Chapter 2

The rich aroma of roasted meat wafted across the plain. A terrifyingly large beast leg was being skewered by a steel spear and roasted over a fire, with fat dripping down and sizzling.

As the pig skin turned a golden brown, Zongshou carefully brushed on a layer of fragrant oil and sprinkled spices, making the meat even more mouth-watering.

The wild boar, weighing over four tons, had been divided into several portions. At least half of it was fed to the nearby cloud-hoofed horse, which was munching away sweetly, mixed with soybean fodder.

Only three pig legs remained. One was being roasted, while Yin Yang and Suchuxue each took one, eating with their mouths full of oil.

The former was slightly more refined, while the latter completely disregarded her image, as if she wanted to swallow the bones whole. She chewed and gnawed with a look of utmost admiration, gazing at Zongshou.

"So fragrant! Mmm! So delicious! Young Master, your roasting skills have improved a lot—"

Her voice was muffled, and if not for careful attention, it would have been impossible to hear clearly. Zongshou, however, couldn't help but smile. Chuxue was his maid, from the tiger-cat clan, a branch of the demon race. Though she had a beautiful face, she was naturally greedy and active. She seemed gentle and elegant, like a well-bred lady, but she was almost never idle, especially when eating. Her name, Suchuxue, meant "pure as snow," but her temperament and personality had nothing to do with her name.

The demon race, according to later records, were ancient people who, to fight against the rampaging beasts, infused the blood of powerful beasts into their bodies to enhance their combat power.

But when that brutal era ended, these people were shunned by humans and formed their own race, which became the demon race.

After ten thousand years, this race was almost extinct, and Zongshou had only seen them in games.

He casually cut a piece of roasted meat with his dagger and ate it slowly. Then, Zongshou's gaze inadvertently fell on the carriage beside him.

"Uncle Yin, with a formidable enemy still lurking nearby, is it appropriate for us to stop and make a fire here?"

After seven days in the carriage, Zongshou had not seen Yin Yang and Suchuxue fight, but the new scars on the carriage sides and the numerous holes that almost penetrated the iron walls, along with the bloodstains, were alarming. Clearly, before he came to this world, they must have experienced great danger.

In the past two days, the two of them often went away, ostensibly to hunt, but each time they returned, they carried a strong scent of blood, not from beasts but from humans.

Yin Yang was clearly taken aback by the question but then continued to eat meat with a cold voice, "Please rest assured, Prince. Within six hundred miles, the area has been cleared. Only hawks follow us day and night. Whether we make a fire or not is irrelevant. I and Chuxue also need time to rest—"

Zongshou looked up and indeed saw a few small black dots darting through the clouds. His heart sank again. With these "eyes" in the sky, their movements were completely known to the enemy.

Moreover, with the carriage being so conspicuous, it was impossible to hide their tracks.

It seemed that the enemy was indeed nearby, and the situation was as precarious as a stack of eggs.

What concerned him more at the moment was how Yin Yang addressed him. Chuxue called him Young Master, but Yin Yang called him Prince.

Prince, within the demon race, must be the heir to the demon king!

The demon race, with its many branches, was often rebellious. As an heir to the demon king, being unable to fight would undoubtedly lead to a terrible fate.

Sighing, Zongshou continued to eat the wild boar meat. When he was about nine-tenths full, he felt warm currents of energy circulating in his body.

Zongshou straightened up and walked to a more open area. He began to stretch and bend, similar to the popular weight-loss exercises of the future.

Chuxue finished her pig leg and tore off half of the roasted front leg. She ate while watching curiously.

"Practicing these poses again, they look strange and can't even be used to fight. Young Master, did you learn these from Linhai Academy? Those spirit masters are all frauds, talking about inclusiveness and teaching without discrimination—"

Zongshou ignored her, focusing on completing each movement as perfectly as possible.

The basic guiding techniques were not from ancient traditions but were created by some players in the game "Divine Emperor." The purpose was to guide the energy absorbed from the outside world into the body, making it as much one's own as possible. Practicing these techniques along with internal breathing methods was highly beneficial, especially when cultivating basic skills, which could increase efficiency by at least thirty percent.

Zongshou was one of the participants and initiators, and before coming to this world, he had already researched up to the seventh set of movements, but it was incomplete when the "Chronicle of the Supreme Era" appeared, triggering the Seven Emperors' War in the Cloud Realm.

After that, he inexplicably came to this world.

