Chapter 2

When these words were spoken, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they all fixed their gaze on the young man standing tall in the training ground.

Even the other young disciples participating in the test all turned to look at Luo Zhen.

Most of the gazes were filled with envy, but a few were tinged with jealousy.

Luo Zhen, with a smile on his lips, walked to the strength testing stone under everyone’s watchful eyes and threw a punch.

It seemed like a casual punch, but it broke through the air with a sharp wind, striking the strength testing stone and producing a loud noise.

After the loud noise, the entire venue fell silent for a third of a second, followed by an explosion of incredulous exclamations...

Looking at the four digits on the strength testing stone, even the testing official closest to it felt as if his eyes were playing tricks on him. 2359—this was no longer just a number; it was the hope of the Luo family. He had never seen anyone in the Luo family achieve such a test score at this age.

"Luo Zhen, strength of 2359 pounds, Blood Change completed." Amidst the exclamations, the testing official finally read out this weighty number.

The crowd erupted, and the guests around the venue were in a frenzy.

Last year, in his first year, Luo Zhen had already stunned everyone with a strength of over 900 pounds. No one expected that after a year, he would become even more extraordinary.

In just one year, his strength had increased by over 1400 pounds.

Other young disciples, even after five or six years of cultivation, found it difficult to reach this number. Even the few with outstanding talent had not managed to increase their strength to 1400 pounds within three years, but Luo Zhen had done it in just one year.

"This child is even more brilliant than his father!" Wei Mingshan transmitted his voice to Su Ting.

Su Ting frowned slightly but said nothing.

All the guests present looked at Luo Zhen as if he were a monster. At just ten years old, he possessed a strength of over 2300 pounds and had completed the Blood Change. Not only in Pingyang County, but even in the entire jurisdiction of Jiangyue City, it would be hard to find anyone comparable.

Especially among the Luo family’s young disciples, whether direct or collateral, they all looked at Luo Zhen with admiration.

Even though there were some envious gazes, there were more of admiration.

In cultivation, although there are those who achieve greatness later in life, the majority are those who take the lead from the start and continue to lead. The level of potential can be seen early on.

Cultivation is a path of martial arts, and in the two realms of martial arts, the Body Tempering Realm focuses solely on physical cultivation, with slow strength growth. Once one reaches the True Qi Realm, strength will increase dramatically, often by tens of thousands of pounds in a year.

Therefore, whoever can quickly increase their strength in the Body Tempering Realm will be the first to enter the True Qi Realm, and the gap with those behind will widen increasingly.

Given Luo Zhen’s trend of increasing his strength by over 1000 pounds in a year, stepping into the True Qi Realm next year is almost a certainty.

Once he enters the True Qi Realm, his strength will increase dramatically. Next year’s test might show his strength at 5000 pounds, or even 6000 to 7000 pounds, or even 8000 to 9000 pounds...

These young disciples will only be able to see his back.

"The forty-fifth, Jingting."

The testing official’s voice continued, but everyone’s gaze was still on Luo Zhen.

Behind where Luo Zhen had previously stood, a small figure walked out.

The little girl looked somewhat nervous, her eyes revealing a sense of inferiority.

As she walked, some of the young disciples laughed mockingly.

The little girl’s name was 'Jingting,' with no surname. She was adopted by the family head, Luo Ning, from outside, and was slightly younger than Luo Zhen but the same age.

Her cultivation talent was a rarity among the Luo family’s young disciples. Luo Zhen’s talent was frighteningly high, while hers was terribly low.

Last year, when she and Luo Zhen first participated in the test, Luo Zhen’s strength was over 900 pounds, while hers was only 23 pounds.

A strength of 23 pounds was far from the first level of the Body Tempering Realm, Skin Tempering, and was only slightly better than a nine-year-old girl who had not cultivated.

As children of the family head, Luo Ning, their performances were completely opposite.

Of course, no one found it too strange, after all, Luo Zhen was Luo Ning’s biological son, while Jingting was just an adopted daughter.

That year, Luo Ning returned to the Luo family with Jingting, severely injured, and his cultivation fell to the Dao Fetus Realm, never advancing again.

Because of her low talent and Luo Ning’s severe injuries when he brought her back to the Luo family, she was not well-liked.

However, Luo Ning treated her as if she were his own, and Luo Zhen protected her in every way. Others might mock her, but they dared not bully her.

It was only when Luo Zhen, who had just returned from the strength testing stone, and Jingting, who had walked out from the crowd, met that the guests’ gazes also fell on the small figure in front of Luo Zhen.

"Jingting, don’t be afraid. No matter how far you can cultivate, your brother will always protect you..." Luo Zhen patted Jingting’s shoulder, gave her an encouraging look, and then returned to his position.

Encouraged by Luo Zhen, Jingting’s head lifted slightly. She walked to the strength testing stone, took a deep breath, and then clenched her teeth, seemingly gathering all her strength.

"Ha—!"

Jingting let out a loud cry, punching straight forward, hitting the strength testing stone.

