Ethan Brooks gritted his teeth, enduring the tearing pain in his meridians, focusing all his attention to sense the changes occurring in his ninth meridian under the impact of that stream of spiritual energy.

Unblocking the meridians was like clearing blocked ravines, with spiritual energy acting as the plow.

Once the meridians were clear, spiritual energy could surge through them like water rushing through ravines, flowing within the meridians and delivering spiritual power to the flesh, bones, and internal organs, thus paving the way to step into the Spirit-Nurturing Realm.

"Charge!"

That stream of spiritual energy gradually depleted within his ninth meridian, like a slender fuse, and finally extinguished.

As for the ninth meridian, about one-tenth of its length had been opened up by that stream of energy!

"As expected of the Nine Radiant Heavenly Wheel—just one impact from the heavenly wheel yields such results! If I continue cultivating at this rate, even without relying on pills, after diligently training for more than half a month, I might be able to fully clear this meridian and step into the ninth level of the Meridian Unblocking Realm!"

……

Chapter Six: I am Ethan Brooks!

The path of cultivation is, at its core, a competition of resources.

Talent, renowned teachers, elixirs, high-level spiritual techniques, the density of spiritual energy in the place of cultivation—all these internal and external factors affect the speed at which a cultivator breaks through realms.

Meridian Unblocking is the foundational first realm.

On the Spirit Source Continent and the Extinction Continent, where spiritual energy is abundant, native children, under the guidance of sects and parents, often begin cultivating from a young age and can usually break through the Meridian Unblocking stage and reach the Spirit-Nurturing Realm by the age of seven or eight.

Among those with extraordinary talent, some may even break through the Meridian Unblocking Realm at four or five years old.

On the Qianxuan Continent, due to the relative scarcity of spiritual energy, newborns are limited by the environment. Those with cultivation talent, under the guidance of famous teachers and with the financial and material support of their families, often manage to clear all twelve main meridians smoothly around the age of thirteen or fourteen.

If one fails to unblock the meridians before the age of fifteen, their aptitude is deemed mediocre, and it is unlikely they will ever reach the higher four realms.

This means that the Yin Spirit Realm is the limit for such cultivators.

For this reason, on the Qianxuan Continent, those who have not succeeded in unblocking their meridians by fifteen are very likely to be abandoned by their families or the sects that chose them, with no further cultivation resources invested in them.

Ashley Reed, under the devoted nurturing of the Lin family and the Cold Yin Sect, crossed the Meridian Unblocking stage and entered the Spirit-Nurturing Realm at the age of ten.

The Qianxuan Continent is different from the Spirit Source and Extinction Continents; to cross the Meridian Unblocking barrier at ten years old here is truly the mark of a heaven-blessed prodigy!

Such talent is equivalent to native children of the Spirit Source and Extinction Continents breaking through the Meridian Unblocking stage at four or five years old.

The Cold Yin Sect values her so highly, and the Lin family treasures her as their greatest asset, precisely because she displayed extraordinary ability at such a young age!

Everyone knows that the Cold Yin Sect regards her as the sect's treasure and will surely protect her all the way, helping her break through to the Profound Breaking Realm.

Once she enters the Profound Breaking Realm, the Grand Elder will personally come to bring her into the Cold Yin Sect as a direct disciple.

"She crossed the Meridian Unblocking stage at ten, broke through the Spirit-Nurturing Realm at fourteen, and advanced to the Yellow Court Realm. Another three years have passed—my fiancée, whom I have yet to marry, what stage of the Yellow Court Realm is she at now?"

"Mid-stage? Or late-stage?"

After another round of impact on his ninth meridian, Ethan Brooks opened his eyes, his stomach growling with hunger, and paused his tireless cultivation, frowning in thought.

After diligently cultivating with the "Nine Radiant Heavenly Wheel" for a while, one-tenth of his ninth meridian was now clear.

He believed that as long as he continued to train so diligently, even with the thin spiritual energy here, he could soon "plow" open the ninth meridian.

Yet, he still felt it was too slow.

"I was the sect master of the Medicine God Sect in my previous life! And though the The Brooks Family is at the lowest rung of the alchemy world, they still grow spiritual herbs and grasses. If I don't make full use of the The Brooks Family's current resources, wouldn't that be a disgrace to my illustrious reputation from my past life, and to the potential of this life's body?"

"Is crossing the Meridian Unblocking barrier at ten really that impressive?" he snorted coldly, muttering, "If my Earth Soul and Heaven Soul had been complete at birth, with the potential of this body, even without relying on my previous life's alchemy skills, I would not be inferior to her."

"If I add my alchemy expertise and the Nine Radiant Heavenly Wheel technique, perhaps the name Ethan Brooks in this life would already be renowned across the Qianxuan Continent, and even the Spirit Source and Extinction Continents!"

With this thought, Ethan Brooks sprang up, ending his first conscious cultivation session.

"Young master, you’re out!"

Outside the room, the maid in purple, Emily Hayes, immediately woke from her drowsy state when she saw the door open, and began chirping away like a sparrow.

"The old master’s fever has subsided, and he’s woken from his coma. He said it was all thanks to Mr. Foster's treatment."

"I heard that you’ve truly awakened and can communicate normally now. The old master was so happy he was in tears and wanted to see you right away, but when he arrived, Mr. Foster sensed you were cultivating and advised him to wait. The old master said that as soon as you came out, he wanted to see you immediately."

"The news that you’re alive has spread throughout Darkmoon City. I heard you can speak now, and many people are asking about you."

"And also…"

Emily Hayes chattered on like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, carefully recounting everything that had happened in the The Brooks Family and Darkmoon City during his cultivation.