Martial Sovereign of the Turbulent World

Chapter 171: Chapter 169: New Demon Body, the Unbridled Young Master Fu

A murky black fog, so thick it seemed solid, rose within the training room. It rapidly devoured the surrounding light, creeping into the darkest corners.

When the strange Smoke Barrier dissipated, the transformed Fu Juemin stood in the center of the room.

His height had shot up to nearly seven and a half feet. Compared to his first transformation, this Demon Body was undoubtedly far more symmetrical.

Unlike the deformed bulkiness of his first transformation, his new form possessed a slender yet powerful silhouette. His entire body was covered in patterns like cracked rock, dark red with flowing streams of orange light. His eyes had transformed into two pools of bottomless ink, constantly emanating a ferocious aura woven from the demonic and the tyrannical.

’The Master Level Five Beasts Skill has greatly increased my control over my physical body. The Three Souls in One Body state is stabilizing, and the entire Demon Body feels so much more solid than before...’

A more solid body meant it could withstand stronger and more violent bursts of power.

Fu Juemin flexed his hands, hearing a deep, tight grinding sound from his bones and muscles, as if a vast and intricate mechanism were winding tighter and tighter.

His heart beat with a heavy thud only once every few seconds. Each pulse was like magma surging deep underground, pumping scorching blood through his veins, making even his breath as hot as a fiery gale.

However, the vortex of Innate Primordial Qi in his dantian was also being consumed rapidly. Fu Juemin roughly estimated that he could only maintain this state for three minutes at most.

Three minutes wasn’t long, but it was enough time to do many things—enough to turn the tide in many critical situations.

’I’m about to save up two Attribute Points. Then I can add another point to Life, bringing it to 18... My stamina should get a decent boost, too.’

In his Demon Body state, Fu Juemin’s bones, muscles, and skin had all gained additional mass. Yet, his limbs still retained a basically human shape, though the thick, twisted veins on his arms and palms bulged grotesquely, giving them a ferocious appearance.

He threw a test punch, then a palm strike. His movements weren’t fast, yet a series of dull, piercing cracks exploded in the air wherever his fist and palm passed.

Feeling the destructive power contained within this body, a power that felt on the verge of overflowing, Fu Juemin found it difficult to suppress the urge stirring within him. He wanted to find a Gratitude Sensing Realm Martial Artist to test his strength against right away.

’A Gratitude Martial Artist is still human. At best, their Vitality is just a bit denser than someone in the Late Stage of Tongxuan... This power should be more than enough to kill one.’

The advancement from the Tongxuan to the Gratitude Sensing Realm was all about "refining perception to the microscopic level, where the internal and external converge."

—This meant deeply integrating the pure Vitality honed in the Tongxuan Realm with one’s own five senses, intuition, and even subconscious. The focus of cultivation would shift from "controlling Force" to the "sublimation of Perception," ultimately reaching the profound state of "Summer Cicada Feels Autumn, Ice Carp Knows Snow."

During this process, a Tongxuan Realm Martial Artist would stimulate and break through hidden meridians and acupoints within the body. With each one cleared, their Vitality would grow denser and purer, and its external projection would become more efficient, with less loss.

Upon finally stepping into the Gratitude Sensing Realm, the Protective Qi Membrane could be integrated into one’s flesh at will, and the resulting explosive power and speed were far beyond anything a Tongxuan practitioner could match.

Fu Juemin had no doubt about the threat his Demon Body posed to a Gratitude Sensing Realm Martial Artist. His only uncertainty lay with the most legendary aspect of that realm: the so-called "Martial Intuition."

’If my explosive power is great enough, even if they have a premonition, they still won’t be able to react in time...’

’If only the Glazed Heart Realm could coexist with the Demon Body... then taking down a Gratitude Martial Artist would be a sure thing!’

Fu Juemin couldn’t help but sigh.

Of course, it was just a passing thought. He understood the principle of not being able to have your cake and eat it too.

Besides, the future was unpredictable. Who was to say he wouldn’t acquire a Demon Talent with an effect similar to the Glazed Heart Realm someday?

After getting a feel for his new Demon Body, Fu Juemin looked down at the name "Zhao Jigang" he had carved into the floor. He thought for a moment, then squatted and gently wiped it away.

Fu Juemin carved a new name—"Luo Chengying."

He immediately wiped it away and carved again.

This time... it was "Luo Zhengxiong"!

"Jianghai Defense Command."

A light glinted in Fu Juemin’s ink-black eyes as he muttered the words.

