Chapter 5: Open The Meridians

Words : 1791 Updated : Feb 21st, 2024

Noah had devised his own training plan long ago. His physical condition was far from ideal, drastically inferior to others on the Mystique Continent. As for talent, it wasn't even worth mentioning—he possessed a trash-grade bloodline. To become stronger, Noah knew he could only rely on relentless effort. His first goal was to build up his body and then attempt to open his meridians. "Dripping water wears away stone, metal can be carved, and even a pestle can be ground into a needle!" he thought. So what if his talent was lacking? He had unlimited training time. Noah launched into his regimen. Every day, he pushed himself through a thousand push-ups and a thousand sit-ups and ran ten kilometers around his hut, training for twelve hours each day. For all three meals, he consumed spirit rice. The first few days were torture. Noah could barely keep up, and his entire body ached with exhaustion. But after a month, his body adapted to the intense training. By then, Noah could clearly feel the changes in himself. His body had grown much stronger, with muscles now well-defined. With this progress, Noah doubled his routine—two thousand push-ups, two thousand sit-ups, and running twenty kilometers around the hut. He followed this routine for three full years. After those three years, Noah's body had transformed—lean, muscular, and marked by well-defined muscle lines. His strength had multiplied several times over. It was only after this grueling training that Noah finally felt his physical abilities were on par with the other entry disciples. "With my talent, the Meridian Opening Pill probably won't have any effect on me," Noah thought. "I might as well try to open my meridians on my own. No matter how poor my talent is, it shouldn't take over sixty years just to open one meridian!" From that point on, Noah continued his high-intensity training, eating spirit rice to maintain his energy. Every day, he dedicated six hours to physical training and three hours to attempting to open his meridians—concentrating all his strength into his lower abdomen, where, according to basic cultivation texts, the first meridian was located. The remaining three hours were reserved for sleep and rest. Day after day, year after year. Fifty years passed in the blink of an eye. Despite feeling somewhat worn out, Noah's appearance hadn't aged at all. However, impatience began to gnaw at him. Fifty years! Fifty years of monotonous training. Anyone else would have gone mad long ago. Yet, through it all, Noah clung to a single conviction. He had to open his meridians. Without doing so, he would remain just an ordinary person in this world. Since coming here, Noah refused to lead a mediocre life. But no matter how hard he tried, his meridians remained closed, even after fifty years. This trash-grade bloodline truly was terrifying. Luckily, this struggle all took place in the space within the pagoda, where only a second had passed in the outside world. Had it been in the real world, fifty years would have left him to become an old and withered man. "Fifty years… even an iron rod would have been ground down to a needle by now!" Noah shook his head, feeling bitter. Over the years, with the nourishment of spirit rice, he felt his body had reached its limit—it couldn't improve any further. And yet, he still couldn't open a single meridian. He only had enough spirit rice to last three more years. If he couldn't open his meridian within those three years, he would have no choice but to rely on the Meridian Opening Pill. One year passed. Two years passed. Three years passed. Noah remained in the pagoda space for another three years, and yet there were no signs of change in his lower abdomen. "I've been working for fifty-five years and still haven't opened my meridian. Am I truly this useless?" Noah muttered to himself. But just as he was about to leave the pagoda space, he suddenly felt a surge of heat in his lower abdomen, as if it were set aflame. That scorching energy pulled all his blood and strength toward his lower abdomen. In an instant, Noah felt a powerful force stirring wildly within, causing him unbearable pain. The pain intensified by the second. Noah writhed on the ground, rolling in agony. The torment lasted for ten seconds. Then suddenly, a "crack" sound came from his lower abdomen, like an egg shattering. The pain vanished, replaced by a strange energy gathering in his lower abdomen. Noah's face lit up with excitement, and he burst into laughter, his voice echoing through the entire pagoda space. After fifty-five years, he had finally opened his spiritual aperture, unlocking the first one in his lower abdomen. At that moment, Noah sensed subtle changes within himself. He felt able to draw upon the strange power from the opened meridian, enhancing the strength in all four limbs and greatly boosting his overall power. With a single punch, he estimated he could unleash a force of a thousand pounds. He could definitely kill a cow with one punch now. This was the essence of becoming a martial artist—strength far beyond that of ordinary people. "I have successfully opened my meridian and officially become a martial artist!" Noah clenched his fists, feeling the power flowing from his spiritual aperture, overwhelmed with excitement. After fifty-five years and spending two hundred thousand copper coins, he had transformed from a weakling into a martial artist who had opened his meridian. Moreover, in those fifty-five years, only a second had passed in the outside world. The disciples who entered at the same time as him, even those with fourth or fifth-grade bloodlines, still needed to consume the Meridian Opening Pill to open their meridians. Yet he had already succeeded. "I need a lot of money! As long as I have enough, even if my talent is poor, my cultivation speed will far exceed that of any genius!" With this in mind, Noah planned to auction off the Meridian Opening Pill he was set to receive the next day. Now that he had opened his meridian, the pill was no longer necessary. Dwight had shown interest in purchasing it, and Noah was confident others would, too. It would fetch a great price. Noah exited the pagoda space, thoroughly reviewed the "Disciples' Rules," and went to sleep early. The next morning, on a mountain peak, several elders gathered, all gazing at a grand hall in the distance. Above the hall's entrance hung a large plaque, intricately carved with the words "Martial Hall." Today, the new disciples would visit the Martial Hall to receive their Meridian Opening Pills and participate in the opening ceremony. Naturally, these elders were very interested. At that moment, a figure in a white dress, Sandra, flew in from afar and landed nearby, startling them all. A green-robed elder glanced at her and spoke up, "Elder Sandra, what brings you here? I heard you took on a disciple with a trash-grade bloodline yesterday. Are you here to see if he can open his meridian?" "How could a trash-grade bloodline ever open a meridian? No matter how many Meridian Opening Pills they consume, it's impossible," another elder chimed in. Sandra's voice turned cold. "So what if he has a trash-grade bloodline? I firmly believe that on the path of cultivation, there are no trash-grade bloodlines—only useless people!" After returning home the day before, Sandra had thought it over. A person who knew they couldn't cultivate but still wished to be her disciple—such determination alone was worthy of a chance. This time, she made an exception to watch Noah open his meridian. Whether he succeeded or not was irrelevant; what mattered was his attitude toward cultivation.

Chapter 5: Open The Meridians

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