Chapter 58: Showing Miracles Before the Crowd (Please add to your favorites and keep reading!)

Head Constable Niu’s cultivation advice might be unreliable, but his hearing was indeed exceptional.

Shang Lu, at this moment, was not attempting to break through the Ren and Du meridians. Those two meridians he had already unblocked long ago; now he was assaulting the acupoint of the Heart Meridian.

The heart governs the blood vessels. Once the Heart Meridian is opened, the circulation of blood and energy, as well as the passage through other acupoints, would be greatly enhanced.

Moreover, breaking through the Heart Meridian would further benefit the heart deity statue within the temple of the five viscera, gradually dispelling the fog enveloping it and accelerating its awakening.

The heart is the sovereign of the organs, responsible for overseeing all the viscera. Once the heart deity statue is activated, the refinement and nourishment of the five viscera would be vastly improved.

Though Shang Lu was fully focused on impacting his acupoints, he still kept an eye on his surroundings and immediately noticed Head Constable Niu’s startled reaction.

A brief contemplation revealed the cause.

But he did not halt his assault on the Heart Meridian. Instead, he diverted a few strands of blood and energy to roam the Ren and Du meridians, deliberately making some noise.

Soon, the “crackling” and “popping” sounds came from the Ren and Du meridians, overshadowing the movements in the Heart Meridian.

Hearing these noises, Head Constable Niu fell into self-doubt.

“The sound is coming from the Ren and Du meridians. Did I mishear just now?”

Before he could think further, among the onlooking constables, one couldn’t help but speak up:

“Head Constable Niu, didn’t you say Deputy Constable Shang couldn’t break through many acupoints? But now, with all this noise, he seems to have already opened seven or eight acupoints!”

Head Constable Niu looked a bit embarrassed, chuckling as he tried to justify his earlier judgment:

“Deputy Constable Shang is gifted, and he’s received the court’s reward of spiritual fat, along with the Internal Organ Refinement Technique taught by the county magistrate. It’s not surprising he can open a few more acupoints.”

“So that’s how it is.”

The onlookers all nodded in agreement, finding his explanation reasonable.

Du Feng asked eagerly, “Will Head Shang be able to break through to Meridian Unification today?”

“How could that be?” Head Constable Niu laughed. “I too hope Brother Shang can achieve Meridian Unification soon, but it requires fully opening the Ren and Du meridians—it’s not easy.”

He puffed out his chest, a touch of pride in his tone: “Back in my day, I had to split the process into four attempts to finally open the Ren and Du meridians. That’s already considered quite efficient. In my view, Deputy Constable Shang will need at least two or three tries to break through to Meridian Unification.”

With a sigh, he added, his voice tinged with regret, “Brother Shang is too eager today. Attempting the breakthrough without thorough preparation—if he can open half the acupoints in the Ren Meridian, that’s already quite impressive…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when a constable asked, “Aren’t there twenty-four acupoints in the Ren Meridian?”

Being interrupted made Head Constable Niu somewhat displeased.

He frowned, didn’t lose his temper, but gave a soft snort.

The constable, seemingly oblivious to his annoyance, continued, “I counted—the sound of Deputy Constable Shang impacting his acupoints has already exceeded twenty-four.”

Head Constable Niu was taken aback and, forgetting his irritation, asked incredulously, “Could you have miscounted?”

Outside the window, a clerk from the Six Departments, squeezing in to watch the show, chimed in, “No mistake! I counted too—twenty-four sounds… Oh, wait, with this one, it’s twenty-five!”

“What?!”

Head Constable Niu was shocked.

Shang Lu had managed to open twenty-five acupoints in one go? And in just the span of a brief conversation?

He could no longer remain seated; he shot to his feet, eyes wide, staring at Shang Lu, who was still making progress, his face alive with disbelief and amazement.

The very first attempt, and he’d already opened the Ren Meridian?

He wasn’t fully prepared, so how could he have achieved this?

Head Constable Niu was filled with questions. Shang Lu’s progress defied all his experience and everything he’d heard before.

Is this what they call a genius? Isn’t it a bit too outrageous?

Thinking about how he’d dared to offer Shang Lu advice just moments ago, Head Constable Niu’s face burned with embarrassment.

His so-called experience was utterly useless to Shang Lu—perhaps even a joke in his eyes.

Seeing that Shang Lu’s breakthrough showed no signs of stopping, Head Constable Niu started to feel anxious. “Could Brother Shang really be intending to break through both meridians in one go and step into Meridian Unification?”

Not only him, but everyone watching outside held their breath at that moment.

Where before there had been whispers and commentary, now no one dared utter a word, fearing they might disturb Shang Lu and ruin his critical endeavor.

The “crack, crack” of opening acupoints sounded on, the number of unopened points in the Ren and Du meridians dwindling.

Many constables, in their minds, began to count down with every “crack”:

“Five left… Only five acupoints remaining…”

“Four left! Just four more and the Ren and Du meridians will be fully open!”

“He did it again! Could Deputy Constable Shang really break through to Meridian Unification today?!”

Under everyone’s gaze and expectation, Shang Lu didn’t indulge in any theatrics—no stalling at the last two acupoints, no suspenseful drama before a final breakthrough.

He simply directed the blood energy in the Ren and Du meridians, letting the final “crack” sounds ring out in order.

At the same time, he released his blood energy outward, creating the impression of a successful breakthrough, energy surging and spilling over.

The onlooking constables instantly felt a powerful force sweep toward them, making it hard to breathe.

A few clerks with little cultivation were blown back several steps, and some even landed squarely on the floor.

Even Head Constable Niu’s expression changed as he was struck by the wave of energy.

The strength and commotion of this blood energy far surpassed what he’d experienced when he himself broke through to Meridian Unification!

“Brother Shang, you’ve succeeded? You’ve entered Meridian Unification?”

Head Constable Niu, though aware of the answer, couldn’t help but ask.

After all, breaking through both meridians in one go was, if not unprecedented, at least astonishing in his experience.

Perhaps the elite scions of great families could achieve such feats, but Shang Lu was just a deputy constable from a common background—was he truly this gifted, his fortune this profound?

Furthermore, Head Constable Niu sensed that even after opening both meridians, Shang Lu still had energy to spare.

The vigor and rhythm of Shang Lu’s breakthrough had never faltered from start to finish.

He had stopped not because he couldn’t go on, but because he chose not to.

This thought startled Head Constable Niu—perhaps he was overthinking things…

At this moment, under everyone’s tense and expectant gaze, Shang Lu nodded and said, “Thanks to Brother Niu’s guidance, I’ve succeeded in unblocking the meridians.”

He only said he had succeeded in unblocking the meridians, not that he had just stepped into Meridian Unification, so it wasn’t a lie.

After all, he had just broken through the Heart Meridian as well.

Still, the violent blood energy had been almost exhausted. In the coming days, he’d have to make another trip to Yunhua Mountain.

He wondered if the Iron Codpiece was finished yet.

Head Constable Niu, hearing his words, didn’t overthink it and simply exclaimed, “Heavens, you really did it! You’ve entered Meridian Unification!”

The watching constables erupted as well:

“Deputy Constable Shang is incredible!”

“He really broke through? My god, it’s unbelievable!”

“It truly is! Just a few months ago, Deputy Constable Shang was a cripple with no cultivation. Who would have thought he’d break through to Meridian Unification today?!”

None of the constables had expected to witness not just a breakthrough but to see with their own eyes as Shang Lu crossed into Meridian Unification.

With this level of cultivation, Shang Lu’s position as head constable was now assured!

Their gazes were filled with nothing but envy.