Chapter 103: The Strength to Uproot Mountains and the Spirit to Cover the World (Part 1)

After the personnel from the three great powers—Shenluo, the Sha'e Empire, and Sunlight Country—arrived on the scene.

The sea of people fell silent; the gazes of the thousands of commoners were filled with curiosity and resentment, but more than anything, fear.

After all, for decades, the great powers had used their sturdy ships and powerful cannons to keep the Jin Dynasty from raising its head, and the carving out of the Concession in Jinjin had brought profound humiliation to hundreds of millions of citizens, leading not only the princes and ministers to turn pale at the mention of foreigners, but also causing the common folk to believe that the foreigners were invincible.

Therefore, in the vast sea of people at this moment, apart from a portion whose family members had died under the cannons of the great powers and who held deep hatred, most of the commoners felt only fear toward these foreigners.

Yet, bathed in these thousands of gazes—some resentful, some awestruck—the dozens of people from the three great powers stepping onto the path remained completely oblivious.

Based on national strength, those walking at the very front were undoubtedly the people from the Shenluo Consulate.

There were over ten people in their entourage; besides the lead Consulate Ambassador Victor, there were translators and guards with loaded guns, each of them tall and lean, their eyes darting about with the predatory gaze of eagles and wolves, looking down on everything from a position of superiority.

However, the most eye-catching person among them was a tall Shenluo man in the center, wearing a red Knight uniform embroidered with a Bauhinia flower.

This man was over seven feet tall, his blonde hair combed meticulously; his temperament was cold, murderous, and oppressively imposing. Any official, soldier, or spectator who came into contact with his gaze felt their heart skip a beat, their eyes stinging as if pricked by needles.

The path leading to the central ring was over a hundred meters long. Consul Victor stepped forward, looked around at the fearful Jinjin commoners, and couldn't help but laugh:

"It doesn't matter; my cultivation has already reached a bottleneck anyway, and I need to relax a little."

Williams also sneered and said:

"With the Lord of Heaven above, look at these ugly and numb things; I don't even know if they can be called human. Perhaps I shouldn't have invited you, Ambassador Williams, to come here and participate in this farce."

Among them, the Fanatical Priest cultivates the soul and faith, which is very rare due to the difficulty of cultivation; only the Secret Martial Knight cultivation is the mainstream.

"Ambassador Victor, watch your words."

As they spoke, no one other than their entourage could understand these words.

Victor hurriedly apologized:

"It was a slip of the tongue."

"I have already received news that yesterday and the day before, that person set up a ring here at Haihe Square, and by the rule of taking three punches, he has already consecutively defeated several Martial Arts Masters of the Jin Dynasty. He does not seem to be a mere attention-seeker. Plus, the usually cowardly and incompetent Jin Dynasty government actually dared to take the initiative to invite us; this event today might be quite interesting."

"Of course I don't believe it. How difficult is it to achieve the Sixth Rank? How could someone in their twenties reach it?"

Looking at the history of Shenluo and even the Heavenly Lord Holy Church, the youngest Platinum Holy Knight was forty years old. Now, to say that a twenty-something-year-old has emerged in the Jin Dynasty capable of defeating such figures—he could not believe it no matter what.

The path of Secret Martial Arts evolved under the influence of the Shenzhou Martial Arts path; it is now also divided into seven tiers, categorized by honor levels into Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Knights, as well as those above them: Great Knight, Silver Great Knight, Platinum Holy Knight, and Holy Bauhinia Knight.

"Conversion... I still feel that these lowly races have no qualification to believe in the Heavenly Lord Holy Church. I don't know why the people in the church..."

The man wearing the red Knight uniform, called Williams, looked at the surrounding Jinjin commoners and then at the ring ahead, his eyes indifferent as he said:

Within the Holy See and Shenluo, there are two paths of cultivation: Secret Martial Knight and Fanatical Priest.

The strength of the seven tiers of Secret Martial Arts basically corresponds to the Martial Arts path. The Holy Bauhinia Knight is the highest cultivation achievement, corresponding to a True Martial Martial Arts Grandmaster; their strength is incomparably powerful and they are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, such that even the Pope must treat them with great courtesy.

The next level, the Platinum Holy Knight, corresponds to a Martial Arts Master; their physique, strength, and speed surpass ordinary people in every aspect, and in the era of cold weapons, they were kings of the battlefield capable of rivaling thousands of troops.

