Chapter 1130

The setting sun sank westward, rosy clouds filling the sky.

Outside Feng Huo City, on Cui Yun Peak, there was a stone table; beside it stood stone stools, where a boy and girl leaned against each other.

The boy was slight of build, his face somewhat pale, his features delicate.

The girl wore a snow‑white long dress, her skin like jade, her appearance stunningly beautiful.

The girl rested her head on the boy's shoulder; in the sunset's glow they looked like a celestial couple.

"Yao'er, I truly wish we could stay like this forever!" the boy said, his face full of a happy smile, speaking softly.

"Ming brother, of course we can; we promised to be together for life."

The girl's face showed a happy smile.

The boy's name was Lu Ming; the girl's name was Lu Yao.

Seeing Lu Yao's smile, Lu Ming's gaze grew tender; he took her soft, boneless jade hand and said, "Yao'er, although my meridians are blocked and I cannot condense true qi, if I can awaken my bloodline, the Elder Hall will buy spirit medicine to clear my meridians, and then I can cultivate."

"I will surely become a mighty martial artist and protect you for life."

"Thank you, Ming brother."

Lu Yao's eyes showed emotion as she added, "Ming brother, a pulse tester once examined you—did you inherit your father's bloodline?"

"Yes, Yao'er, so your future husband will surely be a strong one." Lu Ming smiled confidently.

Lu Yao smiled faintly, lifted the stone table's wine cup; inside was the famed Blood Tongue Orchid Wine, giving off a faint fragrance.

Lu Yao swiftly kissed Lu Ming's cheek, her face flushing, then raised the cup and said, "Ming brother, come, Yao'er offers you a drink."

Lu Ming took the cup and said, "Yao'er, you give me a cup of Blood Tongue Orchid Wine every day; I truly thank you for staying by my side."

Having spoken, he raised the cup and drained it in one gulp.

The Alcohol's aroma lingered on his tongue, his heart as sweet as the scent, but the next moment he felt a bit dizzy.

"Yao'er, why do I feel a bit dizzy? This Alcohol..."

Lu Ming leaned on the stone table, looking at Lu Yao, but at that moment he noticed her face had turned cold.

"Hahaha, Lu Ming, Yao'er has accompanied you for three years merely to nurture your meridians; the time has come—offer up your bloodline!"

At that moment, a middle‑aged man stepped out from the side—Lu Yao's father.

Boom—!

Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, it exploded in Lu Ming's mind.

"Yao'er!"

Lu Ming stared at Lu Yao in disbelief, but her eyes were filled only with coldness.

"Why? I love you so much!"

Lu Yao's cold gaze was like a series of sharp daggers piercing Lu Ming's heart; he roared and lunged at her.

But Lu Yao merely stepped back slightly, and he fell to the ground.

"Duanmu Lin of the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect cultivated at six, opened two divine veins in half a year, entered the Warrior Realm, at nine reached the Martial Master Realm; now sixteen, he is one of the Four Great Talents of the Xuan Yuan Sword Sect. As for you—weak, sickly, meridians blocked—plainly you are trash; even if you awakened your bloodline you'd still be trash. How could you compare to Duanmu Lin?"

"Only such a talent is a worthy match for me, Lu Yao. To marry him I must awaken a powerful bloodline; since you love me so much, why not fulfill me—use your bloodline to help me awaken an even stronger one."

These cold words issued from Lu Yao's mouth.

Thud!

At that moment, the middle‑aged man stepped on Lu Ming's back, a dagger appearing in his hand, shouting, "Lu Ming, offer up your bloodline!"

Ah!

At the spine, a piercing pain instantly engulfed Lu Ming; he howled, his voice full of loneliness, helplessness, and despair.

Gradually, Lu Ming sank into endless darkness.

"Lu Yao, Lu Yunxiong, why do you seize my bloodline!"

Lu Ming bellowed, suddenly sitting up from the bed; the nanmu‑made bed creaked "ga—".

