Chapter 2: All Wishes Fulfilled
"What is this?" Somewhat bewildered, Lu Sheng asked several times in his mind but received no reply. Instead, a secret art named the Three Treasures Wishful Art appeared in his mind. According to its contents, only by mastering this technique could Lu Sheng shed his status as a candidate and truly accept the legacy within the wish-granting jade.
"Three Treasures Wishful Art? Wish-granting jade?" He thought of the jade ruyi he used to play with in his hospital bed, sometimes even using it to scratch an itch. Suddenly, Lu Sheng seemed to understand. "Was it you who brought me here and gave me a second life? Ruyi, thank you!"
At that moment, Lu Sheng felt the pain in his body again and remembered his earlier injuries, forcing a bitter smile. "Having a golden finger is useless if I don’t know how to use it! Ruyi, ruyi, you can’t possibly make everything go my way, can you?" As this thought flashed through his mind, inspiration suddenly struck. He recalled how, in novels from his previous life, merit was often described as all-powerful. "In those stories, merit is depicted as omnipotent. If that’s really the case, it should be able to heal my body!"
"If the ruyi’s ability is to harness merit, then as long as I have enough merit, it really might be able to make anything possible!" Excited, Lu Sheng eagerly examined the information about merit in his mind and sent out a mental query: "Ruyi, how much merit would it take to restore my body?"
As his thought was sent out, information surfaced in his mind: "To fully heal your body will consume 5 points of merit!"
"It really works!" Overjoyed at discovering how to use merit, Lu Sheng didn’t immediately spend merit to restore himself. Instead, he began experimenting with how merit interacted with his essence, energy, spirit, fortune, and karma.
Instantly, information appeared in his mind:
"26 points of merit can increase essence, energy, and spirit by 0.02 points!"
"26 points of merit cannot increase fortune!"
"11 points of merit can offset 11 points of karma!"
He set aside the use of merit and began exploring the effects of karma and fortune on other attributes. This time, aside from a prompt that fortune could be converted into merit, no other information appeared.
"9 points of fortune can be converted to 900 points of merit!"
"Warning: After fortune is consumed, it must be replenished as soon as possible, or unpredictable events may occur!"
Shaking his head at the warning about "unpredictable events," Lu Sheng lacked the courage to spend his fortune. "It seems, for now, all I can use is the 26 points of merit I have. Just restoring my body costs 5 points—I wonder how I’ll earn more in the future?"
Feeling the pain in his body, Lu Sheng wasted no further time—he spent 5 points of merit and completely healed himself.
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With the expenditure of 5 points of merit, his body was fully restored. Lu Sheng felt light and vigorous, healthier than he had ever been. Even the faint ache in his head was gone, replaced by a crystal-clear lucidity. The memories of both Lu Shengs flowed seamlessly in his mind, as if they had always been one.
"So this is what true health feels like! How long has it been since I felt this way?" Savoring the strength and clarity of his body, Lu Sheng was deeply moved. Ever since he had fallen terminally ill and been bedridden, it was only now that he could once again experience the feeling of being truly healthy.
He harbored no resentment about only discovering the ruyi’s power after arriving here—his heart was full of gratitude. For someone who had once been paralyzed and helpless in a hospital bed, what could be more valuable than the restoration of health? Especially when this body was stronger than ever before.
"No one can ever take my health from me again—never!" Filled with energy, Lu Sheng sought out some stored water and food in the secret room. After satisfying his hunger, he immediately took out the inheritance from the box and asked in his mind, "Ruyi, how much merit does it take to record these?"
"It depends on the time required to record."
"Is this giving me a photographic memory? Splendid!" Delighted, Lu Sheng spread out all the animal-skin scrolls from the box and spent 1 point of merit to enhance his memory.
At once, his mind felt incomparably clear. With a single glance, he committed every detail of the scrolls to memory, storing them in his mind as if they were photographs to be recalled at will.
And this was only the beginning—the enhancement brought by 1 point of merit to his memory was far from over. Once he had memorized the scrolls, Lu Sheng quickly picked up the inheritance stones and, following the method in his memory, pressed them to his brow to absorb their contents. He then organized all the information from the inheritances, reviewing his entire memory, even categorizing the martial arts knowledge together.
Finally, the enhancement to his memory ended. By then, Lu Sheng had not only thoroughly sorted through his memories, but his understanding of this world’s martial arts was now on par with any master.
"The effect of a single point of merit is even greater than I imagined. Most of the five points needed to restore my body must have been used to fuse the two consciousnesses!" Through this experience, Lu Sheng finally understood how powerful even a single point of merit could be. He now had an inkling as to why healing his body had required five points.