But whether it is the Holy See's Holy Bauhinia Knight or the Platinum Holy Knight, both require long and arduous cultivation and tempering, and one must possess sufficient background and luck to possibly reach them.

Williams interrupted coldly:

"God loves all people; the Holy Father does not care about the skin or race of his children. Although these Jin Dynasty people are as numb as animals, they also have the qualification to become believers of the Holy Father."

"The Martial Arts Masters of the Jin Dynasty are equivalent to our Sixth Rank Platinum Holy Knights, but it is said that the one who set up the ring is only in his early twenties. Do you believe it?"

"So I want to see what kind of tricks these Jin Dynasty people are playing, where they get the confidence to dare invite us here, and then completely crush this ridiculous confidence, letting these primitive-like Jin Dynasty people know that Shenluo is invincible, and by the doctrine of the Holy Father, convert these filthy and numb souls!"

Victor stared at the blurry figure on the ring ahead and doubted:

Victor sighed:

And just over ten steps behind them.

Among the entourage of the Sha'e Empire Consulate, Ogliev, who was two meters tall and resembled a giant bear, stood out from the crowd; he had already seen the figure standing on the ring from afar.

"Is that brat the one who set up the ring?"

He spoke contemptuously in the Sha'e language:

"To think there are so many yellow-skinned monkeys watching... I heard he consecutively defeated four Jin Dynasty Martial Arts Masters on the stage yesterday?"

Beside him, the pot-bellied Sha'e Consul Takov flattered:

"Yes, this also shows that the so-called Martial Arts Masters are nothing more than this. General Ogliev is the top Combat Master of the Empire who was the fastest to be promoted to the Earth Title; with your strength, going up on the stage will surely be like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, and you will be invincible."

"It will also let these yellow-skinned monkeys settle down and understand that the might of the Empire cannot be provoked."

The cultivation of Martial Arts and Daoist Arts in the land of Shenzhou has been passed down for thousands of years; the Sha'e Empire, which believes in ancestors and nature, also developed its own Savage Martial Arts and Sacrificial Path under this influence.

Among them, the Sacrificial Path is a mental training method for sacrificing to the spirits of ancestors; because it involves the soul, it is equally obscure and difficult, and practitioners are few.

The Savage Martial Arts path is about drawing close to and imitating beasts and even the nature of heaven and earth, thereby training the spirit and strengthening the physique, possessing the extraordinary power to fight against heaven and earth.

The territory of the Sha'e Empire is vast, and the Savage Martial Arts path is the absolute mainstream; influenced by Shenzhou Martial Arts, they have divided all practicing warriors into ranks that correspond to it.

The Savage Martial Arts path has seven tiers, divided into Junior, Intermediate, and Senior, followed by Glorious Fighter, until reaching the top of the pyramid, the Savage Combat Masters who possess the Sky, Earth, and Thunder Honor Titles.

The Sky Honor Title is the highest cultivation achievement of the Savage Martial Arts path, corresponding to the Martial Arts Grandmaster of the Martial Arts cultivation path; in the Sha'e Empire, they are also as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, beings who can look down upon princes and nobles.

And the Earth Title, although one level lower, is also extremely powerful, capable of being on par with a Six Realms Martial Arts Master, and is also revered by all in the Sha'e army.

Ogliev was able to become the youngest General of the Sha'e Empire precisely because he obtained the Earth Honor Title at the age of forty-something, and his strength is considered powerful and outstanding even at this level.

Facing the flattery.

Ogliev couldn't help but laugh loudly:

"In a moment, I will be the first to go on stage, snap the limbs of this thin-armed and thin-legged brat, and let them know that only the warriors of our Sha'e Empire are qualified to be called the strongest fighters in the world!"

His laughter was undisguised and carried quite far; the commoners separated by the soldiers did not understand the meaning and just looked blank.

Only not far behind.

Guangye Shensi, the Consul of Sunlight Country who was at the very back, seemed to hear the other party's words while surrounded by the crowd, and his face immediately showed a cold sneer:

"Brainless idiot!"

In the current world, in terms of national strength, military power, and colonies, Shenluo is the number one existence, and the Sha'e Empire is slightly inferior, basically on par.

Only Sunlight Country, because its own territory is small and resources are scarce, even though it actively reformed to carry out the industrial revolution and vigorously developed productivity, it is still inferior to these two old great powers in terms of national strength and military power, so it can only enter last.

