Seventeen

"Li Ming and his son are dead?"

"Why would you think I'd actually go into the Inner Qingshan?"

"Sigh!"

A heavy, complicated sigh rang out. Chen Yuxu looked at his son, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

So this was what his son had gone through today—such a dangerous ordeal.

He had indeed planned to head into the Inner Qingshan this morning, driven to that point by life's pressures. Aside from the Inner Qingshan, Chen Yuxu could see no other hope.

But he had forgotten to deceive his own son, and he never expected that just as he was about to reach the mountain, news of his daughter's car accident would arrive.

A series of events unfolded, and Chen Yuxu realized he had nearly lost both his children today.

At this moment, even though his son had brought back snake meat worth one hundred thousand and a Red-haired Ganoderma, Chen Yuxu couldn't muster any joy. His heart was only filled with lingering fear.

If he had been stronger, if he could have been like Zhang Ge, would their family have ended up in such a situation?

Beside Chen Yan, Chen Yu nervously tugged at her brother's sleeve, as if afraid of losing him.

Her watery eyes shimmered, carrying both worry and admiration.

"Brother, you're amazing."

Chen Yu whispered. Chen Yan spoke lightly, but she could imagine far more.

In Chen Yu's Consciousness World, the Red-dressed Woman crossed her arms, a flicker of surprise and emotion in her gaze.

She had indeed misunderstood her disciple's elder brother. If he were a selfish person, why would he risk his life in the dangerous Inner Qingshan for his father?

More importantly, she could tell that the snake Chen Yan had tangled with was a First Order Qingju Snake. Normally, a Hardening Martial Artist at the Two Patterns Extreme Forging Realm or a Blood Qi Martial Artist at the Initial Five Viscera Realm could barely contend with it.

This youth before her had not Awakened Blood Qi, nor had he stepped onto the Body Tempering Path, yet he had survived an encounter with a Qingju Snake—that was no small feat.

Especially in such a backward town.

The oppressive atmosphere gradually faded. Chen Yan was the first to bring up the distribution plan for the Qingju Snake Meat and the Red-haired Ganoderma.

Chen Yuxu pursed his lips. After seeing the bag of snake meat in the living room and the Red-haired Ganoderma on the table, the door to his long-suppressed heart suddenly swung open, and he relaxed.

"This Red-haired Ganoderma is the main ingredient for a Medicinal Bath. I don't think we should sell it."

Chen Yuxu stroked his chin and spoke:

"According to the elders, Qingju Snake Meat strengthens bones and tendons. It's a favorite among those on the Body Tempering Path. I'll take half of the beast meat to the county tomorrow to sell, pay off the debt, and buy the rest of the Medicinal Bath materials.

As for the rest, I'll make it into Dried Meat for you and your sister."

Chen Yan listened quietly. His Teacher had long ago explained the Martial Dao path of this world.

For most people, there were two paths.

One was the Blood Qi Martial Artist path, like Zhang Qingsi. The early stages of a Blood Qi Martial Artist included the Five Viscera Realm, Hundred Meridians Realm, Golden Body Realm, and Origin Realm.

The heart pumps out Blood Qi, overflowing from the body.

Awakening Blood Qi meant stepping onto the Blood Qi path.

The head of the Town Martial Hall was a genuine Blood Qi Martial Artist at the Five Viscera Realm.

As for the second path, it was Body Tempering Martial Arts.

Martial Artists on this path focused on Physique training, with Blood Qi training as secondary—or even none at all.

They emphasized physical Strength, physical defense, and physical resilience.

A powerful Expert on the Body Tempering Path could shatter an entire building with a single punch. Even if they collided head-on with a train on the tracks, it would be the train that was destroyed.

Chen Yan didn't know much about the realms of the Body Tempering Path, only that the first realm was...

the Seventy-two Patterns Extreme Forging Realm.

The body senses its own strengths and condenses seventy-two Flesh Patterns.

For ordinary people, Awakening Blood Qi might be difficult, but walking the Body Tempering Path was perhaps even harder.

Though Chen Yan's physical Strength was already formidable, he hadn't yet condensed a single Flesh Pattern, which meant he still had a long way to go.

But with his sudden surge in power and the [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit he had consumed, Chen Yan felt he was no weaker than students like Zhang Qingsi or Wang Yu.

By the time they finished settling the follow-up, it was already nine in the evening.

The Chen household was filled with a sense of relief. The unexpected gain had even improved Chen Yuxu's complexion.

At nine o'clock, a sudden, mournful wail came from next door.

The news of Li Xuan and his father's death spread, and the Li household next door immediately erupted in noise.

Chen Yuxu sat in the courtyard, smoking his pipe, his expression calm.

He suddenly thought—if he had actually gone to the Inner Qingshan today, would he have faced the same danger as Li Xuan and his father?

Chen Yan naturally hadn't told his family about what had happened between him and Li Xuan and his father, but hearing Old Master Li's cries of grief, the gruesome scene of Li Xuan and his father's deaths still surfaced in his mind.

