Chapter Eighteen: The First Formation of the Celestial Force

“Excellent!”
Watching Liu Ji scream in agony, Liu Heng couldn’t help but exclaim in approval.

Damn you!

Hearing this, Liu Ji nearly cursed aloud. Even though he had mentally prepared himself, nothing could have prepared him for this. As the spiritual energy within him circulated according to the prescribed route of the Supreme Heavenly Gang Technique, the condensed Heavenly Gang Qi brought about an indescribable pain that forced a wretched howl from his lips.

It hurt like hell!

This pain was far worse—hundreds of times more intense—than when he had first drawn the wild spiritual energy into his body. For someone whose soul had once been a model youth of the twenty-first century, this agony was nothing short of hellish torment, almost impossible to endure.

The pain in his abdomen made his entire body convulse and spasm as if struck by lightning, and he could hardly stop himself from clutching his stomach and rolling on the ground, howling in misery. In that moment, he felt as though sharp blades were tearing through his flesh and blood, the agony utterly intolerable.

“Liu Ji! Do not falter!”

Just as he was on the brink of collapse, Liu Heng’s thunderous voice rang in his ears: “If you fail this time, it will be ten times harder for you to practice the Supreme Heavenly Gang Technique in the future!”

This shout dragged Liu Ji back from the abyss of pain. He calmed his mind, casting aside all distractions and agony, focusing solely on guiding the spiritual power within him according to the training route of the Supreme Heavenly Gang Technique. But the pain only grew more intense.

It was truly unbearable!

Liu Ji clenched his teeth until his mouth filled with blood. Bulging veins squirmed like snakes beneath his skin, throbbing and twisting as if something worm-like crawled inside them.

Liu Heng was right: if he failed now, the next attempt would be exponentially harder. Once a person becomes fearful of something, that fear will inevitably resurface when faced with it again, affecting the mind and will.

Determined, he did his utmost to suppress the excruciating pain, concentrating all his attention on circulating spiritual power within his meridians. With every cycle, a small portion of spiritual energy was refined into a fierce and sharp force—

Heavenly Gang Qi!

Each time this Heavenly Gang Qi formed, it tormented Liu Ji to the point of despair. His flesh and blood inside were ravaged, his meridians torn, his organs damaged, even his internal organs suffering varying degrees of injury from the Heavenly Gang Qi.

Fortunately, the potent medicinal bath he soaked in was highly effective. Its medicinal essence not only strengthened his organs, meridians, and flesh, but its robust vitality also continuously repaired his injured insides.

Yet the pain remained nearly unendurable.

He had no idea how long he cultivated, only that the indescribable agony within him kept intensifying. Then, at last, the sweetest voice he had ever heard sounded in his ear: “Enough, stop now.”

Liu Ji immediately ceased his cultivation, letting the spiritual energy and the Heavenly Gang Qi that had tormented him to half-death disperse. He collapsed unconscious in the wooden tub.

He did not notice that the once murky, viscous purple liquid in the tub had become clear—the medicinal essence had been completely absorbed.

Liu Heng lifted Liu Ji out, slinging the naked youth over his back and carrying him back to his room. Every maid they passed blushed furiously, covering their faces and bowing their heads. Only after the two men had gone did they whisper curiously among themselves about what they’d seen.

As for the content of their gossip...

Liu Heng laid Liu Ji gently on his bed, tucked him in, and then exited the room. He turned to Xiaoya, who stood waiting outside, and instructed, “Xiaoya, he is very weak now. Take good care of the young master.”

Xiaoya bowed respectfully. “Yes, my lord.”

With hands clasped behind his back, Liu Heng left. Xiaoya stole a glance at the sleeping Liu Ji, then quietly closed the door behind her.

In Liu Heng’s study, Liu Ming, clad in armor, reported with a fist salute, “Uncle, our spies in Southern Prefecture report that many merchants from the Southern Barbarians have appeared recently. I suspect they are not merchants, but spies from the Southern Barbarians!”

His expression was grave. “Do you think they intend to provoke another war with the Empire?”

After over a thousand years of war, the Nu Xi Empire had driven the northern barbarians back and conquered the Southern Barbarians, occupying the richest lands of the Calamity Zone: the Central Plains.

