridians, he could be considered a semi-martial body.
Most people are born with blocked meridians, rendering them incapable of cultivating mystical energy. Conversely, those born with all twelve primary meridians open are destined for martial prowess.
Yet among these twelve main meridians, distinctions exist between major and minor. Minor meridians cultivate at an excruciatingly slow pace, requiring immense time for advancement, thus limiting the potential of minor-meridian martial artists. Major meridians, however, accelerate Xuan energy cultivation and store greater reserves, unleashing immense power in combat. Those blessed with major meridians are termed natural-born martial artists—geniuses, if you will—extremely rare wherever they may be found.
Ling Xiao's meridians belonged to this category of innate major meridians. Though his meridians had been crippled, their inherent size remained unaffected. Having opened six meridians, he still had a distance to go before opening all twelve major meridians, hence his designation as a "Semi-Martial Body."
A semi-martial physique only grants marginal advantages over ordinary people. Without opening the remaining six meridians, Ling Xiao's martial prowess would forever stagnate at the Martial Trainee level, unable to break through to the Mystic Realm.
Thus, Ling Xiao's journey ahead remained arduous and long.
Fortunately, the miraculous Threefold Return Qi proved unexpectedly promising, making the opening of the twelve meridians a matter of time.
The moon set, the sun rose, and another day began.
After practicing the "Cloud Trace Phantom Shadow"technique and the first two forms of the Cloud-Sweeping Palm for an hour in the courtyard, Ling Xiao ceased his training. Instead, he took special care to wash and groom himself before preparing to stroll through the marketplace.
This marked Ling Xiao's first time stepping outside his home since his transmigration.