The Stone Monkey's Crippled Meridians

The blood bead sank into the bottom of the wooden bowl, vanishing from sight in a flash.

A moment later, the wooden bowl trembled slightly, and with a "bang," a small puff of white mist shot out from within. After spinning in place, it condensed above the bowl into a thumb-sized miniature monkey, its body curled up, eyes tightly shut, lifelike in every detail, but with faint white crystalline lines flickering across its surface.

"This... this is an unranked Stone Monkey Bloodline, the most useless among even the waste bloodlines? Since that's the case, This Humble One has made a wasted trip. Zhao has other important matters, so I'll take my leave now." The bamboo-hatted man examined the miniature white monkey and the crystalline lines on its body, then his expression darkened as he spoke.

He waved a hand, dispersing the miniature monkey, put away the wooden bowl, gave a slight bow to Li Canghai and the burly man named Min, then walked out of the hall on his own.

From start to finish, this Zhao in the bamboo hat never cast another glance at Shi Mu.

Li Canghai and Instructor Min had already changed expressions drastically.

Seeing this, Shi Mu's heart jolted, and he vaguely sensed something bad was coming.

"Oh, and you, boy, I advise you not to bother attending the Kaiyuan Martial Academy's entrance test. With your Stone Monkey waste bloodline, going would only waste the academy's resources."

From outside the hall, the bamboo-hatted man's cold voice suddenly rang out again, followed by silence.

"Stone Monkey waste bloodline? Master Li, what does this mean? Did I not awaken a bloodline, or is the one I awakened useless?" Shi Mu's eyes flickered as he turned to ask Li Canghai.

"How should I put this..." Li Canghai murmured absently, his expression very grim.

"Let me explain. Shi Mu, you simply have poor fortune. You did awaken your bloodline power, but it's the unranked Stone Monkey Bloodline—it would have been better not to awaken it at all! You see, while some bloodline users can soar to great heights with their bloodline power and cultivate far faster than ordinary people, others awaken bloodlines that are useless and may even create obstacles in future cultivation, making training far harder than normal. That's a waste bloodline. The Stone Monkey Bloodline you awakened is the most well-known waste bloodline. Its power can indeed make you tough-skinned and supernaturally strong during the Martial Disciple stage, but once you grasp the sense of Qi, your meridians will be blocked by the bloodline power, and your Qi condensation speed will be far slower than normal. Take care of yourself!" The burly man named Min sighed, added a few words of explanation, then shook his head and strode away as well.

In the blink of an eye, only Shi Mu and Li Canghai remained in the entire hall.

After hearing Instructor Min's words, Shi Mu's heart sank straight down.

"Master Li..."

"Shi Mu, you really don't need to take the Kaiyuan Martial Academy test this time. As far as I know, anyone found to have awakened a waste bloodline has never been admitted to the academy in any previous test, no matter how outstanding their performance. The academy recruits disciples to train experts of the Houtian or even Xiantian realm. Someone who can only be strong at the Martial Disciple stage holds no cultivation value for them." Li Canghai suddenly cut off whatever Shi Mu was about to ask, speaking solemnly.

"To be honest, I'm very disappointed too. I thought I could personally train a strong fighter from this martial hall, but I never imagined you'd awaken a waste bloodline. I should have realized it earlier—only someone with the Stone Monkey Bloodline could cultivate the Crushing Stone Fist to such terrifying power in just a few months."

By the end, Li Canghai's words carried a hint of regret.

"Is having the Stone Monkey waste bloodline really an insurmountable barrier to becoming a martial arts master?" Shi Mu forcibly suppressed the cold despair and other complex emotions churning inside him, gritting his teeth and asking again in disbelief.

"When you start cultivating some Houtian technique and find that your Qi condensation speed is only half or even less than others, you'll truly feel despair. As your former instructor, I'll give you one last piece of advice. Treat your earlier ambition to learn martial arts as a big dream, go home, and live as an ordinary person. Oh, and don't come back to the Flowing Wind Martial Hall. Our hall teaches martial arts for silver, but we won't continue teaching someone with a waste bloodline that has no cultivation value—it would only make other martial halls laugh at us." Li Canghai finished speaking expressionlessly, patted Shi Mu on the shoulder, then turned and left the hall.

Shi Mu stood motionless for a long while, then slowly walked to the nearest chair and sat down, his face utterly wooden.

"Ha... ha... Yesterday I was still Feng City's top Martial Disciple, today I'm a Stone Monkey waste bloodline. What a joke... Ha..."

Suddenly, Shi Mu's almost manic laughter echoed through the hall.

Li Canghai, who had just walked a short distance away, heard the laughter behind him and his expression flickered slightly, but his steps didn't pause at all.

After the time it takes for a meal, Shi Mu left the Flowing Wind Martial Hall with a seemingly calm expression, heading straight for the estate outside the city.

A few days later.

The Bloodline Tide had begun, and the Pulse-Seeking Envoy appeared in Feng City, discovering three bloodline users including Wang Tianhao in quick succession. The news spread throughout Feng City, causing a stir among all the forces and major families.

Among these tidings, it was also said that the Shi Pulse-Seeking Envoy had visited the Flowing Wind Martial Hall and discovered that Shi Mu possessed the Stone Monkey waste bloodline.

This news left many greatly astonished, but it also filled certain others with immense joy.

In a side hall of the Jin Family's main residence.

