Chapter 31

**Boom!**

In the room where Lu Mengyao lived, a flame rose up, and the two figures sitting cross-legged opposite each other had their clothes burned to ashes, leaving them naked.

This happened once every seven days, and it was unknown how many times it had occurred. However, the scene of being naked still made Lu Mengyao's face turn red with embarrassment, and she quickly turned away, her back to Luo Xiu.

The smooth, white skin made Luo Xiu's heart wander, but the surging, scorching flame power within his body forced him to reluctantly close his eyes and begin to practice the Pure Yang Technique to absorb and refine it.

His internal energy cultivation had long reached the saturation point of his body, and the excess internal energy all converged at the dantian. When he broke through to the Qi Sea Realm, this internal energy would erupt like a volcano, giving him a significant boost.

After a moment, Lu Mengyao put on new clothes and could clearly feel that her Fire Yang Meridian was mostly healed, and she no longer needed to rely on water-attribute pills and internal energy to suppress it.

Looking at Luo Xiu, who was sitting cross-legged and completely naked, Lu Mengyao felt a strange sensation in her heart.

She had never thought that her body would be seen countless times by a fourteen-year-old boy.

At first, she was filled with shame and anger, but now, when he stared at her, her heart would race, and she felt a sense of shyness.

"Once my Fire Yang Meridian is healed, I should go back, right?" Lu Mengyao suddenly said to herself.

In the entire Green Cloud City, only the master of the Martial Hall and the five elders knew her identity and background.

She had seen many geniuses and was a genius herself. If not for the Fire Yang Meridian, she would have already become a先天武师 (Xiantian Wushi, a Xiantian Martial Artist).

However, Luo Xiu still amazed her. In just half a year, he had advanced from the second level of Body Tempering to the ninth level. If that were all, it wouldn't be so surprising, as some geniuses in the Free and Easy Sect could also do it.

But what Luo Xiu had achieved was not just that; he had also mastered the Pure Yang Technique!

The Pure Yang Technique and the Xiantian Technique were derived from the same lineage, originally a single secret manual called the Xiantian Pure Yang Technique, which was rated as an eighth-grade martial art!

However, this technique was very difficult to master. Even among the many geniuses of the major forces in the Heavenly Martial Kingdom, only a few had succeeded. But once mastered, the cultivation level was unparalleled among peers!

This martial art had two levels: Pure Yang and Xiantian. The Pure Yang Technique was the foundation and could be cultivated up to the ninth level of the Qi Sea. Only by practicing the Xiantian Technique could one enter the Xiantian realm.

If the Pure Yang and Xiantian could be combined, it would form a complete eighth-grade martial art.

Although that level was still far from Luo Xiu, at least he had the potential.

Moreover, Luo Xiu's talent in martial techniques and body techniques was also excellent. In the future, he might be able to secure a place in the Free and Easy Sect.

"Phew..."

Luo Xiu exhaled, slowly opened his eyes, and saw Lu Mengyao staring at him. Their eyes met.

Lu Mengyao was startled and quickly averted her gaze, seemingly afraid to look at Luo Xiu.

Over the past days, the repeated scenes of being naked together had made Luo Xiu develop some feelings for her, though he was not good at expressing them and couldn't figure out how Lu Mengyao felt about him, so he kept those feelings hidden in his heart.

After the incident with Liu Yuxin, Luo Xiu sometimes deliberately avoided matters of the heart.

"Mengyao, once my cultivation reaches the Qi Sea Realm, it will take only two or three more sessions to completely heal your Fire Yang Meridian," Luo Xiu said suddenly.

Their relationship had changed significantly from the beginning, and the way they addressed each other had become more intimate, from "Teacher Lu" to "Sister Lu" and now directly "Mengyao."

"Are you going to break through to the Qi Sea Realm?"

For some reason, hearing that it would take only two or three more sessions to heal her Fire Yang Meridian, Lu Mengyao felt not joy but... reluctance?

