Chapter 3

Awakening from his shock, Lu Tianyu immediately thought of a possibility. All of this must have been caused by the white stone.

"Senior Spirit of the *Pangu Heavenly Book*, may I ask what exactly is going on?" After some thought, Lu Tianyu couldn't help but ask, his curiosity overwhelming him.

"Swim to the shore first, and then I will explain everything to you." The white stone flickered with light, and the aged voice echoed in Lu Tianyu's mind.

"Alright." Lu Tianyu immediately nodded, gripping the white stone tightly and using all his limbs to swim forward with all his might.

Strange things happened again. As soon as Lu Tianyu moved, he found that his swimming speed was more than twice as fast as before, like a fish gliding through the water without any resistance.

Moreover, his vision could now see nearly ten zhang (about 33 feet) ahead.

Lu Tianyu, filled with doubts, didn't say more but swam forward with all his might. Finally, after about a quarter of an hour, he successfully reached the edge of the cold pond.

Climbing out of the water, drenched, Lu Tianyu plopped down on a large rock by the pond, panting heavily. Soon, the fatigue dissipated completely.

"If it were in the past, after swimming for so long, I would have been exhausted, but now I only feel slightly tired, and I quickly returned to normal. Something magical must have happened to me," Lu Tianyu thought to himself as he sat down.

Looking at the clear water in front of him, he saw his reflection and was once again shocked to the core. The terrifying scar on his forehead had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Lu Tianyu immediately raised the white stone in his hand, staring at it intently, and asked in confusion, "Senior Spirit, now that I'm on shore, can you tell me what exactly happened?"

"Hehe, boy, there's no need to be overly surprised by the changes in your body. It's just that I slightly modified your body," the white stone flashed with light, and the aged voice echoed directly in Lu Tianyu's mind.

"Modified my body?" Lu Tianyu was taken aback. He immediately thought of a possibility, and his breathing became heavy as he asked anxiously, "Senior Spirit, can I... can I cultivate now?"

It's no wonder Lu Tianyu was so agitated. In the past, he was known as a waste in the Lu Family, unable to cultivate, and thus was looked down upon in the Divine Wasteland Continent, where the strong ruled.

The Divine Wasteland Continent was obsessed with cultivation. Only those with great strength could earn respect. However, to cultivate, one must have a spiritual root.

Unfortunately, when Lu Tianyu was eight years old, he was tested by the family and found to have no spiritual root, making it impossible for him to cultivate.

But now, feeling the changes in his body and hearing the words of the Senior Spirit, Lu Tianyu felt a renewed sense of hope. Perhaps, after the modification, he now had a spiritual root.

"Boy, your natural constitution is actually quite good. It's just that someone tampered with you from a young age, sealing your innate Five Elements Spiritual Root. That's why you couldn't cultivate normally. I just used the energy from the two demon beasts' core explosions to help you unseal your Five Elements Spiritual Root, allowing you to return to normal. Cultivation is naturally no problem. Moreover, only someone with a Five Elements Spiritual Root can be recognized as my master," the aged voice explained slowly.

"I have a Five Elements Spiritual Root, but someone tampered with me from a young age?" Lu Tianyu was stunned.

After a moment of thought, Lu Tianyu's face turned grim. He remembered that when he was young, his father, who was still alive, had told him that he had excellent bones and a good constitution, and that he would make rapid progress in cultivation, far surpassing ordinary people.

But when he was seven years old, his father and his third uncle went out on business. Only his third uncle returned, bringing the shocking news that his father had died.

In his grief and anger, Lu Tianyu fell seriously ill and remained in a daze for nearly a month before fully recovering. During this month, he didn't know what had happened, but after he recovered, his body became much weaker than before.

When he was eight, the Lu Family held a spiritual root test, and Lu Tianyu was found to have no innate spiritual root, making it impossible for him to cultivate.

From then on, the lives of Lu Tianyu and his mother changed dramatically. The Lu Family no longer respected them, and even the servants and maids began to treat them with cold words.

All of this was because of the spiritual root test. In the Divine Wasteland Continent, where the strong ruled, those without an innate spiritual root and unable to cultivate were destined to be useless and looked down upon.

Lu Tianyu had always thought that his father might have been mistaken, and that he truly had no spiritual root. But after hearing the words of the Senior Spirit of the *Pangu Heavenly Book*, it was like a bolt of lightning had struck him, and he woke up from a dream.

