Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

In the south, at the Ye family's residence.

The Ye family mansion is located in Cangwu County in the south, covering an area of ​​100 acres. It is surrounded by high walls and deep courtyards, with two majestic stone lions at the gate. The plaque above the vermilion gate, with the two characters "Ye Mansion" written in a powerful and vigorous style, is said to have been written by an ancestor who was a Grandmaster.

In the south, the Ye family is considered an upper-middle-class family. With an ancestor at the early stage of the Grandmaster realm, and three generations of descendants including many experts at the Innate and Grandmaster levels, the Ye family is a force to be reckoned with. Within a radius of hundreds of miles, no one dares to underestimate the Ye family.

But the Ye family has a notorious good-for-nothing.

Ye Xingchen.

At the age of fifteen, his dantian was shattered and his meridians were blocked, making it impossible for him to gather even a trace of true qi.

In the Ye family, everyone practices martial arts. They begin their training at three, begin body refinement at five, and are considered useless if they cannot reach the Acquired Realm before ten. Ye Xingchen, however, is fifteen years old and hasn't even broken through to the Body Refinement Realm.

It's not that he doesn't try.

On the contrary, he worked harder than anyone else.

He trained until his body was covered in bruises, until he was so exhausted he couldn't get up from the training room.

He trains his muscles and tendons—he gets up at dawn every day and trains for two more hours than others.

Training his bones—he practiced boxing shirtless in the dead of winter, his sweat freezing into ice crystals that clung to his eyebrows.

He exerted all his strength in every stage.

But it's impossible to break through the limitations of acquired factors.

Blood transfusion requires the guidance of true qi. He doesn't even have any qi sensation, so how can he perform a blood transfusion?

He had heard the mockery of his clansmen.

He endured the bullying from his cousins.

He had suffered the contempt of his elders.

"Useless people should stay in the woodshed and not embarrass themselves."

It was his second uncle who said this. That day was New Year's Eve, and the whole family was sitting around eating their reunion dinner. Ye Xingchen had just sat down at the table when his second uncle threw his bowl and chopsticks outside the door.

"Ye Xingchen? Oh, that good-for-nothing who can't cultivate."

The one who said this was his third cousin. That day, Ye Xingchen was cornered in an alley by several of his cousins, fell flat on his face, and his mouth was full of blood.

"How could our ancestors have such descendants? They are a disgrace to the Ye family."

The one who said this was the clan chief—his own uncle. That year, during the family's ancestral worship ceremony, Ye Xingchen was standing at the very end when the clan chief pointed at him and said these words in front of more than a hundred clan members.

Ye Xingchen remembered every single word.

I remember every face that said those words.

Fifteen years.

Fifteen years in total.

Three months ago.

In late autumn, the night was cool and still.

Ye Xingchen was punished by being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights because he accidentally bumped into Ye Haotian, the clan leader's son—actually, he just brushed against his shoulder.

The ancestral hall was located at the deepest part of the Ye family mansion, with its blue bricks and gray tiles, and was cold and damp. Rows of ancestral tablets were placed on the offering table, and the flickering candlelight illuminated the golden names on the tablets.

Ye Xingchen knelt on the cold stone slab.

I have lost all feeling in my knees.

He hadn't eaten for three days, only drinking two bowls of cold water. His lips were cracked and bleeding, his face was as pale as paper, and he was trembling uncontrollably.

My vision blurred in waves.

My consciousness is gradually fading.

Just when he thought he was really going to die here—

The black ring on my left ring finger suddenly became hot.

At this moment, it was as hot as a piece of burning coal.

Ye Xingchen suddenly opened his eyes—

An aged voice echoed in his mind, hoarse and weary, as if it had finally awakened from a slumber of millions of years:

"Kid, wake up, or you'll die."

Ye Xingchen was startled.

"Who?!"

"Don't make a sound," the voice said. "Just speak to me with your heart. I am in the ring on your left hand."

Ye Xingchen looked down at the ring. On the dark, iron lump, faint patterns had appeared at some point, like some kind of ancient rune, emitting a dim light.

“Who…who are you?”

"Who I am is unimportant. What matters is that you're about to die." The voice chuckled, a dry laugh. "Interesting. I've waited countless millennia, and the first living person I've encountered is a useless piece of trash about to freeze to death."

Ye Xingchen was silent for a moment.

