Xingyi Fist Grandmaster! Mortal-Shedding Bead!

"Madam Su... I'll let you owe me for the medicine for now, for your husband's sake... But I hope you won't make things too difficult for me. I'm a doctor, but I'm also a businessman..."

"Thank you, Doctor Zhang! Thank you, Doctor Zhang! Once the silk is woven next month and we sell it, I'll pay back Ah Hao's medicine money... Our Su family will always remember this kindness."

Amid the darkness, Su Hao heard a man and a woman talking. The man sounded somewhat helpless and sighed, while the woman was swallowing her pride, repeatedly thanking him and promising to repay the debt.

"Where is this... Wasn't I fighting more than ten martial artists carrying firearms? I killed them all, then died of my wounds?"

In a daze, Su Hao opened his eyes. A dilapidated roof and mottled earthen walls met his gaze. The surroundings were unfamiliar.

"My head... It hurts..."

Su Hao tried to turn over and sit up, but even this simple movement tugged at the wound on his head. A searing pain shot through him, and he immediately sucked in a breath.

"I'm Su Hao, a grandmaster of Xingyi Fist... and a young man from Su Family Fort in Central Great Gan. Did I transmigrate? Or did I awaken the memories of a past life?"

A torrent of memories came rushing in, and Su Hao gradually began to understand his current circumstances.

This body was named Su Hao. He was born into the Su family of Longshan Prefecture in the Great Gan Dynasty. Compared with the refugees and the poor, he had come from a very privileged background.

Su Hao's father was a pillar of the Su family, a martial artist at the Blood-Strengthening level. Su Hao had trained in martial arts since childhood and possessed considerable talent. With his father's devoted guidance, he had even earned a place at the Martial Academy. His future had looked boundless.

But Su Hao's current condition was far from good. Bandages wrapped his body, carrying the mingled stench of blood and medicine. He lay on a wooden bed.

"I went hunting in Woniu Mountain and was chased by a group of unidentified thugs. Thanks to my familiarity with the mountain... I barely made it back to Su Family Fort. This is my home..."

Soon, Su Hao's heart tightened as he pieced together what had happened.

Su Hao had gone into the mountains to hunt early that morning, only to encounter a group of mysterious men. They had seemed friendly on the surface, striking up a conversation and exchanging greetings with him, but then they had suddenly attacked without warning.

If Su Hao hadn't come from a family of martial artists, started practicing Heavy Mountain Fist at the age of five, and been quick on his feet, he might not have escaped their clutches. He had also been wary of the strangers all along. Even so, he had taken several knife wounds and fought desperately all the way back to Su Family Fort. Only by sheer luck had he survived!

"Mother, Brother's awake!"

A little girl sitting beside the bed cried out with delight. She looked seven or eight, with her hair tied into twin ponytails. She was adorable, though a little sallow and thin, as if she were malnourished.

"Ah Hao, you're finally awake..."

Hearing the commotion, a gentle but visibly haggard woman appeared beside the bed, holding a needle and thread and a half-mended old garment. She could barely contain her excitement and the tears in her eyes.

Afraid that crying in front of Su Hao would upset him and the little girl, she had held back her tears. But her swollen eyes made it clear she had already wept in private.

"Mother, Xiao Qing... I'm all right..."

Su Hao managed to force a smile.

She was Su Hao's mother, Sun Lan. Beside her stood a little girl of seven or eight with her hair in a ponytail—his younger sister, Su Xiaoqing. Tears brimmed in her eyes.

Their concern for Su Hao was plain to see, and warmth welled up in his heart. In his previous life, he had been an orphan and spent more than half his life struggling alone. It was only after his master, an old Daoist, took him in as a disciple that he had learned what it meant to have people care for him.

Life in this incarnation was hard, but he had a family, and a warm home.

Since I've been given a chance to live another life... you and I are one and the same. I'll fulfill your wishes and protect our family!

In his heart, Su Hao silently vowed that he was both the Xingyi Fist grandmaster Su Hao from his previous life and the young man Su Hao of Su Family Fort in this one. The two were inseparable.

"This morning, I went into the mountains... and was attacked by several men dressed as hunters..."

In the room, Su Hao made no attempt to hide the truth as he told Sun Lan what had happened that day.

"It must have been your father... He must have made enemies somewhere out there..."

