During the Crinada Kingdom, in Sunway City of Aspor, a beautiful young woman sat cross-legged in a secret chamber filled with spirit stones, practicing her skills. The door creaked open. The city lord, Luca Showyer, entered cheerfully, followed by a young man. "Victoria," the young man called out, his face alight with joy. "Abel, you're here," Victoria gazed at him affectionately, her voice soft and tender. "No need to get up," the young man, Abel Letherdale, gestured with his hand, speaking gently. He and Victoria had been deeply in love for three years, and he had once promised to help her reach the True Essence Realm. Today, Victoria had broken through her barriers, reaching the ninth stage of the Body Refining Realm, just a step away from the True Essence Realm. Upon hearing the news, Abel hurriedly rushed over to fulfill his promise. Abel took out a crystal-clear fruit, the size of a thumb, resembling a large jade pearl. "The Millennium Dragon Essence Fruit!" Luca and Victoria's eyes shone with delight. It was a scarce treasure, priceless and unattainable with money alone. The fruit catalyzed true essence, allowing someone at the ninth stage of the Body Refining Realm to break through to the True Essence Realm. This fruit was a family heirloom of the Letherdales, meant initially for Abel himself. However, Abel had preserved it for Victoria until now. "Victoria, take it. Breakthrough to the True Essence Realm today," Abel said softly, offering the fruit to her lips. Victoria nodded, opened her mouth, and swallowed the Millennium Dragon Essence Fruit, then closed her eyes to refine it. Within half an hour, Victoria's aura surged dramatically, shattering her barrier and advancing to the first level of the True Essence Realm. "Sunway City has gained another expert of the True Essence Realm!" Luca was ecstatic, laughing heartily. "Congratulations, Victoria!" Abel exclaimed excitedly, even though he had anticipated the outcome. "In a month, the tri-annual recruitment event of the three great martial sects of Aspor will take place in Sunway City. With your current cultivation, we will surely catch the attention of these sects. Together, we will go to Aspor..." Before he could finish, there was a resounding smack. Victoria suddenly struck Abel with brutal force, her palm slamming into his abdomen. Abel coughed up blood, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked at Victoria. "It's not us going to Aspor, it's me!" Victoria rose slowly, her face icy, staring at Abel as if he were an enemy. "The strongest sect, the Purple Cloud Sect, only recruits one person. Both of us are at the first level of the True Essence Realm, but you are the top genius of Sunway City, and you would be my biggest obstacle to entering the Purple Cloud Sect." "You're the woman I love. I'd give up my spot for you." "But I don't love you. I only love your Millennium Dragon Essence Fruit." "You... You were deceitful, pretending to be in love with me for three years." Abel felt his heart shatter as if he had plummeted into an icy abyss. "You come from a small family, while I am the daughter of the city lord, destined to greatness. You could never reach my level." Victoria sneered, her eyes filled with mockery. "However, I can't let you stand in my way. You must die!" "Never!" Abel roared, channeling his spiritual energy to form a protective barrier. Deceived and betrayed, struck by the woman he thought he loved, Abel could barely accept it. He would never accept being killed by such a heartless woman. Boom! A fist whistled through the air, striking Abel's back with force. Abel was sent flying, crashing against the hard wall before falling to the ground, unable to move. "Luca!" Abel gritted his teeth, glaring at Luca, who was smirking, his hatred surging. It was Luca who had sneakily struck him with that punch. "Sunway City's greatest fool, I'll kill you!" Victoria raised her hand, but Luca stopped her. "Wait, he can't die in the city lord's manor. It would tarnish my reputation." "If not kill, then I'll destroy his energy center and martial meridians." "That will do nicely!" Under Luca's watchful eye, Victoria ruthlessly extracted Abel's energy center and a crystal-clear martial meridian. The secret chamber echoed with Abel's heart-wrenching screams and a roaring shout of defiance. "If I survive, I'll wipe out your entire family!" Before long, Luca and Victoria left the chamber, leaving Abel unconscious. Suddenly, the space trembled slightly. Snap! A