"At this point, I suppose I truly count as a native of this world," Lu Sheng mused.
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"This is a world of martial arts, where martial prowess is revered above all. Training in martial arts not only strengthens the body, but also grants freedom to roam the land."
"When a martial artist becomes strong enough, standing alone against nations or unifying the world is no fantasy!"
"The Former Qin and the current Great Jing dynasties were both founded by Supreme Grandmasters—Emperor Qin and Emperor Jing."
"In the past, when Emperor Qin entered Yizhou, a great mountain blocked his path. He drew his sword and split the mountain, causing Yizhou to surrender without a fight. This is the martial myth known as—"
"Emperor Qin splits the mountain with a single sword!"
"In Emperor Jing's time, the great river hung high and frequently flooded. Emperor Jing, bearing the Seal of Rivers and Mountains, stepped onto the river and pressed the elevated riverbed down, ending the floods. This is the martial myth known as—"
"Emperor Jing treads down the great river!"
"Such power is beyond the reach of ordinary people!"
Recalling these legends, Lu Sheng’s heart surged with excitement. These were not myths but historical truths, making him realize that the martial power of this world far exceeded anything his previous life could have imagined. At the pinnacle of martial arts, one could not only maintain health but even achieve immortality—it was no longer a mere fantasy.
"What a marvelous world this is!" He reflected on his previous life—not entirely unaccomplished, but hampered by circumstances, ending up sick and dying in obscurity. Now, a fierce desire for health and longevity burned in his heart.
"Only by reaching such heights can I be worthy of this second chance at life!"
He then turned his attention to the martial system of this world.
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"This world’s martial arts system has developed over thousands of years, with a clear and continuous legacy and meticulously defined ranks."
"At the bottom are Martial Apprentices, Martial Practitioners, and Martial Warriors—collectively called Human Martial. In the middle are Martial Masters and Great Martial Masters—called Earth Martial. At the top are Grandmasters, or Heaven Martial; and above that, Transcendent Grandmasters, or Void Martial."
"Human Martial can live for several decades—no different from ordinary people."
"Earth Martial can live for over sixty years, even a hundred."
"Heaven Martial Grandmasters can reach the human lifespan limit—about 120 years or two cycles of sixty years."
"Void Realm Grandmasters can live for centuries—the longest recorded was 626 years!"
"Supreme Grandmasters like Emperor Jing even broke through the void and left this world!"
"Such martial prowess is truly awe-inspiring!"
As he pondered, Lu Sheng assessed his own physical abilities. "Started martial training at twelve, tempered muscles and bones for nearly four years, now at the late stage of Martial Apprentice, with strength seven times my body weight—almost eight hundred catties!"
"Mm! The method for measuring strength is much like the squats in my previous world—lifting weights on the back. The world record for squats in my previous life was less than 1,200 catties, and the strength-to-weight ratio barely reached six times."
"If I took this body to my old world, I’d shatter the squat record for my class! With further training as my bones mature, I might even break the highest record!"
"Yet, such strength is nothing here—only the most basic level of a Martial Apprentice."
"Only by turning raw strength into inner energy can one become a true Martial Practitioner!"
"This body used to train in Rolling Stone Force as a cover—a high-level muscle-forging method. Now, with the inheritance, I can switch straight to the Hunyuan Force from the Hunyuan Art."
"This is the supreme force created by Emperor Jing himself, granting ninefold strength and mastery at the Unity Realm—a top-tier muscle-forging method rarely seen in the world!"
"This inheritance is truly extraordinary!"
Reflecting on the information he had just received, Lu Sheng thought about his identity as revealed in the inheritance:
"Second son of Emperor Jing, descendant of Prince Jin, also known as the Lu clan of Bingzhou, inheritors of the Hunyuan Art and various related martial techniques."
"One of the inheritance stones was crafted by Emperor Jing himself, containing a trace of his true intent."
"That must be the trace of the ‘Dao intent’ the ruyi mentioned. No wonder only one stone contains it!"
"I wonder where I can find more of this Dao intent for the ruyi to collect and restore itself quickly!"
"With the inheritance stone left by Emperor Jing, my status in the Lu clan of Bingzhou is hardly ordinary—though how did I end up stranded on this island?"
"Unfortunately, the father of this body died suddenly, and the other close relatives passed away long ago. No one ever told him the truth!"
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After contemplating the various methods of the Hunyuan Art for a while, Lu Sheng did not immediately begin training. Instead, he turned his focus to comprehending the Three Treasures Wishful Art.
"The Hunyuan Art is formidable, but compared to the wish-granting jade that brought me to this world, the legacy it left behind is even more important."
"This is my true foundation!"