Chapter 2

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Nan finally regained consciousness.

"Such a good-for-nothing, he fainted even before completing the ancestral worship, and now we have to carry him. Damn, how can he be so stinky? Ugh..."

"Ugh... That good-for-nothing must have soiled his pants. Damn, it's too smelly!"

"Damn! Even shit isn't this smelly. I just held his hand, and what is this black, greasy stuff? Ugh..."

"Quick, go wash at the pond ahead!"

"Plunk! Plunk..."

Several voices clearly reached Lin Nan's ears.

Lin Nan slowly opened his eyes, his face showing a strange expression. It was really stinky, but Lin Nan seemed not to notice, completely stunned by his own transformation.

The pond was a thousand meters away, but the voices of those guys were clearly heard by him. Moreover, any sound within hundreds of meters seemed to escape his ears. Furthermore, Lin Nan could even see the legs of ants a hundred meters away. This alone was enough to shock Lin Nan. Not to mention, he, who had his meridians shattered and was deemed a good-for-nothing, now felt full of energy all over, despite not having any true essence, and no longer felt the weakness from his shattered meridians.

Lin Nan felt his body as if it had been reborn, and his soul suddenly became enlightened!

"It must be due to the strange occurrence during the ancestral worship!" Lin Nan recalled the miraculous experience before he fell into a coma: "What a powerful feeling! Just by activating the first level of the 'Heaven and Earth Technique' for body refinement, I'm completely recovered! Phew... I'm no longer a good-for-nothing. Living another life, if I don't become powerful, it would be against the laws of nature! Hmph, let's see who dares to call me a good-for-nothing! Well, let's first see what's going on!"

Lin Nan, ignoring the foul smell on his body, suddenly extended two fingers on his right hand: "Pillar of the Sea!"

"Whoosh!"

The comical golden needle did not disappoint Lin Nan, flying directly to his two fingers.

"Is this really that pillar that supports the sky?" Lin Nan thought of the terrifying scene he saw before he fainted, feeling a bit incredulous: "Could it really be the Monkey King's golden cudgel? It shouldn't be, the golden cudgel is inscribed with 'As You Wish, Golden Cudgel, weighing thirteen thousand five hundred catties'... What is the relationship between that sky-blue bead and it?"

"Heaven and Earth Immortal Palace!"

"Boom!"

"Damn..." When Lin Nan tried to say "Heaven and Earth Immortal Palace" again, his mind exploded once more. His spirit appeared in that mysterious space. To his great surprise, this time, there was no infinitely growing Pillar of the Sea, no terrifying pressure, only a string of golden characters floating in front of him.

"The first level of the 'Heaven and Earth Technique,' Body Refinement: Heaven is the sky, Earth is the ground, Heaven and Earth are one, Yin and Yang depend on each other; Great is the power of Heaven, Supreme is the power of Earth, Heaven and Earth change, all things are born..."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Before Lin Nan could think about the profound and obscure characters, they formed a human-shaped shadow on their own. The meridians in the shadow were clearly visible, demonstrating the technique in front of Lin Nan. At this moment, Lin Nan's spirit merged with the shadow, as if enlightened, naturally understanding the essence of the first level of the 'Heaven and Earth Technique.'

At this moment, Lin Nan's consciousness returned to his body.

"What a powerful body refinement technique!"

Lin Nan was slightly excited. Before, he was at the peak of the ninth level of the True Essence Realm, practicing the Yellow-grade upper-class body refinement technique 'Bear King Body Refinement Technique,' which was the best body refinement technique in the Great Heaven Academy. But it couldn't compare to the 'Heaven and Earth Technique.'

"Using the 'Heaven and Earth Technique' to refine my body again, if I recover to the ninth level of the True Essence Realm, my absolute strength will definitely increase a lot, a true rebirth!"

Lin Nan smiled smugly. At this moment, his meridians were completely restored and unobstructed. He only needed to refine his true essence and incorporate it into his body to recover his cultivation. With a more powerful 'Heaven and Earth Technique' for body refinement, his strength would naturally become even stronger.

"Practice! I can finally practice! Damn, it's so stinky. This black, greasy stuff must be the impurities expelled during the rebirth. I'll wash up first before starting..."

Lin Nan quickly went to the pond in the courtyard, stripped naked, and washed several times, especially his private parts, at least eighteen times, finally getting rid of the smell.

Back in the room, Lin Nan couldn't wait to sit cross-legged, close his eyes, and immerse his spirit in the essence of the first level of the 'Heaven and Earth Technique' for body refinement. In a short while, his enhanced soul perception captured the surrounding spiritual energy, guiding it into his body to refine his true essence, cleanse his meridians, and strengthen himself!

"Phew..."

An hour later, Lin Nan took a long breath, waking up from his practice.

"Recovering my cultivation was so easy, it feels great! Not only are my meridians completely restored, but they are also twice as wide as before. The speed of guiding spiritual energy into my body has reached the limit my meridians can bear, which is more than three times faster than before. This means my soul power has definitely increased by more than three times..."

