Chu Ming gasped, feeling an immense pain in his head, as if struck by a heavy blow. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as mountains.
"What's going on? I was clearly training, how did I end up here?"
Suddenly, a flood of chaotic and jumbled memories surged into Chu Ming's mind, making him feel as if his head was about to burst.
In Huaxia, Chu Ming was a Martial Arts Grandmaster. Years of practice had forged his strong will, yet even so, he started to doubt if he might die at any moment.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have already been driven mad by such chaotic memories. However, after digesting these memories, Chu Ming was merely surprised.
Thinking of this, Chu Ming couldn't help but murmur to himself about his abnormal lack of response to such a significant event.
After digesting the memories, Chu Ming came to understand that the original owner of this body was also named Chu Ming.
He was a direct descendant of the Chu Family, one of the four major families in the Great Yan Kingdom. His father was the Patriarch of the Chu Family, and leveraging this connection, Chu Ming was sent to the Cyan Yang Sect, one of the Five Great Sects of the Great Yan Kingdom.
He entered the sect at the age of twelve, reached the Fourth Layer of the Postnatal stage by fourteen, and became an outer sect disciple, marking the end of his hardships and the start of better days.
However, the only blemish was that at fifteen, he remained at the Fourth Layer of the Postnatal stage without any progress. Moreover, he had only mastered the first two forms of the sect's basic swordsmanship, Cyan Yang Swordsmanship, making him quite inadequate.
In four months, Chu Ming would turn sixteen. If he didn't enter the inner sect by then, he would be sent out to manage mundane affairs, and his life would be without glory, shaming even his parents.
"I became a Martial Arts Grandmaster on Earth; here, I must also reach the pinnacle," Chu Ming thought. The immediate concern was to enter the inner sect, otherwise, in four months he would be dispatched out of the sect, leading to a lackluster life and humiliating his parents.
To enter the inner sect, there were two paths: reach the Transcendence Realm by sixteen, or pass the Wooden Stake test and rank in the top ten.
Reaching the Transcendence Realm from the Fourth Layer of the Postnatal stage within four months was impossible, so the only option was the Wooden Stake test.
"The most important task now is to quickly increase my strength," Chu Ming murmured. The Great Yan Kingdom was essentially controlled by the Five Great Sects, one of which was the Cyan Yang Sect. Although the Chu Family was one of the four major families, it was still insignificant compared to the sect.
Therefore, some family members would send their younger generations to these sects to enhance their strength and seek protection.
For instance, his cousin Chu Feng was a disciple of Burning Fire Valley. When they met last year, he was already at the Ninth Layer of the Postnatal stage and might have now reached the Transcendence Realm, entering the inner sect.
His cousin was a disciple of the Martial Extreme Sect and a prodigy, far surpassing the former Chu Ming. His cousin from Cyan Nether Mountain was already at the Eighth Layer of the Postnatal stage last year and was constantly giving him a hard time.
Chu Ming closed his eyes, slowly feeling the spiritual power within him. On the Celestial Martial Continent, spiritual power was the foundation of everything.
Powerful martial artists could perform incredible feats, altering clouds, and overturning seas.
As the faint spiritual power flowed through his body, Chu Ming kept inspecting it, realizing how weak it was.
In Chu Ming's chest, there was a large white light plate, glowing faintly like jade.
The surrounding spiritual power would slightly diminish after passing through the white light plate. Though very subtle, Chu Ming still noticed it.
This thing was absorbing his spiritual power, surprising Chu Ming. Luckily, it didn't absorb much; otherwise, he would cry.
"It doesn't seem to harm me," he thought, contemplating as he awoke from his cultivation state, picked up a refined iron sword from the side, and walked out of the wooden hut.
Such wooden huts were common in Cyan Yang Sect, and Chu Ming's was just one among many.
Cyan Yang Swordsmanship, a basic, low-level Yellow martial technique, consisted of nine forms. The first six had no names, while the last three were called Cyan Yang Shadowless, Gentle Breeze Blowing, and Cyan Light Kill. The former Chu Ming had only mastered the first two forms.
Closing his eyes, the heart technique for Cyan Yang Swordsmanship appeared in his mind. With the sword in his right hand, Chu Ming began training from the first form.
Unlike before, when he was clumsy, Chu Ming now practiced with the smoothness of flowing clouds, feeling a sense of forward momentum.
A leaf was sliced in half by Chu Ming's refined iron sword. Without hesitation, he continued practicing.
First form... second form... up to the sixth form.
Gradually, Chu Ming's sword techniques became unrestrained, flowing effortlessly, and he quickly reached the seventh form, Cyan Yang Shadowless.
In an instant, his sword movements seemed to vanish, exchanging between light and dark. If anyone were watching, they would see the shadow of the sword blur—signs that he had achieved Great Success in the seventh form of Cyan Yang Swordsmanship.
Standing still, Chu Ming was surprised.
Even a person in the Transcendence Realm would need a month to master Cyan Yang Shadowless.
No one had ever heard of someone perfecting the seventh form after just one practice.
Cultivating anything always follows a process from low to high, from nothing to something.
"It's because of that light plate," Chu Ming speculated. To verify his thoughts, he picked up the refined iron sword and practiced again, focusing on the light plate this time.
First form... second form... seventh form.
After practicing again, Chu Ming felt numerous insights about Cyan Yang Swordsmanship gush from the light plate, giving him a certain understanding of the eighth form.
"Indeed, having the white light plate makes my comprehension of martial techniques almost demonic," he thought, swinging his sword and practicing again.
First form... seventh form.
First form... seventh form.
After repeating the practice many times, Chu Ming had perfected the seventh form and achieved minor success in the eighth form.
In the sunlight, his refined iron sword appeared dreamy, emitting a faint light, like a gentle breeze soothing the soul, though danger was hidden within.
Meanwhile, the spiritual power within him flowed continuously from his spiritual acupoints into his dantian and out again in a constant cycle.
Chu Ming's dantian swelled slightly, and he opened his eyes in surprise.
"The Middle Stage of the Fourth Layer of the Postnatal stage already? That was quick!" he exclaimed, surprised as it typically takes a week for someone to progress from the Early Stage to the Middle Stage at this level.
"This light plate is extraordinary and mustn't be revealed to anyone," Chu Ming pondered. Its ability to enhance enlightenment alone could cause an uproar across the continent.