Dantian Shattered, System Panel Awakened

Lin Fang had no idea how she had walked out of the doctor's office.

She staggered along the corridor, yet never dared head toward her son's ward.

The family's only hope of producing a Martial Artist had vanished just like that. She did not know how she was supposed to face her son.

She did not even dare step into his ward. The moment she saw him, she could not stop herself from crying.

"Ma'am, what's wrong?"

Seeing Lin Fang in a daze, a nurse could not help stepping forward to ask.

"No, I'm fine."

Lin Fang wiped away her tears and forced out a smile. "Miss, I'm fine. Go on with your work."

"That's good. If you're feeling unwell, you can sit down in one of the seats over there and rest."

Knowing Lin Fang did not wish to say more, the nurse did not press further. Once she saw Lin Fang sit down in a nearby seat, she left.

As Lin Fang sat there, the thought of her son's condition made tears silently stream down her face.

The doctor's words echoed through her mind:

"His Dantian has shattered. It is basically impossible to repair, unless you can find some heavenly treasure. Or you could take him to the Imperial Capital—perhaps they might have a way."

She and her husband were ordinary people. Her son had never been a genius to begin with, while her daughter was frail and often ill. They had no other relatives—where would they get the money to go to the Imperial Capital?

It was difficult enough for ordinary people just to enter or leave Jiangbei City, let alone travel to the distant Imperial Capital.

Lin Fang had grown up in Jiangbei City and had never once left it.

Fierce Beasts ran rampant outside the city. Only by becoming a Martial Artist could one leave the city.

There was nothing but despair!

Lin Fang wished she could suffer in her son's place.

"Who on earth is targeting my son like this? We're just ordinary people—who could we possibly have offended?"

No matter how hard Lin Fang thought, she could not understand it!

Her son had always been diligent and hardworking. She had never heard him mention offending anyone at school.

She did not know how much time had passed before Lin Fang suddenly heard her husband's voice.

"Fangfang, why are you sitting here alone?"

Lin Fang looked up and saw her husband carrying a lunchbox. At last, she could no longer hold herself together. She immediately rose to her feet, threw herself into his arms, and burst into tears.

"Brother Yuan, our son, he... he..."

"Don't cry. What happened to our son?"

At the thought that something might have happened to his son, Chen Mingyuan immediately panicked. Before Lin Fang could answer, he said, "Let go first and take me to see him."

"Brother Yuan, wait. Our son is fine. Listen to me first."

The thought of her son's situation immediately cleared Lin Fang's head. She did not want to discuss it in her son's ward.

Nor did she want to speak of her son's shattered Dantian in a public place.

Soon, the two reached an empty stairwell. Through her tears, Lin Fang repeated the doctor's words to her husband.

After hearing it, Chen Mingyuan could not accept it either.

But how could he possibly doubt the attending physician's words?

He was a man; he did not scream or make a scene.

Chen Mingyuan held Lin Fang and gently patted her back, comforting her.

"As long as he's alive, that's enough. His limbs are all intact. He can still live as an ordinary person. He'll be able to find a job and support himself in the future."

"But I don't know how to face him. Becoming a Martial Artist was his only dream. Ever since he was six, he practiced Stance Training diligently. For twelve years now, he hasn't rested a single day."

"He said he wanted to become a Martial Artist, earn lots and lots of money to treat his sister's illness, and give us a better life."

"But now it's all gone. With his Dantian shattered, he can never become a Martial Artist. How are we supposed to tell him?"

"If he learns that he can no longer become a Martial Artist, how will he face it?"

Elsewhere.

Chen Mo was the only patient in the ward.

Chen Mo slowly woke up. Most of the pain in his body had already faded, and he felt much more alert as well.

He looked around, but did not see his mother.

She had probably gone to eat. He did not think much of it.

Just as he was wondering how to pass the time, he suddenly saw a golden screen appear before him.

"A virtual projection?"

That was Chen Mo's first thought. Although firearms had become ineffective after the Abyss Rift appeared, technology had advanced further thanks to products from the abyss.

Virtual projection technology had long since become a reality. Schools used it for documentaries and for teaching martial techniques and cultivation methods.

