Martial Heart Palace

"Sickly Ning is actually alive! He's got a tough life!"

"This sickly fellow is just a burden. If the Old Marquis hadn't spent a lot of Earth Martial Essence Qi to extend his life all these years, he would have definitely broken through to a higher realm by now."

"It would have been better if he died! Living is just harming himself and others."

Ning Xiaochuan's resurrection caused a stir in the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. Many people sighed, as if a God of Plague hadn't been sent away and had returned.

Ning Xiaochuan naturally didn't know about the commotion in the Marquis's Mansion. Because his body was too tired, it was already very late when he returned to the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. He lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

On the bed, Ning Xiaochuan's soul floated out of his body, then gradually shrank, turning into a speck of light that flew into his forehead, passing through intricate and complex blood vessels, and arriving at the location of his heart.

"Am I in a dream?"

Ning Xiaochuan was a little confused, staring at the beating heart in front of him.

"How did my heart grow like this? It actually has three atria and four ventricles. Is this the Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart from myths and legends?"

A normal person's heart only has two atria and two ventricles.

But in Yuanxu Daning, which is filled with Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, it is different. A very small number of people have hearts that are stronger than ordinary people, possessing three atria and two ventricles.

The extra atrium is located in the very center of the heart, only the size of a glass bead, and is called the "Martial Heart Palace," used to store Martial Dao Profound Qi.

Only those with a Martial Heart Palace can absorb Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, temper their bodies, cultivate Martial Dao Divine Powers, and become peerless powerhouses who can fly through the sky, escape into the earth, and move mountains and boil seas.

However, very few people possess a Martial Heart Palace.

Out of a hundred people, only one might possess a Martial Heart Palace.

The other ninety-nine people can only be commoners their entire lives. Even if they cultivate Martial Skills and Martial Techniques, they can at most be slightly stronger than ordinary people and can never contend with those who possess a "Martial Heart Palace."

Of course, in addition to the Martial Heart Palace, there are other divine and extraordinary Heart Palaces, such as the Blood Glazed Heart Palace, the Divine Dao Heart Palace, the Five-Colored Heart Palace, and so on. There are also some people whose hearts undergo mutations in the fetus, transforming into the shape of a divine lotus, Buddhist beads, a Kirin, a human, and so on.

Those who possess these divine and extraordinary Heart Palaces are extremely rare and are all unparalleled Heaven's Chosen. They will be fought over by Royal Marquis mansions and sect Martial Academies, and their future achievements are unimaginable.

Ning Xiaochuan's Martial Heart Palace belongs to this category, with three atria and four ventricles, known as the "Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace."

When Ning Xiaochuan was born, it was detected that he possessed the "Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace." At that time, the Old Marquis was happy for several days and issued a gag order, forbidding anyone from publicizing this matter, fearing that Ning Xiaochuan would be killed in the cradle. Therefore, except for Ning Xiaochuan's parents and the Old Marquis, almost no one knew that he possessed the "Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace."

However, no one expected that Ning Xiaochuan's Heart Meridian was blocked and he suffered from a congenital disease, making it impossible for him to cultivate Martial Dao Divine Powers.

This matter caused the Old Marquis to spend countless financial and material resources, secretly inviting various Heart Nourishing Masters from the Yulan Empire to treat Ning Xiaochuan. The final result was, "The heart is strong, but the Heart Meridian is blocked. There is no way to open the Heart Meridian, and he will not live past ten years old."

Even those Heart Nourishing Masters felt regret. The Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace is Once in a Millennium. If he could cultivate, he would definitely be able to be titled as a Venerable or a Saint, but the Heavens were jealous of his talent and closed the door to cultivation for him.

Finally, the Old Marquis gave up on finding famous doctors, but he couldn't bear to watch his ill-fated grandson die young. So, every month, he would expend a large amount of Earth Martial Essence Qi to nourish his Heart Meridian and supplement his body, spending a considerable amount of money to buy Heart Nourishing Pills and Heart Nourishing Elixir for him to take, which allowed Ning Xiaochuan to live to sixteen years old.

"As expected, the Heart Meridian is severely blocked."

Ning Xiaochuan stood in front of his heart, looking at this powerful and divine heart!

Ning Xiaochuan's previous life was that of a top doctor in cardiovascular medicine. When he took the doctoral entrance exam, his score in "Heart Anatomy" was the highest. He understood the structure of the human blood vessels and heart better than anyone else.

Although the hearts of Martial Practitioners in this world are different from those of ordinary people, the general structure does not change. He could tell at a glance where his illness was.

"If only I had a scalpel and local anesthetic, I'd like to challenge myself to perform surgery on myself." Ning Xiaochuan thought to himself. He was originally a bold and meticulous person, daring to challenge things others wouldn't dare to do.

Just as he was thinking this, he actually saw a crimson sword light.

An extremely small sword flickered within his heart.

This small sword was wrapped in blood. If it hadn't flickered, it would have been impossible to see. Even when the Old Marquis examined his physique back then, he hadn't discovered it.

The small sword transformed into wisps of crimson qi, overflowing from his heart and gathering in Ning Xiaochuan's hand. It then condensed into a palm-sized crimson small sword. Strange patterns flowed on the sword's body, like the sacrificial markings of ancient peoples worshipping Gods and Demons.

"This... it seems I really am dreaming. This isn't scientific! But since I'm in a dream, nothing I do will hurt, so I don't need anesthetic. Then today, I'll perform surgery on my own heart!"

"Will performing surgery in a dream be useful for my body? Ah! It hurts so much..."

Ning Xiaochuan had only made the first cut, but he was already gritting his teeth in pain, his entire body trembling.

"This... is this really a dream?"

This was naturally not a dream!

In the Martial Dao, this was called "Inner Control."