Under the threat of immense external force, life was truly fragile.

After a while, Chen Yuxu went to help the neighbors. Though the two families had a poor relationship, helping with funeral matters was sometimes just for show.

Chen Yan was in his own room, opening the sheet of paper that Li Wusi had handed him.

It was written by Luo Puxin.

The handwriting on the paper was very sloppy, but Chen Yan read it with great seriousness.

Luo Puxin had already returned to Luoshan County to organize all matters concerning the Town Martial Class.

Chen Yan's eyes flickered. Luo Puxin said he would select one hundred and forty-three students from the three high schools in Luoshan County and the twenty-three township high schools nearby to enter the Town Martial Class.

The Town Martial Class would have the best teaching staff and the best martial resources in the entire county.

And the conditions for entering the Town Martial Class...

"Just get the Town Martial Bonus!" Chen Yan clenched his fists, his desire for the Town Martial Bonus rising to another level.

In the following text, Luo Puxin explained the types of Blood Qi Awakening.

The first type, and the most common one, was the path taken by eighty percent of Blood Qi Martial Artists.

External Awakening!

Using Qi and Blood Potions or other Spirit Medicines to impact the Five Organs, reaching the requirements for awakening.

Chen Yan's gaze was calm. Zhang Qingsi should be an External Awakening; the other had once boasted about frequently drinking Qi and Blood Potions.

The second type: True Origin Awakening!

Purely relying on one's own continuous breakthroughs of limits to achieve awakening. After this type of awakening, the quality and upper limit of one's Blood Qi far surpass those of External Awakening.

The third type: Bloodline Awakening!

If a martial artist has a powerful bloodline from their ancestors, they can inherit it through the bloodline to achieve an unimaginable awakening effect.

"Chiyang Palace Family!" Chen Yan murmured. The Chiyang Palace Family was an example Luo Puxin gave; their Chiyang Bloodline was very strong!

As for the fourth type, Chen Yan's eyes trembled.

Luo Puxin inferred that Chen Yan was the fourth type.

Limit Breaking Awakening!

In the Eighteen Prefectures of Summer Country, each prefecture once had an ancient god fall. The residual intelligence of these Ancient Gods became the Zhou Ming.

A god of one prefecture.

At each period, the Zhou Ming would bestow upon several or even a dozen people in that prefecture the same kind of bone structure. This bone structure was peculiar, granting them the possibility of a Limit Breaking Awakening.

Among these people, only one could actually awaken.

Constantly breaking limits, constantly reaching limits others could not reach, becoming a new limit.

This was Limit Breaking Awakening!

Once awakened, the awakening would be given a name and a talent.

But Luo Puxin advised Chen Yan to give up.

Chen Yan's expression turned serious.

Luo Puxin said that Limit Breaking Awakening seemed fair, but for the poor, it only brought more despair.

Chen Yan had broken his limit today, yet his awakening failed precisely because someone stood in his way.

The wealthier one was at birth, the more preparation they would make for awakening from the moment they were born. Chen Yan was far behind.

"Hoo..."

Chen Yan let out a turbid breath.

So that was it.

His talent in Blood Qi was indeed both high and not high.

"Give up?" he murmured. Luo Puxin thought highly of his Horizontal Refinement talent and advised him not to waste energy on Blood Qi awakening.

"But if I give up, I'd be letting you down."

If you find this book good, to avoid not finding it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.

As Chen Yan spoke, his consciousness shifted into the Saint Breaking Realm.

The lush small tree growing in the endless darkness had been resolutely pushing upward all along.

A rootless tree—how could it survive?

Yet, right before his eyes, it did.

Walking into the courtyard, Chen Yan stopped overthinking and began making the Punching Action.

Within the Saint Breaking Realm, strands of Gold Light and Orange Light began to converge.

After consuming a [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit, Chen Yan's mind was filled with many insights regarding the art of punching, and even his muscle memory was very clear. There was no need to observe the Bronze Statue anymore.

His body, which had already calmed down, quickly began to sweat after making this one movement.

Rolling Internal Force surged into his right arm like a river, and Chen Yan's entire body snapped like a twisted steel bar.

With a single punch, a faint air burst exploded in the air.

Chen Yan frowned as he withdrew his fist. The moment he threw the punch, golden light had appeared in the Saint Breaking Realm, but after the punch landed, the golden light diminished.

It was different from when he had struck the Qingju Snake today.

Why?

A trace of confusion lingered in Chen Yan's mind. He repeated the motion several more times, but still couldn't recreate the scene from before.

It was like solving a math problem—you clearly remembered arriving at the answer in a short time once, but afterward, you simply couldn't do it again.

It felt as though ten thousand ants were crawling inside his body. In the end, Chen Yan had no choice but to compromise and obediently focus on just that one punching motion.

Inside Chen Yu's room.

Chen Yu sat cross-legged on the bed, her hair slowly drifting as if stirred by an unfelt wind.

"Can you feel it?" the Red-dressed Woman asked.

