The darkness didn't last forever.
When consciousness returned to me, the first thing I noticed wasn't the light, but the smell. It was a pungent, acrid stench—like rotten eggs mixed with old blood.
I opened my eyes and immediately gagged.
My skin was coated in a thick, viscous layer of black slime. It was hardened in some places and sticky in others, gluing my clothes to my body.
"Fucking Hell...." I muttered, peeling the fabric away from my chest.
However, beneath the revulsion, I felt it. The heaviness that had plagued this body was gone. My limbs felt light, my mind was sharp, and the constant, dull ache in my joints had vanished completely.
I quickly stripped off the ruined clothes and used the remaining water in the basin to scrub the filth off my body. As the black sludge washed away, it revealed skin that was no longer pale and sickly, but fair and healthy. My muscles, though still lean, now held a faint definition they lacked before.
"The Purification Pill... it truly lived up to its name."
I clenched my fist, feeling the grip strength. It wasn't anywhere near my peak in my past life, but compared to the 'Yin Shen' of yesterday, the difference was like heaven and earth.
"System," I called out. "Status."
{Affirmative.}
A blue window shimmered into existence.
[Status Window]
* Name: Yin Shen
* Race: Human
* Cultivation: Body Tempering (1st Stage)
* Vein Type: None (Yet to be awakened)
* Physical State: Healthy, Purified.
* Soul State: Fused (Stable).
"Healthy," I read aloud, a satisfied smile curling up my lips. "Now, let's see what else you gave me."
I focused on the skill listed in the logs: Eye of Insight.
"Activate."
Immediately, a warm sensation flowed into my optic nerves. The world seemed to sharpen in resolution. Dust motes floating in the air became distinct; the grain of the wooden floorboards stood out clearly.
I looked at the broken table in the corner.
[Object: Broken Wooden Table]
* Material: Low-quality Ironwood.
* Durability: 2/50
* Flaw: Structural integrity compromised at the central joint.
"Interesting," I muttered in amusement. "It analyzes target data."
{Affirmative. The Eye of Insight (Level 1) allows the Host to perceive the basic information of objects, living beings, and energy flows. At the highest level, it can perceive hidden weaknesses, emotional states, and the flow of karma.}
"Every strategists dream skill." I noted. In a war, knowing the enemy's weakness before the first sword is drawn guarantees victory.
Satisfied with the skill, I sat cross-legged on the bed and retrieved the final, most important item from the inventory.
The Star-King Breathing Technique.
A heavy, leather-bound manual appeared in my hands. The moment I touched it, I didn't need to open the pages. The book instantly dissolved into particles of light that shot directly into my forehead.
Information flooded my brain. Complex diagrams of meridians, chantings of ancient tongues, and the rhythmic patterns of the cosmos imprinted themselves onto my memory.
I closed my eyes, digesting the information slowly.
In the continent of Chinxong, power is dictated by two things: Veins and Techniques.
Techniques are divided into two categories: Breathing Techniques (Cultivation Methods) and Martial Arts (Combat Skills).
Breathing Techniques determine how fast you absorb Qi (Spiritual Energy), how pure that energy is, and how large your internal reserve becomes.
Martial Arts are how you utilize that energy—swordsmanship, palm strikes, movement arts.
Both categories follow a tight hierarchy of five ranks, with each rank divided into Low, Mid, and High grades:
• Mortal Rank: Common techniques found in the streets and public pavilions.
• Earth Rank: Used by minor noble families and army captains.
• Heaven Rank: Possessed only by the Top Five Families and Royal Lineage. The Yin Family's core technique is a High-Heaven Rank method.
• Saint Rank: Legendary techniques. Wars are fought over a single page of these manuals.
• Divine Rank: Mythical. Existing only in legends of the old gods.
I took a deep breath, my heart pounding against my ribs.
The Star-King Breathing Technique...was not Mortal. It was not Heaven. It was an essence of something that couldn't be described.
{Technique: Star-King Breathing Technique}
* Rank: Divine (God-Tier)
* Description: An ancient technique lost to the eons. It does not merely absorb the Qi of the atmosphere; it forcefully draws upon the Primordial Qi of the Stars. It dominates the surroundings, refining the body with the weight of a nebula.
* Effect 1: 1000% Cultivation Speed compared to Mortal Rank. Qi density is 50 times heavier than standard Spirit Qi.
* Effect 2: (Sealed)
* Effect 3: (Sealed)
* Effect 4: (Sealed)
"Divine Rank..." I whispered, the gravity of the situation sinking in.
If the Yin Family knew I possessed a Divine Rank manual, they wouldn't just kill me. They would skin me alive, extract my soul, and torture me for eternity just to get it. A Heaven Rank technique made them a Top Five family. A Divine Rank technique? It could make one the ruler of the entire continent, or even the universe.
"Good," I grinned, my eyes flashing with a predatory light. "To defy the Norms, one must have the power to trample them."
I closed my eyes and settled into the meditative pose described in the technique.
Inhale.
I visualized the night sky. I visualized the stars not as distant lights, but as burning suns.
Exhale.
The air in the room suddenly grew heavy.
Unlike normal cultivation, which gently pulls energy from nature, the Star-King technique was tyrannical.
WHOOSH!
A vortex of invisible energy formed around me. The wooden bed creaked under the pressure. I felt the Qi rushing into my pores—not like a gentle stream, but like a raging river. It tore through my newly purified meridians, expanding them, reinforcing them.
Pain shot through me, but I welcomed it. Pain was proof of growth.
The energy wasn't just air; it felt cold, vast, and ancient. It gathered in my dantian (lower abdomen), swirling and condensing.
Crack.
A sound echoed from deep within my body. It was the sound of a barrier shattering.
My Veins...It is creating, or awakening, a Martial Vein. It seems this breathing technique isn't as simple as it seems. And of course, it shouldn't be! After all, It is a God-Tier technique.
{Alert: Energy saturation reaching critical levels. Creating Veins.....}
The room shook. The dust on the floor swirled into a frenzy.
I gritted my teeth, forcing the chaotic energy to submit. 'I am the Master here! Submit! Bow to my will and pride!'
The star energy obeyed my will, slamming into the blockage in my spiritual veins.
BOOM!
A shockwave blasted out from my body, blowing the flimsy door completely off its hinges this time.
I opened my eyes.
They were no longer just golden. For a brief second, they swirled with the depth of a galaxy, specks of starlight dancing within the iris.
I exhaled a breath of white mist that lingered in the air like frost.
{Congratulations.}
{Host has successfully awakened: The Chaos Meridian.}
{Host has entered: Body Tempering Realm - 3rd Stage.}
I stood up, the wood of the floorboards groaning under my feet. I didn't just break through to the first stage; the sheer quality of the Divine technique had propelled me straight to the third.
I looked at my hands. I could feel the power humming beneath my skin—violent, explosive, and deadly.
"Yin Family," I murmured, staring in the direction of the main manor through my entrance door. "You called me trash. You wished for my death. You made me suffer."
I clenched my fist, and the air popped audibly from the pressure.
"It's my turn to make to payback every humiliation, suffering and injustice I faced by your hands. I'll return it by ten.....No, by thousandfolds! Remember my name, I am Yin Shen!"
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