Chapter 610: Reversing the Martial Path, Chen Yan and Ice Intent Merge; With This Power of Mine, Will the Eighth Rank Feel Pain?!

It was at this very moment.

Suddenly, sounds of surprise erupted among the crowd, and patterns began to emerge within the black mist covering everyone's bodies.

Jiang Yuan looked at his own chest, where five patterns were slowly condensing and appearing.

Beside him, four patterns emerged on the bodies of Xia Long and Shen Yiwu.

Someone exclaimed:

"The number of patterns on our bodies corresponds to how many martial paths we have cultivated."

Everyone checked the patterns on their own bodies and found it was indeed so.

Someone speculated, could the rewards of the Shang Gu Zhan Tai also differ based on the number of martial paths a martial artist has cultivated?

It was at this very moment.

Whoosh!

The calm surface of the lake changed abruptly, with surging waves layering upon one another, rushing violently toward the sky.

In an instant, these waves inverted, connecting and stacking upon each other, ultimately forming a giant staircase.

There were thirty-three steps in total.

The formation of the massive water staircase interrupted the commotion between the Great Xia and the Creation Realm experts of the Five Clans.

Everyone fell silent in unison, looking toward the water staircase.

It was at this very moment.

An ethereal female voice rang out:

"The Shang Gu Zhan Tai does not examine your individual martial path strength, but rather teaches you an ancient physical martial art: the Heavenly Dipper Body-Guarding Technique."

"It will help you comprehend the most fundamental essence of your own martial arts."

Soon, the woman's voice vanished.

The crowd trembled, and someone hurriedly spoke up:

"The Heavenly Dipper Body-Guarding Technique, that must be an incredibly terrifying martial art!"

"This is the Five Clans Struggle, how could it reward us with some trash martial art?"

"This Heavenly Dipper Body-Guarding Technique must be the truth of the physical body; we must learn it!"

The crowd was excited.

Even those in the Creation Realm would feel anticipation for the martial arts rewarded by the Five Clans Struggle.

Soon.

Someone stepped onto the platform.

Lu Jianxia was enveloped in black mist, with four patterns on her body.

When she stepped onto the first step, four pitch-black figures suddenly appeared beside her.

These four figures threw punches abruptly; the punches were fierce and swift, whistling with force, each straight punch carrying the momentum to split mountains and shatter rocks.

"Is this the Heavenly Dipper Body-Guarding Technique?"

Lu Jianxia frowned slightly and hurriedly engaged in battle.

At the same time, identical figures appeared before everyone else.

However, the number of figures that appeared corresponded to the number of martial paths they had cultivated.

Like Chen Mi and Jiang Yuan, who had cultivated five martial paths, they had to fight five phantom figures at the same time.

Above the massive staircase, the sounds of punches and kicks crashing echoed everywhere.

"All our martial paths have been sealed; we are just like ordinary people, it is very difficult to defeat these figures."

"What these figures are using is not martial arts at all; there is no force or method of circulating Qi and blood."

"This... could it really be the truth of the physical body?"

…………

Voices rang out one after another.

Everyone discovered that they were battling the figures.

Whether it was them or the figures, they could only use the simplest punches and kicks.

The key was that most people couldn't even win.

Everyone understood that what these figures were using was the 【Heavenly Dipper Body-Guarding Technique】.

Some began to learn from the figures, while others began to doubt.

Is the 【Heavenly Dipper Body-Guarding Technique】 truly powerful?

Even if they learned it, what would it matter?

This is not a hard-body martial art, but the most basic physical technique; even if learned, the boost to combat power is limited.

Meanwhile.

Within the void above the lake.

In a place where no one could see.

Amidst soft clouds and mist, a massive palace stood tall, with walls of white jade, tiles of tortoiseshell, and spiritual light like gauze.

Inside the main hall, a woman wearing a ten-colored immortal robe sat upon a throne.

A pair of eyes containing starlight seemed to pierce through the palace floor, seeing the Creation Realm martial artists battling on the platform.

"Martial arts have evolved so far, yet there are truly few who understand themselves."

"In the ancient era, there were no martial paths; to resist malice, humanity continuously excavated the potential of their own physical bodies."

"They survived within a world of malice with mortal bodies, creating the purest physical martial arts."

She murmured, and the voices of those questioning the 【Heavenly Dipper Body-Guarding Technique】 were naturally heard by her.

However, only those who truly understand certain secrets will place extreme importance on the 【Heavenly Dipper Body-Protecting Art】.

Combat does not rely solely on martial arts; it also relies on the physical body.

Mental power, horizontal refinement, and Qi and blood are all part of physical martial arts.

