Chapter 1

Xiguan Town is a medium-sized town located in Feng Prefecture, one of the thirteen prefectures of the Great Yan Dynasty.

"With this package of herbs, I should be able to brew the Essence-Replenishing Soup and break through my bottleneck to enter the Third Stage of the Postnatal Bone-Strengthening Realm within four months!"

A young man, about fifteen years old, wearing a samurai outfit, walked out of a pharmacy in Xiguan Town, holding a precious package of herbs in his hand, a smile of anticipation on his face.

The Great Yan Dynasty was established on martial prowess, with a strong martial culture where almost everyone practiced martial arts, and martial artists held extremely high status. Even an old farmer in the countryside would cultivate some ordinary martial techniques to strengthen his body.

The martial realm is divided into two major stages: Postnatal and Prenatal.

The nine stages of the Postnatal Realm are: Qi-Induction, Body-Refinement, Bone-Strengthening, Qi-Condensation, Qi-Strengthening, True Qi, Spirit Qi, Qi-Transformation, and Grandmaster.

First Stage: Qi-Induction. At this stage, cultivators can cultivate a thread of internal energy. Anyone can cultivate internal energy. There is not much difference between cultivators and ordinary people at this stage. As long as one can find an ordinary cultivation method, everyone can cultivate to the Qi-Induction stage.

Second Stage: Body-Refinement. At this stage, cultivators begin to refine their bodies using internal energy and various methods. A peak Body-Refinement cultivator, even an ordinary teenager, can easily defeat five or six strong men who have not cultivated.

The Body-Refinement stage is extremely difficult to cultivate. To quickly reach this stage, one not only needs a high-level cultivation method but also a large amount of medicinal herbs to solidify the foundation and strengthen the body.

In the Great Yan Dynasty, it is said that the poor pursue literature while the rich pursue martial arts, because cultivating martial arts requires a large amount of money to buy various medicinal herbs to brew soups, which allows a cultivator to advance bravely and continuously challenge higher realms.

For the handsome young man, Su Han, to reach the Body-Refinement stage at the age of fifteen is already considered quite good among ordinary people.

At this moment, three riders on汗血宝马 (sweat-blooded horses) approached like a hurricane.

The汗血宝马 (sweat-blooded horses) are extremely precious steeds from the Western Regions of the Great Yan Dynasty, each worth a fortune. Their owners are all wealthy and powerful. Seeing the three riders on汗血宝马 (sweat-blooded horses), everyone on the street gave way.

The汗血宝马 (sweat-blooded horses) were extremely fast. Su Han, distracted by the herbs in his hand, was suddenly approached by one of the horses.

The rider pulled the reins, and the汗血宝马 (sweat-blooded horse) raised its front hooves, stomping down hard on Su Han's chest. The immense force instantly burst forth, causing Su Han's chest to ache severely, and the sound of bones cracking could be heard. He was thrown aside like a rag doll.

The汗血宝马 (sweat-blooded horse) was extremely magnificent, landing steadily after stomping Su Han and continuing to gallop forward.

"Damn! This commoner dared to block my path, truly not knowing his own life and death." A man in a green scholar's robe, with a handsome and outstanding appearance, raised his eyebrows, glanced at the thrown Su Han, and flicked his whip, channeling a torrent of internal energy into it, forming a True Qi snake that bit into Su Han's body.

True Qi manifestation! This young man had cultivated to the Eighth Stage of the Postnatal Qi-Transformation Realm.

The True Qi snake entered Su Han's body, instantly unleashing terrifying power. It twisted inside Su Han's body, shattering his dantian and severing his meridians, leaving him with no trace of life.

Seeing this cruel scene, another young rider looked enviously and respectfully, saying, "Young Lord, your True Qi manifestation is truly divine. To cultivate to the True Qi manifestation stage at eighteen, with your unparalleled martial talent, a position as an inner disciple in the martial holy land of Luoshan Sect is surely within your grasp."

The Great Yan Dynasty was established on martial prowess, with countless martial experts. However, most cultivators spend their entire lives only reaching the Fourth Stage of the Postnatal Qi-Condensation Realm. Reaching the Sixth Stage of the True Qi Realm is already considered a top-tier expert in the martial world. The Seventh Stage of the Spirit Qi Realm is the level of many top generals in the imperial court.

For the young lord to reach the Eighth Stage of the Postnatal Qi-Transformation Realm at eighteen is truly a monstrous and terrifying martial genius.

A beautiful young girl, with a proud and charming appearance, said arrogantly, "Of course, my brother is a once-in-a-century martial genius in the Great Yan Dynasty. He broke through to the Body-Refinement stage at ten, reached the Spirit Qi stage at sixteen, and broke through to the Qi-Transformation stage at eighteen. Even the three grandmasters were not as powerful as my brother when they were young. He will surely break through to the mysterious Prenatal Realm. A mere inner disciple of Luoshan Sect is just a matter of time."

