Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 804 - Human Body's Secret

"What are you afraid of? The spiritual rice belongs to us, to begin with!" Shen Rong took his portion and kept it. There was nothing they could say at this point, and they could only take things one step at a time. Besides, they had done nothing wrong to be guilty about.

"Junior Brother, will you deliver our master's share, or should I do it?" Jiang Le asked. This was the same as accepting Liu Wuxie's actions; they would bear the consequences together.

"I'll deliver it," Liu Wuxie said, picking up their master's portion of spiritual rice. Since he had caused this situation, it was only proper for him to bear the responsibility if their master reprimanded him. He didn't want his senior brothers punished along with him.

"We'll go together. If our master is to blame anyone, we will share the responsibility," Jiang Le said, standing up. They were brothers in arms, and it was only proper for them to be united now.

"Senior Brother is right. I've put up with those bastards for years, and we finally got some payback. Revenge feels good!" Shen Rong said, fully supporting Jiang Le's words.

They would share fortune and hardship, and this was true brotherhood. And so, the four headed to their master's hut.

After consuming the spiritual rice, Jiang Le and Shen Rong had recovered at an even astonishing speed. Even Yu Zhibai's speech became clearer, and his consciousness gradually returned.

"Master, we've come to pay our respects!" Jiang Le said as he knocked on the door.

"Place the rice outside, and you may leave," Elder Madman's voice echoed from the hut.

The four exchanged glances, surprise flickering in their eyes. They had expected their master to reprimand them—after all, they had just killed ten disciples. It was impossible that he didn’t know. Yet, his silence meant something else. He had acknowledged their actions.

"Let's head back," Jiang Le said, placing the spiritual rice on the doorstep before walking away.

"This is strange. Why didn't our master beat us this time? Our bodies have mostly recovered, and if this were the past, he'd have thrashed us by now," Shen Rong said, his expression puzzled. He realized their master’s temper had noticeably softened since their junior brother's arrival.

"Senior Brothers, there's something I've wanted to say for a while now, but I wasn't entirely sure," Liu Wuxie said as he sat down.

"Junior Brother, though we haven't known you for long, we can tell you're someone worthy of befriending. There's no secret between us, and you can say what's on your mind," Jiang Le replied.

"Your bodies are different from ordinary people, and our master has been using the past three years to reconstruct your physiques," Liu Wuxie revealed. His words left the trio stunned. Disbelief flickered across their faces. Their master had always claimed the beatings were for their own good, but they had never truly believed it. So how did Liu Wuxie figure it out?

"Junior Brother, do you know something?" Shen Rong grabbed Liu Wuxie's shoulders, his grip firm. They trusted their master wouldn't harm them needlessly, but that didn't mean they could easily accept the years of suffering they had endured. Anyone else would have harbored resentment.

"Senior Brother, were you able to walk from the moment you were born?" Liu Wuxie asked, looking at Jiang Le.

"H-How do you know?" Jiang Le asked, his eyes widening in shock. Not even the other two junior brothers knew about it, but how did Liu Wuxie possibly know?

"You were born with two additional meridians in your legs, infused with innate energy. Our master broke your legs to ensure the meridians could develop fully." Liu Wuxie explained.

If Jiang Le had cultivated normally, the two meridians would have gradually clogged, eventually becoming useless. Worse, they could have even hindered his future cultivation.

Jiang Le froze at Liu Wuxie's explanation. The idea of having two additional meridians in his body was almost too unbelievable to grasp.

"That explains why I was always faster than others when I was little..." he murmured, realization dawning on him. As a child, he had been treated like a freak for walking at birth. He had never imagined the answer lay within his meridians.

"The two meridians will develop fully in half a year, and your cultivation will progress twice as fast in the future. You will gain unimaginable benefits," Liu Wuxie explained. But he didn't go into details as he wasn't sure enough, and he had only noticed it relying on Ghost Eye.

"I've wronged our master all these years!" Jiang Le clutched his chest in remorse. Resentment had crept into his heart on many nights as he watched other disciples grow stronger while he remained stagnant. He had questioned his master before, but he had been beaten and thrown out.

Elder Madman had never explained anything, and time had passed—until Liu Wuxie unraveled the mystery.

"Junior Brother, what about me?" Shen Rong asked eagerly. If his senior brother had suffered because of the two meridians in his body, what was different about him?

