Martial Master

Author: Tome

Chapter 1 The Bead

Words : 2462 Updated : Oct 8th, 2023

In the land of Tian Wu, every state and county had a martial hall in each town. When a child turned ten, if they had the talent for martial arts, they could become a student at one of these halls and start learning how to fight. These martial halls were built by sects that controlled each area. Their goal was to find talented students and bring fresh young blood into their ranks. In Yun Long County, the Qing Yun Martial Hall. "Ugh…" Stanley Luo woke up suddenly. He gasped, feeling sharp pain all over his body. He remembered something scary and quickly checked his chest. He pulled open his shirt and shouted, "Where's the bead?" His shout made the pain in his broken ribs worse, and he winced. Stanley frowned and started recalling what happened before he passed out. He had a crush on Yedda Liu, and she was being bothered by Troy Zhang, a notorious bully in the martial hall. In a moment of bravery or foolishness, Stanley rushed over to help her. The outcome wasn't surprising. Troy and his gang beat Stanley badly. Troy, wanting to show off in front of Yedda, hit him hard, making sure Stanley wouldn't forget this lesson. Right before Stanley passed out, Troy stomped on his chest. The force broke Stanley's ribs, and the bead he always kept close to his chest was hit too. The bead got crushed into his flesh and then, to his shock, it slid into his body. Stanley came from a regular family. His parents didn't have the skills for martial arts. His dad, Don Luo, collected herbs from the mountains to make a living. Stanley also had an older sister. The bead was something special his dad found while herb-picking. It was black and white, clear and shiny. No matter if it was summer or winter, the bead always felt warm to the touch. Stanley loved it as a kid and always carried it with him, even after growing up. Now, though, the bead was gone. "Did it really go into my body?" As Stanley sat there, his head suddenly pounded hard, like it was going to explode. Boom! It felt like his soul shook violently. Then everything went black, and Stanley found himself in a strange, empty, dark space. "What is this place?" Fear crept over Stanley. The unknown always made people nervous, and this was far beyond anything Stanley understood. Suddenly, a small light appeared in the darkness. It was a bead, glowing black and white, crystal clear, and mysterious. Stanley recognized it immediately. It was the same bead he had always kept close. Before Stanley could react, the bead shot straight toward him. It hit him, merging with his body. At the same time, a flood of information rushed into his mind. Stanley didn't know how long had passed, but when he opened his eyes, still lying in his room, he felt something stir in his soul. He could also sense the bead was now inside him, like it had become part of him. "Life and Death Bead… what's all this crazy stuff about worlds, beings, and a map of life? What is going on?" The new memories in his mind almost drove Stanley mad. But they also felt deep and mysterious, giving him new understanding. After a long time, Stanley calmed down. He sat cross-legged on the bed, and with just a thought, he could see another version of himself in his mind. This version had glowing white lines connecting all parts of his body. These white lines were what the bead had shown him. They were called life lines. The life lines connected to form a life map. As Stanley studied his life map, he noticed that some of his life lines were dimmer than others. These dim lines were from the injuries he got when Troy and his gang beat him. The injuries were serious. For someone at Stanley's level, it would take over a month to heal, unless he had some powerful medicine. Even then, the injuries would leave hidden scars that could affect his future training. But now, new information from the bead told Stanley something unbelievable. It said that by using his inner energy to repair the dim spots on his life map, he could heal his injuries faster. "Is this for real? Let's give it a try." Stanley sat down on the bed, cross-legged, and began practicing his martial technique. His energy was stored in his muscles, and as he practiced, it flowed through his body. He felt like he was entering some mysterious state. His inner energy started turning into healing power, and his serious injuries began to heal quickly. As Stanley watched in his mind, the dim spots on his life map grew brighter. "So this is the power of the Life and Death Bead? It repairs the life lines, and the body heals itself? This is incredible!" Stanley was amazed. The bead had merged with him and given him some sort of special ability! When a person gets hurt, their life lines get damaged. But if the injury heals, the life lines heal too. It worked both ways! Stanley jumped off the bed. His broken ribs were fully healed. No more pain. He moved his body around. Every injury was gone, just like that. "I've used up all my inner energy, but I can restore it quickly since I'm only at the second level." Stanley checked his body. He sat back down, ready to restore the inner energy he had lost. As he practiced, his mind naturally pictured the life map. The path his energy took through his body was clear. In martial arts, there are nine levels of techniques. They range from the first level to the ninth. Higher levels work better and help a person grow stronger faster. But lower levels don't help as much. Stanley came from a regular family, so he practiced a basic first-level technique. It only involved a few parts of the body. He had been practicing for three years since he joined the martial hall at ten, and he had only reached the second level. It was clear that first-level techniques were slow and weak. Some kids from rich families had already reached the fifth or sixth level by now! From what Stanley knew, there were three main stages of martial arts. First was the Lian Ti stage, then Qi Hai, and then Xian Tian. Each stage had nine levels. Climbing these levels was like reaching for the sky—each step was harder than the last. In the Lian Ti stage, a person is just a trainee. Only when they reach Qi Hai can they call themselves a true martial artist. And those in the Xian Tian stage are known as masters! Stanley, at the second level, was one of the weakest students at the martial hall. The rich kids saw him as worthless, a nobody. But then something caught Stanley's attention. He stared at his life map. A thought came to him—maybe he could change the way his inner energy flowed. Stanley had low energy, so it didn't take long for him to restore it. But the thought of changing the energy path wouldn't leave his mind. He focused hard on his life map and tried a new energy route in his body. Without realizing it, the energy path started passing through more parts of his body, beyond what the first-level technique usually involved. Suddenly, Stanley's life map collapsed in his mind, and he snapped out of his deep focus. "I made a mistake with the path, so the life map broke," Stanley muttered to himself. In martial arts, getting the energy path right is critical. A mistake could harm your body, and if it's serious, it could cripple or even kill you. The techniques passed down are safe because they've been tested. No one changes them unless they want to risk their life. Stanley knew this, so he didn't try the new path for real. He only visualized it in his mind, using the life map to experiment. Even though his first attempt failed, Stanley had already made his first-level technique more complex. The new path would make him stronger for sure. Stanley frowned and scratched his chin. "This technique is weak, so even if I improve it, there's only so much I can do. I wonder how well it works now." Stanley trusted the knowledge from the Life and Death Bead. He decided to try the new path. The energy from the world flowed into his body, turned into inner energy, and stored in his muscles. The Lian Ti stage has nine levels. The first three strengthen muscles and store energy in them. Levels four to six strengthen bones. Level seven strengthens organs, level eight strengthens blood, and level nine strengthens bone marrow. After some time, Stanley opened his eyes. He felt refreshed. His inner energy was stronger than before. He had never gotten such great results from training in such a short time. "The technique worked!" Stanley was thrilled. Not only that, but Stanley noticed his energy had changed. It now held both the power of life and the force of death. "Life and Death energy?" The Life and Death Bead gave Stanley the knowledge he needed. He knew his life was about to change forever.

Martial Master

Chapter 1 The Bead

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