Heavenly Sword Saint
Chapter 9 — Opening the First Meridian
Morning arrived quietly.
The first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, bathing the Jian Clan in a warm golden glow.
Outside...
The clan had already awakened.
Young disciples gathered at the training grounds, practicing their martial techniques.
The sounds of shouting and weapons colliding echoed through the morning air.
But inside the old courtyard...
Everything was silent.
Jian Chen sat cross-legged upon his bed.
His back was straight.
His hands rested naturally upon his knees.
His breathing gradually slowed.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three...
Soon, his breathing became almost imperceptible.
His consciousness descended into his sea of consciousness.
There...
The Heavenly Sword Scripture quietly floated in the darkness.
The ancient scroll emitted a faint golden light.
Jian Chen stared at it.
Even after experiencing death...
Even after awakening a thousand years later...
He still couldn't completely understand the existence of this scripture.
In his previous life...
He had cultivated countless techniques.
He had encountered techniques capable of refining the body, strengthening the soul, tempering bloodlines, and even transforming one's spiritual root.
But the Heavenly Sword Scripture was different.
It didn't merely teach someone how to cultivate.
It changed the foundation upon which cultivation was built.
Jian Chen slowly opened the first chapter.
Ancient characters appeared before him.
His expression gradually became serious.
The Body Tempering Realm required a cultivator to absorb spiritual energy and use it to temper their body.
But there was a problem.
The human body contained countless meridians.
Not all of them could be awakened.
Some were naturally open from birth.
Others were naturally sealed.
The number and quality of one's naturally available meridians largely determined their cultivation aptitude.
This was common knowledge throughout the Mortal Realm.
It was even more deeply understood in the Divine Realm.
Jian Chen had personally witnessed countless geniuses in his previous life.
Some were born with several powerful meridians.
Some possessed extraordinary physiques that allowed them to absorb spiritual energy at astonishing speeds.
And some...
Were born with meridians that ordinary cultivators could never hope to possess.
But there was one thing everyone understood.
A meridian that was naturally sealed from birth...
Was essentially permanent.
Even in the Divine Realm...
There were countless methods for strengthening meridians.
There were pills that could nourish them.
Treasures that could cleanse them.
Secret techniques that could temporarily force spiritual energy through them.
But opening a naturally sealed meridian completely?
That was another matter.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed.
"Impossible..."
He read the ancient text again.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture described a method for using sword qi to forcibly break the natural restrictions surrounding the meridians.
Not temporarily.
Not partially.
But completely.
Jian Chen's expression gradually changed.
"Could it really be..."
He had spent less than thirty years in his previous life reaching a height that shocked the Divine Realm.
During that time, he had seen countless ancient techniques.
Yet he had never heard of a cultivation method capable of awakening permanently sealed meridians.
Even the most powerful forces of the Divine Realm regarded such meridians as something determined by heaven.
Once a person was born...
Their innate meridians were essentially fixed.
But the Heavenly Sword Scripture...
Could change that.
Jian Chen's breathing became slightly heavier.
"How extraordinary is this scripture?"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"If this method existed in the Divine Realm..."
"I wonder how many supreme forces would be willing to tear the heavens apart just to obtain it."
Unfortunately...
He had died before discovering its true limits.
And now...
He had another opportunity.
Jian Chen slowly calmed himself.
There was no point thinking about the Divine Realm now.
His current body was extremely weak.
He needed to start from the beginning.
His gaze became firm.
"Let's see..."
"Whether it truly works."
He began following the method recorded in the Heavenly Sword Scripture.
He didn't immediately attempt to absorb spiritual energy.
Instead...
He focused on his own body.
His consciousness moved through his meridians.
One after another...
He searched for the first sealed meridian.
Soon...
He found it.
It was completely blocked.
There was no spiritual energy flowing through it.
It was like a river whose source had been sealed by an enormous stone.
Jian Chen carefully observed it.
A trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"This meridian..."
"It isn't naturally open."
In fact...
It was one of the meridians that this body had never possessed access to.
The original Jian Chen had been unable to cultivate precisely because his meridians were severely blocked.
The physicians of Moonriver City had tried countless methods.
None had worked.
But...
They had been trying to remove the symptoms.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture was attacking the root.
Jian Chen slowly gathered his consciousness.
His understanding of the Sword Dao surfaced.
Then...
He began condensing sword qi.
Time passed.
One hour...
Then another.
The room remained completely silent.
Suddenly...
Clang!
A faint sword cry echoed within his sea of consciousness.
A tiny strand of sword qi appeared.
It was incredibly thin.
Almost invisible.
Yet the moment Jian Chen sensed it...
His eyes widened.
Even such a tiny strand contained an extraordinary sharpness.
"This is enough."
He carefully guided the sword qi into his body.
The moment it reached the sealed meridian...
Pain exploded throughout his body.
Jian Chen's muscles tightened.
Cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.
The pain was far greater than he had expected.
It felt as though an invisible sword was cutting through his flesh from within.
His entire body trembled.
But Jian Chen didn't stop.
He had experienced something far more painful.
Death.
Betrayal.
The sword piercing his heart.
None of those memories could make him retreat now.
"Break."
Boom!
The sword qi struck the sealed meridian.
The blockage didn't move.
Jian Chen's expression remained calm.
Again.
Boom!
A faint vibration spread throughout his body.
A tiny crack appeared.
Jian Chen's eyes flashed.
"It really works."
He couldn't hide the shock in his heart.
Even in the Divine Realm...
A permanently sealed meridian was considered almost impossible to awaken.
But this scripture...
Could actually force it open.
Again!
Boom!
Another crack appeared.
Blood slowly trickled from the corner of Jian Chen's mouth.
His face became pale.
His body trembled.
But the sword qi continued forward.
Again!
Again!
Again!
Each strike caused unimaginable pain.
Yet each strike also brought him closer to something that the cultivation world considered impossible.
Finally...
Boom!
Crack!
The blockage shattered.
For a moment...
Jian Chen froze.
The entire world seemed to become silent.
Then...
A faint stream of spiritual energy entered his body.
It flowed through the newly awakened meridian.
Jian Chen's pupils contracted.
He could clearly feel it.
The meridian was truly open.
Not temporarily.
Not partially.
Completely.
His expression gradually changed from shock...
To disbelief.
Then...
To excitement.
"It worked."
His voice trembled slightly.
He had seen countless miracles in the Divine Realm.
He had witnessed supreme experts destroy mountains with a single strike.
He had seen treasures capable of reversing life and death.
He had even stood before existences who could shatter worlds.
But this...
Was different.
Because this technique could change something that everyone believed was predetermined from birth.
Innate aptitude.
Jian Chen laughed softly.
"So this is the Heavenly Sword Scripture..."
His eyes shone brightly.
"Even heaven's arrangements..."
"Can be changed."
The spiritual energy continued flowing through the newly opened meridian.
Jian Chen carefully guided it through his body.
The spiritual energy began tempering his flesh.
His muscles.
His bones.
His blood.
Every part of his body slowly absorbed the energy.
A faint warmth spread throughout him.
This was the true beginning of the Body Tempering Realm.
Opening the meridian allowed spiritual energy to enter.
The spiritual energy then tempered the body.
And the more meridians a cultivator possessed...
The faster and more efficiently they could absorb spiritual energy.
It had nothing to do with the cultivation stage itself.
A cultivator could possess only a few awakened meridians and still advance through the Body Tempering Realm.
But someone with many awakened meridians would possess a far greater cultivation aptitude.
Jian Chen understood this perfectly.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His face was pale.
His body was exhausted.
But his eyes...
Were brighter than ever.
He looked inward once again.
One meridian.
Only one.
Yet this single meridian represented something extraordinary.
It proved that the Heavenly Sword Scripture could accomplish something that even the Divine Realm considered impossible.
Jian Chen slowly clenched his fist.
"If one meridian can be opened..."
"Then what about ten?"
"What about twenty?"
"What about all thirty-six?"
A faint smile appeared.
For the first time since his rebirth...
Jian Chen felt genuine excitement about his future.
He had lost everything once.
His cultivation.
His status.
His strength.
His life.
But heaven had given him another opportunity.
And this time...
He possessed something even more precious than his former cultivation.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture.
Just then...
Knock!
Knock!
"Youth Master?"
Xiao Yue's gentle voice came from outside.
"I've brought your breakfast."
Jian Chen slowly withdrew his consciousness.
The Heavenly Sword Scripture quietly disappeared into the depths of his sea of consciousness.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.
"Come in."
The wooden door opened.
Xiao Yue walked inside carrying a tray.
The moment she saw Jian Chen...
Her expression immediately changed.
"Youth Master!"
"Why are you sweating so much?"
Jian Chen smiled faintly.
"I was cultivating."
"Cultivating?"
Xiao Yue froze.
For sixteen years...
Jian Chen had never been able to cultivate.
Yet now...
He was actually telling her that he had succeeded.
She stared at him for several seconds.
Then her face slowly filled with happiness.
"You really can cultivate?"
Jian Chen looked at his hand.
A faint stream of spiritual energy circulated through his newly opened meridian.
He smiled.
"Yes."
"The first step has finally begun."
Outside the window...
The sunlight grew brighter.
Jian Chen looked toward the vast sky.
His eyes were calm.
But deep within them...
A flame had been ignited.
One day...
He would return to the Divine Realm.
One day...
He would uncover the truth behind his betrayal.
And one day...
Those who had once stood above him...
Would realize that the person they had killed...
Had returned.
But before that...
He needed strength.
Jian Chen slowly closed his fist.
"This time..."
"I will build a foundation that even the heavens cannot break."