Chapter 1

In the various states and counties of the Heavenly Martial Kingdom, a Martial Hall is established in every city. As long as one is ten years old and has the potential for martial arts, they can become a student of the Martial Hall and practice martial arts.

These Martial Halls are created by the sects that control the regions, aiming to select outstanding talents to enrich the ranks of the younger generation.

Yunlong County, Qingyun City Martial Hall.

"Hiss..."

Waking up from a deep sleep, Luo Xiu drew in a sharp breath, feeling the intense pain of tearing from his body.

Immediately, Luo Xiu seemed to recall something terrifying. He quickly reached out to touch his chest, pulled open his shirt, and exclaimed, "The bead is gone?"

This exclamation aggravated the injury to his broken ribs, causing him to grimace in pain.

Luo Xiu frowned and recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness.

He remembered that his long-time crush, Liu Yuxin, was being harassed by the notorious Zhang Hao, a student of the Martial Hall. At the time, he had a moment of impulsiveness and rushed over.

The outcome was predictable. Luo Xiu was severely beaten by Zhang Hao and his gang. It seemed that Zhang Hao wanted to show off his strength in front of Liu Yuxin, so he hit Luo Xiu very hard, causing him to faint on the spot.

Before losing consciousness, Zhang Hao stomped on his chest with a powerful kick. The force was so great that his ribs broke instantly. The bead he kept close to his heart was also crushed and embedded in his flesh, then it slipped into his body.

Luo Xiu came from an ordinary civilian family. His parents were common people with no martial arts potential, and he had an older sister. The family's livelihood depended on his father, Luo Songlin, who collected herbs in the mountains.

The bead was something Luo Xiu's father found while collecting herbs when Luo Xiu was very young. The bead was black and white, crystal clear, and very beautiful. No matter whether it was summer or winter, touching the bead would bring a faint warmth, making it his favorite toy as a child. Even after growing up, he kept it close to his heart.

And now, the bead was gone!

"Could it really have entered my body?"

While Luo Xiu was lost in thought, his head suddenly felt extremely swollen, as if his skull was about to explode.

"Boom!"

It felt like a violent tremor of his soul, and then everything went black. Luo Xiu found himself in a dark, empty world.

"Where am I?"

The fear of the unknown made Luo Xiu extremely nervous.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the dark space. It was a bead emitting black and white light, crystal clear, mysterious, and unpredictable.

Luo Xiu immediately recognized it as the bead he had loved since childhood.

Without giving Luo Xiu any time to react, the bead suddenly flew towards him, then collided with his body and merged with him.

At the same time, a vast amount of information flooded his mind.

After an unknown period of time, Luo Xiu, who had fainted in the room, opened his eyes. He clearly felt a subtle tremor from his soul and sensed that the bead was inside his body, seemingly fused with his soul.

"The Precious Life-Death Bead, the Eight Deserts of the Universe, the Ten Thousand Worlds, the countless living beings... the Life Meridian Map... What is all this nonsense?"

The additional memories in his mind almost drove Luo Xiu to the brink of madness, yet they were also filled with profound mysteries, providing him with some kind of enlightenment.

After a long time, he gradually calmed down, sat cross-legged on the bed, and with a thought, visualized another version of himself in his mind. This version of himself had a network of faint white light meridians connecting throughout his body.

These white light meridians, according to the enlightenment he gained from the Precious Life-Death Bead, were called life meridians. The life meridians were interconnected, forming the Life Meridian Map.

By visualizing his Life Meridian Map, Luo Xiu discovered that many of his life meridians were much dimmer than others.

These dimmer life meridians were the injuries he had sustained from being beaten by Zhang Hao and his gang.

These injuries were severe. For a second-level Body Tempering practitioner like Luo Xiu, it would take at least a month to recover without good healing medicines, and he would be left with internal injuries that would affect his future martial arts practice.

"Can I recover my injuries by circulating my inner energy to repair the dimmer parts of the Life Meridian Map?" The information in Luo Xiu's mind was hard to believe, completely beyond his understanding.

"Whether it works or not, I'll try it first."

With this thought, Luo Xiu sat cross-legged on the bed and began to circulate his cultivation technique. His cultivation was at the second level of Body Tempering, with inner energy stored in his flesh. As he circulated the technique, the inner energy began to flow through the meridians in his body.

He felt himself immersed in a profound state, where the inner energy transformed into a rich life force, and the severe injuries on his body began to heal rapidly.

In his visualization, the dimmer parts of his Life Meridian Map gradually became clearer and brighter.

"Is this the mystery of the Precious Life-Death Bead? Directly repairing the life meridians, and the injuries on the body automatically heal? This is too incredible..."

Luo Xiu was utterly amazed by the changes in his body. The mysterious Life-Death Bead, now fused with him, seemed to grant him some special ability beyond the mundane!

When the human body is injured, the life meridians are damaged. When the injuries heal, the life meridians are also repaired, and vice versa!

