The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 476 Epiphany
“It’s happening again…” Zhao Ti said, looking down.

"What is he doing here again?" Zhao's father asked angrily.

"I don't know either. I didn't ask anything this time. I just walked around the room. I didn't dare to say or do anything. He snorted coldly, then pointed at the wall and, well, he made a hole." Zhao Ti said with a forced smile. He really didn't expect the black energy blast to be so powerful. He could only continue making things up.

"One finger? One finger can have such power?" Father Zhao leaned closer to the hole in the wall to examine it carefully, then reached out and touched it to check for traces.

"It does resemble the Annihilation Divine Finger, the core martial art of the Sima family!"

"What is the Annihilation Divine Finger?" Zhao Ti asked curiously upon hearing this.

"The Sima family has two core martial arts: the Great Bright Divine Sword and the Annihilation Divine Finger." Father Zhao frowned. "This finger technique is extremely insidious. It is almost silent when used, and even if it hits a person or object, it doesn't make much noise. However, its destructive power is not to be underestimated. It resembles the trace of annihilation, hence the name."

It sounds somewhat similar to the effect of the Spirit Bomb and the Black Bomb. Zhao Ti stroked his chin, wondering why the girl from the Sima family didn't use it last time. Could it be that she didn't know how?
“This finger technique is extremely difficult to master. It requires diligent practice at night and cannot be mastered during the day. However, once mastered, it is incredibly powerful. Even the Sima family does not have many people who can use it…” Father Zhao frowned.

"Judging from the size of the finger hole in the wall, if it really is the Annihilation Finger, this person has already mastered this finger technique to perfection. Could it be that your two uncles' speculation was correct, and it really was done by someone from the Sima family? To remove obstacles for that Sima Xiangru and help him compete for the title of the Four Great Talents? But this intimidator's martial arts are too high. He actually has such attainments in this finger technique?"

"This... how would I know?" Zhao Ti shook his head. It was too hasty. He would never demonstrate his skills in his room again. Otherwise, he would have to use countless lies to cover up one lie, and in the end, he would be the one who was in a mess.

"The Sima family is really going too far, but the more they do this, the less you should be afraid, Ti'er. If they really dared to harm you, they would have done it long ago. They should be wary of us, and they may already know our identities. Your father and I had quite a reputation in the martial arts world back then, so you don't need to worry too much. In any case, we must strive for the title of one of the Four Great Talents!" Father Zhao said angrily.

"I understand..." Zhao Ti nodded.

"However, this person has come here several times, disturbing your studies. This can't be a solution. Starting tomorrow, I will set up a bed under your window and guard you to prevent him from succeeding again. If he dares to come again, we will definitely capture him and ask him what his true intentions are!"

“Father, is this really necessary?” Zhao Ti paused for a moment upon hearing this, then hurriedly said, “The night is cold and windy, how can you ask Father to guard me? Please, Father, don’t do it.”

“The weather is still hot, and the nights aren’t cold either. I can hardly fall asleep inside even if I’m shirtless, but it’s just right outside,” said Zhao’s father.

“Father, this is not right. It is always the children who should fulfill their filial duties. I am already so grown up, how can I ask Father to protect me…”

“Who said you’re grown up?” Zhao’s father shook his head. “Since you haven’t established a career or started a family, you can’t be considered grown up. It’s only natural for parents to take care of their children!”

"But... although it's hot now, it's already late summer. In a few days, when autumn arrives, it will definitely get cooler..."

"Then the autumn examination is about to begin. After you pass the preliminary examination, I will no longer guard you. When you pass the exam and your reputation is further enhanced, the Sima family will be hesitant to act for fear of damaging your reputation and will not come again."

“Father…” Zhao Ti lowered his head again upon hearing this, feeling extremely guilty. He should have known better than to hide it, but now he was in a bind. If he confessed, it would inevitably hurt his father… Well, given his father’s personality, he probably wouldn’t be hurt, but would only be furious and give him a good beating, making him unable to get out of bed for three days.

"No need to say anything more, it's settled then. Don't think about these things, go to sleep." Zhao's father said as he walked out and closed the door behind him.

Zhao Ti stood there for a moment, sighed softly, tidied up briefly, and went to bed to rest.

The next day, in a daze, he heard a soft knocking on the door: "Big Brother, it's daylight, aren't you up yet?"

It was Zhao Ling'er's voice, but unlike usual, it sounded rather cautious.

