Xiaoxiu is completely petrified at the news and cannot move a single step.

Li Xing jumps as he thunders, "Where is he? Lead the way now!"

A family has its disciplines as a state has its laws, and the penalty chamber is where the rule-breakers are punished in Li family. Inside the gloomy and dim chamber, Zhang Zhong is face down against the cold stone floor, motionless and breathless.

Next to him are the executioners - two burly, fierce-looking men. One of them casts a glance at Zhang's body and sneers, "This old chap, he can't even take a beating? A few kicks made him kick the bucket."

Another responds indifferently, "His old bones are worth nothing. Now he is dead, let's just bury him. I heard he has a pretty daughter. Maybe the two of us can take care of her someday."

Both have l.u.s.t in their smile. The penalty chamber is filled with heatless monsters like these and each of them has blood on their hands.

"Bang!"

The door of the penalty chamber is kicked open and there rushes in Li Xing. He comes over to Zhang Zhong immediately, tries to feel his breath, but finds out his body is already stone-cold. Li Xing's heart sinks, dumfounded.

Zhang Zhong had been a servant to Li Xing and his father for over 10 years. Li Xing is aware of what caused his death.

"I will try to save young Master's life even I have to risk my own!"

This loyal servant must have been begging other family members for help but somehow infuriated someone, which led him being sent to the penalty chamber. Flames of anger flashes in Li Xing's eyes. How could they be so cruel to someone from the same Li family?

As he slowly stands up, Li Xing turns to the two men who seem surprised and asks coldly, "You two killed him?"

In their eyes, Li Xing has been known for being a loser just like his alcohol-addle father. Hearing his ice-cold tone, one of the men laughs in contempt, "Yes, we killed him. Now what? Do you really think a good-for-nothing like you are still a master to us?"

Li Xing clenches his fists as he quickly inhales and exhales, trying to quench the fury in his chest.

He bends over slowly, picks up Zhang Zhong's body, and strides through the door, as he leaves his words mechanically, "All of you will pay for this!"

Li Xing's threat sends a chill down the two callous men's spine, leaving them speechless, but the murderous look still lingers in both men's eyes.

Li Xing brings Zhang Zhong back to Bamboo Garden. Xiaoxiu collapses over her father's dead body and bursts into tears.

The child servant who sent the news is named Li Hu. He knows Xiaoxiu and Li Xing both very well. Wiping away his tears, he says, "Uncle Zhang dies for trying to help young master. He kept begging the chieftain, but the chieftain wouldn't do anything, so Uncle Zhang talked back. He was dragged to the penalty chamber and had his limbs broken and his tongue cut off…"

Li Xing's face is stone-cold, without any feeling. He puts his hand on Xiaoxiu's shoulder and says in a low voice, "Xiaoxiu, I will avenge your father. Trust me!"

With her father's pa.s.sing, a young girl like Xiaoxiu suddenly has no one to depend upon. After hearing what Li Xing said, she throws herself into his arms and cries even harder.

"Dignity is earned by power; without power, one may even lose his life. Well, then I will try to be more powerful than anybody else!" Li Xing says to himself.

After selling whatever is valuable in the house, Li Xing arranges a funeral for Zhang Zhong. And after asking Li Hu to take care of Xiaoxiu, he shuts himself inside the stone cottage, leaving Xiaoxiu to send in his meals.

The first step of blood practicing is blood listening.

After seven days, Li Xing is able to feel the blood essence throughout his body; which is scattered everywhere and can't be converged to one place.

On the eighth day, Li Xing tries to concentrate the blood essence and pull it together.

For an ordinary man who starts at blood listening, it usually takes him two to three years to be able to control the blood essence. But it only takes Li Xing 10 days, as he is now able to pull the blood essence from all the directions to his abdomen.

The blood essence is a combination of one's blood and Qi and it carries dramatic power. Once getting it concentrated, Li Xing can feel his lower abdomen suddenly tightened and inflated and his entire body filled with strength. A cracking sound can be heard when he clenches his fists.

"Finally I'm able control my blood essence. The next step will be using this power to penetrate all the postnatal meridians in my body!" Li Xing cannot help but feel excited. And now his memory starts telling him to transport his blood essence and send it to every postnatal meridian.

There are three kinds of meridians in a human body: postnatal meridians, prenatal meridians and deific meridians, which will be penetrated when practicing blood, breath power and spirit respectively.

As Li Xing starts transporting blood and Qi, fine strands of energy rise from his abdomen and push through a pathway all the way to his right arm, which is the first step of this process: penetrating the meridians in his right arm.