Opening the Meridians, Cultivating the Tian Xuan Gong

Although his recent experiences had been remarkably smooth sailing,

Huo Yuhao still did not dare relax in the slightest.

The reason he was like this

was, first, because his enemy, Tang San, was far too powerful,

and second, because he could not be sure whether, after failing one mission,

the system's progress bar would get stuck there.

So Huo Yuhao did not dare take the gamble at all.

This was his only way to surpass Tang San,

and he would never let it slip away for nothing.

To Huo Yuhao, no matter what, he had to complete these system missions.

Thus, throughout the journey, Huo Yuhao had remained tense and vigilant.

He had originally thought that it would be much safer to train for a while longer before taking Shrek Academy's assessment.

But in a little while, he would turn twelve.

This forced him to head to Shrek Academy immediately to take the assessment.

However, Star Dou Great Forest was still some distance away from Shrek Academy.

Setting out from Star Dou Great Forest now, they might not reach Shrek Academy for several days.

Besides, by the time they had prepared to leave, it was already getting late.

Huo Yuhao and the others could only leave Star Dou Great Forest first and settle down beside the stream where they had met before.

They were already dozens of li away from Star Dou Great Forest, so it was relatively safe. They could spend the night here.

But as soon as they arrived, Huo Yuhao was drafted into labor again.

There was no helping it. His Grilled Fish was simply too good, and Tang Ya wanted another serving the moment they returned.

So in the end, both he and Bei Bei had to go down and catch fish.

Fortunately, Huo Yuhao was hungry too, so he caught them willingly enough.

After some simple cooking, everyone got to eat fragrant Grilled Fish.

"Yuhao Didi, your Grilled Fish is really good."

"If some young girl marries you in the future, she'll be blessed."

Tang Ya ate the Grilled Fish with a satisfied expression. She gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up and praised him without reservation.

"If Tang Ya-jie likes it, I'll find a chance to teach Bei Bei-ge. Then he can make it for you from now on." Huo Yuhao smiled at Tang Ya.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they prepared to rest.

Tang Ya had been tired all day and fell asleep the moment she lay down.

Bei Bei was also somewhat exhausted and dozed off.

Only Huo Yuhao did not sleep.

It was not that he was not sleepy.

In truth, Huo Yuhao was very sleepy.

But he did not dare sleep.

After all, he was not yet certain he could pass Shrek Academy's assessment.

How could he dare sleep under such circumstances?

All he could think about was how to increase his strength a little more.

"Let's try the Tian Xuan Gong."

"After obtaining the Tian Xuan Gong, I hadn't had the chance to cultivate it properly before heading into Star Dou Great Forest."

"Now that I have some time, I can give it a proper try."

Huo Yuhao made up his mind.

After giving it some thought, he forced down his sleepiness and began circulating the Tian Xuan Gong within his body.

Yet after cultivating for a while, Huo Yuhao quickly lost all drowsiness.

It was not because cultivating had made him feel refreshed and alert,

but because after circulating the Tian Xuan Gong, Huo Yuhao discovered that this body of his was simply too poor.

His meridians were extremely narrow, and some areas were exceptionally thin. There were even signs of disorder where multiple meridians converged.

After circulating the Tian Xuan Gong through his body several times, Huo Yuhao gained a clear understanding of his condition, and the more he understood, the more his head hurt.

He believed that his first priority was to use the Tian Xuan Gong to clear his meridians.

Otherwise, with his narrow meridians and the slow circulation of Soul Power in his body,

it would greatly limit both the flow of Soul Power in actual combat and his cultivation efficiency.

Huo Yuhao quickly began circulating the Tian Xuan Gong, carefully clearing his meridians.

But his meridians were still too fragile. Even though he had already controlled his strength with the utmost care,

the pain from clearing them still made his face twitch whenever he was the slightest bit careless.

Huo Yuhao was drenched in sweat, and even his clothes had been soaked through.

Yet he still gritted his teeth and endured it stubbornly.

"Pfft!"

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of clotted blood.

After spitting out the clotted blood, Huo Yuhao felt much better.

But he soon resumed clearing his meridians, and the pain once again made his expression change dramatically.

"Bei Bei, you're still awake?"

In the early hours of the morning, Tang Ya woke up groggily.

Just as she was about to say something, she noticed Bei Bei making a shushing gesture at her.

She froze slightly, then followed Bei Bei's gaze and quickly spotted Huo Yuhao ahead. He was drenched in sweat, his face twisted in pain, yet he was still cultivating without pause.

Tang Ya was immediately dumbfounded and asked softly, "Why is Yuhao Didi cultivating? Isn't he sleeping?"

Bei Bei replied quietly, "He's been cultivating since he finished eating the fish. He's been at it all night."

Tang Ya said blankly, "Isn't he tired? Cultivating in the middle of the night..."

Bei Bei gave a bitter smile. "How could he not be tired?"

"I dozed off earlier, but when I woke up, little brother Yuhao was already cultivating.

At that time, he was nearly exhausted. I felt like if I went over and gave him a push, he would fall to the ground and fall asleep instantly.

But he still forced himself to cultivate through the drowsiness.

Later, he seemed to encounter some difficulty in his cultivation. Look at him—he's drenched in sweat, and even his clothes are soaked through."

Tang Ya could not help sighing. "Yuhao Didi is really hardworking."

Bei Bei said, "Isn't he? This is the first time I've ever seen someone cultivate like this while enduring both drowsiness and pain.

It seems little brother Yuhao is carrying quite a lot as well."

Tang Ya nodded in deep agreement.

If he was not carrying too much, how could he possibly cultivate so crazily?

All of a sudden, she felt a little sorry for Huo Yuhao.

"By the way, Bei Bei, can you tell what cultivation technique little brother Yuhao is practicing?"

"Judging from the aura coming from his body, this technique seems rather formidable."

Tang Ya asked Bei Bei quietly again.

Bei Bei nodded. "It is indeed quite formidable."

"It seems little brother Yuhao has had his own opportunities too."

"No wonder he did not choose to join the Tang Sect."

As they spoke,

they suddenly saw Huo Yuhao open his eyes again before violently coughing up another mouthful of blood.

Tang Ya hurried over and asked with concern.

"Yuhao Didi, are you alright?"

Huo Yuhao said somewhat apologetically, "Did I wake you up, Tang Ya-jie? I'm really sorry."

Tang Ya's eyes suddenly reddened. Such a kind child—why was he carrying such crushing pressure? It had driven him to this point.

She hurriedly said, "Not at all. I just happened to wake up."

Then she added, "More importantly, cultivation requires moderation. Too much is as bad as too little; it would be bad if you hurt yourself."

"You coughed up blood just now. Is everything alright?"

"If you run into any trouble you can't handle, you can tell your sister."

"Your sister may not be very capable either, but if there's anything I can help with, I definitely will."