Chapter 3

Suddenly, a vortex appeared in the painting, and Ling Xiao felt a darkness before his eyes as he was sucked into the vortex.

When he could see again, he found himself in a village filled with strangers.

However, these strangers all seemed to be very respectful, bowing and greeting him.

They even called him "Master of the Mountains and Rivers."

"Could this be the village from that painting...?"

Ling Xiao was thoroughly confused by the situation. He suddenly remembered that the village in the painting he had seen earlier was almost identical in structure.

The village was peaceful and free of conflict, giving a very comfortable feeling.

But Ling Xiao was very anxious. What if he was trapped here? What would he do?

"From the ancient times, the myriad races, the martial spirit of the mountains and rivers, ruling over all realms, unceasingly! The universe, the primordial chaos, the martial god slumbering, today revived! A person of destiny has come..."

Suddenly, a woman appeared from a distance, walking in the air, ethereal and graceful, like a celestial maiden, stunning to behold.

Her voice was somewhat hollow and profound, as if it came from a different space.

"Who are you, celestial maiden?"

Ling Xiao asked nervously.

"You need not know who I am or where I come from. You only need to know that from today, you have awakened the 'Martial Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers.' You are the Master of the Mountains and Rivers, the ruler of the world!"

The woman kept walking, but it seemed she would never reach Ling Xiao.

"Martial Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers? Master of the Mountains and Rivers? Ruler of the world?"

Ling Xiao almost laughed. Could a mere first-stage martial pulse cultivator have such power?

However, he had heard of martial spirits before.

In ancient times, martial cultivators could cultivate martial spirits. However, after a great calamity in the world, martial spirits became extinct.

Could it be that he had awakened an extinct martial spirit?

"Since ancient times, humans have cultivated martial arts to resist the invasion of the myriad races. The most powerful among them was the Master of the Mountains and Rivers, who awakened the martial spirit of the mountains and rivers and resisted the myriad races with his own strength, achieving great feats!"

"Now, you are the second person to awaken the martial spirit of the mountains and rivers. The hope of humanity may rest on you. Can humans once again become the lords of all beings and the kings of the myriad races? Perhaps you are the answer..."

After speaking, the woman's figure became increasingly distant and eventually disappeared.

At the same time, Ling Xiao felt his body float up, and his vision blurred again. When he could see again, he was back in the original room.

The tattered book had vanished without a trace, almost confirming that what he had experienced was not a dream but a very real scene.

"The Martial Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers? What exactly can it do?"

Ling Xiao was puzzled, as he had not yet discovered the specific functions of the Martial Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers.

The title of Master of the Mountains and Rivers and the ruler of the myriad races seemed too distant for him.

He only wanted to break through to the second stage of the martial pulse and then continue to strive for the third stage.

After some thought, since the book was gone and he couldn't continue practicing, he could only continue to cultivate the "Mighty Ox Technique."

He had been unconscious for so long, wasting a lot of time.

He jumped out of bed, intending to stretch his limbs, but as he began to practice the Mighty Ox Technique, he was stunned.

Because as he practiced the Mighty Ox Technique, a figure in the Map of the Mountains and Rivers was also practicing the Mighty Ox Technique.

The difference was that the figure in the map had achieved a level of mastery.

The simplest basic martial technique, the Mighty Ox Technique, was flawlessly executed by the figure in the map.

Ling Xiao was dumbfounded.

After a moment, he suddenly came to his senses and quickly followed the movements of the figure in the map, practicing the Mighty Ox Technique.

The feeling was completely different from before. Although he had been proficient, there was always a lack of fluidity.

Now, the entire movement was seamless. Not only that, each time he practiced the Mighty Ox Technique, he could feel his internal true qi becoming more robust.

There was a way!

The second martial pulse was already loosened by the true qi.

Ling Xiao was confident that he could break through to the second stage of the martial pulse by tomorrow at the latest.

This was simply a miracle!

Worried that it would be too shocking, he decided to practice in the room instead of going out.

He continued to practice until his movements were identical to those of the figure in the map, completely synchronized, before he stopped in satisfaction.

It was already the morning of the next day, and he had been so excited that he hadn't slept all night.

"Child, come and have breakfast."

His grandfather's voice came from outside the door.

"Coming."

Ling Xiao opened the door, and his grandfather had already prepared breakfast.

Because of their low status in the Ling family, they received very little food. The porridge was truly thin, with hardly any grains of rice.

The vegetables were just wild and rotten, but with his grandfather's cooking, the taste was quite good.

"Hey? What's going on?"

While eating, Ling Xiao noticed something unexpected.

Two images appeared in the Map of the Mountains and Rivers.

One showed his grandfather, accurately pointing out the various problems with his grandfather's body.

"Grandfather, what's wrong with your rib?"

Without the Map of the Mountains and Rivers, Ling Xiao would never have noticed that his grandfather's rib was broken.

And it was a recent injury!

According to the analysis of the map, it was caused by a palm strike.

"It's nothing, nothing at all."

The old man shook his head hurriedly, not knowing how Ling Xiao had discovered it. He thought he had hidden it well.

"Who did this?"

Ling Xiao put down his chopsticks and stood up, asking coldly. He could tolerate others bullying him, but he could not tolerate anyone hurting his grandfather.

If it weren't for his grandfather, there would be no Ling Xiao today.

"This..."

"If you don't tell me, I won't eat anymore. I'll starve myself to death." Ling Xiao was serious. He knew his grandfather was trying to protect him, but he couldn't swallow this.

"Ling Xiao."

The old man sighed. "It's already over. I've been beaten many times while begging, I'm used to it."

"Is a broken rib nothing?"

Ling Xiao threw down his chopsticks and ran out, leaving behind the words, "Grandfather, I'm going to find Ling Chong!"

For some reason, Ling Xiao was now full of confidence. He felt that if he faced Ling Chong again, he could definitely win.

The power of the Martial Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers was truly immense. It seemed to be able to simulate and analyze anything in the world.

Besides the situation with his grandfather, the second image was of his grandfather cooking, but it was clearly a perfected scene.

How to turn rotten leaves into a gourmet dish!

But he wasn't interested in that now. He wanted to know if the Martial Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers could also simulate the martial techniques of his opponents. If it could, he would truly leap from a carp to a dragon.

On the training ground, Ling Chong was flirting with several female disciples, seemingly not caring about anyone else's life.

This guy had broken his grandfather's rib and didn't even bother to get a doctor to check on him.

Seeing this, Ling Xiao's eyes burned with intense hatred.