Barbaric Wilderness Continent, Heavenly Wind Kingdom, Qingyun Sect.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The torrential rain poured down, enveloping the entire range of rolling mountains of the Qingyun Sect.
Located at the foot of the outer mountain of Qingyun Sect were hundreds of small courtyards with green-tiled roofs, where the nominal disciples of Qingyun Sect resided.
In a secluded small courtyard, Ye Chen sat on the bed, looking at the heavy rain outside the house and muttered to himself, "I had no idea that a Martial World truly existed, and that I would transmigrate to this new world, taking over the body of a young man who shares my name and looks exactly like me."
Ye Chen glanced at the fine steel sword by his bed and still found it somewhat unbelievable.
In his previous life, Ye Chen was an archaeology student at a university on Earth. During an outing, an accident occurred, and when he woke up again, he found himself in the Barbaric Wilderness Continent.
Arriving suddenly in a strange world and in a new body, even someone as mentally strong as Ye Chen was stunned for a while.
Only after thoroughly integrating the memories of his new body and knowing that nothing could be changed did he have to accept reality.
However, beyond the shock, deep down Ye Chen felt a vague sense of excitement about arriving in this new world.
In his previous life, Ye Chen was immensely fascinated by the bizarre world of Martial Arts and longed to wield his sword across the land, growing stronger and exploring the wonders of the world. Now that he had truly arrived in the Martial World of the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, he was naturally thrilled.
"After all, in my previous life, I was an orphan with no attachments."
"Now that I am in this new world, let it be a brand-new beginning!"
Ye Chen clenched his fists, bidding farewell to his past.
Through the integrated memories, Ye Chen also learned a lot about this world.
The world he was in was called the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, where Martial Arts were revered and strength was paramount!
Here, the weak could only live at the mercy of others and be bullied, while a master of Martial Arts could lead heroes and command the world!
Rumor had it that powerful martial artists could easily smash mountains, sever rivers, ride on giant beasts and soar through the skies, and some mighty ones with great magical powers could even comprehend life and death and become immortal!
In the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, Martial Arts were highly respected. Citizens of various nations of the continent started to hone their bodies and train in martial skills from a young age.
However, although everyone practiced martial arts, not many could truly step onto the path of Martial Arts and become Martial Cultivators.
In the Barbaric Wilderness Continent, to truly step onto the path of Martial Arts, one must open a point within the body called the "Qi Sea Acupoint."
Only by opening the "Qi Sea Acupoint" could they gather "True Qi" within their bodies, thus stepping into the first major realm of Martial Arts, the "True Qi Realm," and become a Martial Cultivator.
Ye Chen was a descendant of a significant family from Qingyang City in the Heavenly Wind Kingdom of the Barbaric Wilderness Continent. At the age of twelve, he successfully opened his "Qi Sea Acupoint," entered the first layer of True Qi, and was then accepted as a nominal disciple into the "Qingyun Sect."
However, what was frustrating was that during the two and a half years at the "Qingyun Sect," Ye Chen remained at the first layer of True Qi, with little improvement in strength, and was even surpassed by many new disciples of the Qingyun Sect.
It is known that the True Qi Realm is divided into twelve layers. Only the first four layers qualify one to be a nominal disciple in the Qingyun Sect. Only by stepping into the fifth layer of True Qi does one qualify to join the Outer Sect and become a formal Outer Sect disciple of the Qingyun Sect.
Ye Chen, with only the first layer of True Qi, naturally had a very low status within the Qingyun Sect.
With such low status, he was always oppressed and bullied. During the two and a half years at the Qingyun Sect, the original owner of this body had been beaten no less than thirty times, not to mention various other insults.
What's more, Ye Chen had even received the nickname "One of Qingyun Sect's Three Fools."
"The Martial World really is a place where strength reigns supreme, it seems I must hurry to enhance my strength. Without strength, one is subjected to mockery and bullying everywhere."
Thinking of the nickname "One of Qingyun Sect's Three Fools," Ye Chen felt speechless. In his past life, his intelligence was always praised, but now he had been given such a humiliating nickname.
There were, of course, three people who were called the "Three Fools of the Qingyun Sect." In his memory, apart from Ye Chen, the other two were named Zhao Jing and Bai Kun.
At the thoughts of the other two names, a surge of anger rose within Ye Chen.
Apparently, being called "One of Qingyun Sect's Three Fools," Ye Chen was already extremely annoyed. To make matters worse, the other two fools, Zhao Jing and Bai Kun, publicly declared their reluctance to be associated with Ye Chen and challenged him to prove that it was indeed Ye Chen who was the true fool of Qingyun Sect.
As expected, Ye Chen was successively defeated by Zhao Jing and Bai Kun.
For the sake of their reputations, Zhao Jing and Bai Kun publicized their victories over Ye Chen far and wide. Whether the original owner of this body's demise was due to physical injuries from the successive defeats or the mental distress caused by the new title of "Qingyun Sect's True Fool," right after coming back from the challenges, he passed away, allowing the current Ye Chen to take his place.
