[Divine Revelation Reading] Shows Its Power

Chen Du sat cross-legged in the middle of the dilapidated house, his breathing gradually steadying.

There was a cultivation art engraved in the bones of the original owner of this body, Ning Chuan... the "Tianyuan Suppressing Martial Art."

It was the estate's ultimate art, created by Duke Tianyuan, Ning Shanyue, who had combined the strengths of countless schools and drawn upon the Martial Dao classics of earlier generations.

Though Ning Chuan was not favored, he had managed to study the first chapter... the Seventh-Rank Martial Warrior Chapter.

That chapter alone had taken him a full three months to barely memorize, and now it lay in Chen Du's consciousness, complete and unchanged.

He closed his eyes and began deducing.

[You begin comprehending the martial arts manual "Tianyuan Suppressing Martial Art: Seventh-Rank Martial Warrior Chapter"...]

[Divine Revelation Reading triggered, Enlightenment Through Anger triggered, Martial Arts Creation operating at full capacity, Becoming an Immortal Through Anger operating at full capacity. You break down and reconstruct the art's meridian-opening method, combining it with the Reverse Meridians method from the Martial Canon to create a cultivation path suited to this body's damaged martial meridians.]

[You have comprehended "Seventh-Rank Martial Warrior Chapter: New Interpretation." Meridian-opening efficiency has increased threefold, and the path can automatically bypass breaks in the martial meridians, allowing cultivation to begin without first repairing them.]

Still not enough.

He continued deducing.

The Seventh-Rank Martial Warrior Chapter was only the starting point. His goal lay higher.

[You begin comprehending the subsequent principles of the "Tianyuan Suppressing Martial Art." Using the Seventh-Rank Martial Warrior Chapter as a foundation, you work backward to deduce the true qi projection method of the Sixth-Rank Martial General Chapter. You have deduced an entirely new Sixth-Rank Martial General Chapter!]

[You continue deducing the Fifth-Rank Martial Marshal Chapter and comprehend Transcendent Martial Intent. You deduce the Fifth-Rank Martial Marshal Chapter: its astral qi is like vajra, capable of both attack and defense, with slaughter and indestructibility coexisting.]

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Chen Du's forehead.

This body was too weak. The Spiritual Power and physical strength consumed by such intense deduction alone would have been enough to make an ordinary person faint.

[You continue deducing the Fourth-Rank Martial King Chapter, taking resonance between true qi and heaven and earth as its core principle, and create more than twenty kinds of Transcendent Martial Intent.]

[You continue deducing the Third-Rank Martial Emperor Chapter, using the martial dao dharma form as its foundation and incorporating Transcendent Martial Intent, combining it with Spiritual Power and the physical body. You deduce the Third-Rank Martial Emperor Chapter: once the dharma form appears, it is like a great sun hanging in the sky, driving gods and demons back in fear.]

His face grew paler and paler, and his lips cracked.

The light in the dilapidated house faded from bright to dark, then brightened again.

A maid had already come to collect the bowl once. The empty bowl he had absentmindedly left outside the door was gone, but he was utterly unaware.

At that moment, his entire consciousness was immersed in the world of deduction, going deeper and farther with every step.

It was as though he were walking a tightrope high in the air: one step forward led to an open road, one step back to a bottomless abyss.

[You begin deducing the Second-Rank Martial God Chapter. With an indestructible body and fist intent that reaches the divine as your goals, you incorporate the intent of the Martial Canon's "Star-Pressing Chapter" and deduce the Tianyuan Suppressing Martial Art's Second-Rank Martial God Chapter to an entirely new height: a body forged like a star, fists that suppress mountains and seas, the divine and the martial united as one.]

[Second-Rank Martial God Chapter: deduction complete!]

Chen Du's eyes snapped open, and he gasped for breath.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the window paper, falling on his gaunt face.

His clothes were soaked through with cold sweat, his lips were cracked, and his face was frighteningly pale, but his eyes shone with astonishing brightness.

In a single night, he had deduced the entire "Tianyuan Suppressing Martial Art," from the Seventh-Rank Martial Warrior Chapter to the Second-Rank Martial God Chapter.

Though he had yet to begin cultivating with this body, he had already paved a cultivation path that led straight to the Martial God realm.

Next, he only needed to repair his martial meridians and nurse his body back to health, and he could regain his sixth-tier Peak Stage strength in this world.

