Chapter 1

In the Dazhong Dynasty, in the Kaiyuan Prefecture, in Quanzhou, in a remote fishing village.

Outside a dilapidated wooden house, a lavishly decorated carriage was parked, with several black-clad knights standing guard, their swords at their sides. The area was crowded with villagers, both men and women, their faces filled with excitement, whispering to each other in small groups.

"Is it really the Jin family, the Jin family from Fengcheng?"

"It can't be wrong. Look at the golden emblems embroidered on their clothes. There's no other family in the entire Kaiyuan Prefecture besides the Jin family from Fengcheng."

"Tsk, tsk, who would have thought! When Shiting left his wife and child, he disappeared for ten years without a word. We all thought he had died somewhere far away, but it turns out he had climbed up the ranks in the Jin family and even sent people to fetch Shimu. It's a pity that Shimu's mother passed away from illness many years ago. Otherwise, the two of them would have enjoyed endless wealth and honor."

"Wealth and honor! That's not certain. Didn't you hear what the Jin family's messenger said? Shiting has long been a son-in-law of the Jin family. If Shimu's mother were still alive, Shiting wouldn't have dared to send anyone to fetch Shimu."

"Regardless, Shimu has finally made it. He was an orphan yesterday, and today he's a young master."

...

"My father is bedridden with a serious illness, and I have a sister?" Shimu stared at the elderly man in a blue robe, asking slowly.

At just fourteen years old, Shimu's skin was slightly dark and red from years of sea breezes, but he had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and he was taller than most of his peers. Under his tattered shirt, his well-defined muscles gave him a wild and defiant look.

"Yes, Master is very ill and may not survive. That's why Lady sent me to fetch Young Master to see Master one last time," the elderly man in the blue robe replied with a smile.

"Lady? Since he abandoned my mother for so many years, why should he recognize me now? Go back, I won't go with you to the Jin family," the young man said coldly, without hesitation.

"Cough! Young Master may have misunderstood Master. Master has had his reasons for not returning to the village all these years. If Young Master meets Master in person, all misunderstandings will be cleared up," the elderly man said, coughing lightly.

"Hmph, no matter how eloquently you speak, it won't change the fact that he abandoned his wife. There's no need to say more," the young man said with a cold snort.

The elderly man in the blue robe frowned, then looked at the young man carefully before saying with determination:

"Has the medicine you've been buying in town been unexpectedly cheap these past few years? Also, has the martial arts instructor Li at the county martial arts school charged you much less than other disciples? And when you catch fish and shrimp at sea, do people in town snatch them up without haggling much?"

"Do you mean these things were arranged by him?" The young man's expression changed, and he asked involuntarily.

"I don't know if Master arranged it personally, but these things were indeed done at Lady's command," the elderly man in the blue robe replied with a smile.

The young man's expression was uncertain, and he hesitated.

"By the way, Young Master has been practicing body tempering techniques, hasn't he? It seems you have a strong desire to become a true martial artist. Before I left, Lady instructed me that if Young Master agrees to meet Master, she will try to get you an opportunity to enter the Kaiyuan Martial Academy. However, whether you will be admitted will depend on your own abilities," the elderly man in the blue robe finally revealed his main reason for the visit.

"Kaiyuan Martial Academy?" The young man was visibly moved.

"Since Young Master is a martial artist, you should know that the four major martial academies in our country only admit new students every five years. To participate in the entrance examination, one must be under fifteen years old, have completed body tempering, and have grasped the sense of qi. Only those who grasp the sense of qi can cultivate true qi and open their meridians, thus becoming true martial artists. However, to grasp the sense of qi, one must take a qi spirit pill, which is extremely expensive. Even the Jin family can only gather about ten pills each time. If Young Master relies solely on yourself, you may never achieve your goal in this lifetime," the elderly man in the blue robe continued calmly.

The young man fell silent, and after a while, he said coldly:

"Come back in three days, and I'll give you an answer then."

"Very well, I'll wait for good news in three days," the elderly man in the blue robe bowed slightly, seeing that the young man had made up his mind, and did not continue to persuade him.

...

"Manager Cheng, are we really going back like this? Why not just take him by force? Why waste more time?" Not far from the small fishing village, a burly knight couldn't help but ask as the group escorted the carriage away.

