Chapter 898: The Human Clan Schools

"Hmm?"

Xia Zhiyang's words left Chen Fazheng standing frozen on the spot.

He slowly turned to look at Xia Zhiyang, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks, his snow-white beard bristling, his face etched with disbelief.

"What are you saying?"

"What I said, you didn't hear clearly?" A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Xia Zhiyang's mouth.

Chen Fazheng frowned and waited for a moment.

The Master of Blood and Qi actually did not speak.

"You really didn't hear clearly?" Xia Zhiyang asked in surprise.

"Otherwise?" Chen Fazheng stared fixedly at Xia Zhiyang:

"The Master of Blood and Qi had better repeat that last sentence."

Xia Zhiyang gazed at Chen Fazheng, a playful expression appearing at the corners of his mouth at this moment.

He just liked this expression of Chen Fazheng's, someone who had never seen the world.

"You have perhaps stayed at the bottom of the well for too long." The Master of Blood and Qi stood with his hands behind his back, his robes and the ripples of the water creating a charming contrast, his expression calm and unruffled:

"During the Five Clans Conflict, Chen Yan fused the Path of Blood and Qi with the Path of Hard Tempering, merging the two paths into one."

Chen Fazheng's eyelids twitched violently; at this moment, he actually did not pay any mind to Xia Zhiyang's mockery.

"What thing?" Chen Fazheng asked in a deep voice.

"The True Martial Path; in the entire human world, only Chen Yan practices it. The characteristic of the True Martial Path is that one possesses the aura of life and death upon reaching the Creation Realm."

Chen Fazheng's breathing stopped abruptly, and the space and time around him seemed to stagnate due to his shock:

"You mean Chen Yan has always been in the Creation Realm of the True Martial Path?"

"Mm."

Xia Zhiyang looked out into the distance toward the other side of the Evil Realm:

"He did the thing the Master of Xia hates the most, but I like it."

A smile appeared at the corners of Xia Zhiyang's mouth.

He was not opposed to Chen Yan fusing Hard Tempering and Blood and Qi.

Because the philosophy of the True Martial Path is that the Path of Blood and Qi encompasses the Path of Hard Tempering.

Blood and Qi is the father of Hard Tempering.

As for Chen Fazheng, he was currently plunged into deep shock.

He understood.

He suddenly understood why both Xia Zhiyang and the Master of Xia would come in person to secure the Imperial Fruit for Chen Yan.

He had thought Chen Yan was being controlled by the Master of Xia.

But looking at it now.

That was not the case.

Chen Yan was actually a Master of the Martial Path!

No.

Not a Master of the Martial Path; Blood and Qi and Hard Tempering already existed.

But Chen Yan fused Blood and Qi and Hard Tempering to create the True Martial Path.

His achievement could already be vaguely compared to a Master of the Martial Path.

The sudden influx of information into Chen Fazheng's mind left him unable to compose himself for a moment.

"In the human world, are there any other practitioners of the True Martial Path?" Chen Fazheng asked.

"No." Xia Zhiyang sighed.

"That... is also normal, after all, it has only just appeared." Chen Fazheng took a deep breath.

"It is not normal." Xia Zhiyang glanced at Chen Fazheng:

"The True Martial Path requires the fusion of one's own universe of the two paths of Blood and Qi and Hard Tempering."

"Hmm?" Chen Fazheng was stunned:

"Isn't that courting death?"

Xia Zhiyang looked at Chen Fazheng with quite a bit of pity.

"Not only must one fuse them, but one must also self-destruct to achieve reincarnation and obtain the aura of life and death.

Advancing to the Eighth Rank only requires achieving one's own universe's reincarnation once.

But Chen Yan's nine-layered True Martial Path universe fused nine times and reincarnated nine times!"

Chen Fazheng was dumbfounded and slowly opened his mouth.

He felt as if he were listening to a heavenly book.

"The True Martial Path cannot be spread, not because it appeared too late, but because others simply cannot practice it."

Xia Zhiyang said softly.

Chen Fazheng was already silent.

He now had only one question.

That was why Chen Yan was still alive.

He understood.

He understood why the Master of Chen could have killed Chen Yan but did not.

Chen Yan was a treasure of the human race.

If he couldn't compare to a Master of the Martial Path, he was close enough.

Such a person could die at the hands of an ancient divine beast, or die at the hands of an ancient god.

But if they die at the hands of their own human race.

Then the human who killed them is an eternal sinner.

Of course, Chen Fazheng is that sinner.

Because he caused the death of the Master of True Meaning.

