Chapter 408 292: New World 2

The entire base was built into the mountainside, rising up in five distinct levels. From the mountain gate below to the very top, there were at least a thousand steps.

In the center of the Red Heart Base stood a majestic divine statue. It surprisingly emitted a faint, fluorescent glow in the darkness of the night, giving it an incredibly mystical appearance.

This deity had a red face and a flowing beard, and was clad in Golden Armor and a red robe. It had three wrathful eyes and stood upon wheels of wind and fire. Its left hand clutched a golden seal, while its right brandished a golden whip. Its build was exceptionally powerful, and its majestic, fierce intent alone was enough to repel all evil and protect the land.

Night had fallen.

On the first level of the Red Heart Base was a residential area for the Red Heart Sect's New Disciples.

Inside a single-story room of about ten square meters, the furnishings were simple. On a wooden plank bed lay a youth in white undergarments. He had a tall, slender build and appeared to be not yet eighteen.

The youth was handsome, with fair, unblemished skin. His delicate features made it clear at a glance that he was a young nobleman, pampered from birth and unacquainted with hardship.

At the moment, however, the youth's complexion was a little pale.

Suddenly, a silver light materialized in the room, shot into the youth's body in an instant, and vanished.

About a Quarter Hour later, the fingers of the youth on the bed twitched slightly.

Inside the Rebirth Jade, Zhao Xuanqi felt the intense Vibration cease. His consciousness was now able to spread beyond the jade, and he could feel again.

'Did it succeed? Is the rebirth complete?'

After reacquainting himself with the long-lost sensation of being alive, he slowly opened his eyes.

His blurry vision gradually sharpened. Just as he began to take in his surroundings, memories belonging to this body flooded his mind.

Zhao Xing, a native of Guming County in Heqing Dao. The Zhao Family was a prominent gentry family in the county, possessing considerable wealth and influence. As the second son, Zhao Xing had lived a life of comfort and ease since childhood. His older brother managed the family's affairs and was set to inherit their estate, while his father, who'd had him late in life, doted on him completely. As a result, Zhao Xing grew into a hedonistic and unscholarly rake, spending his days either in pleasure quarters or carousing with the other wealthy sons of the county.

He had thought his carefree life would continue forever, but disaster struck without warning. Not long ago, an evil calamity befell Guming County, destroying more than half the town. The townsfolk suffered innumerable casualties, and unfortunately, the Zhao Family estate was right in the path of the disaster.

Zhao Xing's parents, older brother, older sister, two younger sisters, and most of their stewards and servants all perished in the calamity. Fortunately, Zhao Xing had been in the southern part of town visiting the pleasure district, far from where the disaster erupted. He managed to flee the town with a large crowd of refugees and escaped with his life.

After the calamity was suppressed, the people returned to the town. The town had suffered considerable damage, and the Zhao Family's mansion was all but destroyed. For some mysterious reason, the family's fortune had also vanished. However, the Zhao Family had been local gentry, and according to the Great Wei Dynasty's Government Office regulations, all their land deeds and properties were transferred to Zhao Xing's name. The inheritance was substantial.

But without his family's protection, he was vulnerable. An innocent man with a treasure is a guilty man in the eyes of the greedy. How could others not be tempted by a profligate son holding a great fortune?

Both openly and in secret, everyone from the Zhao Family's old enemies to the vassals who once depended on them for their livelihood coveted his assets. Zhao Xing, being unscholarly and naive, was no match for those cunning old foxes. In just over a month, the majority of his inheritance had fallen into their hands.

Meanwhile, the Red Heart Sect had suffered heavy losses during the Guming County Evil Cultivation incident and was in urgent need of new blood. They made a rare exception and opened their gates to recruit disciples. The tragedy of his family had made the wastrel Zhao Xing realize the importance of strength. Fearing he would be left with nothing once the rest of his fortune was gone, he sold off some of his remaining properties for taels of silver, used the money to pull some strings, and secured a position as a disciple of the Red Heart Sect.

Today was his seventh day in the sect.

What he hadn't expected, however, was that while he had merely wanted to coast, those vicious jackals who had devoured his fortune might have actually let him live. But by joining the Red Heart Sect and showing a desire to become stronger, he had provoked the wariness of others.

No one wanted to leave a potential threat lingering.

The Zhao Family wasn't the only one to take advantage of the Red Heart Sect's open recruitment to send someone into its ranks.