"What's wrong with me? The Fire Yang Meridian has tormented me for years, and now that it can be healed, I should be happy."

At this moment, Lu Mengyao's heart was in turmoil. "Is it because I won't be able to be with him like this after I'm healed?"

Luo Xiu didn't know what she was thinking but saw her frowning.

"What's wrong, Mengyao? Are you feeling unwell?" Luo Xiu got up, walked to her, and observed her life meridians, but found no problems.

Life meridians could reveal some illnesses or injuries but couldn't see into the heart.

"I'm not unwell, I'm just a bit tired," Lu Mengyao said with a forced smile.

"Then rest well. I'll be in seclusion to break through to the Qi Sea Realm in the next few days," Luo Xiu said.

...

After leaving Lu Mengyao's residence, Luo Xiu went to a courtyard in Green Cloud City.

Since the incident with the Zhang family, Luo Xiu had bought this courtyard and settled his parents and sister here. After all, he now had the ability to provide a good life for his loved ones.

Luo Xiu's parents and sister had no talent for martial arts and would remain ordinary people all their lives. For them, a life of no worries and a comfortable old age was all they could wish for.

Luo Xiu's room was deep in the courtyard, where he practiced.

Martial arts in the world were divided into nine grades, with grades one to three being low-grade martial arts, and grade four martial arts entering the middle tier.

In the third floor of the Martial Hall's library in Green Cloud City, there were only six grade four martial arts, two each of internal techniques, martial techniques, and body techniques, which were considered the highest-grade martial arts in the city.

Due to his victory in the martial arts competition, Luo Xiu could choose any grade four martial art to practice. For him, if he was going to practice, he would choose the best, so he selected the Nine Thunder Swords and the Qimen Duntian Body Technique.

The Nine Thunder Swords were an upgraded version of the Thunder Sword Technique.

The Qimen Duntian Body Technique was the most precious of all grade four martial arts, comparable in value to the Pure Yang Technique!

It was defined as a grade four body technique because the Qimen Duntian was incomplete and had some missing parts.

Even with the missing parts, it still qualified as a grade four technique, showing its extraordinary nature.

With the foundation of the perfected Thunder Sword Technique, Luo Xiu's practice of the Nine Thunder Swords went smoothly, and he reached the minor completion stage in just seven days.

However, the meridian circulation diagram of the Qimen Duntian Body Technique was extremely complex. Through visualization and deduction of the life meridians, Luo Xiu spent more than half a month to just reach the introductory level.

Luo Xiu discovered that even at the introductory level, the Qimen Duntian Body Technique, combined with the subtle techniques, surpassed the perfect level of the Inch Step in both speed and finesse.

This body technique contained a certain mystery, allowing for an instantaneous burst of speed and short-distance movement.

Regarding the breakthrough to the Qi Sea Realm, Luo Xiu was not in a hurry. He had a Qi Condensation Pill and could break through at any time.

During this period, the master of the Martial Hall had also personally guided his practice, telling him to focus on building a solid foundation before breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm, as a strong foundation would affect his future martial achievements.

Unconsciously, a month passed, and Luo Xiu rarely went out, spending almost all his time practicing the Nine Thunder Swords and the Qimen Duntian Body Technique.

In this state of intense focus, Luo Xiu's progress was excellent, and with the effect of the second-stage Spirit Gathering Array, his cultivation was almost at the Qi Sea Realm even without taking the Qi Condensation Pill.

The Nine Thunder Swords were perfected, and the Qimen Duntian Body Technique was at the minor completion stage!

Moreover, Luo Xiu had also completed the missing parts of the Qimen Duntian Body Technique through the deduction of the life meridians.

"It's time to break through to the Qi Sea Realm."

On this day, Luo Xiu went to a forest outside Green Cloud City. It was close to the city, so there were no wild beasts or demons, and he didn't have to worry about being disturbed during his practice.

