1: Chapter 1 Rebirth: Ten Years Before the Resurgence of Spiritual Energy

"I never thought something like Rebirth would actually happen to me!"

Ji Yebai gazed at the bright moon outside the window, filled with emotion.

Under the cover of night, neon lights flickered, and the lights of countless homes shone brightly.

A day had already passed since it happened, but his heart still could not find peace.

He did not belong to this time period.

At least, his Soul didn't.

Ten years later, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi would recover. Various legendary martial arts would begin to show miraculous effects; leaping onto roofs, walking up walls, and shifting positions like a shadow would no longer be myths.

Especially after the birth of the first Martial Artist of the Xiantian Realm, who was like an immortal—every gesture carried immense power, with doubled Lifespan, the ability to split mountains and crack rocks, and Divine Power that feared no artillery—it drove the world into a frenzy.

Even the state began to promote martial arts.

The whole nation practiced martial arts, and the entire world entered an arms race.

At that time, Ji Yebai was also full of hope, and with a burning heart, he began to practice the first universal martial art issued by the state.

Longevity Fist.

Longevity Fist was a martial art created by the state by concentrating hundreds of martial arts, taking their common points, removing the complexities, and making it suitable for the general public to Cultivate. It did not focus on power but emphasized health preservation. When practiced to Major Achievement, one could become a First-class expert with a Lifespan of one hundred and fifty years.

Unfortunately, even with a martial art as easy to Cultivate as the Longevity Fist, Ji Yebai's gains were minimal.

After all, he was already forty, and his bone structure was poor.

Even though he worked exceptionally hard, time was simply too short.

After three years of hard training, he finally became Third-rate. Internal Energy was born within his body, and his every move possessed a sort of divine strength.

"Longevity Fist, taking three years just to reach Third-rate, sigh..."

Ji Yebai gave a bitter smile, mocking himself.

Longevity Fist was easy to learn and understand. He had originally thought he could quickly Cultivate it to Major Achievement, then switch to other martial arts to enter the Innate stage and witness extraordinary power.

But those three years made him feel as if he were falling into an abyss.

According to the standards released by the authorities, those who cultivated Internal Energy from the Longevity Fist within one year had extraordinary bone structure and were considered Geniuses; those who took two years had average talent and were ordinary people; while those who took three years had poor bone structure, low martial aptitude, and found cultivation difficult.

Therefore, that period was the most depressing time of Ji Yebai's life.

A golden age of martial arts, the return of myths.

What man doesn't have a Jianghu in his heart, whether it be free and easy, bold and generous, unconstrained, or indifferent to fame...

Ji Yebai had one too, even though he was forty.

But reality was just that cruel.

Because of this, one day he gritted his teeth and resolutely shouldered his pack to head deep into the mountains.

Simply because someone had picked exotic flowers and rare fruits in the deep mountains and reached First-class in one leap.

The recovery of the world didn't just benefit humans.

In the deep mountains, there were not only rare fruits but even more dangers.

One had to guard against people in the mountains and beasts in the mountains.

No matter how careful Ji Yebai was, he was eventually targeted by a massive mountain wolf.

"Whew..."

Thinking of this, Ji Yebai slowly let out a breath.

He closed his eyes and cleared his mind, his fluctuating emotions gradually becoming calm.

Opening his eyes and looking at the lights of the countless homes in the distance, a hint of resilience appeared in Ji Yebai's eyes.

Rebirth had given him a second chance.

What he had to do was firmly grasp this second chance.

"There are still ten years before the recovery of Spiritual Qi. I must firmly seize these ten years to make up for the gap in my bone structure!"

Ji Yebai turned around and pushed the coffee table in the living room aside.

Cultivate. Seize every single day to Cultivate.

Although Ji Yebai's temperament was gentle and indifferent, he was not indecisive in his actions; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to reach the position of director at a large company.

He stretched his body slightly, feeling the vitality within it.

The next moment.

With a solemn expression and firm eyes, he slowly assumed a boxing stance and began to perform his routine.

At first, it was somewhat rusty, but before long, his movements became exceptionally fluid, as if they had been tempered a thousand times.

