"Useless waste!"
"What's the point of practicing swordplay? You don't have a single open meridian in your body. With this kind of innate wasted vein, even if you trained for a hundred years with the sword, what could you possibly achieve?"
"Don't be ridiculous. How could such trash live to a hundred?"
"Hahahahaha!"
On the Martial Arts Arena, a young man gripped an Iron Sword, sweat streaming like rain.
As for the mocking voices all around him, Wang Junze paid them no mind—not because their words weren't vicious enough, but because he had heard, and endured, far worse.
Three years!
Ever since he failed his Opening Veins at fourteen, he'd been hearing these things every day. He was more than used to it by now.
On the Profound Celestial Continent, Opening Veins was the foundation of every Martial Artist's cultivation. The number of meridians one opened determined the upper limit of one's future cultivation!
Legend has it that a person has a hundred meridians within. Anyone able to open more than nine meridians could condense True Qi and embark on the path of training. Above nine, with each extra meridian opened, the speed of condensing True Qi increased by ten percent!
This way, the gap between geniuses and ordinary Martial Artists grew unimaginably vast.
But Wang Junze, when he tried Opening Veins, couldn't even open one. He was utterly unable to condense True Qi, thus branded with a wasted vein!
"Shut up! You're not allowed to talk about my brother like that!"
Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out, instantly stalling the chorus of laughter on the field!
They looked up to see a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl in red approaching, her pretty face flushed with anger. With one sentence, she made everyone around feel a chill of fear from deep within.
"Xin, Miss Xin."
"Brother!"
Ignoring everyone else, the girl threw herself into Wang Junze's arms, her eyes instantly red-rimmed.
"Little Xin, when did you get back?"
Hugging his sister, a rare smile appeared on Wang Junze's face.
Unlike Wang Junze, his little sister truly was the pride of the heavens—a gifted girl who, at twelve, opened forty-nine meridians, stunning all of Jubei City and even being specially accepted as a disciple by a Cloud Mirror Sect Elder.
Because of this, she'd left the Wang Family. By now, it had been three years since she'd seen Wang Junze.
"Brother, don't mind them. I brought you a Meridian Opening Pill. It will definitely help you open your veins!"
Like presenting a treasure, she pulled a Jade Bottle from her bosom and stuffed it into Wang Junze's hand, grinning brightly.
"Meridian Opening Pill?!"
Hearing Wang Xin's words, all eyes on Wang Junze burned with jealousy!
The Meridian Opening Pill, as the name implied, was an elixir to help open meridians. To some extent, it was a true Spirit Pill capable of changing one's natural talent!
Of course, such Spirit Pills were extremely precious, each one worth its weight in gold. In fact, they were priceless even if one had the money!
Only a sect like the Cloud Mirror Sect would have a chance to get one!
Still, even so, for Wang Xin to obtain such an elixir, she must've paid a heavy price.
"Where did you get it?"
Looking at his sister, Wang Junze felt a wave of warmth in his heart, but still asked solemnly.
"It's the prize I won for placing in the sect tournament!"
Sticking out her tongue, Wang Xin beamed. "Brother, I was really amazing this time. I made it into the top eight in the sect competition, and besides this Meridian Opening Pill, I got lots of other rewards too. Don't worry about me!"
Startled for a moment, Wang Junze instantly understood—Wang Xin had sacrificed her own cultivation resources to exchange for the Meridian Opening Pill.
"Don't ever do this again. Your brother isn't that useless; I can open my veins on my own."
He stroked his sister's head and said softly.
"Of course, my brother is the best!" She nodded with a bright smile and took Wang Junze's arm. "Hurry up, Father is waiting for us."
Wang Junze gave a bitter smile. After his failure with Opening Veins, he hadn't seen his father even once in three years. But these words—he couldn't bring himself to tell his sister.
He let the girl pull him along.
With Wang Xin leading the way, they moved unhindered, and soon, Wang Junze found himself in his father's study.
"Father!"
Upon entering, Wang Junze instantly bowed with proper etiquette.
"Let go of your brother! You're too old for this kind of behavior!" Wang Cheng, seeing Wang Xin nearly hanging on Wang Junze, frowned and scolded in a stern voice.
Sticking out her tongue, Wang Xin quickly let go of Wang Junze's arm.
"Alright, Xin, you leave for now. I have something to speak about with your brother."
Waving his hand, Wang Cheng issued his order with a heavy tone.
"Why can't I listen to what you have to say?" Wang Xin protested.
"Leave. Listen to me!"
Wang Cheng glared, feigning anger as he scolded her.
With a soft snort, Wang Xin reluctantly left the room.
Once Wang Xin was gone, Wang Cheng's expression turned even colder. He slowly held out his hand. "The Meridian Opening Pill. Hand it over."
Hearing this, Wang Junze clenched his fists and looked up, stating firmly, "Father, this is Xin's gift for me!"
"I know. But it's a waste for you to use it!"
His tone indifferent, Wang Cheng said calmly, "Your second uncle's son opened seventeen meridians this year. With this pill, he can break through the bottleneck to eighteen—two times nine. It's much more valuable for him!"
"This is Xin's gift for me!"
"I am the Wang Family's Patriarch. Every scrap of the family's resources must go to the most suitable person. I will not allow you to waste anything!" Wang Cheng replied flatly.
Wang Junze's eyes reddened as he repeated, "Father, I'm your son. Why have you never cared about how I feel?"