Martial Heart Palace

"Sickly Ning actually came back to life. His life's tough as nails!"

"A consumptive like him only harms others by staying alive. If the Old Marquis hadn't spent so much Earth Martial Essence Qi extending his life all these years, he would have broken through to a higher realm by now."

"How wonderful it would have been if he'd died! Alive, he harms both others and himself."

Ning Xiaochuan's resurrection from the dead caused quite a stir in Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. Many people sighed, as though a God of Plague that had failed to be sent away had returned once more.

Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan knew nothing of the commotion within the Marquis Mansion. His body was too exhausted; by the time he returned to Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, it was already late at night. The moment he lay down, he fell asleep.

On the bed, Ning Xiaochuan's soul floated out of his body. It gradually shrank into a speck of light, flew into the space between his brows, passed through layer upon layer of tangled, intricate blood vessels, and arrived at his heart.

"Am I dreaming?"

Ning Xiaochuan was a little dazed as he stared at the beating heart before him.

"Why has my heart grown like this? It actually has three atria and four ventricles. Is this the Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart from the legends?"

An ordinary person's heart only had two atria and two ventricles.

But Yuanxu Daning, brimming with Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, was different. Among its people, a tiny few possessed hearts stronger than those of ordinary people, with three atria and two ventricles.

The extra atrium lay at the very center of the heart. It was only the size of a glass bead and was called the "Martial Heart Palace," used to store Martial Dao Profound Qi.

Only those who possessed a Martial Heart Palace could absorb Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, temper their bodies, cultivate Martial Dao Divine Powers, and become peerless experts capable of flying through the heavens, burrowing through the earth, moving mountains, and overturning seas.

Yet those with Martial Heart Palaces were exceedingly rare.

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

The other ninety-nine could only remain commoners their entire lives. Even if they cultivated martial skills and martial arts, they would at most be slightly stronger than ordinary people, forever unable to contend against those who possessed Martial Heart Palaces.

Of course, apart from Martial Heart Palaces, there were other miraculous heart palaces as well: Blood Glazed Heart Palace, Divine Dao Heart Palace, Five-Colored Heart Palace, and so on. Some people's hearts mutated while they were still fetuses, transforming into lotus shapes, Buddhist prayer-bead shapes, qilin shapes, human shapes, and more.

Those who possessed such miraculous heart palaces were few and far between. They were unparalleled prodigies of their age, fought over by royal and marquis estates, sects, and martial academies. Their future achievements were beyond imagination.

Ning Xiaochuan's Martial Heart Palace belonged to this category. With three atria and four ventricles, it was called the "Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace."

When Ning Xiaochuan had been born, it was discovered that he possessed a Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace. The Old Marquis had been overjoyed for days and issued a gag order, forbidding anyone from spreading the news, fearing that Ning Xiaochuan would be snuffed out in the cradle. Thus, aside from Ning Xiaochuan's parents and the Old Marquis, almost no one knew that he possessed a Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace.

But no one had expected Ning Xiaochuan's heart meridians to be congested. He suffered from an inborn affliction and simply could not cultivate Martial Dao Divine Powers.

This matter cost the Old Marquis immeasurable wealth and effort. He secretly invited all the great Heart Nourishing Masters of the Yulan Empire to treat Ning Xiaochuan, but every conclusion was the same: "The heart is powerful, but the heart meridians are blocked. No method can open them. He will not live past ten."

Even those Heart Nourishing Masters found it deeply regrettable. A Seven Aperture God-Demon Heart Palace was once in a millennium. If he could cultivate, he would surely be crowned a venerable or consecrated a saint. Yet heaven envied talent and shut the door to cultivation in his face.

In the end, the Old Marquis gave up searching for famous physicians. But he could not bear to watch his ill-fated grandson die young, so every month he expended vast amounts of Earth Martial Essence Qi to nourish Ning Xiaochuan's heart meridians and strengthen his body. He also spent heavily on Heart Nourishing Pills and Heart Nourishing Elixirs for him to consume, allowing Ning Xiaochuan to live to sixteen.

"As expected, my heart meridians are severely blocked."

Ning Xiaochuan stood before his heart, gazing at that powerful, miraculous organ.

In his previous life, Ning Xiaochuan had been a top cardiovascular specialist. When he applied for his doctoral degree, he had ranked first in cardiac anatomy. No one understood the structure of the human body's blood vessels and heart better than he did.

Though the hearts of martial artists in this world differed from those of ordinary people, their basic structure would not change. At a glance, he saw where his condition lay.

"If only I had a scalpel and some local anesthetic. I'd like to challenge myself and perform an operation on my own heart." Ning Xiaochuan thought this to himself. He had always been bold yet meticulous, daring to attempt what others did not dare.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he saw a streak of scarlet sword-light.

An exceedingly tiny sword flickered inside the heart.

The small sword was wrapped in blood. If it had not flashed, it would have been impossible to see. Even when the Old Marquis had examined his physique years ago, he had not discovered it.

The small sword transformed into wisps of blood-red qi that spilled from the heart, gathered in Ning Xiaochuan's hand, and condensed once more into a palm-length Blood-Colored Small Sword. Strange patterns flowed across its blade, like the sacrificial markings ancient forebears used when worshipping gods and demons.

"This... it seems I really am dreaming. This isn't scientific! But since it's a dream, doing anything won't hurt, so I won't need anesthetic. Today, I'll perform an operation on my own heart!"

"Would operating in a dream actually help my body? Ah! It hurts so much..."

