Wang Shiyu said, “At first, I thought perhaps as I was from Earth, I could not completely attune myself to the new environment. So, that convinced me that I just could not practice martial arts. But later, my classmate, I heard your name from the others. In the beginning, I reckoned I must have been deceived by my ears, but then… Well, how come you can practice those arts and almost convert yourself into a potent immortal but I haven’t produced any internal qi?”
That had baffled her for a long time.
Clueless about why that was the case, Li Mu muttered, “This is odd… Let me take a look at your meridians first.”
He seized Wang Shiyu’s hand and gingerly sent a force of the Eastern Wood Emperor into her arm.
Wang Shiyu let loose a muffled moan. Her face was pained. Cold sweet instantly broke out from her forehead.
Li Mu immediately withdrew the wood element force of the Eastern Wood Emperor.
Because he already discovered something inconceivably weird—all the meridians inside Wang Shiyu were clogged.
If we compared the meridians to the riverbeds, then, most people’s “riverbeds” were congested by a certain amount of sand and mud. That decided the talent the masses had in martial arts study, which was rather mediocre. Such a body constitution determined that it would take them some time to produce the internal qi. And when they achieved that, they had to get rid of the sand and mud in their “riverbeds” to keep increasing their talent. That process could be rather prolonged and painstaking. Unlike the masses, the “riverbeds” of those so-called martial arts geniuses were barely congested. If one’s “riverbeds” were clear of sand and mud, that meant he had the body constitution of a peerless genius, for his internal qi could flow through his meridians smoothly and his road of martial arts study would not be bumpy at all.
However, theoretically, neither the martial arts whizzes nor the ordinary folks’ meridians could be completely clogged.
Yet, “clogged” might not be enough to describe the meridians inside Wang Shiyu. To put it more dramatically, she did not have any “riverbeds” in her.
Her body constitution was too rare. It thoroughly prevented the flow of the internal qi.
If she forced herself to generate the internal qi, it would have no channel to go and instead burst into her flesh, putting herself in danger.
Wang Shiyu was pained the instant the wood qi of the Eastern Wood Emperor Li Mu sent touched her meridians.
“What’s up?” Wang Shiyu inquired with an expectant look.
She was also teleported there from Earth. She used to go to the same school as Li Mu. In the past, her grades at school were always better than Li Mu’s. She was the teachers’ favorite in junior high. But after coming to that world, Li Mu had made his way to the Sage Realm by practice, while she had not even learned to produce the internal qi. Anyone would have been troubled by such a huge change in life.
If they had never seen what those experts were capable of, they would not be that troubled. But once they witnessed some, how could those passionate boys and girls not long for those marvelous skills?
Wang Shiyu naturally wanted to gain power by practicing martial arts so as to take control of her life. She hated leaving her fate in the hands of the others, just like what had happened. She certainly did not want to be entirely powerless when a strong enemy like Lord Jin emerged.
Li Mu pondered over it for a few moments and then said, “Let me have another look.”
This time, he directly opened his Third Eye to examine Wang Shiyu’s body.
He, of course, was not peeking at her nudity on the excuse. So far, Li Mu’s mastery of the Third Eye was already incredulous. He could see straight through people’s forms to observe their body constitution, organs, and elixir field.
With only one glance, Li Mu’s eyebrows furrowed.
Wang Shiyu’s elixir field was also different from that of normal people.
According to the martial arts theories in that world, the elixir field was like a lake, the meridians were like rivers. The water flowing in the rivers were the internal qi, natural qi, or other forms of internal power. All the winding rivers would, in the end, converge in the elixir field, and a lake of qi would come into being. In the case of martial-study geniuses and some powerful experts, their elixir field was no longer a lake but a sea of qi.
But Wang Shiyu’s elixir field was fully solid like her meridians. It was a rock mountain, or a sea of rocks. There was no way to develop a lake there.
Er…
What the hell!
Since coming to that world, Li Mu had pored through stacks of classic books on martial arts and learned a lot of martial arts theories. Thus, his attainment in the theoretical field was quite high. Nevertheless, he had never seen anyone having the same problem as Wang Shiyu. Her meridians were thoroughly clogged, and her elixir field was as solid as rock!
Could it be due to the old faker’s Transmitting Array?
Perhaps the Huskie was simply lucky to be endowed some wonderful skills by the array. Yet, Wang Shiyu was not so in luck. The array altered her body constitution and congealed her meridians and elixir field, so she could no longer practice martial arts, right?
Or else… the old faker devised that on purpose?
Upon seeing the look on Li Mu’s face, Wang Shiyu felt her heart had slumped to her stomach. “What’s the matter? Is there no solution? Well, just tell me, pal. I think I can handle it.”
Li Mu consoled, “Listen, there is no clear-cut thing in the world. Your body constitution is very special. All your meridians are congealed, and your elixir field is as solid as a rock. I’m afraid you need some very unique Cultivation Method to practice. But relax, no matter what, I’ll figure something out and blaze a path for you to practice martial arts.”
Wang Shiyu smiled. “I believe in you.”
Li Mu had just made a promise to her.
That reminded her of one thing.
