1: Chapter 1 Rebirth at the Bottom of the Pool

Cold pond water poured into his mouth and nose as Chen Yuanji's consciousness drifted in Chaos.

"Something is wrong!"

He was Chen Yuanji, the true successor of the Xingyi, Taiji, and Bagua schools, a Guoshu Grandmaster at the half-step Gang Energy level. With fifty years of Stake Training refinement and thirty years of combat tempering, his body had long reached the level where "a fly cannot land, and a feather cannot be added." How could he be drowning?

He snapped his eyes open; his vision was blurred, aquatic plants drifted before him, and a sharp pain radiated from his chest, as if he had been shoved hard. Subconsciously, he tried to circulate his internal breath, only to find this body was too weak. Its bones and muscles were lax, its Qi and blood were depleted, and it hadn't even practiced Zhan Zhuang. His Dantian was empty, but strangely, a foreign energy flowed through his Meridians—warm and gentle, moving along routes he had never seen before.

The two unfamiliar words "Yuan Power" surfaced from the depths of his mind, followed by the fragmented memories of the original host.

Chen Yuanlang—that high-and-mighty face, filled with contempt and disgust, had shoved him into the pond in the back garden of the Marquis of Zhenguos Estate. "Trash, you don't deserve the name Chen!"

Memories surged like a tide: the Great Yan Dynasty, the Marquis of Zhenguos Estate, the concubine-born son Chen Yuanji, whose yuan pulse was withered and who had been unable to Breakthrough to the first layer of the Kaiyuan Realm for eighteen years...

Transmigration? Chen Yuanji took three seconds to accept this fact. After fifty years of cultivating his mind, his Heart-Nature was already as firm as a rock. Since he was here, he would make the best of it; there is always a way out.

He tried to mobilize the body's remaining strength, using both hands and feet to swim toward the surface.

"Pfft!" The moment he broke the surface, he gasped for fresh air. The moonlight was like water, and the garden was silent. In the distance, the pavilions were brightly lit, and the faint sound of silk and bamboo music drifted over. Chen Yuanji climbed onto the shore, soaked to the bone and in a sorry state. However, he didn't rush to change his clothes; instead, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes for internal inspection. Having practiced Guoshu for fifty years, he knew the human body all too well. Upon this internal inspection, he was pleasantly surprised to find that although the body's yuan pulse was "withered," the structure of its bones and muscles actually retained more possibilities. Without the long-term scouring of Yuan Power, the bones, fascia, and Qi and blood remained in their "original state."

What did this mean? It meant he could Cultivate Guoshu again, starting from zero, step by step, to build a perfect Foundation. The so-called Yuan Power that the original host practiced was merely an external energy attached to the Meridians. Guoshu Cultivates the self, refines the Qi and blood, and seeks for "the whole body to act as one, with no part that cannot destroy." This was the true mystery of the human body!

A slight smile touched the corner of Chen Yuanji's mouth. This "trash" of another world appeared to him as a piece of unpolished jade. He took a deep breath and began Zhan Zhuang—the Wuji Stake. His feet were shoulder-width apart, his weight centered on the Yongquan point, knees slightly bent, tailbone centered, chest tucked and back stretched, with his head suspended as if from a thread. This was the mother stake of Xingyi Fist, the source of all techniques. His body grew slightly warm as his Qi and blood began to circulate. Although this body had never practiced before, Chen Yuanji's consciousness was at the Grandmaster level, and every subtle adjustment was precise. Three minutes later, a warm current emerged from the area of his Dantian. It wasn't Yuan Power; it was Qi and blood—the life energy of the human body itself.

Chen Yuanji felt a surge of joy. This meant that in this world, Guoshu was still viable. The great Dao of the human body was universal!

"Young Master! Young Master, you're here!"

A hurried voice interrupted his Stake Training. A youth dressed like a servant ran over panting; seeing the drenched Chen Yuanji, his expression changed drastically.

"You... you fell into the pond again? Was it the Eldest Young Master who..."

"It's fine." Chen Yuanji opened his eyes, his tone calm in a way that didn't suit a youth who had just been humiliated. "Help me find some dry clothes."

The servant was stunned. Why did the Young Master seem... different today? Before, when he was bullied, the Young Master would either cry or stare blankly; he had never been this calm. But he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong, so he could only nod: "Yes, this servant will go right away!"

Chen Yuanji watched the servant's retreating back with a profound gaze. The original host had endured eighteen years of humiliation. But from today onward, he would settle the accounts one by one. It wasn't revenge; it was Karma. On the path of martial arts, only with a clear mind can one advance with courage and vigor.

He felt the ancient jade in his robes; it was the only thing that had followed him through the Transmigration. The jade pendant was warm, seemingly resonating with his Qi and blood.

Interesting!