At this very moment, even though Guangye Shensi, Sangtian Hengyi, and their group of ten or twenty people were the last to enter, they received the most attention, glares, and curses from the Jinjin commoners among the thousands of people in the crowd.

After all, just a short while ago, Sunlight Country had brazenly wiped out the Jin Dynasty's New Army of the navy, slaughtered them wantonly, and forced the Jin Dynasty to sign unequal treaties, forcefully stationing themselves in the Jin-Jin Concession.

The people of Jinjin have always been proud, and such a great humiliation was naturally even harder to endure; many with fiery tempers were cursing and wishing they could rush up and trade blows, and it was only because of the elite troops led by Fan Zhenxiong blocking the way that such a thing did not happen.

"The incompetent rage of the Jin Dynasty sick men; they can only vent with their mouths."

Paying no mind to the angry glares and curses all around, Guangye Shensi looked toward the Black Dragon Society expert Sangtian Hengyi, who was dressed in samurai attire and wore a Katana at his waist, and said:

"Sangtian-kun, you must not be the first to strike later. According to intelligence, that challenger named Lu Yuan has already defeated several Martial Arts Master-level challengers. Even though you are already a Great Famous General, you must not be underestimated. It is best to let the stupid bears of Sha'e Country go and test the waters first!"

Sunlight Country is closest to Shenzhou, and its culture and even its path of cultivation have been most deeply influenced, thus developing its own unique Ninja Martial Arts and Shinto paths of cultivation.

Shinto needs no further explanation; it is a path of spiritual cultivation modeled after Daoist Arts, and it also has few practitioners because the cultivation is obscure and difficult.

As for the Ninja Martial Way, Sunlight Country basically spent hundreds or thousands of years constantly stealing and plundering texts from Shenzhou to imitate and create this path of cultivation.

The realm divisions of this path basically copy the Shenzhou Martial Arts path, only differing in the titles of achievement; for example, the first three realms correspond to the primary, intermediate, and advanced levels of samurai, while the latter four realms correspond to Great Samurai, Guardian General, Great Famous General, and Imperial God General.

An Imperial God General is equivalent to a Shenzhou Martial Arts Grandmaster and can see the Emperor in Sunlight Country without bowing.

And Sangtian Hengyi, although a Great Famous General of the second tier in strength and status, is also famous in both the sea and land armies of Sunlight Country and belongs to the top experts in the military.

Although he had enough pride and confidence in his heart, since it concerned the honor of the Empire, Sangtian Hengyi still said solemnly:

"Rest assured, I understand."

Just like that.

Under the gaze of the masses and the deafening clamor, the group of over a hundred people from the great powers finally passed through the passage and arrived in front of the ring.

Prefectural Assistant Liu Guobai had already arrived with Fan Zhenxiong, bringing his translators and officials to welcome them:

"Welcome, everyone, for gracing us with your presence. This official is Liu Guobai, and I am here under—"

"Enough, no need for nonsense, let's get straight to the point!"

However, without waiting for Liu Guobai to finish, the Sha'e Empire's Major General Ogliev interrupted in a rough, impolite tone using stiff Chinese:

"Is this brat on the stage the so-called number one Great Strength expert in the world you speak of? Just tell us what the specific rules are. Once I finish off this little monkey on the stage, I still have to go back for a nap!"

The people from Shenluo and Sunlight Country cast playful glances one after another; Liu Guobai's expression stiffened, while Fan Zhenxiong scolded with cold eyes:

"How preposterous! What is your status that you dare to be so rude!?"

To the side, the Consul Takov also said arrogantly in broken Chinese:

"This is our Sha'e Empire's Major General, General Ogliev. So-called politeness and etiquette are things that can only be discussed between those of equal strength. You do not yet possess such qualifications. You had better just state the rules and start immediately."

Just as Fan Zhenxiong was about to scold him, Liu Guobai, worried about a conflict, hurriedly stopped him and then said with some annoyance:

"Very well, the rules are to sign a life-and-death document. Stand on the stage without dodging and receive three punches from this expert Lu Yuan. As long as you can still stand on the stage after three punches, you win!"

". It's that simple?"

Looking at Lu Yuan, who had been waiting quietly on the stage, Ogliev burst into wild laughter:

"Receive three punches? This little monkey is truly even more arrogant than me. Then I must see just how much strength those little arms and legs of yours have!"

