Seated under a wormwood tree, Jun Wu's hair swayed gently with the breeze. He knitted his brow, his face full of concentration.
Since he had realized he could cultivate and gain the ability to defend himself, he was elated.
The Wind Formation Attack was a deadly formation, but unfortunately for him, he couldn't use it more than once before he was drained of his Qi blood.
His primordial heaven meridian was still fragile, and he needed to become a Martial Artist to strengthen it.
Therefore, he couldn't wait to become a Martial Artist as he continued to cultivate, trying to advance to a Third-Rated Martial Artist.
The known Martial Artist ranks were: Unrated Martial Artist, Third-Rated Martial Artist, Second-Rated Martial Artist, First-Rated Martial Artist, Master Martial Artist, Expert Martial Artist, and Grandmaster Martial Artist.
Each rank is further divided into four sub-stages: Initial, Intermediate, High, and Peak.
Beyond the known ranks, from the ancient soul's memories, were Martial Saints and Martial Kings.
Suddenly, his Qi blood boiled, and his vitality increased at a visible speed.
Boom!
An invincible barrier was broken in his body, and strong vitality rushed through his meridians, pulsating to every fiber of his being.
"Huh! Did I just become a Third-Rated Martial Artist?!" he uttered in shock, his eyes filled with amazement.
He knew the primordial heaven meridian was powerful, but he did not think it would be this heaven-defying.
"Young Master! Did you just become a Martial Artist?!" Mao Yun and Zhang Wei rushed over when they felt the strong vitality emanating from him.
He raised his head and smiled. "Yes."
"What?! How is this possible?!"
Even the most talented individuals in the martial world would take three to six months to become a Third-Rated Martial Artist, while the less talented ranged between two to four years.
And yet, he accomplished it in less than a day. With this, he couldn't be referred to as a genius but a monster.
A week ago, their young master had still been considered retarded but had mysteriously healed from his sickness.
Yesterday, he was diagnosed with a potent poison with no cure. Once again, he did the impossible and cultivated when the doctor said he couldn't.
What in the heavens was going on?!
Looking at their dumbfounded expressions, Jun Wu could understand their thoughts and smiled. "I guess I'm no longer the weakest person in the clan?"
"Young Master, have you been hiding your talent all this while?" Mao Yun couldn't help but ask.
"No…" He shook his head. "But my talent is different from others."
He walked to the field at the center of the courtyard and said, "Let me show you…"
Filled with curiosity, his two retainers followed him and stopped a couple of steps behind him, their faces filled with curiosity.
"I've got a better idea. One of you should spar with me." He turned and looked at them.
"Really?!"
"Yes."
"Then, Young Master won't mind if I become your sparring partner." Zhang Wei stepped forward and stopped a couple of meters from Jun Wu.
Jun Wu stared at him calmly, his back straight without taking any fighting stance. Suddenly, the air swirled around, and he waved his hand gently.
Instantly, a powerful wind formation appeared out of thin air, creating a deadly wind strike.
Whoosh!
Mao Yun and Zhang Wei widened their eyes when they saw the deadly wind strike. Though shocked, Zhang Wei recovered quickly and sidestepped the wind attack.
Before he could take a moment of respite, two more powerful wind strikes were already before him.
Seeing this, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly increased his strength and retaliated with powerful punches.
Bang! Bang!
He shattered the wind strikes with ease and raised his head to look at Jun Wu.
"What do you think?" Jun Wu asked, his mind filled with pride.
For a moment, the two did not know what to make of Jun Wu's strange and terrifying power.
His attack was much stronger than that of an Initial Third-Rated Martial Artist, bordering on the Initial Second-Rated Martial Artist level.
"Young Master, what type of fighting style is that?" Mao Yun asked in confusion.
"Array Formation."
"Array Formation!"
"Yes."
"I've never heard of Array Formation being used like this. This is an eye-opener, and it's terrifying," Mao Yun responded.
"Haha. With the Young Master's strength, your father won't have to worry about your safety any longer," Zhang Wei added.
While they were happy about Jun Wu's newfound strength, they heard a loud bang at the mansion entrance. Instantly, their expressions changed, and his two retainers rushed to the door.
Standing at the mansion's gate, two young men dressed in luxurious robes shouted furiously.
"If you dare stop us again, I'll tell my father to break your leg!" Jun Hui shouted, pointing at Mao Yun.
Mao Yun looked at the young master without any change in his expression. "Young Master, please don't disturb the master's rest. Please leave."
"Hmph! What do you mean we shouldn't disturb his rest? He should be happy to see his brothers. We came to play with him. Open the door now," Jun Wuhan shouted from the side.
Their mission was to probe the situation of the retarded fool, and they wouldn't leave without completing their task. They all expected him to be dead by now and couldn't understand why he was still alive.
Zhang Wei sneered at the two. "Please leave. If you keep disturbing the Young Master, I won't mind breaking one of your legs."
Zhang Wei wasn't as accommodating as Mao Yun and wouldn't hesitate to get physical with these rascals.
Watching Zhang Wei's piercing gaze, Jun Hui and Jun Wuhan felt a cold shiver down their spines and subconsciously took a step back.
"What?! You dare attack us?" Jun Hui shouted, furious that a mere peasant dared to talk back to a Jun.
"This isn't over. We'll tell the elders you're trying to harm us and preventing us from seeing our nephew," Jun Wuhan said, dragging Jun Hui away as they left.
Watching their retreating figures, Zhang Wei clicked his tongue in irritation. "If not for the Jun clan's power, how dare these puny Third-Rated bastards look down on us," he spat.
"Next time, don't attend to them. And if they try to sneak in, break their legs," Jun Wu's voice came from behind, and the two men turned quickly.
"Young Master…" they called, paying their respects.
"Young Master, breaking their legs would do more harm than good," Mao Yun said.
"Do you think these bastards will stop because of your intimidation?" Jun Wu shook his head. "Not until they see my dead body will they stop trying to kill me. So why should we be passive against them?"
He turned and headed back inside, leaving his voice trailing behind. "Besides, we can't continue to stay here. Start making preparations—we're leaving this prison in a week."