Chapter 3 Mountain and River Martial Soul_1

Suddenly, a vortex appeared in the painting, and Ling Xiao felt darkness before his eyes as he was sucked into the swirl.

When he could see again, he found himself in a village filled with strangers.

These strangers, upon seeing him, all seemed to behave with great respect, bowing and greeting him.

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

"Could this place be the village from that painting..."

Ling Xiao was utterly confused by the situation before him; he suddenly remembered the village in the painting he had seen before—it was almost identical in structure.

The village was peaceful and free of strife, giving off a very comfortable feeling.

But Ling Xiao was anxious, what if he was trapped here? What then?

"Ancient Ten Thousand Clans, Mountain and River Martial Soul, sovereign of myriad realms, eternal and unceasing! Universe primordial, born of tribulation, Martial God in slumber, today awakened! The fated one has arrived..."

Suddenly, a woman approached from afar, stepping on air, ethereal as if she was a fairy from the Heavenly Palace, stunning onlookers.

The voice was somewhat hollow yet profound, as if it came from another space.

"Who is this fairy?"

Ling Xiao asked nervously.

"There is no need for you to know who I am or where I come from. All you need to know is that from today, you have awakened the 'Mountain and River Martial Soul'; you are the Master of Mountains and Rivers, the sovereign of this world!"

Though the woman was always walking, she seemed to never reach Ling Xiao.

"Mountain and River Martial Soul? Master of Mountains and Rivers? Sovereign of this world?"

Ling Xiao almost laughed at himself; how could a mere Martial Artist at the Martial Veins First Layer possess such ability?

However, he had heard of the Martial Soul.

In the Ancient Era, Martial Artists could cultivate Martial Souls, but after a great tribulation occurred between heaven and earth, Martial Souls became extinct.

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

"Since the Ancient Era, humans began practicing Martial Arts to resist the invasion of the Ten Thousand Clans. The strongest among them was the Master of Mountains and Rivers, who awakened the Mountain and River Martial Soul and resisted the Ten Thousand Clans with his power alone, his achievements towering through the ages!"

"And now, you are the second person to awaken the Mountain and River Martial Soul, the hope of mankind. Perhaps mankind's destiny to once again become the spiritual pinnacle of all creatures, and the king of the Ten Thousand Clans rests on you. Perhaps you are the answer..."

After speaking, the woman's figure grew more distant until it disappeared into the horizon.

At the same time, Ling Xiao felt his body lightly floating, and then his vision blurred once more. When he could see again, he had returned to his original room.

The tattered book had long disappeared without a trace, making Ling Xiao almost certain.

He was definitely not dreaming; it was a very real scene.

"Mountain and River Martial Soul? What effect will it actually have?"

Ling Xiao was full of confusion because up to now, he still hadn't discovered the specific function of the Mountain and River Martial Soul.

Being the Master of Mountains and Rivers, the king of the Ten Thousand Clans—those were far too distant for him.

He now only wanted to break through to the Martial Veins Second Layer, and then continue to strive for the Martial Veins Third Layer.

Thinking it over, since the book was gone and he couldn't continue training it, he could only keep cultivating the Wild Ox Power.

He had been unconscious for so long, wasting far too much time.

Jumping out of bed, he decided to stretch his muscles, but the moment he executed the Wild Ox Power,

he was stunned!

Because as he practiced the Wild Ox Power, there was also a figure practicing the Wild Ox Power within the Mountain and River Map.

The difference was that the person in the painting had truly achieved a level of mastery without a single flaw.

The most basic Basic Martial Arts, the Wild Ox Power, was executed flawlessly in the hands of the figure in the painting.

Ling Xiao stood rooted to the spot.

A moment later, he suddenly woke up and hurriedly began to mimic the movements of the figure in the painting with the Wild Ox Power.

It felt completely different than before. Although it had been proficient, it always lacked a sense of fluidity.

Now it was different; the whole movement was smooth and continuous. Not only that, but each time he practiced the Wild Ox Power, he could feel the True Qi inside his body becoming more vigorous.

There's a way!

The second Martial Vein had already loosened under the impact of the True Qi.

Ling Xiao was fully confident that, by tomorrow at the latest, he would break through to the Second Layer of Martial Veins.

This was nothing short of a miracle!

Worried that it would be too shocking, he had planned to go out and practice martial arts, but ended up not leaving and instead repeatedly practiced in his room.

Not until his movements exactly matched those of the figure in the drawing, completely overlapping, did he stop practicing with satisfaction.

It was already the next morning, and he had been so excited that he hadn't slept all night.

"Child, come eat breakfast."

Grandfather's voice came from outside the door.

"Coming."

When Ling Xiao stepped out of his room, Grandfather had already prepared breakfast.

Because of their low status in the Ling Family, they received very little food rations. The porridge was truly diluted, with hardly a few grains of rice to be found.

The vegetables were nothing but wild and rotten leaves, but the taste turned out to be quite good under Grandfather Lingxiao's culinary skills.

"Eh? What's going on here?"

While eating, Ling Xiao noticed something unexpected.

Two images appeared inside the Mountain and River Map.

One showed Ling Xiao's grandfather and accurately pointed out the various issues with Grandfather Lingxiao's body right now.

"Grandfather, what happened to your ribs?"

Without the Mountain and River Map, Ling Xiao would have never noticed that one of his grandfather's ribs was broken.

And it was a recent break!

According to the Mountain and River Map, it was caused by someone's palm strike.

"It's nothing, nothing at all."

The old man quickly shook his head; he didn't know how Ling Xiao had found out, as he thought he had disguised it very well.

"Who did it?"

Ling Xiao put down his chopsticks and stood up, asking coldly. He could endure others bullying him, but he couldn't stand anyone laying a finger on his grandfather.

If not for his grandfather, Ling Xiao wouldn't be where he was today.

"This..."

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

"Ling Xiao."

The old man sighed, "But it's over and done with, I've been beaten plenty while begging in the past, I'm used to it."

"You call a broken rib nothing?"

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

For some reason, Ling Xiao now felt full of confidence, as though if he were to face Ling Chong again, he could definitely secure the victory.

The power of the Mountain and River Martial Soul was truly formidable; it seemed it could emulate and analyze anything in this world.

Aside from showing his grandfather's situation, the second image was of his grandfather cooking, but clearly, it was an idealized scene.

How to turn rotten vegetable leaves into a gourmet delicacy!

But right now, he wasn't interested in focusing on that; he wanted to know if the Mountain and River Martial Soul could also emulate an opponent's martial arts. If it could, then he really was on the brink of a Carp Leaping Over Dragon Gate moment.

On the martial arts practice field, Ling Chong was flirting with several female disciples, seemingly completely indifferent to others' life or death.

This man, after breaking Grandfather Lingxiao's ribs, didn't even bother to consult a doctor.

Seeing this scene, a powerful hatred flared in Ling Xiao's eyes.