mysterious black orb broke through the void, appearing out of nowhere. Soon after, a pair of large hands emerged, tearing through the void. Someone was about to step out from the void. The black orb seemed to panic, randomly colliding with Abel and merging into his body. The void tore open. A terrifyingly powerful old man in golden armor stepped out from the void. He looked at Abel, his eyes filled with disappointment as he sighed. "The treasure I've pursued for a hundred years has been obtained by this young man lying here. Indeed, what is meant to be will be, and what is not meant to be should not be forced." "This treasure is extraordinary. This boy's future achievements will be terrifyingly great with its aid, surpassing any worldly prodigy." The old man suddenly had a thought, his eyes blazing with excitement. "Such a prodigious talent, having crossed paths with me, must become my disciple." "Hmm?" The old man rubbed his eyes, his anger flaring upon seeing Abel's condition. "His energy center has been extracted, and his martial meridians destroyed. He has a disability!" "It's infuriating that the treasure chose a cripple over me!" "Whoever crippled my disciple is even more infuriating." The old man fumed for a while, then calmed down, realizing something. "The treasure has reasons for choosing this... oh no, my disciple." "Martial paths are perilous, and the journey fraught with challenges. If you can't turn a disabled person into a legend, you don't deserve to be my disciple." The old man leaned close to Abel, whispering, "This treasure is the Chaos Pearl. It contains mysterious powers. You must uncover these powers to change your fate." At that moment, footsteps echoed from outside the chamber. The old man intended to save Abel but sensed no killing intent from the approaching individuals, so he vanished into the void. Guards swiftly entered, hoisted Abel, and carried him away, leaving the city lord's manor and heading straight to the Letherdale residence. Along the way, they attracted a crowd of onlookers and questions. The guards tirelessly explained that Abel had trespassed into the city lord's secret chamber and was thus crippled of his energy center and martial meridians by the city lord. In no time, the news of Abel becoming a cripple spread throughout Sunway City. The guards carried Abel to the Letherdale residence, dumped him at the door, and left. Above the Letherdale residence, the old man in golden armor hid within the clouds, extending his consciousness, which soared across billions of miles. In the Eastvale Region, the Skyway Sect's grand hall, the sect leader was discussing matters with a group of elders. Suddenly, a consciousness swept over, brushing against the sect leader's forehead. A commanding voice resonated in the sect leader's ear. "Go to Sunway City and find a young man named Abel Letherdale. Recruit him into our sect. Although he has a disability, arrange for him to cultivate at a branch of the sect. Send him to the main sect once his cultivation meets the standard." The sect leader's body trembled, and he immediately bowed, responding with his consciousness, "Noted!" The consciousness then vanished, leaving the sect leader to sigh. The old man in golden armor had been traveling for centuries, never seen, and now his consciousness returned, only to address a trivial matter, completely ignoring the sect's current situation. His character had never changed. Moreover, a disabled person couldn't possibly cultivate. The Skyway Sect was prestigious, only accepting geniuses and extraordinary talents. Accepting a disabled person would be a laughingstock for the world. Considering this, the sect leader couldn't help but feel anxious. "What's troubling the sect leader?" The elders hadn't sensed the consciousness and were bewildered by the sect leader's strange behavior. "Dear elders, we have an important task at hand. Can anyone tell me where Sunway City is?" The sect leader returned to his senses, his expression stern. Even if it was a hundred cripples, they had to accept them. Otherwise, the old man's wrath was something he couldn't bear. "Do we have such a city in the Eastvale Region?" "The Eastvale Region consists of thousands of empires. Each empire has numerous states, and each state has numerous cities. It's hard to find." "Hurry, fetch the maps!" The elders sprang into action, retrieving numerous maps from several large boxes. The sect leader and the elders immersed themselves in the