After hearing Su Hao's account, Sun Lan grew agitated, feeling both joy and fear, hope and worry. She guessed that Su Hao had been caught up in something meant for his father.

Su Hao's family had once been happy. But everything changed three years ago, when his father, Su Yu, the head of the household, went into the mountains to gather herbs and never returned.

Sun Lan was overjoyed at the thought that Su Yu, missing for two or three years, might still be alive. But she was also afraid and worried. Who knew what kind of people Su Yu might have offended? They said disaster should not befall a man's family, but the attackers had gone so far as to target Su Hao. They meant to wipe out their entire branch of the family!

Sun Lan couldn't bear to think that Su Yu might already be dead. If something happened to her children as well, how could she go on living?

"Ah Hao, first thing tomorrow morning, we'll report this to the clan head."

Sun Lan spoke at once.

"Mm, I was thinking the same thing."

Su Hao nodded. The Su family was deeply rooted in Su Family Fort, with several First Refinement Martial Artists among its members. They wielded some influence in the area. If they informed the clan head, the family could shelter them and deter their potential enemies from acting recklessly.

Afterward, Sun Lan brought the medicinal broth to the bedside and fed Su Hao spoonful by spoonful.

"Ah Hao has suffered so much..." Sun Lan thought with a pang of sorrow and sighed to herself.

Su Hao was born into the Su family, and Su Yu had placed great hopes in his eldest son, sparing no effort in raising him. He was a strict father, and Su Hao had endured many hardships learning martial arts under his tutelage from an early age.

Fortunately, Su Hao had lived up to his expectations. He was one of the most outstanding among the Su family's younger generation. Thanks to Su Yu's contributions to the family, he had secured Su Hao a place at the Martial Academy, giving him a bright future.

But then Su Yu had left home two or three years ago and vanished. With his father's protection gone, his younger sister Su Xiaoqing still a child, and his mother in poor health, the burden of the family fell entirely on Su Hao. And now he had encountered killers for reasons unknown, barely escaping with his life!

To let Su Hao rest and recover, Sun Lan took Su Xiaoqing out of the room.

Though his circumstances were not good, Su Hao remained calm.

In his previous life, he had been a Xingyi Fist grandmaster on Blue Star. He had once fought lions and tigers barehanded in the wilderness, and once dived five hundred meters into deep water with a rock tied to him, without any diving equipment. He had even faced several armed enemies with his bare hands.

He had encountered situations more dangerous than this. The string of strange events before him might have been bizarre, but his thoughts were clear: first, he had to get through the immediate crisis.

"A mild concussion, and a knife wound to my back. Fortunately, it isn't deep, and the bleeding has stopped. This body isn't as strong as I used to be, but it's still far stronger than an ordinary person. Is that the improvement Heavy Mountain Fist brought from years of practice? Martial arts seem to flourish in this Central Great Gan, but the path they follow is different from my internal martial arts. It leans toward body tempering..."

Su Hao closed his eyes and sensed the condition of his body. A delighted light shone in his eyes. He was pleased, first, that his condition was much better than he had expected, and second, that he was curious and eager to explore this entirely new martial path.

"Huu... Huu..."

Su Hao focused his mind and gathered his breath, inhaling deeply. His heart pounded, driving his blood through his body. Threads of warmth spread through his limbs and bones, making him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring. Even his weary body gradually filled with renewed strength.

This was the breathing method of Five Animals Fist, which he had mastered. It allowed him to regulate his blood, dispel hidden injuries, nourish his internal organs, restore his stamina, and speed the healing of his wounds.

"This body... is so young. Only fourteen or fifteen. When I learned boxing from my master in my previous life, I was already twenty-four or twenty-five, past my prime. If I'd been ten years younger, I would certainly have become a Grandmaster of Embracing the Elixir... In this life, I'll advance further in martial arts and reach the realm I never attained before!"

After completing a full cycle of breathing, Su Hao opened his eyes. His condition had improved greatly, and he couldn't help feeling excited. This young body had a good foundation—an ideal vessel for practicing Xingyi Fist. It gave him the chance to climb to even greater heights!

Before nightfall, Sun Lan tended Su Hao's wounds, helped him wash up, and cooked medicinal porridge for him. When evening came, Su Hao lay on the bed, his thoughts in turmoil as scenes from his memories surfaced one after another.

