Chapter 5

The atmosphere at the square behind him grew increasingly lively. Every year during the Tian Yao Festival, the joy would last well into the late night.

Zhou Lu, with the firelight on his back, hesitated as he walked further into the darkness.

His heart ached, and he wanted to quickly slip back to his temporary tent outside the square to lick his wounds in solitude.

This usually boisterous and lively fatty, for once, wanted to avoid all sounds and commotion. He chose to take a small path around the edge of the parade ground.

The rugged blue stones outside the parade ground left only a vague outline in the night, silently bearing the weight of Zhou Lu's heavy and painful steps.

At this moment, faint laughter suddenly came from ahead, and a group of blurry figures walked over, lively and noisy. By the sound of it, they were the young warriors from the Hunter Training Camp who had just finished their training and were heading to the square with great enthusiasm.

Zhou Lu felt his heart tighten, and he quickly darted a few steps, sitting down behind a strange rock by the roadside to hide himself.

He thought the darkness was inclusive and solitary, capable of accommodating his somewhat embarrassing pain, but he didn't expect that the darkness also contained unfeigned joy.

The muscles on Zhou Lu's face twitched.

In other words, he was stimulated by the laughter from the other side. After the failed sacrifice, he didn't want to force a smile and talk to anyone.

Leaning against the strange rock, Zhou Lu thought resentfully, "Why can everyone else be happy today, but not me?"

Zhou Lu forced a smile, but he found that it was extremely forced, and doing so made his heart hurt even more.

He felt as if he were surrounded by a huge pressure, squeezing him to the point of suffocation. The pain of being torn from his past life made it impossible for him to accommodate any other emotions, making it impossible for him to do anything, unless...

Zhou Lu's stomach gave an almost imperceptible rumble.

He carefully took out the roasted lamb leg wrapped in aluminum foil from his chest. The lamb leg was still warm, and he had taken it when he left the square earlier.

After all the commotion in the sacrificial tower, he was already quite hungry.

Gently peeling off the aluminum foil, Zhou Lu quietly devoured the lamb leg.

The lamb leg was perfectly roasted, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sizzling with oil. Zhou Lu loved eating roasted lamb legs. Despite his inner pain, he couldn't let eating be delayed.

The group of young people laughed and chatted as they drew closer.

One of them shouted excitedly:

"Coach Huyan, today I broke through the third level of the Tumeng Heart Sutra, unblocking three barbarian meridians. From now on, I am a warrior of the wilderness. Can you teach me the Seven Shadows Blade Technique tomorrow?"

His voice was full of pride.

A rough voice in the crowd laughed and scolded:

"Ruketu, look at your little achievement, you're so happy about the third level? The Tumeng Heart Sutra has ten levels, and each level increases your power by one hundred Yanji. Your current three hundred Yanji strength is just the limit of the human body, still within the realm of physical strength."

"Only when you reach the fourth level, with four hundred Yanji of strength, will you truly break free from the constraints of the physical body and become a powerful warrior transcending ordinary humans."

"But, is the fourth level so easy to reach? You might need another ten years of cultivation to reach that level. And after reaching the fourth level, it becomes even harder to advance. Each step forward might require decades of effort. Your current abilities are still far from that."

The young people around them sucked in their breaths at the difficulty of future cultivation described by Coach Huyan.

The rough voice paused and continued:

"Speaking of martial techniques, Ruketu, do you know what level the Seven Shadows Blade Technique is? It's a high-level technique that only advanced hunters can cultivate. You are not yet ready to learn it..."

Ruketu's voice was clearly filled with不服 (dissatisfaction): "Coach Huyan, I am a born strongman..."

Before Ruketu could finish, the rough voice laughed and pointed out:

"Ruketu, if you still don't believe me, let me ask you, do you know what conditions are needed to learn martial techniques?"

Without waiting for an answer, the rough voice continued: "First, of course, you need enough strength, but that's not enough. To learn high-level martial techniques, you also need the ability to output power."

"High-level hunters who have cultivated to the sixth level of the Tumeng Heart Sutra have already unblocked six or more barbarian meridians, allowing them to output power from six meridians simultaneously. You, on the other hand, can only output power from three meridians. They can control the pause, turn, lightness, and speed of their power with ease, allowing them to master complex techniques like the Seven Shadows Blade Technique and unleash their full power."

"Think about it, would your brute strength alone be enough?"

The young people were amazed to learn that unblocking barbarian meridians had such a magical effect.

"Barbarian meridians have such an effect?" Ruketu scratched his head in surprise. "I understand, Coach, that's why you can perform low-level techniques more skillfully than I can after just one look, right?"

"Exactly."

Coach Huyan laughed: "It's like a simple puzzle. A three-year-old child might take a long time to put it together, but an adult can do it with a single move."

"At your level, it might take you years to master the power of a technique, but in the hands of a stronger person with more barbarian meridians, they can unleash its full power with a single move."

The young people's eyes were filled with boundless longing.

Ruketu asked excitedly: "Coach Huyan, if unblocking six barbarian meridians is so powerful, how powerful must someone like the Great Elder, who has unblocked ten barbarian meridians, be?"

The rough voice laughed: "Let me put it this way, a person with ten barbarian meridians can unleash the power of a simple technique like 'Sweeping a Thousand Armies' to a level that even gods and ghosts cannot fathom. A group of you using the high-level Seven Shadows Blade Technique wouldn't be able to defend against them, even without considering absolute strength."

Ruketu's eyes widened in surprise. He had never imagined that a simple technique like 'Sweeping a Thousand Armies' could be so powerful. Could ten barbarian meridians really transform the mundane into the magical, unlocking all the subtle powers of martial techniques?

