Chapter 1132: Digging a Pit

The sun sets westward, rosy clouds fill the sky.

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

The boy is slightly thin, his complexion somewhat pale, his features delicate.

The girl wears a snow-white dress, her skin like jade, her appearance absolutely beautiful.

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

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

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

The girl shows a happy smile on her face.

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

Seeing Lu Yao's smile, Lu Ming's gaze grows gentler; he takes her soft, boneless jade hand and says, "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 channels, then I can cultivate."

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

"Thank you, Ming gege."

Lu Yao's eyes show emotion; she adds, "Ming gege, a pulse tester once checked—did you inherit your father's bloodline?"

"Yes, Yao'er, so your future husband will surely be a strong one." Lu Ming shows a confident smile.

Lu Yao swiftly kisses Lu Ming's cheek, her face flushing; she lifts the stone table's wine cup—inside is the famous Blood Tongue Orchid Wine, emitting a faint fragrance.

Lu Yao swiftly kisses Lu Ming's cheek, her face flushing; she lifts the wine cup and says, "Ming gege, come, Yao'er offers you a drink."

Lu Ming takes the cup and says, "Yao'er, you give me a cup of Blood Tongue Orchid Wine every day; I'm truly grateful to have you by my side."

Having said that, he lifts the cup and drains it in one gulp.

The wine's aroma lingers on his tongue; Lu Ming's heart feels as sweet as the scent, but the next moment he feels a bit dizzy.

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

Lu Ming leans on the stone table, looks at Lu Yao, but at this moment he notices her face has turned cold.

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

At this moment, a middle-aged man steps out from the side—it is Lu Yao's father.

Boom—

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

"Yao'er!"

Lu Ming looks at Lu Yao in disbelief, but her eyes are full of coldness.

"Why? I love you so much!"

Lu Yao's cold gaze is like a thousand sharp knives stabbing into Lu Ming's heart; he roars and lunges at her.

But Lu Yao merely steps back slightly, and he falls to the ground.

"Xuan Yuan Sword Sect's Duanmu Lin, who began cultivating at six, opened two divine veins in half a year, entered the Warrior Realm, at nine entered the Martial Master Realm; now sixteen, he is one of the sect's Four Great Talents. As for you—weak, sickly, with blocked meridians—you're just trash; even if you awaken your bloodline, you're still trash—how can you compare to Duanmu Lin?"

"Such a talent is the proper match for my Lu Yao; to marry into the family, one 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."

A cold voice issues from Lu Yao's mouth.

Thud—

At this moment, the middle-aged man steps on Lu Ming's back, a dagger appears in his hand, and he shouts, "Lu Ming, offer up your bloodline!"

Ah—

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

Gradually, Lu Ming sinks into endless darkness.

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

Lu Ming lets out a loud shout, suddenly sits up from the bed, the nanwood-made bed creaks 'gee—'.

Lu Ming is drenched in sweat, his face pale; at first he thought it was a nightmare, but quickly realizes it is not a dream but what really happened.

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

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

They share the same ancestry but different branches, having grown up together since childhood; they are inseparable, even having privately sworn eternal vows and pledged lifelong commitment.

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

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

Lu Ming clenches his fists, his whole body trembles, his eyes filled with bloodshot lines.

Trash!

This is how Lu Yao calls him; her words from three days ago still echo in his ears.

Squeak—

Then the door is pushed open; a frail middle-aged woman enters, looks at Lu Ming on the bed, and asks concernedly, "Ming'er, are you having another nightmare?"

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

Three days ago, it was Li Ping, worried about Lu Ming's safety, who went out to search and saved 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 looks at Li Ping, his gaze softening; he says, "Mother, it's fine, just a dream."

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

Lu Ming says, "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; telling her would only harm her.

Li Ping hesitates, then says, "Ming'er, from now on, in front of others you must not directly call Lu Yao's name. Two days ago, Lu Yao awakened a Level 5 Bloodline and also opened a Divine-level Meridian; she has now received the Elder Hall's approval. At the clan assembly in two months, she will take charge of the Lu Family and become its head; directly addressing the head's name would likely be seen as disrespectful."

"What? Lu Yao is going to take over the Lu Family? No way!"

Lu Ming let out a low growl, his eyes bloodshot, his teeth clenched and grinding, about to shatter, blood flowing out.

Six years ago, rumors said Lu Ming's father was killed by someone; these six years, the Lu Family has been managed by the Elder Hall, with no new family head appointed.

Seeing Lu Ming like this, Li Ping panicked, merely holding his head, tears streaming down, saying: "Ming'er, don't scare Mother, Mother has already lost your father; I cannot lose you too."

"Father... where exactly are you? Ming'er believes you won't die; now, Ming'er is powerless, unable to hold onto the family head position."

Lu Ming tightly gripped the pendant on his neck, using so much force his nails dug into his flesh, fresh blood continually seeping out.

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

Fresh blood seeped from his palm, flowing toward the bronze pendant.

Buzz!

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

Before Lu Ming could react, the bronze pendant shuddered, turning into fine powder that drilled into his palm and vanished.

Next, Lu Ming felt a scorching energy rise from his palm up his arm, after a while settling 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.

"Nine Dragons Immortal, Bloodline Rebirth!"

"Nine Dragons Immortal, Bloodline Rebirth!"

The continuous roars kept echoing in Lu Ming's mind; then a scorching breath emanated from his brow, surging toward his spine.

The next moment, the roars ceased, but a tingling sensation spread along his spine, his whole body turning 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.

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

Sensing Lu Ming's abnormality, Li Ping grew more frightened, at a loss what to do.

"Bloodline Rebirth? Could I really undergo bloodline rebirth?" Lu Ming wondered.

Ancient texts record that only very few people, after having their bloodline stripped or damaged for other reasons, can undergo bloodline rebirth, regrowing a bloodline.

However, the reborn bloodline is mostly low-grade, of little use.

But also an extremely few individuals can break and then be established, break the cocoon to be reborn, rise from destruction, transcend the past, and awaken a supreme bloodline.

But this probability is so tiny it can be neglected; ancient records show hardly any cases.

Transcending the past and awakening a supreme bloodline, Lu Ming didn't even think about it—the odds were too slim; 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 abnormal sensations gradually faded; Lu Ming's face showed a smile as he said: "Mother, I'm fine!"

"Young master, it's great you're alright; these past days you've scared us to death!"

Then a girl walked over and said.

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

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

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

Lu Ming smiled.

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; they used to live in the Lu Family Main Residence, but this is not it.

"Ming'er, 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 were driven out; Lu Yao said she would soon become family head, rightly entitled to reside in the main residence, while we lack the qualification to stay, so we were made to move out."

Beside her, Qiu Yue gritted her teeth, speaking out, her pretty face flushed with anger.

"What? Lu Yao, you're bullying people too much!" Lu Ming roared.

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

Just then, a voice sounded 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, older brother of Lu Yao, a bit older than Lu Ming.

"Lu Chuan, we've already left the main residence; why are you coming here?"

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

"I came to take the sword!"

After speaking, Lu Chuan's eyes scanned the room; seeing the precious sword beside the bed, his eyes lit up, he immediately walked over and grabbed the sword.

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

Li Ping hurriedly reached out to snatch it.

"Get lost!"

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

"Mother!" Lu Ming bellowed.