Invincible Under Heaven

Li Xian

Great Zhou Dynasty, Lijiang City, Dingfeng Marquis Residence.

"Martial cultivation has nine stages: Body Refining, Bone Forging, Tendon Transformation, Viscera Refinement, Marrow Cleansing, Leakless, True Ki, Meridian Opening, and Innate!"

Zhang Yao, dressed as a sword attendant, was explaining the way of martial arts to Li Xian in the courtyard.

"Martial arts begins with Body Refining. Once you achieve force, you can externally temper bones and muscles, internally train viscera, then further cleanse the marrow and exchange blood, refining the body to achieve perfection."

As she spoke, she suddenly punched out.

"Bang!"

Her delicate hand shattered the air, producing a crisp sound.

This is Body Refining!?

"Women generally have weaker bones, but by exploding internal force, I can fend off three to five adult men with ease. That's because I have trained force and can injure others with it,"

Zhang Yao said.

Li Xian nodded slightly, agreeing with her words.

However...

"Controlling force, external bone and muscle tempering, internal organ training—I understand these. I'm more interested in blood exchange and marrow cleansing, and especially, how to refine the body to become leakless and then train True Ki from that?"

Li Xian asked.

"You must not be overly ambitious in martial training, young master. Achieving Leakless is already first-rate in the martial world and brings prestige to an entire province. As for producing True Ki? Those who achieve that leap like a carp over the dragon gate—ascending in one bound,"

Zhang Yao patiently advised.

"Since you didn't build your foundation from childhood, starting martial arts after growing up is naturally slower. However, with your intelligence—one of Lijiang's Four Luminaries—you could reach Body Refining in a year, temper your body in three years, and train your organs within ten. With perseverance, in twenty or thirty years, you might attain blood exchange and marrow cleansing, gaining fame throughout the prefecture."

"So, how does one achieve blood exchange and marrow cleansing, and refine the body to Leakless?"

Li Xian's thinking was clear.

On this question, Zhang Yao appeared helpless.

"Anyone who achieves blood exchange and marrow cleansing will be famed in the jianghu, dominating a region or even leading armies—defeating hundreds alone. In the marquis residence, only the master possesses such skills. I'm merely a maid. The very fact that I can practice martial arts is due to the lady's kindness. As for marrow cleansing and Leakless, it's like a legend to me—I know very little about it."

Li Xian felt a twinge of regret.

Despite being regarded as a sister by the marquis's daughter, Liu Yanran, Zhang Yao was still of maidservant birth.

Her ability to recite the nine stages of martial arts showed great knowledge—one could not ask for too much.

"Dingfeng Marquis achieved blood exchange and marrow cleansing?"

He pondered aloud, "Can I ask him for guidance?"

"Well..."

Zhang Yao knew full well, with his rather 'pathetic' status, he had no right to ask for guidance.

But she couldn't say it bluntly and only replied, "The marquis has gone to the capital and is unlikely to return for a month or two."

"A month or two..."

Li Xian shook his head.

He couldn't afford to wait that long.

Zhang Yao, observing his disappointment, didn't want to dampen his spirits. "If you truly wish to pursue martial arts to win over the lady, young master, why not visit the newly opened Longquan Martial Hall in the city's Youlong District? The owner, Zhou Juechen, has achieved blood exchange and marrow cleansing. His skills are among the very best in all of Lijiang. If you visit him, I'm sure Master Zhou will teach you everything he knows."

"Longquan Martial Hall?"

Li Xian nodded slightly.

"Very well, I shall go."

With those words, he stood up.

"Eh?"

Seeing Li Xian about to leave without hesitation, Zhang Yao was surprised: "Wait! Young master, the lady hasn't returned. Are you going out without telling her?"

"Tell her?"

Li Xian shook his head, then asked, "Where is she?"

He had been bedridden, recuperating for six days and nursed round the clock by little Zhang Yao.

He had trained martial arts for a month, yet that marquis's daughter, Liu Yanran, had never shown her face.

"Well..."

Zhang Yao was left speechless for a moment.

After a pause, she replied, "The lady is still at Songfeng Academy."

"When will she return?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Then forget it."

Li Xian shrugged off the matter.

If she was unhappy, so be it.

It didn't matter.

"Young master..."

Zhang Yao called again, hesitantly, "Without the lady's or madam's permission, you might not be allowed to leave the residence."

"Man is born free; as long as my heart is unbound, no one can restrain me,"

Li Xian said, looking at her.

"Thank you for looking after me this past month."

"You're too kind, young master. I only—"

"I know, you're just fulfilling your duty."

Li Xian smiled and turned to re-enter the house.

Zhang Yao wanted to urge him to seek the lady's approval before going out, but recalling how hurriedly the lady had come and gone for a month without once visiting the young master, she didn't know how to press the matter.

——

Inside the room.

Li Xian was very interested in "blood exchange and marrow cleansing" and "Leakless".

He was even more fascinated by the later stages: "Refining Void into Reality", "All Meridians Connected", and "Reversing Innate".

In his previous life, he had been weak and sickly from birth, abandoned by his parents, and adopted by a wandering Taoist who taught him the way to nourish his body, allowing him to grow up.

Having witnessed the Taoist's peaceful death and the cycle of sickness and death among ordinary people, he became aware of the frailty of the human body, and continued to practice diligently.

Relying on his martial talent, [One Proof, Eternal Proof, Never Regress], he trained bitterly for three years, finally forming the inner core and reaching the pinnacle of martial arts.

To break his limits, he sought duels far and wide, challenged countless experts, and was undefeated—but in doing so, he also made many enemies.

