Heavenly Sword Saint
Morning sunlight poured over the eastern hill of the Jian Clan.
Inside the Spirit Gathering Pavilion...
Jian Chen sat cross legged on the stone platform.
Five awakened meridians quietly circulated spiritual energy through his body.
Compared to when he had first entered the pavilion...
The difference was enormous.
Two meridians had been awakened before he entered.
During his time here, the Spirit Gathering Pavilion and the Body Tempering Pills had allowed him to awaken three more.
Five meridians.
His ability to absorb spiritual energy had increased dramatically.
But Jian Chen knew something even more important.
His cultivation had also reached a critical point.
He slowly circulated the Heavenly Sword Scripture.
Spiritual energy entered his body through his awakened meridians.
It flowed through his muscles and bones before gathering within his body.
Every cycle tempered his flesh.
His physical strength continued increasing.
The power within his body gradually became denser.
Jian Chen's expression became serious.
"Five awakened meridians have greatly increased my absorption speed."
"But my cultivation is still at the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm."
The Body Tempering Realm was only the beginning of cultivation.
A cultivator opened their meridians to absorb spiritual energy.
That spiritual energy was then used to temper the body.
As the body became stronger...
The cultivator's cultivation would naturally advance.
The meridians and cultivation realm were two different things.
A cultivator could possess five awakened meridians and still be at the same cultivation level as someone with ten.
The difference was their aptitude and cultivation speed.
Jian Chen understood this perfectly.
He had no intention of confusing the two.
He closed his eyes.
"Then..."
"It's time to break through."
Boom!
The Heavenly Sword Scripture began circulating at full speed.
Spiritual energy from the spiritual vein surged toward him.
The five awakened meridians absorbed it simultaneously.
The amount of spiritual energy entering his body was several times greater than before.
Jian Chen's muscles tightened.
His bones trembled faintly.
The spiritual energy continued tempering his body.
Again.
And again.
The accumulation gradually reached its limit.
A barrier appeared within his cultivation.
Jian Chen immediately recognized it.
"The bottleneck has appeared."
He wasn't surprised.
After all, he had cultivated for nearly thirty years in his previous life.
Even though his current body was weak...
His experience remained.
He didn't force the breakthrough immediately.
Instead, he continued circulating his spiritual energy.
One cycle.
Ten cycles.
One hundred cycles.
The spiritual energy within his body became increasingly dense.
His flesh was constantly being tempered.
His bones became harder.
His muscles became stronger.
Even his internal organs were slowly becoming more resilient.
Then...
Boom!
A powerful aura suddenly erupted from Jian Chen's body.
The bottleneck shook.
A crack appeared.
Jian Chen's eyes opened.
"Break!"
Boom!
The barrier shattered.
A surge of spiritual energy swept through his entire body.
His muscles trembled.
His bones released faint cracking sounds.
His blood began flowing faster.
For several breaths...
Jian Chen remained completely still.
Then the pressure surrounding him gradually disappeared.
He had broken through.
His cultivation had advanced within the Body Tempering Realm.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So this is the feeling."
He clenched his fist.
The strength contained within it was far greater than before.
If he fought the Jian Chen of several days ago...
He could defeat his former self with ease.
But what pleased him most wasn't the breakthrough itself.
It was the foundation supporting it.
Five awakened meridians.
The spiritual energy flowing through his body was far more abundant than before.
His cultivation speed had increased.
His physical strength had increased.
And his future potential had increased.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture was truly extraordinary.
Jian Chen slowly stood.
He walked toward the stone wall.
Then...
He threw a simple punch.
Bang!
The wall shook violently.
A shallow crack spread across its surface.
Jian Chen looked at the crack.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"My current physical strength..."
"Should be enough to fight someone at the same cultivation level."
His combat experience was another matter entirely.
Even if his cultivation was currently low...
His understanding of combat remained.
He knew how to use every ounce of strength.
He knew where to strike.
He knew when to retreat.
And most importantly...
He knew how to remain calm.
But Jian Chen wasn't satisfied.
Not even close.
Five awakened meridians were merely the beginning.
His cultivation had also only taken its first major step.
There was still a long road ahead.
He returned to the stone platform.
Before sitting down...
His gaze fell upon the remaining Body Tempering Pills.
He had already consumed most of them.
Only one remained.
Jian Chen picked it up.
He examined it carefully.
"This should be enough to stabilize my cultivation."
He swallowed it.
The medicinal energy spread through his body.
Jian Chen immediately circulated the Heavenly Sword Scripture.
The medicinal force slowly merged with his spiritual energy.
Rather than attempting another breakthrough...
He used it to strengthen his newly advanced cultivation.
Time passed.
By afternoon...
The medicinal energy had been completely absorbed.
Jian Chen opened his eyes.
His cultivation was stable.
His body felt stronger than ever.
He looked inward.
Five awakened meridians.
A stronger body.
A newly advanced cultivation.
Everything was progressing according to his plan.
Then...
A faint sound came from outside.
Knock.
Knock.
Jian Chen looked toward the door.
"Jian Chen."
It was the voice of the pavilion elder.
He stood and opened the door.
The elder looked at him.
For a moment...
His expression became strange.
"You..."
His eyes swept over Jian Chen.
Something about the young man's presence felt different.
Jian Chen calmly asked,
"Is something wrong, Elder?"
The elder shook his head.
"No."
He studied Jian Chen again.
"Your injuries seem to have recovered considerably."
"They have."
The elder nodded.
"The annual examination is approaching."
"You should return to your courtyard tomorrow."
Jian Chen nodded.
"I understand."
The elder turned to leave.
After taking several steps...
He suddenly stopped.
"Jian Chen."
"Yes?"
"Whatever you have been doing inside this pavilion..."
"Don't push yourself too far."
Jian Chen smiled faintly.
"I know."
The elder left.
Jian Chen watched him disappear.
Then he turned back toward the cultivation room.
Tomorrow...
He would leave the Spirit Gathering Pavilion.
But he wasn't the same person who had entered it several days ago.
He had awakened three additional meridians.
He had broken through his cultivation.
His body had become stronger.
And most importantly...
He had taken another step toward reclaiming everything he had lost.
Jian Chen looked toward the distant sky.
"A month..."
He remembered Elder Xu's warning.
The annual examination would determine whether he could retain his position as Young Master.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"One month is enough."
His eyes slowly sharpened.
"The examination..."
"I'll be waiting."