Chapter One: A Word to Awaken the Dreamer

“Xiao Xian, come out for dinner now.”

Inside the room, Chen Xian stared at the manual of Xingyi Boxing in his hands, a bitter smile crossing his face.

“Another fake!”

He tossed the manual onto the cluttered desk piled high with all manner of books and rose to head toward the living room. Amid the jumble of books, their titles could still be made out: Five Elements Boxing, Tai Chi Boxing, Xingyi Boxing...

At the dining table, Chen Xian ate absentmindedly, finding the meal tasteless.

“Mom, just look at my brother’s expression; you can tell he’s been duped again.”

“Hehe.”

“There’s nothing amusing about your brother being deceived,” their mother shot her daughter a glare, clearly displeased. “School is starting soon, and you’ll be in your third year. Instead of wasting your time, you’d be better off reading more books. I don’t expect you to get into the city’s top high school like your brother, but at the very least, aim for Fourth High! Look at you—already a third-year student, yet always causing chaos. How many times has the school called me in because of you? Can’t you be like your brother and let me worry less?”

As she spoke, frustration welled up, and she reached over to twist Chen Qiqi’s ear.

“Ouch!”

“Mom, let’s talk about this,” Chen Qiqi exclaimed, clutching her bowl and leaping from her chair before darting into her room.

Watching her daughter disappear, Chen’s mother finally turned to the distracted Chen Xian.

“Xiao Xian, you used to dislike martial arts. Why have you grown more obsessed with it these past three years? Though you claim it’s just for fun, it doesn’t seem that way to me.”

Hearing his mother’s concern, Chen Xian snapped back to reality.

“Mom, I’ve had some insights lately. Practicing martial arts strengthens the body—the foundation of everything. Who knows, perhaps your son will become the next legend of martial arts!”

Chen Xian’s thoughts drifted to those few legendary figures whose names echoed across the world, fueling his longing for martial prowess.

“Though our Da Xuan values both literature and martial arts, how many truly become martial legends? If you genuinely wish to achieve something in martial arts, you should enroll in a martial arts school. Having a mentor is always better than training alone.”

Chen Xian’s gaze grew uncertain at his mother’s suggestion.

“Could that dream really be just a dream?”

Three years ago, on a certain night, he began having a strange recurring dream that had accompanied him ever since.

In the dream, he found himself in a world eerily similar yet subtly different from Da Xuan. For three years, every night, the same dream returned, imprinting its details deep in his mind.

In that world, he became a bedridden youth, witnessing the evolution of a glorious era. Unfortunately, due to illness, the boy could not participate, only observe from the sidelines, his heart heavy with longing.

For that boy, a healthy body became an unshakable obsession.

If it were only this, Chen Xian might have dismissed it as an odd dream. After all, recurring dreams were common in the realm of Xuan Star.

But then, he saw technologies once confined to his dream gradually being invented in Xuan Star’s real world. Martial theories that existed only in the dream—though immature compared to Xuan Star’s own schools—proved genuinely usable for practice.

Moreover, the boy’s obsession subtly influenced Chen Xian’s own thoughts, deepening his desire for a strong, healthy body.

All these changes made him realize that this was no ordinary dream. Perhaps it was a supernatural phenomenon yet unproven in Xuan Star.

No ordinary dream could influence one’s mind or foreshadow inventions not yet created.

It was this extraordinary dream that led Chen Xian to the path of martial arts and convinced him that supernatural power must exist.

Yet the road of martial practice was arduous; only those who started young, tempering bone and sinew through years of relentless effort, could truly achieve mastery.

Chen Xian began his training at nineteen, having missed the prime years for foundational development. Though gifted, after three years, he still had not grasped the first stage—“Bright Force”—the gateway to martial cultivation.

His age barred him from joining any major martial sects; even reputable schools refused older students. The only style he had mastered was a niche White Crane technique acquired from a small martial arts school.

It was the sole method available to him for reaching “Bright Force.”

Yet being niche meant it lagged far behind the arts of the great sects; it was slow to cultivate, with poor effects on the body...

Chen Xian frequented antique markets, searching for authentic martial manuals. But to this day, he had found nothing of true value.

His collection was not entirely useless, but—

“A single line of true scripture outweighs a thousand volumes of false ones.”

The most vital secrets of each sect were always passed from mouth to ear, never written. Lacking the key methods and core techniques, these manuals served only for health, not true martial progress.

He had no master’s guidance, no advanced techniques, no childhood foundation—making his path rough and uncertain.

“Xiao Xian, since you practice martial arts now, you should eat more. You’ve been eating less these days—this won’t do!” His mother’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Mom, what did you just say?” Chen Xian was momentarily dazed.

“I said you need to eat more! You’ve been eating less and less lately,” his mother repeated.

“Yes, lately, with my martial training, I’ve only had a little at each meal. Outside of the three daily meals, I haven’t eaten anything else. Logically, I should feel hungry—yet not only do I not, I even feel faintly full.”

Pondering this, Chen Xian felt a surge of confusion.

Suddenly, a ripple stirred in his heart.

“Could it be...?”

He was jolted awake, ignoring the food on the table as he rushed toward his room.

“Mom, save my food for me; I’ll eat it later.”

Watching his hurried steps, Chen’s mother wondered to herself, “What could be so urgent it can’t wait until after dinner?”

At this moment, Chen Xian only wanted solitude. He needed to calm his mind, review his actions of recent days, and study the changes in his body to test his hypothesis.