Each time Zongshou completed a movement, a thread of energy was guided into his lower abdomen's qi sea.

However, this energy was not true internal power but "essence," formed from the purest spiritual energy. Absorbed from the wild boar meat, it would normally dissipate over time, but Zongshou's guiding technique forced it to gather in the dantian. This could strengthen the body, convert to internal power, heal injuries, and even be transferred to others, with many uses.

In his previous life, Zongshou's ability to surpass hundreds of millions of players was largely due to these guiding techniques.

Zongshou usually practiced inside the carriage three times a day. Chuxue had seen it many times and quickly lost interest.

Yin Yang, however, was seeing it for the first time. His eyes sparkled as he watched intently.

When Zongshou finished the entire set of guiding techniques, the sharp light in Yin Yang's eyes dimmed. He said coolly, "I wonder where the Prince learned these movements. If practiced diligently, you will surely become a great hero in the future—"

Zongshou nodded slightly, acknowledging the advice, but a hint of surprise crossed his face.

In the past seven days, the only thing he knew was that he had studied at the familiar Linhai Academy for a long time before being taken out by the two of them.

Moreover, Yin Yang, with his knowledge and experience, could not gauge the depth of Zongshou's abilities.

Calm and composed, with measured actions, he did not seem like a mere carriage driver.

After finishing the pork, Yin Yang and Chuxue both entered a meditative state, their breathing becoming even, as if they were asleep.

Zongshou also sat cross-legged and began to experiment with a basic internal breathing method, converting the essence in his qi sea into internal power. At first, he felt nothing, but as the energy currents began to flow into his meridians, he felt intense pain, as if ten thousand steel needles were piercing his body, almost making him cry out.

Zongshou instinctively drew in a cold breath, not wanting to disturb the two beside him, and forced himself to endure. After a while, the pain subsided, and his back was drenched in cold sweat.

"Indeed! It's because of the parallel meridians!"

His eyes flashed with understanding. Zongshou focused his mind, guiding the warm currents back to the qi sea and temporarily abandoning the idea of continuing to cultivate internal power.

In the Cloud Realm, all races cultivated based on the nine wheels of the body, with nine wheel meridians circling the body.

When Zongshou circulated his energy, he clearly felt the essence splitting into different paths within his meridians.

As he had suspected, his body had two parallel meridians!

This body was half-demon, with human and fox blood, both of noble origin, combining the strengths of both. His physical constitution and elemental roots must be extraordinary.

However, precisely because of this, the two bloodlines conflicted, making his physical strength abnormally low and preventing him from cultivating any internal power normally.

A body with parallel meridians would make most people give up on martial arts. But for Zongshou, there was still hope.

What he was most grateful for in coming to this world was the martial arts experience he had accumulated over decades of reading and virtual reality testing, far surpassing all the martial artists of this era!

Recalling his past knowledge, Zongshou's brows furrowed.

He could either practice special techniques suitable for parallel meridians, of which he had several in his memory, all powerful, but none suitable.

Alternatively, he could obtain several rare treasures to strengthen one of his bloodlines, overpowering the other, improving his constitution, and unifying the meridians.

However, these treasures were extremely rare, and Zongshou had never even considered them.

"Truly deserved! When I obtained the techniques like the 'Blazing Cold Flame Method,' 'Great Reversal of the Gods,' and 'Sun and Moon Radiance Wheel,' why didn't I examine them carefully? Though they were a bit trashy—"

As he was troubled, a flash of insight crossed his mind, and a passage of text appeared in his mind.

"Heaven's way is to diminish what is excessive and supplement what is insufficient. Man's way is to diminish what is insufficient to serve what is excessive—"

Zongshou's expression suddenly changed. In the next moment, he hurriedly pushed these memories out of his consciousness and buried them deep in his memory.

These words came from an ancient martial arts secret he had obtained by chance in his early years, called 'Swallowing Essence.' It had caused endless turmoil in the Cloud Realm, leading to countless conflicts and was considered taboo by the world.

If he used this technique, it could resolve his bloodline conflict and even greatly increase his cultivation. However, unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to touch it, especially with his parallel meridians, which might add more risks. He was still hesitating.

With a sigh, Zongshou dispersed all the gathered essence into his limbs and bones, strengthening his body.

Especially his hands, making the muscles more solid and the bones more resilient.

Then, from a nearby forest, he cut down a piece of ironwood, common in the Cloud Realm, and used his fine steel sword to carve it into several wooden throwing knives, each about half a foot long.