The Mystery of the Jade Balance Hidden Meridian

In the repair workshop of the abandoned factory, dim explosion-proof lights cast flickering patches of light.

Fatty Wang had already curled up in a pile of burlap sacks and fallen into a deep sleep, emitting faint snores.

Lin Xiao, however, had no intention of sleeping. Leaning against the cold wall, the dull ache in his right arm and the feeling of depletion and exhaustion from his soul, a "-1.4" deficit, were like two cold venomous snakes, constantly gnawing at his nerves.

He clenched his left fist, feeling the more solidified and fluid sense of power brought by the optimized "Long Fist."

This power gave him a sliver of faint confidence, but it was far from enough.

The hole in his Source Energy Points was like a bottomless pit. The bloody chaos of the black market and the shadow of Scarface Qiang made him desperately need more leverage.

Where was the leverage?

His gaze pierced through the dilapidated roof of the workshop, as if landing on that aloof and solitary figure—Su Qingxue.

Her breakthrough, her "Jade Balance Hidden Meridian," the blockage forcibly cleared by the Modifier... all of it was shrouded in mystery.

If he could unravel this mystery, perhaps he could find a more stable and powerful source of Source Energy Points?

Or, at the very least, he could better understand the limits of his "Martial Arts Modifier"?

An opportunity soon presented itself.

The next day during lunch break, on the school rooftop.

Discarded tables, chairs, and sports equipment were piled here. Few people came this way usually. The wind whistled, carrying the fine dust from the city's outskirts.

Lin Xiao, with a blade of grass in his mouth, leaned lazily against a chipped metal table, his right arm still hidden within the wide sleeve of his school uniform.

His gaze seemingly swept casually over the noisy sports field below, but in reality, he was fully focused, waiting.

Footsteps sounded from the stairwell, light yet carrying a barely perceptible heaviness.

Su Qingxue walked up.

She had changed into a simple, clean, light blue martial arts training outfit, which outlined her graceful curves. Her cool demeanor was out of place on the messy rooftop.

The sunlight fell on her fair skin, as if enveloping her in a faint halo.

After breaking through to become a martial artist, her aura was even more restrained, but the inherent dignity and sharpness of a martial artist were revealed unintentionally.

Her gaze fell on Lin Xiao. A fleeting, extremely complex emotion flashed through her clear, cold eyes: vigilance, apprehension, a hint of imperceptible reliance, and the sense of humiliation from being forcibly bound.

"What do you want with me?"

Her voice was still as cold as a mountain spring, but it lacked some of its ethereal quality and was tinged with a hint of tension.

She deliberately maintained a distance of more than two meters from Lin Xiao, as if getting any closer would contaminate her with some invisible force.

Lin Xiao spat out the grass stem, a familiar smile on his face, a mix of three parts roguishness and seven parts playfulness. "Senior martial artist Su, don't be so cold. We're 'friends,' aren't we? It's perfectly normal to care about a friend's breakthrough experience and exchange martial arts insights."

"Friends?" Su Qingxue's lips curled into an almost imperceptible, mocking arc, her eyes growing even colder. "Lin Xiao, drop the act. If you have something to say, say it." She clearly scoffed at Lin Xiao's excuse of "exchange."

"Alright, straight to the point."

Lin Xiao shrugged, his smile unchanged, but his eyes sharpened, piercing Su Qingxue like a probe. "I'm just curious. When I was helping you... ah, 'unblock' yesterday, I felt that the blocked meridian in your body was quite special. What was it called again? The Jade What Meridian?"

"Jade Balance Meridian."

Su Qingxue answered almost subconsciously, a barely perceptible ripple flashing in her cold eyes.

Mentioning this hidden meridian that had changed her fate inevitably drew her attention.

But immediately, the vigilance in her eyes surged!

Like an ice dragon whose scales had been touched!

"How do you know its name?"

Her voice suddenly rose, laced with shock and disbelief!

The secrets of her family bloodline were unknown even to many collateral relatives. How could this rogue possibly blurt it out?

"Just a feeling."

Lin Xiao spread his left hand, a matter-of-fact roguish grin on his face. "That thing was completely blocked, dark and cold. It felt completely different from other meridians, so it must have a special name, right? I guessed it randomly, and it seems I got it right?"

He skillfully avoided mentioning the Modifier's scan, attributing everything to "feeling."

Su Qingxue stared intently into Lin Xiao's eyes, trying to find a flaw behind his nonchalant smile.

But Lin Xiao's gaze was so open (or rather, shamelessly brazen) that she couldn't discern truth from falsehood.

Could it really be that he had sensed it during the "unblocking"?

That terrifying perceptive ability that penetrated to the bone and saw through everything... a chill ran through Su Qingxue's heart again.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

There were too many incomprehensible things about Lin Xiao. Pursuing the matter further would only make her more passive and uneasy.

She averted her gaze, looking towards the densely packed buildings in the distance. Her voice returned to its usual coldness, but with a hint of imperceptible complexity:

"The Jade Balance Meridian is a special hidden meridian that only a very few in the Su family bloodline can awaken. It is not externally apparent, hidden deep beneath the Jade Pillow Acupoint, connecting the Dantian and the Sea of Consciousness. It is said to be one of the keys to communicating with the spiritual bridge between heaven and earth."

She paused, as if choosing her words carefully, or perhaps recalling the vague records in her family's ancient texts.

