Chapter 82: Confronting the Senior Brother

Chapter 82: Confronting the Senior Brother

Inside the Yangyan Martial Arts Academy, several banners still hung in the most prominent spot, with words such as "Congratulations to Junior Brother Ji for breaking through the Fifth Limit" and "Celebrating Taian City's First Five-Limit Genius in a Century."

In the arena, two fists clashed and quickly separated, but the air seemed to be filled with the lingering aftermath of their power.

Ji Jingqiu took three steps back.

At the moment their fists touched, he felt a vibration powerful enough to tear his nerves apart, a bone-deep impact that made his blood surge with excitement.

"Junior Brother, I used eighty percent of my strength!" Yang Yao exclaimed as he took a step back.

At this moment, his body was fully displaying the effects of his Body Essence, his physique visibly larger than usual, his muscles rippling like flowing water. He dissipated three-tenths of the force from the fist's edge, one of the functions of his Body Essence.

"Senior Brother, again!" Ji Jingqiu's voice hadn't even fallen before his figure had already charged forward.

"Good!" Yang Yao had no reason to refuse.

Neither of them used Battle Skills or Secret Skills; it was a pure test of physical strength. This battle was meant to test the durability of Ji Jingqiu's refined body.

The sound of pure flesh colliding echoed in the arena, like distant muffled thunder, deep and powerful, causing everyone's hearts to tremble.

Each clash of fists was accompanied by an invisible tension, slowly filling the hearts and lungs of the onlookers like a flowing stream.

Especially for those with lower cultivation levels.

Even Shi Sanxi, who had already broken through the third Celestial Human Limit and had a calm temperament, felt a hard-to-describe palpitation in the face of this direct and primitive power confrontation, and his heart yearned for such strength.

"Ninety percent!" Yang Yao reminded, his heart filled with joy.

Normally, a Celestial Human with five limits could only contend against a lower-tier Body Essence at the True Seed level.

Each level of Body Essence had an absolute advantage over the one below it.

But at this moment, with Ji Jingqiu's refined body at the first level, he could actually hold his ground against Yang Yao's eighty percent strength without falling behind, which was already comparable to a five-limit genius with a Warrior Bone Body.

At this level, he had reached the pinnacle of the Body Refinement Realm.

His previous guess about his junior brother's unique physique was correct.

Ji Jingqiu's refined body had now fully absorbed all the Celestial gifts, perfecting him inside and out.

With the aid of Supreme Wisdom Light, he could see inside his body—his large muscles were like dragons, tightly binding his flesh, his bones serving as pillars, his blood and energy flowing endlessly, his power surging within his marrow, vibrating and permeating his five viscera. When he exerted force, his chest cavity seemed to thunder!

Even without the Unbreakable Skin, his skin's resilience was extraordinary. With a thought, his skin became as sensitive as a golden cicada's, able to perceive even the slightest airflow brushing past its surface.

With this sensitivity, when he punched, the air no longer hindered him; instead, it became his ally! Combined with his mental cultivation, he could now move freely on bustling streets with his eyes closed and ears plugged without touching anyone.

These Celestial gifts complemented each other, refining his body, allowing him to maximize his physical strength.

As he punched, the air emitted a dull sound like silk tearing.

But the biggest surprise was the continuous refinement of his internal landscape through the 'Carving with Knife and Axe' technique.

With his refined body, his internal landscape also became clear, revealing the entire mountains and rivers.

As his blood energy surged, his qi and strength flowed like a dragon through water, following the mountain's contours and surging through his entire meridian system. Although it was still far from the level of circulating through the heavens, it had already reached a state of self-sustaining, exuding a majestic aura that could be utilized in actual combat.

The two clashed fists again, and this time, their qi and strength surged and collided, creating an almost tangible wave of energy. This scene was undoubtedly impactful.

As usual, Ji Jingqiu took three steps back.

Yang Yao's body shook, but he didn't retreat. His muscles dissipated several levels of force, not through a technique but purely due to the nature of his Body Essence.

This was the peculiarity of Body Essence.

Dissipating force was just one of its functions.

The lowest-tier Body Essence often only enhanced strength, speed, and defense, equivalent to an all-around physical enhancement.

From the middle-tier Body Essence, additional characteristics were added.

When Yang Yao activated his third-tier Body Essence, it automatically dissipated three-tenths of external force and had the additional benefit of enhanced recovery.

Specializing in his Body Essence, he also mastered techniques for dissipating force and horizontal training, focusing on the 'War Fortress' direction.

Even when facing a Soul Wandering Warrior, as long as they didn't have an upper-tier Body Essence, he could rely on his Body Essence to engage in a prolonged battle.

From the upper-tier Body Essence, what was gained was not just characteristics but divine anomalies.

At this point, Ji Jingqiu also understood the positioning of his current physique.

He still lacked peers to spar with and could only test himself against the senior brother.

But the senior brother was ultimately not a peer genius martial artist. Ji Jingqiu didn't know how he compared to a true martial genius and where he excelled.

After the test.

It was already lunchtime, and everyone headed to the cafeteria at the back to eat and chat.

Ji Jingqiu had prepared early in the morning to break through the fifth limit, prompting Yang Shi to come out ahead of time.

Most of the Yangyan Martial Arts Academy had arrived, including Zhang Xingyi, who had taken time off from the Police Department to observe the long-awaited fifth-limit breakthrough of Dong Sanhuang Star.

"Junior Brother's physique, in terms of Body Refinement, is absolutely at the forefront," Yang Yao stated firmly. "In terms of strength, a typical five-limit martial artist is absolutely no match for you."

The last sentence slipped out, and Yang Yao suddenly felt something was amiss.

Hmm, a typical five-limit martial artist? How could such words come out of his mouth?

