13: Emperor Taizu of the Great Xuan Dynasty, Heavenly Saint Demoness

Roughly over ten thousand years ago, there was no Concept of a Heavenly Human Martial Saint back then.

At that time, the various kingdoms were locked in chaotic war, and the people lived in misery.

Innate Grandmasters everywhere established sects, carved out territories, and fooled the commoners.

In some places, those in the Innate Realm even styled themselves as Immortals, establishing longevity clans.

Mayflies comparing themselves to the heavens—how ridiculous.

The Great Xuan Dynasty Ancestor, Xiao Xuanwu, received the mandate of heaven amidst the chaotic times. Rising from humble beginnings, he led the masses in an uprising, conquering the chaotic world. Using military force to break through the Innate Realm, he combined the momentum of his army, channeling the power of the masses into one person.

He became the number one person of that era!

Even now, the designations of the four regional legions are still passed down.

The Great Xuan Dynasty Ancestor razed mountains and destroyed temples, unified military morale and public sentiment, grasped the Concept of the World, and established the Xuanwu Dynasty, governing diligently and loving the people.

With the mountains and rivers unified, the four directions came to pay homage.

Thus, the Concept of the World transformed into the Domain of Mountains and Rivers and Social Prosperity, allowing him to comprehend the Dao of the Heavenly Human and pave the way forward for martial arts.

According to ancient historical records, when Xiao Xuanwu broke through to the Heaven-Human Realm, the heavens and earth celebrated, all things flourished, and the mountains and rivers even shifted; the entire world expanded by more than tenfold.

The Great Xuan Dynasty Ancestor did not hesitate to educate the masses, spreading the Dao of the Heavenly Human. The martial arts community revered him as a Martial Saint, and thus the term Heavenly Human Martial Saint was born.

The Xuanwu Continent thus opened a new prologue for martial arts.

Nowadays, a great catastrophe is approaching. If a successor can open up the path ahead once more, perhaps this world will expand even further, becoming rich in resources; the world nourishes all things, and all things feed back into the world!

Before the Heaven-Human Realm, the world was not this large, and exotic beasts did not possess intelligence.

The path of martial arts opens up the future of the world!

You have understood this world—or rather, its greatest secret.

You feel a trace of urgency; you do not have much time left.

You know that opening the path forward for martial arts is your responsibility. Old Man Cangshan broke through to the Heaven-Human Realm at thirty-six and only reached the end of it at one hundred and fifty.

As for you, my great Transmigration friend, you will be eighteen in a few months.

There are only eighty-two years left until the centennial catastrophe.

You must open up the path ahead within these eighty-two years; time is tight and the task is heavy.

But you know you can definitely do it!

Perhaps Xiao Tianhao can do it too.

However, judging by the typical behavior of a protagonist, he will surely wait until the very last moment to brew up his Breakthrough. You cannot count on him.

Old Man Cangshan has opened his entire Martial Saint treasury to you, containing countless Legacies, as well as his own thoughts on what lies beyond the Heaven-Human Realm.

You are trapped in a rat race, and none of your five fellow disciples are slacking off.

Your eldest Senior Sister is only twenty-six years old, yet she is already a Great Grandmaster, not far from becoming a Supreme Grandmaster. She has a chance to break Master's record for the youngest Heaven-Human Realm expert.

You are expected to break through to the Innate Realm at eighteen, which might update the record for the fastest Breakthrough to the Innate Realm.

However, Xiao Tianhao, at sixteen and in the seventh stage of the Acquired Realm, is a formidable rival who might break your record.

The "Cang Mountain Chart" is the core Legacy of Old Man Cangshan. Old Man Cangshan's studies were extensive; he was proficient in almost all weapons, from blades and spears to swords and halberds. The "Cang Mountain Chart" is where his core Legacy lies, but a thousand people have a thousand faces, and the Cultivation Technique that each person comprehends is different.

Old Man Cangshan's core martial art is Painting Martial Arts! Entering the martial path through painting, dotting the Cang Mountain with ink!

You have comprehended Momentum and Force. The Momentum of Cang Mountain is heavy pressure! Carrying the weight of the Cang Mountain, you crush your opponents.

The Force of Mountains and Rivers merges with nature; all things are power, and all things combine into force!

You have integrated the vast and profound Legacy into your own Dao of Wuji!

