A faint stream gurgled, shaded by lush trees, where an Earth Dragon slaked its thirst by the clear river, laden with bundles large and small.

Beside the beast, a dozen burly martial artists were feasting with gusto, their conversation filled with topics best left unsaid. Behind the Earth Dragon stood just as many skeletal figures, their limbs shackled by heavy irons. They squatted on the ground, spiritlessly bowing their heads to eat their meager rations.

Inside a sedan chair mounted on the Earth Dragon, an old man with a chilling gaze sat cloaked in ash-grey robes. Five delicate white medicine bottles were embroidered onto the chest of his garment. Thin and frail, the elder wore a high topknot, looking down upon the shackled people as if inspecting pigs marked for slaughter.

The old man’s eyes darted restlessly, occasionally landing on the feasting warriors. A cryptic, sinister glint would surface, and any warrior caught in his stare would instantly blanch, falling silent as the grave, clearly terrified of him.

“Are you done eating? If so, we move on,” Mo Yanyu said, voice icy as she emerged from the brush, dragging Shi Yan along.

The warriors managed forced smiles, quickly stowing their half-eaten delicacies. “Done, done, Miss, we’re all finished,” they stammered.

Mo Yanyu’s face was set, radiating impatience. Only when she reached the elder’s side did she force a smile. “Master Karu, I trust you’ve finished as well?”

The elder nodded coldly, snorting. “Miss Mo, the Merchant Alliance is still three months away, yet you’ve reduced the number of medicine slaves to only sixteen. I fear we won’t last the journey…”

“Master, rest assured. We will replenish your supply of medicine slaves along the way,” Mo Yanyu replied earnestly, casually tossing Shi Yan onto the ground. She smiled faintly. “See? Haven’t we acquired another medicine slave just now?”

“Mmm,” Karu responded without warmth, his gaze slithering over Shi Yan like a viper’s. He frowned. “This boy is so skinny; I doubt he’ll last more than a few days, will he?”

“His body is indeed frail, but he possesses Jingyuan…” Mo Yanyu explained.

“A martial artist?” Karu’s eyes brightened slightly, clearly piqued by interest.

“Indeed, a martial artist!” Mo Yanyu confirmed.

“That’s more like it.” Karu let out a sinister chuckle and began examining Shi Yan with greater scrutiny. After a long pause, he slowly nodded. “Excellent. Miss Mo, ensure he is fed well. I need his body fortified first. A heavily injured martial artist cannot withstand my treatment; if he dies too soon because his body is too weak, it would be a terrible waste.”

“Master, have no fear.” Mo Yanyu’s brows tightened with a dangerous resolve, and she snapped, “Qiangsen, what are you dawdling for! Hurry up and cuff this one’s hands and feet!”

“Coming!” A burly, bald man nearly two meters tall, with a face like carved granite, responded instantly. He swiftly retrieved a brand-new set of shackles from the Earth Dragon and roughly clamped them onto Shi Yan’s limbs, showing no concern for the man’s pain.

The brute wore heavy armor, beneath which bulging muscles promised astonishing explosive power. His dark armor looked weightless on him, not impeding his speed in the slightest.

“Qiangsen, you make sure to look after him properly. Don’t let him lag behind the group,” Mo Yanyu warned, shooting Shi Yan a hateful glance before striding toward the front of the procession, seemingly unwilling to spend another second near him.

“Miss need not worry. This is my specialty,” the bald giant Qiangsen grinned fiercely, pounding his chest in assurance.

Shi Yan felt numb all over, watching the proceedings with cold eyes, remaining silent.

He knew words were useless in this situation. In this world where only the strong survived, no one would listen to reason. He understood that if he didn't adapt to this reality, he would soon become just another pile of forgotten bones; pity was not in supply here.

The faint Jingyuan within him flowed slowly. The soreness in his limbs had improved considerably after the rest period, but the new shackles dragging on his hands and feet made his still-recovering body feel as if it were carrying an iron mountain, making every step agonizingly difficult.

Crack!

A whip lashed brutally across his back, sudden and fierce, tearing the skin with searing pain. He turned his head to see the brute named Qiangsen standing there, holding the whip, a menacing grin splitting his face.

“Damn medicine slave! Move it! Do you want another taste?” Qiangsen roared with laughter.

Shi Yan did not reply, instead studying Qiangsen with unnerving calm for a few seconds. Only just before Qiangsen raised the whip again did he painfully follow the medicine slaves ahead, feeling as if each step weighed a thousand pounds, demanding immense effort.

After Shi Yan turned away, the maniacal grin on Qiangsen’s face began to fade, replaced by a strange expression.

On this journey, he had ‘cared for’ many unruly medicine slaves initially. Due to his cruel and brutal methods, two slaves had died under his ‘care’ before Master Karu could even test them. All the slaves, when looking at him, displayed only two emotions: either stark terror or deep, burning hatred.

This man, however, had shown neither fear nor the expected hatred when looking at him just now; instead, there was an extraordinary calmness, a coolness tinged with an unsettling chill.

