Before Su Wu could even react with a "What the hell?!" an unprecedentedly terrifying surge of heat erupted without warning from his long-withered and shattered dantian!
Boom!
If Su Wu's original body had been a riverbed dried up for twenty years, this was now the Heavenly River overflowing its banks, a cataclysmic flood sweeping through!
"Ugh... ah..."
Su Wu clenched his teeth, a suppressed growl escaping his throat.
Pain!
But this pain was accompanied by an overwhelming sense of exhilaration!
He could clearly feel his dantian, shattered for two decades, rapidly reforming, healing, expanding, and transforming in an instant into a golden sea of qi!
Next came his meridians.
The withered, blocked meridians, cleansed by the golden energy, rejuvenated like withered trees in spring, instantly widening and strengthening, emitting crisp, resonant twangs like fully drawn bowstrings.
Flesh Refinement: Commencing...
Su Wu's skin flushed crimson, black, foul-smelling impurities seeping from his pores.
His bones cracked and popped, his muscles restructured.
The sensation of such destructive power made even this former Grandmaster tremble.
One minute.
In just one minute, the violent energy gradually subsided, transforming into a gentle stream that flowed through his limbs and bones.
Su Wu sat shirtless in the darkness, his eyes opening and closing with flashes of tangible lightning that illuminated the dim bedroom.
"This... this isn't a dream, is it?"
He raised his hand, examining his palm, once rough, calloused, and scarred. Now, the old skin had peeled away, replaced by skin as delicate as an infant's, yet brimming with explosive power.
He tentatively clenched his fist.
Crack!
The air in his palm instantly shattered, producing a crisp, resonant pop.
"My golden finger... ha ha ha, my golden finger!"
Su Wu chuckled softly, but as he laughed, his eyes reddened.
Forty years!
Forty years since transmigrating, twenty of them spent as a cripple!
He had been barked at like a dog on the city walls, groveling for a few thousand yuan to buy medicine for his son.
He had resigned himself to rotting in the mud for the rest of his life, but now, the heavens had finally opened their eyes!
Just then, a translucent panel emitting a faint blue glow suddenly materialized before him:
Host: Su Wu
Bound Descendant: Su Yu
Descendant's Realm: Flesh Refinement Realm (Great Perfection)
Host's Realm: Grandmaster (Great Perfection)
Cultivation Art: Primordial Chaos One Qi Art (Great Perfection/Evolved from Qi Breaking Art)
Martial Techniques: Wild Bull Fist (Great Perfection/Fist Intent Manifested), Leaf-Treading Footwork (Greater Mastery)
"Grandmaster..."
Su Wu stared at the three words on the panel, his breathing quickening.
In this high-martial world, the Martial Dao realms were strictly hierarchical:
Flesh Refinement Realm: Tempering flesh, muscles, and bones to achieve a strength of a thousand catties, forming the foundation of the Martial Dao.
Qi Blood Realm: Cultivating internal qi to nourish the body, extending lifespan, and achieving the strength to lift cauldrons.
Innate Realm: Bridging the gap between heaven and earth, projecting true qi outward, and delivering divine punches from a hundred paces, earning the title of a regional expert.
Master Realm: Manipulating matter with intent, achieving aerial flight, and turning fallen leaves and scattered petals into lethal weapons—the true privileged class!
Su Wu's peak in his prime had been mid-Master Realm.
But Grandmaster...
That was a realm beyond the Master Realm!
Resisting missiles with flesh, transforming true qi into protective shield, and single-handedly defending a small base city!
In Azurewave Base City, the publicly acknowledged strongest was the City Lord himself, rumored to have only just touched the threshold of the Grandmaster Realm.
Now, Su Wu only needed to sit still on his bed to become one of the strongest combatants in the city!
"And this system's judgment is utterly domineering," Su Wu thought, calming his excitement. His eyes gleamed with sharp light. "My son is in the Flesh Refinement Realm, and I instantly gained four levels, reaching Grandmaster. If he breaks through to the Qi Blood Realm..."
Flesh Refinement Realm (1) + 4 = Grandmaster (5)
Qi Blood Realm (2) + 4 = Martial King Realm (6)!
Martial King Realm—those were Martial Dao powerhouses capable of walking on air!
"If my son just puts in a little effort, will I ascend to immortality right here and now?" Su Wu swallowed hard, suddenly realizing the phrase "hoping one's son will become a dragon" had become a tangible reality.
This wasn't just raising a son; it was cultivating a "super experience pack"!
As Su Wu reveled in his newfound power, a series of suppressed grunts suddenly echoed from the adjacent room.
"Hah! Hah!"
The sound of fists striking a worn-out sandbag.
Su Wu's expression shifted.
Now a Grandmaster, his senses were honed to their peak. Even through the wall, he could clearly "see" the scene next door:
In the cramped room, Su Yu stood shirtless, drenched in sweat. His bruised face was set with stubborn determination as he tirelessly practiced the most basic form of the Wild Bull Fist, over and over again.
Each punch aggravated his injuries, causing him to grimace in pain, but he didn't stop.
The young man's eyes burned with defiance.
"Wang Tai... I refuse to accept this!"
"For Dad, for the registration fee, I have to get stronger! I refuse to believe I can't beat you!"
"Once I break through to the Qi Blood Realm, I can enter the underground black market fights and earn money..."
Su Yu muttered through clenched teeth as he continued to throw punches.
In the adjacent room, Su Wu's heart jolted violently at these words.
So, this foolish boy is staying up all night, desperately trying to find ways to earn money... even considering fighting in those deadly black market matches!
"Foolish child..."
The wild joy in Su Wu's eyes gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented tenderness... and a bone-chilling killing intent.
He slowly rose from the bed.
Crack!
The cheap floor tiles beneath his feet crumbled into dust, unable to withstand the slightest unintentional release of his Grandmaster's aura.
Su Wu glanced down at the mess, took a deep breath, and instantly suppressed his entire aura.
The peerless Grandmaster vanished, replaced by what seemed to be an ordinary middle-aged man.
But only Su Wu knew that everything had changed.
He walked to the window and gently pushed it open.
A cool night breeze stirred his slightly disheveled hair.
His gaze pierced through the layers of darkness, settling on the brightly lit wealthy district at the city's heart.
"Wang Tai, was it? Deputy commander of the City Defense Army, right?"
Su Wu pulled a half-smoked, low-quality cigarette from his pocket and gently rubbed it between his fingers.
Hiss.
Without a lighter, a wisp of golden gang qi erupted from his fingertip, instantly igniting the cigarette.
He took a deep drag. Through the swirling smoke, his once-clouded eyes now shone with the depth of the starry sky and the terror of an abyss.
"I used to be meek and submissive because I truly had only one worthless life to spare, and I needed to keep it to raise my son."
Su Wu exhaled a smoke ring, watching it dissipate in the wind. A chilling smile curved his lips.
"Since someone wants to break my son's legs, I'll crush their bones first."
He flicked the cigarette butt out the window.
The ember streaked through the air like a crimson line. Upon impact, it unleashed a terrifying burst of energy, silently melting a bottomless hole through the hardened concrete.
"Time for bed."
Su Wu turned and lay back on the bed, his heart filled with an unprecedented calm.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll take care of that deputy commander's trouble for my son... just handle it in passing."
That night, Azurewave Base City remained in its usual state of revelry, with no one paying attention to the forgotten corners of the slums.