The young lord said proudly, "Luoshan Sect is the martial holy land of the Great Yan Dynasty, with countless experts. However, a mere inner disciple is not something I, Yun Tianhai, take seriously. This time, I will definitely become a true disciple of Luoshan Sect!"

The young rider flattered, "Young Lord, what a great ambition! Wei Hai wishes you success in becoming a true disciple of Luoshan Sect and breaking through to the Prenatal Realm to become a Prenatal Grandmaster. When that time comes, I hope Young Lord will take care of me."

Yun Tianhai laughed proudly, "Of course, I, Yun Tianhai, will never let those who follow me suffer!"

The three laughed and rode away, not even glancing at the thrown Su Han, as if they had casually crushed an ant.

Su Han lay on the ground like a rag doll, his internal meridians shattered, and blood flowed from his body into the earth. His lifeless eyes reflected the three men leaving with high spirits, his life force gradually fading, and his soul slowly dissipating.

Beside Su Han, a clod of earth absorbed a large amount of his blood. Suddenly, a starlight shot out from the earth and entered Su Han's body.

The starlight entered Su Han's body and traveled upward, eventually stopping in his sea of consciousness, slowly rotating like a star, surrounded by mysterious blue energy, making it look even more mystical and graceful.

As the star rotated, Su Han's soul, which was about to dissipate, was drawn back and re-entered his body.

The blue energy entered Su Han's body, repairing his shattered meridians and dantian, making them stronger than before.

As Su Han's soul re-entered his body, the memory of being casually killed and trampled like an ant surged in his mind, filling him with endless humiliation and overwhelming hatred.

"Why! Why did you kill me? Just because I am a commoner, can the nobles kill and humiliate me at will? I am not willing, I do not want to die!! I am not willing!!! I want to live! If those people humiliate me today, I will repay them tenfold when I revive!!"

Su Han's soul shouted with resentment and anger. As the star in his sea of consciousness rotated, his dispersed soul quickly gathered and reformed.

As the star rotated again, a light filled with ancient, mysterious, profound, and primordial energy fell into the deepest part of Su Han's sea of consciousness.

Boom!

The light shot down, and the point in Su Han's sea of consciousness exploded, expanding infinitely into a mysterious sea.

The star sank into the depths of this mysterious sea, floating in the void, as if it were the center of the world.

As Su Han's soul reformed, it was drawn into the mysterious sea, gazing at the mysterious star.

A green light formed by countless profound runes was suddenly injected into Su Han's body.

Su Han's soul, after absorbing the runes, fainted.

"Brother! Brother! What's wrong with you! Don't die!!" After an unknown number of days, a girl's anxious voice reached Su Han's ears. He slowly opened his eyes and saw a beautiful girl with delicate features, fair skin, and a lively aura sitting in front of him, crying.

Su Han looked at the girl beside him, his eyes softening, and said gently, "Ningxiang, don't cry! I'm not dead!"

The beautiful girl with delicate features was Su Han's younger sister, Luo Ningxiang.

Seeing Su Han awake, Luo Ningxiang wiped away her tears and quickly ran out of the room, "Brother!! You're not dead, that's great!! I'll go tell Mother."

Soon, a middle-aged woman with lingering charm and a middle-aged man in a green robe, with a slightly haggard appearance, rushed into the room.

The middle-aged woman was Cheng Li, Su Han's mother, and the middle-aged man was Su Han's father, Su Zhengtian.

Seeing the pale-faced Su Han on the bed, Cheng Li's eyes lit up with joy. She rushed to the bedside, held Su Han's hands, and tears of joy streamed down her face, "Han'er, you're finally awake! That's great!! That's great."

Seeing Cheng Li's overjoyed and slightly hysterical state, a warm feeling flowed through Su Han's heart.

Su Zhengtian came to Su Han's bedside, looking at the awake Su Han, his eyes briefly showing joy, but he only said coldly, "Rest well and don't think too much."

"Yes, Father." Su Han looked at the slightly haggard Su Zhengtian, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Having narrowly escaped death, Su Han's observational skills had greatly improved. From Su Zhengtian's expression, he noticed many abnormalities. The man who rode the汗血宝马 (sweat-blooded horse), with a noble demeanor, who had thrown him and then killed him with a True Qi manifestation, appeared in his mind. That young man, who dared to kill people at will in Xiguan Town, was definitely a person of great power. The Su family was somewhat well-known in Xiguan Town, but compared to the nobles of the Great Yan Dynasty, they were insignificant.