Longevity Fist was not aimed at aggression or fighting, but rather focused on the concept of 'nourishing'.

For those who Cultivate the Longevity Fist, the Internal Energy born within their bodies is slow and continuous, smooth and gentle, and its nourishment of the Physical Body is unmatched by other Cultivation Techniques.

Moreover, as long as you are willing to put in the effort to Cultivate, your mastery of the Longevity Fist will deepen without any Bottlenecks.

This was also a Cultivation Technique specifically developed by the state for the general public.

It sacrificed power in exchange for Lifespan.

One should know that with other Cultivation Techniques, unless you Breakthrough to the Innate stage, you can only double your Lifespan. However, with the Longevity Fist, as long as your cultivation reaches Major Achievement, you can live to be one hundred and fifty years old by relying on Longevity Internal Energy.

This was the greatest advantage of practicing the Longevity Fist.

Ji Yebai was already intimately familiar with the practice of this fist technique.

Practicing it this time, he quickly entered the threshold.

Ji Yebai slowly entered the zone.

His body and mind became one, his fist technique fluid, graceful, and flexible.

Within this small living room, he continuously moved his body.

After finishing one round, he took a slight breath, and then immediately began the second round.

Longevity Fist was a Cultivation Technique that required hard practice; one could achieve quick results through talent, or one could constantly break through realms by relying on time.

Unfortunately, at this time, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi had not yet recovered. Even if Ji Yebai practiced perfectly, the effect on his body was only so-so.

Once.

Twice.

Soon, Ji Yebai began the third round.

By this time, fine beads of sweat already covered his forehead.

Living in the city, his energy was all spent on work and social engagements, and his body had long since become strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

After a few rounds of the fist technique, his body felt exhausted, and sweat kept pouring out and dripping down.

His chest felt like it was burning with fire, and his face was pale and weary.

This was caused by a lack of exercise over a long period.

By the time he finished three rounds of the fist technique, Ji Yebai's entire body was soaked.

Splat!

Throwing his soaking wet T-shirt on the floor, Ji Yebai wiped the sweat from his chest and flicked it away. The crystalline sweat drops flashed with a fleeting beauty under the light.

Ji Yebai was not distracted in the slightest.

Even though he was exhausted, he still gritted his teeth and began practicing the Longevity Fist again.

The fourth time,

The fifth time

...

Until the tenth time.

By now, Ji Yebai's whole body was shaking, and his hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably, as if he would collapse at any moment.

Thud!

Stepping on a sweat stain, his footing became unstable, and Ji Yebai fell hard to the ground.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Rapid breathing echoed in the room.

Although the movements of the Longevity Fist were not large, they still consumed a lot of physical strength, especially since one also had to expend mental energy to maintain the breathing rhythm, which caused the physical consumption to increase sharply.

Finishing one set of Longevity Fist took only three short minutes, and ten rounds were just over half an hour.

But at this moment, Ji Yebai had already exhausted all his strength.

It was evident how terrifying the physical exhaustion from this round of cultivation was.

"Huff... huff...!"

Ji Yebai took a deep breath, using large exhales to suppress his rapid breathing.

It took a full fifteen minutes before he, exhausted, finally had a bit of strength to stand up.

Picking up the wet clothes on the floor, Ji Yebai walked toward the bathroom.

Washing clothes, taking a shower—another half hour passed through these actions.

Ji Yebai lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above.

In the future, after martial arts became prevalent, some top-secret information was released.

The recovery of Spiritual Qi didn't just start ten years later; the recovery ten years later was the official, comprehensive, worldwide, first large-scale recovery of Spiritual Qi.

Before that, there were actually a few specific locations in the world where the phenomenon of Spiritual Qi recovery existed.

It was just that the degree of Spiritual Qi recovery in these locations was very low and had not been noticed by ordinary people.

And such a location, within the entire country, had only one instance.

That was...

"Zhangjiajie!"

In the darkness of the night, Ji Yebai murmured to himself.

The sound was faint, nearly inaudible in the night.

But his eyes were shining brightly, dazzling and brilliant.