The speed of guiding spiritual energy into the body is the speed of absorbing spiritual energy from the surroundings. The faster, the better for the practitioner. This speed depends on the practitioner's soul power. The stronger the soul power, the more spiritual energy can be captured, and the faster the absorption speed.

However, when the speed reaches the limit the meridians can bear, even stronger soul power cannot increase the speed further. But for most practitioners, their absorption speed cannot reach the limit of their meridians. Only a few geniuses with powerful souls can achieve this. Lin Nan, without any effort, reached the limit of his meridians, and his meridians were even twice as strong as before...

How strong is his soul power now?

"Boom!"

Lin Nan punched out, the wind roaring, and a faint red glow appeared, causing the air to explode.

"This is the true essence of a martial artist! Amazing!"

Lin Nan said excitedly. Then, like a rabbit, he stepped out of the room into the courtyard.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Unable to contain his excitement as a martial artist, Lin Nan, using the memory of the tragic man, performed the Yellow-grade middle-class martial technique 'All-Body Fist.' Instantly, the shadows of fists multiplied, the wind roared, and the faint red glow caused repeated explosions, creating a terrifying scene.

"Break!"

After several dozen punches, Lin Nan exhaled, took a step, twisted his waist, and punched out. The sound, force, and breath arrived simultaneously, a powerful punch like a meteor, smashing into a thousand-pound boulder in the courtyard.

"Bang! Boom!"

Debris flew, dust rose, and the thousand-pound boulder was shattered by Lin Nan's punch.

"This is the power of a martial artist! Just recovering my cultivation, I already have the strength of ten thousand pounds, two thousand pounds stronger than my peak before! If I refine my body with the 'Heaven and Earth Technique,' it will probably increase even more!"

Lin Nan said excitedly.

"Phew... Finally, I can get rid of the name of a good-for-nothing! Tragic man, rest assured, since I've become you, I will avenge your grievances! Being betrayed... Damn, I can tolerate it, but my wife can't! I'm a man who wants to date the school beauty. If I don't get back at them, what's the point of dating? Hmm? Father is coming!"

The footsteps approaching from hundreds of meters away were clearly heard by Lin Nan. He knew it was his father, Lin Jianhao, bringing food. Without thinking, he rushed into the room, pulled the quilt, and got into bed, pretending to sleep.

Now, Lin Nan couldn't let anyone know that his meridians had been restored, not even his father.

There was no way to explain. He couldn't mention the Pillar of the Sea or the Heaven and Earth Immortal Palace. Anyone would know these were extraordinary treasures. A commoner with no crime can be killed for possessing a treasure. He wasn't foolish enough to tell others about this. Before he had enough strength, this was a secret he had to keep.

"Nan'er!"

A moment later, Lin Nan's father, Lin Jianhao, entered the courtyard. Lin Jianhao had a gaunt face and a handsome appearance, somewhat resembling Lin Nan. He looked to be in his forties but had a head of white hair, which seemed very strange. Moreover, he had no aura of a martial artist.

"Father..." Lin Nan pretended to be drowsy, lazily responding from under the quilt.

"Nan'er, I heard you fainted during the ancestral worship today. Are you okay?" Lin Jianhao asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, just a bit weak. No need to worry."

"That's good. Come, get up and eat while it's hot. Today is the ancestral worship day, so the food is better, and there's a bowl of Hundred Herbs Soup!" Lin Jianhao helped Lin Nan sit up, but his body suddenly trembled violently, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Hundred Herbs Soup, as the name suggests, is made from a hundred kinds of herbs mixed in a complex ratio and refined by a pharmacist's fire-attribute true essence for a day and a night. Although the herbs are not of high grade, the Hundred Herbs Soup is a relatively precious medicinal soup, effective for healing injuries to meridians, organs, and the body. One bowl of Hundred Herbs Soup is worth enough to support a family of three for several years.

"Hundred Herbs Soup? Father, even if the family distributes it, it wouldn't be our turn!" Lin Nan's face darkened, staring at his father, who was sweating coldly but trying to remain calm. Suddenly, he reached out and lifted Lin Jianhao's long robe.

The shocking wounds and bruises on Lin Jianhao's body made Lin Nan's heart ache!

With the fusion of soul memories, Lin Nan had already accepted everything about the tragic man. In the past half month, although he was depressed about his shattered meridians, he had enjoyed a warmth from his father that he had never experienced before in his previous life.

"Father..."

Lin Nan's voice was a bit choked, his nose tingling. He knew very well what his father had done to get this Hundred Herbs Soup. In the past, he could rank among the top ten of the younger generation of the Lin family, not only because of his own talent and effort but also because his father earned medicinal pills by being a sparring partner to support his cultivation.

Sparring partner, a polite term, was actually a job where one was hit and could not fight back, and the risk of life and death was on their own. No one would give up their dignity and risk their life and blood for a reward unless they were in dire straits.

And the value of this Hundred Herbs Soup was clearly not something a regular sparring partner could earn. It was definitely something Lin Jianhao had risked his life for!

(Dear readers, please support by collecting and recommending! ^-^)