Chapter 2308: Deceiving Heaven

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Some say martial arts originated from military strategy. This is because the character for "wu" (martial) literally depicts a person holding a spear. Martial artists probably wouldn't deny this point. The earliest martial artists indeed came from the army. Exactly who or which individuals began it first is unknown, as martial arts were silent for a very long time. Those earliest explorers of martial arts were likely some unknown low-ranking soldiers who didn't even consider it a path.

Ancient military families used methods like forcing qi and blood through meridians, during an era when open-meridian elixirs hadn't yet appeared. Using a method with a ten-thousand-to-one survival rate, they created a path for cultivation. Those born with "dao meridians" were truly few and far between.

Among these were some who considered themselves demons, disdaining humanity. They were aware that they were of a different species than ordinary humans who couldn't achieve extraordinary feats. Although the Demon Race Heavenly Court also looked down upon these individuals, they still put up a facade of command and bestowed upon them some optional positions and a bit of glory, using them to consolidate their rule.

Ancient military families chose to suppress the flesh body, suppress qi and blood, and at the brink of life and death, within the limits of the flesh body and will, seize power that could transcend the mortal body. This was the earliest form of resistance from those not born with "dao meridians," also known as "ordinary ones" or "mortals."

Military families' battle formations were also used for the collection and utilization of qi and blood, and dao yuan. The essence was "gathering people into a crowd," "gathering a crowd to gather force."

However, the cultivation methods of military families were still within the framework of the "dao" that originated from ancient times. Military family cultivators still cultivated dao yuan. Qi and blood were merely the means of pushing through meridians in ancient times, later becoming the first ring of condensed "soldier evil."

Martial arts then branched off from here, separating from military cultivation. Martial arts cultivate qi and blood!

Military cultivation fills the spine with dao yuan, ultimately seeking to soar like a dragon and depart, roaming the four seas. Martial cultivation refines the spine with qi and blood, propping up the spine as a heavenly ladder, climbing step by step to look far into the distance.

"Dao yuan" is the beginning of the dao, "qi and blood" is the initial stage of martial arts.

"Dao" is a towering tree. Since ancient times, its branches have been prosperous and leaves lush. The cultivation methods of military families are a vigorous branch within it. The present-day Dao Sect and Confucian School are also like this.

"Martial arts" is yet another towering tree!

Of course, during the era of the various saints when a hundred schools flourished, they weren't always confined to the "dao." Military methods, Mohism, even branches of Daoism and Confucianism, could also open branches and scatter leaves, blooming and bearing fruit on the foundation of martial arts.

For example, Wu Xun was a grandmaster of military methods, yet he walked the path of a martial artist. It's just that back then, martial arts couldn't be fully developed. The path ahead was deeply obstructed, and it was unknown whether it even existed. Not many people were willing to expend effort and invest in it.

The path of dao and the road of martial arts are more like two different soils. Every kind of thought within them ties its own seeds and sends forth its own buds.

In the Central Plains, there is a country named Wei.

In the country of Wei, there is a city called Ye Wang.

The bloody history, perhaps, will always be scattered by time. The spring rain falls again, and the spring grass grows again.

In this country, no longer paid much attention by people, in this city, also not much remembered, within a dilapidated courtyard, a silent old man placed a thorny branch behind him. On his face, crisscrossed with scars, he squeezed out a very fearsome smile and also gently lowered his hoarse voice: "Don't be nervous."

He said, "Lu Ye, the quality of this open-meridian elixir is very ordinary, not even worth much money. Even if you fail to open your meridians, it's no big deal. At most, this old man will work hard to earn it again. Although your sickly dad died early, and those uncles of yours are all gone, I can still fight for a few more years with this old life."

Standing in the courtyard, the youth who was pushing a stone mill sighed helplessly, "Grandpa Wei, you don't need to put pressure on me, I can definitely succeed."

The old man still looked at him: "It's okay, your origin isn't good, your master's inheritance isn't good, the cultivation technique isn't good, and the elixir isn't good. Just get by, child, don't force yourself. It's okay if you can't avenge your enemies in this lifetime."

