In the primordial universe, the Qi of Yin and Yang merged, and all things in heaven and earth evolved from simple elements into complex forms, endless and infinite.
These two energies of Yin and Yang traversed the cosmos to establish all laws, the ultimate origin of all things.
Late into the night, countless stars suddenly emerged in the dark sky, illuminating every corner of heaven and earth.
On a dark mountainside, a youth sank his waist into a horse stance, calmly gazing ahead.
Maintaining this posture was highly exhausting, yet the youth's expression remained exceptionally serene. He gave off the impression that he was not holding a strenuous stance, but rather sitting comfortably in a chair.
Suddenly, a faint rustling sound reached his ears.
This was not the sound of the wind rustling the leaves, but rather someone walking with extremely light steps toward him.
The mountain was covered in dense foliage, with ancient trees so thick it would take several people to encircle them—a true primeval forest. However, despite its age, the forest was currently enduring the scorching heat of midsummer, which often drove wild beasts to cause trouble.
Still holding his horse stance, the youth tilted his head to listen for a moment, and then a smile played on his lips.
“Yitao. Come out.”
At his soft call, a slightly smaller boy leaped out from behind a massive tree.
“Sixth Brother, your hearing is amazing! You caught me again.”
These two youths were both third-generation disciples of the Xia Family Manor at the foot of the mountain.
The older one, who was still training diligently under the moonlit night, was ranked sixth among the third-generation disciples and was named Xia Yiming. The younger one, ranked ninth, was named Xia Yitao.
Although they were only eleven and twelve years old, both had already been selected for elite training among the younger generation of disciples.
As direct descendants of the Xia family, both Xia Yiming and Xia Yitao were considered highly talented. Although their talent was not quite enough to make them stand out as prodigies among the third-generation disciples, they were by no means lagging behind the others.
Stepping out from behind the massive tree, Xia Yitao suddenly exerted force through his feet, launching his small frame toward Xia Yiming like a bolt of lightning. Crossing his arms over his chest to gather momentum, he thrust both hands forward just as he was about to collide with Xia Yiming.
Though he was barely eleven years old, Xia Yitao's strength and speed were not to be underestimated.
Faced with this attack, Xia Yiming merely smiled. He casually extended his hands, seemingly effortlessly catching and deflecting the powerful strike.
“Ouch!”
Xia Yitao cried out in pain as his body spun uncontrollably mid-air, forcing him to slam both hands onto the ground to break his fall.
Dirt and mud splattered everywhere. Xia Yitao, the instigator, sat on the ground rubbing his smarting hands together, groaning in pain.
Xia Yiming shook his head. Seeing that his own clothes had also been splattered with mud, he couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.
“Ninth Brother, look at what you've done. You're going to make me change my clothes again. I just put on a clean set, and now they're dirty.”
“Hehe, Sixth Brother, I just wanted to test my limits,” Xia Yitao said, shaking his wrists. Although he possessed considerable strength and his inner energy had reached a certain level, his developing body still could not compare to that of an adult. While the clash hadn't injured him, the stinging pain in his hands wouldn't fade anytime soon.
“Hmph. You haven't even broken through to the fifth layer of inner energy yet. What is there to test?” Xia Yiming grumbled.
Xia Yitao blinked his bright eyes and suddenly asked, "Sixth Brother, do you feel like you have a chance to break through?"
Xia Yiming's expression darkened completely, looking nothing like that of a mere twelve-year-old child.
Lightly slapping his own head, Xia Yitao hurriedly tugged at his sixth brother's sleeve and said, "Sixth Brother, I was wrong. I shouldn't have asked you."
Xia Yiming gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. "It's fine, it has nothing to do with you. It's all on me."
Once the children of the Xia Family Manor reached five years of age, they would begin cultivating the family's internal cultivation manuals. Any cultivation manual was divided into ten layers.
For an ordinary person, as long as they were not foolish or completely devoid of talent, they would reach the third layer within five years of cultivation.
Before reaching the third layer of an internal cultivation manual, the practice merely served to strengthen the body and nurture one's constitution.
From the third layer onward, however, it depended entirely on whether one possessed talent, comprehension, and fortuitous encounters.
Since the age of five, Xia Yiming had focused on cultivating the Metal-attribute manual, Hunyuan Jin. From the very beginning, he had made rapid progress, reaching the third layer in nearly a year by the time he was six.
At that time, everyone held high expectations for Xia Yiming's future. This was not only because of his great talent and diligent cultivation, but also because he was cultivating an internal manual that perfectly matched his own attribute. That was why Xia Yiming had advanced so quickly.
