Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

by Fiery Moon

  At this moment, there was an old man standing beside the Magic Sealing Stone that was used to measure one’s strength. This person was the Xian Clan’s First Elder, Xiao Qiang. He was a Peak Martial Grand Master, his strength in the Xiao Clan second only to the clan head, Xiao Xiong. Within Mohe City, he was considered an expert.

  A youth seemingly eighteen or nineteen years old stood in front of the Magic Sealing Stone. He was preparing to undergo the test, but when he turned his head, he inadvertently noticed Xiao Chen in the corner.

  The corner of the youth’s mouth curled up slightly, revealing a trace of a sneer. He called out in a peculiar tone, “So Brother Chen has arrived already; why are you standing so far away? Since you are here, how about I let Brother Chen take the test first?”

  Xiao Chen smiled bitterly. Some matters were more likely to happen the more one tried to avoid them. He stood so far away, yet someone still saw him. The person who spoke was Xiao Jian, who was Xiao Chen’s elder brother that shared the same father but had a different mother. During every test, he would always make things difficult for Xiao Chen.

  Xiao Chen started cultivating at the age of 4. Within a year, he could feel the Essence of Heaven and Earth, and within another year’s time, he achieved the 1st Grade of Spirit Refinement. In another three years, before he turned eight, he achieved the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement. He appeared to have been on the cusp of consolidating his Martial Spirit. Back then, he was a rare talent that appeared only once in a hundred years in the Xiao Clan.

  At that time, Xiao Jian was still hovering around the 5th Grade of Spirit Refinement. Everyone in the Xiao Clan paid attention to Xiao Chen, and the elders of the clan would lavish all sorts of praises on Xiao Chen. Xiao Jian became just like a puppet, forgotten by everyone.

  Since then, he hated Xiao Chen. They were both Xiao Xiong’s sons, so why was it that Xiao Chen was loved by everyone and yet he was forgotten?

  The surrounding Xiao Clan disciples appeared to be expecting a good spectacle. During every test of abilities, Xiao Jian would use many different methods to humiliate Xiao Chen; they were all used to it already. Furthermore, whenever they saw how the genius of the past had fallen into the state of being the trash he was at present, they felt an indescribable delight in their hearts.

  Chapter 2: Anger, Life-and-Death Duel

  Xiao Chen did not move; he instead just stared coldly at the crowd, and no one knew what he was thinking in his heart. Xiao Jian turned towards the crowd and slowly walked over. The crowd opened up a passageway for him, and they all expected that this was going to be a good show written all over their faces as they looked at Xiao Chen.

  “Brother Chen, why are you not moving? Are you not going to give your big brother some face?” Xiao Jian said sinisterly as he grabbed Xiao Chen’s wrist with his right hand, leading him to the front.

  However, when he pulled, he found that he was not able to move Xiao Chen. He could not help but be alarmed – how could this trash have such immense strength? Right as he was about to use his Essence to make Xiao Chen submit...

  Xiao Chen flung his hand away ferociously, managing to fling away Xiao Jian’s hand under the eyes of the crowd and replied coldly, “There is no need for big brother to exert himself; I can walk on my own.”

  There was a burst of amazed mutterings. How was this trash able to fling away Xiao Jian’s hand? Although Xiao Jian did not use the Essence in his body, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the superior Grade of Martial Disciple, which meant he was only a step away from becoming a Martial Master. His cultivation realm was definitely higher than Xiao Chen’s by a few realms, so could that trash possibly have experienced a miracle and condensed his Martial Spirit?

  Xiao Jian, whose hand was flung away by Xiao Chen, stared blankly for a period of time but his expression immediately turned unsightly shortly after. Xiao Chen actually dared to make him lose face in front of everyone. He followed Xiao Chen and walked with a dark face without stopping to think that he had tried to humiliate Xiao Chen in the first place.

  Xiao Chen, who was standing in front of the Magic Sealing Stone, wore a bitter expression. He was very clear on what realm of cultivation he was in, but he no longer had any path of retreat. The worst case scenario was that he would be ridiculed again, but thinking of this actually calmed him down.

