Chapter 36: Second Meridian
Chapter 36: Second Meridian
Hao Xuan was in a state of enlightenment. Every move he made, every step he took was guided by the mysteries of the universe. He walked out of the arena and back into the locker room. The other bald guy wasn't there anymore.
He sat down and started and cultivating using the glaive manual, hours passed by and he finally woke up again. He knew what had happened, it was like watching from a third person perspective as a spectator, not being able to control his actions.
He got up and registered for another fight, this time choosing a low-level spiritual beast. It's top body was that of a gorilla and lower half of a snake. It looked horrendous and was extremely aggressive and powerful enough to fight against many stronger beasts.
This time he took his time and digested everything he had gained during the enlightenment. The using of Emperor's power from his first meridian during the Demonic steps created a new technique called "Emperors Arrival" which allowed him to cover vast distances with a single step and put faint pressure on his opponents, making them feel as if they were fighting against someone far superior and would make them hesitate.
But it did use up a lot of Qi and he could only use for 10 to 15mins at most.
He used the beasts as training dummies and sharpened his own sword kills and got more familiar with Infernal Rapture, being able to use it on a whim on any of his attacks, increasing their power and catching his opponents off-guard.
For the next few days, he went to the Colosseum and fought several monsters daily and started to understand the 'Slashing Energy' of the sword. As opposed to a saber, the sword was much more flexible and allowed the user to change the direction of their attacks at any moment.
Two days before the deadline given by the four-eyed general he finally managed to open his second meridian using the 'Slashing Energy' and entered the Earth realm.
In the Elementary realm, cultivators used the inner Qi to refine their flesh, making it stronger and increasing their defenses. In the Earth realm, they refined their bones, in the origin realm their blood, and in the spirit realm their souls.
It was after having refined their entire bodies they would break into the Profound realm and be physically strong enough to bear the pressure of connecting directly to the world around them, giving them unimaginable power.
Hao Xuan had finally remembered Emi, he knew there was someone out there waiting for him. Someone to whom he had made a promise, and someone to go back to. That gave him the motivation he needed to put in the time and effort to become stronger and protect his loved ones, wherever they might be.
After he asked around, First told him that someone had sealed his memories and the only way to remove the seal was to become stronger. He went out on several missions with Sixth, Seventh and Third and had become quite close to them.
Sixth was the son of a rich merchant and was the eldest of three brothers. He was spoiled from a young age and had joined the military to gain some experience but when the superiors saw his exceptional talent with the bow and an affinity with the fire element, he was recruited into the Red Legion.
Third was the eldest of seven siblings, his parents had passed away at a young age and he took care of all of them from alone. His cultivation manual was the GreatSword and had an affinity with the water element. Third had a very open and nurturing personality and quickly became almost like a real big brother to Hao Xuan. He had even met all of his siblings who were very playful and teased Zhorung whenever they saw him.
Seventh didn't really like to talk that much but he was very protective of Hao Xuan. His weapon was a Katana and his affinity was with the Ice element. His attacks carried bone-chilling cold that would freeze his enemies or make them extremely slow. He liked to read a lot and had a very reserved personality. He was an orphan and had no family members. His only friends were those from the Red Legion.
Hao Xuan finally found out some more information about the military and the Red Legion.
The Mei kingdom had Six Great Generals who were all more than 700 years old at least. They were the foundation of the kingdom and each had pulled off incredible feats, gaining the title of a Great General.
The four-eyed old man was one of these great generals. Red legion was his specialized unit of elite warriors that were trained to be leaders and every unit had a specialty. For example, the Red Legion was a standalone unit. It didn't have a lot of normal soldiers and warriors in it, but only the elite were chosen. The nine brothers and sisters including Hao Xuan were just the 'most' talented ones. There were several hundred troops under their command that were trained under extraordinary circumstances.
Another unit was simply called the 'Spearhead'. It was under the command of Great General Ouki and was the vanguard in several battles. They were always at the forefront, ready to strike first and break open their enemies defenses. All of their members specialized in heavy weapons and were a force to be reckoned with.
The Red Legion, on the other hand, was much less popular. If the Spearhead was a sword, then they were a hidden dagger. Wherever the red legion went, rivers of blood flowed. They were specialized in killing and getting the job done under any circumstances.
Some of the other units were called the White Death, the Valkyries, the Flying Tigers, and the ten thousand.
Not much was known about them as each unit operated hundreds of thousands of miles away from each other and had their own specialty.
The existence of such units was known by the public but their identities were kept secret to protect themselves, their families and loved ones.
Every few years a joint operation would be held where each unit would compete with each other.
These units together were affectionately called as 'Heavens Retribution' by the citizens. They were loved unconditionally in every corner of the kingdom.
Normally the Royal clan would hold the most power in any kingdom or empire and there would still be many ancient clans and sects that would have a lot of influence. But in the Mei kingdom, Military was the one and only institution that had any true power. The Royal clan ruled over the empire but they didn't directly control the military.
That was one of the reasons why such a young kingdom had grown up to be so powerful within just a few thousand years. When they started a war, it was all in. It was also why they were so famous and many people from the surrounding hundreds of kingdoms went there for better opportunities. As long as you were capable, you would be able to rise up through the ranks and gain wealth, honor and the respect of billions.