Heavenly Sword Saint
The following morning...
A thin layer of mist covered the eastern hill.
The first rays of sunlight slowly emerged from beyond the mountains, casting a golden glow over the Spirit Gathering Pavilion.
Inside the cultivation room...
Jian Chen slowly opened his eyes.
He had spent the entire night stabilizing his cultivation.
The breakthrough from yesterday had completely settled.
His breathing was steady.
His body felt stronger.
Five awakened meridians quietly circulated spiritual energy through his body, drawing in the surrounding energy and sending it through his flesh and bones.
Every circulation brought a faint warmth.
Jian Chen slowly exhaled.
A thin stream of white mist escaped his mouth before disappearing into the air.
"Stable."
He lowered his gaze and examined his hands.
His current cultivation had reached the peak of the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
It had only been a short time since he had begun cultivating again.
Yet he had already gone from having no cultivation at all...
To opening five meridians and reaching the peak of the early stage.
Such progress would have been astonishing even in the Divine Realm.
But Jian Chen wasn't satisfied.
His gaze became distant.
Twenty-three.
That was the number of meridians he had possessed in his previous life.
Twenty-three awakened meridians had been enough to make him one of the most outstanding young geniuses in the Divine Realm.
Yet now...
He had the Heavenly Sword Scripture.
A cultivation technique capable of opening meridians that ordinary cultivators could never awaken.
Thirty-six.
If he could truly awaken all thirty-six...
Jian Chen couldn't even imagine how terrifying his cultivation speed would become.
But he quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart.
"There's no need to rush."
"The foundation comes first."
He had already learned the price of arrogance.
In his previous life, he had believed his talent and strength were enough to protect everything he valued.
He had been wrong.
Lin Xue'er had betrayed him.
Long Tian had struck him down.
And his blood had stained the ground of the Heavenfall Secret Realm.
He had died before reaching thirty.
Jian Chen's eyes gradually became cold.
This life...
He would never repeat the same mistake.
Strength didn't need to be displayed.
It needed to be accumulated.
Quietly.
Patiently.
Until the moment it was needed.
Jian Chen stood up.
He glanced around the cultivation room one final time.
The Spirit Gathering Pavilion had helped him tremendously.
The dense spiritual energy had accelerated his cultivation.
The Body Tempering Pills supplied by the clan had also helped him awaken three additional meridians.
Without those resources, his progress would have been considerably slower.
But it was time to leave.
The annual examination was approaching.
He needed to return to his courtyard and continue cultivating.
Jian Chen opened the door.
The pavilion elder was standing outside.
The old man's gaze immediately fell upon him.
For several breaths...
He didn't speak.
His expression slowly changed.
When Jian Chen had first entered the pavilion, he had been at the first stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
Now...
The elder could clearly sense the change.
Third stage.
And not merely the beginning of the third stage.
The peak of the early stage.
The elder's pupils contracted slightly.
"How..."
The words almost escaped his mouth.
He quickly stopped himself.
He had watched countless young disciples cultivate.
He knew exactly how difficult it was to advance through the Body Tempering Realm.
Yet Jian Chen had entered the pavilion at the first stage.
After only several days...
He had reached the third stage.
The elder stared at him for another moment.
But Jian Chen's expression remained completely calm.
"Thank you for allowing me to cultivate here, Elder."
The elder finally recovered from his shock.
"You've made quite a bit of progress."
Jian Chen simply nodded.
"I was fortunate."
The elder looked at him deeply.
Fortunate?
If such progress could be called fortune...
Then the entire Jian Clan would be filled with geniuses.
Still, he didn't ask further.
Everyone had their own secrets.
As long as Jian Chen didn't violate the clan's rules, there was no reason for him to investigate.
"Are you ready to leave?"
"Yes."
The elder nodded.
"Then go."
Jian Chen cupped his hands slightly.
"Farewell, Elder."
He turned and walked down the eastern hill alone.
The elder remained at the entrance of the pavilion.
He watched Jian Chen's figure gradually disappear.
His eyes narrowed.
"First stage when he entered..."
"Third stage when he left..."
"What happened to this child?"
...
The eastern hill gradually disappeared behind Jian Chen.
He continued walking toward the main area of the Jian Clan.
The moment he entered the main training grounds...
Several young disciples noticed him.
Their conversations immediately became quieter.
"It's Jian Chen."
"He defeated Jian Mo."
"I heard he spent several days cultivating inside the Spirit Gathering Pavilion."
"His injuries really recovered."
"I didn't expect him to actually defeat Jian Mo."
The gazes directed toward Jian Chen were completely different from before.
There was no longer mockery.
There was curiosity.
And more importantly...
Respect.
They had personally witnessed the challenge.
Jian Chen had defeated Jian Mo and obtained a cultivation spot that many of them desperately wanted.