This prisoner seemed to lack any sense of his captured status, whether from failing to grasp the situation or some other reason. That steady, cool gaze gave Qiangsen a bizarre sense of being the hunted, which deeply unsettled him. Since Shi Yan was now walking obediently, Qiangsen couldn't find an immediate pretext to lash out and let it go for the moment, though he vowed in his heart to ensure this man would eventually show him fear under his ‘care.’ He reveled in the sublime pleasure of holding someone’s life in his hands, a feeling reflected in their terrified eyes.

For the next few days, Shi Yan remained taciturn yet exceptionally cooperative. If told to walk, he walked; if told to stop, he stopped. He offered no resistance, showed no emotion, seemingly indifferent to his surroundings. Among the uncooperative slaves, Shi Yan stood out as an anomaly.

Even Qiangsen, who desperately sought an excuse to punish him, found it difficult. Shi Yan was too compliant, so compliant that it felt unnatural, yet Qiangsen couldn't pinpoint why.

Shi Yan only spoke during rest and meal times, and each time, it was only to request food. Under Master Karu’s explicit orders, this request was always granted.

Soon, the warriors noticed Shi Yan had an astonishing appetite. He ate the inferior rations meant for the medicine slaves with evident relish. His first meal was equivalent to what seven slaves consumed, and his intake increased daily, showing a trend of further growth.

This baffled many warriors. They couldn't fathom how his thin frame could hold so much food. Initially, they worried he couldn't digest it all, but they soon realized they were wrong.

Shi Yan’s skin-and-bones body was subtly gaining strength in just a few days. Though the change wasn't dramatic, observant warriors noticed the shift. Clearly, Shi Yan had not only processed the poor food but had successfully converted it into nourishment for his body.

Shi Yan’s physical improvement delighted Master Karu. The old man, with his sinister eyes, specifically permitted Shi Yan to eat freely and heartily—he must be given as much as he could consume, not a single grain less.

Watching Shi Yan grow stronger day by day made Qiangsen increasingly uneasy. Every time he met Shi Yan’s calmly cool gaze, Qiangsen felt this man would become trouble. Yet, he dared not defy Karu’s orders and could only supply Shi Yan with his full rations, grudgingly. He took some solace in knowing Karu’s methods, secretly wishing the Master would act soon.

Shi Yan finally stopped eating after consuming the equivalent of twelve servings, carefully rolling the last grain of rice at his lips into his mouth and swallowing. Ignoring the astonished looks of the nearby slaves, Shi Yan slowly closed his eyes.

The twelve portions of food were rapidly digested in his stomach. His body acted like a bottomless pit, or perhaps the most precise instrument, grinding and decomposing the sustenance, converting it into the nourishment for his blood vessels, meridians, bones, organs, and muscle cells, quietly reinforcing his previously frail physique.

The wound on his chest had healed long ago; the long gash closed in just a day and a half without leaving a trace—a miraculous feat that confirmed to him he was no longer the same. Only he knew the massive changes his body had undergone in these few short days, changes he could clearly feel and perceive every single moment!

The ingested food fueled his body, causing it to grow progressively sturdier. The thread of faint Jingyuan within him, flowing day and night without rest, had actually doubled in potency! He clearly felt a significant surge of power in his body; the shackles that once felt like heavy mountains were no longer a great burden.

Concentrating his spirit, he clearly sensed the Jingyuan naturally rising from his lower Dantian, ascending the Governing Vessel (Du Mai) and descending the Conception Vessel (Ren Mai), crossing the Three Gates to connect them, allowing the Kidney and Heart to communicate, balancing water and fire—a Minor Heavenly Cycle complete, and his Jingyuan strengthened further.

Shi Yan, with some familiarity with Qigong theory, knew the difference between the Minor and Major Heavenly Cycles. The Minor Cycle only traverses the Ren and Du vessels, not the Twelve Primary Meridians or the other six Extraordinary Vessels. However, the Major Cycle required traversing all Twelve Primary Meridians plus the other Six Extraordinary Channels, a feat of immense difficulty. He had only opened the Ren and Du channels among the twelve main and eight extraordinary meridians, limiting him to the Minor Cycle; the Major Cycle was impossible. From the memories of the other Shi Yan, he knew that only martial artists who had reached the Innate Realm in this world could have all Twelve Primary Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Channels flowing unimpeded, allowing for the Major Heavenly Cycle.

Shi Yan was not discouraged; he knew that as long as his internal Jingyuan became sufficiently strong, he would eventually break through all those blocked channels.

“Another one dead. Two have died from testing the medicine in six days.”

“I saw it. Before he died, his body started to rot. It was horrifying!”

“It’s better to commit suicide than die like that. There's no hope for us anyway; we’re destined to end up the same.”

“We can’t kill ourselves! If we die by suicide, our families won’t receive a single Blue Crystal Coin! Ugh… we have to endure it. If we live past half a year without dying, we’ll be free and get paid. For our wives and children, we must keep going!”

When this medicine slave spoke, the others fell silent. The thought of suicide seemed to be dispelled; they all forced down their fear, secretly urging themselves to persevere.

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