The days following Feiyin’s plete tempering of his body had been filled with silent refi. He had not rushed to begin his meridian opening immediately, despite his anticipation. Instead, he had takeime to adjust—to truly feel the ges in his body.His irength was now a formidable force—10,000 kg of raw power, but it was more than just the number. His body felt lighter, yet his movements carried more weight. His bde felt easier to wield, each ssh sharper and more precise than before. His senses had heightened, allowing him to perceive the osciltions of the world with greater crity, but more than that, his inner sense had emerged, giving him an unpreted awareness of his own body.Each breath, each pulse of blood, each tiny tremor of his muscles—it was all id bare to his perception.A…Somethi off.A dissohat he could not pce, an itch beh his skin that did not stem from his own body.He had never ignored his instincts before, and he would not start now.So, in those few days, Feiyin had tinued honing his strength trol. His father’s advice rang in his mind—a drawn bde was a known one, a sheathed bde an unknown—so he had refihe art of hiding his power.His first step had been physical trol. He had observed the militia, the ordinary vilgers, even the weaker cultivators in their midst. He had learo mirror their movements, to breathe as they did, to mimic their postures. By distributing his strength evenly through his body, he could diminish his presence, making himself appear normal, unremarkable.But that was only the first step.The sed was trolling his irength itself—dispersing it just enough so that his presence felt muted. He had been careful, precise, making minute adjustments over the st few days.And the third… was the osciltions.Feiyin had long siiced that cultivators of different strengths emitted different frequencies. He had observed how their bodies vibrated at different iies, how their energy pulsed stronger or weaker, depending on their level.‘If I copy those osciltions… I make my strength seem lower than it is.’The process ainstaking, requiring both focus and patience. He had spent hours adjusting the rhythm of his body’s vibrations, matg them to the weaker cultivators he had observed.It was difficult—like trying to walk with deliberate slowness while his body begged to run. But Feiyin persisted, and the results were promising.His father had taken notice, of course. Nothing escaped Cai Feng’s sharp gaze.One evening, after a long day of training, his father had approached him as Feiyin wiped the sweat from his brow."Yettier at it," Cai Feng remarked, crossing his arms as he studied him.Feiyin straightened. "At what?"Cai Feng smirked. "Hiding."Feiyin’s lips twitched. "Did I fool you?"His father’s smirk widened slightly. "No. But I wouldn’t expect you to—not yet. You’re on the right path. If you keep refining it, soon even I will struggle to see through you."Feiyin’s chest swelled with pride, but he did not let it cloud his mind. His father was a seasoned warrior, his instincts hohrough decades of battle. If he had noticed Feiyin’s cealment, then it meant Feiyin still had muprove.And he would.But first, he had anoal to achieve.It was time to open his first meridian.Feiyin sat cross-legged in his training chamber, his breathing slow, trolled. His pulse thrummed in his ears, steady as a war drum. The world outside his small room was silent, but within him, a storm brewed.The past days had bee adjusting, getting used to the sheer depth of his newfound irength and the way it pulsed through his body like a living current. He had felt it in the way his muscles responded faster, the way his breath flowed steadier, the way his bde moved sharper.10,000 kilograms of force.The absolute pinnacle of the Body Tempering Realm.But it was not enough.Strength alone was meaningless if it could not be properly eled.And that was where the step came.Opening the first meridian.He closed his eyes, extending his inner seo his body, the perception of his own flesh and energy clearer than it had ever been before. He could feel everything—from the smallest tremors in his muscles to the gentle pull of his breath through his lungs.But most importantly… he could feel the meridians.Thin, dormant els running through his body, blocked and untouched, like rivers dammed shut. He traced their paths with his mind, noting where they verged, how they brahrough his limbs and ans. They were locked gates, and the key to true cultivation was to force them open using his own strength.His first meridian o be a foundation, something that would ground his progress, give him stability as he advanced.His foot.It was a on starting point—one of the lowest points of the body, a natural choice to anchor his future circution. Opening a meridian in his foot would create a stable flow upward, allowing his future meridians to e a steady, structured manner.He exhaled, then gathered his irength, guiding it downward, toward that blocked path.The moment his energy pressed against it, resista him like a solid wall.His brows furrowed.He had expected this—but feeling it firsthand was something else entirely.It was like trying to push through a sealed gate, an invisible force rejeg his energy, refusing to yield.Feiyin frowned. He increased the pressure.A sharp sting shot through his leg.His eyes snapped open, sweat beading on his forehead.