The winter was especially harsh that year, only naturally strong people like Yin Kong could ignore the biting cold outside.
Not only it was harsh, but also special. It was an out of epoch winter. In the calendar, it was still summer, but the winter skipped seasons and hit everyone by surprise.
The rich were fortunate, they didn't need to worry about food or the cold. But the poor only got more miserable. They tried their best, but sometimes it wasn't enough.
"Haa... I remember a winter like this one from thirty years ago..." Yin Kong said as he drank from a bottle of rice wine, "At that time, Rong'er was still young and kicking, she was beautiful as always."
Yang Wu listened in silence as he watched the wood burn not too far, on the manor's only fireplace. The flames danced against the cold and continuously battled in the air.
"At that time," Yin King continued his reminiscing, "We dreamed of a child like you, obedient and smart. But we never got one from our own seeds.
"I felt a complete waste back then. So many people had problems with hunger and other dangers, but I, who was living a comfortable life, was unable to use it to the utmost.
"My beloved was so heartbroken..." he ignored the tears on his face and drank another mouthful, "There was nothing we could do but continue trying, in the hope of a change, which would never come."
It was then that Yang Wu got up from his seat and asked with a mocking tone, "Aren't you the one urging me to not put burdens way above my league on my shoulders?"
"Hahaha," Yin Kong laughed and wiped the tears from his face, "I'm sorry, Ming'er. I made you uncomfortable."
Yang Wu smiled and said, "There once was an old man, stupid just like you."
Strangely enough, Yin Kong didn't react to being called "stupid."
"He once said to himself: I'm strong and wise, but I can't change the world around me, so what's the use," Yang Wu began to tell a tale, "My loved ones die, the innocent die, and so will I also die."
"He was indeed stupid," Yin Kong grinned.
"No! He was right!" Yang Wu shook his head, "But he made a bigger mistake! Do you know what it was?"
"He forgot to put his pants on?" Yin Kong yawned and drank another mouthful, but his ears continued inclined to Yang Wu.
"He forgot he was never meant to ponder about things outside his reach. A worm is in the earth, and the birds in the sky," Yang Wu ignored the old man's joke and continued, "He lacked the humility and self-knowledge necessary to achieve inner peace."
"Why is the talk getting so profound? I'm getting headaches!" Yin Kong murmured.
"You are just like him," Yang Wu looked at him, "Trying to make up your regrets when you are meant to be grateful and acknowledge and accept your own incapacity.
"Don't try to play stupid with me, I know you once aspired to be a scholar, grandma told me about it," Yang Wu finalized his speech and left Yin Kong alone in the hall, "You were never stupid as you faked."
After a short silence, Yin Kong smiled and muttered, "That big mouth of hers." He proceeded to drink another mouthful.
Time flew by, and when Yang Wu turned twenty-one years old, he successfully opened all the 2635 acupoints needed to achieve the 3000 thousand appoints greater circulation. It was way more difficult than the opening of the basic 300 acupoints, but thanks to his stronger body and Qi Blood, he completed it without much delay as before.
This time, the surge of strengthening was way huger than the first time, he could feel his Qi Blood being refined each time it completed a full circulation in the 3000 acupoints, and his body was also growing stronger with each circulation and tempering. Many places his Qi Blood didn't reach well enough before were now being thoroughly strengthened. His body was reaching a new peak state, and fast!
He took a heavy breath out and decided to take a break to calm his mind and body. They needed to adapt to his new state and his body needed enough time to strengthen itself to its limit. Entering the first Realm was no joke and he could get seriously injured if he made a mistake during the process.
If he had pills and precious treasures as in his first life, perhaps he wouldn't need to rest at all, but in this world, his body needed to accumulate enough nutrients from common food.
After a few months of rest, spent either helping his grandpa or wasted in the red light district with a few scumbag "friends," Yang Wu calmed his mind and body enough to proceed.
Yang Wu bought a few sticks of calming incense on the market and said to his grandpa he was going to be outside for a few days. Yin Kong wasn't very concerned about it, he trusted Yang Wu.
Yang Wu went to the wild forest near Fang City and searched for a nice place to stay. He could choose to rent a room in an inn, but his heart longed for a natural place rather than a busy city, where even when he tried his best, he would still hear the sounds made by carriages passing by.
After a few hours of searching, when the sun had already set and the high moon was his only guide, he found his "paradise."
A waterfall dozens of meters high and a lake big enough to fit a large ship. It was in a narrow valley deep in the forest, surrounded by virgin hills and towering trees. Yang Wu was surprised he found no human traces in such a beautiful place. But again, this world had no martial arts, so people there were very afraid of wolves, venomous animals, and tigers.
