Innate Vital Energy Enters the Body

At this moment, Xia Wudao was exhilarated.

Xia Xuan's face was also filled with hope and anticipation. Looking at this gifted son of his, he felt deeply gratified.

Madam Liu wore an excited smile. Look at that—this was her son! What was Xia Wuji compared to him?

With Xia Wuji stripped of his position as Young Master, even the ancestor's coffin lid would not be able to hold him down; he would leap out to shout a few words of celebration!

However.

After Xia Wudao stepped forward, the illusory face formed by the Xia Family ancestor's remnant spirit amid the sky-full of sword light frowned slightly.

Something was wrong!

It was not this boy!

Back in the Sword Pool, although his remnant spirit had not clearly seen the appearance of that Xia Family descendant, it had sensed his aura.

That aura was pure and tyrannical, vast and enduring, as though it could vie with the sun and moon for brilliance and tear apart heaven, earth, and the universe!

Xia Wudao's cultivation level was indeed impressive, having reached the peak of the True Essence Realm, but his aura was mixed and impure, his foundation unstable. It was obvious that his strength had been forcibly raised through frantic pill consumption.

Xia Wudao's aura could not even be compared to the aura he had sensed. The difference was like that between a mud snake and a true dragon!

"You relied on far too many pills to raise your cultivation. You may look glorious now, but your future is bleak. Besides, you cannot refine that strand of Innate Vital Energy at all. Giving it to you would only be a waste." The Xia Family ancestor's remnant spirit stared at Xia Wudao and delivered his judgment.

The moment those words came out.

Everyone's expressions froze.

Xia Wudao felt an enormous humiliation!

In front of everyone, this thing dared to say he was not good enough?

When had Xia Wudao ever suffered such indignity?

"You old bastard who's been dead for hundreds of years, stop spouting bullshit!"

"You dare say I'm not good enough?"

"Are your dog eyes blind?"

Xia Wudao roared!

Those furious shouts directly terrified everyone silly!

At a single rejection from the Xia Family ancestor's remnant spirit, Xia Wudao had actually dared to say such things.

"Wudao, do not be disrespectful!" Xia Xuan hurriedly shouted.

But Xia Wudao suddenly shot into the air, True Essence erupting from his entire body without restraint.

He charged at the illusory face in the sky!

"You old bastard, if you're going to die, then die properly!"

"That strand of Innate Vital Energy belongs to me, Xia Wudao! You have to give it to me whether you want to or not!"

Xia Wudao drew his sword with one hand and slashed viciously at the illusory face!

"Get lost!"

The Xia Family ancestor's remnant spirit was enraged as well. With boundless fury, he bellowed and condensed a massive palm print, which crashed viciously toward Xia Wudao.

Boom!

Ah!

The treasured sword in Xia Wudao's hand shattered. He screamed as his body flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

"Wudao!" Xia Xuan's heart tightened. He hurriedly flew up and caught Xia Wudao, whose bones and tendons were broken and whose entire body was spraying blood.

"Ancestor, please calm your anger... Wudao is young and does not understand the rules..." Xia Xuan immediately pleaded for Xia Wudao.

"Xia Xuan, this is your genius son? He has angered this old man to death! Angered this old man to death..."

The next moment, crack after crack appeared across the illusory face formed by the Xia Family ancestor's remnant spirit. It was about to shatter.

After all, it was only a remnant spirit and had long been on the verge of complete dissipation. That palm strike had exhausted its last trace of power.

He was deeply unwilling to let that wretch Xia Wudao obtain the strand of Innate Vital Energy. As his remnant spirit began to dissipate, he suddenly caught that familiar aura!

"Found him!" The Xia Family ancestor was overjoyed. In an instant, he proactively burned the remnant spirit that had not yet dispersed, exchanging it for a burst of power to send away that strand of Innate Vital Energy.

Everyone looked at one another.

"Wudao..."

"Are you all right?"

"Don't scare your mother..."

Madam Liu took the blood-covered Xia Wudao from Xia Xuan's arms.

"Mother..." Xia Wudao's face twisted in pain and misery.

Madam Liu held Xia Wudao tightly, then looked at Xia Xuan and said, "Look at what your Xia Family ancestor has done! Our son is such a genius, yet he spoke of him as though he were worthless. He even tried to kill your son..."

Xia Xuan had originally intended to reprimand Xia Wudao, but seeing his miserable state, he could only sigh. "Since we are already here at the Sword Pool, and your sword has been destroyed, go into the Sword Pool and choose another one."

Then Xia Xuan led Madam Liu and Xia Wudao into the Sword Pool.

But the moment they entered the Sword Pool.

Xia Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

The Sword Pavilion's most precious Crimson Blood Sword was gone!

"Where has the Crimson Blood Sword gone?!" Xia Xuan roared.

"Father..." Xia Wudao was about to speak when Madam Liu hurriedly grabbed his hand and stopped him.

Madam Liu had long since sold the Crimson Blood Sword, but an idea suddenly came to her. "It must have been Xia Wuji. Over these past few years, he was the only one who could enter the Sword Pool freely..."

"That wretch!" Xia Xuan roared. He immediately summoned the Sword Pool guards and learned that Xia Wuji had indeed come here earlier and left carrying a sword.

