Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Change in the Stars

The plan for a year is in spring, and the plan for a day is in the morning.

In the warm spring of March, when all things begin to sprout, the morning air in Flying Moon City carries a hint of chill.

The chill may be biting, but it can dispel the drowsiness that is typical of spring and make the mind clearer.

Xiao Chong was perfectly lucid. The sun had just risen, and he had already been practicing his martial arts in the courtyard for over an hour.

The courtyard was small and inconspicuous in the vast ancestral school, but it was quiet and undisturbed.

This was specially prepared for him by the Xiao family.

Clan Chief Xiao Kaixin was very thoughtful. He not only prepared a place for him to cultivate, but also a living room and all the necessary items. In order to allow him to cultivate in peace, he even assigned him a servant.

Everything was perfect, except for one thing that annoyed Xiao Chong.

The reason was simple: the person in charge of teaching him was none other than Xiao Fangzheng, the legal supervisor.

Xiao Fangzheng's teaching methods were very harsh and strict. He only gave a brief explanation of the "First Transformation of the Stars" technique before letting Xiao Chong practice it on his own, and he did so with great effort.

"The teacher leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you," was Xiao Fangzheng's favorite saying.

Once the homework is assigned, if it's not finished that day, there's no rest, no meals, no going home, nothing...

Okay, you're allowed to go to the toilet, but the time can't exceed the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, otherwise your homework will be doubled.

After three days, Xiao Chong had gone two meals without food and hadn't slept all night. He had also been struck countless times with the ruler. If this continued, he would become constipated.

"Tomorrow is the last day. If you still cannot consolidate your martial arts realm, I will personally stay here with you until you succeed."

These were the harsh words Xiao Fangzheng gave him before leaving last night.

"We must not let that old pervert get away with it!"

A ray of morning light shone into his eyes, making him feel dazed. Xiao Chong felt as if he had returned to his miserable high school days.

The venerable and formidable old teacher, pointer in hand, walked through the study room. His gaze, however, was fixed on the back of each student, making them feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

"5001, 5002, 5003..."

Xiao Chong kept throwing punches, his clothes completely soaked.

"Eight thousand seven hundred and twenty-two, eight thousand seven hundred and twenty-three..."

The punching motion became mechanical, and the sweat dripping from his feet soaked the ground.

"Nine thousand nine hundred and ten, nine thousand nine hundred and eleven..."

My arms felt like they were carrying a thousand pounds of weight, and a tearing pain shot through my shoulder blades. My body felt like it was about to fall apart, and my thoughts were about to stop. All I could think about was the ever-increasing numbers in my mind.

"Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, ten thousand!"

Xiao Chong collapsed to the ground, his body limp like a pile of mud, unable to even move his fingers.

The servant brought over a tray, silently placed it beside him, and then quickly walked away.

There was no food inside, only a steaming medicine bowl and a red pill.

After a while, Xiao Chong managed to sit up, looked at the tray beside him, and gave a bitter smile.

With the stomach and intestines empty, taking the medicine and pills from the bowl at this time will undoubtedly result in the fastest absorption and the best effect.

But precisely because of this, the potent effects of the medicine can cause excruciating abdominal pain, a sensation so intense it's almost unbearable.

"I've finally learned what it means to 'exhaust one's muscles and bones, and starve one's body.'" Xiao Chong shook his head and swallowed the pill along with the medicinal juice.

A surge of heat rose from the bottom of my abdomen and quickly spread throughout my body, constantly impacting the meridians in my body.

His face twitched violently, and his body trembled involuntarily. Xiao Chong gritted his teeth, quickly sat cross-legged, took out a Yuan Stone and held it in his hand, and began the second training session of the day: the Nine Transformations of the Stars Technique.

"Nine Transformations of the Stars" is a martial arts technique passed down directly from the Xiao family. It is not taught to anyone who is not a disciple of the sect or an elite disciple. Once mastered, it is incredibly powerful.

One becomes a martial apprentice, then a martial student, then a warrior, a martial master, a grandmaster, a great grandmaster, a martial saint, a martial emperor, and finally a martial god.

The origin of this cultivation technique is unknown. All the Xiao family members know is that since their ancestor, no one has ever been able to cultivate it to the seventh transformation, which means that the Xiao family has never produced a Martial Saint since the establishment of the clan.

The reason is unknown, but in a small place like Flying Moon City, a cultivation technique that allows one to cultivate from the first realm to the sixth realm is already considered a top-tier inheritance.

The Xiao family has always been deeply troubled by the fact that they have never produced a Martial Saint. For a thousand years, the Xiao clan has been relentlessly pursuing this goal and has never given up.

Currently, several members of the Xiao family have reached the Grandmaster level, and among the elders who are cultivating in seclusion in the villa, one is about to break through to the Grandmaster level, with one foot already in the ranks of Great Grandmaster.

Xiao Chong had vaguely heard about these things, but he didn't care at all. He had just become a martial arts apprentice and hadn't even consolidated his realm yet. He was still struggling in the midst of the torment brought on by Xiao the Abnormal every day, so he didn't have time to worry about such things.

Therefore, Xiao Chong devoted himself to cultivation, after all, Xiao Bianbao's aura was too strong and his methods too ruthless, and he could not handle it.

The courtyard had been specially arranged, and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was quite abundant. With the assistance of the spirit stones, Xiao Chong felt a constant flow of spiritual energy entering his body through his pores and circulating through his meridians.

Following the method provided by the "First Transformation of the Stars," the primordial energy in the meridians is restrained and guided to circulate throughout the body for one cycle, eventually being stored in the dantian. However, the primordial energy is not still in the dantian; instead, it runs rampant, causing excruciating pain wherever it goes.

Xiao Chong endured the pain, his teeth clenched so tightly they felt like they were going to break, but the vital energy in his dantian kept accumulating, as if it would burst out of his body at any moment, making everyone's heart pound with fear.

At the critical moment, Xiao Chong's ruthless side from his past life resurfaced. Instead of stopping his cultivation, he accelerated his absorption of external energy.

"I promised Qingmeng that I would give her a good life!"

"The fat guy is my friend, but he's weak-willed, so I have to protect him!"

"And my mother in this life, though she did not raise me, at least gave me a body. If I don't repay this kindness, I'm not worthy of being a son!"

"Most importantly, I've wasted sixteen years of my life, and I still want to see what this world is really like!!"

The world is vast, and I want to see it! But with my current cultivation level, I'm afraid I'll be devoured before I even leave Flying Moon City, leaving not even bones behind!

Xiao Chong's face contorted, and he screamed wildly in his heart, compressing the vital energy in his dantian with all his might.

The vital energy shrinks and expands, expands and shrinks again, but its volume gradually decreases.

"Hold on!"

"Hold on a little longer!"

"It'll only take a little while!!"

"It's done!!"

An immense pain spread through every nerve in his body, followed by a cool sensation rising from his lower abdomen. The vital energy in his dantian transformed into a stream of primordial energy, flowing gently.

Having finally cultivated his first strand of Yuan Power, Xiao Chong solidified his status as a Martial Apprentice. He lay back, his eyes half-closed, filled with tears.