Chapter Forty-Four: Overnight Fame

Boom—

Su Ye’s body trembled, the celestial thunder within him flickered again, as if it were about to tear the heavens asunder. He was utterly shocked; he had only intended to write down a method for opening meridians, yet he had unexpectedly gained so much more.

“The book I saw as a child in my family—could it be true? Are there truly sages who achieve sudden enlightenment in a single moment? This feeling of clarity, of thoughts flowing unhindered, can actually break through the acupoints and become a saint overnight! This can surely be called the True Meridian of the Real Person!”

His brush did not pause; instead, he continued to swiftly write out the ancient meridian-opening method he had envisioned. The celestial thunder within him surged in response, breaking through several major acupoints in succession.

“It’s getting exhausting!”

Su Ye’s hand holding the brush trembled violently. Whether it was the flickering thunder within him or the repeated opening of acupoints, his body was struggling to bear the strain, and now he felt so weary he could barely stand.

Sweat had soaked through his clothes long ago, and a drop fell onto the rice paper below. Surely, the treasures passed down from the ancients were acquired with a thousand times the hardship he was experiencing now.

Boom—True Meridian of the Real Person

He had only written half of the True Meridian when the brush in his hand snapped with a sharp crack. A gust of wind surged from within him, sweeping through the entire calligraphy room and scattering the rice paper everywhere.

Su Ye gasped heavily, unable to continue writing.

“Squeak!!”

At that moment, the door to the calligraphy room was pushed open.

Jiang Liuying entered, dressed in an adorably fluffy rabbit pajama set, the sleep cap on her head adorned with two pink ears. She was exceedingly cute. Hands on her hips, her sleepy expression vanished as she widened her eyes, her rosy lips pouting in indignation, almost melting anyone who saw her. She exclaimed,

“Su Ye, are you insane? Do you even know what time it is? Still writing at this hour—can’t you count sheep if you can’t sleep? You’re so loud, I thought an assassin had come again!”

Su Ye finally glanced at the wall clock; it was already past three in the morning. He had written so little, yet it was so late?

“Hey, hey, mind your words! No personal attacks! What I’m writing is an original method for opening meridians—it’s incredible. Later, I’ll tailor one just for you, guarantee you’ll open a new acupoint every ten days, rising fast!”

Jiang Liuying’s eyes widened further. She picked up a piece of rice paper from the floor, looked at the brushwork for a moment, then silently approached Su Ye and extended her fair hand to touch his forehead.

“What are you doing?” Su Ye caught a faint, pleasant fragrance from her, but her cold hand on his forehead felt odd.

“Shh—No fever! But you’re clearly not well! Why are you drenched in sweat? Ugh, what’s this—so sticky!” Jiang Liuying frowned at the sweat on her hand, glaring at Su Ye in disgust before wiping her hand on his clothes.

And so, their conversation took a strange turn.

“Don’t touch me, I won’t be responsible if anything happens. I said stop—hey, what are you doing?” Su Ye clenched his fist, waving it in front of Jiang Liuying’s delicate face.

“Oh, what’s this? So big—tsk tsk, surprisingly hard! If you got hit a few times, wouldn’t it hurt like hell?”

“Of course. Scared, aren’t you? Even one hit would be too much for you! I already told you, I’ve gotten much stronger now; don’t touch me!”

“Haha, you used to be so small, lately you’ve gotten bigger. Look, the veins are showing—ugh, ugly, so ugly… Look at mine, now that’s beautiful…” Jiang Liuying giggled mischievously.

Just then, there was another thud as the door to the calligraphy room was pushed open.

The two inside stared in surprise at the doorway, where an elder stood, his face flushed. “Master Jiang!”

“Dad? Why are you here at this hour?” Jiang Ziyang coughed awkwardly, noticing his daughter curiously eyeing Su Ye’s clenched fist.

“Ahem, what are you two discussing so late about fists? You’re disturbing everyone’s sleep—go to bed now… Why is this place such a mess? Clean up quickly.”

Jiang Liuying hopped happily over to Jiang Ziyang, wrapping her arm around his, smiling brightly. “Dad, Su Ye’s fist is so ugly, haha.”

With that, she left.

Su Ye looked at the scattered rice papers—all his meridian-opening methods! He gathered them, took them back to his room, sorted them in order, and uploaded photos directly to the “Spirit Cultivation Hall.”

Though it was only half a set, he was certain it was ten times more advanced than any meridian-opening method he’d ever seen.

After uploading, Su Ye quietly felt the acupoints he’d opened. Under the impact of the celestial thunder, he had opened seven more, for a total of thirty now!