Useless.

He had heard this word countless times.

But this time, he did not bow his head.

"I'm not a loser." He gritted his teeth, enunciating each word clearly. His voice was weak, but it carried a stubborn fierceness. "I've trained for fifteen years, working harder than anyone else. I just lack talent."

The voice remained silent for a moment.

"Young man," the old man's tone changed, no longer teasing, but with a hint of seriousness, "place your hand on your dantian and tell me, what do you feel?"

Ye Xingchen placed his hand on his dantian.

"There's nothing there. My dantian is shattered."

"Shattered?" the voice scoffed. "Who told you your dantian was shattered?"

"My eldest uncle... the head of the Ye family. He personally examined it."

"That clan leader who was at the early stage of the Grandmaster realm?"

"Yes."

"Heh." The voice chuckled, its laughter filled with mockery. "Early-stage Grandmaster? In ancient times, he wouldn't even be qualified to guard my gate. What does he know?"

Ye Xingchen was stunned.

"Your dantian isn't shattered, it's sealed," the old man said. "And it's an extremely sophisticated seal, one that only someone at least at the Immortal level could set up. Your clan leader couldn't possibly see it."

"A seal?" Ye Xingchen's voice trembled. "Who placed this seal on me? I've worn this ring since birth, could it be...?"

"Don't worry, there's more," the old man continued. "Your meridians aren't blocked; you have the Nine Yin Absolute Meridians, a natural constitution. This kind of constitution is one in ten thousand, maybe one in millions. Ordinary cultivation methods simply can't be used, so no matter how you practice, it's useless."

"Nine Yin Meridians?"

"Yes." The old man's voice carried a hint of excitement. "The Nine Yin Meridian technique is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. If you cultivate the correct technique, you will surpass everyone. Immortals, demons, Buddhas, and monsters will all have to make way for you."

Ye Xingchen's heart began to pound violently.

"But if you don't cultivate it correctly," the old man changed his tone, "you'll be a useless person your whole life. No, worse than useless. If you don't cultivate the Nine Yin Meridians, you won't live past thirty."

"..."

Ye Xingchen remained silent for a long time.

The candlelight flickered in the ancestral hall, and the golden characters on the ancestral tablets shone brightly and dimly in the firelight.

"Grandpa," he finally spoke, his voice soft but like a nail driven into the ground, "teach me."

"Aren't you afraid of hardship?"

"I have suffered every single day for the past fifteen years."

The voice paused for a moment, then laughed.

This time, the laughter was tinged with satisfaction.

"Alright. I will teach you a cultivation technique—the Nine Yin Manual. In ancient times, this technique allowed the Nine Yin Immortal Venerable to sweep across the nine heavens and ten earths, and no one could rival him."

three

In just three months.

Ye Xingchen seemed like a completely different person.

Body Refinement Realm - Breakthrough.

The Acquired Realm - Breakthrough.

Innate Blood Coagulation Realm - Broken.

Breakthrough in the Innate Qi Realm.

Breakthrough in the Innate Profound Realm.

He broke through from the Body Refinement Realm all the way to the Innate Profound Aura Realm, spanning more than an entire major realm. This was unprecedented in the history of the Ye family.

But during those three months, he dared not let anyone know.

During the day, he continued to pretend to be useless.

He walked with a hunched back and head down, never fighting back when pushed by his cousins, and meekly obeying when scolded by his elders. Everyone thought he was still Ye Xingchen, the one who couldn't cultivate.

He secretly practiced his skills at night.

Under the moonlight, he swung his fists like the wind in the dense forest behind the mountain, the force of his punches causing leaves to fall in a rustling sound. The true energy of the Innate Profound Realm surged through his meridians like a river bursting its banks.

The old man taught him more than just martial arts techniques.

There are also sword techniques, movement techniques, fist techniques, palm techniques... each of which is an ancient, lost art.

"Young man, your talent is indeed average," the old man often said, "but the Nine Yin Meridians make up for everything. You are like a divine weapon that has not yet been sharpened; if you hone it slowly, it will eventually shine."

Ye Xingchen didn't say anything, but just practiced even harder.

He knew that if the Ye family found out that the good-for-nothing had suddenly become capable of cultivation, they would not value him, but rather covet him.

His secrets—that ring, that martial arts technique, that old man—will be divided up by the entire Ye family.

So he kept it hidden.