"Those who possess the Jade Balance Meridian often have a cultivation speed far exceeding that of ordinary people during the Martial Trainee stage, and their foundation is also more stable. But..."

Her voice dropped, tinged with confusion and suppressed resentment. "The vast majority of possessors encounter insurmountable obstacles when trying to break through the martial artist bottleneck. Just like me, no matter how many times I try, how much I accumulate, I'm locked down by an invisible, cold, and sluggish force! My family has researched this for a long time and tried various methods – elixirs, secret techniques, even asking a Grandmaster-level elder to forcefully break through… but all failed. That clogging force is like a persistent ulcer, as if it's innate and cannot be eradicated."

Innate? Cannot be eradicated? Lin Xiao sneered inwardly.

If the Modifier could turn a sandbag that could erase its own existence into dust, what was a mere blocked meridian?

However, the information revealed in Su Qingxue's words stirred his heart.

"Innate? Cannot be eradicated?"

Lin Xiao deliberately put on an exaggerated look of surprise. "Does that mean all of you in the Su family with the 'Jade Balance Meridian' are unlucky from birth? The faster you train, the more stuck you become?"

"You!" Su Qingxue was angered by Lin Xiao's flippant tone. A blush reappeared on her cool face, but it was quickly replaced by a deep sense of powerlessness.

She couldn't refute him. This was almost the destiny of the collateral descendants with the Jade Balance Meridian!

She had previously thought she would be stuck at the peak of Martial Trainee forever, until…

Her gaze fell on Lin Xiao again, her eyes extremely complex.

It was this scoundrel who, in a way she couldn't understand at all, even felt fear of, had forcefully torn through this so-called "destiny."

"And after it was unblocked?"

Lin Xiao changed the subject, his eyes carrying a hint of playfulness and inquiry. "How does it feel? Besides getting stronger, are there any other different sensations? Like your mind is clearer? Or you feel like you can 'see' something?"

His questions were subtle but pointed – had the Modifier's forceful clearing of the Jade Balance Meridian touched something deeper?

Perhaps mental perception (Spiritual Sense)? Or the ability to sense the "Spiritual Tide" energy?

Su Qingxue was slightly taken aback.

The ecstasy of the breakthrough and the subsequent pressure meant she hadn't had time to carefully examine the deeper changes in her body.

Now, reminded by Lin Xiao, she subconsciously calmed her mind and began to perceive carefully.

A moment later, her clear eyes showed shock for the first time!

"My Sea of Consciousness seems clearer and more stable."

She described it with some uncertainty, her voice carrying a hint of excitement she herself hadn't noticed. "Before, my mind would wander during meditation, but now it's easier to focus. And…"

She raised her hand, looking at her fair palm, where a wisp of pure ice-blue True Qi coiled and danced like a docile spirit snake. "My control over True Qi seems more refined. I can even faintly sense some cold energy particles drifting in the air, faintly resonating with my True Qi…"

What she described were the signs of nascent Spiritual Sense and faint perception of Spiritual Tide energy!

These were typically phenomena that martial artists experienced gradually only when stabilizing their realm or attempting to break through to higher levels!

And she had only just broken through!

This was definitely an additional benefit from unblocking the Jade Balance Meridian!

The immense surprise instantly washed away her previous humiliation and wariness!

For the first time, Su Qingxue looked at Lin Xiao with unconcealed shock and a genuine craving for power!

He had not only helped her break through the bottleneck but also seemed to have opened a door to higher realms for her!

Lin Xiao took in Su Qingxue's shock, understanding dawning on him.

The Modifier's effects were indeed more than just simple "unblocking."

That "Jade Balance Meridian" seemed to be truly connected to some deeper power (Spiritual Tide?).

This confirmed his previous guess.

"Looks like the effect is quite good?"

Lin Xiao's roguish smile carried a hint of triumphant control. "Big Su martial artist, don't forget our 'deal.' I paid a considerable 'price' for this 'friend' status."

He deliberately emphasized the word "price," his gaze sweeping over Su Qingxue's chest, which rose and fell slightly with her excitement.

The excitement on Su Qingxue's face instantly froze, as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

The slight good feeling that had just arisen was instantly crushed by the cold reality and the sense of humiliation.

She abruptly withdrew her hand, the shock in her eyes replaced by deeper vigilance and shame-fueled anger.

This scoundrel! He always knew how to remind her at the most crucial moment, in the most flippant way, that they were just a dirty transaction!

"Price? Hmph!"

Su Qingxue snorted, her voice returning to its distant coldness. "I've already given you the 'friend' status you wanted! I even blocked that trash Zhang Kun for you! Lin Xiao, don't push your luck!"

She paused, looking at Lin Xiao's nonchalant smile. An inexplicable anger flared up in her heart, and she couldn't help but ask with a hint of probing and retaliatory tone, "On the other hand, why did your eyes turn that way yesterday when you were 'unblocking'?"

"Eyes?" Lin Xiao was slightly stunned.

"Yes! Your eyes!"

Su Qingxue's voice carried a tremor she herself hadn't noticed, a fearful memory from the depths of her soul. "Those deep blue eyes that reflected star patterns… they didn't look human at all!"

The smile on Lin Xiao's face instantly froze!

A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head!

Blue eyes? Reflecting star patterns?

She had seen the anomaly when the Modifier activated?