Chapter 22

In the early morning, Xiao Zhan was once again woken up by Xiao Jian, who was in a state of excitement. With a helpless look, he said irritably, "Who’s getting married this time?"

Xiao Jian laughed loudly and said, "This time it’s even more exciting than a wedding. Last night, Uncle San’s wife passed away."

Xiao Zhan was stunned and looked at him in confusion.

Xiao Jian exaggeratedly said, "Heavens! My dear brother, such a loud noise last night and it didn’t even wake you up! Do you know, a group of black-clothed men broke into the Xiao family last night, killing everyone they saw. Tsk tsk tsk! Our father single-handedly fought over a hundred people with just one gun. That kind of dominance and passion is truly awe-inspiring! Even more amazing is that this morning, everyone found that Uncle San’s bridal chamber was burned to ashes, and the bride had vanished without a trace. Think about it, with so many rooms, why did they burn only the bridal chamber? This group must have come to snatch the bride."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan felt very regretful. Why did he come back so early last night, missing such an exciting event?

Xiao Jian became more and more excited as he spoke, and without realizing it, he started to speak without restraint, "Hahaha! Brother, maybe Uncle San’s bride was taken by the other side last night..."

"Humph!"

Suddenly, a cold snort sounded, startling Xiao Jian and making him break out in a cold sweat. Before he could turn his head, his ear was already firmly twisted by Zhan Wan'er, who had quietly arrived. She angrily said, "In the future, watch your words. Don’t corrupt your brother."

Xiao Jian exaggeratedly cried out, "Ah! Mother! Lighter!"

Ignoring Xiao Jian’s painful cries, Xiao Zhan excitedly said, "Mother, did someone really come to snatch Uncle San’s wife last night?"

Zhan Wan'er stared at Xiao Zhan in shock, as if she couldn’t believe the words had come from his mouth.

Heavens! Snatching a wife, and my son is only five years old, yet he already knows about snatching wives?

Zhan Wan'er glared at Xiao Jian with intense hatred, blaming him for corrupting the child. Speaking so recklessly in front of a child, the influence is terrible. No! I must send Zhan'er to my sister as soon as possible, or he will end up just like this boy.

Thinking this, Zhan Wan'er sat beside Xiao Zhan with a gentle expression, helping him dress while casually saying, "Zhan'er, would you like to go back to the Zhan Clan with Mother in a few days?"

"So soon?"

"Yes, Mother plans to take you on a journey along the way, to broaden your horizons."

Xiao Zhan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly nodded, "I will do everything Mother says."

Xiao Jian, with a sly smile, came over and said flatteringly, "Mother, I want to go too."

Zhan Wan'er said irritably, "I’m taking Zhan'er back to the Zhan Clan, it’s not your business. Stay here."

Xiao Jian, unwilling to give up so easily, winked at Xiao Zhan and tried to persuade her, "Oh, how can it not be my business? I can keep my brother company and chat along the way."

Xiao Zhan nodded, "Mother, let Big Brother come too. It will be more fun with one more person."

Zhan Wan'er looked at Xiao Jian with a cold smile and said, "You can come, but if you misbehave, I’ll make you regret it."

"How could I? I’m always well-behaved and obedient."

As a result, he received a strong look of disdain from both of them.

Since the day of departure was decided, Xiao Zhan focused all his attention on practicing the "Star Gathering Fist," temporarily putting aside the cultivation of "Dream." He was eager to open a meridian point and experience the feeling of being full of strength.

Although the "Star Gathering Fist" is only suitable for practicing at night, Xiao Zhan was unwilling to miss the daytime. These days, he could often be seen practicing in the courtyard. After several days of practice, Xiao Zhan felt that a meridian point in his body was getting hotter, as if it was about to open, but each time he practiced, it felt like he was just short of something.

Today was the last night of practice at the Xiao family. Tomorrow, his mother would take him on the journey to the legendary Zhan Clan. At this moment, Xiao Zhan was eager to open this meridian point so that he wouldn’t suffer from exhaustion or heatstroke during the journey.

In the front courtyard, Xiao Zhan repeatedly performed the "Thirty-Six Forms of Star Gathering Fist," constantly comprehending its changes. Each time he punched, he could feel the star power from the sky entering his body, though the amount was limited, the feeling of absorbing star power was real. It made him feel comfortable, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

After several days of practice, Xiao Zhan had discovered that the amount of star power absorbed was closely related to the speed of his punches. When he sped up, the amount of star power absorbed increased significantly, and when he slowed down, the absorption became almost imperceptible.

Unconsciously, Xiao Zhan’s punching speed became faster and faster. Gradually, the star power in the sky was continuously drawn to him, and over time, a visible silver light column appeared. At this moment, Xiao Zhan felt the meridian point in his body getting hotter and hotter, becoming scorching.