He doesn't quite count either; although the Master of True Meaning died, he was reincarnated as Xuan Yi.

It is also impossible for him to truly and completely eradicate the Master of Martial Dao.

The tremors in his heart grew heavier and heavier; for a moment, Chen Fazheng could not speak at all.

"Hahaha!"

Xia Zhiyang, however, laughed out loud.

He had not felt this hearty in a long time.

That young man who fought side by side with Xue Qi in the college entrance examination secret realm.

That young man who crossed the ice river and denied the Xia Lord.

Today, having crossed mountain after mountain, sea after sea, he is going to fight side by side with him.

The Xia Lord will never be able to understand Xia Zhiyang's feelings.

In Xia Zhiyang's heart, Chen Yan is not a disciple, nor a junior.

He is a soulmate, a comrade-in-arms.

A soulmate who arrived late, separated by ten thousand years of time.

Yet, at this very moment.

The Evil Realm.

Above the firmament occupied by endless darkness and chaos, countless incandescent cracks spanning ten million miles suddenly tore open.

This phenomenon appeared simultaneously throughout the entire Evil Realm.

It caused countless Tainted-Blood humans to look up and gaze.

"What is that?"

"Such a profound aura, such a mysterious aura!"

"I think I heard the truth!"

In countless village-level Pure Lands, town-level Pure Lands, prefecture-level Pure Lands, and even in every Daoist Mansion.

Figures with powerful auras opened their eyes and looked toward the firmament.

Above that Empyrean Heaven.

Like the heavens opening an angry eye, the cracks spewed out endless morning light, each wisp like a black dragon shedding its scales, falling toward the earth with a pressure capable of crushing stars.

Morning light of heaven and earth!

Brilliant and dazzling.

But it is different.

It is different from every previous phenomenon of an Eighth-Rank ascension.

The first True Martial Dao martial artist in history to ascend to the Eighth Rank.

Unprecedented!

The heavens and earth celebrate together!

Xuan Yi Daoist Mansion.

A tall, fat man in white robes looked up, his brows gradually furrowing:

"Ascending to the Eighth Rank?"

"No, it's not the Eighth Rank."

He squinted his eyes, staring intently, a terrifying guess in his heart, yet he was unwilling to believe it.

…………

Qingwu Daoist Mansion.

Ruan Qingwu, wearing a mask, looked toward the Empyrean Heaven.

"A supreme powerhouse is born; is it the Ninth Rank? Is it Xuan Yi?

Or is it Lord Wuhen? Has one of them obtained the Soul of the Life Chapter?"

The next moment.

Hum!

The Sound of Great Xi resounded over the entire Sea of Malice.

The stars across the entire firmament suddenly broke away from their trajectories, as if dragged down by an invisible hand, transforming into a meteor shower that circled around.

Where the morning light swept past, space appeared eerily frozen, time flowed backward, and rules were distorted.

Inside a massive Daoist Mansion wrapped in ink-colored light.

It was empty; darkness occupied all the buildings and the ground.

Ink light steamed upward, transforming into a man wearing ink-colored robes.

The man in ink-colored robes cast his gaze toward the Empyrean Heaven.

"The stars are inverted, time and space are kneeling in submission!

Is this the phenomenon that only occurs upon ascending to the Ninth Rank?

Who is it?

Lord Wuhen or Xuan Yi?"

"No, their rankings haven't changed at all, what changed is..."

The ink-robed man's gaze was cast toward another world.

That was the Gray Fog World created by 【Unity】.

At this moment, inside the Gray Fog World.

Above the fifty stone seats, many figures slowly turned their heads, looking toward the seat that was originally the thirty-seventh.

On that stone seat, a figure flickered.

The next moment, the figure that was originally in the thirty-seventh seat arrived at the thirty-sixth seat.

"It's him again."

The ink-robed man spoke in a deep voice:

"Who is he? When Bai Wuseng died, his seat did not change, but he appeared suddenly and is growing stronger rapidly in a short period of time."

Gray Fog World.

Except for the two figures at the very top, all the other figures had gazed at the other seats.

They did not know who the others were.

But at this moment, no one knew how many people felt a sense of shock in their hearts.

It was as if they had seen an inconceivable existence.

Growing stronger at a rapid pace.

Yu Province.

Inside the Enlightenment Myriad Forms Map.

Amidst a fairyland shrouded in clouds and mist, green peaks were like dark eyebrows, clear water rippled, exotic flowers and jade herbs shone everywhere, and spiritual energy condensed into gauze.

