C12 Survival of the Fittest

Bang! Bang! Bang! The punches and kicks raining down on Xu Tianzhi intensified, the sickening sound of breaking bones punctuating the assault.

Despite the excruciating pain, Xu Tianzhi neither cried out nor pleaded for mercy. He was acutely aware of whom he had crossed, and he was now paying the price for it.

Crying out or begging would only embolden his attacker and invite mockery.

"Could he be dead?" a man questioned, noting Xu Tianzhi's stillness.

"He's not moving anymore."

"This Xu Tianzhi, he's just an apprentice. If he's really dead, that could be problematic."

"Let's get out of here before anyone shows up."

It took a long time before Xu Tianzhi managed to crawl out of the bag. That simple act felt like an immense effort, draining all his strength. Agonizing pain wracked his body; he couldn't even tell how many bones were shattered. Each slight movement brought a pain so deep, it felt as if it reached his very soul.

It was more than physical pain—it was the crushing psychological pressure and a sense of utter despair.

Someone with the clout to attack him within Hengshan and face minimal repercussions for his death had to be a person of significance. Xu Tianzhi was neither part of the elite nor among the prodigies. In his sect, he had always remained neutral, minding his own business.

He couldn't fathom who he had offended.

Just days ago, Xu Tianzhi could have been found in his residence's courtyard, meditating and gathering spiritual energy in the serene moonlight, attended to by others. Now, he lay beaten and broken like a lifeless dog in this stifling basement.

Without the privileges of a disciple and with a martial arts journey that seemed hopelessly bleak, he was overwhelmed by the thought of his family's anxious looks. Was life really meant to be this hard for an ordinary person without privileges in this world?

Why is this world so starkly unfair?

A torrent of emotions—anger, hatred, despair—erupted within Xu Tianzhi. Lost in his thoughts, he felt adrift like a solitary boat on an endless sea, engulfed by loneliness, silence, and hopelessness.

Just then, two orbs of soft light appeared before Xu Tianzhi. They were gentle, not blinding in the slightest, and their presence soothed his troubled mind significantly.

The orbs lingered but briefly, hovering for a mere two or three seconds before swiftly gliding toward Xu Tianzhi's eyes.

Instinctively, he tried to evade them, but despite their seemingly slow approach, they moved with astonishing speed!

Warmth spread through his eyes, and Xu Tianzhi immediately felt a comforting warmth coursing from his eyes to his heart, where strange energies began to converge.

Suddenly, his heartbeat surged with strength, pumping the warm energy through his body with each powerful throb. The pain he felt diminished greatly wherever the warmth traveled.

"This is a blessing!" Xu Tianzhi's initial shock quickly gave way to elation. Indeed, the heavens never seal all paths—this adage was no mere platitude.

The warm currents continued to wash over Xu Tianzhi's body. Overwhelmed with joy, he gazed upon himself and was met with another astonishing revelation.

In that instant, Xu Tianzhi saw not the familiar sight of himself but something extraordinary. His eyes no longer perceived flesh and blood; it was as if his entire body had been laid bare, dissected for examination.

He appeared as a transparent anatomical model, with every meridian and vessel distinctly outlined, dissected by his own gaze.

Studying his body, each meridian shimmered like a delicate thread of light, forming an intricate, three-dimensional pattern of countless pathways. As an electrical circuit specialist, Xu Tianzhi was struck by the resemblance. To him, his body now seemed like an immense, three-dimensional circuit board—yet infinitely more complex than any he had ever encountered.

In the realm of cultivation, there's a belief that the human body is the most enigmatic entity, brimming with infinite hidden treasures and untapped potential. In that instant, he grasped the profound truth of these words.

Xu Tianzhi had ascended to the rank of a Level Three Array Master, yet when he compared his knowledge of arrays to the intricate network of meridians within the human body, he realized they were incomparable. The complexity of the body's meridians was on an entirely different level—like comparing the earth to the sky.

As Xu Tianzhi examined his own body, he was struck by a sudden jolt. He observed that along the most radiant meridian, there were nine major acupoints. Eight of these had been successfully breached, shining with a brilliant light. The ninth acupoint, however, despite being cracked, remained unopened and was noticeably dimmer in contrast to the others.

He understood that this was his Divine Palace Acupoint, and without breaking through this particular point, he could not ascend to the ranks of the Body Quenching Stage warriors.