Once he saw what the screen displayed, he knew it was not a virtual projection.

His cheat had arrived.

[Host: Chen Mo]

[Talent: Diligent Heaven Rewards (one part effort, one part reward; once proven, forever proven)]

[Realm: Fifth-grade Martial Disciple (Dantian shattered) Vitality Value: 51 Spirit: 99]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Stance Training, Minor Accomplishment (172/200)]

[Martial Techniques: Basic Fist Technique, Minor Accomplishment (42/200); Basic Saber Technique, Minor Accomplishment (33/200); Basic Movement Technique, Beginner (89/100)]

[General Proficiency Points: 0]

Chen Mo was very familiar with this System Panel. In his previous life, he had played a single-player martial arts game with a remarkably similar panel.

In that game, every monster he killed raised his proficiency by one point.

But the panel before him was different. Cultivating methods and martial techniques did not require killing monsters.

He had read plenty of novels in his previous life. If he understood correctly, Diligent Heaven Rewards in the talent section simply meant that as long as he put in the effort, he would reap rewards. And once he learned a cultivation method or martial technique, he would never forget it, nor would he regress from leaving it unpracticed for years.

As long as any cultivation method or martial technique was recorded by the System Panel, he could successfully learn it through diligent practice.

It placed no demands on comprehension, nor were there any barriers to learning.

In other words, he possessed heaven-defying comprehension—he merely had to trade time for it.

He could learn the cultivation methods and martial techniques that geniuses could learn, and he could also learn those that geniuses could not.

It suited his current character perfectly. If talent was lacking, he would make up for it with hard work.

Twelve years of practice, day after day without change, was the finest proof.

Unfortunately, he had not possessed this System Panel back then. Unable to see a progress bar, most of his efforts had been wasted.

If he had awakened this talent at the age of six, then after twelve years, even if he had not become a Grandmaster, he would at least be a Martial Master.

Still, it was not too late.

With this System Panel, he could become a Martial Artist in a short time.

From this day forth, he would become a grinding emperor and grind until the end of time.

But when he saw the note in the realm section stating that his Dantian was shattered—

Chen Mo was dumbfounded. His martial path was about to be cut off!

The history books had long since laid out the Martial Artist realms.

They were Martial Disciple, Martial Artist, Martial Master, Great Martial Master, and Grandmaster.

Each realm was further divided into grades one through nine, with first-grade being the lowest and ninth-grade the highest.

During the Martial Disciple stage, one tempered the muscles and bones, developed Qi Sensation, refined vitality and blood, and initially used internal breath to strengthen parts of the body.

A Martial Artist, however, had to open the Dantian, condense internal breath, master Basic Martial Techniques, and release energy for a short time—for instance, throwing a Fist Wind or emitting Sword Qi and Saber Qi.

The other realms were not explained in detail, on the grounds that one should not aim too high.

After all, most people found it difficult to become Martial Artists even after a lifetime, let alone reach the other realms.

Take the seniors in his graduating class, for example. So far, he had not heard of anyone successfully opening their Dantian, condensing internal breath, and becoming a Martial Artist.

The Martial Disciple realm did not count as becoming a true Martial Artist. It was merely the preparatory stage, its core being to temper the body and refine vitality and blood.

Only after refining one hundred points of vitality and blood would one have a chance to become a Martial Artist.

But the four words "Dantian shattered" dealt Chen Mo a fatal blow.

"I just got my cheat, and my path to becoming a Martial Artist has already been blocked. Who the hell destroyed my Dantian?"

"Those who obstruct my path are irreconcilable enemies! Whoever it was, I'll repay tooth for tooth."

The Dantian was the foundation of the martial path. Without a Dantian, there was no way to become a Martial Artist.

The foundation for becoming a Martial Artist was reaching Ninth-grade Martial Disciple, attaining a Vitality Value of one hundred, circulating a cultivation method, causing vitality and blood to surge, transforming it into internal breath, opening the Dantian, and condensing an Internal Breath Vortex within it. Only then could one become a true Martial Artist.

Now that his Dantian was shattered, internal breath would leak out the moment it flowed into it. How was he supposed to condense an Internal Breath Vortex inside his Dantian?