The Modern Martial Immortal

After a full year of use, Yaoguang had already grasped the basic functions of the ancient tree’s Myriad-World Information Search Engine[1] within his mental world.

Whenever any branch grew to a certain threshold, it represented different concepts. Using the branch he was most familiar with, the Martial Dao branch, as an example:

At 20%, it meant he had firmly established himself in that realm. At 40%, it indicated a deep understanding of that realm. Once it reached 60%, it signified that he possessed the potential to break through to a higher realm. As for 80%, it continuously amplified that potential until success was virtually assured. The final stretch from 80% to 100% was, for the most part, bonus territory.

What he pursued was a foundation exceeding what the realm would normally possess, and the ability to extract power that did not belong to that realm at all. His target had always been fighting the strong while being weak, killing enemies across realms.

Relying on the profits gained through the Merchant profession, which was about forty billion in value, the growth progress of the Martial Dao branch had been pushed directly to 80%. As it progressed, all the profound mysteries of spirit will unfolded in Yaoguang’s mind: the cultivation of spirit will, its application, defense, techniques, experience, and tricks...

Moreover, once the progress had surpassed 60%, he had already brushed against the secrets beyond the fifth tier. By the time it reached 80%, all the transformations that belonged to the sixth tier had been fully understood by him.

”The sixth tier of the Martial Dao...” Yaoguang quietly digested it all. The fourth tier involved blood renewal and marrow cleansing. The fifth tier focused on nurturing the spirit will. As for the sixth tier...

”Flawless True Body,” Yaoguang said softly.

The sixth tier was likewise a realm that surpassed this world’s general understanding. In this world, there might be hidden fifth-tier martial artists—No, there surely were martial artists capable of using spirit will!

Compared to the Snowdragon and Crimson Star Empires, the old and new overlords of the world, Dayu could at best barely qualify as a chess piece. Even so, Dayu openly possessed several martial paragons. Adding in those who shunned fame, there were likely more than could be counted on one hand.

If Dayu was already like this, then how about the Snowdragon and Crimson Star Empires? If those two empires lacked beings above the martial paragon tier, how could they sit securely on the throne of world hegemony? The martial paragons of surrounding countries would immediately act.

I don’t know what they call the fifth tier, but regardless of what the fifth tier is named, the sixth tier... based on its characteristics, I’ll name it the flawless realm. Yaoguang thought to himself.

The sixth tier, flawless realm. Upon reaching that realm, a cultivator could reduce internal energy loss to an extreme minimum, ensuring that vitality did not leak away and greatly extending his lifespan.

In theory, every flawless-realm martial artist could live to the absolute limit of the human lifespan. Of course, those who reached the flawless realm were usually already advanced in age. The vitality they had lost before advancing had already damaged their longevity, so this so-called lifespan limit remained theoretical. Even so, for any flawless-realm martial artist, living past a hundred years was effortless.

”The beginning of true longevity,” Yaoguang said with genuine emotion.

In a world where technology was so advanced, yet the average lifespan still failed to reach eighty, a flawless-realm martial artist living past a hundred...

That was an extra twenty or more years of life, granted outright. If that was not the beginning of longevity, then what was?

If the sixth tier allows one to live past a hundred, then what about the seventh, eighth, and ninth tiers? Yaoguang’s thoughts surged, filling him with boundless motivation.

As long as he continued cultivating along this path, a long, healthy life would be far from an extravagant dream. Moreover, the marvels of the flawless realm extended far beyond mere lifespan.

In battle, a flawless realm martial artist could seal and precisely control their own qi flow, reducing physical exertion to the lowest possible level.

An ordinary person sprinting could last half an hour at most, but for someone in the flawless realm, as long as they were not sprinting at full speed, they could maintain a steady run for an entire day.

