Chapter 7: The Ocean of Mystical Energy

  Ye Chen returned to his small hut, and the Xuan Qi in his body showed signs of another breakthrough. He quickly sat down and began to cultivate the Lei Di Quan, causing the Xuan Qi in his body to rapidly circulate.

  It's probably because before Ye Chen's meridians were severed, he had already cultivated to the peak of the 6th rank, so his foundation was still there, and as a result, his Xuan Qi rose at an extremely fast speed.

  As he sat down and urged the flying knives in his mind, a vast and powerful aura burst out from the flying knives and quickly flowed towards Ye Chen's limbs and meridians.

  The flying knife contains a large amount of pure and refined Xuan Qi, this Xuan Qi is much more refined than the Xuan Qi in the heavens and earth. Ye Chen no longer needs to absorb the Xuan Qi from the heavens and earth, he only needs to circulate and refine the Xuan Qi that emerges from the flying knife to have enough for his use.

  The Xuanqi inside the flying knife was too pure, and Ye Chen could only absorb one-tenth of it each time. The remaining nine-tenths were all lost.

  "What a waste, will the Xuan Qi inside the flying knife be wasted?" Ye Chen thought with some worry, recalling that strange dream before, that vast and boundless sea of Xuan Qi, if that was indeed the world inside the flying knife, even if he wasted it all, he wouldn't be able to use up the Xuan Qi contained within that sea!

  Let's not worry about that for now, whether it's a waste or not. First, let's hurry up and improve our own strength. The Yun family has been eyeing the Ye family for a long time, and the Ye family is currently in a precarious situation. If we don't quickly improve our strength, we won't even have the power to protect ourselves, let alone our loved ones.

  When operating the Xuan Qi, Ye Chen gradually entered a state of meditation, as if there was a mysterious and distant voice in his mind silently explaining the secrets of the Nine Stars Tianchen Formula. Ye Chen calmed down and listened quietly, from that vague voice, Ye Chen learned some information.

  The Nine Stars Heavenly Slaying Formula consists of nine chapters, containing nine types of Gongfa. The Thunder Emperor Formula is just one of them. Each Gongfa complements and conflicts with each other, and every type must be cultivated to truly cultivate the Nine Stars Heavenly Slaying Formula. Because it requires cultivating all nine types of Gongfa simultaneously, the difficulty of cultivation is much greater than others. However, the power of this formula is also unmatched by any other.

  The Nine Stars Heavenly Chord has only the method of refining Qi, without any martial techniques. However, all martial techniques in the world can be driven by the mysterious Qi cultivated through the Nine Stars Heavenly Chord. There is no superior martial art under heaven!

  Ye Chen couldn't help but marvel at the existence of such a magical technique. When he first started practicing martial arts, his family's martial artist told him that techniques and skills were complementary to each other, with skills relying on techniques to be born. For example, the sixteen skills that came with the Ye family's Thunderous Inner Strength could only be used by those who had cultivated the Thunderous Inner Strength, while those who had cultivated other techniques couldn't use them. The same was true for other families' skills - without a corresponding technique, even if one stole another family's skill, they wouldn't be able to use it.

  Once separated from Gongfa, Wujiquan becomes useless.

  So family learning is especially important, a historic family, their gong fa has been improved countless times, becoming more suitable for family members to cultivate, and there are countless genius-level figures, relying on gong fa to create unique martial skills, in order to let the family survive in an empire where strong people are as common as trees.

  After cultivating the Nine-Star Tianchen Technique, he could actually practice all the martial arts in the world, which completely subverted Ye Chen's understanding.

  This Nine Stars Tianchen Formula should be an unmatched and unparalleled technique!

  However, the Nine Stars Tianchen Formula has nine chapters of Gongfa, so the difficulty of cultivation is also several times that of ordinary Gongfa.

  Only practicing the Thunder Emperor's Fist might also lead to some accomplishments, but after weighing his options carefully, Ye Chen decided to practice the complete Nine Stars Heaven's Fist. Although the path of martial arts might be much more difficult than others, Ye Chen believed that as long as he could put in the hard work, it should still be manageable.

  Let's start with the most familiar Lei Di Jue!

  Ye Chen quietly comprehended the subtleties of the Lei Emperor's mantra, only to feel a surge of Xuan Qi churning and boiling within his body. The barrier hindering his advancement was quickly shattered by this burst of Xuan Qi, vanishing into nothingness.

  After breaking through the Jinjie barrier, Ye Chen clearly felt that the Xuanqi in his body was several times thicker than before.

  It's done!

  Three years had passed, and the feeling of this power returning to his body made Ye Chen extremely excited. He didn't know when he could recover to his previous peak state, the pinnacle of 6th rank! Ye Chen believed that with his current cultivation speed, that day was not far away.

  Recalling the various humiliations he had suffered over the past three years, Ye Chen let out a deep breath. One day, he would use his own strength to wash away those disgraces.

  After the fourth level, the progress of cultivation slowed down gradually, but Ye Chen still made rapid progress, cultivating peacefully in the small courtyard every day.

  It's daytime, and there is a gentle breeze, so it's not too hot.

  "Dong dong dong."

  A low and melodious bell sound spread throughout the entire Ye Family Fortress.