Four years ago, she just stepped out of her primary school and entered junior high school. At that time, nobody knew nobody. She and Li Mu were arranged to be deskmates, but the two were not close at all. On the Wednesday of the second week of that semester, Wang Shiyu began to receive love letters from a troublemaker in high school. She resolutely rejected him, but the latter did not give up. The senior even warned the whole school that they should stay away from Wang Shiyu because she was his girlfriend. If not, he would make their world hell.
When the news bandied about, all the students distanced themselves from Wang Shiyu.
She was outcast, harassed, but too scared to tell the truth to her parents or teachers. During those days, she was heartbroken and helpless.
One day, when she was weeping face-down on her desk, Li Mu, the deskmate who had seldom spoken to her, suddenly turned to look at her and said with a solemn air that the act of that senior was wrong and he would force that senior to apologize to her.
At that, Wang Shiyu did not take his words seriously.
Because at that time, Li Mu was not tall. In the baggy school uniform, he looked rather tanned and skinny, which made him never stand out from the crowd. Compared with that burly senior in high school, he was as delicate as a bean sprout.
But to her astonishment, the next day, Li Mu entered the classroom with a badly beaten face. Behind him followed that senior in high school who was also sporting a bloody nose and swollen face. Everyone fixed him a shocked look. In front of all the classmates, the senior bowed deep to Wang Shiyu and apologized.
Since then, Wang Shiyu had realized that Li Mu was a man of his words.
It was also since that day that Wang Shiyu began to see Li Mu in a different light.
In the rest of the three years in junior high, Li Mu never let Wang Shiyu down once.
In those days, at intervals or the end of the day, Wang Shiyu propped her chin on her hands and sat at a desk by the sunlight-pouring window and gazed at the back of Li Mu, who was heading for the campus gate, carrying his schoolbag on his shoulders. At those moments, she could not help imagining Li Mu as a hero in the martial arts world who always kept his words.
The promise he made weigh more than the most majestic mountains.
She did have a good vibe for Li Mu. That was the given information in the whole school.
That was why when she heard that Li Mu would quit high school, she set for the Randeng Temple alone, hoping to persuade Li Mu to further his education…
White clouds speedily zoomed past them from both sides.
The experience of riding the clouds was wonderful.
Wang Shiyu slowly rested her head on Li Mu’s shoulder, tugged at Li Mu’s arm, and slightly closed her eyes.
The images she once visualized in her mind had now become real. They had truly come to an ancient martial arts world, and Li Mu had become a young hero overawing the world… It was just that in such an amazing world, Wang Shiyu was not satisfied to be someone in need of Li Mu’s constant protection.
Soon, Mount Oxhead was just a little way ahead.
The two landed at the front door of the Daoyin Temple.
Lord Virtuous the Eighth, Zhao Ji, and the others came out to welcome them at once.
“Yu’er, are you okay?” Lord Virtuous the Eighth was deeply concerned. He pulled Wang Shiyu over and measured her from head to foot. Seeing that she bore no wounds, he breathed a sigh of relief. From that Li Mu could tell the man truly cared about Wang Shiyu.
“Father, relax, I’m here in one piece.” Wang Shiyu, who was still wearing the scarlet wedding dress, spun on the spot and said, “Haha, now that the famous Sage, Li Mu, Lord Taibai, has stepped forward, what bad things could happen to me anyway?”
Lord Virtuous the Eighth looked at Li Mu and made obeisance. With immense gratitude, he said, “The grace Sage Li gave me is so huge that I would not be able to pay it back even with my life.”
Li Mu said, “Don’t mention it. It’s me who should thank you. After all, you’ve been taking care of my old classmate for so long. Your Highness, no need to be so polite with me. You are Shiyu’s adopted father, so you are my senior.”
He did mean that.
If it had not been for the lord, Wang Shiyu, whose body constitution was quite unusual, probably would suffer a lot in that world or might be killed by then. A beautiful girl without any means to protect herself was in danger whether on Earth or on any other planet. If something really happened to her, Li Mu could be tormented by guilt and remorse forever. Even if he made it back to Earth, once he knew the truth, he would not bring himself to face Wang Shiyu’s parents ever again.
Zhao Ji also inched forward and chimed, “Haha, we are all family. Let’s get into the Daoyin Temple and chat.”
With the Taoists leading the way, they approached the depths of the Daoyin Temple.
“Woof! Girl, I’m so glad to meet you again. You are prettier now. Almost intoxicating!” The Huskie bounced over and flattered. In truth, it felt kind of guilty, for it was all because of the dog that Wang Shiyu broke into the mediation room and ended up there.
“Whoa! General, you can talk now?” Wang Shiyu gasped.
She was also delighted to see that Huskie.
When she was on Earth, she was quite close to Li Mu, and Li Mu was nearly inseparable with that dog. From time to time, she took some snacks from home to feed that Huskie and play with it. So, to some extent, she and the Huskie were also “old acquaintances”.
“Woof! Every dog is brought to this world with a purpose. Speaking your language is just a piece of a cake for me.” The Huskie wagged its tail and scampered all over the place with pride.
Wang Shiyu nodded. Then, she said pensively, “Yeah, you have learned to talk, and you’ve also gained some weight.”
