Noon, Behind the Jian Clan Estate, in the Woods

"HU! HU! HU!" At this moment, a small young boy could be seen practicing martial arts out in the open. He was in the middle of the woods, each one of his fists carrying their own ferocity. Determination and intensity were marked on the boy's face, and he kept on punching tirelessly.

And so the punches continued to ring out, over and over, hitting empty air. He didn't punch anything because he wanted to practice the motions of his fist, to ensure that the form was perfect.

Eventually, the boy tired out and directly fell onto the ground to lay there and rest. His bright eyes stared into the broad sky, peeking at the sun through the high trees and determining it was around noon.

He had been practicing since very early in the morning, and this was his first break. The boy cracked a grin, hopped up from the ground and sped towards a nearby tree. Fists rang out once more, this time with a distinct "THUD!" noise. Skin and bark met over and over, and pieces of bark would occasionally chip off and fall to the ground. The boy only had some flimsy white bandages on his knuckles, which barely managed to protect him from extensive cuts.

At times, the boy would switch from punches to kicks, and then back to punches. At one point he even began to do straight physical training involving pushups, pull-ups, and other exercises.

The boy was clearly incredibly fit for his age! And the boy kept training until late in the evening, around the time to which his father arrived.

"Feng'er! You've been training ever since morning, you must surely be exhausted!" A kind but powerful voice rang out as a middle-aged man walked out from the forest into the boy's clearing. He was groomed neatly and wore simple blue and white robes. On his robes, however, was a small star that marked him as Clan Lord of the Jian Clan!

This was Jian Feng's father - Jian Ho! He was Jian Feng's adopted father!

"No father, I've still got energy, haha." Jian Feng childishly laughed, even though he was tired to the extreme. Often times he would train like this, from morning to night!

"You are lucky we can afford the medicines to keep your body out of danger. You must remember, it's important to train, but even more important to have a body to train with!" Jian Ho smiled with pride at his son's hard work but still reminded him of hidden injuries that could develop from training too hard. If too many hidden injuries accumulated, training would only do more damage than help!

"I know, Father! I'll be sure to keep care of my body! Is today finally the day you'll teach me how to cultivate?" Jian Feng's fists had stopped thumping upon the tree and he looked at his father with excitement written over his face. He had been looking forward to cultivating with his father!

"Yes, yes. Today I shall teach you how to properly cultivate!" Jian Ho was beaming with pride, today was an important day for both of them. He had no doubt this Feng'er of his was a peerless genius in cultivation, especially considering his mysterious background.

He wanted the pride of being able to say this is my son, the genius to which you all look up to! What kind of father in the Angola Continent wouldn't like to do so?

"Yes! Father let's hurry, I want to cultivate until morning!" Jian Feng began jumping up and down, and it was quite funny to see such a little boy have so much excitement. But this was natural, every youth in the Angola Continent would look forward to cultivation!

After all, cultivation was what ruled this world! Through cultivating, one could attain immeasurable strength and become a supreme expert able to look down upon both the sky and earth. Becoming powerful and being able to rule large expanses of land with fearsome might, wasn't this something straight out of a fairytale?

But at the same time, the road of a martial artist was incredibly arduous and difficult. Talent was a major factor when considering not only how far one can cultivate, but how quickly they can cultivate. If one can reach a cultivation realm two to three years ahead of their peers, aren't they destined to be more powerful than their peers? These are the geniuses of the Angola Continent!

"Haha, look at how excited you are! Don't forget, cultivating isn't something easy. You must keep up the same work ethic you have when it comes to your regular training." Jian Ho walked over to his adopted son and spotted an open patch of grass. Signaling for Feng'er to sit down, he sat cross-legged on the ground, ready to teach Feng'er.

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"Yes, Father! I will not lack on my cultivation at all!" Feng'er quickly sat down, staring at with Jian Ho with bright and curious eyes. He was boiling with excitement - he wanted to become an expert just like his father!

After all, the reason Jian Ho was Clan Lord of the Jian Clan was because of his cultivation. He was the strongest expert in the clan - which made him Clan Lord!

"Mm...good. As you know, the first cultivation realm is Body Transformation. In it, you must absorb Heaven and Earth Qi and use it to temper your skin, bones, and inner organs! By doing so, you will set a foundation for martial arts with a strong body. You must ensure that you don't slack off!" Jian Ho began to lecture about cultivation, providing tips and things he learned along the way. Jian Feng soaked it up like a sponge, thinking and inquiring with excitement.

