Shen Fan slowly opened his eyes, avoiding the stinging sunlight.
After emerging from the Yin-Yang Space, it felt as though a lifetime had passed.
He was afraid that everything that had just happened was merely a dream.
Fortunately, the Primordial Qi surged within his body, a vitality thrumming through his flesh and blood.
The aura of the Peak of First Stage of Meridian Opening was unmistakable—it was all real.
Strangely, within his Soul Sea, a Yin-Yang Divine Coin was moving in a profound rhythm, like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.
The Soul Sea was the most ethereal and illusory place within the human body.
Like a vast ocean, it housed a person’s Divine Soul.
It was an incorporeal world, incapable of containing any physical objects.
But the Yin-Yang Divine Coin seemed able to shift between a physical and an ethereal state, as if it had merged completely with his Soul Sea.
He recalled the words: “Inherit my Will, and control the Ancient Divine Power.”
“Could it be that I’ve already inherited the Yin-Yang Divine Coin and can now control it?” Shen Fan murmured.
The white Void had ripples of Divine Patterns, and the pitch-black ground was soft, like a marsh.
The space, a few dozen feet across, was just the right size to accommodate his Divine Soul.
At his command, ripples spread through the white Void, and the Elemental Pattern for the Monument-breaking Palm reappeared, constantly shifting and evolving…
In the outside world, his physical body and his Divine Soul were cultivating in near-perfect sync.
His Great Success in the Monument-breaking Palm pushed his aura to its peak.
Each palm he thrust out was backed by an additional two thousand jin of force, creating a whooshing sound like a bellows.
He launched a Monument-breaking Palm through the air, right at a bee flying over from the next yard.
Just as he was about to smash it, his Heart Spirit stirred, and a strange scene unfolded: the flying bee seemed to be magnified countless times.
He could see its yellowish-brown downy hair, its lacquered antennae, its elliptical compound eyes, and the pale yellow stinger at its tail…
Everything was so clear.
He seemed to know the bee’s intended flight path.
With a twist of his hand in mid-air, he easily avoided it, his palm landing harmlessly to the side.
His face was filled with astonishment, as if he had just witnessed something incredible.
“This… how is this possible! My Divine Soul actually has the ability to pierce the veil of illusion!” He stammered, unable to process this sudden change.
He shook his head, thinking it was a trick of the mind.
He released his Divine Soul once more and focused on an ant crawling on the ground.
He saw its thick legs and long antennae.
From a great distance, he saw its entire tiny body with perfect clarity, as if it were magnified countless times.
‘Yes, that’s the feeling!
Could it be that the Divine Soul has eyes?’
He knew this change was definitely caused by the Yin-Yang Divine Coin.
‘I’ve never heard of the Divine Soul having such a wondrous function!’
Legend said that the Divine Souls of powerful experts could generate Soul Power, but that only enhanced their perception.
It wasn’t like this, where he seemed to have grown a Divine Eye capable of seeing through all falsehood!
…
‘With the Yin-Yang Divine Coin deducing the Yin Yang Yuan Pattern, I can master any Martial Technique or Cultivation Technique in a short amount of time.
My comprehension will be no worse than those peerless geniuses!
At this rate, my cultivation speed will surely multiply.
And if I combine this with the Soul Eye, I’ll be able to seize the initiative in any battle!’
As Shen Fan sat cross-legged in his cultivation, his breathing grew ragged.
The Yin-Yang Divine Coin had given him hope, as if a brilliant path on the Martial Dao had just opened up before him.
‘Guo Yaoshi, Zhang Qiang, and all of you who looked down on me and called me trash… starting today, I will crush every single one of you under my foot!’
He clenched his fists, as if he could already see the day he would become a peerless expert.
Golden sunlight spilled through the broken window, casting a warm glow.
Shen Fan stretched his limbs, feeling invigorated.
“Shen Fan, something terrible has happened!” A disciple as round as a ball came “rolling” over from the distance.
“Fatty Jin, what is it?” Shen Fan asked, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart as he saw the profuse sweat on the other boy’s face.
His own talent was poor, so many disciples in the Outer Courtyard kept their distance.
Only Fatty Jin, whose talent was only slightly better than his, stayed close.