In ancient times, martial paragons were known as enemies of ten thousand. It meant that even when surrounded by an army of ten thousand, they could still come and go as they wished. But the sixth-tier martial artists were the true enemy of ten thousand! Their stamina alone was enough to let them fight one against ten thousand opponents and slaughter them all!

”Based on the current progress, killing roughly six third-tier daemons, or two fourth-tier daemons, should push the Martial Dao progress to the sixth tier and form a Dao Fruit. Alternatively, having another ten-plus billion would also allow me to reach the sixth tier,” Yaoguang said while doing some calculations in his mind.

The daemon leader, Zhao Sheng, was certainly at the fourth tier. The possibility of him being at the fifth tier was not great. If he truly possessed fifth-tier strength, he would not have chosen to temporarily avoid confrontation.

Still, even if he was not fifth-tier, the likelihood of him being high-grade fourth-tier was considerable. On top of that, there were certainly other daemons at his side. If things went smoothly...

”Hmm?!” Yaoguang suddenly sensed something. He abruptly raised his head and saw some kind of light flicker in the distance, on Yunjing Mountain. It was as if someone was using instruments to observe the room he was in.

With a single thought, he instantly guessed the reason. It’s Zhao Sheng!

After learning that Yaoguang had killed the daemon carrying the Soul-Capturing Bead and had joined forces with Xia Wuyuan and Yue Xingzhou to destroy Baisheng Chemical Plant, Zhao Sheng had seemingly withdrawn, not sending any more daemons to try take his life. But there was no way he would ease his surveillance.

These instruments... Yaoguang thought as he rose to his feet at once, took up the Chengying Sword, and leapt straight down from the second-floor balcony of the villa, which lacked security grilles. He rushed at full speed toward the location of the observer.

If he could capture the surveillance personnel and dig out Zhao Sheng’s group...With enough luck, he would even be able to form a fifth-tier Dao Fruit today.

”Young Master Yaoguang—” Lei Yun called out.

”Guard the villa.” Yaoguang gave a brief instruction as his figure quickly disappeared into the forest.

Although he had only just begun nurturing his spirit will, the advantage of his realm allowed him to perceive the observer’s position approximately.

After realizing they had been exposed, the observer did not flee at full speed; instead, they retreated slowly.

Very bold, Yaoguang thought.

He strode forward in long, fluid steps. Each carried him more than ten meters.[2]

At this point, he had already entered Yunjing Mountain, and to be able to unleash such speed in terrain like this was already enough to make any grandmaster feel ashamed of themselves.

In less than a minute, Yaoguang came to a stop. Ahead of him stood a man who looked to be in his early forties. With one hand, he was packing several electronic devices into a box with a strong technological aesthetic, and in his other hand, he held a weapon resembling an expandable baton.

”Su Yaoguang...” The man tilted his head slightly and glanced at him. The tone sounded like a question, yet it carried absolute certainty.

Yaoguang looked at him. According to his Perception technique, the man before him was not a daemon.

”Zhao Sheng’s subordinate?” Yaoguang asked.

”Heh...” The man chuckled softly as he spun the baton in his hand. ”Come. Let me see what you’re really made of.”

He gave Yaoguang no chance to respond. In the very next instant, his figure moved abruptly. The baton in his hand shot out like a long spear, tearing through the air as it thrust forward in a flash.

In that single thrust, it felt as though the surrounding air had been pierced through, violently breaking air resistance. A sudden burst of speed erupted mid-motion, causing the thrust to accelerate a second time in mid-air.

He could change the speed even after launching the strike. It was almost like changing the trajectory of a missile after firing it. The instantaneous precision and subtlety it displayed were enough to be called a killing move. However...

The moment he made his move, Yaoguang had already clearly seen through this change thanks to his keen perception of qi and blood.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yaoguang followed up with a horizontal sword slash. Whether or not he was Zhao Sheng’s man did not matter. Once he captured him, he’d easily obtain the answers he wanted.

