Deduction of the Clan's Martial Arts

On this particular evening, Dan Chen was so excited that he couldn't fall asleep. It's not his lack of self-control; anyone who gained such a tremendous stroke of luck in such a short time would likely have trouble sleeping at night.

At dawn, Liu Wanfeng got up to cook and found the courtyard in deformation, with uneven ground and dead branches and leaves everywhere. Her precious son was practicing martial arts with great enthusiasm, and just as he threw a punch, it caused the soil at the edge of the flower bed to scatter.

"You little rascal, aren't you planning to live a peaceful life? Do you want to demolish the house?"

Dan Chen hung his head, enduring a morning of scolding. But he could sense that Liu Wanfeng wasn't genuinely angry. Even when she scolded him, she couldn't help but smile.

This inner joy, Dan Chen hadn't experienced it for many years. He felt genuinely content.

"I'm going to see Grandfather!" With matters on his mind, Dan Chen quickly finished his meal and dashed off.

The main residence of the Dan family was located in the heart of the clan, and it was grand and imposing. In particular, the Jade Truth Hall was constructed from massive blocks of blue jade, with no unnecessary embellishments. However, every time Dan Chen stepped inside, he couldn't help but feel a sense of solemnity.

Dan Ming, as the head of the Dan family, had held power within the clan for decades, and his prestige was extremely high. In recent years, he had gradually delegated clan affairs, focusing only on major matters, leaving routine matters to his son, the Deputy Clan Chief, and Dan Chen's elder uncle.

In his everyday life, Dan Ming secluded himself in a courtyard within the Jade Truth Hall, devoting himself to the study of martial arts. The stronger his strength, the more secure the Dan family's position.

Upon entering the courtyard, Dan Chen halted, and his gaze fell on a flower bed not far from the path. A middle-aged man in a green robe was trimming the branches and leaves in the flower bed. His expression was focused, and his square face showed no emotion, exuding a natural dignity.

"Grandfather, Dan Chen pays his respects and thanks you for protecting me and Mother." Dan Chen walked over and respectfully bowed.

The old man was Dan Ming, known for his strong-willed and unyielding character. Even in the face of the Wang family's suppression, he ensured the Dan family remained among the noble houses.

What Dan Chen was most grateful for was that after his father disappeared, the clan chief had taken great care of him and his mother. Liu Wanfeng's management of the clan's elixir store couldn't have happened without Dan Ming's full support.

Dan Ming rose upon hearing this and, seeing Dan Chen, a slight smile appeared on his stern face. "I am the clan chief, and protecting our clan members is my duty. You don't need to thank me..."

"Wait! What?"

Dan Ming suddenly wore a look of astonishment. He focused his True Qi into his eyes, and two brilliant lights flashed. He carefully examined Dan Chen and then burst into laughter, saying, "You've gathered spiritual energy; that's great!"

Dan Chen tensed all over. Dan Ming's gaze was too extraordinary, as if he had already seen through him. Could it be a pupil-based martial technique? It was impressive!

"I only broke through last night," Dan Chen felt a bit embarrassed. Most of his peers in the clan had successfully gathered spiritual energy when they were twelve or thirteen years old, but he had delayed until now.

"As long as you've broken through, it’s a good thing. Being a year or two late doesn't matter. Don't burden yourself," Dan Ming guessed his thoughts and encouraged, "As long as you persist, your achievements won't be any worse than others. Remember, you are Dan Hao's son. Your father was the best among the clan's peers back in the day."

Hearing the name of his father's prestige in the past, Dan Chen's spirit stirred, his energy surged, and his young face flushed brightly. "Grandfather, rest assured, I will work hard and not bring shame to my father."

"Good!" Dan Ming nodded with a bright smile. "That's the spirit of the Dan family."

Then, Dan Ming's expression turned serious again. "You've gathered spiritual energy. According to the clan's rules, you can now practice the Supreme Jade True Art. I will now impart the mantra to you."

The Supreme Jade True Art was the Dan family's martial arts, reserved only for direct descendants. Dan Chen's grandfather and Dan Ming were brothers, part of the family's main bloodline, which naturally qualified him to learn it.

This technique had over a thousand words, with complicated sentences that were hard to understand. Dan Ming had to explain each sentence carefully, and it took more than an hour for him to explain the entire technique. He concluded by saying, "This technique was discovered by our clan's ancestors by chance over a hundred years ago. It forms the foundation of the Dan family in Tianyun City, even though it's an incomplete part. After generations of improvements, it's considered a top-grade technique within the clan. If you study it diligently and remain patient, you'll be able to master it within three to seven days..."

Dan Ming's voice stopped abruptly as he noticed that Dan Chen was already seated on the ground, beginning to practice.

"This stubborn kid, why is he so impatient? Just like his father back in the day. Practicing martial arts should not be disturbed. He should cultivate in a quiet room instead of doing it haphazardly." Dan Ming was helpless and could only watch over him.

He had already made up his mind. When Dan Chen inevitably failed his attempt, he would use it as an opportunity to have him go into seclusion, conveniently avoiding the recent upheaval brought about by the Wang family.

In Dan Chen's mind, the jade disc was in an excited state, absorbing nearly a hundred strands of spiritual energy in the surrounding space. It had reached its peak state. A spiritual energy light shadow sat cross-legged, and with each sentence of the technique, the light shadow condensed a bit. By the end, lines of meridians had formed within the light shadow, exactly matching those in a human body.

