Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The four deacons followed Lei Lie closely and pushed out a giant bronze drum.

“Ha!”

Gus saw that Lei Lie’s eyes were as round as bronze bells. He roared, and his spiritual energy tore apart the loose black robe inch by inch, revealing his magnificent body that seemed to be made of iron.

It was the typical attire of a priest of the Temple of Fist.

It maximized the strength of his perfect body that seemed to be carved out of marble.

It was a way to intimidate the believers and please the Fist God.

Then, Lei Lie punched the big bronze drum, raising a soundwave that seemed to be able to split a mountain. The soundwaves echoed in the entire Red Gold Town.

The area in front of the temple, which had been packed with people, suddenly fell silent.

Everyone grimaced and rubbed their ears, listening to Lei Lie’s instructions.

“In the ancient era of Chaos, ferocious beasts ran rampant. Human beings could only shiver in fear under the sharp claws and tusks of the beasts, unable to resist, and ended up being pitiful food.

Lei Lie’s tiger-like eyes were wide open as he looked around with an unstoppable gaze. He hissed, “Even if someone wants to sharpen the stone spears, bind the stone axes, create pits and beast-catching nets—how can these fragile toys resist the ‘Eight-Armed Demonic Apes’, the ‘Iron-Horned Furious Bears’, the ‘Saber-Toothed Mad Lions’, the ‘Sky-Soaring Golden Eagles’, and so on? How can these incomparably ferocious beasts be stopped?

“Over the past tens of thousands of years, human beings have been savaged. They are living in imminent peril and are about to go extinct.

“It was the Fist God who descended from the sky and turned into the ‘Lord Fist King’. He killed the ferocious beasts and taught the mortals fist techniques, martial arts, and the principles of tempering their muscles, bones, and bodies. Only then did the mortals have the strength to protect themselves. It allowed us, the descendants of the later generations, to gradually grow stronger. We slew the ferocious beasts and cut through the thorns. In the end, we rose up and became the masters of this world!

“In the past ten thousand years, how can mortals protect themselves, how can humanity rise, how can we compete with the ferocious beasts? We rely on fists that are hundreds of times harder than steel!

“‘All power belongs to oneself. External objects such as blades, spears, swords, halberds, and so on are all unreliable things, let alone bizarre skills such as machines.’ This is the ultimate truth of the iron fist. Even a three-year-old knows this.”

“However, today, ten thousand years later, perhaps because of the long period of peace, many people have gradually forgotten the principles that the Fist Sect offered us, especially those who are weak, lackluster, lazy, and opportunistic. Instead of training their own strength dutifully, they have pinned all their hopes on foreign objects and been tempted by the damn mechanical demons and steam demons.

“It’s hilarious. These people are too shortsighted. It’s hilarious that they don’t know that the power of machinery and steam will only bring temporary relaxation, but it will corrupt one’s will, paralyze one’s limbs, and devour one’s strength!

“If a human being relies on machines and steam all the time instead of training his body, won’t he turn into a boneless worm or a pile of white mud after a long time? Will the so-called machines and steam really be reliable then?

Lei Lie suddenly burst into laughter.

“Come on, bring me your saber!”

He waved his hands behind him.

The four deacons waved their coldly shining sabers at his neck brutally.

Lei Lie’s face was full of disdain. His muscles were shivering crazily, and his spiritual gas was swirling as if it were pure air. Before the edge of the saber touched his skin, it was already blown away by him. “Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” The four sabers were all broken.

“Again! Sword!”

Lei Lie continued roaring.

Four deacons, each holding a cold iron sword, stabbed at Lei Lie’s heart.

However, Lei Lie snatched the four swords away. Gritting his teeth, he exerted his strength and twisted the four swords into a knot.

“Do you see it?”

Lei Lie raised the broken saber and the iron twist and showed it to the residents proudly. “There is a limit to the advantages of swords and sabers, but under the protection of the Fist God, the potential of human beings is limitless!

It was the first time that many residents had seen such a high priest of the Fist God Hall. They all exclaimed in disbelief.

“If blades are so useless, what about real machines?

Lei Lie tossed away the broken saber and the iron twist and finally got down to business. He sneered, “I believe many of you know why we are gathered here today. Yes. The evil tentacles of the mechanical demons have invaded Red Gold Town and are hiding right beside us!

Everybody was greatly shocked.

Even though everybody knew what had happened, they still had to exclaim and express their devotion to the Fist God and their hatred for the evil Cultivators.

“Yesterday, somebody shot a tiger with a crossbow in the mountains near Red Gold Town. There. This is it.”

Lei Lie waved his hands. An assistant wearing gloves and covering his nose picked up the arrow carefully. Cold sweat was all over his head, as if he were scared that the evil mechanical force attached to the arrow would invade his body and corrupt his soul.

“A crossbow bolt can kill a tiger. This is the limit of mechanical strength!”

Lei Lie said, “In front of the real experts, is such a shabby toy any different from a three-year-old’s toy? Come on, shoot it here!”

He poked his own heart.

The assistant holding the crossbow prayed to the Fist God and asked for his forgiveness.

Then, he loaded the crossbow according to Qin Yi’s instructions and pulled the trigger.

BAM!

The arrow left the bow and pierced into Lei Lie’s chest in a streak of whiteness.

Lei Lie did not dodge. With a cold smile, he summoned his spiritual gas and formed a swirl of spiritual gas in front of his chest, freezing the arrow in midair three inches away from his heart.

Everybody had witnessed the scene and was deeply shocked by Lei Lie’s invincibility. After a moment of silence, cheers and praises were echoing nonstop.

Lei Lie extended two fingers and picked up the arrow from his chest, before he tossed it to the bloody Qin Yi in contempt.

“Now, do you understand how stupid you are?”

Lei Lie snatched the crossbow from the deacon and extended it to Qin Yi. He said solemnly, “Tell me, where did you get this?”

Last night, Qin Yi had been tortured eighteen times by the Temple of Fist. He had been obedient for a long time and could not wait to kill himself right now so that he would not have to suffer so much pain.

He had already given his answer, and he did not mind repeating it in public.

“A caravan.”

He mumbled, “Someone in the caravan from Heavenly Essence City sold it to me. I don’t know the guy. I’m not an evil Cultivator. I’m just curious…”

“Caravans from Heavenly Essence City!”

Lei Lie no longer paid attention to Qin Yi. He faced the townspeople and pointed out the seriousness of the matter. “Qianyuan City is one of the largest cities in the north. There are tens of thousands of merchants in the city. Caravans travel from north to south and cover the entire Fist God World.

“I didn’t know that evil Cultivators who believe in machines and the power of steam were among the merchants of Heavenly Essence City. This is not a trivial matter. It concerns the survival of all human beings in the Fist God’s World. Look, the cracked sky is the best proof that the Fist God is warning us!