He wasn't afraid of the dark, and neither of the wild animals. He carried with him a sharp butcher knife, sharp enough to kill any wolf as long as he had the skill.
He took advantage of the strong moonlight and began to arrange a campfire. After it was strong enough, he took from his bag a handful of herbs and threw them on the campfire, they are good to repel mosquitoes and smelled like burnt paper.
Looking at the surface of the water and hearing the flowing water, Yang Wu felt his heart was at peace. He then made sure there were no dangerous animals in the lake before jumping in and taking a bath. After the bath, he dried his clothes and body close to the campfire.
After eating the food he prepared beforehand, he felt his body and mind were at their peak condition overall. He had to take the opportunity and not hesitate.
"This is it, there's no point in delaying any longer," Yang Wu put more dry wood in the campfire and then sat beside it, taking the posture of meditation.
He emptied his mind and focused solely on his energy and body. His Five Elements Qi Blood began to course through the available paths for it faster and faster. His body began to heat and turn red than the blazes beside him.
He began to focus his Qi Blood in the center of his heart, there was the hidden Qi Center of his body. Only after opening it would his Qi Veins be available to his Qi Blood.
The Qi Center of a martial artist was the core of all his/her energy. It was where the Qi Blood was more concentrated and where all Qi Veins intersect.
The Qi Veins were similar to the normal veins and arteries, but they were specially made for the Qi Blood to course through. They were present throughout the body, but only after the Qi Center is opened could they be sensed and used.
After the Qi Veins were opened, the Qi Blood would be able to circulate way faster and way deeper in the body, thus strengthening the martial artist to a level way higher than any normal body. But if he fails to open all fourteen veins during the breakthrough, he could suffer a severe backlash from his own Qi Blood and die on the spot.
Yang Wu's Qi Blood quickly pulsated through the heart, but he was careful enough to not put pressure beyond its capacity to bear. However, his chest still felt heavy and he was almost out of breath.
After five minutes, his body was drenched in sweat, which quickly evaporated because of his hot red skin.
Yang Wu finally sensed a barrier in the center of his heart, he didn't hesitate and concentred his Qi Blood in a single point of the barrier, concentrating all his strength in a single point.
"Crack!" Yang Wu heard the sound of glass shattering in his mind, his Qi Blood finally broke through and the barrier quickly completely dissipated, giving him a sense of relief beyond description.
His Qi Center could now be felt by him, and now... he had to use it and open his Qi Veins.
"The most difficult part has begun..." he muttered to himself and began to gather almost all his Qi Blood in the Qi Center, leaving only enough for his organs to continue functioning.
He could feel the Qi Veins connected to the Qi Center. It was like the web of a spider, with the Qi Center in the middle of everything.
"I have nothing to rely on," Yang Wu muttered again, "No pills, treasures, or a senior martial artist to help me.
"It's going to be difficult, but I have no regrets even if I fail and die."
He opened his eyes suddenly, looking at the moon on the lake's surface. He kept himself from doing anything for a few minutes.
When he closed his eyes again, his Qi Blood was directed by him to charge into one of the Fourteen Main Qi Veins.
"It's going to be a long night," he muttered and stopped talking to himself, concentrating all his mind on the job.
The Fourteen Main Qi Veins were the largest and most important Qi Veins, it's through them that the smaller veins were connected to the rest of the Qi System. By opening those fourteen veins, Yang Wu would be done with the job, since the rest of the Qi Veins would be opened naturally after that.
After opening the three main veins, Yang Wu felt a strange phenomenon. He was not getting tired as he expected he would. Although his body was under huge stress, it seemed to be recovering too fast.
"Do I have a special physique I don't know about or something?" he wondered to himself but didn't stop, it was a good thing anyway.
It was only when the sun began to appear on the horizon that the last main vein was opened.
His almost depleted Five Elements Qi Blood ran through the now opened Qi Veins, as if jumping for joy. It was much faster and stronger than when it run through other paths.
Yang Wu could feel his Qi Blood growing and naturally opening all the Qi Veins in his body. From those secondary Qi Veins, it gathered nutrients to grow stronger and stronger, in turn strengthening his whole body and discharging huge amounts of impurities.
His skin began to expel a black substance, which Yang Wu happily absobed back, his Five Mysteries Art had the ability, even in it's infancy, to transform those impurities into useful energy for him. He was feeling pure ecstasy because of his breakthrough, it was a true bliss for his body and mind and a true sublimation of life.
When the breakthrough process finally ended, Yang Wu could feel the enormous strength and energy in his body. It was enough for him to kill strong wild beasts without the help of weapons and armor. Furthermore, it could now be clearly sensed that the 3000 acupoints he opened before had a direct relationship with the Qi Veins, each acupoint was connected to a different Qi Vein. It wasn't a surprise to him, though.