Only Martial Practitioners who reached the Divine Body Realm could achieve this step, condensing their Martial Soul, entering their body, controlling the speed of their Blood Vessels' flow, and even temporarily stopping their heartbeat.

Some Martial Practitioners with extremely powerful Martial Souls could still use their Martial Soul to control their body and fight even if their head was cut off.

Ning Xiaochuan had not reached the Divine Body Realm, but he could achieve "Inner Control." This was because his soul had just fused with this body and was still unstable, which was why it could leave the body and enter it, controlling the small sword to repair his Heart Meridian.

Once the surgery began, there was no reason to stop. No matter how painful it was, he had to endure it.

By the time the surgery was completed, Ning Xiaochuan was exhausted and truly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning.

When Ning Xiaochuan woke up, he felt no pain in his heart from the surgery. A bitter smile appeared on his face. "It seems it really was just a dream. Huh! No, that's not right. Why is there a flow of qi in my heart?"

Ning Xiaochuan was horrified to discover that as long as he closed his eyes, he could see everything inside his body.

He didn't know that he had already reached the Profound Qi Realm and could "Inner Vision" his body.

Although he had never cultivated since childhood, every month the Old Marquis would use Earth Martial Essence Qi to help him nourish his Heart Meridian, and he had also taken a large amount of Heart Nourishing Pills and Heart Nourishing Elixir. This Earth Martial Essence Qi and the medicinal qi from the Heart Nourishing Pills and Elixir had not been lost. The vast majority of it was hidden within his blood.

Last night, he used the small sword to help repair his Heart Meridian. The wound was originally small, and after being nourished by the medicinal qi from the Heart Nourishing Pills and Elixir all night, it had already healed. Naturally, he couldn't feel any pain.

Moreover, his Heart Meridian had been repaired, and the Earth Martial Essence Qi hidden within his blood had also been stimulated, transforming into the lowest grade of Martial Dao Profound Qi, nurtured within the "Martial Heart Palace."

This Martial Dao Profound Qi flowed with the blood, being carried to every part of his body, nourishing his bones, muscles, skin, internal organs, and six senses with Profound Qi, making his body stronger and gradually undergoing transformation.

After one Celestial Orbit, the blood flowed back to his heart again, and there was actually a trace more of Martial Dao Profound Qi in the Martial Heart Palace.

This continued, cycle after cycle.

Ning Xiaochuan couldn't understand the changes happening in his body now, but he didn't dare to tell outsiders, so he decided to find the answer himself.

"Do you have a library here?" Ning Xiaochuan asked.

Ning Xiner's eyes widened, and she froze, completely unaware of what he was saying. Ning Xiaochuan quickly adjusted his thoughts and cautiously said, "Does this mansion have a book repository?"

Ning Xiner was still frozen, looking at Ning Xiaochuan. After a long while, she said, "You mean the Scripture Pavilion, right? Brother, you didn't lose your memory, did you?"

Ning Xiaochuan said, "Medically speaking, after a person briefly dies, it will be accompanied by localized brain death. If they come back to life due to some special reason, it's not impossible to rule out the possibility of amnesia."

Ning Xiner couldn't understand what he was saying at all, but she felt like he was making a lot of sense.

Ning Xiaochuan didn't wait for Ning Xiner to think further and asked her to take him to the Scripture Pavilion.

The Scripture Pavilion of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion was vast, housing twelve million volumes, encompassing everything. Ancient and modern records were all collected. There were bamboo slips, leather scrolls, and saber books, but the vast majority were paper volumes.

Ning Xiaochuan stayed in the Scripture Pavilion for an entire day, and Ning Xiner even personally delivered his lunch.

In fact, Ning Xiner was very comforted to see her brother suddenly studying so diligently. Standing by the bronze bookshelf in the distance, she secretly wiped away tears. "Brother, it seems he's no longer letting himself go."

The former Ning Xiaochuan couldn't cultivate the Martial Dao and was mocked by many as "Sickly Ning." Although he didn't admit to himself that he was sickly, after a long time, he still became somewhat self-deprecating.

That's why he went to the brothel with those profligate sons under their instigation.

The current Ning Xiaochuan gave Ning Xiner hope. Her brother had never studied so diligently before. Perhaps he wanted to pursue a scholarly path.

If the Martial Dao wasn't possible, then only scholarship remained.

The Yulan Empire had a prevalent martial culture, and scholarship didn't have much of a future, but it was still much better than being mediocre.

Ning Xiaochuan sat on the ground, leaning against the bookshelf, and closed the Fundamentals of Martial Dao in his hand. He let out a deep breath and said, "According to the book, I am now at the Second Level of the Profound Qi Realm, with Qi entering the Blood Vessels and blood nourishing the muscles. With one punch, the Martial Dao Profound Qi carried within the blood can unleash eight hundred jin of force."

"Heavens! Eight hundred jin! Boxer Tyson's punch is only a little over a thousand jin. Am I not about to catch up to the boxer's strength?"

Ning Xiaochuan rubbed his scalp. This was only the Second Level of the Profound Qi Realm. If he reached the Profound Qi Third Level, his strength would soar to thirteen hundred jin. That would simply be a boxer-level powerhouse. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch.

"No wonder the book says that those with a Martial Heart Palace are the true powerhouses, the overlords of the world. It's truly hard to imagine how powerful the strongest people in this world can be? Can they really Burn the Heavens and Boil the Seas, cleave mountains, and sever rivers?"

When he looked up, the sky had already darkened.

Ning Xiaochuan selected three more books: Yulan Empire Geographical Record, Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, and Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion Chronicles. After registering these three books with the old man guarding the pavilion, he carried the three books back to the courtyard where he and Ning Xiner lived.

Note: Tyson's right punch is 1600 jin, and his left punch is 1000 jin.