After days of relentless refinement, aided by medicinal support, Jiang Chen had finally polished all four meridians to a level he found satisfactory.
"Four meridians advancing together, like four petals blooming open—none more important than the others, all moving forward in parallel. Compared to the first time I cultivated, these meridians now—whether in resilience or strength—have improved more than tenfold."
Jiang Chen was quite pleased with this progress, even though he knew that in terms of martial cultivation, the previous Jiang Chen had already fallen behind by quite a few lengths.
But that was no reason to rush. Jiang Chen would stick to his own pace—slow and meticulous work would lead to natural success.
Finally, on the morning of the sixth day, Jiang Chen reached his peak condition.
The four streams of true qi surged like wild dragons, brimming with primal energy and explosive power. In unison, without any prompting, they developed an instinctive synergy—an understanding that it was time to break through the fifth acupoint.
The powerful yet rhythmic flow of true qi filled every bone and joint in Jiang Chen's body with a sense of serene composure.
Exhale. Channel the energy!
The four streams of true qi, like four carp leaping toward the Dragon Gate, burned with fighting spirit and youthful vigor. Under Jiang Chen's guidance, they merged from different paths into a single force, streaking like a meteor toward the fifth acupoint he had long since locked onto!
A warm current surged through him, a transcendent rush of ecstasy comparable to the bliss of union between man and woman, instantly passing through the acupoint and radiating to every limb and bone.
BOOM!
That acupoint shattered like an eggshell. A torrent of powerful qi burst through, following the predetermined path and opening up the fifth meridian!
The fifth acupoint—broken through!
The fifth meridian—connected!
Five-meridian true qi—complete!
...
Facing the morning sun, Jiang Chen let a smile surface from the deepest part of his heart—the first genuine smile since his rebirth.
The five-meridian true qi breakthrough didn't surprise him. What brought him joy was the process of cultivation itself, the sense of accomplishment that came with breaking through.
It was an accomplishment he had never tasted even in his previous life, when he had been the Son of the Celestial Emperor.
"With five meridians of true qi, among the heirs of the various marquises, I shouldn't be at the very bottom anymore. Moreover, given my insight and strength, within the true qi realm—even those at the advanced seven- or eight-meridian level—may not necessarily be able to defeat me."
Jiang Chen had this bit of confidence.
With his perception, he could absolutely see through the essence of this world's foundational martial arts at a single glance. Before an opponent even made a move, he would have already dissected every technique they had. In such a contest, the advantage was overwhelming.
Stepping out of the cultivation chamber, Jiang Chen realized he hadn't paid a visit to his father in quite a few days.
Since arriving in this world, whether by blood ties or first impressions, Marquis Jianghan—his father Jiang Feng—had always been Jiang Chen's spiritual anchor.
In this man, Jiang Chen had come to understand what it meant to feel love in the mortal world.
Though he never said it aloud, Jiang Chen held this bond of blood and kinship in high regard.
When he saw his father, the Marquis was holding an invitation card, his brow slightly furrowed—clearly troubled by something.
"Father." Jiang Chen walked in.
"Haha, Chen'er, you're here!" The sight of his son always lifted Jiang Feng's spirits, and the trace of worry on his forehead was deftly concealed.
"So how's it going? I heard you haven't stepped outside in days. Are you actually determined this time to pass all three of those basic assessments?"
Jiang Feng's half-joking tone left Jiang Chen momentarily speechless. This father of his really had a carefree attitude—to be cracking jokes at a time like this.
"The basic assessments are nothing to worry about. Father, what were you looking at just now? You seemed troubled," Jiang Chen said, bringing it up himself since his father wouldn't.
"Well, haha! Chen'er, you used to never care much about family affairs. Don't you worry about these things."
Jiang Feng laughed it off, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.
"Father, I'm your son. You've been sheltering me, but there has to be a limit, right? Aren't you afraid you'll spoil me into some useless, good-for-nothing dandy?"
"Heh heh, Chen'er, listen to yourself. A father protecting his son—that's only natural! It's really nothing important. It's just that Marquis Longteng sent an invitation, summoning all the marquises to attend a banquet to celebrate some great joyous occasion at the Longteng estate."
"The Longteng estate?" The moment Jiang Chen heard those words, he thought of that young miss, Long Juxue.
"Our relationship with the Longteng household isn't close enough for them to invite us to drink at their celebration, is it?" Jiang Chen probed.
"Sigh, Marquis Longteng! This is an outright act of bullying against my Jiang family. Chen'er, since you've asked, I'll tell you. From now on, whenever you're out and about, keep your wits about you and don't offend anyone from the Longteng estate. The thing is, our Jianghan territory is situated along the southern frontier of the kingdom, with fertile land. Thirty years ago, we even discovered a plot of land with a semi-spiritual vein. Because of that, our family has long maintained a major business relationship with the Dan King Court—cultivating spirit herbs for them."
Discovering land with a semi-spiritual vein naturally made it prime soil for growing spirit herbs. Having business dealings with the Dan King Court, which ran the alchemy trade, was perfectly normal.
Jiang Chen listened quietly, because he knew there was more to come.
"But in recent years, Marquis Longteng has approached me multiple times, proposing to lease that plot of semi-spiritual vein herb garden from us."
"Lease? Leasing between marquises isn't unheard of. What price did he offer?" Jiang Chen sensed something was off.
"Here's where the bullying comes in. Our business with the Dan King Court—that herb garden brings us roughly five million taels of silver in annual profit. But Marquis Longteng offered only three hundred thousand taels to lease our land."