Chapter 36

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Li Yunxiao stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter his mother had given him.

The black poisonous gas was being compressed by Li Yunxiao into a ball, stored within his qi sea, accumulating more and more. The primordial energy vortex in his dantian slowly absorbed this poison, converting it into the purest form of energy to fill his qi sea.

"Indeed, it's innate energy. Tsk tsk, what a blessing!" Li Yunxiao's heart was filled with joy, and he absorbed it even more fervently.

Martial artists cultivate by absorbing the primordial energy of heaven and earth, filling their qi sea to enhance their power. Most martial artists, besides directly absorbing primordial energy from the environment, also absorb the energy from essence stones to cultivate their qi sea. After all, essence stones are minerals that store a large amount of primordial energy, making their effects much stronger than direct absorption from the environment.

However, as their levels increase, the requirements for essence stones also rise. Later on, even the best essence stones can only provide limited power. Martial artists have to consume a large number of top-grade essence stones each time they cultivate. This is when the role of alchemists becomes even more prominent. They can refine various high-grade materials into potent pills, which have a significant effect when consumed by martial artists. This is why high-level alchemists are highly respected.

Refining pills involves using soul power to recombine the energy contained within various materials, making it easier for martial artists to absorb. During this process, a legendary alchemist accidentally discovered a method to directly absorb primordial energy from materials using soul power. After further research, he created a soul technique called "Creation Qi."

The emergence of this soul technique greatly compensated for the shortcomings of alchemists in martial cultivation, allowing them to temporarily enhance their martial prowess, thus complementing their alchemical skills and advancing to higher levels. Directly absorbing primordial energy from grade 9 materials is dozens of times faster than using top-grade essence stones!

However, the flaw of this soul technique was soon discovered. It merely treated high-grade materials as higher-grade essence stones, and only a small portion of the material's energy could be extracted, causing significant waste. Materials that surpass the energy content of top-grade essence stones are at least grade 5 or higher. Considering the loss, grade 8 materials would be needed to surpass the absorption from top-grade essence stones.

Grade 8 pills refined from grade 8 materials contain energy that is hundreds of times greater than direct absorption!

At first, many alchemists with immense wealth pursued speed, sparing no expense on materials. But as time went on, they found it increasingly unsustainable. In the end, while many knew about this soul technique, very few cultivated it due to the immense cost.

"Creation Qi" can only absorb innate energy. Meng Bai, with his innate poisonous body, had the poison within him, which is also innate energy, directly absorbed by Li Yunxiao and digested as a supplement. With his current cultivation, he couldn't completely neutralize the poison, so he used a secret method to condense all the poison, wrap it in primordial energy, and hide it in his dantian. He could easily expel it when his strength increased in the future.

As the poison gradually decreased, Meng Bai's complexion fully recovered, and he slowly opened his eyes. "Hmm, where am I?"

"Meng Bai, Meng Bai! You're okay?" Meng Wu was overjoyed, crying happily as she hugged Meng Bai's neck. "Wah, you're finally better!"

"Sis?" Meng Bai recognized Meng Wu and also saw Li Yunxiao, asking in surprise, "Who is this?"

Meng Wu quickly wiped her tears. "This is my classmate, Li Yunxiao. You can call him Young Master Yun. He saved your life, so be grateful!"

"Thank you, Young Master Yun, for saving me!" Meng Bai knew his condition and felt unprecedentedly relaxed and comfortable. His symptoms were completely gone, and he hurriedly stood up to thank him.

"Hmm," Li Yunxiao, having absorbed all the poison into his dantian, slowly opened his eyes. "Why is there so little poison? It's not even enough for me. You're supposed to have an innate poisonous body, so you should cultivate more poison in the future."

He had absorbed all the poison from Meng Bai, feeling his dantian full and rich, as if he had absorbed hundreds of essence stones, far surpassing his usual cultivation. Reluctantly, he smacked his lips. "When I return, I'll refine some pills to enhance your poison. Take them regularly, and your poison will become stronger."

Meng Wu: "..."

Meng Bai laughed loudly. "Haha, Sis, Young Master Yun is really joking."

Li Yunxiao's face turned serious, and he coldly said, "I never joke. Boy, meeting me is your good fortune. How about this, kneel and kowtow three times, and I'll take you as my disciple."

Meng Bai was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter at Li Yunxiao's old-fashioned demeanor. "Haha, take me as a disciple? Young Master Yun, how old are you? You look about the same age as my sister, just a year older than me, and you want to take me as a disciple! If I were to bow, I'd at least bow to a martial master who can be a national guardian!"

