Chapter 11: Meridian Diagram

Yan Xiu fell into the golden abyss. When he finally landed, he found himself in a mysterious underground cave, surrounded by strange humanoid stone statues.

Not long after, a girl arrived—Du Yishuang, a disciple from Storm Manor at the 6th Qi Transformation Stage. Soon, three more disciples appeared, two from the High Heaven Pavilion and one from Storm Manor. Among them were Nie Yong, Lan Chu Die, and Zuo An, all stronger than him.

Nie Yong quickly approached, placing an arm around Yan Xiu's shoulder, offering to "protect" him with obvious ulterior motives. But before Yan Xiu could respond, someone tapped his shoulder.

Turning around, he came face to face with a familiar-looking disciple—that guy.

Before anything else could be said, Nie Yong's voice rang out, recognizing the newcomer, and even Lan Chu Die seemed surprised and happy to see him.

The interactions between them were brief, but from them, Yan Xiu learned that the guy's name was Yang Kai.

The ground suddenly trembled. The statues began to move, their stone bodies creaking as they advanced toward the group.

Without hesitation, all five of them turned and ran. The statues gave chase, their heavy footsteps echoing through the cave.

Spotting a cluster of pillars ahead, they quickly decided to take cover behind them. But just as they all hid, Yang Kai arrived—leading one of the statues straight toward them.

Nie Yong immediately started slandering him, accusing him of trying to get them killed, while the others tensed in alarm. But Yang Kai remained calm.

"It's only one. We can destroy it."

After a brief hesitation, the group agreed.

Together, they lunged at the statue, unleashing their martial skills in unison. Their combined attacks struck with full force—shattering the statue into pieces.

Yan Xiu's breath was ragged. He had given his all, yet all he managed to do was leave a small scratch on the stone. The others had done most of the work—he was simply too weak compared to them.

But what unsettled him even more was Yang Kai. Supposedly, he was only at the 7th Initial Element Stage, yet he was several times stronger than him. How?

Before he could dwell on it further, Nie Yong's voice rang out again, slandering Yang Kai as if it were his duty. But this time, Yang Kai ignored him. Instead, he reached down and pulled something from the rubble of the shattered statue.

A small stone statue—no, a Meridian Diagram.

An object that recorded the sequence of meridians a cultivator needed to circulate Qi through in order to learn a martial skill.

The moment they saw it, excitement filled the air. Even Yan Xiu snapped out of his thoughts.

How did Yang Kai know there was something like this inside the stone statue?

The group decided to stay in the cave for a few days to secure six Meridian Diagrams—one for each of them.

At Nie Yong's suggestion, Yan Xiu was chosen as the bait since he was the weakest.

Five days passed. They had only obtained four Meridian Diagrams, as not every statue contained one. It was nowhere near enough for all six of them. Worse, the cave was becoming more and more dangerous. In the end, the group decided to stop before they risked their lives for nothing.

As for the issue of the missing diagrams, Nie Yong resolved it in the simplest way possible—Yang Kai and Yan Xiu, the weakest of the group and the ones who contributed the least, wouldn't get one.

Frustration bubbled inside Yan Xiu. He had risked his life more than everyone being the bait, done everything he could to not being caught by those stone statues, and yet, just because he was weaker, he was cast aside like he didn't matter. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

But compared to him, Yang Kai seemed even more affected. His expression darkened slightly, his fists clenching at his sides. Though he didn't argue, the simmering frustration was clear in his eyes.

Then, after a moment of silence, Yang Kai turned to Yan Xiu and casually invited him to go hunt statues on their own.

He and Yang Kai had grown somewhat close over the past few days. Their personalities and interests aligned, so it was natural for them to get along.

And yet… he couldn't shake the strange feeling that came with this friendship. As if, deep down, something inside him rejected it.

But he didn't know why. He thought that his soul's hatred for him had already disappeared.

Yan Xiu hesitated.

Going up against the stone statues alone was dangerous. He had barely done anything to the last one they fought together—what made him think he could defeat one by himself?

Seeing his hesitation, Yang Kai glanced at him and simply asked, "Do you want to get stronger or not?"

Yan Xiu's breath hitched.

That single sentence struck deep. His doubts, his insecurities, the frustration of being left behind—it all came crashing down at once.

But amidst all of that, his desire burned brighter.

Yan Xiu clenched his fists and exhaled sharply, forcing his hesitation away.

They moved toward the hoard of stone statues. Yan Xiu was about to suggest they lure one away carefully when—

"Yan Xiu! Try to kill the one with the squarest head!" Yang Kai's voice rang out as he suddenly dashed straight into the statues. "He's the 'youngest' of them, so he's the weakest! You can kill it! I'll search for a suitable opponent for myself, good luck!"

And just like that, he disappeared into the middle of the stone statues.

Yan Xiu's eye twitched.

"Fuck... Yang Kai is really crazy..."

He took a deep breath, gripping his sword tightly as he focused on the statue Yang Kai had pointed out.

Then, with resolve burning in his eyes, he lunged forward.

"But his methods to grow stronger are surely the simplest and the most efficient."

Yan Xiu didn't hesitate. The moment he reached the statue, his sword blurred as he unleashed his Flowing Sword Art.

Like water cascading over rocks, his blade danced around the stone figure, each strike fluid yet precise.

And just as Yang Kai had said—this one was different.

His Flowing Sword Art, which had only managed to scratch the previous statues, now sliced deeper, leaving significant cuts in its stone body. It wasn't an overwhelming difference, but it was enough.

Yan Xiu's eyes sharpened.

Physically, they were evenly matched—the statue's raw strength countered by his superior technique. The battle became a test of endurance, skill, and sheer willpower.

His breath grew ragged. His arms trembled from fatigue. But his eyes never wavered.

One more!

Summoning the last of his strength, he stepped in, twisted his sword at the perfect angle—and struck.

A final slash cut through the weakened spot on the statue's torso—crack! A fracture spread across its stone body, and with a final groan, it crumbled to the ground.

Yan Xiu stumbled, barely catching himself. His vision blurred from exhaustion. His body screamed in pain.

But he had won.

To be continued...

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This was the rewriting. It's better for a simulation right? It's still too detailed but I didn't know how to put it shorter.

Anyway, did you all like it?

Be sure to check out my original novel Hyperborea!