Even as a master who had formed his inner core, he was still made of flesh and blood. In the end, a single bullet ended his life.

When he awoke again, he found himself the son-in-law of the Dingfeng Marquis Residence—Li Xian.

In his former world, True Ki and Innate were but fictions.

Here...

After only a month, he had encountered these extraordinary powers, and was enthralled.

"True Ki and Innate,"

Li Xian thought.

"Unfortunately, the memories Li Xian left me are incomplete. As a bookworm, he believed all trades were inferior to reading, regarding martial artists as boors. Thus, I have to explore the mysteries of martial arts in this world on my own."

After a moment's search, he found his identification badge.

As for the rest...

He left them behind.

For Liu Yanran, "Li Xian" had broken ties with his teachers, family, and friends, abandoning everything for the Marquis Residence.

But for various reasons, the marquis residence never formally admitted him.

Thus, he was still a free man.

Even if he had officially joined as a live-in son-in-law...

Given how the Marquis Residence despised "Li Xian", he had no taste for abuse and would have left regardless.

A month of martial arts training was simply for an easier departure.

Having packed his badge, Li Xian strode out of the inner courtyard alone.

The Dingfeng Marquis Residence was expansive—occupying about a hundred acres in the costly land of Lijiang City.

It housed not just three madams and two young ladies, but also guards, grooms, cooks, maids, and nearly a hundred others.

As Li Xian tried to exit through the main gate, he encountered two guards.

All guards of the Marquis Residence had achieved bone tempering and, in the army, would be considered elite.

When they saw him, the guards did not even greet him and looked at him with a hint of mockery.

Upon noticing his attempt to leave, one guard quickly stepped forward. "Hey, wait—Li Xian, going out? Do you have permission from the lady or the madam?"

"I can't go outside?"

"Once you've entered our Marquis Residence, every move you make concerns our reputation. Without reason and permission, you may not come and go as you please," the other guard stepped in to block him, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

That look...

So wanton, not fearing being beaten?

Fortunately, Li Xian preferred reason over violence—a man not given to fighting at a glare.

He replied calmly, "In terms of conduct, I am no different from a live-in son-in-law, but in terms of status, I am not officially registered. I am the marquis's son-in-law, whether you acknowledge it or not. You have no right to interfere with my comings and goings. To forcibly prevent me would be a servant bullying the master—"

"Outrageous!"

Li Xian hadn't finished before the guard exploded in anger. "I am Zhang Qing, a first-class guard of the Marquis Residence, and you dare insult me? Get back inside!"

"I am merely explaining the cause and effect,"

Li Xian replied patiently.

"You two have no authority over my departure. Right now, you are at fault for obstructing me. Of course, people rarely admit mistakes—errors are always pushed onto others. But if things escalate, all consequences will be yours to bear. When you're beaten up later, wailing and regretful, won't that be shameful—"

Before he could finish, the guard named Zhang Qing shouted furiously, "I told you to get inside! Are you deaf?!"

The other guard could not bear to watch.

"Nagging endlessly!"

He reached straight for Li Xian's shoulder.

A wretch hiding behind a noble lady—deal with him first.

With curved fingers, he lunged quickly, intent on gripping Li Xian's scapula and subduing him.

But almost at the same instant the guard moved, Li Xian moved too.

He wasn't joking when he said to Zhang Yao, "I already understand how to control force, temper the body, and train the organs."

A month's training had produced real results.

As he moved, his bones rang out; his arms wound around the attacking guard's, snakelike, countering even faster and seizing the man's shoulder blade.

With a twist of his fingers—

"Crack!"

"Ah!"

A painful scream split the air.

Overwhelmed by the pain, the guard seemed to lose all strength on one side of his body and slumped to the ground.

The other guard, Zhang Qing, stared wildly, a mixture of shock and fury.

Yet...

His anger was greater than his shock.

"Li Xian! How dare you!"

Zhang Qing roared and gathered his strength, channeling Body Refining into a fierce punch straight for Li Xian's face.

For an ordinary person, a blow like that could shatter teeth at the very least.

But as soon as Zhang Qing threw his punch, the muscle tremors gave away the punch's path.

Li Xian stepped half a step back, shifted his upper body, and parried with his left arm, deflecting the punch almost against his own ear.

In that instant, he set his stance, feet forming a bow stance.

And like drawing a bow, with the left arm deflecting, his right hand shot forward.

Bow Stance Thrust!

With Zhang Qing's punch deflected and his body still overreaching, Li Xian launched his own right palm up, striking Zhang's chin hard.

Force exploded!

From below!

The violent power shook Zhang Qing so hard his teeth flew free and his eighty-kilogram frame shot into the air as straight as a board.

And it didn't end there!

As Zhang Qing flew up a foot, Li Xian lunged forward, arm straightening, then suddenly bent his elbow and brought it down hard.

"Bam!"

"Crack!"

A dull thud and the sound of ribs breaking rang out together.

Zhang Qing, now a foot off the ground, was sent flying back a meter.

He crashed to the threshold, blood gushing as his face turned ghostly pale.

He looked at Li Xian in terror, pain, and disbelief.

"You...you..."

"I knew it would turn out like this."

Meeting his fearful gaze, Li Xian said gently, "All right. Although you were just strutting moments ago, I'm not a monster. You aren't strong enough—it's too soon for you to die at my hands."

He smiled, waved a hand, and strode out the door, leaving the marquis residence.

Only after he left did others in the residence respond to the commotion.

Not long after, a cry echoed through the compound.

"The live-in son-in-law has attacked the master!"