In a matter of seconds, Chan Goh Shue struck eleven vital points on Chan Chi Yuet. A sliver of soul energy was infused in each of the vital pressure points, immobilizing her completely. Chan Chi Yuet felt all her vital points struck once before a wave of nausea overcame her. She wanted to move but she couldn’t lift a single finger. She asked weakly, “Uncle Goh, what are you doing…?”
“Seriously? I was waiting for so long and that was the answer you gave me?” Chan Goh Shue replied in an unamused tone. He sat down at the study table and explained patiently, “Also, exotic martial souls are always accompanied by three major tribulations. The lightning tribulation, the aura tribulation and the inner demon tribulation.”
An inner demon tribulation was not just an ordinary dream. It was the last trial that the heavens imposed on a martial artist. An inner demon dream behaved similarly to a dream, but was not in fact just a dream. The dream realm merges with reality, blurring the lines between the two and devastating the mind of its victim. As such, most martial artists who survive an inner demon tribulation would experience a drastic change in their mental state. This change was not necessarily good or bad, but it happened to everyone. You could become kinder, some became crueler, others found resilience, while others became cowardly.
The only thing that was certain was the innate mental energy would become even more condensed after undergoing an inner demon tribulation, allowing the martial artist to gain better control of their newfound strength. However, if a martial artist’s innate mental energy is not strong enough, their mind might shatter during the inner demon tribulation, leaving them in a vegetative state.
“Oh, right…” As a lineage disciple of the Chan Clan, Chan Chi Yuet had been educated in these things. It had simply slipped her mind that Wun Fan was facing an inner demon tribulation.
Chan Goh Shue also further elaborated on the information they had gathered. Supposedly, a powerful old man had appeared during Wun Fan’s tribulation and used a strange fire as his power. Moreover, his adoptive sister Wun Siu Lan even managed to break through her limits and advance all the way to peak Martial Scholar realm when she saw his life hanging in the balance. Disregarding how astounding it was for there to be a ten-year-old peak Martial Scholar, the fact that she was able to advance two major realms in a single instant was shocking enough.
“Then…I’ll wait a little longer before I go,” Chan Chi Yuet was still worried. She was confident in Wun Fan’s ability, but she could not help but be concerned.
“So, what do you think about what I said earlier?” Chan Goh Shue poured a cup of warm water for himself and drank everything in a single gulp. He stared at Chan Chi Yuet as he waited for an answer.
Chan Chi Yuet looked at him dumbfoundedly. Her lips moved, “What did you say?”
“Ah…Eleven Stunning Finger Strikes.”
“I’m sorry, Uncle Goh!”272Please respect copyright.PENANAm71bTGa5Ro
You search and search and find nothing, save for a lonely wretched thing.
Cheng Man Fan woke up once again. He got up from bed and brushed his teeth once again. He heard what his father said and replied once again. Once again, he pulled down his pants, treated the toilet to a warm cup of apple juice, changed and left. He met the two people, drank some coffee, had dinner and went home once again.
He lived an enviable life this time. Both women married him and his bedroom life was incredibly fulfilling. He was successful in his career, with his novel being adapted into a comic, then an anime and then a mobile game. He fulfilled his old man’s dream of having a grandson and provided him with a comfortable living.
He lived a tragic life the next time. ‘Unfortunate’ could hardly describe what happened to him. He lost his father, his wife and his children. He failed at his career, went broke and caught an incurable disease.
He lived a mediocre life the next, next time. He was born without any talent whatsoever…
The heavens have their own plans; laugh and play along. Just like that, he endured dozens of lives, travelled the world countless times, until finally, the heavens let him go.
He had survived the inner demon tribulation. His mental energy regained their senses and spread out from his mind, wandering across the body. Most of his meridians were empty, but he did not feel weak at all.
The familiar song no longer rang in his ear this time. There was no modern device to wake him up. He had successfully returned to Heaven’s Martial World.
He could faintly feel someone feeding him porridge, but he had no strength left in his body. He couldn’t even open his eyes. Suddenly, a mental wave rippled inside him. It was a deep and reassuring voice, speaking in a cool but gentle tone, “Kid, you’re back?”