"Feel your consciousness like the wind, flowing through your body..."

The Red-dressed Woman continued to guide her, and it was clear that Chen Yu's state was sinking deeper into cultivation.

"Not bad. To sense psionic power so deeply on the very first try—not only do you have excellent talent, but you also put in enough effort yourself."

The Red-dressed Woman folded her arms and gave a nod of praise. This disciple of hers was indeed very hardworking. Though meditation looked like simply sitting still, the sensation Chen Yu was experiencing right now was extremely painful.

It was like running four hundred meters without oxygen—her mind was teetering on the edge of its limits.

Time passed slowly, and the Red-dressed Woman smiled. "You don't need to push too long on your first attempt at sensing. Being able to last two hours is already impressive. Rest now."

"Hoo..."

Chen Yu opened her eyes and let out a long breath. A glimmer of surprise appeared in her gaze.

"Teacher, I feel like I've already touched the psionic power. It's soft, like water."

The Red-dressed Woman's pupils contracted. "You've touched it?"

Then, a smile crept onto her lips. "Not bad at all. But compared to me back in the day, you're still a little behind."

"Then, Teacher, I'll keep going!" Chen Yu said.

"No need. I can tell you're already very tired. Tomorrow, go meditate somewhere near a pool of water as early as you can—it will be more effective."

"Alright, Teacher. I'll go wash up." Chen Yu nodded and walked into the courtyard, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, why aren't you resting yet?"

There, Chen Yan was sitting in the yard, breathing heavily. A large patch of sweat on the ground shimmered with silver light under the moonlight.

Clearly, Chen Yan had been training his body and had only just stopped to rest.

"Still early for rest," Chen Yan said.

From next door came the sound of crying and wailing. He looked up.

Sparse stars, pale moon, broken clouds drifting slowly.

Inside Chen Yu's consciousness world, the Red-dressed Woman watched quietly.

The elder brother was even more hardworking than the younger sister. But excessive effort would only wear down his body and produce the opposite effect.

She didn't say it out loud, though.

Chen Yan's performance today had surprised her, but she had seen far more extraordinary Heavenly Prides than him. If not for Chen Yu, Chen Yan and his family would have nothing to do with her.

Just as she was about to start her own training, Chen Yu cleared her throat beside her, her face flushed with shyness as she spoke crisply, "Brother, I need to wash up."

"Oh."

Chen Yan went back inside the room, and only then did Chen Yu begin washing up in the courtyard.

He kept training until two-thirty in the morning, when he finally ran out of strength.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level 2 (2/15)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit: Strength: (25/100) Blood: (13/100) Technique: (75/100)]

Compared to the daytime, the efficiency at night was noticeably worse.

Still, it was far better than the blind training Chen Yan had done before.

Just from that one motion, Chen Yan felt a flicker of hope.

Who was that bronze statue, and what was supposed to come after this motion?

If he could find out, it would be a huge gain.

A trace of anticipation surfaced in his mind. Chen Yan took a cold shower, and Chen Yu's backpack happened to be sitting in the living room.

After a moment's thought, Chen Yan quietly opened Chen Yu's backpack and slipped the bottle of Qi and Blood Drink inside.

After all, he was at the Saint Breaking Realm and would be receiving a Medicinal Bath every day from now on, but his sister had to stay at school. This bottle of Qi and Blood Drink was neither here nor there for Chen Yan.

The next morning.

Chen Yan was woken up by the noise.

Li Ming's house had been lit up all night, filled with wailing, and it was still going on even now.

A band from the village had been playing Funeral Music nonstop.

Chen Yan noticed that Chen Yu had already left.

"Why did she leave so early today?" Chen Yan asked, gnawing on a steamed bun.

"Your sister said the teacher assigned Homework and she needed to prepare early," Chen Yuxu said as he chopped meat in the kitchen. He would also be heading to the county later to sell half of the Qingju Snake Meat.

Chen Yan opened his mouth to speak. He was supposed to take the Medicinal Bath with his sister today, but now...

Back in the living room, Chen Yan suddenly spotted something on the table. He hadn't seen it when he got up, but now he noticed it.

A bottle of Qi and Blood Drink was lying on the round table. Chen Yan picked it up and found a note wedged between the bottle and the label.

[Brother, happy birthday.]

Chen Yan froze. Was today his birthday?

No, yesterday was.

Dad had probably been too busy to remember. Even he himself had forgotten. But his sister remembered. No wonder she had scrimped and saved to buy him a bottle of Qi and Blood Drink.

Dad always told people he was seventeen, but actually, Chen Yan had only just turned seventeen yesterday.

Stepping out of the house, Chen Yan stood in the packed-earth courtyard.

White clouds stretched for miles under a clear blue sky. A locust tree covered in white blossoms reached over the wall from outside, filling the yard with a sweet fragrance.

The mournful sound of a suona, accompanied by a woman's sobbing, drifted over from next door.

Summer's solitude lingered between each breath. Chen Yan looked up at the sky, his eyes gleaming.

"Seventeen, huh."