Chapter 3

Zhen Man left, and even though Di Jiu wanted to pull himself together, every time he thought of Zhen Man's beautiful face and the three words "I'm sorry" she said when she left, he lost all his fighting spirit.

Without Qu Xiaoshu, Di Jiu might have continued to wallow in his depression.

After becoming a playboy in Mingzhu City, Qu Xiaoshu was Di Jiu's only friend. Qu Xiaoshu had martial roots but disliked practicing martial arts, and he spent his days wandering around Mingzhu City with Di Jiu, who had no martial roots. Although Di Jiu never intended to be a bully, no one in Mingzhu City dared to provoke him. In most cases, as soon as people saw Di Jiu and Qu Xiaoshu coming, they would quickly step aside.

It wasn't until two years later, when Di Jiu and Qu Xiaoshu, both eighteen, were slightly drunk in a tavern, that he saw Zhen Man returning to Mingzhu City to visit her family. Beside Zhen Man stood a handsome young man in white, carrying a long sword.

At eighteen, Zhen Man was even more ethereal and beautiful than she had been two years ago. Standing on the streets of Mingzhu City, her graceful figure made the entire city pale in comparison. From her distant gaze, Di Jiu knew that he had long been erased from her mind.

She and the young man in white looked like a perfect match. This sight made Di Jiu's heart feel a bit sour. Even though he knew they would never be together again, seeing this scene made him realize he had never truly let go.

"Hehe, what's so great... Ah Jiu... If you had martial roots, a hundred Zhen Mans wouldn't be able to keep up with you... Come, let's drink..."

Qu Xiaoshu, half-closed eyes and slightly drunk, raised another cup of wine and drank it, his tongue slurring.

Di Jiu didn't drink. He thought about the purpose of his medical studies. He had originally studied medicine because he was worried that he would fail the martial root test at sixteen and needed to find a way to cultivate martial roots through medical knowledge. Why had he forgotten his initial resolve after failing the test?

Not only that, but he had spent two years aimlessly wandering around Mingzhu City. Although his father had never said a word, Di Jiu knew how disappointed he was.

If that was the case, why had he studied medicine for four years? Qu Xiaoshu was right; if he had martial roots, he wouldn't be any worse than Zhen Man.

Watching Zhen Man gradually walk away, Di Jiu stood up, drained the wine in his cup, and threw the cup against the wall.

From that day on, the lovestruck young man was no more.

"What's going on?" Qu Xiaoshu, half-asleep, lifted his head and asked. The tavern staff, even if Di Jiu tore the place apart, wouldn't dare to come in and complain.

Di Jiu took a deep breath, "Xiaoshu, I won't go out drinking anymore. I need to focus on my own path."

Qu Xiaoshu had already started snoring and didn't hear Di Jiu clearly.

...

Di Jiu kept his word and resumed his endless medical research.

In Jiguo, no one could be his teacher, but that didn't matter to Di Jiu.

Three more years passed. During these three years, Di Jiu tried countless herbs and tested countless formulas. Although he didn't find a way to activate his martial roots, he did discover three formulas that could aid martial artists in their cultivation.

Each of these formulas would drive martial artists mad if they were released, but Di Jiu kept them all to himself.

Recently, Di Jiu had been frantically digging for herbs in Jibei Mountain because he had found a new formula that might activate his martial roots. The main ingredient of this new formula was Zangdi Ma.

A stone? Di Jiu bent down and picked up the grayish, unremarkable stone from the soil he had just dug up.

He had been following the root of the Zangdi Ma, but instead of finding the herb, he dug up a stone.

He was about to throw the stone away, but the cold, icy feel of it made him think it might be different from ordinary stones.

Maybe it was a piece of ice jade. Di Jiu didn't really care about its value. Although everyone in Mingzhu City thought he was good for nothing, he certainly wasn't short of money.

His father, Di Shan, was a founding hero of Jiguo and a brother to the Jiguo emperor, Ming Yi. Four of his five brothers had died for the country, and one had died protecting the third prince. His two sisters had married into the Ming Yi royal family. In all of Jiguo, the Di family was at the pinnacle of wealth and power.

With such a background, how could Di Jiu be short of money?

"If it's really ice jade, today hasn't been a total waste..." Di Jiu smiled bitterly and wiped the dirt off the stone. It wasn't about the money; at least he had something to show for his efforts.

Before Di Jiu could put the stone in his pocket, a terrifying sound of a crack in the sky echoed above. Di Jiu looked up in shock and saw a black crack appear in the blue sky.

A pale golden lightning bolt shot down from the black crack, heading straight for his head. Di Jiu instinctively closed his eyes, his face pale with fear.

It felt like a bucket of icy water with an electric current had been poured over his head. Di Jiu's entire body felt cold and numb.

Nothing happened? Di Jiu looked up and saw that the black crack in the sky was still there. He instinctively looked at the grayish, unremarkable stone in his hand and was shocked to see a pale golden thread in the middle of the stone.

Wasn't that the pale golden lightning he had just seen? The shape was identical, but it had shrunk and landed in the stone. He clearly remembered that when he first found the stone, there was no golden thread in it. Something was wrong, and there was also a change in his hand...

Black grime seeped out from his wrist and arm, and he felt a change throughout his body that he couldn't quite describe. His mind seemed to become incredibly clear. Di Jiu had always known he was smart, but he was certain that his mind had never been as clear as it was now.

This gray stone was definitely something special, and the pale golden thread inside it was not simple. It seemed that the golden lightning hadn't struck him but had been absorbed by the stone.

Di Jiu had no more interest in digging for herbs. He was eager to take the gray stone back to his father to see what it was. He also needed to inform Emperor Ming Yi about the black crack in the sky. He couldn't contribute on the battlefield like his brothers, but reporting this phenomenon would be a way to serve his country.

If Emperor Ming Yi asked him for a request, what should he ask for? Yes, he should leave Jiguo and visit the Luyuan Empire.

"Ah Jiu, run quickly..." Di Jiu was still lost in thought when he heard an urgent voice.

"Xiaoshu, what's going on? Why do I need to run?" Di Jiu looked at his friend Qu Xiaoshu, who was rushing over, completely confused. His father, Di Shan, was the second most powerful man in Jiguo. What could possibly make him, Di Jiu, need to run?

(If you enjoyed this, please support with a recommendation. If you haven't added this book to your shelf, please do so. Due to the inability to provide QR codes for two WeChat groups here, please follow the public WeChat account for more information. The public WeChat account is eslw26, or search for "E Shi Lao Wu." The update schedule for the new book is not yet fixed, but I will let you know once it is.)

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