Chapter 6

"Xian Ge, this is the treasure house of our Ling family."

Ling Tianbao looked at the young man in front of him, his face full of reverence. Despite the young man being much younger, his wisdom far surpassed his own, making even this elder feel admiration.

"Take me to see it."

Ling Xian arrived at the family's treasure house. Unlike the jubilation of his clan members, Ling Xian remained much calmer.

This was a narrow victory!

The imperial sword and the iron warrant could intimidate small families like the Chen clan, but what about stronger enemies?

Pretending to be powerful by borrowing the might of others wouldn't always work.

In this world, strength was paramount, and there were no shortcuts.

For the Ling family to truly rise again, not only did they need to restore the pride and spirit of their clan members, but they also needed martial power as a foundation.

Ling Xian recalled the memories. The decline of the Ling family was partly due to being demoted for a crime, but the most crucial reason was a mysterious curse that befell the family a thousand years ago. Before the curse, the Ling family had produced many talented individuals, but after the curse, the martial talent of the clan members became extremely poor.

Even third-rate experts were rare.

No one knew the origin of the curse, and the circumstances were unclear.

The ancestors of the Ling family had tried to break the curse, but all attempts ended in failure.

Since then, the Ling family had fallen into decline, becoming a minor clan.

Take himself, for example. He had practiced martial arts since childhood, but now he was only at the second level of the Body Tempering stage. This achievement was ordinary in other families, but in the Ling family, he was considered the best among the younger generation.

To make the Ling family rise again, the curse needed to be broken. This was the consensus of the previous clan leaders.

However, Ling Xian had a different view.

To be precise, he didn't care about martial power at all.

What he truly cared about was the legend of flying immortals in this world.

Yes, the cultivators!

With a wave of their hand, they could change the color of the heavens. If he could become one of them, would the rise of the Ling family be in doubt?

Of course, Ling Xian didn't know how to achieve this. Although there were legends, no one had ever seen a true cultivator.

But Ling Xian thought of his ancestors.

The first ancestor of the Ling family, the侠王 (Xia Wang, the Heroic King), was a distinguished martial artist. If there were truly flying immortals in this world, they would have likely seen them.

So Ling Xian came to the treasure house.

It was called a treasure house, but the Ling family was now so poor that, apart from the relics left by their ancestors, there was nothing else.

The room was quite large, spanning several dozen feet, but the shelves were all empty.

In recent years, the clan members had barely had enough to eat, and anything that could be sold had long been sold.

"Combs, hairpins, and clothes."

Ling Xian's face showed disappointment. The treasure house was even worse than he had imagined. The remaining items were clearly worthless, even described as junk.

"Hmm, what's this?"

Finding nothing, Ling Xian finally came to an inconspicuous corner. On a low wooden shelf, there was a single bag that stood out.

The bag was about a foot in size, gray and dusty, but Ling Xian felt a faint sense of its extraordinariness, though he couldn't pinpoint what made it special.

"Uncle Tianbao, what is this?"

Ling Xian held the bag in his hand. It was light, and it didn't seem to contain any treasures.

"This... " The middle-aged man's face showed a strange expression: "It was left by the first Heroic King."

"What, the first ancestor?" Ling Xian's eyes lit up, sensing that this must be a treasure.

"Yes, but unfortunately, this bag is peculiar. For thousands of years, no one has been able to open it. Many ancestors have studied it, but to no avail. They eventually had to give up and leave it here."

"Oh!" Ling Xian nodded, understanding: "Can I take it, Uncle Tianbao?"

"You are the clan leader, and everything in the clan is under your control. Of course, there's no problem." Ling Tianbao said respectfully.

...

Ling Xian returned to his room and eagerly took out the bag, fiddling with it, but found no way to open it, let alone retrieve any treasures.

"What should I do?"

Ling Xian was not discouraged. He felt a mysterious attraction to the bag, though he couldn't explain it clearly, it gave him an itchy, unscratchable feeling.

"Could this be related to bloodline?"

Ling Xian, having lived two lives, had a very flexible mind. He took a small knife from the table, cut his wrist, and let the blood drip onto the bag.

Boom!

A loud noise echoed, and the bag suddenly emitted a brilliant light. The dripping blood transformed into ancient runes, which were imprinted on the bag and then quickly disappeared, as if nothing had happened. But Ling Xian felt a mental connection with the treasure.

Could it be...

He focused his mind and suddenly retrieved a bamboo-like treasure from inside, which was green and mysterious.

"So that's how it is."

Ling Xian clapped and laughed, finally solving the mystery of the bag. It was indeed a valuable treasure, and it had a deep connection with the bloodline. A Ling family disciple could establish a mental connection by dripping blood on it and subdue it.

