Chapter 109: Chapter 18: Unexplainable: Kunlun Martial Arts
"Innate... Has it finally come to this?"
Before anyone else could react with surprise, Li Daoran’s expression tightened. He had long suspected this was the case and was clearly convinced.
To understand this speculation, one must first look at the current state of the world.
The Demon Dynasty and the Rebel Army had been at war for decades. In the early days, the Demon Army struck with the force of a thunderbolt, systematically annihilating many of the world’s great sects. Numerous Martial Arts Families and sect strongholds were overrun. For a time, the demons’ might was unparalleled, and the world trembled in silent fear.
Then, the Hundred Schools rose up in rebellion. The various schools and sects set aside their differences, uniting the world’s forces to resist the Demon Army. They won a string of great victories, pushing the demons back to the south, even fighting their way to the Nanjiang Celestial Gate and nearly breaching the Southern Celestial Capital.
But the surging waters of the Nanjiang River and the Demon Dynasty’s vastly superior naval forces prevented the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army from breaching the gate. They could only maintain a standoff from across the river. While the great craftsmen were trying their best to build all sorts of Mechanical Marvels to cross this Celestial Fortress, the Demon Dynasty used the stalemate to its advantage. They dispatched the Demon Army to infiltrate and sabotage territories, carrying out wanton slaughter and causing all manner of cruel, unspeakable atrocities.
Even the infiltration of just a few Demon Soldiers was devastating. To ordinary people, a Demon Soldier, with their Inner Qi and Undying Power, was unstoppable. Even if they managed to injure one through sheer numbers, the damage wouldn’t stick. One by one, scattered villages were slaughtered. This forced even the Hundred Schools’ Righteous Army to contract their forces, trying to hunt down the Demon Soldiers while focusing on protecting a few core provinces from destruction.
Places like Liaozhou and Hei State became undefendable, lawless lands.
Now, while the Demon Dynasty could no longer rampage unchecked, the Rebel Army was also unable to annihilate them. The two sides had entered a total strategic stalemate. In this phase, however, the Rebel Army was at a disadvantage. As more time went on, the Demon Dynasty, with its Divine Wood Power, would likely use its resources and the prime years of its leaders to produce an Innate Martial Saint in this new era of increasingly active Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi!
On the Demon Dynasty’s side, the Demon Emperor and the National Preceptor are both Grandmasters. On the Rebel Army’s side, the leaders of the Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian schools are also Grandmasters.
But on the Rebel Army’s side, the older generation who harbor a deep hatred for the Demon Dynasty are already well into their twilight years. The new generation has yet to fully mature, and some are even tempted to defect by the Demon Dynasty’s promise of immortality.
Furthermore, their three Grandmasters are long past their prime, while the Demon Emperor and the National Preceptor are still in theirs.
To break this unbearable stalemate, the Rebel Army acted on intelligence gained from the defection of Zhou Buyi’s father. Their plan was to forge the Divine Soldier, the Blade of Annihilation, and use its power to storm the Southern Celestial Capital and slay the two arch-villains—the Demon Emperor and the National Preceptor—on the battlefield.
However, through a traitor in the Rebel Army’s ranks, the Demon Dynasty learned of the plan. They began to pull their main forces back from the front lines, dispatching Demon Soldiers and Generals to Taibai Volcano to stop them.
"But this time, the Demon Dynasty pulled back too many troops. They’ve abandoned several fortresses along the river, essentially giving up the entire northwestern front. With our superiority in conventional forces, the Rebel Army can now drive straight in, encircle the Southern Celestial Capital from the flank, and even breach it! In a way, the Demon Dynasty has given up the stalemate themselves—they’re practically inviting defeat!"
As they brought the wounded Grandmaster Wei and several other heavily injured members of the escort team back to camp, Zhou Buyi took over for his master and explained the situation to a clueless Su Zhou. "But mobilizing our main army to the northwest, fending off enemy harassment while crossing the Nanjiang River, and then marching hundreds of miles to surround the Southern Celestial Capital—that will take several months. What if, in those few months, the Demon Dynasty produces an Innate Martial Saint?"
"Then their entire losing position would be reversed... unless you forge the Divine Soldier." Su Zhou narrowed his eyes, nodding in understanding. "Originally, they were caught in a dilemma. Pulling back their forces meant a quick defeat, but letting you forge the Divine Soldier meant a delayed defeat. So they could only try to intercept the materials for it, just to buy time."
"But now, someone on their side is about to break through to the Innate Realm. Conventional military strength will soon be irrelevant. So they’ve decisively pulled back their forces and concentrated them here to eliminate the ’Divine Soldier’—the one thing that could cause their defeat!"
"Yes." The white hair at Zhou Buyi’s temples fluttered as his Inner Strength surged. His expression was grim, his emotions clearly unstable. "This means we of the Hundred Schools were a step too slow in our judgment. A message from a Spirit Dove said our main reinforcements set out late. Meanwhile, the Demon Army has already begun to gather for an initial assault on the mountain... The conflict has reached a boiling point. This is about to become the most important battlefield in the entire Vast Divine State!"
’The Celestial God Scale will send you to the center of this world’s conflict.’
For some reason, Su Zhou recalled the words Yara had spoken to him when he first crossed over.
It seemed she was right.
’An Innate Martial Saint... so that’s the Extraordinary Realm?’
As he mulled over the definition of the ’Extraordinary Tier,’ anxiety began to gnaw at Su Zhou. ’The Extraordinary Tier is what an Awakener achieves after completely mastering their own Spiritual Power and abilities, when their Spiritual Energy undergoes a further sublimation. A Transcendent at the Great Success stage can even use their own Spiritual Power to command nature’s spiritual energy, creating ’Celestial Changes.’ That kind of Divine Power is enough for a single person to level a city block, or even collapse a mountain.’