Lu Ming was drenched in sweat, his face pale; at first he thought it was a nightmare, but soon he realized it was not a dream but an actual event.

The scene from several days ago surfaced again in his mind.

Lu Ming, the main‑line heir of the Lu Family of Feng Huo City, his father being the Family Head; Lu Yao, meanwhile, is the daughter of the Grand Elder of the Lu Family's first branch.

They shared the same clan but different branches, growing up together since childhood—childhood sweethearts, inseparable, and in private they had even sworn vows and pledged themselves for life.

Lu Ming never imagined that Lu Yao would join the Grand Elder in attacking him to seize his bloodline.

"Strength—everything is because I am weak; if I had extraordinary talent and great strength, how could they dare treat me this way?"

Lu Ming clenched his fists, his whole body trembling, his eyes bloodshot.

Trash!

That was Lu Yao's term for him; her words from three days ago seemed still to echo in his ears.

Creak!

Then the door was pushed open, and a frail‑bodied middle‑aged woman entered, looking at Lu Ming on the bed and asking with concern, "Ming'er, are you having another nightmare?"

This beautiful woman was Lu Ming's mother, Li Ping.

Three days ago, it was Li Ping who, worried for Lu Ming's safety, went out to search and rescued him; otherwise Lu Ming would have died.

Since six years ago, when word spread that Lu Ming's father was killed while traveling abroad, he has depended on Li Ping for survival.

Lu Ming looked at Li Ping, his gaze softening, and said, "Mother, it's all right; it was just a dream."

Seeing Lu Ming's pale face, Li Ping sat beside his bed, touching his forehead, and said achingly, "It's been three days; you keep shouting that Lu Yao harmed you, Ming'er—what exactly is going on? Could your injury be because of Lu Yao..."

Lu Ming replied, "Mother, nothing; you misheard."

Lu Ming did not tell Li Ping that it was Lu Yao and the Grand Elder who did it, because Li Ping does not practice martial arts, and informing her would only endanger her.

Li Ping hesitated, then said, "Ming'er, from now on you must not call Lu Yao's name directly in front of others; two days ago Lu Yao awakened a Level 5 Bloodline and even opened a Divine‑level Meridian, gaining the Elder Hall's approval. At the clan assembly in two months she will take charge of the Lu Family and become its head; to address the Family Head by name outright would likely be seen as disrespectful."

"What? Lu Yao is going to take over the Lu Family? In her dreams!"

Lu Ming let out a low, angry roar, his eyes bloodshot, his jaws clenched so tightly that his teeth ground together with a grating sound, as if they would shatter, and blood began to flow.

It was rumored that Lu Ming's father was killed by someone six years ago, and in these six years the Lu family has been managed by the Elder Hall, with no new family head appointed.

Seeing Lu Ming in this state, Li Ping was terrified and at a loss, merely holding his head as tears streamed down, saying, "Minger, don't scare Mother; Mother has already lost your father, I cannot lose you too."

"Father... where exactly are you? Minger believes you won't die, but now I am powerless; I may not even be able to hold onto the position of family head."

Lu Ming gripped the pendant on his neck tightly; using too much force, his nails dug into his flesh, and blood continually seeped out.

This pendant, cast in bronze and the size of a pea, had been sent back by someone entrusted by Lu Ming's father before his accident; for these six years Lu Ming has always carried it with him.

Blood seeped from his palm and flowed toward the bronze pendant.

Buzz!

Suddenly, the bronze pendant trembled slightly and became scorching hot.

Before Lu Ming could react, the bronze pendant shuddered and turned into fine powder that drilled into his palm, disappearing inside.

Then Lu Ming felt a scorching energy rise from his palm up his arm and, after a moment, settle at the Yintang acupoint between his brows.

"Nine Dragons Immortal, Bloodline Rebirth!"

Suddenly, a tremendous roar echoed in Lu Ming's mind, shaking his thoughts with a buzzing resonance.