‘So this is what it feels like…’His fiwitched at the lingeriion, a mixture of heat and pressure, as if his foot had suddenly bee heavier, denser. He had barely begun, and already, his body fought back.This was not something he could rush.If he forced it too quickly, he could damage his meridian before it even fully opened, setting back his progress permaly. If he applied too little pressure, the meridian would remain closed, and his efforts would be wasted.Ba was all about bance.He took a deep breath, letting his energy withdraw from the meridian, allowing the blocked passage to remain untouched for now. Feiyin sat still, his breathing measured, mind focused entirely on the meridian in his foot.The resistance was clear—a dense, immovable force, stubbornly blog the flow of his energy. He had expected as much, but simply pushing harder would only strain his body. He needed a different approach.He closed his eyes, drawing upon his unique perception of the world—the osciltions that underpinned all things.And then, he listened.Even within the silence of his body, there were subtle frequeiny, imperceptible pulses running through his flesh, bones, and blood. His meridiae being sealed, was no exception. He could feel its natural frequency—a low, stubborn vibration, like a wall that refused to budge.His irength crashed against it like waves against stone, forceful but unfocused.‘No wo resists me… I’m not guiding my strength properly.’His thoughts turo music—to the way a single mispote could ruin a melody, just as mismatched osciltions could disrupt his meridian.Then, he remembered the five elements—the fual forces that goverhe world, and the five ans within him, each carrying a corresponding resonah—steady and unmoving, the foundation of all things.Metal—sharp and unyielding, a force of precision.Water—soft yet relentless, able to erode evero stone.Wood—flexible and growing, seeking passage through resistance.Fire—burning and ing, breaking down all in its path.A thought struck him.‘What if I don’t force my way in… but wear it down instead?’His eyes narrowed. He adjusted his breathing, matg his irength to the melody of the five elements, weaving them together into a cycle.Earth first, steadying the foundation of his meridian, preparing it for ge.Theal, sharpening his energy into a fine point.Water followed, soft but persistent, finding the smallest cracks in the resistance.Wood came , expanding and pressing forward, seeking new spad finally, Fire, burning away the st vestiges of the blockage.A slow, methodical cycle—like a drill, grinding down the resistance yer by yer.At first, the obstru barely reacted. But as he tihe cycle, his strength flowing in precise osciltions, he felt a shift.The resistance began to weaken, chipped away bit by bit.Feiyin’s lips curled into a small, triumphant smile.This… this was w.It was slow, deliberate—but unlike before, he wasn’t fighting against his body. He was guiding it, w with it.A deep exhiration filled him. This method—it wasn’t just brute strength or reckless force. It was art, a refi of his uanding of energy and vibration.Feiyin maintained his rhythm, his irength moving in a steady, measured cycle. He could feel the obstru in his meridian thinning, slowly eroded by the osciltions of the five elemeh stabilizing, metal refining, water wearing away, wood expanding, and fire ing.The resistance was no longer an imperable wall, but crumbling stoh his deliberate efforts.And then—it happened.A faint crack.It was minuscule, barely perceptible, but to Feiyin, it was as loud as a mountain splitting apart. The barrier within his foot shuddered, and for a moment, his body froze, as if sensing the impending ge.His breath hitched.He felt his irength press through, like a river finally breaking through a dam. The meridian shook, then opened—a small pathway, barely the width of a hair, but undeniably open.And at that moment—The world responded.A powerful, indescribable force surged through the air, rushing toward him like an invisible tide. It was cold yet warm, overwhelmi f. It carried the vastness of the heavens, the depth of the earth, and the endless, flowing energy that made up all things.The Essence of Heaven ah had reized him.Feiyin's body trembled as the energy poured into him, flooding into the newly opened meridian. He gasped, his senses expanding in an instant, as if a veil had been lifted from his perception.His mind reeled—everythi clearer, sharper. His breathing, the faint rustling of wind outside, the distabeat of the earth beh him… It was as if the entire world had beore vivid.His meridian pulsed, drinking in the energy like parched nd soaking up rain. The influx of essence was not chaotic or violent—it tism, washing over him, strengthening him.Feiyin's muscles, bones, blood, and even his inner ans resonated with the energy, accepting it, merging with it. He felt a subtle but undeniable shift—as if his body had stepped beyond mortality, iing something greater into itself.This was the first step.The Meridian Opening Realm.He could feel it—his meridian was no longer empty. It carried a thread of the world’s essence, a e to something far greater than himself.His heart pounded, but his mind was calm, focused.The process sted only moments, yet it felt like ay. When the flow of essence finally settled, Feiyin exhaled deeply, his breath carrying a faint trace of warmth, like mist dissipating in the air.He slowly unched his fists, his fiingling with newfound energy.He had do.He had taken his first step.A slow smile crept onto his face, his grey eyes—flecked with amethyst—gleaming with something nef opening one meridian granted him su experienuch further could he go?His journey was only beginning.