As he spoke, ignoring everyone else, his bear-like figure walked straight through the crowd and strode onto the ring, facing Lu Yuan, who stood in the center.

The difference in their physiques was as obvious as that between a lion/tiger and a sheep, causing the thousands of commoners watching from below to have their hearts jump into their throats, wondering if Lu Yuan could recreate the scene of the plaza from yesterday.

Under the gaze of the masses, Ogliev, having arrived in front of Lu Yuan, was clearly even more excited. He fiercely hammered his chest twice, his smile ferocious and wild:

"Come on, you tender-skinned little fellow, let me see how much strength you have to dare to make such a boast. You had better go all out, otherwise I will tear your weak body to pieces in one go!"

Lu Yuan looked at him and smiled: "Big dummy, you have to sign a life-and-death document to get on the stage. That's the rule. Don't you understand?"

"What kind of bullshit rule is that!"

Ogliev said with extreme contempt:

"My rules are the rules. You Jin Dynasty sick men love to play these fancy tricks. Are you going to strike or not? If you don't strike, I won't be polite!"

Seeing that this person was unreasonable and barbaric, Lu Yuan sneered:

"You ignorant thing, if you don't sign the document, get off the stage!"

At the same time as he spoke!

He suddenly took a step, lunged forward, and threw a punch.

Boom!

It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded out of thin air.

This punch was like a long-dormant volcano erupting; the explosive power directly caused the surrounding air to strike as if it were the center of an explosion, waves of air dispersing in all directions and turning into fierce, violent gales that enveloped and impacted the area.

Almost the instant Lu Yuan moved, Ogliev felt a sudden shock in his heart.

Because amidst the dull roar, he clearly saw layers of visible transparent ripples spreading rapidly through the space in front of the strike; that was the result of the air barrier being directly pierced by absolute speed and power!

The terrifying fist wind and air blast rushed toward his face; he felt as if it wasn't a person throwing a punch at him, but a destructive meteor descending from Heaven, about to crush everything in its path!

Damn it!!

Amidst the rumbling sonic booms, Lu Yuan's punch had already crushed and displaced all the air in front of Ogliev, making him feel a tightness in his breathing, as if his entire lungs were about to be crushed by the power of this strike.

In shock and anger, he let out a wild roar, his entire body's Qi and blood emitting a roaring sound, and his powerful physique expanded by another circle.

Then, he pushed out with both palms containing all his strength; the palm wind roared like a gale whipping up a snowstorm, meeting Lu Yuan with the majestic power of a tsunami!

His strike was astonishing in momentum, fully demonstrating the formidable power of a Combat Master.

Compared to Ogliev's physique and the fan-sized palms he pushed out, the fist Lu Yuan threw looked like that of an adult compared to a youth, showing an extremely contradictory and ridiculous feeling.

However, at the moment of collision, neither Ogliev himself, nor the various experts or the sea of people below, felt it was ridiculous.

Fist and palm met.

This strike shook the earth and mountains!

Like a sudden explosion of thunder, the air and bones cracked in succession, bursting out turbulent air waves, and the ring shook violently!

Liu Guobai and the other civil officials closest to the ring suddenly covered their ears and retreated in shock, while seeing the ring erupt like thunder on flat ground; terrifying ripples and a huge roaring sound suddenly spread, and the gale triggered by the shockwave swept up sand and stones, howling as it billowed in all directions!

And Ogliev, who was incomparably shocked and terrified, felt in this instant as if he were a sparrow hit by a heavy cannon; his chest and arms felt intense pain, his vision suddenly darkened, and his field of view shook violently!

The wind roared; in this instant, it felt as if his soul had left his body. In his muddled state, he could vaguely feel himself flying backward away from the ground, and the air seemed to have become tangible, tearing crazily at him as he flew backward.

Ogliev roared wildly but was completely unable to stop it; at the same time, an indescribably terrifying force, like a flood breaching a dam, crushed over his arms and even the sinews and bones of his entire body, shattering the military uniform on his person, his skin, and even his flesh, causing fresh blood to spray and gush wildly all along his path as he flew backward through the air!

It had been no more than a few breaths since he stepped onto the stage.

Without even taking a single punch, General Ogliev of the Sha'e Empire was defeated!

(End of this chapter)