sea of maps. After six hours, they finally pinpointed Sunway City's location. "It turns out to be a small city in the Crinada Kingdom. Quickly, check if there's a branch of the Skyway Sect there." The sect leader ordered, and the elder in charge of external affairs hurried to the affairs hall. After six more hours, the elder returned in a rush. "Every city in the Crinada Kingdom has our branches. There's a small Skyway auxiliary sect under the jurisdiction of the 108th Skyway branch. The auxiliary sect leader is named Dakota Zerba." "I want to meet him." "I'll immediately notify the branch and summon him." "No need to summon. It's too slow. Just bring him here." "Ah!" Meanwhile, at the Letherdale residence, Abel lay in bed, unconscious, but his consciousness gradually awakened. He vaguely recalled hearing an indistinct voice but only remembered two phrases: Chaos Pearl, mysterious power. Once fully conscious, he discovered an anomaly within his consciousness space. A black pearl was expanding continuously. A terrifying surge of soul power erupted from the Chaos Pearl, instantly merging with Abel's consciousness space. A fragmented memory flowed from the Chaos Pearl, absorbed by his consciousness space in a flash. Abel immediately realized it was a form of inheritance. Abel discovered a complete alchemy knowledge within the fragmented memory, containing countless alchemical techniques and an understanding of numerous herbs, treasures, and mystical creatures. Besides the alchemical techniques, there was also a set of ancient talismans knowledge. Finally, a martial arts technique appeared, the Nine Dragons Unified Technique. To Abel's delight, this martial technique was a secret technique that activated the body's hidden potential, eliminating the need to cultivate the energy center, seemingly tailor-made for him. However, as he continued reading, Abel's heart sank. The Nine Dragons Unified Technique didn't cultivate the energy center but the nine dragons. The so-called dragons referred to the body's dragon meridian or awakened martial meridians. Abel's martial meridians had been extracted, so how could he cultivate them? Suddenly, the Chaos Pearl trembled and sank into his consciousness space. It passed through his head, down his neck, and through his chest. Until it stopped at his energy center, where a nine-colored light shot out from the Chaos Pearl, penetrating the location of the extracted martial meridians and washing back and forth. The light faded until a new martial meridian formed, leaving only a red glow. The martial meridian shone with a dazzling red light, like a fiery dragon soaring into the sky, fierce and domineering. This was the Nine Dragons Unified Technique. It required the cultivation of the first dragon meridian: the Flame Dragon Meridian. Abel was both shocked and overjoyed. His crippled meridians had been reborn. A dragon meridian now stood in its place. The Flame Dragon Meridian was far superior to his previous martial meridian. "I need to cultivate!" Abel awoke from his excitement. He sat up, glancing around, realizing he was in his room. Though his body still ached, his wounds had been bandaged. "Let's not waste time." Abel endured the pain, sitting cross-legged to practice the Nine Dragons Unified Technique, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, then channeling it into the Flame Dragon Meridian. The Flame Dragon Meridian touched the spiritual energy, like a parched riverbed meeting rain, instantly absorbing all the energy. Moments later, the Flame Dragon Meridian glowed brightly, and without waiting for Abel to react, it began actively drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy. The Flame Dragon Meridian absorbed spiritual energy aggressively as if a dragon were consuming the heavens and earth. Within a few breaths, the room's spiritual energy was completely absorbed. Yet the Flame Dragon Meridian didn't stop there. It grew even more frenzied, generating waves of terrifying suction. Bang! The doors and windows shattered under the force. Massive amounts of spiritual energy from outside rushed in, still unable to satisfy the Flame Dragon Meridian's appetite. As the suction intensified, all the spiritual energy in Sunway City surged toward the Letherdale residence. Countless martial artists, sensing the commotion, rushed toward the Letherdale residence. Above the Letherdale residence, the spiritual energy gathered, resembling a dragon of spiritual energy, diving down.