With a leap, Luo Xiu got off the bed. The broken ribs in his chest had healed, and there was no pain.

He moved his body, and all the injuries had indeed fully recovered.

"Although my inner energy is depleted, I am only at the second level of Body Tempering, so I can only store a small amount of inner energy in my flesh. It will recover quickly." Luo Xiu examined his body.

This time, he sat cross-legged on the ground, intending to circulate his technique to recover the depleted inner energy.

While circulating the technique, the Life Meridian Map naturally appeared in his mind, and the route of the inner energy's flow through the meridians was clearly visible.

Martial arts are divided into nine levels, from first to ninth grade, and are further divided into cultivation techniques and martial skills.

The higher the grade of the cultivation technique, the more meridians and acupoints involved in the circulation of inner energy, and the better the cultivation effect. Conversely, lower-grade techniques involve fewer meridians and acupoints, and the cultivation effect is worse.

Luo Xiu, coming from an ordinary civilian family, practiced the lowest-grade first-level cultivation technique, which only involved a few meridians and acupoints in the body. He had been practicing in the Martial Hall since he was ten, for three years, and had only reached the second level of Body Tempering.

This showed how poor the cultivation effect of a first-level technique was. According to his knowledge, some peers from prestigious families, practicing high-grade cultivation techniques, had already reached the fifth or even sixth level of Body Tempering!

In Luo Xiu's understanding, he only knew the first three realms of martial cultivation: Body Tempering, Qi Sea, and Innate. Each realm is divided into nine levels, symbolizing that martial cultivation is like ascending the nine heavens, with each step being more difficult than the last.

The Body Tempering realm is for martial apprentices, only reaching the Qi Sea realm can one be considered a true martial artist, and the Innate realm is called a martial master!

A second-level Body Tempering martial apprentice like Luo Xiu was at the bottom of the Martial Hall students and was considered a waste and a commoner by the disciples of prestigious families!

Suddenly, Luo Xiu's attention was drawn to the Life Meridian Map in his mind. A thought, like an instinct, made him feel that the route of inner energy circulation could be improved and optimized.

The cultivation level of the second-level Body Tempering was very low, so Luo Xiu quickly recovered the depleted inner energy. However, the thought that had taken root in his mind would not go away.

All his attention was now focused on the Life Meridian Map in his mind. With a thought, the inner energy circulation followed his idea and changed the route in the Life Meridian Map.

Unconsciously, the first-level cultivation technique, which originally involved only a few meridians and acupoints, began to involve more and more meridians, far exceeding the scope of a first-level technique.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the Life Meridian Map in his mind collapsed, and Luo Xiu was jolted out of the profound state.

"The route of circulation was wrong, so the Life Meridian Map collapsed." Luo Xiu mumbled to himself.

Meridians and acupoints are crucial for martial cultivation, especially when practicing cultivation techniques. A slight mistake can damage the meridians, and a severe mistake can lead to broken meridians, making one a cripple, or even causing one to go mad and die.

The cultivation techniques and martial skills passed down in the world have been confirmed to be error-free. No one dares to change the route of the technique, as it can easily lead to serious mistakes, leaving no room for regret.

Luo Xiu was well aware of this, so he did not personally try it but visualized the Life Meridian Map in his mind, using the insight from the life meridians to understand every meridian and acupoint in the human body, and thus attempted to improve the route of the cultivation technique.

Although the Life Meridian Map eventually collapsed due to a mistake, the first-level cultivation technique had already been improved, becoming more complex than the route recorded in the technique he had been practicing, and the cultivation effect was bound to be much better.

Frowning, Luo Xiu touched his chin and said to himself, "The starting point of a first-level cultivation technique is already poor, so even with improvements, there are limits. I wonder how effective this technique will be now?"

At this moment, Luo Xiu firmly believed in the enlightenment he had gained from the Life-Death Bead and immediately began to circulate the improved technique.

The elemental energy of heaven and earth seeped into his body through his limbs, pores, and all parts of his body, condensing into inner energy under the cultivation technique, and being refined and stored in his flesh.

The nine levels of Body Tempering: the first three levels temper the flesh, storing a small amount of inner energy in the flesh; the fourth to sixth levels temper the tendons and bones; the seventh level tempers the internal organs; the eighth level tempers the blood; and the ninth level tempers the bone marrow.

After a long time, Luo Xiu opened his eyes, feeling refreshed. He could feel the inner energy in his flesh, which was stronger than before.

However, in the past, the same amount of cultivation time would not have produced such a noticeable effect.

"The improvement of the cultivation technique was successful!" Luo Xiu was both surprised and delighted.

Not only that, but Luo Xiu also discovered that the inner energy he cultivated now contained a powerful and vibrant life force, as well as a hidden aura of death and destruction.

"Life and Death Qi?" The enlightenment from the Precious Life-Death Bead, now fused with him, made Luo Xiu realize that his life's destiny had begun to change...