Although the previous clan leaders were also intelligent, they had carefully protected the item, never thinking to drip blood on it. As a result, he had benefited.

Understanding the whole story, Ling Xian picked up the green bamboo tube and thought about how to use it. After a moment's hesitation, he placed it on his forehead.

Boom!

Ling Xian felt his mind immersed in it, and large golden characters appeared in his mind.

This item was called the Jade Pupil. The first ancestor and the founding emperor were not from this world but from a higher realm.

In that world, the spiritual energy was abundant, and the cultivation of immortals was prosperous. There were countless cultivators and demons. The first ancestor of the Ling family was accidentally drawn into a spatial rift while fighting a powerful enemy, landing in this continent, which they called a small world.

Compared to their original world, this small world was far inferior, not only in size but also in the scarcity of spiritual energy.

It was suitable for martial arts practice, but extremely difficult for cultivation.

The two cultivators, upon arriving here, found the small world in chaos, with feudal lords ruling and the people living in hardship.

Disgusted by this, they killed countless feudal lords, clearing the land and establishing the Martial Kingdom.

The two were originally good friends, and as cultivators, they didn't care about secular matters. They didn't mind who became the emperor, as they would eventually leave this small world.

After some hesitation, the cultivator surnamed Ye became the founding emperor, and he jokingly bestowed the title of Heroic King on his friend, the first ancestor of the Ling family.

"So, the origin of my ancestor was like this."

Ling Xian felt a sense of longing. This secret was probably unknown even to the previous ancestors. The first ancestor and the founding emperor eventually successfully ascended and left this small world.

In the Jade Pupil, besides the story, there was also a cultivation technique. It noted that descendants with spiritual roots could establish a mental connection by dripping blood on the storage bag and subdue it.

In the storage bag, besides the Jade Pupil, the first ancestor left several treasures for future generations.

The most important of these was the spirit pills.

The first ancestor said that although the spiritual energy in this small world was scarce, with the help of pills, it wouldn't affect the speed of cultivation. The pills he left were enough to allow an ordinary descendant to cultivate from the beginning of the path to the peak of the Qi Condensation stage.

After that, taking the Foundation Establishment Pill he left would allow them to successfully establish their foundation.

The heavenly laws of this small world could only accommodate cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage. Of course, this referred to those born and raised here. If someone cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage, they would be expelled by the heavenly laws and ascend to a higher realm.

The Jade Pupil also mentioned an interesting point.

Although the spiritual energy in this small world was weak, and cultivation was fraught with difficulties, this was the general case. For those who entered the path through martial arts, there were no such limitations.

As everyone knew, the martial artists in this world practiced body tempering, and the Body Tempering stage was divided into nine levels.

The first three levels were the foundation. Reaching the fourth level marked a turning point.

At the fourth level of Body Tempering, one could be called a third-rate expert and receive the treatment of a county magistrate, with authority within a hundred miles. At the fifth level, one was a second-rate expert, serving the court with power equivalent to a governor. Breaking through to the sixth level was extraordinary, making one a supreme being within a thousand miles, capable of challenging a provincial governor.

However, the peak of martial arts was not limited to this. If an exceptional genius, with a bit of luck, broke through to the seventh level, congratulations, they had entered the realm of top experts.

The term "top" implies that there were few such individuals, like rare phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

If they were willing to serve the court, they would be granted a hereditary title, enjoying a lifetime of salary and leaving a legacy for their descendants.

The seventh level was already enviable, but breaking through to the eighth level made one a grandmaster, meaning their power was that of a grandmaster, capable of founding a sect and being revered by thousands.

The ninth level was called the supreme expert, with power unmatched in the world. They could take the head of a general in a million-strong army and come and go freely. Each one could be a guest of the emperor.

Ling Xian's face showed longing.

However, the introduction in the Jade Pupil opened his eyes even more.

The Body Tempering stage was divided into nine levels, but was this the end of martial arts?

The answer was no!

While martial arts could not compare to cultivation, it could still transcend the void. Beyond this, it transcended the realm of mortals, known as the Heavenly Dao experts. They had touched the rules of the world, almost like deities. Such beings rarely appeared in the secular world, and wealth and power held no meaning for them. If they appeared, even the emperor would treat them as disciples.

Ling Xian's face was filled with excitement. The so-called Heavenly Dao martial artists, also known as the innate realm, corresponded to the lowest level of cultivators, the Qi Condensation stage.

PS: Rolling on the ground for favorites, fellow Daoists, please add this book to your bookshelf after reading. It is really important for a new book.

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