Chapter 8: Entering the Small World

The sun slanted, and a gentle breeze blew.

It was the lazy afternoon time.

In an exquisitely beautiful courtyard, two elders sat facing each other, drinking tea.

"Old Tang, you said there was good news and insisted I come over. I've come, and we've had two cups of tea, but you're still all smiles. What's the good news? If you don't tell me, I'll leave. You're here for a vacation, but what about me? I have tons of things to deal with!"

"Old Song, look at you getting so anxious. At this age, can't you take it easy?" Old Tang chuckled.

"I'm not like you, all accomplished. I'm just a tired soul." Old Song snorted, "These days, taking care of you has really worn me out. You, old man, should never have come back!"

"Alright, alright. You're still the same hot-tempered person after all these years! Old Song, let me tell you, I've found a great talent, really amazing! You'd never guess how good he is."

"A talent? There aren't any outstanding immortal second generations in the city. If there were any good talents, how could I not know?"

"That's exactly it, you don't know. I've been wandering around and this morning, I saw a kid at Jinshui Park. He's perfected the Shock Fist, yet managed not to achieve the Muscle and Bone Resonance."

"Could it be that he's only seven or eight years old, with weak bones, and a heaven-defying comprehension?"

"He's a senior high school student."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Old Tang, your cultivation level is stronger than mine, but you can't talk nonsense. If he's perfected the Shock Fist, then he would have definitely perfected Soft Fist and Military Boxing as well. Even if he has a weak constitution or a not-so-good family background, the school would have certainly provided him assistance once they found out. Even if he cultivates low-key, he would be able to reach Muscle and Bone Resonance. No, that's not it. You wouldn't be this happy just because he's perfected Shock Fist."

"But that's the truth. The kid said he has just started recently. Of course, I didn't really believe him, so I made a bet with him. I demonstrated Yin Yang Fist, and if he could achieve Minor Success within a day, I'd give him a Peiyuan Pill."

"Recently started? Such a situation isn't unheard of—a sudden enlightenment, and a great increase in comprehension. It's possible. But Old Tang, Yin Yang Fist isn't easy to practice. It contains the principles of hardness and softness, complementary and contradictory. If he achieves Minor Success in a day, it's indeed rare talent, but it wouldn't make you this happy. Could it be in half a day? If it's just half a day, you wouldn't call me over. Could it be he achieved Great Success in half a day? If that's the case, he really is a good talent."

"You really underestimate me. If it was just half a day and Great Success, would I call you to share?"

"So go ahead and tell me, don't just drop your pants without farting!"

"Vulgar!" Old Tang put on a serious face, "He watched me once and understood, and after practicing ten times, he reached perfection."

"Holy shit, that's impossible!" Old Song was astonished, "Are you sure he's just a senior high school student, hasn't achieved Muscle and Bone Resonance, and has never practiced Yin Yang Fist before?"

"Do you think he could deceive me?" Old Tang snorted, "That's not even the key point. The key is that after taking the Peiyuan Pill, he went straight to Muscle and Bone Resonance, then breakthrough to enter the Sea of Qi in his Dantian."

"Damn, he really is a gem. It's no wonder you've gone through so much trouble, Old Tang. Did you take him as your disciple? Call him over someday so I can have a look."

"Don't be so anxious, we're far from there yet!"

"I hope you're not telling me he's also awakened Spiritual Power. That's a one in ten thousand chance!"

"No! But when he opened his Dantian, he merged into Heaven and Earth, and directly established a two-zhang-wide Sea of Qi."

"Merging into Heaven and Earth? A two-zhang Sea of Qi?" Old Song shouted in surprise, his breathing quickening, "How is this even possible? Old Tang, you've taken him as your disciple, haven't you?"

"No!"

"Holy shit, you old man, don't tell me you don't even value such a talent! If you don't take him, I will. Just tell me, who is he?"

"If I'm afraid of teaching someone wrongly, what about you?" Old Tang snorted and then said seriously, "Once such a genius takes off, he will soar straight up into the sky. Just keep an eye on him for the time being, try to protect him as much as possible. No matter what, he is still from Pingyang."

The two chatted quietly.

At home.

Jiang Ming looked up a lot of information and began to memorize the content of Guiyuan Sutra and Thunderous Nine Heavens Strike in his heart, closing his eyes to sort it out.

He also began to comprehend Guiyuan Sutra.

This was the fundamental way of practicing cultivation skills.

When a martial artist breaks through to the Martial Arts Second Realm, they can merge their mind with Heaven and Earth and draw Primal qi into their bodies, a very special state.

Once the breakthrough is made, manipulating qi into the body requires cultivation skills.

After a while, Jiang Ming opened his eyes, a spark of understanding in them.

The method of absorbing elemental qi into true qi as described in the Guiyuan Sutra, he had comprehended its essence.

"But with the size of my Dantian space, filling it up with true qi is going to be very difficult!"

Not very difficult, but rather, extremely difficult.

Most of the Primal qi absorbed during the breakthrough has been used to expand the Dantian, which is now empty.

What kind of concept is ten zhang square radius?

It's a circle with a radius of thirty-three meters, no, a sphere!

As he thought about it, Jiang Ming couldn't help but feel goosebumps.

"I'll take it one step at a time!"

Sighing, he sat cross-legged on the sofa, cycling his Qi through his Dantian Sea of Qi, forming a peculiar circulation within his body, drawing the fluctuations of the surrounding Qi, and then flowing into his Dantian Sea of Qi.

At first, it was slow.

One strand at a time flowed in and was refined into true Qi in the Sea of Qi.