As these memories flashed through Zhao Xuanqi's mind, his expression flickered. He lifted the body's undergarments and, just as he expected, found bruises in inconspicuous places on its arms, thighs, abdomen, and chest.

The injuries were only painful, however, not life-threatening. The culprits had stolen the Elixir Pills the sect had given Zhao Xing and beaten him, but they hadn't dared to kill him. After all, if a disciple were killed, the Red Heart Sect's leadership would surely investigate, and the influence of those gentry families wouldn't be enough to protect them.

The Red Heart Sect was a Sealed Sect of the Great Wei Dynasty.

In the world today, evil calamities were rampant and growing ever more intense, to the point where the imperial court's forces could no longer suppress them alone. Thus, the court supported various Martial Arts Schools. In exchange for permission to teach their arts, these Schools were tasked with the responsibility of guarding their regions. If the court issued a command, a Sealed Sect was required to assist in handling evil calamities. If the disaster occurred within their own jurisdiction, refusal was not an option. Otherwise, the wolves of the Celestial Net Department would come to hold them accountable, even threatening the sect with annihilation.

Within their own jurisdiction, however, the martial prowess of their members gave the Sealed Sects a relatively transcendent status. They were not easily swayed by mere local gentry or even government officials.

'So, the original owner of this body wasn't on the verge of death like Zhao Qi was? After carefully Sensing it, I don't detect any lingering consciousness like the one that was in Zhao Qi's body. My control over this one is completely unimpeded. Is it because of the Rebirth Jade, or is it because my own power and will have grown stronger? What are the rules for finding a host body, anyway?'

'Whatever, I can't figure it out right now. At least this body's background is decent, much better than the last one.'

Questions surfaced in Zhao Xuanqi's mind, but he quickly pushed them aside.

He began to inspect the state of the Rebirth Jade within his body.

Within his consciousness, the Rebirth Jade hovered, rotating slowly and emitting a silver glow. The first thing to appear was the record of his Merit.

Merit: One Virtue, Three Accomplishments, Five Gains

He had accumulated one Virtue and two Accomplishments for slaying the Bloodline Species and two of the Four Fiends. However, during his final days in the Divine General world, though various resistance organizations had provided him with intelligence, the experts from every nation had sensed something was amiss and hidden themselves. As a result, he hadn't been able to kill many Holy Seed Life forms or accumulate much more Merit.

But Merit wasn't his primary concern.

His consciousness reached out, and the Rebirth Jade trembled. A sliver of its silver light was released, merging into his body.

THUMP!! THUMP!!

His heart began to pound violently, and the Qi and Blood in his body surged, bringing a faint flush to his skin.

The bruises on his skin faded at a visible rate, and his injuries healed rapidly. A faint sense of strength welled up from within his somewhat frail body, as if his constitution had been slightly enhanced.

'Just as I thought.'

Zhao Xuanqi let out a soft breath.

Before leaving the Divine General world, his Life Primordial Qi had been compressed and extracted by the Rebirth Jade. Though he had lost at least thirty percent of it in the process, the remaining amount was still substantial. At the time, he had wondered if he could still use this Life Primordial Qi after his rebirth. Now, his theory was confirmed.

'With no lingering consciousness from the original owner to hold me back, I can use the Life Primordial Qi from the Divine General world to strengthen this body. Even if I can't recover to my previous peak, I should be able to reach a decent level of power in a short time. Enough to protect myself, at least. However, releasing the Life Primordial Qi and strengthening this flesh will have to be a gradual process. Besides, this world seems far from simple…'

Zhao Xuanqi mused to himself. Though limited by his current body, he could still faintly sense that the concentration of Primordial Qi in this world was far higher than in the Divine General world.

This meant that everything in this world—heaven, earth, and all living things—would be tougher. The upper limits for its species and power systems were likely far beyond what the Divine General world could compare to.

Furthermore, because the Primordial Qi was so much denser, trying to recklessly stir it and manipulate the environment as he had in the Divine General world would be much more difficult. If he wasn't careful, he could even suffer a backlash.

'I need to figure out this world's power system as quickly as possible. I can't just strengthen this body blindly.'

Zhao Xuanqi thought for a moment, then began sifting through the memories of the body's original owner, Zhao Xing. He was looking for the first Red Heart Sect Secret Transmission he had been taught in the seven days since he'd joined.

True Essence Skill.