Yang Yan seemed to be deep in thought, "It's time to leave."

It was indeed time to leave.

Ji Jingqiu had completed all the achievements of Body Refinement and could start condensing the True Seed, forging his Body Essence.

To forge an upper-tier Body Essence, there were only two options: going to the Core Zone or joining the Dao Field Headquarters.

After Ji Jingqiu finished his breathing exercise, he voiced his confusion about his unsealed Heavenly Gate.

According to the teachings of Yang Shi and his senior brother, the opening of the Heavenly Human Gate signifies the beginning of the challenge for the Fifth Limit.

Once the Fifth Limit is broken, or when a year has passed, the Heavenly Human Gate will close on its own.

This is an ironclad rule.

But now, with the Fifth Limit broken, the gate remains open. What does this mean?

"The Heavenly Human Gate hasn't closed?"

Upon hearing Ji Jingqiu's claim that he had broken the Fifth Limit, yet the gate remained open, everyone exchanged puzzled looks.

In their understanding, the Fifth Limit of the Heavenly Human was the pinnacle, but could there be a path beyond?

Even the well-traveled Yang Yan and Luo Tianyou couldn't help but show their surprise.

Yang Yan glanced at Luo Tianyou, who shook his head and said, "I've never heard of such a situation on the Heavenly Road."

Yang Yan pondered, "Jingqiu, send a message to Eighth Brother and ask if he knows anything."

Ji Jingqiu nodded. Eighth Brother had a special mission today, so he couldn't come to observe.

Soon, the communication connected, but there was a lot of static on the other end, as if they were still fighting.

"Hello? Little brother, have you broken the Fifth Limit?"

"Yes, yes!"

"What? You said your Heavenly Gate hasn't closed?"

There was a moment of silence, followed by a piercing electronic noise.

See the original post in the forum for more!

A moment later, the communication stabilized.

Zhang Chongba seemed to have moved to a different location and said solemnly, "Let me think. Didn't you spend less than two months breaking the Fifth Limit?"

"You reminded me. I forgot about this... Wait for me. I'll come to you after I return tonight."

Ji Jingqiu acknowledged.

After hanging up, Luo Shishu seemed to recall something and said thoughtfully, "The Sixth Limit... I remember a saying. Old Yang, do you still remember the Wild Cult?"

"Of course I remember," Yang Yan nodded, then turned to Ji Jingqiu and said, "Jingqiu, Ms. Mei is a member of the Wild Cult."

Ji Jingqiu was slightly surprised.

Ms. Mei is a member of the Wild Cult. What about Mu Lao?

Luo Tianyou explained, "The Wild Cult is a staunch supporter of the theory that the Mind Ocean is constantly eroding the present world."

"They've been advocating that the Federation cannot sit idly by, indulging in fantasies, and should prepare for the worst when dealing with potential issues regarding the Mind Ocean."

"Furthermore, they believe that daredevil squads should be organized regularly to venture deep into the wild lands beneath the Abyss, searching for the secrets of the Mind Ocean that might be hidden there."

"In their eyes, the Mind Ocean is constantly and subtly eroding and transforming the world we live in, and the continuous advancement of Martial Dao is one of the proofs."

"This idea has already spread beyond the Wild Cult. When I traveled the Heavenly Road, many martial artists gradually accepted this theory."

Luo Tianyou rubbed his forehead and said, "According to this theory, the reason Martial Dao advanced ten thousand years ago was due to the emergence of the Mind Ocean, which altered the fundamental rules of our world."

"If that's the case, is it possible that Martial Dao could continue to advance one day due to the Mind Ocean's persistent influence on reality?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed, understanding the hidden meaning in these words.

"Has this speculation been confirmed?" Yang Yan couldn't help but ask.

Back then, he had only broken three limits of the Fifth Limit.

Now, the Sixth Limit is about to emerge, and there might even be a Seventh and Eighth Limit in the future...?! Martial Dao is evolving without me?!

Luo Tianyou shook his head. "This speculation is theoretically feasible, but it hasn't been confirmed in ten thousand years. If not for the existence of the Wild Cult, this speculation would have been swept under the rug long ago."

Everyone's expressions relaxed.

Ji Jingqiu pondered. Luo Shishu's theory had similarities to some of Mu Lao's recent remarks.

Mu Lao also believed that the Mind Ocean was constantly changing the world humans lived in.

Thinking of this, Ji Jingqiu decided to send a message to Mu Lao later to ask for his opinion."

...

...

In the laboratory, Mu Xuan Ying was arguing with the organization's leader, planning to obtain some star remains for an experiment.

At this moment, he received a message from Ji Jingqiu.

"The Sixth Limit?"

"Isn't that an old theory?"

Mu Xuan Ying thought for a moment, trying to recall if any similar papers had been published in related fields in recent years. After realizing he had no such impression, he turned and sent a private message.

"Jun Cheng, does the current Martial Dao have a Sixth Limit?"

A moment later, a message quickly replied:

"Third Uncle, long time no see. How have you been? If it's convenient, I can visit you in a while. The theory of the Sixth Limit has been gaining momentum in recent years, but there has been no progress. The old ancestor at home also believes it's not the right time yet."

Mu Xuan Ying glanced at the message and closed the channel.

He replied to Ji Jingqiu briefly:

"It exists, and it can be broken through."

Not having reached the end yet means there is indeed an endpoint, just no path.

Since there is an endpoint, what's there to hesitate about? Ten thousand years ago, our ancestors didn't have a path, let alone an endpoint, but they still blazed a trail, starting from nothing and even incorporating mythical stories, eventually forging the current Martial Dao!

For Ji Jingqiu, he had absolute confidence!

He firmly believed that even if there was no path ahead, this young man could still forge a path!

Do you understand the power of Supreme Wisdom Light?!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end