Chapter 404: First-Rank Vajra Realm, Wuzhu Learns Martial Arts, The King of Great Strength (A Large Chapter of 4,400 Characters)

Huishan.

The morning light had just broken, and the mountain forest was rustling.

Yu Liancheng sat cross-legged atop a blue stone.

His eyes were tightly shut, his mind clear and serene. His Qi had been fully released, and he had already reached the realm of a Second-Rank Small Grandmaster in this world.

In this world, the Martial Dao is divided into nine grades.

It may seem complex, but in reality, the divisions for the ordinary nine grades below the third grade are quite shallow and simple.

The number of armor plates one can pierce determines one's grade of strength.

This armor refers to the dynasty's standard iron plate armor, consisting of two layers, front and back.

Damaging the armor without piercing it belongs to the lower three grades.

The middle three grades can pierce the armor, but all are below six plates.

Among the upper three grades, the third grade can generally pierce eight or nine plates.

The first and second grades are harder to say.

Among them, the second grade is known as a Small Grandmaster; to the people at the bottom of the Edo, they are experts as high as the heavens.

Many sect leaders in the Edo only possess the strength of the third grade.

The first grade is divided into four realms: the Vajra Realm, the Finger Profound Realm, the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm, and the Land Immortal Realm. All have distinctions of large, small, true, and false; the upper grade is "large," and the lowest is "false."

Generally speaking, those in the Buddhist school who enter the first grade become Vajra, those in the Daoist school become Finger Profound, and those in the Confucian school become Heavenly Phenomenon, only cultivating a single realm.

Edo martial artists, however, mostly progress sequentially through the realms—Vajra, Finger Profound, Heavenly Phenomenon, and Land Immortal—stacking multiple realms; thus, when people of the three teachings fight those of the same realm, they are often inferior to martial artists.

Now, Yu Liancheng is precisely advancing from a Second-Rank Small Grandmaster to the First-Rank Vajra Realm.

During these days, he had frequently consulted Xuanyuan Jingcheng and had gained a very profound understanding of the First-Rank Vajra Realm.

Coupled with the opening of the Xuanyuan treasury and the consumption of treasures beneficial to advancement, as well as his own Martial Dao, his success in this advancement was a certainty.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

At this very moment, Yu Liancheng's heart began to beat violently, emitting a powerful and forceful sound, like a thunderclap. His blood flowed with a rushing sound, like a great river surging.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the entire forest, the world turning white in an instant. Two beams of sharp light shot from his eyes, piercing the air and snapping a large tree in half, just like two streaks of Sword Qi.

"Sure enough, the Vajra Realm can stack with my own physique."

Yu Liancheng lowered his head and looked at his palms.

These were long, jade-like, flawless palms, enough to make the vast majority of women in the world envious.

Yet such a pair of hands was also filled with overbearing and fierce power. It felt as if, relying on these two hands, he could overturn the heavens and the earth.

He slowly stood up, as if a mountain had suddenly been pulled from the ground, his majestic aura turning into substance and crushing the grass and trees. The next moment, he curled his five fingers and slowly threw a punch.

Boom!!

The void trembled like the surface of a mirror, as if it were about to shatter at any moment. The air currents rolled and swept out like a raging hurricane, sweeping the surrounding air away completely.

"What a fine Vajra Realm."

A smile escaped the corners of Yu Liancheng's mouth.

The main characteristic of the Vajra Realm is the tempering of the physique, enhancing one's constitution and defense.

This is a sublimation of the essence of life, even feeding back from the physical body to the soul, allowing him to have a purer control over his own body. A punch thrown with the same amount of power is far beyond what he could compare to before.

"Congratulations to the Heavenly Venerable for achieving the Vajra Realm."

A clear and bright voice sounded in the forest, and a disheveled middle-aged scholar stepped forward, his face wearing a smile—who else could it be but Xuanyuan Jingcheng?

"It is thanks to you, after all." Yu Liancheng had long sensed his arrival and was not surprised in the slightest.

Xuanyuan Jingcheng's gaze fixed on Yu Liancheng, not hiding the look of astonishment in his eyes, and he clapped his hands in praise: "The Heavenly Venerable's physique was already formidable; now that you have entered the Vajra, it is the Great Vajra Realm. In terms of the strength of one's physique in this world, perhaps only a few people, such as the Buddhist monk Longshu, the white-clad Li Dangxin, and Wang Laoguai of Wudi City, can be mentioned in the same breath."