Body Transformation was just like Jian Ho described - setting up a foundation with a strong body. It was separated into three steps, nine levels. The first three levels focused on using Qi to temper the skin and muscles! By doing so, one's strength could rise exponentially as their muscles filled with strength and their skin gathered a natural toughness! The second three levels focused on the bones, which also increased strength. And the final three levels focused on the inner organs, protecting them and allowing them to perform better.

All in all, Body Transformation set up a new cultivator for further cultivation! If one had a frail body, it would be difficult to use martial arts at all.

"Okay, so I want you to peer into your dantian. Focus your heart and begin to absorb Heaven and Earth Qi from your surroundings, drawing it into your dantian!" At this crucial step, Jian Feng closed his eyes and sat down crosslegged. His fingers locked in a strange sign and his consciousness drifted to his dantian - located in the middle of his stomach. Immediately, Jian Feng found himself in the middle of empty black space. However, he could still hear Jian Ho's voice guiding him from outside.

And at that moment, Jian Feng felt out to his surroundings and began to absorb surrounding Qi into his body. Shockingly, a massive amount of Qi began to rush straight into his dantian - at breakneck speed!

Jian Ho who was watching from outside immediately smiled! The speed that Jian Feng was absorbing Qi was nothing short of incredible!

"Yes! He really is a genius...!" This was just what he expected and hoped for, and he couldn't help but feel his own excitement bubbling over! He continued to watch in amazement and growing satisfaction.

The Jian Clan has brought a new genius to Sunrise City! And that genius was his, Jian Ho, son! But as he kept giving instructions, he quickly felt that something was wrong.

"Guide that Qi into your meridians and let it temper your skin. At that moment, you'll enter the First Level of Body Transformation." But as soon as Jian Feng guided the swelling Qi in his dantian to his meridians - he found that they were blocked! This confused him, he'd never heard of such a thing. Why would his meridians be blocked?

"Father...the Qi isn't going to my meridians...something's blocking them!" As Jian Ho heard this, his brows quickly furrowed and a frown appeared on his face. He stepped forward and placed his hand on Jian Feng, attempting to send his consciousness into his dantian.

"What!?" But almost as soon as his consciousness touched upon Jian Feng - he felt a fierce resistance from Jian Feng's dantian! It was a kind of oppressive might that directly blocked his consciousness and sent him straight out!

The might that rejected him was nothing short of terrifying! Jian Ho couldn't help but feel his spirit shake, and his consciousness was quickly thrown out of Jian Feng's body. His frown became even more apparent, and he felt his own energy tumble about.

"Father, no matter what I do, my Qi won't get to my meridians!" Even Jian Feng felt something was wrong, and a frown formed on the boy's face. Every time he would take his Qi to push on his meridians - an invisible force in his dantian directly pushed back. It was almost like a massive gate was blocking off his meridians - with no intent of letting any Heaven and Earth Qi through!

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't break through the barrier! Worry gathered in the boy's heart, but he kept on trying. At moments, he would save a large amount of Qi within his dantian and then use it all to push against the barrier - to no avail!

"This...this means one thing. Your meridians must be ruined!" Jian Ho was frowning extremely at this point, and unable to find out anymore due to the oppressive might shoving him out. He began to pace around and make some theories. This could mean a disaster!

"Does that mean I won't be able to practice martial arts?" Jian Feng awoke from his meditation, fear gripping his heart. If he couldn't use Qi, then what was the point of cultivation? He would be unable to temper his body at all, not to mention using higher skilled martial arts!

After all, Martial Arts were techniques and methods that put ones Qi to work. There are all kinds of martial arts that can create mysterious effects and unique powers, all of them raising a cultivators strength. It was the heaven-defying abilities cultivator's used!

If he couldn't circulate Qi through his meridians, there would be no way for him to temper his body. This meant he would have a whole bunch of Qi - but no way to actually use it to cultivate or raise his strength!

At the moment, the two of them both felt a growing sense of crisis and restlessness. Eventually, Jian Ho decided that Jian Feng should sleep and that they would try it once more again.

But, the next day the same problem occurred again. And the next day as well...and the day after too.

The two didn't know that this problem would plague Jian Feng for the next couple of years, and both of them would suffer because of it!