  Xiao Chen stretched out his right hand and placed it on the Magic Sealing Stone, circulating the weak Spiritual Energy in his body. Threads of Spiritual Energy flowed from his Dantian into the acupoints on his arms, through his meridians and rapidly gathered on his right palm. The Magic Sealing Stone under his palm started to change color, and the initial pure white slowly turned into a faint red color.

  In a short while, Xiao Chen’s forehead was covered with droplets of sweat, and the Magic Sealing Stone seemed to have some kind of devouring power that made the Spiritual Energy in his body continuously flow out. However, the color of the Magic Sealing Stone remained an unchanged faint red.

  “Xiao Chen, 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement. There is no improvement.” The First Elder behind the Magic Sealing Stone, Xiao Qiang, said without emotion.

  Xiao Chen shook his head, withdrew his right hand, and wiped the sweat off his forehead. The surrounding Xiao Clan disciples breathed out in relief. The trash was still the trash he was before. There were no miracles, and his strength was still at the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement.

  Xiao Jian laughed coldly. He had been startled by Xiao Chen earlier. Now, he remembered that he wanted to bully Xiao Chen, and thus he immediately recovered his earlier mindset of wanting to create trouble for him.

  “Brother Chen, you are indeed an abnormal talent. Despite eight years of cultivation, you are actually still in the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement. Within the whole Xiao Clan, no, the whole Great Qin Nation, only you have such a talent! Haha!”

  All the Xiao Clan disciples within the big hall laughed together. The first elder behind the Magic Sealing Stone frowned instead but did not say anything. He felt that it was a pity, as Xiao Jian had acceptable talent and was hard working enough in his cultivation, but he had next to no compassion. He would not climb far in the future. He was not sure if this kid could survive in the Promise of Ten Years that would occur half a year later.

  Xiao Chen kept his quiet and maintained a cold expression. This was his elder brother, who, instead of consoling him, went so far as to take the lead in humiliating him. Having such an older sibling was as good as having none!

  Xiao Jian stretched out his hand and patted Xiao Chen’s shoulders, smiling strangely. “Brother Chen, do not be discouraged, take it slow. Maybe you can condense your Martial Spirit in a few more years. Hey, Brother Chen, why are you kneeling? Don’t be like this; I do not deserve such treatment.”

  Xiao Jian used his Essence when he patted Xiao Chen, using about half the strength of a Peak Martial Disciple. Considering Xiao Chen had humiliated him earlier in front of everyone, he did not intend to let him off so easily.

  Xiao Chen ended up kneeling on the ground on one knee, his forehead covered with sweat. After Xiao Jian infused his hand with Essence, it heavily pressed down on his shoulder. Regardless of the amount of strength Xiao Chen used, he was not able to resist Xiao Jian.

  There was a mocking voice coming from the crowd, “Young Master Chen, even with such an outstanding cultivation as yours; you really don’t have to use such a method to display it!”

  “Young Master Chen is indeed Young Master Chen – even the way he kneels exhibits such elegance.”

  Xiao Chen closed both of his eyes. He tightly clenched his fist, causing his fingernails to dig into his flesh. Fresh blood slowly dripped out, and his whole body could not stop trembling.

  Frustration!

  He had not resigned!

  A fierce resentment that stemmed from the depths of his soul began to pervade Xiao Chen’s body. He was not resigned! Is that you? Xiao Chen murmured. This fierce resentment from
the depths of the soul itself seemed to come from the original soul of this body. Even after he died, the resentment that had accumulated for eight years came bursting out – he had not resigned!

  No one would willingly be a piece of trash! No one would be able to indefinitely endure the mocking and humiliations from others! No one would willingly look up to others for the rest of their life!

  You are Xiao Chen; I am Xiao Chen as well. I will live in place of you, washing away these eight years of humiliations. I will cause those who mocked you, insulted you, and teased you to understand what regret is!

  Xiao Chen fiercely opened his eyes. A radiant look replaced that cold and empty look he usually wore, the determination in his eyes staunch. I, Xiao Chen, will not be trash forever!