The Yu Master sat cross-legged on the mountain peak, his massive figure wrapped in a black robe.

Below the mountain, Zhang Huizhi sat cross-legged, with complex array patterns emerging on his physical body.

"You might as well just copy the protective patterns my Yu Clan laboratory designed for you.

Why bother modifying them yourself?"

The Yu Master spoke:

"After the protective patterns are finished, I will also impart to you the True Intent Path."

Zhang Huizhi opened his eyes, the array patterns on his body circulating and colliding, actually producing sparks.

"Failed," the Yu Master said in a low voice.

"Failed, then I shall start over." Zhang Huizhi closed his eyes.

"How does it look like you are the one about to die, rather than me?" The Yu Master chuckled:

"Come over, I will talk with you for a while; I am not in a hurry, what are you rushing for?"

Zhang Huizhi opened and closed his eyes, looked at the Yu Master, nodded, and sat beside the Yu Master.

"This Enlightenment Myriad Forms Map is a supreme treasure; the flow of time is six times that of the outside world, which is not bad.

Such a fairyland is rare in the human world.

Those Longevity Seekers would be envious to death."

Two red lights flickered under the Yu Master's hood.

His gaze saw a high mountain in the distant reaches:

"A hero is one who possesses great ambition, has excellent strategies in his heart, has the capacity to contain the universe, and the will to swallow heaven and earth!

In this world of ours, there are many heroes, each and every one of them deep in schemes.

Traversing the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, they all want to be the number one person under heaven.

But they have all done one thing wrong."

Zhang Huizhi glanced at the Yu Master and said:

"Neglecting the masses of living beings on the ground."

"Correct!" The Yu Master nodded:

"They treat living beings as living beings, not as the human race.

Sometimes they feel they are gods, not the human race.

There are those who are majestic who take the number of living beings as their standard for victory.

There are those who are twisted who take the flesh and blood of living beings as their food, not knowing that they have already become more like ancient divine beasts than the ancient divine beasts themselves."

As the Yu Master spoke, he suddenly laughed loudly:

"They are all wrong; they are also living beings, they are the human race.

One living being is a living being, and ten thousand living beings are also living beings.

But I cannot refute them."

The Yu Master sighed for a long time.

In the silence, he only recounted one fact.

In this world, whoever is the strongest is the one who is right.

Zhang Huizhi listened in silence.

In the Yu Master's words, there was a great deal of sorrow.

He had already concluded that he was a dying man.

"Is this the reason you chose me?" Zhang Huizhi asked.

"I have no choice left; tell me, who else could I choose?

You, Chen Yan, have killed Yu Laiwei; he was my son."

The Universe Master's voice trembled:

"Even if Yu had not defected to the Ancient Divine Beasts, I was utterly disappointed in him.

But you killed him, and it is hard for me not to harbor hatred toward you.

I am no saint."

Zhang Huizhi fell silent again.

So, the Universe Master had remembered this matter all along.

The other party was not the Chen Master.

The Chen Master did not care at all that Chen Yan had killed his own children.

"I chose you only because I knew I had not chosen wrongly.

If I were to abandon you because of hatred, that would be my fault, and I would be a sinner against the human race."

The Universe Master spoke heavily, shaking his head slightly.

Zhang Huizhi remained silent.

"But you need not apologize to me, because we both know you did nothing wrong."

The Universe Master spoke calmly:

"There are actually only two factions among the many powerhouses in this world."

Zhang Huizhi looked at the Universe Master.

It was the first time he had heard this theory.

"The Conservative Faction and the Radical Faction."

The Universe Master smiled:

"The lineage of the five clans led by the Chen Master, including those reclusive Immortals, are the greatest Conservatives.

The Chen Master is a radical within the Conservative Faction; he appears to want the Ancient Gods to remain asleep, but in reality, he is buying time for the human race to deal with the Ancient Gods.

The Immortals, the Lu Master, the Chi Master, and their ilk are thorough Conservatives; they only wish to live out their own lives in peace and do not want the Ancient Gods to awaken."

Zhang Huizhi nodded:

"The Xia Master, Lu Xunyang, the Lord of Blood Qi, and Xia Hanzhou are the Radicals, wishing for a total showdown with the Ancient Gods."

"No!"

The Universe Master shook his head:

"Xia Hanzhou is a faction unto himself.

He drifts with the tide; his goal is merely to stabilize the Xia family's empire, and the Radical Faction simply aligns with his interests.

Let's leave him aside.

But the late State-Ruling Xia Qi was a Radical, as are many of the Xia clan."

