Chapter 5: Breaking Through the Realm

“A loss is a loss. Making excuses? So this is the kind of trash the Ling family’s main lineage produces!”

Facing Ling Chong’s sophistry and the crowd’s whispers, Ling Xiao simply threw out that one sentence and turned to leave.

Ling Chong was so angry he gritted his teeth.

He roared at Ling Xiao, “Little beggar, you just wait! Once I’ve recovered from my injuries, I absolutely won’t hold back against you again!”

After saying this, he clutched his chest, his face looking ghastly, and left with the support of two outer-sect disciples.

In Ling Chong’s view, he had only lost to Ling Xiao today because he had underestimated his opponent.

In previous scuffles, that brat never fought back, yet today he had actually launched a counterattack.

No, he had to train harder. Next time, he would definitely make Ling Xiao pay the price!

……

Ling Xiao returned home, told his grandfather about defeating Ling Chong, and then went back to his room to continue his cultivation.

He knew very well that his victory over Ling Chong today was indeed a bit of a fluke.

For one, his opponent had underestimated him; for another, he had relied on the effects of his Mountain and River Martial Soul.

But that, in the end, was not his true strength.

The high-level martial arts Ling Chong practiced were second only to top-tier martial arts among secular techniques. If he had truly mastered them, even if the Mountain and River Martial Soul could analyze the flaws, Ling Xiao might not have been able to exploit them.

Therefore, Ling Xiao had long since realized that to forge iron, one must be strong oneself. Having the Mountain and River Martial Soul to help was certainly good, but improving his own strength was the key.

If he could reach the second level of the Martial Veins and break through the second meridian, perhaps he could defeat Ling Chong again even if the latter didn't underestimate him, provided he relied on the Mountain and River Martial Soul.

But that wouldn't work now. After all, one had to know that the opening of every Martial Vein brought a massive increase in strength.

The gap between the first level and the second level of the Martial Veins was immense.

The human body has nine Martial Veins, which is why it is called the Nine Levels of Martial Veins.

Every three levels constitute a stage.

The first stage, the first three levels, is also known as the Awakening Stage.

As the name suggests, it is about awakening the power of a martial artist, strengthening the body, and laying the foundation for martial arts cultivation.

Generally speaking, during the Awakening Stage, opening each Martial Vein increases physical strength by one to two hundred jin.

At the same time, the True Qi within the body increases by 100 standard points.

Standard points are the unit for a martial artist’s True Qi; usually, martial artists don't use such cumbersome terms, simply stating how many points of True Qi they have.

In battles between martial artists, victory or defeat is often decided by strength and the amount of True Qi.

In other words, a martial artist at the first level of the Martial Veins is at a huge disadvantage compared to one at the second level, not only lacking one to two hundred jin of strength but also one hundred points of True Qi.

This was exactly why those people were so surprised when Ling Xiao, with the strength of the first level, defeated the second-level Ling Chong in a single move.

So much so that they were even willing to believe the most absurd and ridiculous reasons.

One or two hundred jin of strength and one hundred points of True Qi are truly too important for a martial artist.

Therefore, Ling Xiao felt that while he couldn't obtain higher-level martial arts manuals for the time being, the best way was to break through as quickly as possible.

Once he reached the second level of the Martial Veins, he would be qualified to enter the Ling family’s library to select higher-level martial arts manuals.

The second level of the Martial Veins was a turning point.

Thinking of this, Ling Xiao no longer hesitated.

He began to repeatedly practice the "Savage Bull Strength" in his room.

Of course, every repetition was performed exactly according to the movements of the figure in the Mountain and River Map.

The Savage Bull Strength consisted of only nine forms.

Currently, Ling Xiao could only perform the first three forms with movements identical to the figure in the Mountain and River Map.

That was far from enough.

Once!

Twice!

Three times!

Repeatedly! Constantly practicing!

Ling Xiao not only found that all his movements had become fluid and extremely smooth, but each move and form also seemed to contain greater power than before.

Of course, what made him happiest was that after more than a dozen repetitions, beyond the first three forms, the fourth, fifth, and sixth forms had finally reached perfection.

But the surprises didn't stop there.

During every cultivation session, he could feel a stream of energy flowing from the Mountain and River Martial Soul into his Dantian and Martial Veins.

This Mountain and River Martial Soul seemed capable of converting natural energy into True Qi for the martial artist to possess!

Although this was still just Ling Xiao’s guess, if it were true, then no matter what technique Ling Xiao practiced in the future, his final results would likely be far better than others.

After all, he was cultivating, and the Mountain and River Martial Soul was helping him cultivate; the improvement would be rapid.

Additionally, he discovered a change in the Mountain and River Martial Soul: the Mountain and River Map, which had previously only revealed a corner of a village amidst the clouds, was gradually exposing more of the scene.

Even if it was just a small increase, it represented a possibility.

The effects of the Mountain and River Martial Soul might not have been fully explored by him yet. The day the clouds above completely vanished and the Mountain and River Map was fully revealed might be the true awakening of the Mountain and River Martial Soul.

Put in more effort, keep working hard!

Although he knew very little about the Mountain and River Martial Soul, Ling Xiao knew that, at the very least, it was harmless to him.

Once again, he began to practice the Savage Bull Strength over and over, tirelessly. This time, he chose to focus his intensive training on the final three forms that had not yet been perfected.

From morning until nightfall, he barely rested, except for meal times.

The final result was that the seventh and eighth forms were also perfected. He estimated that as long as he could perfectly execute the ninth form, he should be able to break through the shackles of the second level of the Martial Veins.

However, he was not a machine after all, just a thirteen-year-old boy. In the end, he fell asleep on the floor while practicing.

The next morning, the first thing Ling Xiao did after crawling up from the floor was to cultivate again.

There was no choice; a strong sense of crisis and pressure forced him to strive hard.

It was a pity that he wasn't even qualified to enter the martial arts training ground now.

One had to know that the reason that training ground was fought over wasn't just a matter of face.

It was because the training ground had been built by the ancestors of the Ling family using special materials, and even the stone bricks paved on the ground were special.

Cultivating there not only consumed less physical strength but also yielded greater gains.

“One day, not only will I go to the training ground to cultivate openly, but I will also have my grandfather move into a better house.”

The current dilapidated house leaked terribly whenever it rained; it was no different from the ruined temple he had lived in when he was a beggar.

This morning, Ling Xiao focused his cultivation on the ninth form, practicing it repeatedly.

Finally, after practicing it over a hundred times, he felt a sense of comfort and exhilaration he had never experienced before.

All nine forms of the Savage Bull Strength were perfected, identical to the movements of the figure in the Mountain and River Map.

“The room is too narrow; I might as well go outside and test its power!”

After perfecting the Savage Bull Strength, Ling Xiao really wanted to test the power of this basic martial art.

So he went out, but instead of going to the training ground, he left the Ling family gates and arrived at a small grove outside.

“Hah!”

With a violent shout, Ling Xiao seemed to transform into a roaring savage bull, crashing directly into a giant boulder in front of him.

The boulder weighed about two or three hundred jin. Previously, Ling Xiao could only leave a few marks on it; breaking it was almost impossible.

However, this time, as the wild savage bull slammed into the boulder, the stone shattered upon impact, emitting a loud boom.

“Second level of the Martial Veins! Finally broken through!”