Ning Xiaochuan had barely made the first cut when the pain made him grit his teeth, his entire body trembling.

"This... am I really dreaming?"

Naturally, this was not a dream!

In martial cultivation, this was called "Inner Control."

Only martial artists who had reached the Divine Body Realm could accomplish this: condensing a martial soul, entering the body, controlling the speed of their blood flow, and even stopping their heart for a short time.

Some martial artists with exceptionally powerful martial souls could still use them to control their bodies in battle even after their heads had been cut off.

Ning Xiaochuan had not reached the Divine Body Realm, yet he could perform Inner Control. This was because his soul had only just fused with this body and was still unstable, allowing it to leave his body and enter it again, control the small sword, and repair his heart meridians.

Once the operation had begun, there was naturally no stopping halfway. No matter how painful it was, he had to endure it.

By the time the operation was finished, Ning Xiaochuan was utterly exhausted and truly fell asleep.

The next morning.

When Ning Xiaochuan woke, he found that his heart bore none of the pain expected after surgery. A bitter smile appeared on his face. "So it really was just a dream. Hm? No, that's not right. Why is there a current of qi flowing through my heart?"

Ning Xiaochuan discovered in alarm that as long as he closed his eyes, he could see everything inside his body.

He did not know that he had already reached the Profound Qi Realm and could use Inner Vision to observe his body.

Although he had never cultivated since childhood, every month the Old Marquis used Earth Martial Essence Qi to nourish his heart meridians, and he had consumed vast quantities of Heart Nourishing Pills and Heart Nourishing Elixirs. That Earth Martial Essence Qi and medicinal heart-nourishing qi had not dissipated; most of it had remained hidden within his blood.

The previous night, he had used the small sword to repair his heart meridians. The wounds had been small to begin with, and after being nourished all night by medicinal heart-nourishing qi, they had already healed. Naturally, he could no longer feel any pain.

Moreover, his heart meridians had been repaired, and the Earth Martial Essence Qi hidden in his blood had all been stimulated. It transformed into the lowest grade of Martial Dao Profound Qi, nurtured within the Martial Heart Palace.

This Martial Dao Profound Qi flowed with his blood to every part of his body, nourishing his tendons and bones, flesh and skin, internal organs, and six senses with profound qi. His body grew stronger and gradually underwent transformation.

After one full cycle, the blood returned to his heart, and there was actually another trace of Martial Dao Profound Qi within the Martial Heart Palace.

And so it continued, cycle after cycle.

Ning Xiaochuan could not understand the changes occurring inside his body, but he did not dare tell anyone else. Thus, he decided to seek the answers himself.

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

Ning Xiner's eyes widened as she stood there blankly, having no idea what he meant. Ning Xiaochuan hurriedly adjusted his thoughts and asked cautiously, "Is there a book repository in this estate?"

Ning Xiner still stood there in a daze, studying Ning Xiaochuan. After a long while, she said, "You mean the Scripture Pavilion, right? Brother, don't tell me you've lost your memory?"

"Medically speaking, after a person dies briefly, there may be partial brain death. If they come back to life afterward due to some special cause, the possibility of memory loss cannot be ruled out."

Ning Xiner could not understand a word he was saying, but it somehow sounded very reasonable.

Ning Xiaochuan did not wait for Ning Xiner to think further and simply had her take him to the Scripture Pavilion.

Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion's Scripture Pavilion was enormous, containing twelve million volumes. It encompassed everything, with collections of ancient and modern texts alike. There were bamboo slips, parchment scrolls, Saber Books, and of course, the vast majority were paper-bound volumes.

Ning Xiaochuan spent the entire day in the Scripture Pavilion. Even his lunch was personally brought to him by Ning Xiner.

Seeing her brother suddenly study so diligently, Ning Xiner was deeply comforted. Standing beside a bronze bookshelf in the distance, she secretly wiped away tears. "Brother no longer seems to be giving up on himself."

The former Ning Xiaochuan could not cultivate martial arts and was mocked by many as Sickly Ning. Though he refused to admit that he was a consumptive, after enough time had passed, he had still become somewhat self-abandoning.

That was why, urged on by those wastrel young masters, he had gone visiting brothels with them.

Now, Ning Xiaochuan gave Ning Xiner hope. Her brother had never studied so diligently before. Perhaps he wished to pursue the path of scholarship.

Since martial cultivation was not possible, studying literature was his only option.

The Yulan Empire valued martial customs, and literary studies held little prospect, but it was still better than accomplishing nothing.

Ning Xiaochuan sat on the floor with his back against a bookshelf. He closed the "Fundamentals of Martial Dao" in his hands, let out a long breath, and said, "According to the book, I'm now at the second level of the Profound Qi Realm. Qi enters the blood vessels, and blood nurtures the flesh. When I throw a punch, the Martial Dao Profound Qi carried in my blood can strike with eight hundred jin of force."

"My god, eight hundred jin! Boxing champion Tyson's punch was only a little over a thousand jin. Doesn't that mean I'm about to catch up to a boxing champion's strength?"

Ning Xiaochuan scratched 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 make him a fierce man on the level of a boxing champion; ordinary people simply could not withstand a single punch.

"No wonder the book says those with Martial Heart Palaces are the true experts, the overlords of the world. It's hard to imagine just how formidable the strongest people in this world are. Can they truly Burn the Heavens and Boil the Seas, cleave mountain ranges, and sever rivers?"

When he raised his head, 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 them 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 was 1,600 jin, and his left punch was 1,000 jin.