The man holding the sword struck my lower abdomen with a palm, initially thinking that I would just die like this, retaining my virginity as I went.
But unexpectedly, this palm strike on himself actually caused no sensation at all.
I looked down and saw that the golden light sword, covered by a light shield, had simply entered into my body. However, there were no wounds on my body, and after the small golden sword entered, he felt no discomfort.
“Uh… is it over now?” I looked at the swordsman in disbelief.
A hint of excitement flashed across the man’s face. Instead of answering me directly, he said, “Now you have a fifty percent chance to survive. I didn’t expect that you, little guy, are actually Metal Attribute!”
Hearing this, I felt much more relaxed, but I was still somewhat on edge. After all, if I couldn’t control the Metal Attribute Spirit Qi, I would explode and die—an utterly complete death.
My body felt no discomfort, indicating a high chance of repairing my Dantian. The thought of restoring my strength and going to find Mei’er made me feel excited. But at this moment, the swordsman suddenly asked,
“Are you ready?”
“Uh… what do you mean? Isn’t it already over?” I asked suspiciously.
The swordsman looked at me impatiently: “What do you mean already over? It’s not even started yet! This Qi seal, I haven’t even unlocked it!”
“Damn! You should have said so earlier!” I cursed helplessly, then asked, “How should I prepare?”
The swordsman was stunned for a moment, then said, “Oh, actually, you don’t need to prepare. Anyway, whether you live or die depends on the will of Heaven!”
Damn! You clearly asked if I was ready, and now you say I don’t need to prepare! That’s so obvious it’s a trap!
I was still complaining in my mind when the man suddenly said, “It’s starting!”
“Hey! Isn’t this too sudden…” I hadn’t finished speaking when I felt a sharp pain coming from my Dantian.
My already ruined Dantian was directly twisted into nothingness by Sword Qi!
The small golden sword stood there, unmoving, continuously emanating fierce True Qi, destroying the now-void Dantian.
Damn! Who would have thought that someone as handsome as me, Xia Tian, would die just like this as a rookie!
Just as I was thinking this, my body suddenly experienced another intense pain. The pain made my vision turn completely black, but I didn’t faint; it just felt like my eyes had gone blind.
After the sword Qi shattered my Dantian, it actually went on to destroy my Meridians!
Damn! Does that guy have any idea? He said these Five Elements Spirit Qis would help me repair my Dantian, but not only did they not repair it, they’re destroying my Meridians!
If this continues, forget about restoring my cultivation; I might become a useless person worse than an ordinary human!
But I had no ability to stop it!
Starting from the soles of my feet, the sword Qi shredded my Twelve Meridians one by one!
After all Twelve Meridians were shattered, it began to invade the Ren and Du Meridians!
The intense pain left me speechless, the surroundings eerily silent. I couldn’t hear any sound, only feeling my whole body in pain, unable to speak!
The pain from the shattered Meridians was far worse than when my Dantian was first destroyed!
Now my whole body was in agony. Besides the pain, I had almost no other thoughts. I truly wished I could faint right now. But a firm will kept telling me I must not faint, absolutely not. If I fainted, I would die and never see Mei’er again!
This thought kept supporting me. Without it, I’d probably have gone to play poker with the King of Hell by now!
Soon, under the destruction of Sword Qi, the Ren and Du Meridians were completely shattered!
I thought it would end like this, but the situation far exceeded my expectations.
After destroying the Ren and Du Meridians, the Sword Qi continued forward, opening the unconnected Meridians, then shattered them instantly! Even some tiny Meridians were opened and shredded—mercilessly!
It seemed that after these Meridians were shattered, the target of the Sword Qi was probably my internal organs!
Next would be the brain! But I shouldn’t worry about that, because if the heart was shattered, I would be dead for sure! Clearly, my worries were unnecessary.
Initially, I thought the internal organs would be destroyed one by one, but unexpectedly, after destroying all the Meridians, the Sword Qi suddenly surged, instantly shattering all the internal organs!