The Calamity Zone was a harsh place—eternal snow and ice in the north, rare sunlight, and the lands of the Southern Barbarians covered with endless forests and mountains.

As the Empire’s saying went, the Southern Barbarians were little more than monkeys—uncivilized ones at that.

A popular saying circulated in the Empire: ‘Wherever sunlight falls, there lies the Empire’s domain.’ The Empire boasted more than nine hundred prefectures. The Southern King’s City sat on the border between the Empire and the lands of the Southern Barbarians, but unfortunately, it was not the seat of the Southern Prefecture’s government; that role belonged to the Southern Prefecture’s Governor.

Still, everyone in the Southern Prefecture knew that the Southern King’s City was in fact the true power in the region. In terms of economy and military might, it far outclassed the official government.

Hearing Liu Ming’s words, Liu Heng’s expression remained unchanged.

He was utterly unconcerned. “Just keep a close eye on those Southern Barbarian merchants. If they try anything suspicious, have them quietly dealt with.”

“Yes, sir!”

Liu Ming saluted. After a moment’s hesitation, he ventured, visibly anxious, “Uncle, there’s something I wish to ask, but I’m unsure if I should.”

“Speak.”

“Has Second Brother started cultivating the Supreme Heavenly Gang Technique?”

Liu Heng’s writing hand paused. Then he nodded calmly. “Yes. Since he wished to learn, I taught him the method.”

A flicker of disappointment flashed deep in Liu Ming’s eyes.

Liu Heng looked up. “You have something to say?”

“No... nothing.”

Liu Ming quickly composed himself. “I won’t take up any more of your time, Uncle. Please rest early—your health is important!”

With that, he turned and left.

Watching Liu Ming’s departing figure, Liu Heng shook his head with a sigh. “It’s not that I don’t want to teach you, but it’s the ancestral rule: the Supreme Heavenly Gang Technique can only be passed to one member of each generation.”

It was a peculiar rule.

But his father, on his deathbed, had exhorted him countless times: this was a rule passed down through the Liu family for generations. In each generation, only one person could inherit the Supreme Heavenly Gang Technique.

He dared not defy the rules of his forebears.

He shook his head, putting the matter out of his mind.

...

The next day.

Liu Ji remembered having a dream. In it, he became an unparalleled expert, capable of flight and traversing the earth, wielding unimaginable power. With a wave of his hand, seas of fire descended, floods swept the land, and lightning dragons shattered the world—

He was like a god.

That feeling of absolute control was intoxicating.

Then he was woken up by Xiaoya.

Seeing Liu Ji staring at her unblinkingly, Xiaoya grew nervous under his mournful gaze. She asked timidly, “Young Master, are you all right? Did I do something wrong?”

Liu Ji waved a hand. “It’s nothing.”

From then on, the rear courtyard was filled daily with ghastly, mournful screams—so piercing and tragic that even the servants felt pity for him. The rear courtyard was declared off-limits, clearly designated as Liu Ji’s exclusive training ground. After the first two days, Liu Heng stopped coming to supervise, for reasons unknown, seeming to trust Liu Ji entirely.

Over this period, Liu Ji’s body gradually adapted to the torment of the Heavenly Gang Qi; the pain lessened, no longer driving him to the brink of death.

At the same time, he noticed that each morning after a night of agony, his physical strength had increased significantly; even the status panel reflected these improvements. This delighted him—he hadn’t expected the Supreme Heavenly Gang Technique to enhance his health as well. All his suffering had not been in vain.

During this time, even Liu Ji, who rarely left the estate, could sense the growing bustle in Southern King’s City. Upon inquiry, he learned that the Martial Tournament had arrived—a selection to find worthy fighters who would be trained as members of the Southern Tiger Cavalry.

But there was a more unsettling piece of news: recently, people possessed by vengeful spirits had appeared in the city, each victim dying in a most horrific fashion, as though their very essence and blood had been drained, leaving behind nothing but a withered corpse.

Though these cases differed from the one where Wang Mazi’s concubine was possessed, Liu Ji had been ill at ease ever since. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the possessing spirit in these incidents was the same one that had overtaken Wang Mazi’s concubine before—but hadn’t that spirit already been destroyed?

This worry, however, did not deter Liu Ji from training. He remained immersed in his cultivation. Over time, the ferocious and sharp Heavenly Gang Qi could no longer harm his body.

...

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