Lu Ye didn't speak. With a single palm, he stopped the rumbling stone mill. He was bare-chested, his body covered in numerous scars. His young flesh was full of old marks. At this moment, his body, forged a thousand times and refined a hundred times, was taut and relaxed, seemingly breathing. His muscles bulged and fell, appearing as if a hundred small dragons were swimming under his skin.

He closed his eyes and began to feel the medicinal power of the open-meridian elixir. Although he had suffered hardships since childhood and seen the world's difficulties early on, his vision was not low. After slightly feeling the medicinal power, he knew this open-meridian elixir was not ordinary and couldn't have been obtained by Grandpa Wei. It was possibly related to that uncle surnamed "Yi" who came home to visit recently.

His will was like a mill, grinding away all distracting thoughts. Lu Ye cleared his spiritual platform, focusing on the beginning of his extraordinary path. He muttered words under his breath:

"Four limbs and a hundred bones gather in the middle court, rivers and mountains enjoy the presence of noble people. Heaven has illness, immortals do not know! Hate merit and fame, cure the old and thin."

The most thorough research on the flesh body in the world is either martial arts or medicine. Having learned medicine and then martial arts since childhood, his control over his own flesh body was extremely deep. With a single thought, the various meridians submitted, like dragons bowing to Yuan Hong. He stood in the old dragon stance, pushed the sick donkey mill, doing so for fifteen years, cultivating a body of good muscles and bones.

Without any distracting thoughts in his heart, he only focused on adjusting and taking the medicinal power, dividing and suppressing it in six directions. Then he urged his qi and blood, patrolling the eight meridians, finally like all rivers returning to the sea, converging into the great dragon of the human body.

"What do you feel?" the old man asked.

"Qi," Lu Ye said with his eyes closed. "Qi is in the dantian."

"Dantian?" the old man surnamed Wei frowned.

"It's the lower abdomen," Lu Ye said.

"Ah!" The old man surnamed Wei became anxious: "Martial arts begins with refining the spine from qi and blood. How did your 'qi' run to the lower abdomen?"

Lu Ye said naturally, "Qi is above and blood is below, so we need to sink the qi and float the blood, like a dragon and tiger contending, mutually refining each other to strengthen the body. The nascent qi is very weak, like a thin candle that can't withstand the wind. It must be nurtured in the human palace, like a furnace hiding the elixir fire. Nurture the mother qi in the lower abdomen and refine the blood spine with the child qi. This way, the effect of refining the spine will be better. Qi is like a seedling planted on the field ridge, waiting for autumn harvest to ripen and form the true martial arts elixir. This lower abdomen, might it not be the 'dantian'?"

The old man surnamed Wei listened in a daze because what Lu Ye said was a martial principle he had never heard before. Now everyone was exploring upwards, seeking the limits of martial arts, but Lu Ye was just beginning, just changing the starting point! He couldn't judge whether this was good or bad, so he just asked, "You... how did you figure this out?"

Lu Ye was startled, "I don't know either." He was still carefully perceiving the changes in his body. "Just as I was opening my meridians and cultivating qi, I was momentarily absent-minded and suddenly had this thought. So I just did it."

This sounded like an interaction between heaven and earth, a stroke of fortune that came to mind. The old man surnamed Wei could hardly hide his shock: "In that absent-minded moment, did you see anything?"

Lu Ye shook his head.

The old man surnamed Wei muttered in a stunned voice, "Just now... what major event happened?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it's not important either." Lu Ye opened his eyes. After his bright gaze receded, it was still the youth's firmness: "I only know that my martial path - just begins like this."

The old man blankly looked at the distant sky. Apart from the bolt of lightning that tore open the sky dome and gradually disappeared, he saw nothing else.

Wang Xiao opened the path, and all martial artists in the world benefited, and the martial artists of the world also benefited him. With his bare hands and empty fists, he stepped onto the martial path, opening a lost path of ten thousand ages with one punch, grinding away the sorrow of a hundred generations with one punch.