In an instant, I lost all sensation!
But after death, the brain still survives for a while, so my thoughts quickly raced.
Is this how I die? Mei’er is still waiting for me to find her, the Xia family still needs me to inherit, how can I just die like this!
I am the protagonist, blessed with the protagonist halo and various cheat methods. How could I just die like this? Come on, little universe, explode!
Damn! Why isn’t there any reaction? Am I really dead?
Thump thump… thump thump…
Suddenly, I heard my heartbeat again.
The internal organs, shattered by Sword Qi just now, actually all regenerated! And the tiny Meridians that were damaged also restored one by one.
What… what’s going on?!
Now I could clearly sense the path of Sword Qi’s movement. It actually repaired the broken Meridians, the Ren and Du Meridians, the Twelve Meridians! Even the now-void Dantian was restored!
A perfect Dantian! Even larger than before. The Metal Attribute Spirit Qi truly repaired my Dantian! I can go find Mei’er now!
But before I could be excited, the previously restored Dantian suddenly shattered again!
The Twelve Meridians! The Ren and Du Meridians! Tiny Meridians! Internal organs! All shattered again in sequence!
What’s going on?! It was already repaired, why destroy it again?
The intense pain swept through my entire body again. All I could do was hold onto my mind!
Last time, after destruction, they were restored again. Maybe this time will be the same!
Sure enough, as I expected, just like last time, these damaged parts were restored by the Sword Qi.
And I noticed that my Dantian had grown a bit again!
But thanks to previous experience, I didn’t relax this time, because the Sword Qi might shatter these already repaired parts again!
Just as I had this thought, the Sword Qi shattered my Dantian once more!
From the first time to now, the Sword Qi had come and gone seven times, each time I endured immense pain.
But I also discovered some patterns: the purpose of the Sword Qi wasn’t just destruction, but tempering my Dantian, Meridians, and internal organs!
Because after each destruction, my Dantian expanded, and the Meridians became more flexible. As for the internal organs, I didn’t feel any change, but I could tell they were definitely different from before!
Although the changes became less obvious after the third time, there were still subtle differences.
This was the eighth time the Sword Qi began tempering them, but this time was unexpected. Unlike before, after shattering the Dantian, it didn’t destroy all the internal Meridians, but left a certain trajectory.
I carefully observed it—turns out, it was the operation route of the “Nine Revolutions of Heaven and Earth”!
How is that possible?
The Sword Qi was moving along the route of the “Nine Revolutions of Heaven and Earth” without anyone guiding it!
The Black Dagger is from Niu Shisan, and the “Nine Revolutions of Heaven and Earth” was also discovered inside the Black Dagger, and the Metal Attribute Spirit Qi is within the Black Dagger!
So, even if my Dantian wasn’t destroyed, when I used my spiritual power to invade the Black Dagger, I would still undergo the process of being tempered by the Metal Attribute Spirit Qi.
But I don’t know much about cultivation, and I definitely wouldn’t recklessly explore the Black Dagger with my spiritual power, especially not trying to temporarily seal the Metal Attribute Spirit Qi. Otherwise, I’d surely die!
Luckily, if it weren’t for the existence of the swordsman, I would have died long ago!
It seems I owe him a huge debt. Plus, after rescuing me from the Fox Clan’s old man last time, I owe him two lives.
And… he faced a Heavenly Tribulation because of helping me. This favor, I probably won’t be able to repay in my lifetime.
After the ninth tempering, all the Sword Qi inside my body completely disappeared, returning to the small golden sword, which had been standing at the center of my Dantian from the beginning to the end.
Inside the Dantian, apart from the golden small sword, there was nothing else. It seemed the Dantian was repaired, but I still needed to absorb True Qi to fill it.
I opened my eyes to see the swordsman standing in front of me with a smile, saying, “Congratulations, not only is your Dantian repaired, but you’ve also reached the early stage of Lunar Reflection!”
