Form a Divine Rune, Gain a Supernatural Power!

Two months had passed since the incident and Ling Feng had fully recovered under his grandfather's careful attendance. To be honest, if his grandfather hadn't carried him out of the Su Residence that day, Ling Feng doubted whether he would've made it out alive.

But even if Ling Kun hadn't saved him, and even though he knew the truth now, Ling Feng would never be able to see the old man as anything other than his grandfather.

Mind clear of this, he jumped onto his bed and began to read from an ancient book.

The book was titled 'The Transcendent Acupuncture Technique'. He had been told that it was his biological grandfather's life's work. And in truth, no other medicinal scripture he'd read had ever come close to being its equal. Recognizing the treasure for what it was, he'd come to memorize every word and master every skill it contained. But ever since his grandfather had told him that it might contain the secrets to his life experience, he couldn't help but flip through its pages for the thousandth time.

"Perhaps both volumes are required to solve the riddle of my life experience."

Ling Feng clenched his fists at this guess of his. After the incident with Su Lin, he'd finally understood the way of the universe. Simply being skilled in the medicinal arts alone was not enough to survive in this world. He needed strength as well.

"Grandfather said that tomorrow someone would be escorting me to the Questioning Immortal Sect of the Mountain of the Nine Immortals. After I apprentice myself to a master and become powerful enough, I can rush to the Yan Family and recapture the second half of the Transcendent Acupuncture Technique!"

He was more than a little anxious to begin cultivating already. From what little he'd learned about the Yan Family; their influence was enormous in the Tianbai Empire. It would be risking certain death to demand his birthright as he was now, and he had no intentions on dying so soon.

He didn't dwell on this thought for too long, as seconds later, his attention was back on the medicinal scripture in his hand. Although he was well-versed in the classic, he felt that every time he studied it, his understanding of the human body increased a bit further. At this point, he was sure that his knowledge of the human physique had already surpassed his biological grandfather, reaching an unprecedented level.

"If grandfather had practiced this instead of giving it to me, perhaps he might've become a peerless powerhouse!" Ling Feng took a deep breath as the strange thought flashed through his mind.

"Well?"

At this moment, Ling Feng turned to the last page of the classic. Upright, the page appeared to be normal with its mention of different medicinal theories and ways to carry out acupuncture. But when he looked at it horizontally, four hidden characters suddenly emerged.

"Inside the book cover?"

Ling Feng's eyes concentrated. Was there something hidden within the book's cover?

Curious, Ling Feng closed the classic and began tracing his fingers over the front of the book. Discovering nothing the first time, he tried once more.

"It seems I'm merely entertaining a delusion." Ling Feng smiled bitterly.

If the cover of the book had truly hidden something, wouldn't he have discovered it long ago?

But before he could put the book back down, its title seemed to glow.

"Well?"

Ling Feng's eye's concentrated as he put a hand out to block the light. Then he watched with amazement as the edge of the book's cover peeled back ever so slightly to reveal a mysterious parchment of gold.

Taking a deep breath, he began to gently peel the rest of the cover away. A few soft tugs later and the book's cover was removed, completely uncovering the golden parchment beneath.

"Chaos – Heavenly – Emperor – Art!"

Ling Feng looked at the golden parchment and began reading the title, "Chaos Heavenly Emperor Art."

Five vigorous brushstrokes like five flood dragons shook his mind.

"Chaos Heavenly Emperor Art?"

Ling Feng took another deep breath and read on, "Only with the Blood of the Son of Heaven may one practice this unsurpassed divine art. The child of the Deva Path possesses the eyes of the Human, Deva, and Asura Paths which are called the mortal eye, deva eye, and asura eye. The left eye is for human, the right is for heaven, and the third is for asura. These three eyes, collectively, are called the Tianzi Eyes, the Eyes of the Son of Heaven."

Raging waves and stormy seas raged in Ling Feng's heart. The more he read, the more shocked he became.

'I simultaneously awakened three eyes that day. It's no wonder I became so weak afterward,' he thought.

Ling Feng began to read about the mortal eye and the deva eye's cultivation method.

"The Eyes of the Son of Heaven rule over the changes of the six heavenly influences – form a divine rune, gain a supernatural power..."