In his previous life, he had been alone all his life, devoting everything to pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts. After thirty or forty years of arduous training, he had finally become a grandmaster of "Dark Energy," undefeated in a hundred battles.

But his brilliance had also made him too many enemies. A group of more than ten martial artists armed with guns had surrounded him. Even after taking several bullets, he had still killed every last one of them, but he too had reached the end of his life.

"I have to build up my strength, find out what happened to Father, and protect Mother and Xiao Qing... and myself!"

Flames blazed in Su Hao's eyes. He knew that only sufficient strength could keep him alive amid the chaos. The killers had failed this time, but the people behind them might not give up. They might even target his family.

As Su Hao lay on the bed, some strength returned to him. He closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and meditated, focusing his thoughts as he carefully examined the condition of this body.

As a Xingyi Fist grandmaster, Su Hao's willpower and mental strength far surpassed those of ordinary people. His awareness of his body was astonishing. He could turn his gaze inward and "see" the tension in each muscle, the firmness of every inch of skin, the resilience of every joint, and the strength of every tendon!

Su Hao had spent thirty years attaining this state of "inner vision" in his previous life. Although his body was now weak and his will had yet to reach its former peak, his understanding remained. He could still turn his gaze inward.

"Sure enough... none of my injuries are life-threatening. I haven't damaged any tendons or bones, and a few days of rest should be enough. But the real trouble is that this body's foundation is damaged."

At this "sight," Su Hao's brow furrowed.

His predecessor had been diligent in his martial training. His father, Su Yu, was a strict instructor who had taught him the family's Heavy Mountain Fist from childhood. Su Hao himself was hardworking and practiced every day without slacking off. He had been one of the most outstanding among his peers and was on the verge of condensing Blood Energy and stepping into the ranks of martial artists.

Under normal circumstances, with Su Yu's guidance and various training aids and medicines to invigorate the blood and remove stagnation, Su Hao would have progressed even faster without suffering any lasting problems.

But Su Yu had disappeared. Su Hao had been growing up without his father to teach him martial arts, and he had also lost access to the medicines that aided his training. Still, he had trained even harder than before, determined to prove himself.

Hard work alone wasn't enough to make someone skilled at martial arts. Su Hao was still growing, and without medicinal baths or a master's guidance, his strenuous practice of Heavy Mountain Fist had left him with numerous hidden injuries. His knee ligaments had been strained and never healed, and he had bruises on his legs, right shoulder, and chest.

"This body could indeed make rapid progress and soon develop 'Blood Energy,' but it would be doing so by draining its potential. Making further progress later would be extremely difficult, and if I kept training the way I used to, my body might even give out.

"Fortunately... it isn't too late. Now that I'm here, I can use my Five Animals Breathing Technique, the breathing methods and body-tempering techniques of Xingyi Fist, to replenish the depleted blood, clear the bruises, rebuild my foundation, and heal the damage. Then my body can become perfect again!

"But replenishing my blood, conditioning my body, and building a perfect foundation will require good medicinal herbs, and those will cost plenty of money. The family still owes Doctor Zhang, too."

Su Hao took a deep breath. He couldn't help feeling sorry for what his predecessor had gone through, but he was also troubled.

Training in martial arts had never been as simple as practicing in isolation, even for someone talented. One needed a renowned master and resources—neither could be spared. That was why they said, "The poor study letters; the rich practice martial arts!"

But his family clearly wasn't well-off. They had even had to buy Su Hao's medicine on credit. The doctor's helpless sigh and his mother's humble thanks still seemed to echo in his ears. He had to change things!

"Boom!"

Su Hao continued meditating and looking inward. Suddenly, he noticed something strange in his brain, and his heart lurched. If even his fragile brain had been damaged, that would be far more troublesome than any injury to his body!

But when Su Hao's awareness touched the point between his brows, his whole body suddenly jolted. He "saw" an endless ocean—not a real sea, but his "sea of consciousness."

"Hm? There's something in my sea of consciousness!"

Su Hao was filled with shock and confusion. In his meditative state, he "saw" a crystal-clear bead floating in his sea of consciousness. Fine strands of blood-red thread flowed inside it, as if they were about to fill the entire bead, making it look like a magnificent gemstone!