"Third Senior Brother, your physique is unique, and I can sense a different aura flowing in your body. I'm not really sure, but I suspect it's a bloodline inheritance. If awakened, it will bring you incredible benefits," Liu Wuxie said as he hadn't seen this bloodline before. But he could tell that Shen Rong's physique differed from ordinary people.

"My father once told me that our ancestors carried the Great Roc's bloodline, but I'm unsure if it's true. Now that I think about it, my body has grown stronger after every recovery," Shen Rong said as he fell into deep thoughts.

If anyone else had been in his position, their bodies would have become frail from repeated injuries, but Shen Rong's physique had grown stronger with each recovery.

"That makes sense now. Your bloodline is too thin to awaken naturally, so you must rely on external force. Our master did it to awaken your bloodline, and I can tell it is on the verge of awakening," Liu Wuxie replied. He finally understood why their master had been so ruthless to Shen Rong.

"Third Junior Brother, you're a descendant of Great Roc?" Jiang Le exclaimed in disbelief. Great Roc was a divine beast that was even stronger than the White Tiger.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. My father told me that our clan saved a Great Roc in the past, and it gave us a few drops of its blood essence," Shen Rong said. Had he been a descendant of Great Roc, his bloodline wouldn't be so thin. The only explanation was that his ancestors had refined the blood essence, and only a residual bloodline was left in his body.

With that, the mysteries surrounding Jiang Le's and Shen Rong's bodies had been resolved. They turned to look at Yu Zhibai, who had recovered some of his consciousness. His current intelligence was only comparable to that of a three- to five-year-old child, capable of barely understanding their words.

"Junior Brother, what's special about Second Junior Brother's physique?" Shen Rong asked. Unlike the others, Yu Zhibai's injury lay within his soul sea. In a way, he was more fortunate—he hadn't endured any physical pain like they had. Because of this, he had lived a carefree life, free from suffering.

"Second Senior Brother's condition is a bit unusual," Liu Wuxie said with a frown. He had noticed that his Ghost Eye was unable to penetrate Yu Zhibai's soul sea. This meant that his Second Senior Brother's soul sea was different from that of ordinary people—a protective shell surrounded it, preventing external forces from entering.

It bore a striking resemblance to the Soul Forging Art's second form, which was to manifest a shield around the soul sea. But Yu Zhibai didn't practice the Soul Forging Art, and it made no sense why there was a barrier. This only meant it had to be an innate self-protection mechanism.

"I find it strange as well. Second Senior Brother used to be full of life and mischief, but looking at him now, he doesn't seem like the same person," Shen Rong said. Over the past few years, Yu Zhibai had lived in a daze, and they had almost forgotten how he used to be.

"If my guess is correct, Second Senior Brother possesses an incredibly powerful soul sea, and our master likely prevented him from cultivating for the same reason as First Senior Brother—his soul sea needs more time to mature," Liu Wuxie speculated. However, he wasn't entirely confident in his words. It was only a theory.

Little did they know, an unkempt old man sat not far away, stuffing his mouth with spiritual rice. As he listened to Liu Wuxie's words, he occasionally nodded, his eyes gleaming with understanding.

"Senior Brother, do you remember when the pain became unbearable, and we wanted to leave? But Master insisted we stay behind. Yet, he didn't stop the other disciples from leaving—he let them go without a word," Shen Rong recalled. There had to be a reason why they were the ones who stayed.

"Third Junior Brother is right. Master forced us to stay, and now, thanks to Junior Brother's explanation, everything makes sense. We must train diligently to repay our master," Jiang Le said, fully believing Liu Wuxie's words.

The four of them laughed, knowing they only had to endure a little longer before overcoming their struggles.

For the next two days, Liu Wuxie remained at Heavenly Gate Peak, focusing on refining his martial techniques. The power of True Strike had grown stronger, becoming even more unpredictable.

Elder Madman rarely showed himself and didn't even guide their cultivation, allowing them to grow freely.

On the sixth day of Liu Wuxie's stay at Heavenly Gate Peak, a formal invitation arrived.

Jiang Le, having regained some ability to walk, received the letter and asked Yu Zhibai to inform Liu Wuxie.

Upon being notified, Liu Wuxie stopped what he was doing and returned, drenched in sweat. "Senior Brother, you were looking for me?" he asked.

"This is for you," Jiang Le said, handing the invitation to Liu Wuxie with his brows locked.

When Liu Wuxie opened the invitation and read it, he frowned. "A banquet for new disciples?"

White Dragon Peak invited new disciples to a gathering. The cavern, three courts, and five institutions also hosted similar events to welcome their newcomers.