Chapter 255: Chapter 181: The True Foundation of the Xia Kingdom! The Path Beyond the End of Martial Arts! (Requesting Monthly Tickets)_2
Not to mention, afterward in Fusang Tokyo, while in the Transforming Force realm, he defeated the Fusang Sword God.
In just six months, he advanced two realms.
Single-handedly, he broke through an army of a thousand.
He forced the great nation of Xuanxing Fusang to submit!
A single individual, comparable to the leader of a small nation!
Such military achievements, such power... was this really the older brother who was constantly putting food on his parents’ plates and his own at the dinner table?
"What’s wrong?" Jiang Shu asked as he drove onto the highway.
Before this family gathering, he had told his parents that they would head directly onto the highway towards Shengjing after the meal.
Ji City and Shengjing were over a thousand kilometers apart. For such a long journey, airplanes were the best mode of transport. Ordinary people could barely endure three to four hours on the highway before needing to rest. But for Jiang Shu, this was nothing. A car was much safer than an airplane. If any accident occurred, he alone could fully protect his parents and younger sister.
Listening to Jiang Shu’s very natural reply, just like old times, Jiang Yanyue suddenly felt that her previous inner turmoil was meaningless.
No matter how powerful he was, wasn’t he still her brother? Worrying about how to interact with him was less useful than directly improving her own Martial Arts Realm. Calling him Jiang Shu... that should be fine, right?
Lost in thought, Jiang Yanyue spoke again, her words tinged with caution, "Jiang Shu... do you encounter bottlenecks in your cultivation? Could you take a look for me? When do you think I can reach Transforming Force?"
"Bright Force, Dark Force, and Transforming Force are merely methods of exerting power, but each stage is like leaping through the dragon’s gate. This is especially true for Transforming Force, which refines one’s vitality into the five internal organs, marking a transformation from external to internal. It’s quite possible for ordinary Martial Artists to get stuck at this stage for a lifetime. Otherwise, why would reaching Transforming Force warrant the title of Martial Arts Grandmaster?"
"Especially now, with firearms so prevalent. Even though the status of Martial Arts is reviving, it still can’t compare to the past."
"Otherwise, in past Martial Arts circles, there was a saying: ’A Grandmaster is not to be insulted.’ Normally, one wasn’t allowed to address a Martial Arts Grandmaster directly by name."
Jiang Shu, gripping the steering wheel, drove swiftly, his words carrying a subtle hint.
"Pfft!"
Even though she had skipped grades and scored among the top one hundred in her city’s college entrance examination, Jiang Yanyue naturally wouldn’t buy Jiang Shu’s act. After interacting with him for just a short while, she began to revert to her true self. "When you entered the Transforming Force realm, didn’t you face any bottlenecks?" she retorted.
"Never mind Transforming Force. Do you expect me to believe you didn’t face a single bottleneck even for Core Force or Gang Force?"
"I don’t believe it! We were born from the same parents, so why should you have no bottlenecks while I might get stuck for a lifetime? Impossible! I, Jiang Yanyue, am destined to become a teenage Grandmaster!"
Jiang Yanyue’s voice carried out through the open car window. She looked at Jiang Shu, jutting her chin out, her proud neck arched like a swan’s. "Just you watch!"
"And what if you don’t become a teenage Grandmaster?"
"Don’t bully a young woman just because she’s currently down on her luck!"
"I get it, don’t underestimate a young woman when she’s down, don’t underestimate a middle-aged woman when she’s down, don’t underestimate an old woman when she’s down. Respect the dead. Alright, enough joking. You’re my dear sister, after all. I’ll share the true four-character maxim I’ve lived by in my Martial Arts journey."
"It was by understanding these four words that I advanced from merely sensing Qi and Blood to becoming the Gang Force Martial Saint I am today!"
Jiang Shu’s voice carried an indescribable solemnity.
Even their parents, listening to their children’s banter from the back seat, couldn’t help but perk up their ears, wondering what four words had influenced their son so much.
These four words must be incredibly profound. Like Buddhism’s Six-Character Great Brightness Mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum. Or like Taoism’s Nine-Character True Words, which speak of all combat-ready soldiers arrayed at the front.
Jiang Yanyue pursed her lips, a knowing look on her face, her anticipation palpable. She tilted her body slightly, waiting with bated breath, as Jiang Shu’s voice slowly resonated:
"Those four words are... ’If you’re no good, practice more.’"
Jiang Yanyue blinked, nonplussed.
...
「Shengjing.」
The grand conference was approaching. All vehicles were being inspected, and those without permits were strictly forbidden entry. Well-equipped soldiers stood guard at every checkpoint.