Soon, more than ten days had passed.

Duke Tianyuan Ning Shanyue's birthday banquet was set for the nineteenth day of the twelfth month.

With three days left before the occasion, the entire duke's estate was already so busy that no one's feet touched the ground.

The main gates of the principal residence stood wide open. Red silk ran from the gates all the way to the inner hall, and hundreds of lanterns hung high, illuminating the duke's estate as brightly as day.

On the day of the birthday banquet, all of Duke Tianyuan's children were required to attend. That was the rule.

Although Ning Chuan was a concubine's son, an abandoned child forgotten in a side courtyard, the ceremonial officials had still included him on the list they submitted, as custom required.

In the estate of a Martial Immortal Peak Stage expert, the attendance of his offspring was merely for appearances. No one would really pay attention to him, but it was an opportunity nonetheless.

On the night of the birthday banquet, Chen Du changed into a worn blue robe, faded white from washing and frayed at the cuffs.

Among the fine silks and satins that filled the hall, he looked like an outsider who had walked through the wrong door.

The people at the banquet looked straight through him. A few of his half-brothers did glance at him from a distance, but their gazes were little different from how they would look at a stray dog.

Chen Du paid them no mind. He silently walked to the last seat and sat down, eating and drinking as he pleased.

The main banquet was in full swing, wine cups passing back and forth amid song and dance.

Duke Tianyuan Ning Shanyue sat high in the place of honor, his gaze calm yet imposing, a trace of the indifference unique to a Martial Immortal Peak Stage expert resting at the corners of his mouth.

When the festivities reached their height, Chen Du suddenly rose, walked to the center of the hall, and knelt.

The guests, who had been chatting and laughing a moment before, fell silent one after another, their gazes turning in unison to the young man kneeling in the center.

Ning Shanyue frowned almost imperceptibly and looked at this son of his, whom he had scarcely ever given a proper glance.

"Father." Chen Du kowtowed. His voice was not loud, but it rang clearly throughout the hall. "Your son has a request."

Ning Shanyue did not rush to speak. He simply held his wine cup and looked down at him.

The hall was so quiet that the faint sound of the candles burning could be heard.

Chen Du raised his head, his eyes slightly red and his throat moving gently, as though it had taken a tremendous effort to suppress his emotions. "The anniversary of Mother's death is approaching. I was unable to fulfill my filial duties from childhood, and Mother passed away early. I only ask that Father grant me permission to leave the city and sweep Mother's grave and offer incense.

"Mother is buried outside the city, only half a day's journey away. In this life, I only wish to kowtow a few more times before Mother."

Every word he spoke seemed to have been squeezed from his throat. The expression on his face was genuine, his feelings sincere.

Ning Shanyue's brow remained furrowed, and a trace of displeasure appeared on his face.

Of course he knew how Ning Chuan's mother, Liu Shi, had died, and he also knew his son's circumstances in the estate.

Back then, he had chosen to pretend he had not seen what Zheng-shi had done to Liu Shi.

Now, by publicly asking to sweep her grave at the birthday banquet, this son was simply trying to make it difficult for him to refuse in front of a hall full of guests.

He disliked such scheming.

His approach to Ning Chuan was to keep him confined until he died. He would not let him cultivate the martial dao, and had even secretly cut off his path to the imperial examinations.

It was better for this son to accomplish nothing his entire life.

Still, he did remember Liu Shi's face.

Ning Shanyue did, after all, love this woman.

He closed his eyes briefly, suppressing that trace of emotion, and finally waved a hand. "Go. Leave early and return early. Don't neglect the estate's rules."

Chen Du kowtowed again, his voice respectful. "Thank you, Father."

Then he rose and returned to his seat at the end of the table.

The hall grew lively again, as though the interlude had never happened.

A few people looked at him with a little more curiosity, but soon turned their gazes away again.

And no wonder. Who would care whether a concubine's son with crippled martial meridians went to sweep a grave?

Chen Du picked up the tea bowl before him, lowered his head, and took a sip.

The tea was cold. From the shadow of his sleeve, he watched the Martial Immortal Peak Stage man in the place of honor, imprinting every detail of his expression in his eyes.

Once I'm out of the estate, everything will be fine.

I'll leave you your life for now.

The next time we meet...