You have finally created the first form of Wuji: Control the Heavenly Dao!

Wuji transforms into the Heavenly Dao, controlling the heavens and punishing the earth!

The intent is to act on behalf of the power of the Heavenly Dao! I am the Heavenly Dao!

You have already integrated the embryonic form of a Concept into the first form!

After mastering the Legacy and creating the Cultivation Technique, you found Old Man Cangshan, your Master! You desire life-and-death tempering and seek a recommendation from Master.

For you, life-and-death tempering and the moment between life and death are what allow you to better stimulate your potential and gain more rewards.

Old Man Cangshan did not warn you to be careful; the Dao of the Heavenly Human has always been unique. He recommended the Heavenly Saint Dynasty to you.

The Heavenly Saint Dynasty is actually a nation located to the east of the Great Xuan Dynasty, where the Heavenly Demon Cult holds power.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor of the Heavenly Demon Cult is also a powerhouse who has reached the end of the Heaven-Human Martial Saint path, but his Lifespan is coming to an end, and he might do something irrational in his final moments.

Old Man Cangshan told you to collect some intelligence on the Heavenly Demon Cult while you are out gaining experience.

Old Man Cangshan crafted a Martial Domain Token for you, which can unleash the strike of a Martial Saint.

Your sense of security is overflowing.

Finally, he told you to return at least three years later. Three years from now, the Heaven-Human experts of the Five Kingdoms will jointly launch the Five Kingdoms Prodigy Tournament.

The Prodigy Tournament is restricted to prodigies under thirty years old from each country. It will determine the strongest combat power among the prodigies.

At that time, the top three in the tournament will receive strong support from the Heaven-Human experts of the Five Kingdoms, granting the top three resources of different specifications for the Innate Realm, or even the Heaven-Human Realm, allowing them to Cultivate to the end of the martial path faster and better.

Before leaving, you left the Tiger King and the Sword Servant at Cangshan Academy; the cultivation environment here is quite good.

Finally, after listening to a song of Heaven and Earth Rhythm from Shangguan Xi, you departed leisurely.

At eighteen, you arrived at the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. This place truly embodies what it means to respect martial arts!

Every city, every town, and even every village has martial arts experts who conquer and occupy each other.

The strong rise, the weak fall, or die!

Most Martial Artists in the Heavenly Saint Dynasty Cultivate the Demonic Path, harvesting human Qi and blood to refine them into pills!

The citizens are basically sustainable Qi and blood pills!

For the sake of sustainability, the Heavenly Saint Dynasty even established a population tax!

If you want to Cultivate Demonic Techniques and kill people to refine your methods, you even need to file a report and get approval.

Those who can't wait and kill people must pay the population tax afterward.

Although the common people at the bottom have their blood and lives harvested, their safety is actually guaranteed, which is very strange.

As for challenging the Martial Artists who rule as kings in various places, life and death are irrelevant.

If you can escape after failing, that is your ability. If you die, then you deserve it!

That is how the Demonic Path has always acted!

Although you are full of disgust for this place, your heart of slaughter has quietly been liberated.

The Heavenly Saint Dynasty has twenty-seven prefectures.

In the first month, you crossed an entire prefecture, beheading the lords of various cities.

Finally, you suppressed the prefectural city with your sword and fought hard against an Innate expert, retreating in defeat between life and death. For a time, the heroes of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty were stirred.

In the second month, you arrived at the prefectural city again. With the sevenfold amplification of the Seven Star Technique, you beheaded an Innate expert with one sword!

Defying the natural order by attacking the Innate Realm from the Acquired Realm, your prestige is renowned. For a time, those with weaker strength were all in danger.

In the third month, you swept across three prefectures. Those in the first Innate Realm and Martial Body Realm Grandmasters were no longer your opponents at all.

In the fourth month, a True Essence Realm Great Grandmaster came to intercept you. You unleashed the first form of Wuji: Control the Heavenly Dao.

With the Heavenly Dao suppressing horizontally and resisting with all your might, both sides suffered injuries.

You were like a madman, wanting to fight to the death, and the True Essence Great Grandmaster was terrified and fled.

You were seriously injured and fell into a coma.

You were saved by an exquisite woman.

The woman called herself Zi You, a Great Grandmaster in combat power.

