Chapter 4: The Mysterious Stone Coffin

Perhaps because many people had gathered outside to watch the commotion, Du Shaofu did not encounter anyone on his way back to the courtyard where he lived. He directly returned to his own residence.

Although Du Shaofu was a transparent existence, the place where he lived was quite decent. It was a very spacious courtyard, and there were not many such spacious courtyards in the entire Du Family. Only a few respected elders of the Du Family had the qualifications to live in such places.

Du Shaofu could live in such a courtyard mainly because of his father. If his father were not the third brother of the current head of the Du Family, he would not have enjoyed such treatment. Just with the title of "foolish young master," he would not have been given this courtyard to live in.

When Du Shaofu entered the courtyard, he saw a familiar drunkard deeply asleep on a rattan chair, holding a gourd wine bottle tightly in his arms, unwilling to let go.

"Father, why are you drunk again?"

Du Shaofu walked over and looked at the drunkard whose face was half-covered by disheveled hair. His clear eyes were filled with concern.

For sixteen years, Du Shaofu's most vivid memory of his father, Du Tingxuan, was of him often sitting in the courtyard, holding a wine bottle and gazing at the sky, drunk and drowsy.

"Shaofu, you're back. Are you hungry? Go to the kitchen and find something to eat."

Du Tingxuan woke up groggily, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and sat up from the rattan chair. As he spoke, a strong smell of alcohol still emanated from his mouth. He was taller than Du Shaofu but equally slender. Under his disheveled hair, one could faintly see that if it were not for the alcohol, his face would be quite handsome.

"Father, I'm not hungry. Let me help you to the room to rest."

Du Shaofu moved forward to support his father, but Du Tingxuan, who had already stood up, stopped him, shook the wine bottle in his hand, and said with a smile, "No need, it's empty. I'll go buy some more."

With these words, Du Tingxuan, swaying drunkenly, walked out of the courtyard gate, leaving Du Shaofu standing alone in the courtyard.

From as far back as he could remember, Du Shaofu remembered that the wine bottle was something his father never let go of. As for his mother, she was completely a stranger to him, with no memory at all.

After standing quietly for a while, Du Shaofu found some water to drink in the hall and then directly returned to his room.

In the room, Du Shaofu sat cross-legged, his hand seals formed, and a surge of mystic energy immediately enveloped his body. In his palms, it seemed as if mystic runes were about to burst forth. He murmured softly, "This mysterious technique is indeed powerful. Fortunately, I only used it slightly."

A smile appeared on his clear face. The technique Du Shaofu had used on the stage was one he had comprehended from the ancient stone stele over the past ten years. However, he had only used a little of it, which made him even more amazed by the mysterious technique.

Only Du Shaofu himself knew that the mysterious technique within the stone stele not only allowed his martial vein to recover but also enabled him to cultivate mystic energy. More importantly, although it was just one technique, it was comprehensive, infinitely variable, and extremely powerful.

However, Du Shaofu now faced a rather awkward situation: he had mystic energy in his body but no cultivation realm.

Although the technique could repair his martial vein and allow him to cultivate mystic energy, it was not a cultivation method and could not grant him a cultivation realm.

In other words, although Du Shaofu had mystic energy, strictly speaking, he did not even qualify as a First Stage Later Heaven Martial Practitioner.

The cultivation realms of martial practitioners in this world were divided into Later Heaven Martial Practitioners and Innate Martial Practitioners. Only those who reached the Innate stage could be considered true martial practitioners. However, most people might spend their entire lives stuck at the Later Heaven stage, unable to advance to the Innate stage, showing that even if one could cultivate, the Innate stage was not something anyone could easily reach.

Although he had always been unable to cultivate, Du Shaofu, born into a martial family and not wasting time over the years, was quite clear about his current situation. The Later Heaven stage was divided into nine levels, and with the mystic energy he possessed and the profoundness of the mysterious technique, he was confident he could handle opponents at the eighth and ninth levels of the Later Heaven stage.

"My martial vein has recovered somewhat. Since I can now cultivate, I should go to the Martial Technique Pavilion tomorrow to find a cultivation method."

Du Shaofu pondered. Since he could not learn the subsequent techniques of the mysterious technique, he could only start by cultivating a method to improve his realm.

Even without a realm, the mysterious technique had such power. Once his realm improved, the mysterious technique would undoubtedly become even more formidable, which Du Shaofu was very much looking forward to.

"Continue comprehending the mysterious technique."

With this decision made, and since he had nothing else to do, Du Shaofu formed hand seals, closed his eyes slightly, and entered a state of comprehension.

Although he had made some progress in comprehending the first technique within the ancient stone stele over the past ten years, Du Shaofu was clear that he had not yet reached the perfect level of comprehension.

Ten years ago, when he was tested and found to have a defective martial vein, which meant he could not achieve anything in the path of martial cultivation, Du Shaofu could not accept it from the depths of his heart. In the midst of a storm, he rushed out of the Du Family and went to the stone stele to vent his frustration.

Who knew that a bolt of lightning struck the stone stele, which remained unharmed, but the lightning that struck the stele seemed to transfer to Du Shaofu's body.

Three days later, Du Shaofu finally woke up. During those three days of unconsciousness, he had actually entered a state of profound comprehension. When the lightning struck, a series of mysterious runes appeared in his mind along with the lightning.

At first, Du Shaofu did not know what those mysterious runes were, but as he remained in that profound state, he felt as if he had gained insight. Eventually, he realized that they were a powerful technique, one that seemed specifically designed for those with defective martial veins.

Martial veins were divided into nine grades, from the lowest first grade to the highest ninth grade. The higher the grade of the martial vein, the greater the potential for achievement in martial cultivation. This was an unchanging rule and fact that had stood for countless years.

Du Shaofu's tested martial vein was a defective one, with no grade, meaning he could not achieve anything in martial cultivation. He could only practice some basic techniques to strengthen his body.

The mysterious technique gave Du Shaofu hope in the depths of despair. Comprehending this technique could repair his martial vein and allow him to cultivate.

When Du Shaofu returned to the stone stele, the cracks on it were no longer just simple cracks to him. They were intricate patterns related to the human body.

The numerous cracks were like the dense meridians within the human body, profound and wondrous. Ultimately, they allowed him to comprehend and cultivate the mysterious technique.

Du Shaofu immersed himself in this comprehension, like a fish entering the vast ocean, boundless and without an exit.

After ten years, Du Shaofu finally comprehended the mysterious technique and learned that this technique was not just one but had subsequent techniques, such as the second and third techniques. However, within the ancient stone stele of the Du Family, only the first technique was present.

In the room, as he continued to comprehend, Du Shaofu gradually entered a state of complete absorption...

At dawn, the world was silent. The eastern horizon was tinged with a faint light, carefully permeating the pale blue sky. The first ray of sunlight pierced through the darkness before dawn, crossing mountains and oceans, and finally enveloped the stone city.

Du Shaofu also woke up, opened his eyes, and found himself in complete darkness, but his body felt incredibly light and refreshed, as if he had undergone a thorough cleansing, making him feel incredibly comfortable.

"Crack!"

Seemingly already accustomed to it, Du Shaofu reached up and pushed. A sound of stone plates rubbing against each other echoed, and then a stone lid slid open. Du Shaofu stood up, now inside a stone coffin.