With the butcher knife in his hand, he concentrated a little and a sharp qi covered the whole blade. It faintly had the five colors of the five elements. But he had to dispel the Qi Manifestation soon after since his Qi Blood was still too weak to be manifested for long periods.
"It has been a long time," Yang Wu muttered as he began to execute a sword dance. Although he didn't have a sword, it made no difference at that moment.
A strong wind came from the south, making the forest's leaves fly and dance alongside him.
When he felt satisfied, he sat down and began to actively circulate his Qi Blood through his body and Qi Veins. Although his Qi grew a bit, it was too little compared to his breakthrough. It would take him a long time to accumulate enough Qi Blood to advance to the next Realm if he practiced like before, without the help of enough nutrients.
To begin with, the only reason he was able to succeed in increasing his Qi Blood so smoothly is that he slowly accumulated enough nutrients in his body through the years to be used as fuel in the breakthrough.
The Qi and Body Realm focused solely on strengthening the Qi Blood and the Body to their limits. It would be the foundation for the next Realm, the Martial Adept Realm. Therefore, it needed way more nutrients than before. Yang Wu had no choice but to break his routine of slowly accumulating nutrients.
"ROAR!" suddenly, a tiger appeared between the bushes, looking at Yang Wu with fixed eyes.
"Did it feel my exuberant Qi Blood?" Yang Wu muttered to himself as he picked up a stone from the ground, "I'm getting old, indeed."
He concentrated his strength and Qi Blood precisely and threw the stone at the tiger, it broke the skull of the beast and killed it on the spot, giving it no chance to react.
"But my aiming is as accurate as ever," he said satisfied, and began to adjust and hide his energy more carefully.
At sunset, Yang Wu heaved a deep breath and lazily stretched his body. He set another campfire and began to roast the tiger's meat he just acquired, but his stomach was clearly unsatisfied with normal food, so he had to eat much more to satisfy his body's needs. He ended up eating almost half the tiger's meat before his body stopped urging him for more.
If he was a normal person, his stomach would have long since burst, but his body was like a furnace, quickly digesting the food. After taking a quick dump far from the lake, Yang Wu returned to beside the campfire and began to meditate again.
Even after eating all that meat, his Qi Blood continued to grow very slowly despite his active circulation through all Qi Veins. It would take him decades to reach the peak of that Realm if it continued that way. And since he wasn't a Martial Adept just yet, his lifespan was still the same as before.
His only choice was to seek better resources for his cultivation, such as treasures of five elements and better food to eat. But he never heard about anything like this since he came to this world, so it was a problem for him to find those things.
"Why am I worried?" Yang Wu suddenly smirked, "If I'm gonna fail, so let it be. It's just for fun anyway." He got up and looked at the high moon.
"Even in my first life, I was unable to reach you," he muttered as his right hand made a grasping gesture towards the moon, "It might be more difficult in this life." Even at his peak, he was unable to reach the bright moon in the sky, being forced to be satisfied with its light. It was one of his dreams, but life was harsh, even to the once mighty Martial Sage.
He suddenly reached for the butcher knife and began to practice a sword technique, called "The Moonlight Sword Dance." It was his main self-created sword art, he once shocked a whole world with it.
Its focus was to imitate the stillness of the moon's light. It was fast, unreachable, and beautiful. All one could do was observe and yearn for it, but all one could get was its reflection on the surface of the water.
The sword art had no fixed movements and depended wholly on the intent of the martial artist. Only those who reached the peak of martial arts from Yang Wu's first life could enter the realm of "intent."
Despite being now far away from his peak, Yang Wu still retained his martial insights and intent. Despite lacking strength, his sword art had all it needed to be called "The Moonlight Sword Dance."
After many hours of constant practice, with his body drenched in sweat and exhausted, he put down the knife and took a bath in the lake.
"How nice," he muttered, longing for this kind of moment to remain for the rest of his life. He, the moon, and his sword... no, it was a butcher knife.
The next day, he returned to Fang City in high spirits. But didn't expect to see... ruins in the place of the once lively city. No life, no greenness, no sounds... All there was, was deathly stillness and the scent of burnt wood and flesh.
Despite having lived two whole lives and being in his third, he was deeply shocked and afraid. He quickly ran towards his home, not daring to think any longer.
There, he found the once humble but beautiful manor... now in ruins as the rest of the city. The scent of burnt wood was as strong as it could be.
Yang Wu began to search desperately, for hours! But he found no one in the debris. He had a sudden idea and went towards the home of the Wu couple, and there... he found a corpse.
It was Wu Ling.