"Get up, get up..." Zhao Ti replied, then slowly got up and went out to open the door.

"Big pot, I want to see the gourd." Zhao Ling'er, with her hair in two little braids today, said obediently, her hands behind her back.

"See, see, I'm going to wash up." Zhao Ti said as he went out, then realized something was wrong and turned back to look at Zhao Ling'er. When did his sister become so polite?
He pondered for a few moments, but had no answer in his mind, so he continued walking towards the well in the courtyard.

Just as he turned his head, Zhao Ling'er suddenly turned around and glanced at him, revealing a sweet smile. Then she made a face and came to the golden gourd.

She stroked the fox with her little hands and murmured, "Gourd, gourd, how many years have you been gone from me? How did you get so damaged?"

Suddenly, the gourd shook itself strangely, and then two lines slowly split open in the middle of its upper belly, as if two eyes were trying to open. But after trembling a few times, they disappeared little by little and returned to their original state.

"Sigh, never mind. I know you're exhausted. It's good enough that you've preserved my memories and some of my magic." Zhao Ling'er whispered, "I need to find a way to repair you. I don't have much left. The Jiangshan Sheji Map was stolen by that scoundrel Tongtian, the Demon-Binding Rope is lost, and the other artifacts were either destroyed in the Pangu Universe or lost in the vastness. Only you are left."

Upon hearing this, the gourd shook itself again, as if in response.

Zhao Ling'er blinked: "Silly Big Pot doesn't know about your supernatural abilities, does he? He must just think you're an ordinary copper gourd."

This time, the gourd shook violently, and Zhao Ling'er quickly steadied it, asking in confusion, "Does the big pot know you're extraordinary? Didn't he find you on the ancient battlefield?"

The gourd shook again, and Zhao Ling'er's eyes darted around: "So, my brother has been lying to me all along. He knows you're different from others. No wonder he only let me look and wouldn't let me move it. It seems my brother has some secrets too!"

After breakfast, Zhao Ti carried his schoolbag to school. He had nothing to do all day. After school, he parted ways with Mo Xun by the Jade Belt Bridge and went straight home.

Upon entering the courtyard, the greyhound greeted them. Zhao Ling'er waited expectantly by his door, opened the wooden door, and after looking at the gourd for a while, she began to eat dinner.

After dinner, Zhao's father began setting up a plank bed in front of his window. A crow perched on the windowsill with its long beak wide open, looking like it was watching a good show.

Knowing that there was no way to dissuade him, Zhao Ti hurriedly went over to help. In a moment, the plank bed was set up, and Zhao's father lay down to try it out, then smiled and said, "It's quite comfortable."

Zhao Ti could only force a smile before going inside to read.

About half an hour passed, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy. His father was resting by the window, and it was fine for him to practice his internal energy. If he was careful, he might not disturb his father. But he couldn't practice the Flying Immortal Sword Technique. It was not something that could be practiced while sitting still. It required swinging and jumping. If he made any noise, it would definitely disturb his father who was sleeping by the window.

I had originally planned to practice kendo tonight, but it seems I'll have to change my mind now.

He continued reading as he pondered, and before he knew it, another hour or two had passed. Outside, the moon was dim and the stars were few, and it was late at night.

It seemed he wouldn't be able to practice swordsmanship. Zhao Ti shook his head, put down his book, and prepared to practice the Exquisite Yuan Qi Gong. Although practicing internal energy cultivation didn't make much noise, he still blew out the lamp on the table as a precaution.

Actually, it's not that I didn't want to admit to my parents that I practice martial arts, but once I did, they would definitely object, especially my father, who would be furious and forbid me from practicing, forcing me to focus solely on my studies.

In his father's heart, everything else was inferior, only studying was noble. Even if he said it wouldn't interfere with his studies, his father would not agree.

Could it be that Father still harbors resentment over the words of that so-called Fairy Lingbo from years ago, and because he himself was uneducated, he shifted the blame onto him, using this as a pretext to fulfill a lifelong regret?
Zhao Ti sighed, shook his head, and couldn't figure it out. He decided to focus on practicing his skills.

He sat on the couch, and began to ponder the first picture of the Exquisite Yuan Qi Gong in his mind.

Before achieving a minor level of mastery, meditation is unnecessary. After achieving a minor level of mastery, one should study the pictures to trigger sudden enlightenment, and then meditate based on the forms of people or things in the enlightenment. Only by combining meditation with physical practice can one advance to a higher level.