Yaoguang’s sword slash carried no particular profundity. It relied purely on his sharp perception of qi and blood and his insight into how the man was circulating his jin to deliver a strike that was fast, accurate, and steady. The fierce sword light slashed down hard onto the baton.

Sparks burst from the contact point as the weapons touched, and the man’s baton was forcibly knocked aside. Even so, the man’s reaction speed was astonishing.

At the instant the baton was deflected, his body twisted sharply. Using the momentum of his spin, he dispersed the force from the collision while storing power for his next strike.

As he completed a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, his other arm shot out like a python leaving its lair, stabbing straight toward Yaoguang’s face.

The moment he struck, his arm seemed to transform into a true giant serpent. It shifted like a snake, changing direction three times in rapid succession. Each turn was layered with movements resembling hypnotic gestures, capable of confusing an opponent’s judgment.

It was clear that the man had deliberately been studying daemon combat techniques to imitate them. Against ordinary grandmasters, these battle skills would grant an overwhelming advantage. But in Yaoguang’s eyes...

”Flashy nonsense,” Yaoguang said, ignoring the deceptive movements and transformations of the man’s techniques. Taking a large step forward, he charged straight in. His left fingers pressed together, transforming his hand into a sword, which he thrust forward immediately.

The instant the hand-sword and the enemy’s arm made contact, Yaoguang’s ”sword” slid tightly along the man’s arm and surged upward. When their arms collided, Yaoguang relied on his extremely fierce jin to forcibly shatter all the twisting force in the man’s arm. The man could only watch as Yaoguang’s sword reached his shoulder, turned from sword to palm, then from palm to a hook, slamming down hard onto the position of his shoulder blade.

”Crap!” The man’s expression changed.

His waist twisted violently, and in that moment, the bones throughout his body seemed to come alive, turning slippery and ungraspable like a loach. He appeared to be using some special method to slip free from Yaoguang’s tightly locking fingers.

However, as soon as Yaoguang’s five fingers clamped down on his shoulder blade, jin had already burst forth through his fingertips. Before the man could wriggle away, the sound of cracking bones rang out sharply.

This grandmaster’s shoulder blade had been crushed by Yaoguang using nothing but the strength of five fingers!

The man’s face turned deathly pale from the pain. Yet, relying on astonishing endurance, he forcibly tore his shoulder free from Yaoguang’s grasp. Using the twisting force of his waist, he dropped his body low, narrowly avoiding the Chengying Sword as it swept horizontally after knocking aside the baton.

At the same time, his body spun again. As he spun, the baton in his hand chopped straight toward Yaoguang’s lower body, while his right leg lashed out mid-swing like a dragon’s tail, his heel smashing fiercely toward Yaoguang’s torso.

If Yaoguang leapt back to avoid the baton strike, he would inevitably be sent flying by the follow-up kick. Yet Yaoguang seemed to have already seen through his next change. He lifted his right leg and, at the instant the man dropped his body low, kicked straight into his torso.

Before the man could fully execute his windmill-like rotation and sweeping counterattack, he had already been kicked squarely in the chest. His entire body was sent flying.

In the next instant, the edge of the Chengying Sword turned sharply and thrust out like a startled swan, instantly catching up to the man’s airborne body. While still in mid-air, the man struggled desperately to adjust his balance. He even hurled the baton out in an attempt to knock the Chengying Sword off course.

But the sword came far too fast, so fast that it exceeded the interception trajectory of the baton. The man could only watch helplessly as the tip of the Chengying Sword grew larger and larger in his eyes.[3]

”Stop!” A voice rang out sharply. ”Yaoguang! He’s one of ours!”

1. TL note: This is the ”search engine” in the ancient tree. Usually shortened to search engine. I believe this is the first appearance of its full name. ☜

2. Editor’s thoughts: damn, those legs are stretchy... Or he’s jumping rather than walking. ☜

3. Editor’s thoughts: So much for wanting to capture the guy and interrogate him... ☜