Chapter 10: Opening the Spiritual Veins

In the largest courtyard of the Lin Mansion’s outer estate, a tall man sat in the center.

Surrounding him were seven or eight maidservants; some held fruit, feeding him one piece after another, while others fanned him, bringing a touch of coolness to the summer heat.

Such treatment was reserved only for the true master of the outer estate, the Deputy Steward of the Lin Mansion, Li Xing.

"Deputy Steward."

Outside the courtyard, several Lin Mansion disciples hurried in, supporting three severely injured spirit masters.

"What is it?"

Li Xing, half-reclining on a wide chair, looked down at the newcomers and spoke with a touch of indifference.

"What’s with all this panic?"

In this outer estate, he was like a local emperor, and his arrogant, dismissive personality had been cultivated since childhood.

"Exactly. What kind of behavior is this, causing such a commotion? If you ruin Young Master Li’s good mood, every one of you will die."

One of the maidservants beside Li Xing spoke up, her face turning cold.

In their eyes, these Lin Mansion disciples were no better than slaves, to be scolded or beaten at will.

"This... Young Master Li, you had better see for yourself."

The disciples, clearly intimidated by the maidservant’s words, spoke with hesitation.

"What’s going on?"

Seeing the expressions on the disciples' faces, Li Xing stood up from his chair, walked over to them, and glanced at the three heavily injured men being supported.

"Lin Mo, Lin Ye, Lin Gou?"

Seeing the three of them, Li Xing’s expression turned to one of surprise. "What happened?"

"It was Chu Fengmian."

The disciples replied.

"Chu Fengmian?"

Upon hearing this name, a look of resentment crossed Li Xing’s face.

"What? Did someone from the inner estate come to stand up for that brat? That’s not right... who would dare stand up for him in front of Young Master Lin? Could it be that old geezer, the Third Elder?"

Li Xing frowned. In the inner estate, Chu Fengmian was also unpopular; only the Third Elder had once shown him some favor, and it was the Third Elder who had secured the position of head steward of the outer estate for him.

"No, it wasn't. It was Chu Fengmian who beat them."

The disciples hesitated before speaking.

"What?"

This sentence caused Li Xing’s expression to change instantly.

"Isn't that brat a piece of trash? How could he possibly beat the three of them into this state?"

Li Xing said, unable to believe it.

Lin Gou aside, Lin Mo and Lin Ye were no mere nobodies; few in the outer estate could stand against them.

To be in such a miserable state today because of a cripple like Chu Fengmian? How could Li Xing believe it?

"We speak the truth."

Seeing Li Xing’s disbelief, the disciples spoke hurriedly.

"If Young Master Li doesn't believe us, you can go see Chu Fengmian yourself. He must have encountered some strange fortune; he has actually opened his spirit meridians, and his strength is progressing rapidly."

"Damn it! Damn it! How can that trash still be able to cultivate? Didn't I already poison his body with Spirit-Eroding Powder?"

Li Xing’s expression was ferocious, as if he were on the verge of madness.

"Damn it! That trash must not be allowed to cultivate! Even if he has opened his spirit meridians, I will cripple him again!"

"Go and investigate! Find out exactly what happened to that brat!"

"Yes!"

The disciples hurriedly acknowledged the order and left in a rush.

"You useless trash, you couldn't even beat a piece of garbage like Chu Fengmian. What use do I have for you? Get out of my sight!"

Li Xing roared at Lin Mo, Lin Ye, and Lin Gou.

The three of them scrambled away, crawling and stumbling.

"This won't do. If Chu Fengmian is capable of cultivation, it’s a serious matter. It seems I must go and report this to Young Master Lin."

Li Xing straightened his clothes, muttered to himself, and headed toward the inner estate.

***

On the other side.

Time passed bit by bit. Chu Fengmian’s clothes had been soaked through countless times. After ten full hours, the spiritual energy in his body finally began to stabilize.

"Open!"

A third complete spirit meridian appeared within Chu Fengmian, and his spiritual energy grew significantly stronger than before.

The third meridian was open.

At the same time, Chu Fengmian’s cultivation level stepped into the fifth stage of the Bone Tempering Realm.

In just two days, Chu Fengmian had gone from the first stage of the Bone Tempering Realm to the fifth.

Such speed was, without exaggeration, the greatest in the entire Lin Mansion, perhaps even the entire Linwu City.

However, Chu Fengmian was likely the only one capable of such a feat.

For an ordinary martial artist, refining a single Bone Tempering Pill would take at least half an hour; they could never refine them in an instant as Chu Fengmian did.

With the experience accumulated from his past life, when it came to refining pills, let alone martial artists of the same level, even those in the Body Forging, Spirit Sea, or Wind Controlling realms could not compare to him.

In his previous life, to open his spirit meridians, Chu Fengmian had been a true "medicine jar." Now that all that experience was retained, refining these ordinary pills was incredibly easy for him.

Otherwise, these pills alone would have taken him quite some time to refine.

"At the fifth stage of the Bone Tempering Realm, I can finally attempt to use some sword techniques."

Chu Fengmian stood up, feeling the surging power in his body, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

With this level of strength, he was no longer completely without the power to protect himself.

In his past life, Chu Fengmian did not understand spiritual energy, yet he had grasped the ultimate sword intent of the world.

But he himself had been unable to even lift a sword, so despite his peerless sword intent, he had no means of self-defense.

This time, with power in his hands, it was time to display his sword techniques.

"To practice sword techniques, I need to find a sword."

Chu Fengmian muttered to himself.

Any sword technique required a sword to be executed. In the past, Chu Fengmian wasn't even a martial artist, so how could he have possessed a sword?

Now that he could be considered a martial artist, he naturally needed his own weapon.

Chu Fengmian glanced at the remaining jade bottles on the bed, picked them up, and headed toward the exit of the Lin Mansion.

There were still two hundred unused Bone Tempering Pills in the bottles. Now that he had reached the fifth stage of the Bone Tempering Realm, these pills were of no further use to him.

However, in the outside world, Bone Tempering Pills were still considered valuable. It wouldn't be difficult to trade them for a sword.

"Time to go outside the Lin Mansion."

Chu Fengmian left the mansion alone.