Chapter 1: A Faint Glow Pierces the Bone, the Will Still Resounds

Summer Kingdom, Longzhou, Yonglin City.

After enduring the scorching summer days, Yonglin City finally welcomed autumn.

For those who practice martial cultivation, the cold is slightly more bearable than the heat.

In the backyard of the Marquis’s residence, Lu Xiao was diligently practicing the "Gang Qi Heart Technique."

The wind stirred by his fists howled sharply, carrying a certain imposing aura.

Three servants from the mansion noticed Lu Xiao training and, without hesitation about disturbing him, hurried over to his side.

The three bowed respectfully and lowered their heads in greeting.

"Fourth Young Master, the outer wall of the storage room in the East Courtyard has deteriorated over the years and has recently started to leak. We have already prepared the tools for you, which will take about two hours."

Their tone was very respectful and polite.

Though the manner of speech was typical of servants addressing a young master of a noble household, the content sounded unfamiliar.

Why would the young master of the mansion be asked to repair the outer wall of the storage room?

Since the tools were already prepared, shouldn’t the servants handle the task themselves?

Yet, Lu Xiao, as the fourth young master of the Marquis’s residence, simply accepted the tools without argument.

He headed straight toward the East Courtyard.

From the attic, Xue Shiwei, the granddaughter of Duke Xue from the Xue Kingdom, who was visiting as a guest, frowned as she observed the scene.

Xue Shiwei was strikingly beautiful and outstanding in appearance.

As a descendant of a military family, she possessed fewer feminine frailties than other women, instead carrying a spirited and heroic air.

After a moment’s hesitation, with some puzzlement, Xue Shiwei followed.

“Shiwei sister...”

Seeing her head toward the East Courtyard, Lu Yun quickly descended from the attic to follow.

The houses in the East Courtyard had a poor layout, all facing west and exposed to the harsh afternoon sun, making them unbearably hot.

In summer, the nights rarely brought any relief from the heat.

Thus, these rooms were mainly used for storage, serving as the mansion’s storerooms.

Upon arriving at the East Courtyard, Xue Shiwei saw Lu Xiao genuinely repairing the wall and furrowed her brow even more deeply.

“Yun, your Fourth Brother is the only son of the Third Young Master of the Marquis’s residence. How could he be assigned to do menial chores in the mansion? I just saw him practicing with some spirit...”

Martial cultivation greatly forbids being interrupted abruptly.

Especially when one is focused, interruptions can cause many adverse effects.

As servants of the Marquis’s household, they should know this.

Yet these three servants had no qualms and bluntly interrupted Lu Xiao’s practice.

Lu Yun frowned, feeling uncomfortable with the term “Fourth Brother.”

“What can he achieve with his cultivation? He just refuses to contribute to the Marquis’s household and hopes to enter the Martial Sect Academy through cultivation alone.

People who don’t contribute to the household should be made to do more chores.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Xiao.

That look added a trace of disdain to her expression.

“Shiwei sister, don’t pity him just because he looks pitiful.

Pitiful people always have hateful flaws; Lu Xiao is extremely selfish.

Making him do these chores is already very generous of the Marquis’s household.”

Her words only deepened Xue Shiwei’s curiosity.

“Is he selfish because of the matter involving the Duke of Meng’s residence?”

Seeing the questioning look on Xue Shiwei’s face, Lu Yun nodded.

“The relationship between the Marquis’s household and the Duke of Meng’s residence had eased a lot.

Lu Xiao’s birth mother personally came over earlier this year.

She spoke politely with him and asked for a small favor.

The favor was to help his half-brothers and half-sisters from the same mother but different fathers.

But he flatly refused without leaving any room for negotiation, completely disregarding the bigger picture and only thinking of himself.”

Lu Xiao must have heard the phrase “consider the bigger picture” countless times.

But those asked to consider the bigger picture are usually not part of it.

“The Duke of Meng’s residence has deep roots in the Summer Kingdom. Now that she is married there, what could she possibly need your Fourth Brother’s help with?”

Xue Shiwei was puzzled. Was this supposed to be some kind of test?

Lu Yun didn’t hesitate to explain.

Many knew about this matter.

She recounted the whole story.

Hearing Lu Yun’s words, Xue Shiwei couldn’t help but frown.

Lu Xiao’s birth mother’s request was that he remove two of his spiritual bones.

These spiritual bones could be ground down and forged into pills, which would benefit the cultivation of his half-siblings, enhancing their physique and adaptability to martial techniques.

This would bring them lasting benefits in their cultivation.

But for Lu Xiao, it was a devastating blow.

Removing spiritual bones meant a dead end whether on the martial path or the literary path.

His body would become disabled.

“This request doesn’t sound like a small favor at all...”

Xue Shiwei looked toward the figure repairing the wall in the distance.

Lu Xiao was also the child of Jiang Yurou.

Compared to his half-siblings, Jiang Yurou was clearly biased.

“Shiwei sister, you can’t look at this matter in isolation.

Lu Xiao’s talent for cultivation was never good; apart from wasting resources, what else could he do?

If his spiritual bones are removed, so be it.

As a descendant of the Marquis’s household, having received so many benefits, he should consider the bigger picture and think about the household.

Besides, it was his birth mother who made the request, not us.”

Lu Yun spoke plainly, tinged with some anger.

If Lu Xiao had agreed earlier, the Duke of Meng’s household would have provided over a hundred yellow-grade pills and more than ten black-grade pills.

The younger generation of the Marquis’s household would all have benefited.

Xue Shiwei refrained from commenting further.

Scions of noble families often had no say in many matters.