The merit was achieved by him, yet accumulated from the flood of ancient times to the present. He had already climbed the absolute peak of martial arts, standing at the pinnacle of the present world, representing martial arts, being the first to touch the limits of the present world, shoulder to shoulder with other True Monarchs. But this was not his endpoint.

Opening a path has great merit! The martial arts path, this towering tree, is even more a merit not easily achieved in the ten thousand worlds.

At the moment he stood firmly on the absolute peak, without any action, the entire desolate martial arts world already showed signs of sweet rain and spring wind, its vitality surging endlessly. Furthermore, a flag of profound yellow descended from the heavens, recruiting ten thousand qing of fortune clouds, vast and boundless, displayed high in the sky. At the center of the flag's surface was a character, heroic and upright, gathering dao intent - "wu" (martial).

The profound yellow merit qi actually formed a flag, and the fortune clouds actually amounted to ten thousand qing! Wang Xiao's flesh body, which had suffered extremely heavy damage during the process of ascending to the peak, had already swallowed the primal force of heaven and earth at the moment of reaching the peak, returning to its entirety, and had climbed to the absolute peak. But at this very moment, it was still condensing, still rising.

He made martial arts a real existence, reaching the absolute pinnacle of heaven. The merit of martial arts wanted to push him to transcend. Ten thousand qing of fortune clouds held up his absolute peak martial arts, wanting to send him to transcend all things in this world, to achieve the first Venerable Eternal of martial arts.

But at the same time, in this half-virtual, half-real martial arts world, another mountain suddenly rose. This mountain seemed both black and white, like a dragon and a tiger. Looked at from different angles and different times, it had different manifestations. When it first appeared, it was still very low, yet it seemed to have moved the foundation of martial arts, shaking the entire martial arts world. Suddenly, it became vigorous, one thought, a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang, even boundless! When it climbed to the absolute peak of this world, the entire martial arts world was suddenly covered by a layer of dim shadow.

Are there still martial arts grandmasters in the world? They shouldn't be seen in the human realm!

Shu Wei Jun, Wu Xun, Cao Yu Xian, and Ji Jing Lu, the four martial arts grandmasters standing on the twenty-sixth layer of heaven on the high peak of martial arts, turned their heads almost simultaneously. Having witnessed Wang Xiao's ascent to the peak, these grandmasters who originally stood at the highest point of martial arts also saw the road to the absolute peak of martial arts. However, limited by the damage to their origins suffered while supporting Wang Xiao, they were unable to take the last step immediately. But as long as their lifespan was sufficient and their origins were replenished, that step was just a matter of time.

However, at this time, they suddenly encountered startling changes, one more serious than the last. They saw that on the towering high peak that reached directly to the sky, several majestic figures appeared extremely abruptly, each with a qi flame rushing to the sky, their might boundless.

The first figure was nine chi tall, with a slender build, harmonious eyebrows and eyes, and a compassionate qi. Under his high collar, one could vaguely see Asura war patterns. With this monarch's physique, he should be considered slender and weak among the Asuras. But no one could ignore his existence, and no existence could avoid his eyes. He gazed at you compassionately, as if witnessing you from imminent death, tracing back to a fresh, bright new birth. Your entire life passed before his eyes, and this was not something worth mentioning. Ten thousand things were like specks of dust!

Shu Wei Jun's already grave old expression became even more sunken and diminished: "Shan Tan!"

The name Shan Tan is known to everyone in the Yu Abyss. For the disciples of the Mohist school, the impression is even deeper. This is because the former Mohist giant, Rao Xian Sun, was personally killed by him. This Venerable is the first monarch of the Asura country! But he... doesn't cultivate martial arts, does he?

Why could a strong Asura race expert who cultivates dao yuan break through the heavenly dao barrier as a martial arts grandmaster, and come to the breaking through of the martial arts world while challenging the eternal natural moat? This martial arts world is transformed by martial intent, where dao traces exist and true thoughts are entrusted. It is directly entrusted to the origin of the present world, touching the fundamentals of the world.