"Father, Xia Wuji stole the Crimson Blood Sword. He must be planning to use it to defeat me in our match a month from now..." Xia Wudao hurriedly added, firmly pinning the blame on Xia Wuji.

"To win a martial contest, he actually dared to steal the Crimson Blood Sword from the Sword Pool. I will not spare him!" Xia Xuan roared. Burning with rage, he immediately left the Sword Pool and headed straight for Xia Wuji's residence.

Yet when he arrived at Xia Wuji's residence, his expression froze.

The entire courtyard was unusually desolate and empty. Only an old servant was sweeping fallen leaves in the yard.

"Greetings... greetings, Pavilion Master..." Upon seeing Xia Xuan, the old servant hurriedly knelt.

Xia Xuan snorted coldly. "Call Xia Wuji out here!"

The old servant looked flustered. "Reporting to the Pavilion Master, this old servant does not know where Young Master is..."

Flames seemed to burst from Xia Xuan's eyes as he roared, "Then who here knows where that bastard went?"

The old servant said, "Reporting to the Pavilion Master, for the past three years, only this old servant and Young Master have lived in this courtyard. There has been no one else."

"No one else?" Xia Xuan looked puzzled.

The old servant said, "Young Master said that the Sword Pavilion was declining by the day. He did not wish to be so extravagant and wasteful, and he wanted to save the Sword Pavilion whatever he could, so he dismissed all the servants and maids..."

"Father, this is nothing more than Xia Wuji putting on an act. You must not let him fool you," Xia Wudao said.

Xia Xuan's face darkened, and he remained silent. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as a piece of bluestone as tall as a person caught his attention.

It was an incomparably hard ore. Only warriors of the True Essence Realm could leave even the faintest trace upon its surface.

Yet the surface of this bluestone was covered in mottled sword marks.

He strode to the bluestone's side, stared at the sword marks, and asked in surprise, "Who left these marks?"

The old servant said, "Reporting to the Pavilion Master, Young Master left them while practicing swordsmanship."

"Utter nonsense! That wretch has no cultivation at all. How could he possibly leave such marks?"

"Furthermore, these marks should be proof that someone has cultivated our Sword Pavilion's Thirteen Solitary Peaks Sword Style to the level of perfection!"

The martial arts of the world were divided into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each rank was further divided into low, middle, high, and supreme grades.

The Thirteen Solitary Peaks Sword Style was a high-grade Yellow-rank martial art!

Martial arts proficiency was divided into beginner, minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, and perfection.

The old servant's eyes reddened as he said painfully, "Pavilion Master, Young Master had actually reached the fifth level of the True Essence Realm long ago. But three months ago, Young Master was ambushed. His Dantian was shattered, and all his cultivation was scattered. He barely managed to keep his life..."

Boom! At that moment, Xia Xuan felt as though an invisible heavy hammer had smashed into his head. His mind went blank in an instant.

At eighteen years old, he had possessed cultivation at the fifth level of the True Essence Realm and cultivated the Thirteen Solitary Peaks Sword Style to perfection... Such talent could already be called genius!

"So Wuji was not trash... He had been harmed by villains... He had even nearly lost his life..."

Xia Xuan muttered to himself, suddenly recalling every scene from the main hall earlier that day.

Just then, someone rushed into the courtyard and said, "Reporting to the Pavilion Master, Xia Wuji left the Sword Pavilion a quarter of an hour ago!"

Xia Xuan's thoughts were instantly replaced by fury. His chest heaved violently, and veins bulged across his forehead, neck, and the backs of his hands.

He regretted it beyond measure. If he had known, he should have used forceful measures in the main hall and detained that wretch. Then none of this mess would have happened!

"That wretch's Dantian has been shattered. He has no cultivation left, so he cannot have gone far!"

"Immediately deploy the Sword Feather Guard and bring him back to me!"

At this moment, Xia Wuji had already traveled far from the Sword Pavilion. Suddenly sensing something, he turned back and saw a strand of Innate Vital Energy whistling toward him.

The Innate Vital Energy scattered over his body.

Although Xia Wuji did not know what was happening, there was nothing wrong with this strand of Innate Vital Energy. A gift not taken was a waste, so he immediately circulated his cultivation method and swiftly absorbed it.

Within his Dantian, the Sword Seed that had only just begun to take shape received the nourishment of Innate Vital Energy. In an instant, it solidified dozens of times over, losing all trace of its previous illusory quality. The sharpness it radiated became even more piercing!

"This has saved me a great deal of effort in tempering the Sword Seed!"

A faint smile appeared on Xia Wuji's face as he gazed into the distance, his thoughts racing.

"According to the memories of my previous life, in another half month, a Crimson Jade Blood Ginseng will mature in the Monster Suppression Mountain Range. It will produce a dazzling phenomenon, causing experts from every faction of the Great Chu Dynasty to scramble for it."

"This Crimson Jade Blood Ginseng can be consumed directly and possesses all manner of marvelous effects."

"If I set off now and seize the initiative, I can completely take it into my possession the instant the Crimson Jade Blood Ginseng matures."

With that thought, Xia Wuji headed straight for the Monster Suppression Mountain Range.