"Is that so? I will have to compete with them eventually to see who is stronger."

Yu Liancheng was noncommittal and changed the subject: "By the way, I plan to leave the mountain for a while, and it may be some time before I return."

Xuanyuan Jingcheng frowned slightly: "Why is that? With the resources in the treasury and the Heavenly Venerable's talent, if you proceed step by step, you could become a Land Immortal in at most ten years. By then, even if you are not invincible in the world, you would not be far off."

"Ten years? That is too long. I only strive for the present, and besides..."

Yu Liancheng opened his arms as if embracing the entire world, a wanton smile rising at the corners of his mouth: "Since I have come to this world, it is only natural to venture out, travel across the world, enjoy the beautiful scenery, taste delicacies, bed beauties, and fight strong enemies; only then will this life not have been in vain."

If he were to remain in seclusion on Huishan, he could indeed reach the Land Immortal Realm, and by then, he could even pull Wang Laoguai of Wudi City off his pedestal, but that would be too boring.

The purpose of cultivation is to become stronger.

But if it were merely to become stronger, it would be too uninteresting.

Furthermore, although he had traveled through many worlds in the past, they were all on Earth, and most of the time he was limited to the Central Plains continent.

Now that he has arrived in a novel world, he does not necessarily need to claim hegemony, but he does want to see the customs and culture of this land.

"A fine ambition; a man should be like this." Xuanyuan Jingcheng was startled; he first praised him, then seemed to recall the high-spiritedness of his youth, and could not help but sigh softly: "I am not as good as you..."

The sigh carried a touch of regret, yet there was absolutely no remorse.

With Xuanyuan Jingcheng's talent, he could have managed the world just like the Liyang Chief Minister Zhang Julu, or at the very least, been the equal of Xun Ping, yet for the sake of a woman, he bound himself in a cocoon and trapped himself on a single mountain.

The word "love" is truly difficult to fathom.

But even so, he had no regrets in this life. Even if mocked by others, he would just laugh it off.

—You are not the fish; how can you know the joy of the fish?

Yu Liancheng patted Xuanyuan Jingcheng on the shoulder and smiled: "After I leave, the affairs of Huishan will be left to you to manage."

"Please rest assured." Xuanyuan Jingcheng cupped his hands; since the other trusted him, he naturally could not fail the other—this was his persistence as a scholar.

"However, Huishan is, after all, a Edo faction; whoever has the bigger fist makes the rules."

Yu Liancheng touched his chin and deliberated: "Although you can briefly reach the Finger Profound or Heavenly Phenomenon realms, that is a path to death. Moreover, I offended Longhu Mountain not long ago, and those two old fellows are not kind-hearted people; there must be a First-Grade expert to hold the fort."

Xuanyuan Jingcheng frowned and said: "I fear that will not be easy. Currently, on Huishan, besides the Heavenly Venerable, the former Chief Guest Minister Huang Pangfo has the strongest strength, but if he wants to enter the first grade, it will take at least seven or eight years of effort."

"Rest assured, I have my own arrangements for this matter."

Yu Liancheng wore a faint smile.

Furthermore, he had not yet told his elder sister Murong Wuzhu about his decision to leave Huishan, and he did not know what choice she would make upon learning of it.

Would she roam the Edo with her younger brother, or remain at Huishan as a refined young lady?

……

Yu Liancheng arrived in Murong Wuzhu's boudoir.

Murong Wuzhu seemed to have just woken up; her long eyelashes veiled her phoenix eyes. Her eyes held lingering sleepiness, and her cloud-like hair was loose and messy, revealing a very lazy and moving posture.

Yu Liancheng shook his head and said, "What time is it? The sun is already hitting your backside."

"It's all Qingfeng's fault; she insisted on dragging me to watch fireworks last night." Murong Wuzhu stretched, extended her jade-like arms toward Yu Liancheng, and made a gesture asking for a hug.

Although she was his elder sister and they had lived together since childhood, this charming and naive appearance still made it impossible for Yu Liancheng to resist.