“You mean, I am now a Lunar Reflection cultivator!”
An uncontrollable excitement surged in my heart. If I’ve already reached the level of Lunar Reflection, I can go find Mei’er immediately!
Level the same, then I can practice dual cultivation! Dual cultivation, ah!
Now I finally understand what the swordsman meant by “breaking through and standing tall”.
Thinking of this, I said to the swordsman, “You told me back then that breaking through and standing tall meant you already knew I would be safe after absorbing the Metal Attribute Spirit Qi, right?” I then laughed: “Knowing that, you still scared me like that. You’re such a trickster!”
Unexpectedly, the swordsman frowned upon hearing my words: “Fate can indeed be guessed, but it can’t be fully known!” He sighed and said, “I predicted nine hexagrams for you, eight of which indicated certain death, only the ninth was life from death! Combined, it’s a sign of nine deaths and one life…”
It seems the swordsman was also gambling—betting on that tiny chance.
Suddenly, I felt my thoughts were a bit naive. If people could truly predict the future, what would be the point? The future is mysterious precisely because it’s unknown.
“If it weren’t for that one hexagram, I would never help you. Fate is decided by Heaven. No matter how powerful I am, I can’t defy Heaven to change your destiny! You didn’t disappoint me!” The swordsman said, then smiled.
I looked at him and took a deep breath, asking, “Why are you helping me so much? And I don’t even know your name now. Can you tell me?”
I really couldn’t understand. This man had helped me so much, and he didn’t ask for anything in return. Why?
The swordsman was silent for a moment, then said with a smile, “Helping others doesn’t need a reason. Explaining cause and effect to you, you probably wouldn’t understand. Just consider me a good-hearted person!”
“As for my name, it’s just a code, nothing special. If you really want to call me something, just call me Wu Ming (nameless)!” He laughed loudly, “Green mountains remain unchanged, flowing water lasts forever. We’ll meet again!”
Then he disappeared on the spot.
Damn! Isn’t that last line from Jin Yong’s novel? This is way too fantasy!
“Wu Ming…” I muttered to myself, then suddenly remembered— isn’t that a name from Feng Yun? He’s really full of himself. But since he has no other name, I’ll just call him Wu Ming for now.
“Oh!” Suddenly, Wu Ming appeared in front of me, smiling, “Are you sure your roommates are okay?”
Damn! So unpredictable, it scared me to death.
“You said you’re fine!” He’s back again, asking this again. He asked before in previous chapters, and now again. Readers will definitely think the author is just filling chapters and doubt his character!
Wu Ming chuckled awkwardly and said, “You took three days to repair your Dantian. During those three days, they didn’t eat or drink. That’s why I asked. By the way, Qin Mengdie and the others came back two days ago. I was worried about disturbing you, so I let them sleep. Should be fine, right?”
“Fuck your sister!” I cursed at Wu Ming, then ran out of the bedroom. Since Wang Ziyan and I live downstairs, I first ran to her room.
Three days without eating or drinking would definitely be deadly for ordinary people! Is this Wu Ming an idiot?
Forget it, he’s doing it for my sake. After all, merging the Metal Attribute Spirit Qi is very dangerous.
I pushed open Wang Ziyan’s door and saw her lying on the bed, motionless, as if she was asleep.
Her complexion looked good, not like she hadn’t eaten or drunk for three days?
“Wang Ziyan?” I tentatively called her name.
Wang Ziyan slowly opened her eyes, looking a bit dazed, and said, “How… how did I fall asleep…” Just as she was speaking, it seemed she suddenly realized something and sat up straight: “Why are you in my room?”
“Uh… well…” I stammered, unable to speak.
Unexpectedly, Wang Ziyan suddenly smiled: “You still like me, right?”
“Well… you must be hungry. I’ll go cook for you!” She immediately left, heading to Sister’s room.
Like Wang Ziyan, after Sister was awakened, she first let out a high-pitched scream, then said somewhat nervously, “Why are you in my room!”