Aunt Zhen stood before a man in his fifties, his face full of authority, her brows arched sharply as she demanded:

"Big Brother, I heard you distributed all ten Spirit Qi Pills that just arrived, and the one that should have gone to Shi Mu was given to Jin Tian instead?"

"Yes, I did give Shi Mu's pill to our nephew Jin Tian. Seventh Sister, you've come at the right time. Here's a ten-thousand-tael silver note from Fifth Brother. Have someone take it to Shi Mu later." The authoritative man was the current Head of the Jin Family. Hearing Aunt Zhen's accusation, he replied unhurriedly, pulling a silver note from his sleeve and handing it over.

"A silver note to replace a Spirit Qi Pill? Big Brother, do you take Shi Mu for a fool?" Aunt Zhen slapped the note away with her hand, laughing in anger.

"Heh, even if that boy Shi Mu isn't a fool, he'll have to play the fool this time. Our Jin Family didn't acquire those Spirit Qi Pills easily—we can't waste one on someone with a waste bloodline." The Head of the Jin Family withdrew his hand indifferently, replying coldly.

"Whether Shi Mu has a waste bloodline or not, I personally promised him a Spirit Qi Pill. This can't just end like this. I want to see Father." Aunt Zhen said bluntly.

"See Father? Seventh Sister, let me be honest with you. The decision to cancel Shi Mu's Spirit Qi Pill came from Father himself." The Head of the Jin Family said flatly.

"What? From Father himself?" Aunt Zhen's expression changed drastically at this.

"Don't forget, your surname is Jin, not Shi. Your husband married into the Jin Family. One Spirit Qi Pill is a small matter, but we can't let the Jin Family become a laughingstock among the other great clans. Seventh Sister, after you go back, focus your attention on Yuhuan. Now that the Bloodline Tide has begun, the traveling envoys of the Three Great Sects will surely appear. I'm actively making contact—this might be a great opportunity for Yuhuan." When the Head of the Jin Family mentioned Shi Yuhuan, his stern face softened somewhat.

"Hmph, since this is Father's decision, I naturally won't go against it. As for Yuhuan's matters, I won't trouble Big Brother with them." Aunt Zhen's face shifted through several expressions before she finally stamped her foot and turned to leave.

"Wait, take the silver note with you." The Head of the Jin Family suddenly called out.

"Ten thousand silver taels—I can afford that myself. No need for Fifth Brother to grit his teeth and pay this sum." Aunt Zhen didn't look back, walking out of the door in moments.

At the entrance of the side hall, Shi Yuhuan was waiting outside. Seeing Aunt Zhen emerge, she immediately stepped forward and asked:

"Mother, how did it go with Uncle? Can you get the Spirit Qi Pill back for my brother?"

"I'm afraid not. This was ordered by your grandfather himself. There's nothing I can do. But I'll have Steward Cheng deliver thirty thousand taels in silver notes later." Aunt Zhen sighed in reply.

"Mother, Grandfather went too far this time." Shi Yuhuan's face fell upon hearing this.

"It's hard to say your grandfather and uncle are wrong. Giving a Spirit Qi Pill to someone with a waste bloodline would indeed harm the Jin Family's reputation. I can only count this as me breaking my promise to Shi Mu." Aunt Zhen's face was full of helplessness.

In the back courtyard of Tianwang Temple, Feng Li and Gao Yuan stood facing each other, listening to a certain news peddler relay the rumors spreading through the city.

After a moment, Feng Li waved his hand, dismissing the person before him.

"Who would have thought—Shi Mu actually has the Stone Monkey Bloodline. If that's the case, it finally explains how he could sweep through all those other Martial Disciples of the same rank. Thinking back, when you and I wanted him to be the boss of our Black Fox Society, he didn't even look twice at it." Gao Yuan said with a light laugh, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone.

"Yes, I never imagined Brother Shi would have a waste bloodline. What a pity. Otherwise, even if he were just an ordinary person, he should have been able to make something of himself on the martial path. As things stand now, I'm afraid we'll have to find a new backer." Feng Li showed a deeply regretful expression.

"This Shi Mu is actually a waste! And here I was, thinking of challenging him."

At Feihong Martial Hall, Tie Dong finished reading a slip of paper in his hand, curled his lip in disdain, then tore the note to shreds. He sank back into practicing a new set of fist techniques he had just learned.

If this fist technique was mastered, it would be just enough to counter the Crushing Stone Fist.

From the Wu Family's secret chamber came the sound of wild laughter.

"The bloodline he awakened is actually the Stone Monkey waste bloodline! This is perfect. I imagine the Jin Family won't bother with that brat at all anymore. Father, I want to send someone to break his legs." Wu Hua laughed maniacally at the pale-faced man across from him.

"No problem. Since he's a waste, our Wu Family naturally has no need to be cautious about him anymore. Besides, your uncle and I only just discovered that to unleash the true power of that thing from the Zhong Family, we'll probably need to use that Zhong girl's blood as well. So once this period of attention blows over, your third uncle will personally lead men to bring that girl back, and help you get a good vent for your anger too." The pale-faced man looked at Wu Hua with an expression full of doting, speaking without a second thought.

"Excellent! When the time comes, I'll go with Third Uncle too. I want to see with my own eyes the pained look on Shi Mu's face when his legs are broken." The arrogant young man heard this and replied with great delight.