Coach Huyan continued:

"Reaching the sixth level of the Tumeng Heart Sutra and unblocking six barbarian meridians makes you an advanced hunter. Unblocking eight barbarian meridians allows you to project your energy externally, making you a top-tier hunter. The Great Elder, with ten levels of cultivation, has reached the pinnacle of hunters. I tell you, such a person can slaughter an entire small tribe alone."

The young people were clearly intimidated by such power, and the sound of their voices grew quiet. They realized that if they encountered a top-tier hunter in battle, they would be at the mercy of their enemy. Ruketu felt very disheartened.

Coach Huyan continued: "But, reaching such a level is extremely difficult. Not everyone can cultivate to that level. After all, among our Tian Yao Clan's millions of people, only 301 have achieved the eighth level or higher. Perhaps with unwavering effort, you might break through this level in a few hundred years, but who knows..."

The people around him laughed again.

The group gradually approached Zhou Lu, who stopped chewing and was drawn into the conversation.

Another young man laughed and said: "The Great Elder is a supreme warrior of the wilderness. We don't even dare to dream of reaching such a high level. I would be content to become an advanced hunter in my lifetime."

Coach Huyan's voice was clearly filled with mockery:

"Do you think the Tumeng Heart Sutra's ten levels are the end? Do you think the Great Elder is the ultimate warrior? Wrong! It is said that above the Tumeng Heart Sutra, there is the Dao Mang Realm. In the world beyond the wilderness, people call it the realm of the innate greats."

"It is said that our Great Clan Leader and the Supreme Elder in seclusion have both reached that realm."

"I heard from my grandfather that reaching the initial stage of the Dao Mang Realm increases one's power from one thousand Yanji to two thousand, even three thousand Yanji. The number of barbarian meridians they have unblocked can reach twenty, thirty, or more..."

The young people around him all sucked in their breaths. Such a realm was unimaginable to them.

When they were still struggling to unblock one more barbarian meridian for decades, others had already unblocked dozens.

Wasn't it true that unblocking one barbarian meridian took decades? Why could someone at such a high level unblock dozens of meridians so quickly?

Coach Huyan continued: "Do you know why the cultivation speed of such powerful people is so much faster than ours?"

The young people's eyes widened, eager to know the answer.

Coach Huyan laughed and continued:

"It's because when you reach the Dao Mang Realm, you understand the realm of endless vitality. This realm combines with the power in your dantian, creating a magical barbarian qi vortex. The vortex rotates continuously in your dantian, automatically absorbing energy from the universe to help you cultivate and increase your power."

"Moreover, the rotational force of the barbarian qi vortex is extremely magical. If we compare a blocked barbarian meridian to a wall, which do you think would be faster, pushing the wall down with your hands or drilling through it with a sharp cone?"

"Of course, the sharp cone!"

The young people's eyes lit up, and they chattered excitedly.

"Exactly."

Coach Huyan slapped his thigh: "The barbarian qi vortex of a Dao Mang Realm expert can generate a force like a sharp cone in the dantian. Would their cultivation speed for unblocking barbarian meridians be the same as yours today?"

"Barbarian qi vortex?"

Many of the young people sucked in their breaths, imagining the magical vortex that could automatically absorb energy. A glint of greed appeared in their eyes.

Zhou Lu, hiding behind the rock, felt as if a door he had never seen before had opened before him. He realized that even top-tier hunters were nothing compared to true powerhouses. Above the Great Elder, there was the magical Dao Mang Realm.

Ruketu wiped his mouth and said enviously: "Coach, if I had a barbarian qi vortex, how wonderful it would be. I wouldn't have to work so hard every day to cultivate. I could probably unblock new barbarian meridians in my sleep."

The people around him laughed again.

Coach Huyan scolded: "You greedy brat, that's a power form only the Great Elder and above can cultivate. You might not even reach the advanced hunter level in your lifetime, and you're dreaming of a barbarian qi vortex?"

As he spoke, Coach Huyan's voice took on a distant tone:

"My grandfather told me that the abilities of Dao Mang Realm experts are beyond our understanding. After forming a barbarian qi vortex, their lifespan can reach three hundred years. With a single burst of qi, they can fly several miles in an instant. My grandfather once saw a Dao Mang Realm expert cut a tree, which would take dozens of people to hug, in half with a single strike..."

"At that level, they are no longer ordinary humans."

The young people around him gasped in amazement.

The abilities of Dao Mang Realm experts sounded incomprehensible to them. Flying several miles in the blink of an eye—what horse could catch up? A single strike could cut a tree that dozens of people could barely hug in half. If such a powerhouse helped them cut wood, how efficient it would be...

The group's footsteps grew distant, and their laughter and banter gradually faded into the night.

Zhou Lu, hidden behind the strange rock, was once again enveloped by the silence of the night. He held the half-eaten lamb leg in his hand, lost in thought.

The barbarian qi vortex above the Tumeng Heart Sutra...

Saliva dripped onto the lamb leg.

Zhou Lu shivered and came to his senses, wiping the saliva from the corner of his mouth. He actually agreed with Ruketu. If he had a barbarian qi vortex, how wonderful it would be. He could unblock barbarian meridians while sleeping. But, could he ever reach the legendary Dao Mang Realm? Zhou Lu muttered resentfully, "I'm only at the fourth level of the Tumeng Heart Sutra."

Shaking his head, he didn't think about it anymore. He rolled to his feet, bit into the lamb leg, and slipped away toward his temporary tent.

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