’With that kind of power, an Innate Martial Saint truly lives up to the name. In this ancient world, it’s utter domination. Without an equal, a single person with a sword could sweep across the Divine Land and suppress an entire nation... Even in the modern world, you’d need to deploy the army, execute multi-directional targeted strikes, and lock on with sustained artillery fire just to pose a threat.’
’With power like that, ’Extraordinary’ no longer just means ’surpassing mortals,’ but ’surpassing the mortal world’ itself. While its destructive power might not match modern weaponry, this is the power of an individual. They can move unseen and require no support structure!’
If the Demon Dynasty truly produced a Martial Saint, then not even a Grandmaster wielding the Blade of Annihilation could guarantee victory. It would still be a stalemate—and a continued stalemate would likely result in the enemy producing a second, and then a third, Martial Saint!
"We have to stop these Demon Soldiers. We need to start forging the Divine Soldier now—the sooner, the better!"
Having understood the stakes, Su Zhou spoke in a grave voice, his words drawing the attention of Zhou Buyi and the other Grandmasters. They nodded in quick succession. "Indeed. We will take the Star Gang Sand to the Grand Master immediately and begin forging the Divine Soldier!"
That was easier said than done. When they returned to the fortress and announced the imminent attack from the Demon Soldiers, the will to fight was there, but the mood was mostly one of grim resolve.
—A Demon General, granted a title by the Demon Emperor, was already at the Grandmaster Realm. With their Power of Undying, they could fight many opponents at once without being defeated. A single one was a nightmare to deal with.
And now, three great Demon Generals—Hunting Life, Beast Taming, and Red Land—had arrived with nearly five hundred Demon Soldiers. Their own side had only four Grandmasters, one of whom was severely wounded.
Even with the advantage of terrain, the disparity in strength was too great. Their only real option was to delay for as long as possible and pray the main reinforcements arrived in time. That was their only sliver of hope.
"Weilie’s injuries are severe; they’ve reached muscle and bone. They can’t be healed quickly."
Inside the camp, Grandmaster Han examined Grandmaster Wei’s injuries and shook his head helplessly. "After all, he’s over seventy and past his peak. Even a Grandmaster’s constitution declines... With my skills, the most I can do is alleviate the pain so he can fight one-armed. That would at least give us a Postnatal Second Rank combatant, but I’m afraid Weilie’s renowned archery will be useless."
Nearby, the Swordman Liuu Xizhao was cleaning Weilie’s wound, changing the water, and using a small knife to cut away the rotting flesh and drain the clotted blood.
She was Grandmaster Han’s martial niece and also skilled in medicine. Her movements were swift and precise. She turned and said, "The main problem is that Grandmaster Wei forced his Inner Strength when he was injured, which is why the Inner Qi circulation here is blocked. Otherwise, if it were just damage to his flesh and bone, he could have used his Inner Strength to temporarily mend it and fight at full power for a short while."
Though he had expected this outcome, Li Daoran couldn’t help but sigh. "That Red Land Demon General has always been a maniac, skilled at trading blow for blow with an aggressive, frenzied fighting style. Weilie excels at the Military School’s battle array tactics, but he’s a step weaker in a one-on-one duel. If it weren’t for young brother Su Zhou joining us, this defense... Huh? Grandmaster Su, what is that bottle of white ’lotus root powder’ in your hand?"
"It’s much thicker than lotus root powder, you know?"
Su Zhou held a small, jelly-like vial of Holy Water. Hearing Li Daoran’s description, he felt compelled to make a correction—not to be argumentative, but out of a simple respect for food. "It’s more like aspic, at least!"
Then, Su Zhou’s expression turned serious. "This is a Healing Holy Medicine from the western Kunlun Holy Mountain. It might not be as effective on injuries that reach the bone, but for damage to flesh and internal organs, it works wonders."
"A few days ago, I had a... disagreement with the escort team due to a misunderstanding. I accidentally ’let my hand slip’ and shattered the Fang Hui Martial Monk’s cheekbone. This medicine is the only reason he recovered so quickly!"
"Then... thank you for your generosity, Grandmaster Su. We will be sure to reward you handsomely later!" Grandmaster Han and Li Daoran exchanged a look, then glanced at the wounded, bald-headed Weilie. After he nodded, they accepted the Holy Water with expressions of gratitude mixed with a hint of doubt.
"Huh?! What in the world is this—so pure and holy, as vast and bright as the midday sun!"
Grandmaster Han scooped out a bit of the Holy Water jelly with a small spoon. When he sensed it with his Inner Qi, he felt as if he were staring into the sun, a blazing light filling his vision. After a moment of contemplation, he decisively set aside the other complicated Spirit Plant ointments. He cleaned the wound with fresh water, used a silver needle and fine tweezers to pick out the clotted blood and dead flesh, then directly packed a spoonful of the Holy Water jelly into the cavity and applied a standard wound-sealing powder over it.
"Now we wait," he said. "This medicine’s properties are balanced and gentle, but it repels other powers, just as sunlight outshines the stars. That’s why we can’t use other secret Spirit Plant remedies with it, though a simple herbal paste should be fine."
Two minutes later, under the astonished gazes of the three Grandmasters and a dozen other experts, the bald Grandmaster Weilie clenched his left fist in equal shock and flexed his left shoulder. While it was still a bit stiff and sore, that was due to the temporarily impeded flow of his Inner Qi and the hairline fracture in the bone. For a short period, however, he could now fight with the full power of a Grandmaster!
His flesh, muscle, and veins... had already finished regenerating?!
"To think Kunlun’s secret medicine was this potent!"