But, does anyone know what the true foundation of the physical body is?

It comes from your every punch and kick, your every strike.

The woman said this, continued to observe, and then was shocked.

"Huh, why have so many astonishing geniuses appeared in this Five-Clan Struggle?

Many people's willpower and aptitude far exceed those of the previous generation."

The woman was incomparably surprised:

"Could it be that the chaotic times have arrived again, and the situation of the world's great struggle has already been born?"

Her gaze seemed to pierce through the black mist on all the martial artists.

Finally, her gaze flashed over Chen Mi, Chen Changyuan, Shen Yiwei, Jiang Yuan, and Lu Jianxia.

It ultimately rested on Jiang Yuan and Lu Jianxia.

"These two have already surpassed the strongest of the previous tier."

She evaluated:

"Perhaps, these two are the only ones who can accept my inheritance."

It was also at this moment.

A voice suddenly came from behind the great hall.

"There is one more who hasn't come; you shall pass your inheritance to him."

This voice was extremely aged, yet carried endless domineering power.

The woman's eyes trembled, and a look of horror and disgust appeared in them; she subconsciously wanted to stand up.

But immediately, she pinched a hand seal, and streams of light were grasped into her palm.

A trace of surprise appeared in the woman's eyes:

"Chen Yan, breached three Level-3 domains, Great Xia Heavenly God General..."

She began to understand the information from the outside world, her brows furrowing:

"Why should I pass it to him? He has to fight against a Level-2 domain.

What is the difference between passing it to him and passing the Dao to a dead man?"

As she spoke, she looked toward a certain place.

Until she saw a young figure situated within the Counter-Fire Furnace.

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"Using the Counter-Fire to forge the physical body?"

Her eyes trembled.

Within her line of sight, the young man named Chen Yan was actually growing stronger at a rapid pace.

One after another, newly born True Dragon Dharma Images emerged behind him.

He was actually going to reach the peak of the Sixth Tier in such a short time.

"Can he not feel pain?" the woman exclaimed in surprise, seeing something that even she found inconceivable.

Forging the physical body with Counter-Fire is indeed possible.

But how many people can persist for even a single second?

Yet that person repeatedly entered the Counter-Fire, as if he didn't care about his life.

"He's crazy." The woman narrowed her eyes:

"Is he trying to reach the peak of the Sixth Tier of horizontal refinement in a single day?!"

It was also at this moment.

The aged voice sounded.

"How about it, pass him your martial arts."

The woman's expression turned cold:

"He is only at the peak of the Sixth Tier; do you think he can win a Level-2 domain battle?!"

…………

Time passed slowly.

One day later.

Shang Gu Zhan Tai, twentieth tier.

Lu Jianxia was panting heavily; the figure before her had already dissipated and vanished.

At this moment, Lu Jianxia was the first to arrive at the twentieth tier.

She looked behind her.

"Did he not come?"

She murmured; if Chen Yan had arrived, he would definitely have been the first.

Lu Jianxia shook her head, cleared her thoughts, and continued walking toward the higher tiers.

As for the nineteenth tier, there were still two people fighting there.

With a boom.

Jiang Yuan punched the shadow in front of him, blasting it apart.

"I'm fucking... truly a genius!" Jiang Yuan roared in a low voice.

What realm is he even in, and how old is he?

That he could lead ninety-nine percent of people on the Shang Gu Zhan Tai already proves his own talent.

Immediately, he looked around and also furrowed his brows:

"Did Chen Yan not come, or is it that Chen Yan is inferior to me?"

Jiang Yuan's brows lifted slightly.

At this moment, everyone was also discussing among themselves.

They were also searching, wanting to discover who Chen Yan was.

Someone spoke up:

"That person might not have come at all; he is about to die now, so naturally, he has no mood to come to this place."

The person speaking was clearly a Creation Realm cultivator of the Five Clans, and at this moment, he laughed out loud.

A Great Xia Creation Realm cultivator had anger in his eyes and was just about to rebuke him.

Boom!

A soft humming sound suddenly rang out, seemingly traversing time and space, floating around this place and stirring ripples in the lake water.

Some people showed surprise, but they did not hear it very clearly.

Everyone still quieted down.

Lu Jianxia, Chen Changyuan, Jiang Yuan, and others who were still climbing the battle platform also stood still calmly.

No one spoke, but their eyes all held a trace of disbelief.

They waited for a long time.

Time passed second by second.

"Is it an auditory hallucination?" someone asked strangely.

"I heard it too, everyone heard it, it shouldn't be an auditory hallucination," someone hurriedly denied.