In the next moment, her small arm recoiled as if electrocuted, her brows furrowed, and the rebound clearly caused her considerable pain.

The strength testing stone remained calm, not a ripple, but it displayed two digits—30.

"Jingting, strength of 30 pounds, not up to standard."

The guests around the venue burst into laughter, and some of the young disciples laughed out loud.

In one year, she had only increased her strength by 7 pounds, a result that was far from what a martial artist should achieve.

Jingting’s head immediately lowered, and she looked dejected.

Luo Zhen’s brows furrowed, and the few young disciples who were laughing loudly quickly stopped, not daring to act rashly.

After Jingting, dozens of other young disciples were tested, most with ordinary results, but a few were not bad.

For example, the grandson of the second elder, Luo Qing, at 11 years old, had a strength of over 1170 pounds in his third test. The grandson of the third elder, Luo Fei, at 12 years old, had a strength of 1534 pounds, surpassing Luo Yun.

...

After the strength tests of the Luo family’s young disciples were completed, the guests bid farewell, their words filled with respect.

The Luo family had a successor, especially with Luo Zhen, and it was easy to imagine that in a few years, the Luo family’s status in Pingyang County would rise even higher.

At night, in the main residence of the Luo family.

Luo Ning sat in the study, with Luo Zhen standing in front of him.

"Cough, cough..." Luo Ning lightly coughed twice, reached into his chest, and took out a small tripod about the size of a third of a fist, gently caressing it.

Luo Zhen looked at his father, hearing the cough, his heart ached.

Luo Ning never showed such a state outside, only when he was alone with Luo Zhen did he reveal his fatigue.

"It’s all because of that person, who has harmed Father like this..." Luo Zhen gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with a name flashing in his mind: "Nangong Hao."

Ten years ago, Luo Ning returned to the Luo family with Jingting, who was still in swaddling clothes, severely injured, and his cultivation fell to the Dao Fetus Realm, unable to advance further.

Later, news came that the one who injured Luo Ning was not someone else, but the young master of the Nangong family, one of the four major families of the Great Chu Immortal Dynasty, and one of the top ten young geniuses of the Great Chu Immortal Dynasty, Nangong Hao.

Luo Ning gently caressed the small tripod, and after dozens of breaths, he raised his eyes, looked at Luo Zhen, and handed the tripod to him, "Take it."

"Father, what is this...?" Luo Zhen asked, taking the tripod.

"Your mother left it for you." Luo Ning looked at Luo Zhen, but his gaze was distant, as if he could see through time and space to his memories.

"My mother...?" Luo Zhen’s expression changed. He had never seen his mother, and not only he, but no one in the Luo family except Luo Ning had ever seen her.

Ten years ago, the Luo family’s brilliant genius, Luo Ning, returned and brought back a son, Luo Zhen.

A few days after sending Luo Zhen back to the Luo family, Luo Ning left. Less than a month later, he returned to the Luo family with Jingting, but he was severely injured and never left the Luo family again.

Over the past ten years, Luo Zhen occasionally asked about his mother, but Luo Ning never answered.

"Zhen, your talent is astonishing, even surpassing mine in the past, and better than I imagined..."

Luo Ning looked at Luo Zhen quietly, his expression hesitant, "But there is one thing I must tell you, you cannot cultivate true qi...!"

"What—?" Luo Zhen’s expression froze. This was like a bolt of lightning on a clear day.

Cultivation is a path of martial arts, and not being able to cultivate true qi means he cannot enter the True Qi Realm, and thus cannot step onto the path of immortality.

Without the ability to cultivate true qi, his cultivation would stop at the Blood Change stage of the Body Tempering Realm. Even if he cultivated the Blood Change to its limit, he would only have a strength of about 3000 pounds, far from the tens of thousands of pounds of strength in the True Qi Realm, let alone the flying and earth-penetrating abilities of cultivators.

"This is impossible!" Luo Zhen’s eyes showed disbelief, looking at his father, hoping to see a different result in his eyes.

He was a prodigy, with superior constitution and insight, and his talent was unprecedented in Pingyang County. At just ten years old, he had already shown extraordinary potential, with a soaring momentum.

At this moment, how could Luo Zhen believe that his cultivation would stop at the Body Tempering Realm?

Luo Ning sighed lightly, his eyes filled with pain, "Zhen, I don’t want to believe it either, but it’s the truth. When your mother was pregnant with you, she was severely injured, and you were affected in the womb, resulting in your meridians being naturally sealed, unable to be unblocked. True qi must circulate through the meridians, and without unblocked meridians, you cannot cultivate true qi...!"

Luo Zhen felt as if the world was spinning. At just ten years old, he suddenly went from a world-class genius to a waste of talent who could not cultivate true qi, and it was hard to bear.

"Zhen...!" Luo Ning saw his state and shouted, "You cannot cultivate true qi, but that doesn’t mean you can’t step onto the path of immortality."

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New book uploaded, urgently seeking recommendations...

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