A Divine Phenomenon

It wasn't until he was thoroughly exhausted that Dan Chen noticed it had grown dark.

"Thank goodness for the moon, or it would be troublesome to go downhill... Huh, these nine stars look odd; they're so bright!"

He looked up at the moon and soon noticed something unusual in the sky. He recognized these nine stars; they were the Nine Palaces stars, each with its own unique meaning. Their positions shifted with the changing seasons, and their movements seemed entirely irregular. Yet, today, they had aligned themselves around the moon.

Suddenly, Dan Chen's eyes widened. His lips parted in awe as he witnessed a spectacular scene.

The nine dazzling stars all blinked almost simultaneously, growing even brighter than the central moon. Visible to the naked eye, starlight arcs connected each adjacent pair of stars, forming a complete ring.

As the ring formed, the entire world shook abruptly, as if time itself had stopped, plunging everything into silence.

It felt like it lasted only an instant, yet at the same time, it felt like an eternity.

Gasping heavily, Dan Chen, who was not easily frightened, found himself feeling exceedingly small in the face of this celestial phenomenon.

"That was terrifying. I thought the whole world was going to end." He touched his face, his emotions uncontrollable.

"Huh!"

Dan Chen was startled once more. The nine stars suddenly shot a bright light and converged into one point. Even though it coincided with the moon's position, that single point of light remained dazzling.

Then, the gathered brilliance, akin to a falling star, descended toward the earth, leaving a long tail in the night sky.

"Could it be the descent of a treasure?"

This speculation was not baseless. In ancient times, this world had no martial arts or supernatural powers; it was a desolate and lifeless place. Everyone lived in a state of numbness.

Suddenly, one day, meteorites fell from the sky, carrying numerous fragments of martial wisdom, seeds of supernatural powers, and a rich concentration of spiritual energy.

Since then, martial arts had appeared in the world!

People could now study martial arts, exploring the mysteries of the universe through this newfound power, and this world became more colorful.

Dan Chen was filled with bewilderment, pondering what the celestial phenomenon tonight might be foretelling. The shining light vanished abruptly in the void, and just as he felt a twinge of disappointment, another familiar light appeared a bit more than a yard above him. It darted straight for his head.

How fast was lightning? It crossed thousands of miles in an instant, and the speed of this light wasn't any slower than lightning. Therefore, Dan Chen had no time to react. The light swiftly vanished, going directly into his head.

Dan Chen's body and mind shivered as he felt a massive influx of spiritual energy, flooding his body and his entire consciousness.

"Damn it, I can't pass out!"

For some unknown reason, Dan Chen had this thought in his mind. If he were to lose consciousness at this moment, something bad would definitely happen. So, he forcefully bit his tongue, using the pain to stimulate his nerves.

As soon as he completed these actions, Dan Chen's body stiffened, and he fell straight down, landing in the pool below the waterfall.

However, something odd occurred. He didn't sink to the bottom of the pool. Instead, his body was enveloped by a faint spiritual light, keeping him afloat on the water's surface.

Dramatic changes were happening inside his body. The immense spiritual energy spread through his meridians, coursing through his limbs and organs. In just a short while, Dan Chen's body had progressed several levels, with his skin secreting layers of sweat despite being immersed in the pool beneath the waterfall.

Even though he was in the water, constantly being cleansed by the cascading waterfall, Dan Chen still detected a faint odor in the air.

Dan Chen had no spare thoughts to contemplate the scent. He was enduring intense pain, and whether it was through body tempering or martial practice, both were gradual processes. It involved slow and steady improvement. One couldn’t do it without impatience, and should definitely not expect to achieve rapid results.

However, his current circumstances were beyond the realm of reason, with his physical strength at least increased several times. Even if he had trained diligently for ten years, he might not have reached this level.

To condense ten years of progress into a few dozen breaths of time, what kind of pain did that require? Dan Chen had an inkling.

His body involuntarily twitched, even the muscles on his face pulsed.

“Is it too painful? This way of suffering is too much!” The thought crossed Dan Chen's mind involuntarily.

What was even more unexpected was that, even in such pain, Dan Chen realized he could still think straight. It was an indication that he was becoming accustomed to this level of torment.

Gradually, he started to feel that the pain was not as unbearable as earlier. He began to gather his willpower and tried to regain control of his body. Just when he was on the verge of success, his body suddenly shook.

"Ah!" Dan Chen screamed in agony as his body curled up uncontrollably, and his stomach felt like it had been kicked fiercely. The pain was excruciating.

“Is this even more cruel than before?”

Dan Chen felt a surge of anger and couldn't help but think, "This kind of death is too miserable!"