Perhaps it was because misery loves company.
Whenever something happened, Fatty Jin would be the one to let him know.
Fatty Jin rushed up to him and gasped, “Shen Fan, that dog Zhang Qiang reported you to the Teaching Hall for stealing his elixir! They’ve ordered you to go to the Teaching Hall in seven days to answer for the crime. If you can’t clear your name, they’re going to expel you from the academy!”
Defend myself!
Shen Fan’s expression changed drastically.
The Government Hall was not a good place.
Once you went in, it was hard to get out.
Answering for a crime was like a commoner going to court, with one difference: Black Water Academy had two types of trials—trial by evidence and trial by combat.
A trial by evidence meant finding proof to establish one’s innocence.
On this point, he stood no chance against the well-connected Zhang Qiang.
A trial by combat, however, disregarded right and wrong.
The victor was decided by martial strength.
A flicker crossed Shen Fan’s eyes, and a hint of Evil Qi surfaced in his expression.
Zhang Qiang’s actions were meant to force him into a dead end.
‘A trial by evidence is impossible,’ Shen Fan thought, suppressing his anger.
‘I can only choose a trial by combat.
With the Yin-Yang Divine Coin to help me, I still have a chance.’ He said aloud, “Fatty Jin, you head to the Martial Arts Hall first. I’ll straighten up and be right there.”
“Shen Fan, you’d better be careful,” Fatty Jin said, not wanting to say more.
He was on his own and not strong enough to help Shen Fan.
Giving him a heads-up at the first opportunity was already a great act of loyalty.
After tidying his room, Shen Fan stormed off toward the Martial Arts Hall.
Zhang Qiang should be there right now, preparing to study Elemental Patterns.
In a dark corner of the Martial Arts Hall, Zhang Qiang was huddled together with a certain young woman, whispering sweet nothings, their passion running high.
He was handsome, but his face was pale—whiter than autumn frost.
It was so pale you could see the fine, blue veins beneath his skin, a sure sign of excessive nightly debauchery.
“Lian’Er has already reached the Peak of First Stage of Meridian Opening and will soon break through to the Second Rank. Brother Qiang, if it weren’t for your Chong Mai Pill, I don’t know how long it would have taken me to advance to the Second Rank. It’s just…” The girl, Lian’Er, was a budding beauty, her face now flushed red from Zhang Qiang’s teasing.
“Just what?”
“It’s just, now that you’ve given the Chong Mai Pill to me, how will you explain it to Uncle Zhang? After all, a Chong Mai Pill isn’t something you can buy with just money. If he finds out you gave it to me, he won’t just beat you, he’ll skin me alive!” Lian’Er said timidly.
When he heard Lian’Er mention his father, Zhang Qiang’s expression shifted slightly before turning cold and sinister.
“Don’t you worry about that. I have my ways. Yesterday, I framed that good-for-nothing Shen Fan, claiming he stole my Chong Mai Pill. Heh heh, and not only that, I even reported the matter to the Government Hall!”
“Brother Qiang, you’re amazing! This way, your father won’t blame us… And by reporting it to the Government Hall, that good-for-nothing is sure to be expelled from the academy. Then no one will ever know. It’s killing two birds with one stone!” Lian’Er’s body went soft, and she practically melted into Zhang Qiang’s arms.
Zhang Qiang’s talent was average at best, and he had no hope of entering the Inner Courtyard.
So, he had simply given up on cultivation and immersed himself in pleasure-seeking.
He loved spending his days with a large group of lackeys, bullying those who had poor talent but still cultivated diligently.
In his mind, such people were deliberately opposing him, so he had to suppress them and make sure they ended up even worse off than he was.
“But what if that good-for-nothing successfully defends himself at the Government Hall?” Lian’Er asked, a new worry occurring to her.
“He won’t succeed. My third uncle is a Manager there,” Zhang Qiang said with a wicked grin.
“Besides, reporting it to the Government Hall was just to appease my father. I’m not going to give him the chance to even go there. I already broke seven of his ribs yesterday. Next up, heh heh…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the Martial Arts Hall, which had been as noisy as a marketplace, suddenly fell dead silent.