Chapter 121: 121. Chapter 121: The Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll (Requesting Subscription)

121. Chapter 121: The Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll (Requesting Subscription)

"But the Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll is also dangerous, so your first visit must be under a teacher's supervision."

Pan Xiong's body shimmered with golden light, carrying Fang Xing, Su Su Longyan, and Ouyang Ouyang Qiang like a golden sun sinking into the depths of Blue Star University.

"The Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll is in Blue Star University's 'special zone'—you normally can't enter, or even detect it…"

Pan Xiong landed the three of them on the top floor of the grand library.

Blue Star University's library was built square and massive, towering like a white jade seal from above.

But atop the building, there was not a single soul in sight.

No—by the corridor door stood a sun umbrella, beneath which rested a beach chair.

An old security guard, resembling a gatekeeper, lounged lazily on the chair, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

"Uncle Meng, how's your health these days?"

Pan Xiong grinned and walked over to greet him.

"Ah, little Xiong…"

Uncle Meng opened his eyes, glanced at Fang Xing and the others: "Bringing new students again?"

"Yeah, school assignment, no choice. Are there still slots left for the Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll?"

Pan Xiong asked.

"You're lucky—there are still about ten spots… those freshmen will be arriving soon."

Uncle Meng pointed with his fan.

A flash of silver light appeared in the air, and Fang Xing felt that familiar sensation of being wrapped in a spatial bubble.

The next instant, heaven and earth changed!

He stood within a small space.

The sky and land were gray and dim, the earth black and cracked…

The entire space was utterly silent; beyond a handful of teachers and students, there was almost nothing else in view!

No!

At the edge of Fang Xing's vision, a stone stele suddenly emerged!

The stele towered into the clouds, like a divine pillar holding up the heavens and earth of this space.

Upon its surface were strange patterns—some like countless tadpoles swimming, others like multi-headed serpents dancing, wind, fire, thunder, lightning, yin and yang, full and waning… all seemed present.

"Dragon… Tiger… Sword and Blade… slaughter and death, life… all are here?"

Fang Xing glanced once, and a hint of obsession surfaced on his face.

But immediately, terrifying spiritual corruption struck him, altering his expression: "This… this… is a demon god corruption?! No good!"

His crown chakra flared brilliantly; dragon and tiger images roared faintly around him, snapping him back to clarity.

Beside him, Ouyang Ouyang Qiang's lips bled slightly—he dared not look at the black stele again.

But Su Su Longyan's eyes were glazed, as if struggling immensely to tear her gaze away: "Taiji… yin and yang…"

"How's it feel? Do you think everything you've learned is contained within it?"

Pan Xiong laughed: "Indeed it is. If you keep contemplating, your artistic realms will surely reach perfection—even peak domain level is within reach… but…"

"Along with contemplation comes demon god corruption. What is this stele made of?" Fang Xing asked.

"You noticed? Good…"

Pan Xiong chuckled: "It's made from demon god material—not just any demon god follower, but an extremely powerful divine offspring. Some mighty demon god offspring inherit portions of their father's authority, rivaling even weak lower dominators…"

"Only such a powerful divine offspring's body can contain countless martial arts realms, even granting 'sudden enlightenment.' Of course, the demon god corruption has been corrected—it's far weaker than the original offspring's…"

"The demon god offspring forged into this stele was immensely powerful. The founding headmaster gathered the power of many martial gods and slew it with the 'Ten Thousand Spirits Martial Way,' imprinting its martial will onto the stone. That's the origin of the 'Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll.' To comprehend its ultimate martial intent, you must endure demon god corruption—the closer you get, the stronger the corruption. Even at this peripheral spot, only a martial artist of the fourth realm's courage can stand. Those below the fourth realm, even if they've trained A-class martial arts and simulated realms, gain little…"

Pan Xiong smiled: "I can even tell you this—many advances in virtual reality technology, especially in simulating martial arts realms, were inspired by studying the Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll. With me here, you needn't fear corruption. Explore further, find your limits—next time you enter, you'll know what to expect."

Hearing this, Ouyang Ouyang Qiang fell silent, then surged forward like a spear.

Su Su Longyan followed close behind.

Fang Xing glanced around, found it intriguing, then stepped forward slowly.

Boom!

With just one step forward, he felt strange artistic realms seep into his mind.

Dragon and tiger, dragon-elephant, even… a faint, ethereal stepping technique!

"The realm of Flying Step! Perhaps even a martial saint or martial god is performing it directly..."

Fang Xing sank into it instantly.

Unconsciously, he walked forward.

Soon, his skill stats began to rise.

At the bottom of his interface, a new subcategory appeared from nothing:

【Flying Step: 1/100 (Beginner)】

…

"Already beginner level? No—I've walked ten steps without realizing it!"

Fang Xing snapped back to awareness.

Glancing around, he saw Su Su Longyan had fainted; Pan Xiong had casually pulled her to his side.

Ouyang Ouyang Qiang stood tall as a spear, yet could advance no further—his lips bitten bloody, yet he pressed on.

"This kind of insight isn't active contemplation—it's the realms themselves chasing you… knowledge pursuing the seeker? Compared to demon god corruption, this is another kind of danger entirely. The founding headmaster was brilliant—he made martial wills behave like demon god corruption…" Fang Xing adjusted his breath and moved forward again.

His steps were firm—he overtook Ouyang Ouyang Qiang.

The boy watched his back, eyes filled with resentment, then collapsed into unconsciousness; Pan Xiong carried him back.