  Ye Chen suddenly opened his eyes, it was the clan meeting bell. Whoever heard this bell must gather at the martial arts arena. He stood up, adjusted his clothes and walked outside.

  The Ye Family Martial Arts Arena was packed with people from the Ye family, numbering in the tens of thousands. However, everything was orderly and organized, with everyone searching for their own positions.

  In front of the martial arts arena, several chairs were placed, which were the positions of Ye Zhan Tian, Ye Zhan Long, Ye Mo Yang and others. On the left side was an empty space where more than a hundred elite members of the family stood, all of whom were at least fifth-grade or above, and they were the pillars of the family. On the right side was another empty space, which was for young people under the age of 18 with cultivation talent, totaling two to three hundred people. As for the center, it was for those family members who had no cultivation talent or were old, weak, injured or disabled.

  Ye Chen looked to the right, only to see Ye Xiao looking over at him. This little girl was wearing a white silk skirt, like an immortal fairy, standing out among many young men. After discovering Ye Chen's gaze, she smiled slightly, causing the surrounding young men to glance over repeatedly.

  Not far away, Ye Xuan's gaze was searching for something in the crowd. After seeing Ye Chen, she smiled slightly. Ye Chen could feel that this usually taciturn younger cousin of his still cared about him deeply.

  "I wonder what they'll be talking about this time." Ye Chen thought to himself.

  Ye Kongyan followed Ye Xuan's line of sight and saw Ye Chen, revealing a look of disdain.

  Ye Family Village has at most three family gatherings in a year, and I don't know what important matter will be announced this time.

  Ye Zhan Tian stood at the forefront, and now he had completely shed off his previous old and worn out look, looking spirited and radiant.

  After all, he was a cultivator at the peak of the 8th stage. Previously, his daily worries and heavy thoughts had made him look tired and old. These past few days, with the weight lifted off his mind, he had been cultivating and nourishing his energy, and with Ye Chen's Lei Emperor Scripture assisting him, his vital energy had immediately returned to its peak. There was even a hint of a breakthrough, and he felt invigorated and refreshed.

  Ye Zhan Tian stood on the high platform, his voice like a great bell, low and powerful. "Today's gathering is to inform everyone of some matters." The hum of discussion among the thousands of people present immediately ceased, revealing Ye Zhan Tian's prestige in the Ye Family Fort.

  Yè Zhàn Tiān's spirit is very good, and people of all ethnic groups are quite relieved.

  "In the past three years, our family business has declined by half. I have decided to revive the family business and will reduce the purchase of some Gathering Spirit Pills in the future."

  Ye Zhan Tian's words caused a buzz of discussion among the tribe members, and many people looked at Ye Chen with a mixture of regret and pity. In the past, Ye Chen was undoubtedly a genius within the tribe, the hope of the tribe, and everyone had hoped that a war god-like figure would emerge from the tribe to provide shelter for the tribe in this chaotic world. However, now it seemed that all of this might be impossible. Was the tribal leader planning to give up on Ye Chen?

  "Tribe leader, this is unacceptable!"

  "Head of the clan, Chen Er's meridians still need treatment."

  "As for Chen Er's meridians, I'll use other methods." Ye Zhan Tian glanced at Ye Chen in the crowd, his expression unchanged but with a hint of delight.

  "Ye Chen, don't lose heart, your meridians will recover one day." The speaker was Ye Meng, the third son of Second Uncle Ye Zhanlong.

  "Yes, Brother Ye Chen, the uncles will definitely find a way to restore your meridians." Beside him, Ye Ming also said with concern, he was the son of Sixth Uncle.

  Ye Chen turned around and saw a dozen or so eager eyes. The sincere gaze of these brothers made Ye Chen truly feel the warmth of his family. To say that there were people in the family who ridiculed him, but they were in the minority, led by Ye Kongyan. Many people had been helping him with all their might during this period when Ye Chen's meridians were severed. These uncles and brothers, many of whom had been frugal for three years, contributing their own money to the family to buy Qi-gathering pills to nourish Ye Chen's meridians. How could Ye Chen dare forget such kindness?

  "From today on, they are my brothers, the sworn brothers of Ye Chen!" Ye Chen secretly vowed in his heart.

  "Secondly, Ye Xuan, the daughter of my third brother Ye Zhanxiong, has passed the assessment of the Qingyun Sect and will go to the Qingyun Sect for cultivation in two months. This is a great fortune for our family! The younger generation of our family should take Xuan'er as an example, work hard and strive upwards, making our family even more glorious!"

  As soon as Ye Zhan Tian's words fell, a greater reaction was triggered among the clan members. To reach the entrance qualification of Qingyun Sect, in addition to reaching the sixth rank before the age of 18, one must also pass the entrance examination of Qingyun Sect. The entrance examination of Qingyun Sect is extremely difficult, and no one from the Ye family has passed it in the past decade or so. Ye Chen had the opportunity back then, but unfortunately, he encountered that tragic event before taking the exam. Now, Ye Zhuo has become the number one among the younger generation!

  "Who would have thought that Xuan'er, at such a young age, has already achieved so much? It's truly remarkable!"

  "It seems that the hope for the future of the family will fall on Xuan'er's shoulders."

  A group of young family juniors cast admiring glances at Ye Xuan, that stunning girl who unknowingly captivated the hearts of many young men.