Chapter 3: Mountain and River Martial Soul

Suddenly, a vortex appeared within the painting. Ling Xiao felt his vision go black, and he was sucked into it.

When he could see again, he discovered that he had appeared in a village filled with strangers.

However, when these strangers saw him, they all appeared extremely respectful, cupping their hands and bowing to greet him.

They even addressed him as "Master of Mountains and Rivers."

"Could this be the village from that painting just now..."

Ling Xiao was completely bewildered by the situation. He suddenly recalled that the painting he had seen earlier contained a village just like this one; judging by the layout, it was exactly the same.

The village was tranquil and free of strife, giving one a very comfortable feeling.

But Ling Xiao was anxious. If he were trapped here, what would he do?

"Primordial Myriad Races, Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul, ruling over the myriad worlds, endless and eternal! The universe is vast, heaven-sent calamities arise, the Martial God slumbers, and today, he awakens! The fated one has arrived..."

Suddenly, a woman walked over from the distance. She stepped through the air, ethereal and elusive, as stunning as a fairy from a heavenly palace.

The voice was somewhat hollow and profound, as if it were not coming from the same space.

"Who are you, Fairy?"

Ling Xiao asked, feeling a bit nervous.

"You do not need to know who I am, nor do you need to know where I come from. You only need to know that from today on, you have awakened the 'Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul.' You are the Master of Mountains and Rivers, the sovereign of heaven and earth!"

The woman was clearly walking, yet it seemed as if she would never reach Ling Xiao.

"Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul? Master of Mountains and Rivers? Sovereign of heaven and earth?"

Ling Xiao wanted to laugh. As a mere martial artist at the first level of the Martial Pulse, did he have such capability?

However, he had heard of Martial Souls.

Back in the Primordial Era, martial artists could cultivate Martial Souls, but later, a great calamity occurred in the world, and Martial Souls had since become extinct.

Could it be that he had awakened a Martial Soul that had already gone extinct?

"Since the Primordial Era, humans began cultivating martial arts to resist the invasion of the myriad races. The most powerful among them was the Master of Mountains and Rivers. He awakened the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul and, with the strength of one person, resisted the myriad races, his achievements shining through the ages!"

"And now, you are the second person to awaken the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul. The hope of humanity may rest upon you. Can humanity once again become the spirit of all things and the king of the myriad races? Perhaps you are the answer..."

After speaking, the woman's figure grew more and more distant until she finally vanished at the horizon.

At the same time, Ling Xiao felt his body floating upward. His vision blurred again, and when he could see clearly, he was back in his original room.

The tattered book had long since vanished without a trace, which made Ling Xiao almost certain.

He definitely hadn't been dreaming; that scene had been incredibly real.

"Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul? What exactly will its function be?"

Ling Xiao was filled with confusion, as he had yet to discover the specific use of the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul.

The titles of Master of Mountains and Rivers and King of the Myriad Races were far too distant for him.

Right now, he only wanted to break through to the second level of the Martial Pulse, and then continue working hard to reach the third.

After thinking it over, since the book was gone and he couldn't continue practicing it, he could only continue practicing the "Savage Bull Strength."

Having been unconscious for so long, he had wasted far too much time.

He jumped off the bed, intending to stretch his limbs, but the moment he began to execute the Savage Bull Strength, he was stunned!

Because just as he practiced the Savage Bull Strength, a figure appeared inside the Mountains and Rivers Map, also practicing the Savage Bull Strength.

The only difference was that the person in the map had truly reached a state of perfection.

The most basic martial art, Savage Bull Strength, had not a single flaw in the hands of the figure in the painting.

Ling Xiao stood frozen on the spot.

A moment later, he suddenly snapped out of it and hurriedly began to perform the Savage Bull Strength again, following the movements of the figure in the painting.

The feeling was completely different from before. Although he had been proficient previously, there was always a lack of fluidity.

Now, it was different; the entire sequence of movements was smooth and continuous. Not only that, but every time he practiced the Savage Bull Strength, he could feel his internal true energy grow a fraction thicker.

It worked!

The second martial pulse was already loosening under the impact of this true energy.

Ling Xiao was absolutely certain that by tomorrow at the latest, he would be able to break through to the second level of the Martial Pulse.

This was simply a miracle!

Fearing that it would be too shocking, he had originally planned to go out to practice, but he decided not to leave and instead practiced repeatedly in his room.

It wasn't until his movements were identical to those of the figure in the painting, overlapping perfectly, that he stopped, satisfied.

It was already the morning of the next day; he had been so excited that he hadn't slept all night.

"Child, get up and have breakfast."

His grandfather's voice came from outside the door.

"Coming."

Ling Xiao stepped out of the room, and his grandfather had already prepared breakfast.

Because of their low status in the Ling family, their rations were meager. The porridge was truly thin, with barely a few grains of rice to be found.

The vegetables were just wild greens and rotten scraps, but prepared by his grandfather's hands, the taste was actually quite good.

"Eh? What's going on?"

While eating, Ling Xiao discovered something unexpected.

Two images appeared within the Mountains and Rivers Map.

One showed his grandfather, precisely pointing out various issues with his grandfather's current physical condition.

"Grandfather, what happened to your ribs?"

If not for the Mountains and Rivers Map, Ling Xiao would never have discovered that one of his grandfather's ribs was broken.

And it was a fresh injury!

According to the analysis of the Mountains and Rivers Map, it had been caused by someone striking him with a palm.

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

The old man hurriedly shook his head. He didn't know how Ling Xiao had discovered it, as he felt he had hidden it very well.

"Who did it?"

Ling Xiao put down his chopsticks and stood up, asking in a cold voice. He could endure others bullying him, but he could not tolerate anyone laying a hand on his grandfather.

Without his grandfather, there would be no Ling Xiao today.

"This..."

"If you don't tell me, I won't eat from now on. I'll starve myself." Ling Xiao was serious. He knew his grandfather wanted to protect him, but he couldn't swallow this anger.

"Ling Xiao."

The old man sighed and said, "It's already fine. I was beaten plenty of times while begging in the past; I'm used to it."

"You call a broken rib 'fine'?"

Ling Xiao threw down his chopsticks and ran out, leaving behind only one sentence: "Grandfather, I'm going to find Ling Chong!"

For some reason, Ling Xiao felt full of confidence now. He felt that if he faced Ling Chong again, he would definitely win.

The function of the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul was truly too powerful; it seemed capable of simulating and analyzing anything in the world.

Aside from his grandfather's condition, the second image was a scene of his grandfather cooking, but it was clearly a perfected version of the scene.

A scene showing how to turn rotten vegetable leaves into a gourmet delicacy!

But he had no interest in that right now. He really wanted to know if the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul could also simulate an opponent's martial arts. If it could, then he would truly be leaping over the dragon gate.

At the training grounds, Ling Chong was flirting with a few female disciples, seemingly not caring about anyone else's life or death.

This guy had broken his grandfather's rib and didn't even bother to have a doctor look at it.

Seeing this scene, a fire of intense hatred brewed in Ling Xiao's eyes.