"Son." A voice came from the yard, revealing a middle-aged man whose tall figure and powerful aura bore some resemblance to Li Xiaoyao.

"Father." The man was Li Kai, the head of the Li family and Li Xiaoyao's father. The fusion of their souls allowed Li Xiaoyao to possess the thoughts of both, making the address of "father" feel entirely natural, without any sense of wrongness.

"Son, you... are well!" Li Kai's facial lines trembled. When Li Xiaoyao was brought back to the Li family, he was on the verge of death, barely clinging to life, and Li Kai had almost given up hope, even beginning to prepare for his son's funeral. But now, he saw his living son standing before him. How could he not feel joy?

"Yes, father, I have fully recovered." Seeing his father's excited expression, Li Xiaoyao smiled slightly, feeling a warmth he had never experienced since his grandfather's death. After facing the coldness of human relationships alone, he was grateful for this familial warmth.

"Good, good, very good." Li Kai clapped a heavy hand on Li Xiaoyao's shoulder, his eyes flashing with light as he looked at the stone column that had turned to dust. His brothers had been waiting for him to die so they could seize the position of family head; now, they must be greatly disappointed that his son had recovered so quickly.

Just then, a chilling aura suddenly emanated from Li Kai, causing Li Xiaoyao to feel as if his body was freezing.

"Father, as expected of a Spirit Martial Realm expert, even your aura can freeze weaker martial artists." Li Xiaoyao thought to himself. The martial path begins with the Qi Martial Realm, where one draws in the world's vitality to refine the body and temper the martial spirit, leading to the birth of true energy and entering the Spirit Martial Realm, allowing the mastery of divine techniques to kill with a single strike. Li Kai was indeed a strong Spirit Martial Realm expert.

"Son, who did this?" Li Kai's face darkened. When Li Xiaoyao was brought back, he was in critical condition; someone had clearly sought his son's life, and indeed, they had taken the life of 'Li Xiaoyao.'

"Father, let me handle this myself." Li Xiaoyao chose not to tell Li Kai that he had been injured by his cousin Li Heng, as his uncle and elder brother were colluding and eyeing the family head position. They were not weaker than Li Kai in terms of strength and influence, and with Li Heng's remarkable talent as an outer sect disciple of Yunhai Sect, he dared to act recklessly and injure Li Xiaoyao.

This grudge, Li Xiaoyao felt, must be avenged by himself. In the martial world, there was no room for any doubts or weaknesses; any mental demons would hinder a martial artist's growth.

Li Kai looked at his son in surprise. The current Li Xiaoyao, with a resolute gaze, had shed all signs of past weakness and despair.

It seemed that this time, the boy had turned misfortune into fortune. Li Kai felt a sense of comfort and nodded, saying, "Tomorrow, join me for the clan meeting. I want to see how they plan to dispose of me as clan leader."

The night was as lonely as water.

In the Li family's purple bamboo forest, Li Xiaoyao sat cross-legged on the ground, a dark shadow behind him, blending almost entirely into the night; this shadow was his dark martial spirit.

While practicing, Li Xiaoyao discovered that using his dark martial spirit increased his training speed by more than five times. Therefore, regardless of his mental fatigue, he continued to use his martial spirit. Since heaven had given him a chance at rebirth, he intended to live well. In the land of Shenzhou, only the strong were respected, admired, and capable of commanding the wind and rain.

A faint milky white light glowed in the dark night, surrounding Li Xiaoyao's body. This phenomenon occurred when the vitality of heaven and earth gathered to a certain extent.

Gifted warriors could attract the vitality of heaven and earth around themselves, forming a halo. At that moment, Li Xiaoyao was clearly in such a state.

He breathed steadily, his expression calm and peaceful, while the vitality of heaven and earth flowed within him, merging into his blood and strengthening his muscles.

After a long while, a burst of light flickered, and Li Xiaoyao's body suddenly transformed into a bottomless pit, instantly devouring the surrounding milky white vitality clean.

Opening his eyes, a glimmer flashed, like a fleeting shadow, and Li Xiaoyao stood up, a smile forming on his lips—he had broken through, advancing a level in one night. Now, he had reached the sixth level of the Qi Martial Realm.

However, Li Xiaoyao was not satisfied. From his memories, he knew that the ninth level of the Qi Martial Realm was just the beginning for martial artists. True world-class experts could soar through the skies, drifting above the clouds—a state that seemed reserved for divine beings in his previous life.

With this thought, Li Xiaoyao began to unleash his fists. The wind from his punches howled, and the bamboo exploded under his power, creating waves of destructive space that rippled through the purple bamboo forest.

The Qi Martial Realm had nine levels, and with each level, a martial artist gained a thousand pounds of strength. Now at the sixth level, he possessed six thousand pounds of force. If he used the already cultivated sixth level of the Nine Wave Technique, he could unleash six thousand five hundred pounds of strength. However, Li Xiaoyao felt this was still insufficient. If he could advance the Nine Wave Technique to the seventh level, each wave would be more powerful, granting him the strength equivalent to a seventh-level Qi Martial Realm warrior.

With over six thousand pounds of force, the fragile purple bamboo continued to shatter, turning the entire space into a sea of turbulence, filled only with the howling wind and shadows of his punches.

Just then, a curved piece of bamboo in the distance did not shatter in the gale but instead bent backward, catching Li Xiaoyao's attention and causing him to slow his strikes.

"The Nine Wave Technique is derived from the tides of the sea, each wave stronger than the last—ferocious and powerful. However, as a wave, it must also possess a softer aspect. Only by balancing strength and gentleness can one truly move forward."

A flash of insight struck Li Xiaoyao's mind, and he adjusted his punches, shifting from pure ferocity to a gradual blend of strength and softness.

"Ha!" Li Xiaoyao shouted and threw a punch.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The sound of explosions erupted in succession—six explosions, seven explosions... eight explosions!

Wherever the punch wind passed, the purple bamboo turned to dust.

"Eight Waves, so powerful." Li Xiaoyao saw the vacuum ahead and took a deep breath, stopping his strikes. He had grasped the essence of the Nine Wave Technique, managing to breakthrough two levels to reach the eighth wave. It was known that mastering martial techniques became increasingly difficult in later stages. While a fifth-level Qi Martial Realm warrior could easily comprehend the Fifth Wave, an eighth-level warrior might not even be able to execute the Eighth Wave. Yet, Li Xiaoyao had accomplished it.

"Now I should possess around seven thousand five hundred pounds of strength. Once I master the balance of strength and softness, I'll have fully realized the Nine Wave Technique." Li Xiaoyao felt a surge of joy in his heart. Mastering martial techniques became progressively harder, but their power increased exponentially. With his current strength of seven thousand five hundred pounds, he could even stand his ground against a seventh-level Qi Martial Realm warrior.

Previously, Li Xiaoyao couldn't even defeat an average fifth-level Qi Martial Realm warrior, facing disdain from others. But now, he had crossed two realms in just one day in this world, achieving the battle power of a seventh-level Qi Martial Realm warrior.