"But after the first sound, why has the second sound not rung out for such a long time?" an old monster who had lived for thousands of years asked in surprise.

Everyone was now filled with doubt and suspicion.

Having reached their realm, they could naturally understand what it meant.

That sound just now was clearly the sound of breaking through a realm.

Breaking through a realm is a rare and extraordinary feat.

Ordinary people dare not imagine it, and even believe they could never achieve it themselves.

But in this human world, there is one person who has repeatedly broken through realms, shattering concepts.

The first person everyone thought of was Chen Yan.

However, after the first sound of breaking through a realm rang out, everyone waited for a long time but did not hear a second sound.

Everyone was surprised in unison, looking back and forth.

They did not know who had broken through their realm.

"Could it be that that person only broke through one realm?" someone asked in surprise:

"Is he that poor?"

A Great Xia Creation Realm cultivator sneered:

"May I ask if you have ever broken through a realm? Is even one time considered poor?"

The Great Xia Creation Realm cultivator said this, but his heart felt very heavy.

Who else could it be but Chen Yan if someone was able to break through a realm?

But if it were Chen Yan, and if he only broke through once...

Although, in the eyes of ordinary people, breaking through a realm already makes one an incredibly rare and extraordinary genius.

But that is Chen Yan.

And inside the Heavenly Gong Dian, the woman wearing a ten-colored fairy dress had flickering eyes, looking at a certain spot in disbelief.

"How is that possible?!"

…………

At the same time.

Inside the forging room.

Chen Yan sat cross-legged amidst the Inversion Fire, his entire body being scorched by the intense Inversion Fire.

Behind him, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine True Essence Dharma Images and nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine True Dragon Dharma Images surged.

The momentum was vast, with layers upon layers of force and the radiance of Qi and blood intertwining, as if building a brand-new world.

Chen Yan's whole body trembled, sweat beaded on his forehead, his face was deathly pale, and his eyes were wide open.

He sat cross-legged in the Inversion Fire, his hands held in a circle.

Between his hands, the phantom of a True Dragon Dharma Image and the phantom of a True Essence Dharma Image slowly condensed, actually presenting a peculiar phenomenon like a True Dragon spitting a pearl.

Just now, Chen Yan successfully broke his limits.

But it was by no means an ordinary limit break.

It was a dual limit break of physical tempering and Qi and blood!

At the moment of breaking the limit, the realm rules that had been solidified for ten thousand years and remained unmoved began to loosen.

Therefore, it created this current wondrous sight.

The True Essence and True Dragon Dharma Images merged into one!

The True Dragon represents physical tempering, unique unto itself, while True Essence represents Qi and blood, encompassing heaven and earth.

Two martial paths that were absolutely contradictory produced a trace of union under the loosened rules, and were forcibly merged together by Chen Yan.

But soon, this wondrous sight of the True Dragon spitting the pearl began to dissipate.

If not for Chen Yan exerting his utmost strength, this True Dragon Dharma Form and True Essence Dharma Form would have scattered long ago.

But the Dharma Form is merely a manifestation of Chen Yan's physical body.

Chen Yan's current physical body is also facing imminent collapse as his blood-Qi and Hardened Body repel each other.

Sss, sss, sss.

A bloodstain appeared from the center of Chen Yan's brow, extending upwards and downwards; blood began to spray from Chen Yan's nose tip and lips.

The punishment from the Rules came too quickly, warning Chen Yan to hold the Rules in awe.

"If Hardened Body and blood-Qi cannot merge, then Chen Yan and Ice Intent cannot merge!

I will never be able to become truly powerful!"

Chen Yan let out a low shout, his golden-red will erupting, his entire body bathed in brilliant light.

"Suppress for me!"

Rumble!

The terrifying power of his will suppressed his physical body, battling against the Rules.

The nascent Martial Dao was forcibly tearing apart the Rules.

At this moment, either his will would perish, or the Rules would be destroyed.

Chen Yan had been thinking about how to fuse the power of Ice Intent with his own power.

Could it be that Chen Yan only uses blood-Qi, or Ice Intent only uses Hardened Body?

If that were the case.

Would Chen Yan's strength have increased even a little?

Why not...

Merge Hardened Body and blood-Qi?

Just because others cannot do it does not mean the Master of Will cannot.

"Rules are meant to be broken!"

Crack, crack, crack!!!

Within Chen Yan's hands, that True Dragon and True Essence Dharma Form trembled crazily, the repulsive force growing ever stronger.

Across Chen Yan's entire body, bones shattered one by one, and flesh tore inch by inch.

If anyone else saw this, they would surely think Chen Yan had gone mad.