The second-stage Spirit Gathering Array was activated, and the elemental energy from all directions began to converge rapidly. Luo Xiu took the Qi Condensation Pill, and the powerful and pure medicinal energy burst forth in his body.

"Hum! Hum! Hum!..."

His body emitted a bright light, and more and more internal energy condensed, gathering in the dantian in his abdomen.

In his mind, the empty dantian began to tremble slightly, and as the internal energy continued to impact, the trembling became more and more intense.

"Pure Yang Qi, all meridians open, open up!"

Luo Xiu's voice was like a thunderclap, and he pushed the Pure Yang Technique to its limit. The internal energy in his flesh, bones, organs, and blood vessels surged like a river, continuously impacting the dantian.

"Boom!"

The invisible barrier in the dantian was suddenly broken, and a flood of internal energy rushed into the dantian.

A feeling of immense fullness came from his abdomen, invigorating Luo Xiu's spirit.

"Breaking through the dantian is the first step!"

All the internal energy in his body gathered in the dantian, forming a lake or sea of internal energy. The internal energy emitted light, illuminating the darkness in the dantian—this was the Qi Sea!

With the dantian as the foundation, the internal energy could flow through the meridians and acupoints throughout the body, making it more efficient and refined than before.

The internal energy circulation of a Body Tempering martial artist was called the Small Circulation.

Only by opening the Qi Sea could the internal energy circulation form the Great Circulation!

However, to break through to the Qi Sea Realm, merely breaking through the dantian was not enough. The internal energy needed to be condensed and compressed into true qi!

"What is this?"

Luo Xiu suddenly felt a strong tremor in his dantian. Upon sensing it, the Life and Death Qi in the center of his dantian was constantly rotating, forming a black and white pattern, like a Taiji diagram or a rotating millstone.

In this rotation, the Life and Death Qi was rapidly condensed and compressed.

Under normal circumstances, the process of condensing true qi would not be completed in a short time. Luo Xiu estimated that it would take at least one or two days for the internal energy to be fully condensed and compressed into the more powerful true qi in the dantian.

However, in this frenzied rotation, the Life and Death Qi was condensed and compressed to its extreme in just a few breaths!

In the center of the dantian, a wheel with the left side white and the right side black was rotating, and a mist-like gas spread from the wheel, filling the dantian, forming the Qi Sea.

This mist-like gas was true qi!

The cultivation of the Qi Sea Realm was the process of condensing true qi. From the first to the third level, the true qi was in a mist-like state. From the fourth to the sixth level, the true qi was in a liquid state, more condensed and powerful. From the seventh to the ninth level, it condensed into a solid state, forming a weapon, invincible!

"Did I break through to the Qi Sea Realm so easily?"

Luo Xiu was surprised. He pointed his finger into the air, and an invisible force shot out, shattering the door several meters away.

Then, he suddenly moved, disappearing from his spot and reappearing outside the house.

"Using true qi to perform body techniques, this speed is truly ghostly, worthy of a body technique that can be listed as grade four even when incomplete!"

At this moment, Luo Xiu could clearly feel that he was several times stronger than before.

At the same time, a sense of enlightenment came from the Life and Death Pearl, revealing to him that the black and white wheel in his dantian was called the All-Heaven Life and Death Wheel!

This was not a martial technique or a cultivation method but a mark derived from the Law of Life and Death.

In the dantian, the All-Heaven Life and Death Wheel rotated, and the mysteries of the Law of Life and Death flowed through his mind. Through this, Luo Xiu found that the parts of his martial arts that he previously didn't understand were now clear, and he could easily grasp their secrets.

Since the Law of Life and Death was one of the highest and most supreme laws in the universe, even if Luo Xiu could only grasp a tiny fraction of it, the level of understanding was extremely high. From this high perspective, the lower-level martial arts he practiced became much clearer and more understandable.