She told you that she had a life-and-death feud with the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult and wanted to form an alliance with you; she had taken a fancy to your potential.

You did not care and agreed to her request.

In the fifth month, you continued to challenge everyone. Zi You followed you, escorting you, saying she wanted to test whether you were capable of forming an alliance with her.

...In the ninth month, you created the second form of Wuji: Flying Immortal!

Integrating the Great White Scripture, the Seven Star Technique, and the Cang Mountain Force, it is both a finger technique and a sword technique.

One sword flying as an Immortal, intending to transcend time, transcend everything, and witness the beauty in an instant!

You reached the Perfection of the ninth stage of the Acquired Realm.

The Dao of Wuji unveiled its curtain, and you began to refine your Innate Martial Body, unifying the wonders of the five internal organs and merging the nine stages of the Acquired Realm.

Your Qi and blood absorbed the heaven and earth, Spiritual Qi molded your body, your Protective Aura emerged as the times required, and your Innate Martial Body was successfully refined!

Innate Wuji Myriad Dao Body!

The power belonging to an Innate Grandmaster surged up instantly.

You feel that you can shatter a mountain with one punch! And you really can shatter a mountain with one punch.

You started your conquest again; the Innate Realm has only just begun!

When Spiritual Qi and your Qi and blood fuse perfectly, and your Martial Body is flawless, you can cross the Martial Body Realm and enter the True Essence Realm.

For the True Essence Realm, you have the Legacy of the Eight Trigrams Martial Saint, which will greatly shorten your time in the True Essence Realm.

And the Concept will become your main cultivation goal. Concept, Concept manifesting into reality, Concept transforming into a Domain!

You have already comprehended your Wuji Concept; the next step is the cultivation of the Concept manifesting into reality.

The Concept lies in the cultivation of the martial will!

It is almost impossible to Cultivate a Concept in the Acquired Realm, at most an embryonic form of a Concept.

This is because the Concept is a spiritual cultivation; the spirit interferes with reality and eventually transforms into a substantial impact.

If the martial cultivation is not enough and the physical body cannot withstand the pressure brought by the spiritual Concept, the Martial Artist runs the risk of exploding and dying.

The Innate Realm Martial Body and True Essence are all cultivated to be able to withstand the Domain of Concept.

It can be said that any cultivation is indispensable!

Concept manifesting into reality, transforming into substance, or stacking Concepts to comprehend multiple Concepts, or raising the Concept to a higher level, making its power even stronger.

One is to comprehend multiple Concepts, and the other is to comprehend Concepts at a deeper level.

Neither of these is something that can be easily achieved.

You intend to pursue both.

The Wuji Concept is your main Concept, the main Concept to deeply comprehend and Cultivate for the rest of your life.

You must also comprehend other Concepts, learning from their strengths to offset your weaknesses, and constantly integrating them into the Wuji Concept.

Through your constant slaughter over the past few months, you have already gained a faint comprehension of the Killing Concept.

In the tenth month, you swept across another three prefectures, killing eighty-seven Innate Realm Martial Artists, and comprehended the Killing Concept.

You are called the Martial Demon! The Sword Madman by the Heavenly Saint Dynasty!

You are very puzzled as to why you haven't encountered any main members of the Heavenly Demon Cult, so you ask Zi You.

Zi You tells you that the main members of the Heavenly Demon Cult are the three hundred and sixty Hall Masters, thirty-two Protectors, seven Deacons, four Dharma Kings, the Saint, the Saintess, the main and deputy Cult Masters, the Grand Elder, and the Heavenly Demon Ancestor!

The lowest among them is a True Essence Realm Great Grandmaster.

And the main members of the Heavenly Demon Cult are all served by members of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty's royal family and nobles.

They are almost all within the three prefectures near the Holy Capital of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty.

They Cultivate the Orthodox Heavenly Demon Technique, which cannot be compared to the demonic brats on the periphery.

You began to attack the central three prefectures!

The Heavenly Demon Cult's Cultivation Technique is indeed impressive; you challenged someone of a higher level and actually felt somewhat unable to win, which is somewhat unbelievable.

You began to reflect on yourself, whether you hadn't done something well enough, how long it had been since you made progress, and whether you had become slack.

You countered with a Wuji Concept suppression, turning the situation around.