A path for the flow of spiritual energy started from his dantian and extended along the meridians, forming a complete circuit.

During this process, Dan Chen completed his first cycle, with a few extra drops of True Qi in his dantian. He didn't stop but followed the light shadow inside the jade disc to initiate the second cycle.

Beside him, Dan Ming, acting as a guardian, was already astounded. His calm face displayed nothing but astonishment.

With his martial arts knowledge and understanding of the Supreme Jade True Art, Dan Ming naturally recognized that Dan Chen had already completed an entire cycle. How was this possible? Could he succeed in cultivation by simply listening to the mantra once? Even Dan Ming, back in the day, couldn't do that.

It's worth noting that, not only was Dan Ming the top talent of the Dan family, he was also one of the top three talents in Tianyun City. After obtaining the technique, he spent a full three years painstakingly comprehending it, struggling through its complexities to barely complete one cycle. Such an achievement had already astounded the clan chief at the time, considering him a once-in-a-few-decades genius. Dan Ming's natural aptitude even surpassed Dan Hao and the current Dan family prodigy, Dan Yuan.

A genius, absolutely a genius! Dan Ming was filled with excitement. Perhaps this young man might surpass him in the future. The rise of the Dan family might depend on this youngster.

Dan Ming immediately became alert. Although he was in his own home, he looked around just to be sure no one was eavesdropping. Then, he focused his gaze on Dan Chen again.

"No, something's not right!" Dan Ming's gaze froze, and all expressions on his face turned rigid.

Dan Chen emitted a faint aura, which was a normal occurrence during martial arts practice. Martial artists needed to absorb the spiritual energy that freely roamed the world, transforming it into True Qi. Different practices emitted different auras.

However, the aura emanating from Dan Chen was unusual.

Dan Ming instantly noticed the anomaly. After immersing himself in the Supreme Jade True Art for several decades, he was incredibly familiar with it. Dan Chen's aura, as it emerged, was distinctly different from the aura of the first cycle of the technique.

"What's going on?"

Dan Ming frowned deeply; this wasn't a good sign. Every martial art had gone through extensive refinement and precision. The slightest deviation could lead to severe consequences. In the worst case, it could result in backlash, or even possession by malevolent forces, causing instant death.

Dan Ming's heart tightened. He hurriedly activated his True Pupil Technique to its utmost, and what he saw became extraordinary.

In his eyes, there were various colors surrounding Dan Chen, filled with different auras. As the Supreme Jade True Art circulated, most of the yellow auras were absorbed, flowing into Dan Chen's meridians, transforming into True Qi within his body.

Dan Ming kept a close watch on the path of True Qi within Dan Chen's body, and his expression changed from initial tension to astonishment, then contemplation, and finally, to a realization.

"It can be done this way!" Dan Ming suddenly covered his mouth, muffling the exclamation that was about to escape, afraid it might disturb Dan Chen.

"The problem that has troubled us for over a century, and it can be solved in such a manner. Why didn't I think of this before?" Dan Ming murmured to himself with a somewhat lost expression. "The Supreme Jade True Art is an Earth-attribute technique with obvious flaws due to its incompleteness. The True Qi cultivated from it is impure, but it doesn't have a significant impact during the early stages of cultivation. However, as one advances, it becomes problematic. Most of our clan's ancestors remain at the seventh rank of Initial Martial. Advancing further is even more challenging than reaching the heavens!"

"The spleen meridian governs the process. It's such a simple principle, and I never thought of it. The spleen belongs to the Earth element, and during the refinement of spiritual energy, it occurs in the spleen meridian. This can eliminate impurities in True Qi. It's incredible! With this method, reaching the fifth rank is no longer a problem; one could even go further."

Dan Ming was ecstatic. At this moment, he didn't seem like the clan chief at all but rather a child who had received a delightful toy.

However, Dan Ming was after all the clan chief. His decades of experience were beyond the grasp of ordinary people, and he soon regained his composure. Yet, as he watched Dan Chen, his eyes burned with a newfound fervor.

"Chen can actually improve a martial art. What kind of ability is this? It's no longer appropriate to call him a genius; he's a true monster!"

"How far will he grow in the future? A small place like Tianyun City probably can't satisfy him!"

Dan Ming was torn. On one hand, he hoped that Dan Chen would grow and help the family rise, but on the other hand, he was worried that the family would become a burden to Dan Chen.

For the Dan family, and even a small place like Tianyun City, couldn't hold a true genius. Only by going beyond would he have an infinite future.

"Stop thinking about all this. The most pressing matter is to guide the family through the current crisis. We can think about the future later."

Dan Ming quickly gathered his thoughts. He watched Dan Chen's cultivation with a serious expression, as he combined Chen’s practice with his own experience. However, as time passed, he became more and more astonished.

Because, during Dan Ming's third cycle of cultivation, the route of True Qi changed once again, becoming even more refined than before.

"Hiss! It’s still improving!" Dan Ming was completely absorbed, his gaze unwavering, afraid of missing any detail.

As time ticked by, Dan Ming even forgot the passage of time. He carefully memorized every step, and the aura within his body gradually changed. The initially impure True Qi was becoming purer.

Suddenly, a red light appeared out of thin air three feet above Dan Chen's head, enveloping him.

"Heavenly Reward!" Dan Ming couldn't help but exclaim.