Theoretically, only those who have reached the limits of martial arts can manifest their name, and only those whose martial arts have reached the peak can stand here. After Wang Xiao opened the martial path, it is even more impossible for anyone who hasn't reached the absolute peak of martial arts to prove their existence here! How could Shan Tan, this Asura monarch who has no relation to martial arts, penetrate the barriers of the present world, cross the barriers of martial arts, and descend here at this time?

And it's not just Shan Tan. This black and white changing martial peak is not supported by only one figure. Cao Yu Xian held his bow like a ritual spear, lifting his eyes to look far. He saw that on the martial peak that suddenly rose, beside the Asura monarch Shan Tan, there was a figure of extreme nobility. This monarch's heavenly court was full, and his earthly cabinet was square and round. He was born with prestige, noble beyond description. He wore a twelve-phoenix flat heaven crown, draped an eight-wilderness imperial robe, and stepped on six-directional emperor boots. His eyes swallowed ten thousand realms, mastering heaven and earth. Horrifyingly, he was one of the supreme emperor demons of the Demon Race! The holder of the "Zhi Zun Lu Ji Di Mo Gong," one of the eight great demon merits!

Jing country's biggest responsibility is in the border wilderness. As the holder of the Shoot Voice Mansion, one of the thirteen military mansions of Jing country, Cao Yu Xian understood the terror of the emperor demon monarch too well. Not to mention that his origin had already been damaged in the process of supporting Wang Xiao's ascent to the peak, even in his own peak state, it would be impossible for him to withstand a single strike from the emperor demon monarch. Even if he were to ascend to the absolute peak of martial arts at this moment, he would have no confidence in confronting the emperor demon monarch.

Why could an existence like the emperor demon monarch appear together with the Asura monarch Shan Tan? He is even less of a martial arts cultivator. Why could he also descend into the martial arts world?

The expression of the wealthy and noble prince Ji Jing Lu was even more solemn, because he saw a pair of eyes, flashing with seven-colored flowing light, beside the emperor demon monarch. They seemed to have emerged from the endless dark sea, gazing greedily at the human world. The widely known Emperor Lord without fault... Zhan Shou!

"The Maze World is already sealed, you all have retreated to the vast sea. Zhan Shou, why aren't you properly licking your wounds and stirring up trouble here instead?" Ji Jing Lu asked in a deep voice.

Asura race, Demon race, and the derived dao powerhouses of the Sea race simultaneously descended upon this world, all ascending the martial peak. Although it was unknown how they bypassed all those barriers that were originally insurmountable, the fact had already happened at this moment. Ji Jing Lu needed to think about how to face it.

However, with the extraordinary not yet making a move, and martial arts just opening now, in this martial arts world that non-martial arts absolute peaks cannot reach, how could they withstand such opponents? How could they stop Zhan Shou's scheme? His outburst was just to probe for some information, to seek a possibility for a breakthrough.

But Zhan Shou just looked at him quietly, without saying a word. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked towards Wang Xiao.

Wu Xun held his spear horizontally in front of him, his gaze scanning that martial peak. Finally, amidst the majesty and danger, behind the three races' derived dao powerhouses, he saw a fourth figure. That was a thin, small figure, seemingly unable to withstand the wind. He was both hidden and present, yet truly existed.

At this moment, all problems seemed to have an answer. "'Bully Heaven'... Mi Zhi Ben!" Wu Xun gritted his teeth, deeply feeling the severity of the problem.

The heavenly demon Mi Zhi Ben was known as "Bully Heaven." With his assistance, the four races' derived dao powerhouses could penetrate the barriers of the present world, cross the barriers of martial arts, and manifest as "martial artists" in the martial arts world to raise a martial peak. This was likely not impossible. Although Wu Xun still didn't understand how it was done, the three words Mi Zhi Ben naturally equaled possibility.

Now, they needed to face this already realized possibility. Very clearly, Wang Xiao, who was about to achieve eternal martial arts, was the target of these absolute peak powerhouses from different races working together. These heterogenous race absolute peaks, bullying heaven, wanted to stop Wang Xiao from achieving the extraordinary in a situation where the extraordinary wasn't making a move, and within a temporarily sealed martial arts world. They even wanted to wipe out Wang Xiao's existence.

Let its path exist, while executing the one who opened the path.