Chapter 11 (2/2)

At present, albeit tired, Xu Shangao felt especially joyous in his heart. He could finally vent his long pent up anger today. “Lin Xu, why aren’t you kneeling down yet now that I’ve won?” he suddenly roared in rage.

Lin Xu went incomparably stiff. He felt sorrow in his heart when he heard Xu Shangao’s roar and noticed that the rest of the people were keeping clear of him. He knelt down before Xu Shangao at once.

“I was wrong!” he hastily stood up upon saying these words in a rush. He ran away at once without caring about anything else.

Xu Shangao cracked into a smile. Lin Xu had always been someone that looked down upon him. Still, Lin Xu had actually knelt down before him to admit that he was wrong today. Even though it could be said that they were considered foes now, Xu Shangao did not mind at all. Anyhow, he was in a great mood for being able to vent his anger.

By the time Xu Shangao returned to his residence, he noticed that Fang Lin was sprawled across a bamboo chair leisurely.

Upon seeing that, Xu Shangao felt rather speechless at once. ‘I thought he said he wanted to refine the Meridian-opening Pills! Why is he dozing off in the courtyard?’

“Junior Brother Disciple Fang, Junior Brother Disciple Fang!” Xu Shangao called out loudly, yet he did not manage to wake Fang Lin up. He noticed that he was in deep sleep when he walked over to take a closer glance. Besides that, Fang Lin was also slightly pale. Worried, Xu Shangao walked into the house and took a blanket to cover Fang Lin.

Xu Shangao touched the athanor when he walked beside it. It felt warm which proved that Fang Lin had genuinely utilized it.

‘Sigh, Junior Brother Disciple Fang is still not experienced enough. I bet his state of mind is exhausted from using the athanor,’ said Xu Shangao in his heart.

Fang Lin only awakened slowly when it was dawn. He appeared to be in a better state than before.

“Junior Brother Disciple Fang, you’re awake at last. I was about to feed you with some elixir to save your life if you still didn’t wake up,” said Xu Shangao in relief from the side.

Fang Lin took a look at the sky and realized that it was already getting late. Then, he took a glance at Xu Shangao and cracked into a smile. He procured two round pills shimmering with golden radiance from his chest pocket and revealed it to Xu Shangao.

“Senior Brother Disciple Xu, these are the Meridian-opening Pills I’ve promised you. Find a suitable time to consume these,” said Fang Lin.

Xu Shangao accepted the two pills in astonishment. He took a closer look and noticed that the pills were of exceedingly good quality. The pills were round, full, vibrant in color, and had a mellow, rich scent. Even though he was incapable of determining the quality of the pills, he could see that the quality was at least medium-grade and could even possibly be a high-grade elixir.

At the thought of this, Xu Shangao could not help feeling shocked. When he shifted his gaze back to Fang Lin once again, it seemed like he was looking at a monster.

“Did you refine these?” asked Xu Shangao in wonder like he was an amateur.

Fang Lin blinked his eyes innocently and said with a smile, “I refined these, of course. Don’t you believe me?”

Xu Shangao said to himself in his heart, ‘Of course, I don’t believe you. You’re but a junior alchemy disciple, yet the quality of your refined elixir is so high. I bet anyone else in my place will be even more shocked than I am.’

However, Xu Shangao had also borne witness to Fang Lin’s miraculous ability. Had it not been for Fang Lin’s guidance, perhaps Xu Shangao would have still failed at refining the Clear Heart Pills. As a result, he did not lose his cool despite feeling immensely astonished at this moment.

“Junior Brother Disciple Fang, I suspect that you must be some alchemy genius hiding intentionally amongst the junior alchemy disciples, aren’t you?” Xu Shangao asked helplessly.

Fang Lin had a shocked expression on his face. “You’ve managed to figure that out, huh?”

He refined a total of six Meridian-opening Pills. He gave two to Xu Shangao and left four pills for himself. Based on his currently blocked meridians, four Meridian-opening Pills should be enough to open them.

Xu Shangao had also briefed Fang Lin about the incident that had taken place earlier. He sounded proud when he talked about how Lin Xu lost the bet.

“Senior Brother Disciple Xu, it seems like we are fellow sufferers that commiserate with each other. I’m despised amongst the junior alchemy disciples while you are looked down upon by the official disciples similarly. Sigh, we are truly a well-matched pair of brothers,” said Fang Lin emotionally.

“Junior Brother Disciple Fang, you’ll certainly rise above others one day with your capabilities while I, your senior brother disciple, am hopeless,” Xu Shangao lamented.

Fang Lin patted his shoulder and said, “That’s not for certain. There are many people who achieve success late in life. I think you may be a talent that takes time to mature, Senior Brother Disciple Xu.”

Xu Shangao smiled bitterly. “Stop consoling me.”

At night, Fang Lin and Xu Shangao consumed the Meridian-opening Pills simultaneously. However, the results were different for each of them. The morning after that, Xu Shangao’s blocked meridians ere opened up. All his 36 meridians were running absolutely smoothly and he felt like his entire body had risen to a higher level.

On the other hand, Fang Lin engaged in closed door cultivation for the next consecutive days to digest the medicinal power of the Meridian-opening Pills. He continued the effort to open his blocked meridians.

On the fourth day, he finally exited the closed door cultivation. The blocked meridians in his body had opened up and he even managed to open one of the 72 meridians by accident.

There were a total of thirty-six major meridians and 72 minor meridians in a human body. There were also countless minor branches too. The 72 minor meridians were supposed to be completely blocked while there were supposed to be only eighteen out of 36 major meridians were open.

The most important step during the initial phase of cultivating martial art was to open these blocked meridians, starting from the 36 meridians all the way until the 72 meridians were completely opened.