As he cultivated, Jiang Ming's soul vibrated, and his spirit radiated, unconsciously merging with the pulsations of Heaven and Earth, causing his body to seemingly melt into nature. His limbs, body, and every pore absorbed Qi from Heaven and Earth.

At this moment, he truly became a ravenous behemoth.

The sun set in the evening twilight.

Jiang Ming opened his eyes, a streak of intelligence flowing through them, then disappearing. "My cultivation speed should be fast. No, not just fast, but extremely fast. But for me, it's still too slow."

His Dantian space was too vast.

He felt his stomach, but wasn't too hungry.

That was one of the advantages of entering Martial Arts Second Realm, which allowed him to absorb the energy of Heaven and Earth for his own use, naturally reducing his need for food.

After going out to eat dinner, he began to comprehend the Wild Thunder Ninth Slash.

It wasn't difficult for him.

A silent night.

Tianwu Calendar 9918, May 28th, 9 AM.

Jiang Ming, carrying his blade, arrived in front of Ten Thousand Realms Tower.

It was a nine-story building, with the City Lord Mansion next to it. There were many martial artists coming and going, and some people were carrying weapons.

The hall on the first floor was very large.

It was similar to a leisure area, offering drinks, food, and more. Many martial artists were sitting and chatting, exchanging experiences.

On one side were several elevators, each leading to a single floor. There was also a service staff member in front of the elevator.

Jiang Ming walked towards the elevator leading to the second floor.

"Please verify your identity!" The service girl smiled and pointed to the nearby machine.

"Alright!" Jiang Ming took out his mobile phone, pulled up his identity information, and started to verify it. At the same time, a beam of light fell on him for scanning.

"Martial Arts Second Realm, verification passed!"

There was a prompt sound nearby, and the elevator automatically opened. Jiang Ming entered.

There were a few scattered people sitting in the spacious second floor.

A few middle-aged people looked hesitant, as if they wanted to take a risk but were very cautious.

Jiang Ming, however, unexpectedly saw someone he knew.

"Qin Zhiyan, what are you doing here?" he walked over.

The familiar face was his Class Monitor and class flower, Miss Qin.

He was genuinely surprised.

"Jiang Ming!" Qin Zhiyan was also surprised. Hesitating, she said, "I want to give it a shot."

"There's no need!" Jiang Ming sat across from her, "Given your situation, it's difficult for martial arts prestigious schools, but first-tier ones are still within reach. Why would you take such a risk? I've looked up some information, and most of us recently-advanced students who enter the World Secret Realm to take risks have a very high chance of dying, while the benefits are extremely rare."

"Then why did you come!" Qin Zhiyan said unhappily.

"I have special circumstances!" Jiang Ming hesitated for a moment, raised his hand, and placed it on her shoulder before she could react.

Qin Zhiyan suddenly felt a heavy weight on her shoulder, as if a mountain was pressing down on her. She couldn't bear it even if she tried to resist it with her cultivation skills. Jiang Ming, on the other hand, seemed unbothered.

She immediately showed a shocked expression, her face full of disbelief: "You, how is this possible? Didn't you just break through yesterday?"

Her voice was very low.

"Didn't I say my situation is special?" Jiang Ming removed his hand, "Do you have a reason to go in?"

"No, I just want to try my luck and get into a prestigious school."

"At the cost of your life? Don't forget you have parents!"

After hearing this, Qin Zhiyan fell silent, and then bitter laughed, "You're usually a closed-up person, but I didn't expect you to be so persuasive. Sigh, I really shouldn't have come! What about you? Do you have a reason to go in?"

"Yes!" Jiang Ming nodded.

"You don't need to, either. Like you advised me, you can cultivate step by step, and your future achievements will definitely be impressive. Even if you have any grievances, you can easily solve them with your future status. There's no need to risk your life!"

"Since I'm here, I've made all the preparations! Qin Zhiyan, if I don't come back, bring my belongings to Wang Fatty and let him deal with them as he pleases."

Jiang Ming stood up and walked towards the mysterious World Gate, which was only a frame and filled with darkness inside.

A middle-aged man was sitting in front of the World Gate, swiping his phone. Hearing the commotion, he raised his head and frowned upon seeing Jiang Ming: "You're still young, do you really want to take this risk? People die there!"

"Since I came here, I'm prepared to take all the consequences!" Jiang Ming bowed his hand, "Please proceed with the procedure!"

"Alright!" The middle-aged man nodded, pointing to a nearby machine, "First, scan your identity. If it's your first time entering the World Secret Realm, it's free. Otherwise, there's a handling fee of 100,000 credit points."

"Sign a will in case of death, and put your belongings in the locker."

"There are ancient clothes in the room next door, and you can choose a set for free. There are also some small accessories! If you have money, you can ask the people inside to tailor-make a set for you, plus a wig."

"Read the instruction manual before entering!"

"Let me remind you again, past experiences are not reliable because the world you enter is random and constantly developing. There may even be new World Secret Realms emerging."

The middle-aged man said tirelessly.

Jiang Ming had already verified his identity, put his mobile phone and other items in the locker, and after hesitating for a moment, even placed his blade inside. He entered the room next door and came out after a while, wearing a set of white Confucian robes, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, and holding a folding fan in his hand. His short hair was now long, but it was meticulously arranged so that it didn't look like a wig.

It gave people an astonishing feeling, like a peerless young master with jade-like appearance.

Qin Zhiyan, who was walking by, couldn't help but stare and take a few more glances. Then, with a serious look on her face, she asked, "Do you really have to go?"

"I must!" Jiang Ming smiled, "I put my stuff in the locker. If I don't return in an hour, you take it. Anyway, I have no worries."

With a bow of his hand, he stepped into the World Gate without hesitation. His figure disappeared without a trace.

Qin Zhiyan was lost in a daze.