The National Guardians are the strongest military force in the kingdom, and in a world that values martial prowess, they are the most sacred and legendary place in the hearts of all young people.

Li Yunxiao felt both angry and sad, realizing he was no longer considered as powerful as a martial master. In his previous life, martial masters were not even worthy to lick his shoes, and he could easily destroy thousands of them with a single move. Now...

Meng Wu saw the displeasure on Li Yunxiao's face and quickly pressed Meng Bai's head down, scolding him, "Young Master Yun may be young, but he is a remarkable genius in both martial and alchemical arts. It's your great fortune to have him as your master! Hurry up and kowtow!"

She knew Li Yunxiao's strength and that he was more than qualified to be Meng Bai's master. Moreover, Meng Bai's poison had not been completely eliminated, and they would need Li Yunxiao's help in the future.

Meng Bai quickly said, "Sis, I'm your brother, you can't harm me!"

Meng Wu saw Li Yunxiao's face growing darker and became increasingly anxious. She fiercely hit Meng Bai's head. "How can you say I'm harming you? I've worked so hard for you. You, you're making me so angry!" Tears streamed down her face in her distress.

Seeing her cry, Meng Bai's heart ached, and he hurriedly said, "Sis, don't cry, I'm wrong, I'll kowtow and become a disciple."

He quickly got off the bed, walked to Li Yunxiao, and "thud" knelt down, kowtowing three times earnestly. "Master, please accept your disciple Meng Bai's kowtow."

Li Yunxiao nodded. "I know you're not convinced now, but it's fine. I'm poor and have no gifts to give you, so I'll teach you an unparalleled body refinement technique called 'Heavenly Tyrant Body Refinement Technique.' It's perfect for your innate poisonous body and will lead to great achievements in the future."

Meng Bai, seeing his old-fashioned demeanor, felt very strange but still respectfully said, "Thank you, Master, but martial artists usually learn martial techniques. Can you teach me a powerful one? I want to learn the Tiger Subduing Fist. Do you know it?"

Li Yunxiao almost spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling dizzy. The supreme body refinement technique of the Heavenly Tyrant Martial Emperor, who ranks first on the Heavenly Wind Rankings, was considered inferior to the Tiger Subduing Fist in this boy's eyes.

"Master tells you what to learn, you must learn it. No picking and choosing!" Meng Wu kicked him hard, having seen Li Yunxiao use the Floating Life Seal and envied it greatly. She thought her brother should learn the Floating Life Seal, so she would temporarily agree to the Heavenly Tyrant Body Refinement Technique to make Young Master Yun happy, hoping he would teach the Floating Life Seal.

Li Yunxiao suppressed the blood in his chest and coldly said, "I don't know the Tiger Subduing Fist! You will practice the Heavenly Tyrant Body Refinement Technique, whether you like it or not! There are eighteen forms in this technique, and I'll teach you the first three! Once you master them, suppressing your innate poison will be easy."

Hearing that mastering it would suppress his poison, Meng Bai was overjoyed and quickly learned it carefully.

Li Yunxiao didn't avoid suspicion, allowing Meng Wu to watch. The two siblings found the forms bizarre and funny, but they didn't dare laugh with Li Yunxiao present, so they focused on memorizing them.

"Alright, even though it's only three forms, you must practice diligently day and night. Don't embarrass me. As for martial techniques, I'll choose one suitable for your body type when you reach the First Yuan Realm."

"Really?" Meng Bai's eyes lit up at the mention of "martial techniques." "Master, what martial techniques do you know? The one you teach me can't be worse than the Tiger Subduing Fist!"

Meng Wu also looked expectantly, knowing Li Yunxiao knew many martial techniques.

Li Yunxiao's face turned green. He was well-versed, but he couldn't think of any martial techniques worse than the Tiger Subduing Fist. It was an entry-level technique that almost everyone knew and was considered the lowest among entry-level techniques...

However, Meng Bai had never been taught and only heard of the Tiger Subduing Fist, always envying others when he saw them use it. Meng Wu, although enrolled in the Jialan Academy, had not yet become a true martial artist, so the school hadn't taught her any martial techniques.

Li Yunxiao sighed. "Don't worry, I know what to teach. For now, focus on strengthening your body and enhancing your innate poison. That's the path you should take." He glanced at the pile of stones in the corner, surprised. "Are these raw essence stones?"

"Um," Meng Bai replied, "I used to go mining with Uncle Shi often, but I stopped when my poison flared up. These have been here for a long time, and their quality isn't great, so they didn't sell for much."