As the autumn wind rose, the tree ferns in the courtyard rustled, scattering withered yellow leaves across the ground.
Inside the house, a boy about sixteen or seventeen years old lay on a hard wooden bed.
His name was Ye Feng, an ordinary outer disciple of Tianling Academy.
"I clearly died in an explosion… How did I end up here?!"
Opening his eyes, he rubbed his head, stared at the antique buildings around him, and looked completely dazed. Suddenly, Ye Feng felt a sharp pain in his head as a flood of memories poured in.
"Divine Martial Continent… Southern Divine State… Kaiyuan Kingdom… Tianling Academy… martial artists…"
A string of words slipped from Ye Feng's mouth.
"I can't believe it! I transmigrated… and my name is still Ye Feng…"
This was a world of martial artists. Powerful cultivators here could overturn rivers and seas, split mountains and shatter rocks, absorb qi instead of eating, and even prolong their lifespans indefinitely.
Tianling Academy was the cradle of martial artists.
The academy was divided into the inner academy and the outer academy. The outer academy existed mainly to send talented disciples to the inner academy.
The outer academy had three levels of disciples: outer sect, inner sect, and elite. Only elite disciples had a chance to enter the inner academy each year for evaluation. Only those who passed the evaluation could become true inner academy disciples.
Ye Feng currently lived in the outer sect dormitory of Tianling Academy's outer academy. Although called a dormitory, it was actually an independent courtyard.
Putting on his outer robe, Ye Feng walked into the courtyard. As he felt the dazzling sunlight on his skin, he let out a long, comfortable sigh.
"How many years has it been…? Ever since I became a vampire, I haven't basked in such warm sunlight!"
Before transmigrating, Ye Feng had been a vampire living in the dark corners of his world. Vampires in that world could not be exposed to sunlight and lived underground year-round. A certain abandoned factory suddenly exploded, killing Ye Feng along with it.
"Heaven hasn't treated me badly… letting me live again, and even see the sun again… no longer trapped in that cold, gloomy world."
"Squeak squeak!"
A Crimson Flame Pig, weighing about a hundred pounds, ran out and casually passed by Ye Feng.
From the original Ye Feng's memories, he knew that behind Tianling Academy were the Hengduan Mountains, a place frequently visited by demonic beasts. A Crimson Flame Pig was only a level-two demonic beast. Most disciples couldn't even be bothered to kill one, which was why these pigs weren't afraid of humans.
Ye Feng subconsciously licked his lips. Something in his body seemed to awaken, and a hint of crimson flashed through his eyes.
"What's going on? I changed bodies… so why do I still have the urge to suck blood?"
Ye Feng found it strange.
The bloodlust grew stronger and stronger. Seeing the Crimson Flame Pig fidgeting around, his primal instincts drove him to pounce.
With a swift movement, the pig didn't even have time to react before Ye Feng grabbed it with both hands.
Ye Feng didn't open his mouth to bite, but something bizarre happened—the nails on all ten of his fingers suddenly grew crazily long, piercing directly into the pig's body.
Bright red blood flowed along his nails, dyeing Ye Feng's hands crimson.
"This feeling… I've never experienced anything like it. It's as if the blood contains something special…"
Feeling the essence of the blood seep into his body, Ye Feng closed his eyes in comfort.
"Huh? Is this internal vision? I didn't expect something that only existed in legends to be real… Wait, is that swirling white line in my abdomen my dantian? And the white lines are true qi? But why are there more… in other places? There are nine? Arranged like a nine-star pattern… throughout my whole body… No wonder my cultivation has always been as slow as a snail…"
Ye Feng opened his eyes and saw that the hundred-pound Crimson Flame Pig had turned into a pile of skin and bones, lying limp on the ground.
Feeling his entire body filled with energy, Ye Feng couldn't help but show a look of joy. He quickly sat down and activated the Purple Jade Skill that the previous Ye Feng cultivated.
The blood essence he had absorbed continuously transformed into true qi, filling his meridians and rushing into the nine dantians in his body. The amount of true qi inside the dantians increased steadily, swelling…
The number of white lines within the dantians increased! One, two, three… growing thicker and thicker!
Buzz!
Ye Feng felt his eardrums tremble, his blood boil, and his whole body shine with a crimson glow. A powerful surge of true qi burst forth.
"He actually skipped past the peak of the second level of the Acquired Realm… and broke through to the third level!"
The martial path began with the Acquired Realm, from level one to level nine. Above the Acquired Realm was the Innate Realm. As for what lay above the Innate Realm, Ye Feng didn't know, since even the outer academy master was only at the Innate Realm.
"I never expected the blood in this world to be so extraordinary."
Ye Feng sighed as he stood up, only to see the skeletal remains of the pig beside him.
"Demonic beasts all have demon cores. I should keep one as a souvenir!" he said, squatting down to search.
"Why isn't it here? Could it have been absorbed together with the blood? If so, that explains the different sensation I felt just now. The demonic energy inside a demon core is similar to true qi… Doesn't that mean if I get enough blood—and demon cores—my strength will increase at an unbelievable rate?!"
Ye Feng was thrilled by this realization.
"I must test it again when I have the chance!"
A foul stench drifted over. Looking around, Ye Feng discovered it came from his own body. His previously clean skin was now covered in thick, black impurities.
"Not only did I break through to the third level of the Acquired Realm, but the impurities in my body were expelled as well. Drinking that blood was absolutely worth it…
But this smell… it's horrible. Looks like I need a good wash!"
Saying that, Ye Feng walked back into the room.
"I didn't expect there to be a bathing tub in the dormitory. Not bad at all!"
With a towel on his head, Ye Feng leaned against the wooden tub, eyes closed, organizing everything that had happened today.
"I didn't expect martial cultivation in this world to be divided into external skills and internal skills.
External skills are also called martial techniques and are mainly used for attack. So far, the former Ye Feng only knew a basic sword technique.
Internal skills refer to cultivating energy, absorbing vital qi and storing it in the dantian. What I know now is called the Purple Jade Skill, a lower-level technique. Most disciples practice lower-level skills. Only elite disciples are allowed to cultivate intermediate or high-level techniques.
In martial cultivation, internal skills are primary and external skills are secondary. They complement each other. If you only practice one, no matter how good you are at it, it's difficult to achieve great success."
"I'm not in a hurry with internal skills—I can convert the energy in blood anyway. But my attack methods are too limited. I can't possibly use my fingernails, right?"
The thought of himself baring fangs and turning his hands into long, sharp claws, surrounded by onlookers, sent chills down Ye Feng's spine.
"Luckily, now that I've reached the third level of the Acquired Realm, I can apply for a martial technique at the library…"