Thinking back on being beaten more than thirty times over the course of two and a half years in the Qingyun Sect, recalling the curses and insults, thinking of the humiliations by Zhao Jing and Bai Kun, Ye Chen felt a surge of fury. "The humiliation of being bullied must be avenged! Zhao Jing, Bai Kun, those despicable people must be beat up properly!"
He was, of course, furious, because after integrating the original memories, he took all the pain and scolding as his own.
"In six months, Qingyun Sect's entrance examination will take place," Ye Chen suddenly recalled a critical matter amidst his reminiscing.
As a "nominal disciple," Ye Chen was not yet a formal disciple of the Qingyun Sect, just someone who cultivated there in name. According to the Sect's rules, nominal disciples could only cultivate within the Qingyun Sect for three years. If they couldn't become official Outer Sect disciples within that time, they would have to return from whence they came.
If he really were to be sent back home from the Qingyun Sect, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing face there; it would be a shame that followed him all the way back to his hometown!
"No, I can't be sent back to my family."
"Strength, I must enhance my strength. To survive in this world, to no longer suffer humiliation, to gain respect, I need to strengthen myself!"
A sense of urgency stopped Ye Chen from indulging in wild thoughts. He quickly sat down with his legs crossed, focused his mind, and entered into a state of cultivation, ready to seize every moment to practice diligently.
"The True Qi Realm, the first major realm of martial arts, involves guiding True Qi into the body's Qi Sea Acupoint and condensing a True Qi Vortex within the Qi Sea."
"The more True Qi in one's Qi Sea, the stronger their power. It's said that masters of the twelfth level of the True Qi Realm can conjure up to twelve True Qi Vortices in their Qi Sea, making their True Qi incredibly dense. With just their True Qi alone, they could shatter a small mountain!"
Ye Chen was currently at the first level of the True Qi Realm, with only a small True Qi Vortex in his Qi Sea.
If he stepped into the second level of the True Qi Realm, the original vortex would split into two after growing sufficiently large. At the third level, he could cultivate three True Qi Vortices, and so on.
The more True Qi Vortices one has, the higher their True Qi Realm.
"I will practice the True Qi Skills every day from now on, striving to absorb more True Qi into my body," Ye Chen decided, adjusting his mind and entering a meditative state focused on his Qi Sea.
This meditation brought Ye Chen's entire consciousness into the space of the Qi Sea Acupoint; upon entering, he was immediately startled.
Just like the Buddhist saying, "In every flower a world," the Qi Sea Acupoint was a marvelously mysterious acupoint for martial cultivators, seemingly an independent world that could harbor True Qi within it.
However, for most martial artists, the Qi Sea merely served as a storehouse for True Qi and contained nothing else. Ye Chen, however, discovered a seven-tiered Pagoda floating in the world of his Qi Sea.
This seven-tiered Pagoda, towering and vast, seemed to serve as the Sea-Calming Divine Needle within the world of the Qi Sea. Even more miraculous was that the Pagoda was shrouded in endless brilliance, as if garlanded with countless stars!
"This Pagoda!"
"It's actually inside me!"
Ye Chen almost cried out in shock.
The reason he came to this new world was because of this Pagoda.
In his past life, as an outstanding Archaeology student, Ye Chen had received an opportunity to travel to the Antarctic. While attempting to traverse the glacier, he accidentally fell into an ice cavern.
Thinking the cavern wasn't too deep, Ye Chen kept falling further and further until he eventually plummeted into a vast, ethereal abyss.
In that space, infinite starlight shone, casting a surreal glow.
Even more astonishing, around the space, colossal beasts prostrated themselves, worshipping towards the center of the space.
These beasts were each over ten thousand meters long, making Ye Chen seem as minute as a speck of dust in comparison. Mysteriously, he was somehow able to see these massive creatures clearly.
As a top student in the field of Archaeology, Ye Chen had never heard of such enormous creatures existing on Earth in either past or present records.
Scanning around, he saw that there were as many as ten thousand of these beasts, each of them over ten thousand meters long, all worshipping in the same direction in the space.
Below the Antarctic Glacier, within this boundless void, ten thousand colossal beasts lay prostrate, worshipping in unison.
If he were to tell others about this, it was doubtful anyone would believe him.
Ye Chen himself could hardly believe it. Following the direction of the beasts' worship, he looked toward the center of the space and saw a seven-tiered Pagoda floating there.
The size of the Pagoda was unimpressive compared to any of the colossal beasts, yet the aura it emitted confirmed its status as the absolute center of the space, the true master of that realm!
Just as Ye Chen's gaze fell upon the Pagoda, it seemed to sense his presence and spun around. Suddenly, Ye Chen felt as if he was being scrutinized by a deity.
Then, the Pagoda emitted an endless surge of starry light. Within the brilliance, Ye Chen saw the Pagoda shrink smaller and smaller until, finally, it was the size of a thumb.
The thumb-sized Pagoda flew straight towards him, and before Ye Chen could react, it entered his body.
At that moment, Ye Chen only heard the roar of the beasts and was overcome by a powerful dizzying sensation before he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, he found himself in a new body within the Qingyun Sect.
Now, discovering this mysterious Pagoda within his Qi Sea, it was natural for Ye Chen to be incredibly shocked!
He had not expected that the Pagoda, like him, had also come to this new world, and moreover, it was inside him.