The scenes of the past flashed through his mind like a movie, and his face grew increasingly dark, his teeth grinding together.

He remembered that after his test failure, he and his mother were moved from the front courtyard of the Lu Family to the back courtyard, living with the servants and maids.

Moreover, they lost their right to receive the monthly stipend from the Lu Family. To survive, his mother, Li Xianghui, had to do hard labor with the maids to earn a small amount of silver to support their lives.

His third uncle's son, Lu Tiangci, would come to the back courtyard every few days, showing off his strength and bullying him. If he dared to resist, Lu Tiangci would order the steward to assign heavy work to his mother, exhausting her.

Even more tragic was that every time he resisted, he would be beaten to a pulp by Lu Tiangci, who had reached the late stage of the Warrior realm, and he never won.

Over time, to protect himself and his mother, Lu Tianyu no longer dared to resist and could only endure Lu Tiangci's torment and bullying silently.

He had always thought that this was his fate, that he was born without a spiritual root and could not cultivate like others.

But after uncovering the truth, the anger in Lu Tianyu's heart burned like a raging fire.

Because all of this was not his fate, but the result of someone tampering with him from a young age. His and his mother's current plight was all due to someone else's actions.

"Who could be so malicious, tampering with me from a young age and sealing my innate spiritual root?" Lu Tianyu looked up to the sky and let out a wild, beast-like roar.

"If I find out, I will tear you to pieces!" Clenching his fists and with bloodshot eyes, Lu Tianyu roared again. Although he had a few suspects in mind, he couldn't be completely sure.

Moreover, even if he wanted revenge, he currently lacked the strength. The people who might have harmed him were all extremely powerful, and in front of them, he was like an ant. Resisting them would be like a moth flying into a flame, overestimating his own abilities.

Therefore, his top priority was to quickly improve his strength. Only with great strength could he achieve his plans. Otherwise, he might be killed before he could even find out who tampered with him.

Calmly, Lu Tianyu looked at the white stone in his hand and asked with urgency, "Senior Spirit, since you have such great abilities and can unseal my body, can you help me and teach me cultivation techniques to improve my strength?"

"Of course, there's no problem. You are now the master of the *Pangu Heavenly Book*, and I hope you can achieve great things and not disgrace the identity of the *Pangu Heavenly Book*’s master. However, to cultivate the profound techniques recorded in the *Pangu Heavenly Book*, you must gradually break the seals on the *Pangu Heavenly Book* to obtain the techniques. The conditions for breaking the seals are very strict, and it depends on whether you have the ability to do so," the white stone flickered with light, and the Senior Spirit's voice echoed in Lu Tianyu's mind.

"Ah? Senior Spirit, can't you directly teach me the techniques?" Lu Tianyu was taken aback and asked, somewhat disappointed.

"In the past, I could, but ten thousand years ago, some events occurred, causing me severe injuries and being sealed by someone using great power. After ten thousand years, the seal has only slightly loosened, allowing me to recognize you as the master of the *Pangu Heavenly Book* after absorbing your blood. The purpose is to hope that you can help me gradually recover and break the seal. Of course, while helping me, you will also gain great benefits. If you can successfully help me break the seal, with my guidance, you will stand tall in the world, unbeatable, and become a supreme existence," the Senior Spirit explained slowly.

"Senior Spirit, do you think I can do it?" Lu Tianyu was greatly discouraged.

Although the Senior Spirit spoke grandly about standing tall in the world and being unbeatable, all of this had a prerequisite: he must first help the *Pangu Heavenly Book*’s Senior Spirit recover and break the seal. The seal was set by someone using great power, and could he, with his current abilities, do it?

"Boy, don't lose heart. I believe you can do it. The key is to be cautious before helping me break the seal. You must not reveal that you possess the *Pangu Heavenly Book*. Otherwise, you will immediately face great danger and be in mortal peril, with no one able to save you," the Senior Spirit warned solemnly, his tone very stern.

"I understand, Senior Spirit. Can you tell me how to help you recover and break the seal?" Lu Tianyu immediately nodded. He knew this well. As the saying goes, "An ordinary person is not guilty, but one who possesses a precious gem is." Since the *Pangu Heavenly Book* was so powerful, it must be a rare treasure and should not be easily revealed to others.