Yu Liancheng stepped forward, took her into his arms, placed her before the vanity, pinched his sister's delicate nose, and picked up a comb to smooth out her soft, long hair.

"I plan to leave Huishan. Sister, do you want to come with me, or stay in Huishan?"

Murong Wuzhu yawned: "Of course I'm going with you. Wherever you go, Sister must go too; don't even think about leaving me behind."

"I know." Yu Liancheng was not surprised.

Their parents had passed away early, and the two siblings had relied on each other for survival, never having been separated, and no one could tear them apart.

Murong Wuzhu's moth-like eyebrows knitted slightly, and after pondering for a moment, she said, "Tonghuang, I want to learn martial arts. Will you teach me?"

Yu Liancheng's brows furrowed slightly, and he hesitated: "Learn martial arts?"

Murong Wuzhu turned her head, her beautiful eyes looking at this younger brother she had lived with since childhood, yet who seemed forever shrouded in a thin mist: "What? Tonghuang, is my aptitude that poor?"

Although she did not know martial arts, she understood some common knowledge about them.

Especially since she had learned these past few days that her good friend Xuanyuan Qingfeng only possessed mediocre skills despite living in a martial arts family, all because her aptitude for learning martial arts was too poor.

Yu Liancheng shook his head and said, "No, your aptitude is quite extraordinary. Although it cannot compare to mine, it is still first-class in this world."

Hearing this, Murong Wuzhu's smile blossomed like a flower, and she clapped her hands: "Hee hee, I knew I was a genius."

However, Yu Liancheng's next words caused Murong Wuzhu's heart to sink.

"Although your aptitude is extraordinary, the most important period for learning martial arts is from five to fifteen years old. These ten years can determine the future achievements of most martial artists. Once this golden time is missed, even ten or a hundred times the effort may not be enough to make up for it."

Speaking of this, Yu Liancheng examined himself; if not for the heaven-defying opportunity of the Stone Gate, even with his high talent, he might eventually only end up like Xiao Laotou, trapped and dying in one world, finding few opponents and feeling as lonely as snow.

Murong Wuzhu tugged at Yu Liancheng's sleeve and said in a coquettish tone: "But Sister knows you must have a way to help me, Tonghuang~."

She drew out the tone of the last two words, making Yu Liancheng break out in goosebumps: "Hey, you are the elder sister; don't talk to me in that tone."

Murong Wuzhu bit her cherry lips with her pearly teeth, a flush appearing on her fair cheeks, and she decided to bring out her trump card, shaking Yu Liancheng's arm: "Tong, Huang, Ge, Ge."

Each word was drawn out, the tone cloying to the extreme, as if a bottle of honey and three spoons of white sugar had been added to a bowl of clear water and stirred together messily.

Yu Liancheng couldn't help but shudder: "Fine, fine, fine, I will think of a way, but the process of learning martial arts is very arduous; you must not be lazy or give up halfway."

"Hee hee, I knew you were the most capable, Tonghuang." Murong Wuzhu smiled brightly; this trump card was indeed foolproof.

Yu Liancheng sighed: "Why did you suddenly think of learning martial arts? You are clearly the most afraid of hardship and are lazy; when you were little, I asked you to practice with me and you refused."

Murong Wuzhu said with a straight face: "Because I want to be a heroine now, to uphold justice."

"Then the heroine should remember to eat breakfast." Yu Liancheng had finished combing Murong Wuzhu's hair and said listlessly.

After Yu Liancheng left, Murong Wuzhu toyed with her dark hair with her slender fingers, her head slightly lowered, and she said softly: "Even if I cannot walk side-by-side with you, I do not want to become a burden to you, Tonghuang."

……

Guniujiang.

In a secret chamber.

Yu Liancheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze lowered, looking down at a coffin in the room.

A coffin condensed from ten-thousand-year cold ice, emitting a chilling aura.

And sealed within the coffin was a completely naked person.

This person's physique was tall and burly, his muscles like cast copper and iron, and a sinister aura of death revealed itself between his brows. His appearance was similar to Xuanyuan Jingcheng; he was none other than the ancestor of the Xuanyuan family, Xuanyuan Dapan.

Yu Liancheng flicked his finger, shooting out a gust of wind capable of piercing gold and iron. It struck Xuanyuan Dapan's body, but left only a white mark.

"Good, at least my efforts during this time were not in vain."