Fang Xing paid no mind to Ouyang Ouyang Qiang—he felt this place was his personal paradise!

"If I continue here... not only will the Dragon realm rapidly perfect, but the Subdue Tiger realm will too, becoming a Subdue Tiger Domain!"

'The Dao pursues me—I pursue the Dao…'

His eyes flickered with struggle as he passed an upperclassman.

The senior, unsure if second or third year, was still at Courage Realm—he stared in shock and resentment as Fang Xing passed him.

"Almost at my limit."

Fang Xing gritted his teeth. From this position, he could see the base of the black stele—a dark shadow, like some monstrous creature writhing…

"But… this is just my normal limit."

He focused inward, meditating on the Great Sun Tathagata Mantra. In his mind, a crimson sun rose.

Whoosh!

All the martial realms chasing him were sucked into the Great Sun Furnace, causing the strange martial art to slowly rise again.

"I knew it—anything that voluntarily crawls into my mind is just a gift…"

Fang Xing mentally grumbled, feeling the pressure vanish.

But seeing the slow climb of the Great Sun Tathagata Mantra's proficiency, he knew he couldn't waste time—he stepped forward again.

Finally…

He saw it—the creature bearing the stele!

No—it wasn't a monster. It was a dragon-turtle.

Dragon head, turtle shell, limbs like phoenix claws, tail like a serpent.

"Bixi, one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon? Or… Baxia?! This thing is a demon god offspring? This is a joke…"

"But demon god offspring shouldn't be directly visible… this must be a distorted image, warped and weakened by martial god wills. Otherwise, letting freshmen stare directly at a demon god offspring's true form—wouldn't they go mad?"

Fang Xing had his suspicions.

At that moment, he noticed several vivid marks on the black turtle shell beneath the stele!

Even from afar, they were unmistakably clear.

Following the distant resonance, he saw a sword cut, two fist impressions, a claw mark, a palm print… and several blurred traces.

The sword cut pierced heaven, radiating annihilation—it seemed to travel along his gaze and slash into Fang Xing's mind!

"Great Sun Tathagata!"

He snorted inwardly; the Great Sun Furnace appeared, swallowing the blade-light, reducing it to nothing.

Simultaneously, fragments of sword knowledge flowed through his mind like a gentle stream.

"Star-Extinguishing Sword?"

"Isn't that the ultimate technique of the Nine Swords Academy's headmaster—Wu Shen Gu Jian Qiu? Did she come here to contemplate too?"

Before Fang Xing could think further, a powerful force swept him backward.

"I didn't expect you'd reach the point of gazing upon Baxia's true form…"

Pan Xiong stared at Fang Xing, awestruck: "At Courage Realm, you've done this? Looks like I'm training a truly extraordinary student."

"I don't know why—I just walked forward… what's the origin of those fist marks and sword cuts on the turtle shell?"

Fang Xing asked curiously.

"They're the founding headmaster's gift to all martial artists. Anyone who comprehends the Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll deeply enough can elevate their own martial arts, unlocking entirely new extraordinary techniques—even ultimate martial arts surpassing S-class. But so far, only a handful have achieved this—each one a peerless prodigy, dominating their era."

Pan Xiong sighed.

"Surpassing S-class?"

Su Su Longyan's eyes widened: "The Federation's martial arts are vast and profound—hard to learn, harder to master. Even something like Great Dragon Stance can be cultivated all the way to Golden Core. Surpassing S-class—could it be the legendary 'Strange Martial Arts'? But aren't those only usable with special abilities?"

"Martial arts surpassing S-class can be Strange Martial Arts, Star Martial Arts… or even just a single sword technique."

Pan Xiong sighed: "The most supreme martial arts of the Federation have all left their marks on the shell of Baxia—such as Star Martial: Star-Extinguishing Sword!"

"Star-Extinguishing Sword? Even among the top graduates of the Nine Swords Academy, few can even enter its threshold…"

Su Su Longyan's eyes glinted slightly.

"Then there's Alien Martial: Sky-Slicing Knife—a single slash that severs space, requiring a spatial adept to even begin cultivation…"

"And martial arts designed for mechs—Mech Martial: Nuclear Peace Palm! Renowned throughout Sacred Armor University, yet we too have its lineage here—unfortunately, no one has ever grasped it…"

Pan Xiong spoke with deep emotion.

"The Nine Swords Academy has Star-Extinguishing Sword, Sacred Armor University has Nuclear Peace Palm—so our school's most famous is Ten Thousand Spirits Martial Way?"

Fang Xing raised a question.

"Ten Thousand Spirits Martial Way integrates all living spirits—only the founding headmaster ever reached that realm. Today, the most renowned martial scripture in our university's martial arts department is the Buddha's Divine Palm Scripture. If one day you can manifest the Buddha's Divine Form and combine it with the Buddha's Divine Palm Scripture, you'll be unstoppable among Martial Saints and Martial Gods…"

Pan Xiong seemed to hold great expectations for Fang Xing.

'Again, Buddhist martial arts—and it's the Buddha!? '

Fang Xing glanced at his attribute panel:

【Great Sun Tathagata Spell: 20/200 (Proficient)】

He felt a pang of bitterness inside: 'This truly is a great place to cultivate martial arts—especially for Great Sun Tathagata Spell. If I let go completely and accept everything, its progress might be astonishing…'

'In the end, will I end up devouring this entire Baxia Stele and the Ten Thousand Spirits Scroll… and forge my supreme martial Dao? But by then, will I still be myself?'