“Excellent! Though the lightning source is depleted, once it recovers, I should be able to write the second half. I hope this method can help me, a novice Guide, to level up and gain deeper insights!”

What Su Ye did not know was that, in a single night, his True Meridian had shaken the entire Spirit Cultivation Hall.

It shot straight to the top of the trending list.

“What? Master Qinglei has published a meridian-opening method rated above seven stars? Impossible!”

“This really is a meridian-opening method! It works as described—much stronger than what we currently practice!”

“No way! Is it more comprehensive than ‘Thousand Absolute Heart Method’ and ‘Grand Foundation of Meridian Opening’? Did Master Qinglei obtain this true method from forbidden zones? Why only half? Where’s the rest?”

This astonishing news instantly swept through the Spirit Cultivation Hall, driving countless martial artists into a frenzy.

Everyone wanted to investigate the identity of “Qinglei,” wondering how such a person could be merely a novice Guide. If this was just a beginner, what did that make the one-star, two-star, and three-star Guides?

But unfortunately—

No matter how frantically they searched for “Qinglei,” they found nothing. He seemed to have appeared from nowhere, with no prior activity.

Only the elders at the headquarters of the Spirit Cultivation Hall would have the authority to investigate—but those elders were legendary figures, rarely seen, and certainly not likely to pursue a novice Guide’s identity.

Silently, “Qinglei,” the novice Guide, became famous overnight!

Countless martial artists were driven mad!

This method was truly unprecedented!

That very night, countless cultivators began practicing the True Meridian.

Even elderly martial artists were stirred, for in all of China, the Spirit Cultivation Hall encompassed almost all martial artists, every movement affecting the great families.

“This is definitely a true method! Rated above seven stars! We must get the second half, no matter the cost!”

“How could such a true method be published within the access range for novices? Did Qinglei do this on purpose? It must be intentional! He wants to make the True Meridian public—there must be a great secret, perhaps an enormous conspiracy behind it!”

A tumultuous night left many martial artists sleepless.

Yet Su Ye knew nothing of this.

When he awoke the next day, he received a formal invitation from the Martial Alliance.

“Who would have thought I’d get the Martial Alliance invitation card so soon? I can go today—this is so fast!” Su Ye held the card, puzzled as to why the Martial Alliance was in such a hurry.

Jiang Ziyang, however, remained calm. “Don’t worry! The Martial Alliance invitation card is never mistaken. Even the Yu and Ou families wouldn’t dare touch you. This is said to be an internship opportunity, but in reality, it’s a chance for many geniuses to train together. You must cherish it!”

Su Ye knew his cultivation had soared, but compared to the mighty Yu and Ou families, he was still insignificant. He needed to seize every opportunity to improve.

Moreover, aside from the Ou family, other forces had stolen his thunder meridian. That meant there were unknown enemies watching him from the shadows.

“Alright! I’ll definitely make the most of this opportunity!”

Su Ye had little to fear now—even the Jiang family was no longer safe, so what difference did other places make?

Many in the Jiang family noticed the young master’s recovery and fighting spirit, far better than before, leaving them all deeply gratified.

Jiang Liuying, on the other hand, looked at him disdainfully and snorted, “Never seen anyone so foolish. Going off to be a laborer and so excited! Foolish, isn’t it? Dad, you’re sending him alone—what if he meets his enemies? He has more enemies than meals!”

Jiang Ziyang sighed, “No outsiders can accompany a Martial Alliance invitation! The Yu family didn’t dare act after what happened to Yu Zhisha, because they fear the Martial Alliance. They didn’t act before, and they certainly won’t now!”

Jiang Liuying pouted, “Fine! Hey, Su Ye, bring hemostatic and antidote pills. Don’t die and embarrass me. Got it?”

Su Ye ground his teeth in frustration!

What attitude was this? Is she really treating herself like his mother-in-law?

…

The Martial Alliance invitation was very special.

Early the next morning, Su Ye boarded a car that took him to a seaside dock, then he boarded a ship.

Onboard, he wanted to ask where they were heading, but the Martial Alliance personnel were cold and unresponsive. However, he saw several other young men and women, which reassured him somewhat.

After four or five hours, the ship docked at an island.

The island was large, but seemed scarcely inhabited.

As soon as Su Ye disembarked, he saw a group of young men and women ahead, evidently also invited by the Martial Alliance.

As he drew closer, Su Ye frowned, recognizing familiar figures—the two prodigies from another school whom he’d seen in his duel with Yu Zhisha.

“Song Chenxin, Chen He—”