After Xuanyuan Dapan was captured, he was used as an experimental subject to study the mysteries of Great Heavenly Phenomenon experts.

After thoroughly understanding the secrets of the Heavenly Phenomenon, Yu Liancheng used this body to experiment, practicing various hard-body skills.

Up to now, this body had practiced the Diamond Indestructible Divine Skill, Carefree Wishful Demon Art, Golden Armor Origin Art... and other shocking hard-body skills, supplemented by various rare treasures.

Today, the strength of this physique, while slightly inferior to Yu Liancheng's own, was still terrifying to the extreme.

"Roar, roar!!"

In the ice crystal coffin, Xuanyuan Dapan's whole body trembled, emitting a violent roar; he actually broke through the acupoints Yu Liancheng had sealed and sat up abruptly from the ice crystal coffin.

And with his roar, the entire secret chamber trembled, on the verge of collapse.

Xuanyuan Dapan's face was twisted, his eyes revealing a malicious and fearful expression, as if he had regained his humanity.

"Worthy of being a Great Heavenly Phenomenon expert; his mental fortitude is truly terrifying."

Yu Liancheng's expression was calm. These days he had continuously assaulted and ravaged Xuanyuan Dapan's spirit, yet the opponent had always maintained a sliver of will that would not be extinguished, resisting stubbornly.

"Get down."

He pressed his five fingers through the air, and a great force was born from nothingness. Xuanyuan Dapan held on for three or four breaths before being pressed back down.

The next moment, those resentful eyes met a pair of incomparably deep eyes.

……

"Where is this?"

A youth who had just reached adulthood furrowed his brows, his expression panicked; his appearance was vaguely that of Xuanyuan Dapan in his youth.

"Right, I am going to challenge the ancestor to achieve the fame of me, Xuanyuan Dapan."

The youth strode toward a courtyard; as a genius of the Xuanyuan family, he was full of spirit and vigor, intending to challenge Xuanyuan Old Ancestor just as he reached his coming-of-age.

Regardless of success or failure, it would bring him great renown.

"Xuanyuan Dapan, you wish to challenge me." Xuanyuan Old Ancestor was in the inner hall, holding a woman in his arms and wantonly toying with her; she was the very maiden Xuanyuan Dapan had once admired.

"That is correct." Xuanyuan Dapan was high-spirited and brimming with killing intent.

"You do not know the meaning of death."

Regarding the youth's challenge, Xuanyuan Old Ancestor did not take it to heart; with a casual flick of his finger, several Flying Swords shot forth, intending to pierce Xuanyuan Dapan through.

Yet at that very moment, Xuanyuan Dapan's mind went into a trance for an instant, and the next moment he realized he was somehow standing in a sea of blood, with an ocean formed of fresh blood beneath his feet, churning up heaven-shaking waves of gore.

Within the sea of blood, one bloody hand after another reached out, carrying with them a foul wind and a rain of blood, grabbing toward Xuanyuan Dapan, instantly turning his face deathly pale as he cried out in alarm again and again.

In the end, Xuanyuan Dapan was still dragged into the sea of blood, sinking into the endless gore, vaguely seeing a giant eye at the bottom of the sea of blood looking at him, capturing his spirit and engraving itself forever into his soul.

……

Yu Liancheng looked at Xuanyuan Dapan once more; there was no longer any emotion in the other's eyes, as if he were merely a puppet doll devoid of any breath of life.

Of course, such an ugly puppet doll, presumably no one would buy.

Whoosh~

As if a gust of wind had blown by, Yu Liancheng's shadow flickered like a candle flame in the wind, and a wisp of it was severed, merging into Xuanyuan Dapan's physical body.

"This time, all future troubles have finally been resolved." Yu Liancheng let out a long breath; the other had completely become a puppet under his control.

Three more days passed, and on Huishan there appeared a strange man covered in a black robe, wearing an Iron mask on his head, with only a pair of stern eyes exposed.

"It is a pity that although the strength is great, there is no intelligence. Without my command, it can at most exert seventy or eighty percent of its power, but that is enough."

Yu Liancheng looked at the black-robed man and pondered for a moment, saying: "From this day forward, there will be no more Xuanyuan Dapan in this world, only Dali Wang."

"And I, too, should be leaving."