But who would willingly remove their spiritual bones? It wasn’t just that they couldn’t cultivate afterward; their entire body would be crippled.

“It seems the task of forcing him to agree to the bone removal fell on the Marquis’s household.

No wonder...”

Hearing this, everything made sense.

“The old madam made a bet with him early last month: he must obtain the Martial Sect Academy admission qualification by mid-next year.

If he fails, he must obediently offer up his spiritual bones.

That’s why he’s always practicing, trying to get into the academy.

Still as selfish as ever.”

Lu Yun grew angrier as she spoke.

“The old madam is too lenient with him.

If it were up to me, I’d make him copy the Lu family rules daily.

I’d question him daily, and if he refused, give him a whipping, then make him continue copying until he truly understands.

Words of kindness are no match for a slap in the face.”

After hearing Lu Yun’s suggestion, Xue Shiwei glanced at her but hesitated and said no more.

Removing spiritual bones was not as easy as it sounded.

Without the person’s cooperation, it couldn’t be forced.

Also, she found her Fourth Brother to be... quite harsh.

“Shiwei sister, you just said his Gang Fist still has some spirit.

Do you think he has a chance to get into the Martial Sect Academy?”

During their conversation, Lu Yun recalled Xue Shiwei’s earlier words.

Looking again at Lu Xiao working, Xue Shiwei shook her head.

“Your Fourth Brother uses the ‘Gang Qi Heart Technique’ as his foundation, which does show some vigor and strengthens the body, but it’s only a very basic introduction to cultivation.

To enter the Martial Sect Academy, he must first pass the basic martial trial.

The ‘Gang Qi Heart Technique’ is a fundamental regimen for ordinary people in Greater Xia to strengthen their bodies.

It’s almost impossible to enter the path of martial cultivation relying on it, let alone enter the academy.”

Seeing Lu Yun frown, Xue Shiwei continued.

“Senior Fu Jingchen of the Nine Star Palace also once used the ‘Gang Qi Heart Technique’ as his foundation in his youth.

He was reckless, believing his talent was supreme and acted recklessly.

But after two years of practice, his punch strength couldn’t even break a tree.”

Lu Yun also knew of Fu Jingchen.

He was a martial prodigy from her father’s generation.

Decades later, he became the youngest elder of the Nine Star Palace and was likely to succeed as sect leader.

“On the path of cultivation, talent, resources, and experience are all indispensable.

The benefits gained from basic cultivation methods have their limits.

No matter how good the talent or how much one practices, improvement is difficult.

Moreover, the ‘Gang Qi Heart Technique’ isn’t even considered a mortal-grade cultivation method.”

Xue Shiwei spoke softly, her sympathy for Lu Xiao growing.

He wanted to carve a path for himself but only had the ‘Gang Qi Heart Technique’...

Hearing this, Lu Yun felt somewhat relieved.

After an hour and a half, Lu Xiao finished repairing the wall and prepared to return to his room.

The three servants inspected carefully but couldn’t find any issues.

They pursed their lips but said nothing in the end.

Back in his room, Lu Xiao did not continue practicing.

It was clear that whenever servants saw him cultivating, they found chores to interrupt him.

They called it the old madam’s “tempering.”

In truth, it was to break his focus and stop his cultivation.

In the time that followed, Lu Xiao no longer practiced, knowing the servants would find excuses to disturb him.

As night fell,

Lu Xiao quietly slipped into the dense forest north of the Marquis’s residence.

In Yonglin City, this was the most secluded spot.

Every city’s outskirts were bare and exposed to prevent ambushes by enemies using complex terrain.

When the city was originally built, to save manpower, they simply included this patch of dense forest within the city limits.

Holding his breath and gathering his energy, he unleashed a punch with half his strength.

One large tree began to topple.

Lu Xiao hastily steadied it; such a falling tree would be too conspicuous.

Hesitating briefly, he punched a nearby basalt rock.

The rock, as hard as iron, cracked instantly.

Through the refining of the “Gang Qi Heart Technique,” Lu Xiao observed the power of his punch.

The technique was not as Xue Shiwei had described, merely a method for health and fitness.

Under the faint moonlight, Lu Xiao continued to cultivate in the secluded forest.

Finally, he could focus without disturbance.

The rushing wind from his fists howled fiercely.

The “Gang Qi Heart Technique” used boxing as a medium to train and temper the practitioner.

Even the most basic punch could erupt with a wild ferocity beyond its nature.

Each strike whipped up such a fierce gale that it seemed it could blow down the entire forest.

After two hours, Lu Xiao returned to his room to rest and recover for the next day.

Lying on his bed, he flipped through the “Gang Qi Heart Technique,” a book most looked down upon.

In the dim light, a line of white small characters appeared before his eyes:

【Gang Qi Heart Technique +1】

After this period of cultivation and tempering, Lu Xiao felt his physique had noticeably improved.

His body was no longer as frail as before.

Having completed the final step recently, he had officially opened the path of martial cultivation.

Looking back at the manual,

With focused intent, his consciousness reached into the “Gang Qi Heart Technique.”

Refining!

A dazzling light flashed through his mind, and much of his remaining energy and stamina seemed to be drawn away.

The original white characters changed slightly: 【Gang Qi Heart Technique +2】

Seeing this, Lu Xiao, though somewhat fatigued, rose and lit a candle.

At this moment, he could actually refine the “Gang Qi Heart Technique” to the second tier.

After another round of refinement, the content of the technique indeed changed.

Originally, it was a method casually read by commoners in Greater Xia to strengthen their bodies.

Now the content became increasingly profound.

Having refined it to the second tier, it had surpassed some minor sects’ cultivation methods.