This scorching sensation increased with the speed of his punches. When his figure turned into a blur, he felt a "thunderous" sound from within his body, and the hot meridian point suddenly opened.

Instantly, a strange vibration spread from the meridian point throughout his body. Xiao Zhan noticed that his body was undergoing a miraculous change, his strength increasing, from ten pounds to a hundred pounds, gradually approaching a thousand pounds.

At the same time, Xiao Zhan clearly felt the speed at which star power gathered from the sky increasing exponentially. In the end, it felt like it was being poured into him. When his strength approached ten crystals, his punching speed gradually slowed down. When the star power stopped flowing in and the meridian point stopped changing, he stopped his practice.

Feeling the surging power within his body, Xiao Zhan was so excited that he wanted to shout out loud.

A thousand pounds of strength!

I finally have a thousand pounds of strength! Although his current strength was only equivalent to the first level of the innate realm, Xiao Zhan was very satisfied. After all, a month ago, he was weak and out of breath after a few steps, but now his strength was on par with a first-level innate realm martial artist.

After a moment of excitement, Xiao Zhan immediately activated the True Eye to examine his body.

Instantly, a pea-sized, independent meridian point appeared in his vision. Looking at this independent meridian point, Xiao Zhan was filled with shock. Although he knew little about martial arts, he had read many martial arts novels in his previous life. He knew that most meridian points in the body were connected to meridians, but this opened meridian point was independent. What was going on?

With questions, he naturally asked Xiaomi. Xiao Zhan hurriedly asked, "Xiaomi, why is this meridian point independent?"

Xiaomi matter-of-factly said, "The over a thousand meridian points recorded in the 'Star Gathering Fist' are all independent. What’s so strange about that?"

Xiao Zhan, puzzled, said, "But without meridians, one can’t cultivate internal energy. What’s the use of opening this meridian point?"

Xiaomi giggled, "Of course it’s useful. Master, try punching once, and you’ll know the magic of this fist technique."

Xiao Zhan took a deep breath and performed the first form of the "Thirty-Six Forms of Star Gathering Fist," the "Star Gathering." Immediately, he felt a force similar to true qi surge from the newly opened meridian point, gathering in his punching arm. Almost instantly, his punching speed increased dramatically, and a crisp sound was heard, creating a gust of wind.

Xiao Zhan, stunned, said, "What’s going on?"

Xiaomi explained, "The 'Star Gathering Fist' is not an ordinary internal energy cultivation manual. To be precise, it’s a fist technique for cultivating the physical body, but it’s different from ordinary physical body cultivation methods because it can achieve everything that requires meridians through the physical body."

Xiao Zhan, surprised, said, "You mean the true qi of the 'Star Gathering Fist' is transmitted through the physical body, not the meridians?"

Xiaomi praised, "Master is right. When you used the 'Star Gathering' just now, the true qi in the meridian point was transmitted through the physical body. However, if Master wants to fully unleash the power of 'Star Gathering,' you need to open all fifty meridian points required for this move. Otherwise, its power is only average."

Xiao Zhan’s eyes widened, "Fifty meridian points, each with ten crystals, that’s five hundred crystals of strength. If multiplied by a hundred, my goodness! That’s fifty thousand pounds of strength!"

If someone had fifty thousand pounds of strength, what a scene it would be! Just thinking about it was exciting. Feeling the surging power within his body, Xiao Zhan was highly motivated and had no sleepiness at all. He continued practicing in the courtyard. After a while, his mother, Zhan Wan'er, came and sternly ordered him to go back to bed, and he reluctantly complied.

The next morning, Xiao Jian woke up the Xiao family early. After washing up and having breakfast, they prepared to set off. Almost everyone in the courtyard came to see them off. Seeing the reluctant looks on their faces, Xiao Zhan felt a sense of sadness. Just as he was about to follow his mother, Xiao Bie Li’s voice rang out.

"Zhan'er!"

Xiao Zhan turned around in surprise and looked at Xiao Bie Li in confusion.

Xiao Bie Li smiled and took out a small booklet from his chest, handing it to him. He said with a smile, "This is my lifetime’s martial arts insights, recording the 'Overlord Spear Technique' I created. Zhan'er, you can start practicing martial arts now. Today, I will give it to you. Keep it well, whether you can use it in the future or not."

Since it was a martial arts technique, Xiao Zhan naturally accepted it gladly. At this moment, he only had the "Star Gathering Fist" for cultivating meridian points and no other martial arts manuals. Now that someone was giving him a manual, he was more than happy to accept it. He said joyfully, "Thank you, Father!"

Xiao Bie Li smiled and patted Xiao Zhan’s head, saying no more.

After a tearful farewell, Zhan Wan'er led Xiao Zhan and Xiao Jian on their journey.

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End of the chapter.