Ling Feng was well-versed in the principles of medicine. He understood the yin-yang structure and the theory of the five-phase elements of the body. By heart, he knew how Qi circulated and the location of every internal organ and meridian. Therefore, as if blessed by God, he quickly examined and comprehended the contents of the divine art.

Within an hour, he had studied that thin, golden parchment several times over, and although the golden parchment had made no mention of his life experience, it had allowed him to understand just what the Tianzi Eyes were. According to it, the only reason he had been driven into a murderous rage that night and lost part of his life essence was because he hadn't been using them properly. His eyes weren't the double-edged sword he and his grandfather had thought them to be. At least, he knew that the mortal eye and the deva eye weren't. This volume provided no insight into the asura eye or its method of cultivation. However, he believed that knowledge of it would be contained in the second half of the Transcendent Acupuncture Technique.

Finished absorbing the information, Ling Feng carefully placed the cover back over the medicinal scripture. Then he began to induce the six cosmic Qi, or six heavenly influences, mentioned in the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Art. According the divine art, the six cosmic Qi were called Terminal Yin Wind Wood, Lesser Yin Imperial Fire, Greater Yin Damp Earth, Lesser Yang Ministerial Flame, Bright Yang Dry Metal, and Greater Yang Cold Water.

Each Qi corresponded with one or more of the twelve standard meridians found within the human body. For example, the Qi that flowed within the Foot's Terminal Yin Liver Meridian (足厥阴肝经) and the Hand's Terminal Yin Heart Meridian (手厥阴心经) was called Terminal Yin Wind Wood. And the Qi that circulated in the Hand's Lesser Yin Heart Meridian (手少阴心经) and the Foot's Lesser Yin Kidney Meridian (足少阴肾经) was called Lesser Yin Imperial Fire.

As Ling Feng began to control the six cosmic Qi according to the mortal eye's cultivation method, his left eye grew hot. He rushed to the mirror and examined it carefully. On the pupil of his left eye, a strange mark in the shape of a yin-yang fish, such as the ones found on the Yin-Yang Primal Chaos Chart, hovered.

Ling Feng's heart moved.

"Is this the so-called form a divine rune, gain a supernatural power? But where is the ability I was promised? According to the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Art, the mortal eye's first ability is Absorption and Refinement."

Ling Feng got his answer in the next moment as his form, like a giant vortex, began absorbing the surrounding world vitality at an alarming rate. A few heartbeats later, a pleasant sensation seemed to ripple across his flesh and bones, as if his body had passed through an invisible barrier, entering into a new world.

Ling Feng's eyes concentrated fiercely as strands of true Qi began to gather into his cinnabar field and form a Qi sea.

This was a sign that he had entered the Coagulating Qi Boundary.

His grandfather had told him that the path of martial arts began with the Tempering Body Boundary. Cultivators in this stage weren't considered true martial artists, but rather martial apprentices. The average person started this process of training the body at a very young age. It could take years, decades even, for someone to reach the Body Tempering 10th stage, draw Qi into the body, and promote to the Coagulating Qi Boundary.

But he, who had never practiced before, had been able to use his mortal eye to directly enter into the Coagulating Qi Boundary.

His hands shivered with excitement.

"Does this mean that so long as the first divine rune is activated, my practice speed will dramatically increase?"

Suddenly, while in the midst of his excitement, a flood of exhaustion rolled over his mind like an unstoppable wave. Ling Feng hurried to deactivate the divine rune.

Once the world vitality returned to its former tranquility, he let out a long sigh. He was clear now that at his current strength, he could only activate the mortal eye's first divine rune for thirty breaths a day. After that, he would become too tired to go on.

However, thirty breaths were all he needed. The previous moment had proved that such a time compared favorably with an average person's several years of painstaking cultivation.

After a short rest, Ling Feng condensed the first divine rune of the deva eye. According to the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Art, the first ability of the deva eye was Insight and Duplication. In other words, he could comprehend and duplicate any cultivation method and martial skill that had been observed by it, an ability that defied heaven.

Suddenly overcome by a flash of youthful impatience, Ling Feng began to form the deva eye's first divine rune.

He was done not long after starting. Unfortunately, there was no one around for him to test it on, and after forming two divine runes one after the other, he found himself utterly exhausted.

Feeling too tired to do anything else, he quickly succumbed to the lull of sleep, still cradling the Transcendent Acupuncture Technique in his arms.