The Universe Master paused, then continued:

"And that person from that world is also a Radical.

But he is a Conservative within the Radical Faction; some of his methods are the same as the Chen Master's."

Zhang Huizhi narrowed his eyes, a buzzing sound filling his mind.

The one the Universe Master spoke of was the Array Master.

The Universe Master had inadvertently revealed a great secret.

The Universe Master smiled:

"The so-called Conservative within the Radical Faction and the Radical within the Conservative Faction approach each other, yet they are different.

But they all share the same philosophy."

Zhang Huizhi's eyes widened as he thought of the most crucial question, and he said:

"The pure Conservatives believe the Ancient Gods are invincible, so they do not want the Ancient Gods to awaken."

"Correct!" The Universe Master nodded.

"The Radicals within the Conservative Faction likewise believe the Ancient Gods are invincible, and that the only thing capable of defeating an Ancient God is another Ancient God, so they use all their strength to prevent the Ancient Gods from awakening."

"You have thought of the most crucial question."

The Universe Master smiled with gratification.

Zhang Huizhi narrowed his eyes.

The Xia Master, Lu Xunyang, the Lord of Blood Qi, and even he, Chen Yan, were pure Radicals.

They believed the human race could definitely defeat the Ancient Gods and were willing to wait for the Ancient Gods to awaken.

But the Array Master was a Conservative within the Radical Faction.

Therefore, the Array Master would not stop the Ancient Gods from awakening.

But the Array Master's methods would be exactly the same as the Chen Master's.

Which is to say...

Let an Ancient God defeat an Ancient God!

In his mind, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck.

Zhang Huizhi had discovered the secret of the Dao Seed contention.

Perhaps the Dao Seeds themselves did not know.

But at this moment, the Universe Master had told Zhang Huizhi every secret.

Gather seven Dao Seeds into one immensely powerful body.

Devour the Emperor Fruit to achieve the strongest Eighth Rank.

And then, use the Soul of the Fate Chapter to achieve the Ninth Rank.

Then, this Ninth-Rank Dao Child will devour the Ancient God status and become an Ancient God!

All of the Array Master's plans are revealed in this moment.

The Thousand-Day Ancient God appears!

It does not necessarily have to be the Ancient God waking up on their own.

Since the prophecy of the Thousand-Day Ancient God appearing has already emerged, why not have the human race create an Ancient God themselves?

The strongest Dao Child devours the Ancient God status to achieve Ancient Godhood.

And because the Array Master has long since done a great deal of work on them, they can be killed directly!

This is the Array Master's method to turn the tide and save the day!

The Universe Master slowly looks at Li Zhiyi:

"Do you understand now?"

"I understand." Zhang Huizhi looks at the Universe Master:

"Since that is the case, perhaps you do not have to die."

The Universe Master sneers:

"I already said, although the Array Master and the Chen Master use the same method, they are completely different schools of thought.

The Chen Master would never allow an Ancient God to wake up, because the Chen Master simply does not believe that the Array Master can defeat an Ancient God."

Chen Yan knits his brows.

Yes.

The Chen Master once also wanted to let Chen Changyuan devour the Ancient God status.

But the Chen Master's approach was to continue suppressing Chen Changyuan.

Not to kill Chen Changyuan, and certainly not to let Chen Changyuan, who had devoured the Ancient God status, wake up.

But the Array Master is different.

The Array Master wants to kill the Ancient God.

When the time comes, the Chen Master will definitely intervene to stop the Array Master!

A great battle will inevitably erupt between the two!

And the Universe Master, as a sacrifice for the Chen Master's goal, will definitely die!

PS: One chapter today.

Let me clarify the philosophies of the characters in the book.

Actually, most of the characters in this book are neither good people nor bad people.

This makes readers wonder why these people do not unite together.

Humanity itself can produce different schools of thought and philosophies.

They might not be wrong, and some might even think the Chen Master is actually right.

But when philosophies differ, they will kill each other.

If the Chen Master's philosophy is that of a thorough conservative, then he would kill Chen Yan.

But if the Chen Master is a radical conservative, he would not; this is a matter of belief.

The Array Master knows Chen Yan is a monster, but still does not want Chen Yan to participate in his plan, precisely because although he is a radical.

He is a conservative among radicals.

In many respects, he is not wrong; even from his perspective, Chen Yan and Lu Xunyang are the ones who are wrong.

This is a belief cultivated over tens of thousands of years, and it cannot be changed overnight.

I have explained the factions; if everyone reads the book again, it should be very easy to understand.