  He pushed his body downwards and quickly rolled backward, standing behind the Magic Sealing Stone. He looked at Xiao Jian with a cold gaze. Xiao Jian was pleased with himself when he saw the surrounding Xiao Clan disciples laughing at Xiao Chen. He had relaxed his state of mind from when he was caught off guard and had inadvertently let Xiao Chen escape from his grasp. He could not help but feel frustrated again at the thought of it and was about to make a move.

  A piece of broken cloth flew out and hit Xiao Jian in the face, slapping him with great force. The piece of cloth tore from Xiao Chen’s sleeve. Naturally, that meant the one who threw the cloth was Xiao Chen.

  “Very good, since you have already received it, I hereby challenge you to a life-and-death duel in seven days. From now on, you are no longer my big brother, and you never will be again!” Xiao Chen looked coldly at Xiao Jian and spoke, his cold voice seeming to emerge from the nine layers of Hell.

  Chapter 3: Purple Thunder Divine Incantation

  Xiao Jian was angered till his face turned purple when he heard those words. He held back the Essence he gathered in his hands and dispelled the Martial Technique, the Inferno Chop, that he was about to execute. After staring blankly into empty space for a while, he quickly understood what Xiao Chen meant with his words and ended up looking at Xiao Chen as though he had just seen a ghost.

  Not just him, everyone in the martial training grounds also understood what Xiao Chen meant when he said that he had accepted it. A commotion broke out among the crowd, who then also looked at Xiao Chen as though they had seen a ghost.

  Duel Rites!

  What Xiao Chen had just performed was the Duel Rites of the Tianwu Continent. There were many different kinds of Duel Rites in the Tianwu Continent. For instance, if you threw your handkerchief at the opponent and he caught it, it meant that the opponent had accepted the challenge. The nature of this kind of duel was more peaceful and most challenges were of this type. According to the different cultures and practices of their land, there were different types of Duel Rites.

  However, regardless of the place, there was one kind of Duel Rite that was universal and most cruel. This kind of duel was initiated with the act of hitting someone’s face using a piece of torn cloth from one’s sleeves. If the cloth hit the target, then the request for the duel was automatically approved. And once the duel started, it was a fight to the death.

  However, Xiao Chen was at the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement. Without any Martial Techniques, wouldn’t it be nothing short of seeking death if he challenged a peak Martial Disciple to this kind of duel?

  In the Tianwu Continent, Martial Cultivators reigned supreme; the realms of Martial Cultivation were divided into the initial Spirit Refinement, Martial Disciple, Martial Master, Martial Grand Master, Martial Saint, Martial King, Martial Monarch, Martial Sage, and Martial Emperor. The Spirit Refinement Realm was split into nine Grades, whereas the Martial Disciple Realm and above were split into the Inferior Grade, Medial Grade, and Superior Grade.

  On the road of Martial Cultivation, the Spirit Refinement phase was considered to be the most challenging. Only after achieving the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement and condensing the Martial Spirit could one be considered to be a true cultivator.

  For people with good talent, they would be able to condense their Martial Spirit before the age of ten. If the Martial Spirit was condensed after the age of ten, then that person’s accomplishments on the martial path would definitely be limited. The earlier a person condensed his or her Martial Spirit, the more he or she would accomplish in the future.

  Within the Xiao Clan, in a desolated courtyard, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged on the bed in a bedroom and followed the cultivation method of his new body to absorb the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth.

  Threads of Spiritual Energy surged towards him from all directions, entering his body via the 720 major and minor acupoints through his pores. Afterwards, the Spirit Energy moved along the meridians like a tiny snake, slithering towards the Dantian. The Spirit Energy from all directions moved via the meridians and converged in one spot.

  There was a formless mass in the location of the Dantian; the Spiritual Energy circled above the Dantian once, turning into countless strands of Spiritual Energy, and returned to the meridians. Xiao Chen was not resigned and tried to gather the Spiritual Energy again and used a new volley of energy strands to put pressure on the Dantian, but the Spiritual Energy merely circled the Dantian as before and returned to sit in the meridians. After a few tries, the Spiritual Energy in his surroundings began to thin out, yet the energy could still not enter the Dantian.