But this is a paradox.

Enlightenment itself comes and goes without a trace, and is not subject to the cultivator's will. It may come at any time. People with low comprehension may never experience it, not even in this life, the next life, or the life after that.

When enlightenment comes, it has absolutely no relation to the thoughts and ideas of the cultivator; it is completely unrelated and has no connection whatsoever. It is essentially unrelated to anything else.

So how can one gain a sudden understanding of the people and objects in a painting?
Simply observing and contemplating won't lead to sudden enlightenment, let alone be related to what the painting depicts. This is the biggest challenge of this practice.

The manual says that direct meditation on pictures is ineffective; one can only achieve enlightenment through pictures, and only through enlightenment during meditation can one advance in rank. But he still intends to give it a try.

The first picture depicts an unnamed creature, resembling a giant ball of flesh with countless tentacles growing from it, fluttering and dancing. Each tentacle has an eye, seemingly staring at the person viewing the picture, making it both bizarre and terrifying.

Zhao Ti memorized every single detail of the painting, then silently practiced his skills, focusing his mind on the content of the painting.

However, after a full half hour, the technique had been practiced several times, and the image seemed to be imprinted in his mind, but his skill had not increased in the slightest.

Is that not okay? He opened his eyes and frowned slightly.

It seems that even if I have a clear martial mind, it won't work. I can't bypass the conditions of this technique out of thin air and violate its rules to advance to the intermediate stage.

Then we can only wait for enlightenment to come, but when will enlightenment come?

Zhao Ti scratched his head. No one could have predicted this; it wasn't something you could just get by wanting it.

He pondered for a moment, and was just about to get off the bed to get some water when suddenly a loud "boom" exploded in his mind, and he froze in place.

At this moment, Zhao Ti no longer saw the darkness in the room or the starlight outside the window; instead, he seemed to have fallen into a strange world.

It seemed as if he were on a boundless sea, and he was a ship, drifting and swaying with the waves. The sky above was blue, and he had no idea where the end was.

Am I a ship? Yes, I am...

At this moment, Zhao Ti had completely entered a state of forgetting himself and the world, only knowing that he was a sailboat and was to sail on the sea, and he no longer remembered anything else.

Drifting aimlessly, without a route, without ideas, without emotions.

The sea seemed endless, and after countless days and nights, the weather suddenly changed.

The sky, which had been clear and blue all along, suddenly turned gloomy, with thick, dark clouds that looked frighteningly black.

A quarter of an hour or so later, a strong wind arose and the waves surged. Zhao Ti felt the giant waves crashing against his body, causing him excruciating pain, as if his body was about to be shattered.

But he couldn't avoid it or resist it at all; he could only drift with the tide.

He felt immense pain, but had little other consciousness. He stared blankly ahead, hoping that there was a peaceful place ahead.

But within his perception, everywhere was the same; there was no peaceful place to settle down.

Just when he could hardly bear it and felt like he was about to be shattered to pieces, suddenly a wave in the distance surged into the sky, then parted in all directions, and something slowly emerged from the sea.

Zhao Ti hurriedly looked, but was startled to find that it was a gigantic sea monster that was both terrifying and utterly disgusting.

This sea monster was enormous, with an extremely obese body, almost as tall as a mountain. Its overall shape was round and chubby, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Its head resembles that of an octopus, with countless tentacles covering its face. Each tentacle has a bulging, eerie white eyeball in the middle, while the other side of the tentacle is covered with dense suckers that seem to expand and contract constantly as if breathing.

On each side of its face were three eyes, several times larger than those on its tentacles, which were darting around and emitting an incredibly eerie light.

His body was obese and bloated, with an overall green color that exuded an extremely eerie aura. It was covered with countless faint scales, presenting a nauseatingly bloated form, and flowing with ugly, seemingly poisonous mucus.

At the very bottom of its body, there are four limbs. These limbs are very short and can be barely seen unless you look closely. The front ends of the limbs resemble sharp claws, and they look extremely sharp, like deadly weapons.

Upon closer inspection, one can vaguely discern a pair of tattered, seemingly undeveloped wings behind it, giving it a fragmented and eerie feel.

"What is this? What is this thing?" Zhao Ti exclaimed in shock.

His mind was simple and dull at that moment, and his reaction was extremely slow. In that moment of dazedness, he was actually swept away by the waves and hurricane and charged towards the huge and disgusting sea monster...

(End of this chapter)