It was well known that all internal cultivation manuals had their own distinct attributes. If one could cultivate a manual that matched their own attribute, they would naturally make rapid progress. However, if the choice was poor, then no matter how hard they cultivated, the results would be negligible. For Xia Yiming to select a manual that perfectly corresponded to his own attribute on his very first try was truly a rare stroke of luck.
Over the next three years, Xia Yiming advanced by one layer every year or two. By the age of nine, his cultivation of Hunyuan Jin had already reached the fifth layer.
Starting from the fifth layer, Xia Yiming encountered the cultivation bottleneck that everyone eventually faced. Furthermore, he had been stuck at this bottleneck for four years now.
During this time, his two older brothers, as well as his older sisters and younger brothers, had all surpassed him, breaking through the bottleneck of the fifth layer. Even his youngest sister and brother had already reached the fourth layer, while he remained stuck in place. No matter how hard Xia Yiming tried, he could not take a single step forward.
Of course, among the nine siblings of the Xia family's third generation, only the eldest had reached the seventh layer, while the second and third had reached the sixth layer. All the others hovered around the fourth and fifth layers.
Yet, only Xia Yiming had reached the fifth layer at the age of nine, only to show no signs of progress for the next four years.
Exhaling softly, Xia Yiming slowly stood up straight. Under the moonlight, his small frame carried a hint of loneliness.
Xia Yitao stuck out his tongue. He had advanced step by step, never experiencing what his sixth brother had. Having stood out since childhood, Xia Yiming had been predicted to rival the eldest brother—even to surpass the genius eldest brother given enough time. Therefore, Xia Yitao could not possibly share the same worries as Xia Yiming.
Even though Xia Yiming's father and the elders had strictly guided him many times, solemnly telling him that if he could not let go of the obsession in his heart, he might spend his entire life without ever breaking through this barrier.
This is the most mysterious aspect of inner strength manuals. In the final three layers, every breakthrough requires a stroke of luck and serendipity. With good fortune, one might even break through during cultivation without realizing it. But with bad luck, ten years could pass like a single day without any progress.
Naturally, the higher the cultivation, the greater the obstacle to breaking through.
For instance, the first and second generations of the Xia family had to spend ten years, sometimes even more, to break through the bottleneck when cultivating to the seventh layer.
Although Xia Yiming understood this logic, and knew that reaching the fifth layer at thirteen years old was already outstanding—even his second brother Yihai and third brother Yihuan had only reached the sixth layer at seventeen—he still had plenty of time to cultivate.
However, knowing it was one thing; actually doing it was another.
Letting go of the obsession in his heart was extremely difficult for a young child like Xia Yiming.
Seeing his sixth brother's gloomy expression, Xia Yitao panicked. Although he was two years younger than his sixth brother and they were not biological brothers, whenever Xia Yiming frowned, Xia Yitao would feel a sense of trepidation. Yitao forced a smile and said, "Sixth Brother, I still have some things to do, so I'll head back first. You should head back quickly too."
Xia Yiming nodded gloomily and waved his hand. Xia Yitao quickly departed, but after he had walked a short distance, his voice drifted back.
"Sixth Brother, if you don't feel any signs of advancing, why not try changing to another inner strength manual? Perhaps that will work."
Xia Yiming shuddered. His heart, which was originally as firm as a rock, wavered slightly.
Not everyone who obtained an inner strength manual could find one that suited them on the first try like Xia Yiming did.
Some people had to choose two, three times, or even more. Of course, this also depended on each person's talent; if their talent was poor, the results were even less worth mentioning.
Although Xia Yiming had chosen the right inner strength manual on his first try, having been stuck at a bottleneck for so many years, choosing another manual was indeed an option.
Xia Yiming had long understood this reasoning. But when he thought about it, he had practiced Hunyuan Jin for many years and had broken through to the third layer in just one year, which proved this manual was highly suited to him. He was somewhat reluctant to abandon it to practice another.
Glancing down at the foot of the mountain, Xia Yiming was about to head down when he caught sight of a mud-stained corner of his robe. Frowning slightly, he turned and ran in another direction.
On the other side of the mountain foot, there was a crystal-clear lake, which was also the play area for the third-generation disciples of the Xia Family Manor.
Arriving at the lake, Xia Yiming took off his clothes and used the lake water to wash the mud off his robe. After a while, the mud was completely washed away, leaving only a few wrinkles, which was much better than before.
Just as he was about to leave, a sudden glow flashed in the lake. Xia Yiming was startled. He turned around, his eyes widening as he stared at the lake bed, where a bright light had suddenly appeared, unconsciously captivating his mind...