"Nine Dragons Immortal, Bloodline Rebirth!"

"Nine Dragons Immortal, Bloodline Rebirth!"

The roars continued, echoing nonstop in Lu Ming's mind; then a scorching breath issued from the point between his brows and surged toward his spine.

The next instant, the roars ceased, but a tingling sensation spread along his spine, and his whole body grew scorching hot.

"What's going on?"

Lu Ming was completely at a loss.

At this moment, the tingling on his spine intensified, as if something were slowly growing.

"Minger, what's wrong with you? Don't scare Mother."

Sensing the abnormality in Lu Ming's body, Li Ping grew even more frightened and felt at a loss.

"Bloodline Rebirth? Could I really be experiencing Bloodline Rebirth?" Lu Ming wondered.

Ancient texts record that only very few people, after having their bloodline severed or damaged for other reasons, can undergo Bloodline Rebirth, regrowing a bloodline anew.

However, the regenerated bloodline is mostly of low rank and of little use.

But there are also exceedingly rare individuals who can break and then be remade, reborn from destruction, rise above the past, and awaken a supreme bloodline.

But this probability is so minuscule as to be negligible; ancient records show hardly any cases.

Transcending the past and awakening a supreme bloodline—Lu Ming didn't dwell on it, since the odds were astronomically low; he would be thrilled just to awaken any bloodline.

With a bloodline, he could cultivate martial arts and change his fate.

At this moment, the strange sensations on his body gradually faded, and Lu Ming broke into a smile, saying, "Mother, I'm fine!"

"Young Master, it's wonderful that you're all right; you've scared us to death these past few days!"

At that moment, a girl walked over and spoke.

The girl was about the same age as Lu Ming and extremely beautiful.

Lu Ming naturally recognized her; her name was Qiu Yue, Li Ping's personal maid, who had grown up alongside him since childhood.

"Qiu Yue, I'm fine, don't worry!"

Lu Ming said with a smile.

Then Lu Ming glanced around, his expression suddenly changing, and said, "Mother, where is this? This isn't the Lu Family Main Residence!"

Lu Ming's father had formerly been the head of the Lu family, and they had always lived in the Lu Family Main Residence, but this place is not it.

"Minger, just rest and recover, don't overthink it!" Li Ping said, but the fleeting sorrow and tears in her eyes were still caught by Lu Ming.

"Mother, what exactly is going on?" Lu Ming asked.

"Young Master, let me explain: we have been driven out. Lu Yao says she is about to become family head and thus should move into the main residence, while we no longer have the right to stay there, so they made us move out."

Beside her, Qiu Yue clenched her silver teeth, related what had happened, her pretty face flushed with anger.

"What? Lu Yao, you're going too far!" Lu Ming roared.

"You good-for-nothing, why are you shouting? Having a place to live is already a kindness; shouldn't you be grateful?"

Just then, a voice sounded from outside the door, the door opened, and a young man stepped out.

"Lu Chuan, is that you!"

Lu Ming shouted angrily; this person was Lu Chuan, the elder brother of Lu Yao, and a bit older than Lu Ming.

"Lu Chuan, we've already left the main residence—what are you doing here?"

Li Ping said, instinctively stepping in front of Lu Ming as if fearing Lu Chuan might harm him.

"I've come to take the sword!"

Having said that, Lu Chuan's eyes scanned the surroundings; upon seeing a precious sword beside the bed, his eyes lit up, he hurried over and grabbed the sword in his hand.

"Lu Chuan, this sword is the sole token left by Minger's father, meant for him in the future; you cannot take it."

Li Ping hastily reached out to snatch it.

"Get out of the way!"

Lu Chuan exerted force; the sword sheath trembled, releasing a burst of power. Li Ping, not a cultivator, could not withstand it; her body staggered backward, nearly falling to the ground.

"Mother!" Lu Ming bellowed.