Your heart felt comfortable then.

Internal friction is not advisable; I am still that invincible youth! Not a single bit has changed!

You discovered some clues; each Hall Master's Cultivation Technique is different, but they seem to have an intent, or rather, some core aspects are somewhat similar.

You have a guess in your heart, but you did not immediately reach a conclusion.

At nineteen, you have been in the Heavenly Saint Dynasty for a year.

The central three prefectures are indeed the core area of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, and the various Innate Grandmasters guarding them have many extraordinary qualities.

Three months have passed, and you still haven't fully crossed one prefecture.

You have comprehended the Battle Concept! Your strength has increased!

At the same time, your Martial Body finally reached Perfection, and you condensed True Essence... Zi You raided your room at night!

You played along with her scheme and "reluctantly" complied!

You activated the Dragon-Tiger Fierce Battle Technique, balancing Yin and Yang.

You reversed the roles and took the upper position.

Zi You was unwilling to show weakness and attempted to take the upper position.

You two fought for three days and three nights, with your Concepts merging, Qi and blood interacting, and Divine Thoughts complementing each other in a fierce Dragon-Tiger battle!

Three days later, Zi You fled in a panic!

You walked out while holding the wall, revealing a victorious smile!

Long before coming to the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, Old Man Cangshan had warned you that the Saintesses of the Heavenly Saint Cult in every generation Cultivate the Wonderful Method of Harvesting Yuan to Replenish Yin.

They will test many prodigies, choose the one who is the most powerful and most suitable for themselves, and harvest their Yuan to replenish their Yin, obtaining part of the mystery of the harvested person's Martial Body and the profundity of their Concept.

Old Man Cangshan thoughtfully recommended the Dragon-Tiger Fierce Battle Technique and the Wonderful Method of Harvesting Yin to Replenish Yuan to you.

The former benefits both, and the latter is the opposing method to the Wonderful Method of Harvesting Yuan to Replenish Yin.

You once curiously asked Old Man Cangshan why he knew so clearly, and he told you that children should ask less about adult matters.

Obviously, even Old Man Cangshan had suffered indescribable losses when he was young.

On the first day you saw Zi You, you knew that this pure yet seductive woman was definitely a Demoness.

Given the care of the Demoness big sister over the past few months, and because her appearance was right up your alley, you did not use the second method.

There's always time for the future!

A week later, Zi You returned to your side as if nothing had happened; you are allies after all!

You held an alliance meeting in bed!

The alliance meeting was very successful, and you had a fierce discussion about the alliance treaty.

Another week later, Zi You brought a large amount of nourishing items... You felt that your personality had been seriously insulted.

You went all out, and this time you firmly held the upper hand in the alliance treaty; Zi You bowed to you as the Alliance Leader!

You condensed the Illusion Concept, you received a trace of the Magic Illusion Jialuo Physique enhancement, and your True Essence condensed by one level.

Half a year has passed!

You were suddenly hunted down by the Heavenly Demon Cult!

The Heavenly Demon Cult issued an endless kill order for you!

Zi You's whereabouts are unknown, which you had long expected.

You began your life of fleeing!

After three months of being hunted, you comprehended the Startling Swan Concept!

Your speed and movement techniques are even better.

In the fourth month, you encountered a Heavenly Demon Dharma King at the Supreme Great Grandmaster level.

You fled for your life and finally escaped back to the Great Xuan Dynasty!

You decided not to go back to the Heavenly Saint Dynasty to ask for trouble anymore.

It's just forming an alliance with your Saint Cult's Demoness, is it worth going to such great lengths to hunt me down!

You, at the third level of True Essence, are preparing to return to the Eight Trigrams Martial Saint Ruin to inherit the Legacy of the ruin and quickly condense your True Essence in the True Essence Realm.

You will attempt to break through the limit of True Essence condensation.

Shanyue Prefectural City, you have finally returned here.

There is one year and two months left until the Five Kingdoms Prodigy Tournament.

If there is enough time, you plan to go home after finishing your cultivation to see your parents and younger brother and sister; you don't know how they are doing now.

You entered the Heaven-Human Ruin, jumped into the Sublimation Pool, absorbed the energy of the Sublimation Pool, and the speed of your True Essence condensation increased rapidly...

Three times, four times, five times...