Jiang Shu drove slowly. After arriving at the hotel, he first settled in his parents and younger sister, Jiang Yanyue. Only then did he make a call, get into a special car, and head towards a particular research institute.
"Martial Saint Jiang, I’ve long admired your reputation!" A high-ranking official, the kind one usually only saw on the news, hurried over and grasped Jiang Shu’s hands tightly.
"Minister Xiao, good day." Jiang Shu nodded with a smile.
For Xia Country, being a Hua Jing Master was merely an empty title, paraded out for show. Transforming Force, with its mystical process of refining internal organs, was really nothing special in the face of modern medicine. If they wished, some elites could undergo complete organ replacement to achieve lifespans exceeding 120 years. Why bother painstakingly practicing Martial Arts?
The only ones truly recognized were Core Force Great Grandmasters! Only at this level could one truly access the various Martial Arts secrets of Xia Country.
If Jiang Shu were merely an ordinary Core Force practitioner, he would have needed a period of assessment before being allowed into this research institute. But now... he was a Gang Force Martial Saint!
Even the foremost figure in the Imperial Guard, who had entered the Gang Force realm before the great global upheaval, remarked after watching the video of the Fusang battle, "The fist fears the young and strong." His words stirred up a storm.
If he wasn’t qualified to enter this research institute, who was?
Following Minister Xiao, a giant alloy door slowly opened. After passing through exceedingly precise instruments, Jiang Shu stepped inside.
A massive spaceship, the kind one only saw in science fiction movies, stood in the center of the hall. Elderly men, their hair sparse, clearly top experts in their respective fields, were studying the giant ship. Some who ventured closer would occasionally exclaim in surprise.
Scattered around the hall’s walls were Crystal Fragments. Occasionally, crystal orbs could be seen locked inside specially made glass cases, displayed like museum exhibits. Several Great Grandmasters, who had clearly reached the Core Force level with their spirit, energy, and essence unified, picked up Crystal Fragments to study and explore, their eyes filled with shock.
Among them, Jiang Shu also saw Shang Siguo.
"This is..." Without hurrying over, Jiang Shu asked Minister Xiao, who was beside him.
The Xia Country’s upper echelon wouldn’t have allowed him here without a genuine reason, merely to create an illusion of mystery. It was highly probable that he was now eligible to access this world’s greatest secret.
"Martial Saint Jiang, have you ever wondered why all nations scramble for access to the Heaven and Earth Secret Realms? Is it really because there are Mutant Beasts and Heaven and Earth Treasure Medicine inside?" Minister Xiao took a step forward, struggling to control his voice as he spoke in a low tone.
"Of course not." Jiang Shu nodded. As his Martial Arts Realm had advanced, he had deduced that the Heaven and Earth Secret Realms must contain treasures that major powers like Freedom Country and Xia Country were unwilling to relinquish. And as for Mutant Beasts and Heaven and Earth Treasure Medicine, even if they reached the Sixth Rank, they weren’t considered true treasures in the face of a nation’s power. Regarding the dangers, even if Mutant Beasts evolved to the Sixth Rank, nations still possessed nuclear weapons. Shrinking their territory wouldn’t be a catastrophe; as long as they weren’t afraid of casualties, Sixth Rank Mutant Beasts were just slightly larger ants. More effort should be spent on guarding the seas, rather than exploring Heaven and Earth Secret Realms.
"Actually, every Heaven and Earth Secret Realm conceals Cosmic Relics. These relics, varying in size, only fully reveal themselves once the passage to them stabilizes. The classification of a Heaven and Earth Secret Realm is essentially the classification of its relic, ranging from ordinary relics to Class A relics."
"Ordinary Cosmic Relics aren’t particularly special—just some uncommon, strange items."
"What’s important are the relics Class C and above, especially Class A relics!"
"This spaceship was excavated from a Class A relic." Minister Xiao couldn’t help but gaze at the spaceship in the center, his eyes filled with the same awe as always.
With current technology, building this kind of spaceship would take over a century. Freedom Country’s technology might be slightly more advanced than Xia Country’s, but they were the ones who, unafraid of casualties, pushed forward and were the first to open a Class A relic. They immediately advanced their technological manufacturing capabilities and developed Mecha.
"The Martial Arts cultivation passed down in Xia Country today still stems from ancient Xia Martial Arts, divided into six realms: Bright Force, Dark Force, Transforming Force, Core Force, Gang Force, and the legendary realm of Shattering the Void to See the Indestructible Deity."
"This Martial Arts system is extremely well-established. However, what path lies beyond Shattering the Void to See the Indestructible Deity? Is there an end to Martial Arts? No one truly knows."
"Then, last month, a Class A relic was fully explored."
"We obtained what we suspect is a cultivation method from another universe."
"This might be the path beyond the current limits of Martial Arts..."