Volume One, Chapter Nine: The Nine Dragons Divine Art, Stepping into the Qi Refinement Realm

The Nine Dragons Divine Art consists of nine levels, and with each breakthrough, a dragon vein forms within the practitioner’s body.

According to the manual, when all nine dragons converge, one can wield power comparable to that of gods and spirits!

Although he had yet to cultivate it, Li Ya clearly sensed that the Nine Dragons Divine Art was entirely different from ordinary martial arts techniques.

Typically, martial arts realms are divided into the Mortal Realm, Postnatal Realm, Prenatal Realm, and then the Grandmaster and Supreme Grandmaster stages.

Li Ya had trained in the Li family’s martial arts for many years but had only barely reached the late Mortal Realm. Even so, his strength was comparable to that of professional fighters.

But the Nine Dragons Divine Art was different; its stages were refined Qi, foundation establishment, golden core, nascent soul, and so forth.

Li Ya could see other stages recorded in the manual, but given his current strength, he was unable to access them.

These realms, unlike martial arts, astonished Li Ya, for they resembled the legendary cultivation stages known only to practitioners of the immortal path.

The Dragon Kingdom was divided into nine great provinces, with Tian Province in the northern part. The Li family was one of the four great clans of Tian Province and a martial arts lineage spanning over a thousand years.

For ordinary families, a martial arts clan with such a long heritage was an enormous force, a dominant power without question.

Yet Li Ya had learned from the clan’s ancient texts that above martial arts families, some cultivation sects seemed to exist.

However, these cultivation sects appeared aloof and otherworldly, as if existing only in legend.

At least, the Li family of Tian Province had never come into contact with these cultivation sects.

Li Ya had always thought they were mere myths, but the Nine Dragons Divine Art in his mind left no room for doubt.

“Mother, is this the most precious legacy you left me?”

Clenching his fists tightly, a cold gleam flashed across Li Ya’s eyes.

“I have trained in the Li family’s martial arts for years with little progress. I hope this Nine Dragons Divine Art will help me change my fate. Rest assured, mother, no matter what, I will uncover the truth of that year!”

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Li Ya began to inhale and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth according to the manual.

Seated cross-legged on the bed, with energy sinking into his dantian, his pulse gradually steadied with each breath.

The techniques of the Nine Dragons Divine Art seemed etched in his mind, flowing smoothly without the slightest obstruction.

---

In the next moment, Li Ya distinctly felt strands of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth converging into his body.

This force was extraordinarily powerful, causing his meridians to throb painfully.

Having practiced Li family martial arts for years, Li Ya had only trained external techniques to strengthen his physique but had never been able to condense true energy.

Yet now, the spiritual energy gathered at a startling speed.

Strands of spiritual energy surged inward, guided by the manual, flowing ceaselessly through his meridians.

From gathering spiritual energy to circulating the Great Cycle, Li Ya took less than a quarter of an hour!

He recalled his childhood martial arts master, a top expert of the Li family who had reached the Grandmaster realm, capable of projecting true energy to repel bullets.

Yet that old master had taken hours to condense true energy and circulate the cycle, even with his exceptional talent.

A spark of excitement flashed in Li Ya’s eyes; he had thought himself a martial arts failure, but it turned out he was a prodigy of cultivation!

As the power of the nine dragons flowed continuously within him, Li Ya clearly felt his physical strength improving moment by moment.

His muscles grew exceptionally refined, the beating of his organs sounded like thunder, and his senses became far more acute than before.

“I never imagined such cultivation methods truly existed. Having just begun, I have already broken through my former bottleneck and stepped into the Postnatal Realm!”

Though he could barely be said to have entered the first stage of refined Qi, his strength had multiplied many times over.

Soon, a whole night passed. Even without sleep, Li Ya felt his mind remarkably clear.

After a night of cultivation, Li Ya had reached the third stage of refined Qi, equivalent to the peak of the Postnatal Realm!

Such an astounding speed of breakthrough was beyond his expectations.

As Li Ya rose to his feet, his bones cracked loudly, like popcorn popping.

Yet the room was filled with a heavy, pungent stench, and his body was coated in various black, viscous substances.

Throughout the night, Li Ya had continuously circulated the manual’s techniques, the spiritual energy reopening hundreds of meridians, expelling impurities from his body.

As the young master of the Li family, Li Ya had taken many pills in his youth and tempered his body with various spiritual elixirs.

---

His physical constitution was far superior to ordinary people’s. Over the years, many impurities had been expelled intermittently, but Li Ya never expected that after only one night of cultivating the Nine Dragons Divine Art, his body would be completely transformed!

Unable to bear the foul stench, he rushed to the bathroom. After washing, he found his originally bronze skin had become remarkably fair.

His skin was as smooth as a baby’s, and his features had grown more handsome, with sharper contours, arched brows, bright eyes, and a full forehead.

Especially his pair of jet-black eyes, which showed no signs of fatigue despite a sleepless night.

“Oh no, have I really turned into a pretty boy now?”

Li Ya shook his head helplessly. The change brought by this cultivation method was even more exaggerated than any advertisement from skincare companies.

Looking into the mirror, a faint purple dragon pattern shimmered faintly on his chest and abdomen, barely visible to the naked eye.

The threshold for the first level of the Nine Dragons Divine Art was low—just reaching the refined Qi stage—and Li Ya had achieved it in one night.

As the technique circulated, his right arm faintly glowed with a purple-golden light. The refinement of his body there far exceeded other parts.

This was because upon entering the first level of the Nine Dragons Divine Art, Li Ya’s right arm had opened a dragon vein!

He felt an immense force in his right hand. Though his realm was at the peak of the Postnatal Realm, the power unleashed by his right fist could rival that of the Prenatal Realm!

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock came at the door again. Li Ya glanced at the time; it was just seven-thirty.

Opening the door, it was Xiao Yudie, but this morning she had changed into a neat business suit.

Her deep blue shirt was calm and mature, paired with a black pencil skirt that perfectly hugged her thighs.

Today, Xiao Yudie wore sheer nude stockings, revealing her delicate, petite feet clearly.

“Young Master, breakfast is ready...” Xiao Yudie began, but suddenly froze in place.