He had trained so bitterly for so long and felt his strength was nearing the point where he could "flip the table." If that was the case, there was no need to keep getting entangled with the small fry.

’Find an opportunity, infiltrate the Jianghai Defense Command, and kill Luo Zhengxiong directly. Wouldn’t that be much more satisfying?’

But as the commander of the Jianghai Defense Command, Luo Zhengxiong was certain to be surrounded by expert bodyguards.

He would have to plan carefully, one step at a time.

’First, I need to find out the precise location of the headquarters. Then, the internal layout, the best time to infiltrate, my escape route... and just what kind of experts are protecting Luo Zhengxiong?’

As Fu Juemin mused silently, he wiped away Luo Zhengxiong’s name and smoothly reverted from his Demon Body state.

’From now on, if I think I might need to use the Demon Body when I go out, I’ll have to bring a light change of clothes...’

Just as Fu Juemin finished putting on the suit he had taken off earlier, the servant waiting outside the training room knocked on the door to report.

"Young Master, a man named Zhang Yi is here to see you. He says he’s the ’Martial Arts Scholar’ from this year’s Shenghai Martial Arts Association tournament."

"Zhang Yi?"

Hearing the name, Fu Juemin’s eyes flickered as a figure flashed through his mind.

After a moment’s thought, he nodded and said, "Take him to the Rain Listening Corridor to wait for me."

"Yes."

「Ten minutes later, in Ink Garden’s Rain Listening Corridor.」

Fu Juemin stood nonchalantly by the railing, crumbling a delicate pastry in his hand. He idly tempted a few winter-hardy sparrows in the garden while sizing up the father and son standing before him.

Fu Juemin remembered the man well; their first encounter had been a minor conflict.

At the Martial Champion’s coronation ceremony, Zhang Yi had even tried to warn him about the plot hatched by Zhao Tianpeng and his cronies. Big Cat had stopped him, but the man had certainly shown good intentions.

"Young Master Fu."

Dressed in a faded old jacket, his face was weather-beaten, but his back was ramrod straight. Zhang Yi offered Fu Juemin a cupped-fist salute, his demeanor neither servile nor arrogant.

Fu Juemin gave a slight nod and got straight to the point. "Why have you come to see me today?"

"I wish to follow you, Young Master Fu."

Zhang Yi’s voice was steady as he spoke, but the young boy at his side couldn’t help but blurt out, "My dad is amazing! If they hadn’t cheated, he would have been the Martial Champion for sure!"

"Zhang Xuan!"

Zhang Yi’s face hardened. He reached out, pulled the boy back gently, and hissed at him to be quiet.

But Fu Juemin just smiled.

He spoke to the boy in a gentle tone, "I know your father is skilled. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be qualified to stand here before me." Then, his gaze fell back on Zhang Yi. "You want to follow me... What is it you seek?"

Zhang Yi lowered his gaze for a moment before looking up, his expression placid. "Wealth! Power!"

Zhang Yi was a martial arts fanatic. He’d spent half his life obsessed with training. He trained until his family fortune was exhausted, until his family was forced to eat husks and wild greens just to survive. He trained until his parents passed away, yet he couldn’t even afford a simple coffin for their burial. When his wife fell gravely ill, he couldn’t scrape together enough money for a single dose of medicine. Only then did he have a rude awakening, and he brought his only son to Shenghai.

In his month in Shenghai, the thing he’d received most often was contempt, and the thing he’d seen most often was the filth and depravity that festered beneath wealth and power.

He had been confident in his own two iron fists. What couldn’t he earn through honest, hard work?

But after the Martial Arts Association’s tournament, he was lost.

That is, until the day of the Martial Champion’s coronation, when he witnessed Fu Juemin make his move. His Martial Arts, his methods—everything about him was utterly domineering! Before the eyes of all, he had brutally carved out a path for himself, one where he could act without restraint.

That was why he had taken the initiative to come and offer his allegiance.

"What you want, I can give you."

After hearing Zhang Yi’s answer, Fu Juemin smiled. He turned and scattered the pastry crumbs under the eaves, attracting a flock of sparrows that fluttered down to squabble over them.

Fu Juemin gently stroked the head of a bold sparrow with one finger and spoke in a soft, unhurried voice. "However, you must first prove your worth.

Fight a battle for me... Only if you survive will you be qualified to follow me."

A glint flashed in Zhang Yi’s eyes. After several seconds of silence, he gave a heavy, cupped-fist salute. A single word rumbled from his throat: "Done!"