They would think Chen Yan does not respect blood-Qi, does not respect Hardened Body, and does not respect the Rules.

"Roar!!!"

Chen Yan let out a violent roar, which now rolled like thunder, carrying the might to destroy the world.

He did not compromise.

He discovered that, at a certain moment.

The True Essence Dharma Form and the True Dragon Dharma Form had truly combined, but the power of the Rules, stable for ten thousand years, forced these two Dharma Forms apart.

Above the lake.

Inside the magnificent palace.

The woman in the immortal dress frowned:

"What is he doing? He does not respect blood-Qi, he does not respect the Rules!"

Her expression was ugly, cold light almost shooting from her eyes; she stood up suddenly, but the next moment she sat back down.

At the very back of the palace.

Those aged eyes also looked at Chen Yan across the barriers of space, across mountains and seas.

"Courting death, that brat!"

His expression also turned unpleasant.

In ten thousand years of Martial Dao, there has never been an existence as crazy as Chen Yan.

He thinks highly of Chen Yan.

That does not mean he thinks Chen Yan's current behavior is good.

Below.

Above the massive lake.

As time slowly passed, everyone became more certain.

The breakthrough had already ended.

If it were someone else breaking through, perhaps a terrifying Eighth-Rank would be born.

If it were Chen Yan breaking through, then the people of the Five Clans would breathe a sigh of relief.

Within the Five Clans, no one wanted to see Chen Yan enter the Creation Realm and then continue to break his limits dozens of times in one go.

Breaking limits.

Breaking them once, and dozens of times at that.

How are other martial artists supposed to play?

Time is like water.

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Half an hour.

One hour!

…………

Two hours!

Shang Gu Zhan Tai, twenty-third level.

Boom!

Lu Jianxia kicked out, her long, shapely leg exploding the body of a phantom.

She stood quietly, looking into the distance.

On the other side of the lake, the greenery remained.

She was still the person who had climbed the highest.

After encountering the icy intent, Lu Jianxia gradually changed; that intense will was born because of one person, grew strong because of one person, and suffered because of one person.

She slowly shook her head and continued to climb toward the next level.

Yet at this very moment.

Dong!

A crisp yet heavy humming sound rang out once more.

Across the entire lake, an uproar erupted in an instant.

"It must be that person. What is he doing? Why has he lingered for so long between two breakthroughs?"

Someone exclaimed in astonishment:

"He actually held on for two hours!

Is he advancing his tempering, or is he advancing his Qi and blood?"

The crowd was incredibly stunned.

Breaking through a realm is like a tug-of-war: one must strike while the iron is hot, for the spirit wanes with the second attempt and is exhausted by the third.

Who could possibly maintain that initial momentum for two hours?

Chen Yan's previous breakthroughs had not been like this.

Atop the highest battle platform.

For some reason, a trace of a smile appeared on the corner of Lu Jianxia's mouth.

But the moment she noticed this trace of a smile herself, she trembled instantly.

In an instant, another wave of indescribable guilt and irritation coiled around her.

Time passed slowly just like that.

One hour later.

Dong!

The humming sound rang out!

Then.

Another forty minutes.

Dong!

Another thirty minutes passed.

Dong!

With every sound of a breakthrough, the interval of time grew shorter and shorter.

This left many people unable to make sense of it.

But within the palace high above the heavens.

The woman wearing a ten-colored immortal dress and the old man locked in the room were watching with uncertainty and suspicion.

Because, Chen Yan had succeeded.

Inside the forging room.

Behind Chen Yan, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine True Essence Dharma Images and True Dragon Dharma Images surged and swirled.

But in front of Chen Yan, four True Dragon Dharma Images spitting True Essence appeared.

These were the four True Essence Dharma Images and True Dragon Dharma Images born from Chen Yan's breakthrough.

Under Chen Yan's struggle, these True Essence Dharma Images and True Dragon Dharma Images established a connection where the rules were weak, thereby giving birth to new rules.

This also caused Chen Yan's subsequent breakthroughs to become no longer as difficult as they were at the beginning.

The True Dragon spitting a pearl was merely a visualization.

What truly changed was Chen Yan's physical body.

At Chen Yan's dantian, physical force and Qi and blood intertwined and fused, forming a new power.

A faint golden radiance radiated from Chen Yan's dantian, incredibly bright.

Following the flow of this golden radiance, it gathered in Chen Yan's right hand.

It contained both force and Qi and blood!

This day.

Chen Yan changed the inherent martial path of ten thousand years!

Feeling this incredibly heavy and dense new power, it seemed as if stars were being born within Chen Yan's weary eyes.

"I just don't know if this power of mine will hurt when hitting an eighth-rank."