I thought Sister would worry about Mei’er, but it seemed Mei’er wasn’t very important to her either. Sigh… poor Mei’er, she used to be so clingy with Sister!
Gurgle gurgle…
Suddenly, in this extremely quiet moment, Sister’s stomach growled loudly. Her face reddened, and she said, “I’m hungry, hurry up and prepare some food for me!”
“I’ll do it right now!” I replied, then left Sister’s room.
Next, I called all the girls one by one. Qin Mengdie and Xu Xin remained calm, but Tang Shuyao kept crying out, even branding me as a pervert.
They went to wash up, while I headed to the kitchen to cook.
When I finished, the girls were already sitting at the table, waiting to eat.
“Narcissist, you’re so slow at cooking! I was about to starve!” Tang Shuyao complained, holding chopsticks.
Sister, with her hand supporting her chin, said, “We played too hard yesterday, and only woke up at noon!”
“Yeah, I’ve never had so much fun before! But I think we went a bit overboard,” Xu Xin said with a smile.
Tang Shuyao excitedly said, “And yesterday, seeing you roll down the stairs was so funny!”
I was stunned—what kind of nonsense is this!
These days, the Metal Attribute Spirit Qi helped me repair my Dantian and temper my body. They were all unconscious, so how could they remember yesterday’s events? Shouldn’t their memories be preserved before they fainted?
“What are you talking about?” I finally couldn’t hold back and asked.
Tang Shuyao swallowed her food and looked at me disdainfully: “Hey! Narcissist, you’re probably just afraid to admit it, right? It’s just a few rolls, no shame!” She seemed to remember something and couldn’t help but laugh.
Except Qin Mengdie, everyone else also started laughing.
“What do you mean by rolling?” It seemed everyone had gained some memory I didn’t know about.
Sister glared at me and said irritably, “It’s just falling down, why are you making such a fuss, big man!”
“I, I really don’t remember…” I pretended to be embarrassed.
They had an extra memory that I didn’t have, probably manipulated by someone. Now I could only pretend to forget and ask what had happened.
“Wow, Narcissist, you lost your memory just because of a few rolls?” Tang Shuyao said in surprise.
Xu Xin frowned and said, “Two days ago, Mengdie and Yaoyao came back. To celebrate Mengdie’s recovery and discharge, didn’t you say they took us to Yihe Garden? Did you forget?”
“Oh!” I pretended to suddenly realize, then asked, “So, what do you mean by falling and rolling?”
“Mengdie was weak after just being discharged. When she was going up the stairs, she almost fell. You wanted to help her steady, but Mengdie managed to stand firm, and you fell down instead!” Wang Ziyan also frowned at me.
Tang Shuyao happily said, “She rolled down twelve steps, it was quite a spectacle!”
I was stunned—whose memory was that? How could it be so malicious? And Tang Shuyao paid so much attention to detail, twelve steps? Damn, I’m so unlucky!
“Do you remember Mei’er?” I tentatively asked.
Sister hesitated and then looked at me confusedly: “Mei’er? Who’s that?”
Sister actually didn’t remember Mei’er! What the hell is going on?
Suddenly, someone grabbed my neck, and Wang Ziyan’s voice came over: “Mei’er, that sounds like a girl’s name. Are you fooling around outside again? Tell me!”
Wang Ziyan was very forceful, but I was completely stunned. According to everyone’s memories, there was no such person as Mei’er. Who manipulated the memories? And why did they not eat or drink for three days without any issues?
“Let me explain. They didn’t eat or drink for three days because I left a strand of True Qi inside their bodies to maintain their vitality!” Suddenly, Wu Ming’s voice appeared in my mind, but I saw no figure around.
He’s messing with me, causing me to panic for nothing. But what about their extra memories?
While I was thinking, Wu Ming’s voice rang again: “Regarding the little fox, they still don’t remember. The memories I imposed—they’re my doing. That scene of rolling down the stairs, I thought about it for a long time. Good brother, no need to thank me!”