  Finally, all of the Spiritual Energy flowed in reverse, through the meridians and acupoints, entering the skin and muscles to slowly nourish Xiao Chen’s bones, skin, and muscles before completely disappearing.

  Xiao Chen stopped cultivating, subsequently pounding down on his bed in frustration – he still could not overcome this hurdle.

  Ever since Xiao Chen entered the 9th Grade of Spirit Refinement, the Spiritual Energy he absorbed would not gather in his Dantian. Instead, every last bit of it permeated his bones, skin, and muscles, causing his body to be tempered until it was incomparably tough and durable, which also gave him a shocking level of strength.

  If the opponent did not use Essence, even if they were a Martial Master Realm ‘martial cultivator’, they would not be able to compete against him in strength. This was the reason why he was able to struggle free of Xiao Jian earlier.

  However, if he was not able to condense his Martial Spirit, then he had no way to distill the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth into the more condensed Essence. The Martial Techniques for Martial Disciples and onwards required Essence to execute. Regardless of his physical strength, in front of a Martial Master using Essence, only a path to death existed. Could it be that he had no way to escape death in seven days?

  Suddenly, a thought appeared in his head – that Compendium of Cultivation that he had purchased from Taobao... He was not able to cultivate it on Earth, but perhaps it was possible to cultivate using the methods in the compendium in this world? The existence of the Martial Spirit meant that he might not be able to form a 4Jindan or a Yuanying, but what about cultivating?

  The Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth did not exist in his previous world but it existed everywhere in this world. The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

  In the Compendium of Cultivation, there was only one Immortal Cultivation Method, which was the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. He had read the Compendium of Cultivation for three years and had been able to memorize it long ago. He sat down cross-legged again and started to cultivate according to the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation.

  The Purple Thunder Divine Incantation had a total of 12 layers, so he could naturally only start cultivating from the first layer. He silently mouthed the incantation, immediately able to clearly feel the surrounding Spiritual Energy stir, and began to feel delight in his heart. Xiao Chen calmed his emotions and continued to circulate the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. At this moment, he absolutely could not afford to be too eager and impatient.

  The surrounding Spiritual Energy continuously gushed forth, percola
ting him in the incomparably clear feeling of the Spiritual Energy seeping into his pores. The threads of Spiritual Energy that entered his body were like little fishes that swam around with utter glee, which resulted in an indescribably carefree feeling. The speed and density of the absorption of Spiritual Energy was faster and denser by several times.

  The Spiritual Energy swam happily through his meridians. Xiao Chen’s thin meridians expanded and continuously turned wider under the influence of the thick and dense Spiritual Energy. The Spiritual Energy flowed rapidly and, in an instant, completed a small circuit in front of his chest.

  The alarming speed of it made Xiao Chen feel a little apprehensive, hurriedly calming down and slowing the pace of the Spiritual Energy’s circulation down a notch. After it completed a cycle, the Spiritual Energy returned and tarried above the Dantian.

  Xiao Chen started to get nervous. He hadn’t given up yet, so he did his best to control the Spiritual Energy, carefully directing it inch by inch towards the formless mass that was his Dantian and pressed on it. The boundless spiritual energy was like a flood dragon and slowly swam to the side of the Dantian.

  The feeling he got was different from the previous times he attempted this. This time, his mind could clearly feel a flexible barrier in his Dantain preventing the Spiritual Energy from infiltrating it. The feeling of Spiritual Energy moving forward became slower until, finally, the Spiritual Energy could no longer proceed forward.

  Xiao Chen hardened his heart and caused the rest of the Spiritual Energy scattered in his meridians to gather above his Dantian. Immediately afterwards, it was prompted to ferociously charge downwards.

  There was a loud bang, and the Spiritual Energy bounced back, causing a huge wave. Xiao Chen could feel that his organs and viscera had shifted. A thread of fresh blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth. He turned pale with fright. Quickly recollecting himself, he slowly channeled his Spiritual Energy into the organs that were damaged.