Wun Fan’s mental energy was pulled into the Spiritstartler Ring and turned into a human silhouette. Everything suddenly turned bright. Wun Faan couldn’t get used to the sudden burst of orange light and lifted his hand to cover his eyes.
“Old Lei?” Wun Fan’s voice was hoarse and aged, like the voice of an old man who had seen all the ups and downs of life. He sounded older than Old Lei, who couldn’t help but frown. Wun Fan seemed to have noticed the peculiarity of his voice. He coughed lightly to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling in his throat. He had to adjust his voice a little before he went back to normal.
“Mm, I’m glad you made it back safely.” Old Lei was very confident in Wun Fan. His deep reserve of innate mental energy meant that a mere inner demon tribulation was little more than child’s play. Surviving it was simply a matter of time. Old Lei was not too worried. However, his voice sounded tired. Wun Fan’s mental projection opened its eyes. He was surprised to see that Old Lei’s body was more translucent than usual, looking a lot less intimidating than his usual self.
“What’s going on, Old Lei?” Wun Faan was surprised to see Old Lei’s condition. He didn’t understand what had happened.
Naturally, Old Lei knew Wun Fan was confused. He spoke in a tone far more gentler than usual, “You’ve been unconscious for four days. You were probably facing the inner demon tribulation, weren’t you?”
He brushed past Wun Fan’s question, not wanting to make him worried. In truth, Old Lei had not only overexerted himself on the night of the tribulations, but had also been severely injured by the Lightning of Forbidden Vanquishment. Most of his mental energy was exhausted. The Spiritstartler Ring had also used up every last trace of its aether reserve to help Wun Fan, leaving none for him. Old Lei had also been watching over Wun Fan all this while. After all, someone had tried to assassinate him that night. To ensure Wun Fan’s safety, he had been keeping watch for nearly twenty-four hours a day.
Consequently. Old Lei could not recover effectively. He could only slowly absorb the wandering aether around him to replenish his strength. That was why he appeared as translucent as he was.
“Congratulations. You’ve survived the tribulations and awakened your martial soul,” said Old Lei with pride and relief on his face. After all, Wun Fan was his student. Who wouldn’t be happy to see their own student grow?
“Thank you, Old Lei.”
Wun Faan suddenly knelt down on the ground and expressed his utmost gratitude to Old Lei. He knew how important Old Lei had been to him. It’s true that Old Lei’s existence had caused him a lot of trouble for a few years. If not for his maturity and his determination, the mocking glances and cutting words from his peers alone would have forever destroyed his self-confidence, if not driven him to suicide.
However, with the Spiritstartler Ring and Old Lei’s guidance, Wun Fan was confident he could make a name for himself in Heaven’s Martial World. He knew that this world was exceedingly vast and he couldn’t wait to find out exactly how vast it was.
Old Lei knew what Wun Faan was thinking with just a single glance. He immediately threw cold water at the idea, “You might have become a Martial Mortal and awakened your martial soul, but these are only the fundamentals. Even a slightly skilled magical beast in the Green Sea Forest could turn you into ashes, let alone something from the outside world. Don’t think too much, kid. Power is what is important.”
Next, Old Lei gave Wun Fan a few quick lessons on honing his power. He knew very well that Wun Fan was a mature boy who had plenty of foresight, but at the same time, he had barely any critical knowledge of martial training. This was evident enough from the fact that he had dared to tackle his Wind Mansion Point without any preparation. Ignorant was the nice way of putting it. The not-so-nice way of putting it was stupid.
Old Lei started explaining to Wun Fan, in detail, how to continue cultivating his power after becoming a Martial Mortal.
The ten levels of Martial Disciple corresponded with ten vital pressure points. Once you filled these points with aether and merged the aether with mental energy, you would create soul energy and advance to Martial Mortal realm. A Martial Mortal was able to control their soul energy to unleash martial techniques. Moreover, they could use soul energy to selectively strengthen parts of their bodies. For instance, concentrating soul energy in one’s fist would enhance the muscle strength and allow for a stronger punch.
After becoming a Martial Mortal, the aether in all ten vital points would have become soul energy. The next step was to expand one’s meridians with that soul energy. The first step was to go along the Wind Mansion Point and expand towards the Three-Yin Hand Meridians and the Three-Yang Hand Meridians!272Please respect copyright.PENANAtFvfvF6BXP