The huge hand covering the heaven, purple flames ruining the world!

At this moment, Lin Xun's thoughts suddenly became chaotic and his thin figure sitting by the desk gave a sudden jolt of tremble. He could not help but clench his fists firmly.

That scene was so shocking and dazzling. A hand, shadowing the heaven and earth, was suffused with the power strong enough to destroy the whole world.

At that moment, Lin Xun was astonished deep in heart. He never knew that there really existed a power so devastating.

It was as if the legendary gods had come down to the mortal earth, and they had immeasurable power to take stars and the moon, refine rivers and seas, and turn dirt into glory.

"Some day I can make it too. Definitely!"

Taking a deep breath, the fighting spirit in Lin Xun's heart was burning and boiling. Power – it was currently what he was most deficient in.

He yearned for power!

Having grown up in the dark mine prison, he was told that his spiritual vein had been ripped away from his body, so he was more desired and persistent for power than anyone else.

After quite a while, Lin Xun finally calmed himself. He looked at the yellowing scroll on the desk, and a touch of complexity flashed across his eyes.

After Master Lu pushed him into the abysmal tunnel, Lin Xun lost his consciousness completely with a monstrous booming sound.

When he woke up, he was in a deserted black plain.

Then he spent three months trekking through the mountains, eating and sleeping in the wilderness. After going through all kinds of hardships, he finally came to the territory of Ziyao Empire.

Feiyun Village belonged to Ziyao Empire. Lin Xun still remembered that before their separation, Master Lu mentioned the man who took away his Spiritual vein was in this empire.

Gently stroking the yellowing scroll with his fingertips, Lin Xun took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

Then he stood up, packed up the yellowing scroll with great caution and hid it again in the wooden case.

The scroll and the dull gray inscribing pen were handed to him by Master Lu before their separation, which meant they were the most crucial things for Master Lu.

Lin Xun still remembered what Master Lu told him very seriously before their parting, "Keep them safe! You will need them for your cultivation! The inscribing pen is of particular importance. It conceals a secret that I have tried to unveil but failed. Crack it, even someone like you, whose spiritual vein has been taken away, can possess the ability to defy the God and change your fate!"

Lin Xun did not know what secrets were hidden in the scroll and the pen. He didn't plan to face them until he could be completely sure whether Master Lu was alive or not.

...

After blowing out the dim oil lamp, Lin Xun went to his bed and sat cross-legged in the dark, beginning to cultivate.

Gurgling...

The Qi ran in his body like a flowing stream, guiding traces of spirit energy to circulate in his pulses and acupoints, again and again.

In today's world, the cultivation system was so prosperous and it generated countless schools and sects. Scripts on cultivation were too many to be enumerated.

The cultivation was divided into five realms - Martial, Gang Spirit, Sea Spirit, Tao Insight and Reincarnation Developing.

Among them, Martial Realm was the cornerstone of cultivation, and the most important one. There were so many human beings in this world. But it did not mean that everyone was qualified for cultivation.

The only criterion to judge whether a person could cultivate was whether he could step into the Martial Realm, which was the most basic but also the most important condition.

The Martial Realm was then subdivided into nine levels, namely Qi Guiding, Inner Strong, Viscera Opening, Orifices Connecting, Marrow Washing, Blood Burning, Xiao Zhoutian (Small Circulation), Da Zhoutian (Big Circulation) and Spirit Transformation.

Each realm would bring great changes to the power of the practitioners.

The first level, Qi Guiding, was the induction of self-Qi function. Using Qi as a guide, practitioners transported spiritual energy through their veins and acupoints to wash the mortal body.

Reaching that level, the filth inside a practitioner's body would be washed away. And a practitioner's body would be full of vigor and strength enough to break stones and fight tigers with bare hands.

Commonly speaking, Qi Guiding was the first threshold for cultivation and Martial Realm. Whether one could get through it was the only criterion for becoming a practitioner.

If one was not even able to guide his Qi, it would be impossible for him to become a powerful practitioner who could fly in the sky, travel under the ground, and control the force of nature at will.

Lin Xun started his cultivation at ten, learning a martial art named Spirit-concentrating Manual from Master Lu, which stressed that one should be true to his primordial spirit, be pure and firm.

At 11 years old, Lin Xun reached Qi Guiding level. Successfully guiding Qi around his whole body and washing away all the filth, he became a real practitioner.

Now he was 13, but he just broke through Qi Guiding level and reached the second level of Martial Realm, Inner Strong, which was to inhale and exhale spirit energy with a special method to refine the five viscera and six bowels and strengthen Qi-feeling. At this stage, a practitioner would be able to inhale like a cow and exhale like an arrow and get a lasting physical power.

Lin Xun had lingered on the Inner Strong level for nearly two years. Compared with other practitioners, though not disappointing, his cultivation speed was mediocre, and far behind those talented.

However, Lin Xun was quite clear that with his Spiritual vein taken away, he was more than lucky to be able to cultivate. And all that was due to Master Lu's help.

Hua***

Gurgling spirit energy circulated in his body, and 18 circuits were the limit to Lin Xun's body.

Hu***

Lin Xun stopped without any hesitation, breathing out an arrow-straight white air that shot meters away and created a strong fluctuation in air.

The integrated state of Qi Guiding Level required 9 circulations of spirit energy. For Inner Strong Level to be integrated, 18 circulations were required. Then one could try for the third level of Martial Realm, Viscera Opening.

Lin Xun could guide his spirit energy through all meridians for 18 circulations last year. But one year passed, he was still there. Reasons varied. For example, he lacked spirit-rich food, cultivation resources and a good teacher.

After all, he was just an abandoned kid. Growing up in the dark mine prison, it was already a miracle that he survived.

What mattered most was that his meridians were too slow and fragile to sustain stronger impact. He could only go for the next level when his meridians were refined.

However, Lin Xun was unhurried. He was unusually patient and persistent due to his special living environment.

The most senior prisoner in the mine prison, who also lived the longest, once said, "If you want to survive in the dark prison, you must learn to live in loneliness."

Lin Xun had kept this in his mind ever since.

It was still dark outside, but Lin Xun woke up instinctively from his dreams first thing in the morning. The moment he opened his eyes, he was in a daze with the new environment. Then he realized that this was not the mine prison he was familiar with.

However, due to his long years of routine, Lin Xun did not feel a trance of drowsiness and got up immediately.

Feiyun Village was his first residence in Ziyao Empire. The first thing for him was to integrate into the village and prove his value.

Yesterday evening, if the Light-attracting Spiritual Tattoo didn't eliminate the pests, it would not be so easy for him to get the village head's recognition. This was his value.

Lin Xun believed that after what happened yesterday, villagers in Feiyun would not reject him anymore.

Getting out of bed, Lin Xun did some casual stretching. When he was just about to wash himself, strange noises came from the yard.

Curious enough, he pushed the door open. Then he saw many villagers gathering in the deserted and weedy yard at such an early hour.