Regardless of his previous reputation...
That achievement was real.
Jian Chen heard the whispers.
But he didn't react.
He continued walking.
To him...
The opinions of these disciples meant nothing.
Some people looked at him with admiration.
Others looked at him with curiosity.
None of it mattered.
His destination was the old courtyard.
Nothing else.
As he passed through the training grounds...
A few younger disciples unconsciously stepped aside.
Jian Chen didn't even notice.
His Heavenly Sword Scripture naturally concealed the fluctuations of his cultivation.
Those whose cultivation was close to his own couldn't clearly determine his strength.
To them...
Jian Chen remained mysterious.
But Jian Chen didn't care.
Soon...
He reached a familiar path.
The old courtyard wasn't far ahead.
Then...
A voice sounded behind him.
"Jian Chen."
His footsteps stopped.
He didn't turn around.
The voice came again.
"Jian Chen."
This time, it was closer.
Jian Chen slowly turned his head.
Jian Hu stood several steps behind him.
Several young disciples stood around him.
Jian Hu's expression was somewhat complicated.
He had already heard about Jian Chen's performance in the Spirit Gathering Pavilion.
He had also heard that Jian Chen had defeated Jian Mo.
But what bothered him most wasn't that.
It was the feeling Jian Chen gave him now.
Calm.
Indifferent.
As if nothing around him was worth his attention.
Jian Hu frowned.
"Cousin..."
Jian Chen looked at him for a moment.
Then...
He turned around.
He said nothing.
He continued walking.
Jian Hu's expression immediately darkened.
"Jian Chen, I'm talking to you."
Jian Chen continued walking.
His expression didn't change.
He didn't even bother looking back.
To him...
Jian Hu was already dead.
The only difference was that he hadn't yet found the opportunity to collect the debt.
There was no reason to waste words with a dead man.
Behind him...
Jian Hu's face became increasingly ugly.
Several disciples exchanged glances.
None dared to speak.
They had expected Jian Chen and Jian Hu to confront each other.
Instead...
Jian Chen had completely ignored him.
That was even more humiliating.
Jian Hu clenched his fists.
"Jian Chen!"
His voice became colder.
But Jian Chen continued walking.
He didn't stop.
He didn't turn around.
He simply disappeared down the path.
The surrounding disciples remained silent.
One of them finally whispered,
"Why didn't he answer?"
Another shook his head.
"I don't know."
"But..."
He looked toward Jian Chen's departing figure.
"His attitude is completely different from before."
Jian Hu heard those words.
His expression became darker.
His fists tightened until his knuckles turned white.
He had never been ignored like this.
Especially not by Jian Chen.
But there was something else buried beneath his anger.
Uneasiness.
He couldn't understand why...
A person who had once been regarded as a cripple could suddenly become so indifferent.
And that feeling...
Made him uncomfortable.
...
Meanwhile...
Jian Chen had already left the area.
He didn't care about Jian Hu's reaction.
The old courtyard slowly appeared before him.
The familiar wooden door.
The old tree.
The stone table.
The small training ground.
Everything was exactly as he remembered.
Jian Chen stopped for a moment.
A strange feeling passed through his heart.
It had only been several days.
Yet it felt much longer.
He pushed open the wooden door.
The courtyard was quiet.
Then a familiar figure appeared from inside.
Xiao Yue.
She saw Jian Chen and immediately smiled.
"Youth Master."
Jian Chen nodded.
"I'm back."
Xiao Yue didn't ask him anything.
She simply smiled and walked toward him.
"I'm glad you're back."
Jian Chen's expression softened slightly.
"Thank you."
Before he could say anything else...
Another voice came from inside the house.
"Chen'er?"
Jian Chen's heart trembled.
"Mother."
Liu Ruyan walked out.
The moment she saw him...
Her eyes immediately became moist.
She hurried forward and carefully looked him over.
Jian Chen smiled.
"I'm fine."
Liu Ruyan gently touched his arm.
"You look much better."
"I feel much better."
She nodded repeatedly.
"That's good."
For a moment...
The courtyard became peaceful.
Jian Chen looked at his mother.
In his previous life...
He had lost too many things.
Now that fate had given him another chance...
He would cherish every moment.
He would protect his mother.
He would protect Xiao Yue.
And he would never again allow anyone to decide his fate for him.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the distant sky.
The annual examination was approaching.
There was still one month.
Five awakened meridians.
Third-stage cultivation.
And the Heavenly Sword Scripture.
A faint smile appeared on Jian Chen's face.
"One month..."
"That's enough."
The road ahead was still long.
But for the first time since returning to this world...
Jian Chen could clearly see the beginning of his path.
And somewhere deep within his heart...
A single thought quietly took root.
This time...
He would climb higher than he had ever climbed before.