In the shack, Lu Xuan rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed.
The next second, he froze. All traces of drowsiness vanished in an instant.
Inside his mind, within his Spiritual World, the one thousand eight hundred profound and mysterious characters… were still there.
Shining brightly.
"Mediation of Creation?" he whispered, his heart pounding violently.
The Divine Technique from his dream was carved into his mind, real and tangible. The implications were terrifying. 'Does this mean… the dream wasn't a dream?'
'Does this mean that was a real world? That Grandpa Li and Brother Zhang weren't just people in a dream?'
No wonder he'd had the same dream for seven years without fail. No wonder…
Lu Xuan swallowed hard. In a daze, he once again recalled the one thousand eight hundred esoteric characters, which felt as if they were carved into his Spiritual World with a knife and chisel.
One thousand eight hundred characters. Each one was as majestic as a mountain, each one doing its utmost to expound upon the Dao and its principles.
"Mediation… of Creation!" Lu Xuan recited in a low voice once more, his entire consciousness sinking into it involuntarily.
The profound and mysterious characters were analyzed, perceived, and understood!
One character, two characters, three characters…
In three hours, from six to nine o'clock, Lu Xuan managed to analyze and comprehend a total of seventy-four characters. He had to temporarily give up when he reached the seventy-fifth, as it was too complex and profound.
He sat stunned on his bed for a long while before slowly extending his palm, holding it up to the empty air.
He gently activated the power of the seventy-four esoteric characters.
CRACK!
Along with the cracking sound, the air in Lu Xuan's palm began to ripple. The ripples grew more turbulent, more violent, more…
Suddenly!
A single grain of rice.
A single, ordinary, crystal-clear grain of rice fell into his palm, lying there quietly.
Lu Xuan was panting, drenched in sweat. He felt as if his energy had been completely drained, but his heart was racing and his pupils constricted slightly. 'I did it!'
The Mediation of Creation that Grandpa Li taught him… It's real!
He recalled Brother Zhang's description of the Mediation of Creation:
"The first of the thirty-six Dharmas, the head of the thirty-six Great Divine Techniques, the Mediation of Creation can evolve heaven and earth and create all things!"
This grain of rice had been 'created' by him from thin air. It wasn't even formed by breaking down and reassembling matter; it had broken the law of conservation of energy, appearing from nothing!
Although it was just a single grain of rice, the meaning behind it…
Lu Xuan clutched the grain of rice, got off the bed, and took a step, subconsciously wanting to pace back and forth.
CRACK!
Another cracking sound.
This time, it was the concrete floor.
He stared in astonishment at the cracked concrete beneath his foot. Snapping back to his senses, he finally noticed a surging, terrifying power within his Physique!
An idea flashed through Lu Xuan's mind. He clenched his right hand around the rice and squeezed his empty left hand shut!
BANG!
A small shockwave erupted!
'Is this… because of the Jade Tower Breathing Technique?'
The young man immediately focused his mind, carefully examining the changes in his body. He was amazed to find that from continuously circulating the Jade Tower Breathing Technique while traveling and sleeping,
in just half a day, his skin and muscles had grown much stronger, and even his bones were a fair bit tougher!
'The Martial Artist Realm, the first gate of the Jade Tower, is actually this powerful?'
'No wonder everyone wants to cultivate!'
Once Lu Xuan's excitement subsided, his body belatedly registered its fatigue and hunger.
GRUMBLE…
He rubbed his stomach, and after a moment of thought, he understood.
'The Nine Gates Jade Tower seems to use the "Essence" of food to temper the physical shell and bolster the "Essence" of the flesh. Although there's also the absorption of qi through breathing, that only accounts for a small part…'
'In that case, if I want to continue my Cultivation, I'll need food… a lot of nutritious food!'
Subconsciously, Lu Xuan glanced at the impossibly crystal-clear grain of rice in his palm with some regret.
'Unfortunately, my Cultivation and mastery of the Mediation of Creation are probably too shallow. Creating something from nothing consumes a great deal of energy and is even mentally taxing. Otherwise…'
Muttering to himself, he casually tossed the jade-like grain of rice into his mouth and swallowed it.
"Well, a grain of rice is still rice. Can't let it go to waste."
The moment the words left his mouth, Lu Xuan's expression changed drastically!
He was shocked to find that after the grain of rice entered his stomach, it erupted with a vigorous flow of energy. His hunger vanished in an Instant, and he even began to feel extremely full—so full he felt like he was about to burst!
Lu Xuan didn't dare to hesitate. He quickly activated the Jade Tower Breathing Technique, merely guiding and refining the immense energy flow in his stomach.
The streams of energy then followed his Qi Circulation, frantically tempering his body from top to bottom!
More than two hours passed before Lu Xuan managed to digest most of the energy.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP…
His heart beat like a muffled drum.
'What's going on??'
Feeling that his strength had nearly doubled again, Lu Xuan was baffled. But before he could ponder the reason, a series of urgent knocks sounded at the door.
Lu Xuan snapped back to reality and temporarily set aside his confusion.
"Who is it?"
He opened the door to find a sturdy young man outside. The young man had a very conspicuous mole on his face, and his expression was full of anxiety and panic.
"Brother Xuan, it's me!" Wu Xiaoxu exclaimed frantically. "Something's happened! Something big!"
Lu Xuan's expression didn't change. He simply motioned for Wu Xiaoxu to come inside, poured him a glass of water, and then asked:
"Ah Xu, slow down. What's wrong?"
The sturdy young man GULPED down the large glass of water and took a breath.
"It's about the cemetery demolition… The people from Sakata Heavy Industries are here! They came with a big excavator! Fifth Grandpa, who was organizing the protest, had his leg broken, and now they're about to start digging up the graves!"
"How are Fifth Grandpa's injuries?" Lu Xuan's expression turned grim.
Although the shantytown was a slum, rife with scheming and backstabbing, there were also respected elders, such as that Fifth Grandpa.
As for Sakata Heavy Industries…
The gravity in Lu Xuan's eyes deepened. Uncle Zheng hadn't mentioned that the demolition company was Sakata Heavy Industries. This…
Sakata Heavy Industries was a super-conglomerate that spanned across the Ancestor Star and three other colonial planets. In this era where capital reigned supreme, Sakata Heavy Industries practically had the power to negotiate with the Federation as an equal.
Many Federation Councillors were even from Sakata Heavy Industries themselves!
But the question was, even if it was just the East Sea City branch of Sakata Heavy Industries, it was still an absolute behemoth. Why would such an Existence take an interest in a small cemetery in a slum and go to such great lengths?
Just as a hundred thoughts raced through Lu Xuan's mind, Wu Xiaoxu sighed and said:
"I don't know the specifics either. It's really chaotic over there right now. But Fifth Grandpa has been sent to my dad's clinic, so he should… he should be okay, right…?"
"Let's go take a look at the cemetery," Lu Xuan said with a frown.
"Ah!" Wu Xiaoxu's eyes widened. "Brother Xuan, are you crazy?! You still want to go?! It's a total mess over there, and a lot of the people from Sakata Heavy Industries have guns!"
Lu Xuan nodded, then shook his head.
"Then I'll go. You stay here."
With that, he stood up and walked out the door without hesitation. Wu Xiaoxu stood stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and dashed out after him.
"Brother Xuan, wait for me!"