[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals":3,"chapter-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-40":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cluster Artillery: Shattering the Immortals",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2342051,4578,"Chapter 40: The Beggar and the Micro Zhou Tian","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-40",40,"\u003Cp>Jiang Ding closed his eyes, gently nurturing the twelfth primary meridian, the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian, occasionally blending in the Small Still Breathing Technique, his breath as still as stone, as wooden as wood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, he furrowed his brow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s thought, he lightly tapped his foot and stepped onto the courtyard wall, then moved swiftly, like a silent bird gliding between rooftops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wu… wu…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a corner, the scarred brute Liu Qi tightly pressed a rag over the face of a filthy, emaciated beggar child; moments later, the child’s body went limp as mud and was tossed onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough. Take him to the cart,” Liu Qi snorted at the two men behind him. “You can’t even handle a simple task without making mistakes or leaving gaps!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Seventh Brother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two burly men bowed their heads and moved swiftly, lifting the child onto the cart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can’t control other areas.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This novel is originally published; please go to the website to read it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Clang!* A bright flash of swordlight vanished as swiftly as it appeared, returning to its scabbard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also… stop other beggars from entering the vicinity of Luanban Street. Let Long Shi handle it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>！。\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding said in a low voice: “No more of this on Luanban Street or the surrounding districts. If it happens again, Long Shi, you, and everyone involved will pay with your lives.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Lordship’s great benevolence!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough. Enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The curtain was pulled back, revealing dozens of child beggars, aged around ten or so, sprawled haphazardly inside the cart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Deyou bowed deeply, saying nothing more about difficulties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the small courtyard, Jiang Ding was gloomy and summoned Huang Deyou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Plop!* “Young Master, spare my life!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding made a quick calculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Lordship, what are you…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fifty-four days—roughly two months—to reach the ‘Small Zhou Tian’ realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The next stage of cultivation is further refining the fine branches of the twelve primary meridians, allowing more internal force to flow through them, step by step returning from postnatal to prenatal. The next realm is ‘Small Zhou Tian’: each of the twelve meridians must be refined to contain one hundred fine branches, totaling twelve hundred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qi’s face twisted in bitterness: “The Zheng family ordered us, the Wild Wolf Gang, to deliver fifty children under twenty—boys and girls alike—or else… we can’t withstand their wrath.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold voice came, and Liu Qi looked around—no one was there anymore.…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course it was a lie; to these gang members, snatching children was no different from collecting protection money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding took a slow breath, calming the cold killing intent within him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qi nodded frantically, like a chicken pecking grain, regardless of whether he could deliver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The difficulty of the Small Still Breathing Technique has decreased—I should reach proficiency within a week.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding’s heart churned with killing intent, yet he had to suppress it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zheng family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Deyou was startled, recalling Jiang Ding’s recent conduct: he harmed no one unless provoked, and often acted in others’ interests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All the beggars in the city might come here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the ‘Micro Zhou Tian’ realm of the Immortal Sect’s fledgling qi! The twelve primary meridians had been preliminarily refined, forming a unified whole, achieving a minor qualitative transformation in all aspects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, I don’t want to do such a heinous thing—it’s orders from above.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe training death soldiers? Raising eunuchs? Or harvesting living flesh for dark cultivation?” Liu Qi’s face darkened. “How could we, lowly folk, know the thoughts of the Zheng family’s great ones?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dantian sea formed! Jiang Ding felt the internal force between the twelve meridians had become a unified whole, flowing and circulating automatically even without conscious control—his internal qi generation rate at least doubled! He drew his sword. Jiang Ding murmured to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a certain moment, a distant sound like mountains collapsing and oceans surging echoed from beyond the heavens; all his internal force froze, then suddenly erupted violently, rushing toward a central point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry up! The boss needs them urgently—damn it, where are we supposed to find so many beggar kids…” Liu Qi wiped his hands in disgust, then froze, his expression turning pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though inwardly impressed, he advised: “Your Lordship, you shouldn’t involve yourself this way. These beggars are the government’s concern—we can’t manage them all. Once you touch this, the troubles will never end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Best that way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Wild Wolf Gang has lofty ambitions—so soon, you’ve already entered the child-snatching trade. Your future is limitless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zheng family were in-laws to the Dongling Marquis; acting against them might draw the garrison, destroying the thriving situation we now enjoy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ninety-nine percent of things in this world can be solved with enough silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m just a high school student—low talent, weak strength, clumsy—what right do I have to settle scores and act on vengeance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calling me a genius is no exaggeration; before the college entrance exam, I aimed to achieve full internal qi, completing the refinement of all twenty thousand fine branches of the twelve primary and eight extraordinary meridians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young man in blue robes appeared nearby, silently watching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This pace is good enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qi knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, unable to shake the memory of the Wild Wolf captain’s severed head, blood spurting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding’s heart grew colder, yet his education compelled him to trace every problem to its root and solve it at its essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qi glanced left and right; the two burly men understood and immediately ran far away, ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Internal force speed and quality have slightly increased.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thought, internal force formed a complex true qi structure among the twelve meridians; his entire aura vanished instantly, becoming as inert as earth and stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always disliked meddling in the natives’ violent struggles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the underworld, who has any conscience?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But seeing teenagers his own age—or even younger—reduced to such misery, his heart still ached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding caught a golden leaf falling from a tree, pinched it gently between thumb and forefinger, splitting it into two identical thin halves, letting them drift to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding said calmly: “Go investigate the number of beggars on Luanban Street and the surrounding alleys. Find ways to feed them—not just handing out porridge, but giving them work, teaching them survival skills. I’ll allocate silver for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s something you should think about yourself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding sat on the chair, hand resting on his sword hilt, continuing to warm and refine the twelfth primary meridian, the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With the Hundred Essence Qi Transformation Pills daily, plus the Purple Jade Vitality Pills from school—I can refine twenty fine meridians per day…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the lower left abdomen, internal force began to rotate—slowly at first, then faster, then slowing again; the internal force from all twelve meridians surged into this point, then flowed out again, circulating through his entire body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How many beggars near our shop are here out of desperation, not laziness?” Jiang Ding asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, yes! Rest assured, Your Lordship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why? What’s the purpose?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hand on sword hilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition, he could now refine and warm twenty fine meridians daily—double the previous efficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, there remained a vast distance to the ten thousand eight thousand total meridians required for the fledgling’s primordial state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two paths.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding’s gaze was deep—he would not be satisfied with this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, deepen your understanding of the technique to perfection or completion, greatly accelerating refinement speed; second, obtain the ‘Blue Gold Serum!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1266,"2026-06-20T23:34:14.007Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","51f581adcf6b4391e49d3bc5b84fe0ddfe2d73294b32eb4689ba86e02e05626c","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-41","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-39",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cover.jpg"]