Then, he suddenly realized, "I can speak!" Having just lost control of his body was an extraordinarily terrifying experience. How would you feel by being conscious while your body refused to obey, leaving you feeling like a living corpse? The feeling was even more terrifying than being a walking corpse.

Dan Chen attempted to move his limbs but found himself unable to. However, moments later, he revealed an ecstatic expression.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

His body emitted a series of cracking sounds as his heartbeat intensified, his blood and Qi surged to their peak, and his muscles rippled.

A cool breath gathered from all parts of his body, circulated through his meridians, passed through his throat, entered his mouth cavity, and finally entered his brow.

Qi converged, and his essence gathered. The connection between man and nature was established!

The Spirit Gathering was successful!

He reached the Initial Martial Realm!

This was the opportunity that every martial artist at the Body Tempering Stage dreamed of. Dan Chen had endured ten years of effort to achieve this moment. He had thought of giving up many times, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Whenever he remembered the hopeful gaze of his mother, the absence of his father, and the oppression he faced from others, he couldn't give up. He couldn't allow himself to give up. He needed to become strong; it was his conviction.

Ten years of extraordinary hardship had finally led to this moment.

An inexplicable sensation filled his entire body and mind. Even without the use of his eyes, he could still perceive the world around him.

As the rumors had suggested, spiritual energy was everywhere in the world. But only after reaching Spirit Gathering could he truly sense it.

Dan Chen suddenly had a profound realization, as his face revealed a hint of understanding. He then noticed that not only had his sensing abilities become stronger, but the world he saw with his eyes had also changed.

The world had never been so clear!

In the darkness of night, several zhang away in the withered grass, a group of ants worked in unison, carrying the carcass of an insect back to their nest. In the distant pine forest, a half-foot-tall gray squirrel clutched a few pine seeds and scurried into a tree hollow. On a tree over ten zhang tall, several birds were carrying bits of straw in and out of their nest, likely fortifying it for the upcoming winter.

"So many living creatures are busy on such a late autumn night."

Dan Chen, like a newborn baby, greedily observed the world. Every discovery filled him with wonder.

It was not until much later that he slowly closed his eyes and allowed his body to sway in the pool, no longer as impatient as before.

"Exhale..."

After some time, Dan Chen opened his eyes again. His gaze had become calm and profound. "I've achieved Spirit Gathering. I've embarked on the true path of martial arts. Martial experts on the continent, here comes Dan Chen!"

Dan Chen gazed up at the sky, his tone filled with unwavering determination and confidence. All along, his biggest enemy had been himself because he had been unable to achieve Spirit Gathering.

Now, having overcome the most significant hurdle, he could stride freely across the vast sea and reach for the sky. He believed that nothing could hinder his progress from now on.

Dan Chen leaped to his feet, landing gracefully on the ground with a skillful somersault.

"I, Dan Chen, am not a waste!"

Thinking about his past experiences, a playful smile crossed Dan Chen's face. How would those people react if they knew he had undergone this transformation?

But suddenly, he felt a chill deep within his mind. His expression stiffened.

"Is there really something inside my head?"

A piece of information appeared in his mind, startling him: "The Ever-Warrior Body, one of the eight ancient martial body types, possesses monstrous martial aptitude, allowing it to merge thousands of martial techniques and skills into one. Before activating the martial body, all the spiritual energy is absorbed by the physical body, making it impossible to achieve Spirit Gathering. Throughout history, nearly 99% of those died of old age as ordinary people before they could activate their martial bodies."

Dan Chen almost choked and nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. "This martial body is just too harsh, isn't it? Nearly 99% of people end up as ordinary folks because of a lack of spiritual energy."

"If it weren't for today's chance, I would have most likely been an ordinary person my whole life."

After contemplating it for a while, Dan Chen began to feel reinvigorated. Now that he had successfully activated his martial body, he could finally taste the benefits it brought.

However, he suddenly wondered, "Where did this information come from, and does something really exist in my brain?"

Fear of the unknown, especially when it concerned the enigmatic brain, was terrifying.

Dan Chen couldn't wait any longer. He focused his thoughts intently, and the newly formed spiritual awareness emanated from him, immediately being drawn into a mysterious light cluster inside his brain.

"What is this place?"

Dan Chen was shocked as he saw a space filled with iridescent colors where rainbows swirled continuously. In the center of this space stood a crystalline jade disc, emitting an inexplicable aura.

Just as Dan Chen was guessing the purpose of this jade disc, another piece of information appeared in his mind, naming it the "Infinite Jade Disc."

"So it's called the Infinite Jade Disc. I wonder what it does."

Dan Chen was growing accustomed to receiving information in this manner. It seemed to be related to this jade disc.

"Use spiritual energy to deduce techniques, skills, repair flaws, and raise levels."

Another piece of information appeared, and Dan Chen couldn't help but gasp.