"Nonsense! Although Young Master is not a direct descendant of the Jin family, he is Master's biological son. Our mission this time is to bring him back safely and respectfully. We must not show any disrespect or negligence. Otherwise, if Lady and Master find out, we will not be able to explain ourselves," the elderly man in the blue robe scolded, his face darkening.

"Yes, I was foolish," the burly knight became fearful.

At this moment, a figure flashed by the roadside, and another black-clad knight appeared, bowing to the elderly man and said:

"Manager Cheng, our men have spotted the Biao brothers, the fifth master's men, nearby. What should we do?"

"Hmph, it seems the fifth master hasn't given up on his original plan. The Biao brothers are at the early stage of the innate realm, and only I can deal with them. You wait here, and you lead the way. I'll go and take care of them," the elderly man in the blue robe said decisively, frowning.

"Yes."

The knight moved and immediately turned to go back the way they came.

The elderly man in the blue robe "whooshed" and landed lightly from the horse, following the knight. His movements were so light that he seemed weightless, and he soon disappeared into the nearby forest.

The burly knight and the others remained with the carriage, staying put.

...

At dusk, on a nameless hill about a mile from the fishing village, under the pale moonlight, Shimu knelt alone in front of a slightly raised grave. On a light yellow stone tablet in front of the grave, the black words "Wang Shi of Shimen" were clearly visible.

"Mother, you never would have thought that Father is not dead but has remarried outside. But don't worry, I will keep my promise. Father left you under the pretext of pursuing his martial arts dreams. I will also become a true martial artist, the most powerful one in the world, so you can rest in peace."

The young man murmured a few words at the grave, then stood up, stretched his limbs, and began to practice his boxing.

With the sound of "popping" bones, the young man's movements gradually sped up, his body like a tiger. After a while, a cloud of yellow dust rose from the ground, completely enveloping him.

"Whoosh"

A figure darted out of the morning mist, delivering a powerful punch to a nearby tree as thick as a bowl.

With a loud "boom," the tree shook, and countless leaves fell. A half-inch deep fist mark appeared on the trunk.

Shimu stared at the fist mark, his eyebrows raised.

This set of boxing techniques was the only one he had learned from the town's martial arts school, and it was the most widely practiced body tempering technique in the Dazhong Dynasty.

According to the martial arts instructor, the fact that he could leave such a deep mark on the tree meant he was at the seventh level of body tempering. He was only two levels away from completing body tempering and being able to grasp the sense of qi, as rumored.

And it had taken him four years to reach this point!

It was no exaggeration to say that the saying "poor scholars, rich martial artists" had a reason.

Since he decided to start practicing martial arts, it took him half a year to save up the thirty taels of silver required for the martial arts school's membership fee, which was already much lower than what other disciples paid due to his persistent pleading.

The costs of multiple medicinal baths after starting body tempering consumed all his fishing earnings over the years, leaving him often penniless and his home impoverished.

Despite this, Shimu's ability to reach such a high level of body tempering had already surprised the martial arts school's instructors, who marveled at his excellent physical constitution, considering him a natural talent for martial arts.

After all, during this period, although he had occasionally asked the school's herbalist to prepare medicinal baths, the herbs he could afford were mostly ordinary, with minimal effect on body tempering.

Thinking of this, Shimu sighed inwardly.

He knew very well that his physical constitution was quite ordinary. The reason he had reached his current level of body tempering in just a few years was due to a stroke of luck two years ago.

This was also the reason he had not immediately agreed to go to the Jin family with the elderly man in the blue robe.

Thinking of this, the young man looked up at the moon, then turned and ran down the hill.

Fifteen minutes later, Shimu appeared at a rocky beach, "splash," and jumped into the sea, his arms and body moving swiftly, diving silently like a large fish.

In no time, he reached a depth of about forty zhang in the sea.

An astonishing scene unfolded.

In the originally dark water, faint white lights began to appear, growing more numerous and brighter, illuminating the surrounding water.

Shimu was not surprised by this. He held his breath and swam a few more meters down, then suddenly flipped and planted his feet on the sandy bottom, arriving at a sandy seabed.

Only then could he see clearly that the source of the faint white light was a dozen palm-sized shells, surrounding a huge reef about seven to eight zhang tall, flickering on and off.

(Hehe, a new book is released, let's celebrate together!!)

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