Myriad Paths of the Dragon Emperor

Chapter 1

Blood Meridians Reborn

The sky was aglow with the setting sun.

On the Emerald Cloud Summit outside of Fiery Wind City, there was a stone table and a stone bench, where a young couple were nestled together.

The youth had a slim build. He was pale in complexion, but had good looks.

Meanwhile, the maiden donned a pure white dress. Her skin was as smooth as jade, her looks were stunningly beautiful.

The maiden’s head was resting on the shoulders of the youth.?Bathed in the light of the setting sun, they looked like perfect lovers.

“Yao’er, how I wish we could continue on like this forever!” Said the youth gently, the smile on his face revealing his happiness.

“Brother Ming, of course we can! We said that we would be together for all our lives!”

A happy smile formed on the maiden’s face.

The youth’s name was Lu Ming, whereas the girl was called Lu Yao.

Looking at the smile on Lu Yao’s face, Lu Ming’s gaze turned even more tender as he held her delicate hand and said, “Yao’er, although I currently can’t gather my Essential Qi due to my blocked meridians, if I can awaken my blood meridian, the Elder Council will buy me some elixirs and mediate my meridians for me. Then, I’ll be able to cultivate.”

“I’ll definitely become a powerhouse, and protect you for the rest of your life.”

“Thank you, Brother Ming.”

Lu Yao’s eyes had a touched look as she said, “Brother Ming, did a meridian tester really find out that you inherited your father’s blood meridians?”

“That’s right, Yao’er. That’s why in the future, your man will be a powerhouse.” A confident smile formed on Lu Ming’s face.

Lu Yao tenderly smiled as she lifted a cup on the stone table. The cup was filled with well-known Blood Orchid Wine, which was emitting a faint fragrance.

She swiftly kissed Lu Ming on the cheeks and blushed as she raised the cup, “Come, Brother Ming, this one is on Yao’er.”

Lu Ming took the cup and said, “Yao’er, you’ve treated me to a glass of Blood Orchid Wine every day. I’m really grateful to have you by my side.”

As he finished his sentence, he raised the cup and finished it in one go.

The fragrance of the wine lingered on his tongue, and Lu Ming’s heart felt as sweet as the wine tasted. But at the very next moment, he felt that the world was spinning.

“Yao’er, why do I feel so faint? Your wine...”

Lu Ming held onto the stone table as he looked towards Lu Yao. But then, he noticed that her expression seemed a little cold.

“Hahaha, Lu Ming, Yao’er only accompanied you for three years in order to cultivate your meridians. Now that we’re at this stage, isn’t it high time that you contribute with your blood meridians?”

At that moment, a middle-aged man emerged from a corner. It was Lu Yao’s father.

Rumble!

The sound rang in Lu Ming’s mind, as if it was a bolt from the blue.

“Yao’er!”

Lu Ming looked at Lu Yao incredulously, but all that was in her eyes was cold indifference.

“Why? I love you so much!”

Lu Yao’s cold gaze was like a sharp knife, plunging into Lu Ming’s heart. He let out a loud howl and pounced in the direction of Lu Yao.

Sadly, all it took was for Lu Yao to take a small step back, and he landed on the floor.

“Duan Mulin from the Mystical Sword School started his cultivation at the age of six. He opened up two divine meridians and stepped into Warrior Realm in half a year, and then Master Realm at the age of nine. He’s sixteen now, and one of the Four Great Talents of the Mystical Sword School. What about you? A frail body with blocked meridians. To be blunt with you, you’re just trash. Even if you awaken your blood meridians, you’ll still be trash. Can you even be compared with Duan Mulin?

“Only a genius like him would be befitting of me. If I want to be married to him, I need to awaken a stronger blood meridian. Since you love me so much, why don’t you fulfill my wish and offer up your blood meridian to help me awaken a stronger one?”

A cold voice came from Lu Yao’s lips.

Bam!

At that moment, the middle-aged man stepped on Lu Ming’s back with a sharp knife gripped on his hands. He shouted, “Lu Ming, give us your blood meridian!”

Ah!

“The Ninth Dragon never dies, the blood meridian shall be reborn!”

Suddenly, a deafening roar rang in Lu Meng’s mind, shaking his head until it was buzzing.

“The Ninth Dragon never dies, the blood meridian shall be reborn!”

“The Ninth Dragon never dies, the blood meridian shall be reborn!”

...

The continuous roaring constantly rang in Lu Ming’s head. Soon after, a scorching heat shot off from his glabella to his spine.

At the very next moment, the roaring stopped. But an itchy sensation started to spread from his spine as his body started to heat up.

“What’s happening?”

Lu Ming could not understand what was happening.

At that moment, the itchiness on his spine increased in intensity. It was as if there was something slowly growing.

“Ming’er, are you okay?! Please don’t scare me!”

Sensing the abnormality on Lu Meng’s body, Li Ping felt even more terrified and helpless.

“The blood meridian shall be reborn? Can my blood meridians really be reborn?” Lu Meng felt puzzled.

There were records in ancient books stating that, for some reason,a small number of people whose blood meridians had been stripped or damaged were able to have their blood meridian reborn, growing a new blood meridian.

However, most blood meridians that were regrown were of low levels, which meant that they were not very useful.

But there was an even scarcer amount of people who would be able to rebuild themselves and awaken the ultimate blood meridians, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

However, the chance of this happening was close to zero. Based on early records, there were only a few cases of this happening since ancient times.

Lu Meng never even considered breaking through his past and awakening the ultimate blood meridian. After all, the chances of that happening was too slim. As long as he could awaken a blood meridian, he would be ecstatic.

With a blood meridian, he would be able to cultivate martial arts and change his own fate.

At that moment, the abnormality on his body slowly faded away. “Mother, I’m fine!” Lu Meng smiled.

“What are you doing? This is the Lord’s Residence, you can’t just barge in.”

Suddenly, a delicate voice could be heard shouting from the outside. Lu Meng could identify that it was the voice of Li Ping’s servant, Qiu Yue.

“Slap!”

“Scram!”

There was an unfriendly shout, followed by the sound of slapping. A gloomy looking youth promptly entered the room.

“My Lady, Young Master!” A girl around the age of sixteen entered the room as well. Her face was flushed and swollen, with a palmprint?on top. She was Qiu Yue.

“It’s you, Lu Chuan? What do you want?”

Lu Ming rose as he shouted coolly.

The visitor was called Lu Chuan, Lu Yao’s elder brother. He was sixteen, a year older than his sister.

A flash of astonishment darted across Lu Chuan’s eyes when he saw Lu Ming, as if he was surprised that Lu Meng was unexpectedly still alive. He then sneered, “Great timing, Lu Ming. My sister, Lu Yao, will be leading the Lu Family and moving into the Lord’s Residence. So, you guys are no longer entitled to live here anymore. Hurry and move.”

Li Peng’s face paled. Although she knew that this day would eventually come, she did not expect it to happen so soon.

“Lu Chuan, Ming’er is injured. We’ll move out after two days, when Ming’er recovers,” Li Ping smiled sadly.

“After two days? You’ll have to move out today. Do you think I don’t know you’re trying to drag out your stay here?”

Lu Chuan sneered.

“Today? But Ming’er is injured. It’s already so late into the day, let Ming’er rest for a night before moving!”

Li Ping pleaded.

“Rest? He can’t even awaken a blood meridian. What good will resting do for trash with blocked meridians? He might as well just die. Anyways, you guys have to leave today,” said Lu Chuan indifferently.

Phoebe zhennan is a type of large tree, common in certain areas of China.