Moonlight flowed like water, its brilliance scattering across the void and softening the night sky. On the roof of the Divine General’s Mansion, Lin Huang sat cross-legged, bathed in the moonlight, drawing his Divine Soul inward to sink into his Profound Sea.
The Martial Arts Realms of the world were strictly divided. From lowest to highest, they were: Body Refining, Human Element, Earth Element, and Celestial Element. The Body Refining Realm tempered the flesh and bones to accommodate Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi.
Upon reaching Great Success in Body Refining, a Martial Artist could open their Profound Sea and break through to the Human Element Realm. After opening the Profound Sea came the most crucial step: drawing a Martial Soul into the body!
In Cultivation, a Martial Artist needed to use their Martial Soul to communicate with Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, channeling it into the Profound Sea to condense the source of their power.
Above the Profound Sea were the nine Spirit Veins connecting to the Human Element Palace! Through Cultivation, a Martial Artist poured Primordial Qi into these nine Spirit Veins. Once all the Spirit Veins were unblocked and converged in the Human Element Palace, they could condense the Human Flower. With the Human Flower achieving Great Success, the Primordial Qi would surge toward the Earth Element Palace, allowing the Martial Artist to step into the Earth Element Realm.
After that was the Celestial Element Realm. If one could achieve the Three Flowers at the Top—Heaven, Earth, and Human—the Martial Artist could cross into the Martial Marquis Realm.
Lin Huang was currently undergoing the process of drawing his Martial Soul into his body. Only after this could he absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and officially step into Martial Arts.
Within his Profound Sea, the Buddha God’s Relics spun at an extreme speed. Strands of Buddhist Scripture flew out, radiating vast golden light, as resplendent as the glittering runes of the Great Dao.
The Scripture flew toward the walls of the Profound Sea, emitting a scorching aura. The intense heat gradually melted the barrier. Lin Huang let out a muffled groan. Waves of agony from the melting barrier washed over him, slowly twisting his features. However, he could no longer stop this process, nor would he want to!
More debris flew toward the Profound Sea barrier, incinerating and melting it. As the barrier disintegrated, tens of thousands of Scriptures within the Profound Sea resonated with one another. Using the Scripture as nodes and the golden light as threads, they formed a massive golden net.
Buddha Light wreathed the colossal golden net. The brilliant golden rays exuded boundless Wish Power, pulling Lin Huang’s bloodline to cover the net and form a brand-new Profound Sea barrier.
The Profound Sea was remolded!
Lin Huang’s face was frighteningly pale from the pain, yet his heart was filled with astonishment. He never expected that the first step of the Buddha God’s Relics would be the remolding of his Profound Sea. It shattered his previous Profound Sea to construct a new one!
The remolded Profound Sea was actually ten times its original size, resembling a vast ocean. Lin Huang’s mind reeled in shock. The Profound Sea was the source of Martial Arts; the larger it was, the more Primordial Qi it could hold. When such a Profound Sea churned, the power it unleashed would be terrifyingly immense.
A Profound Sea ten times the size of an ordinary person’s was simply unimaginable!
The moment the Profound Sea’s remolding was complete, the cracks on the Buddha God’s Relics began to expand, soon covering the entire Relic. CRACK! The Relic split completely open, revealing what was hidden inside.
It was an Asura!
Amidst the surging Profound Sea, the Asura sat quietly cross-legged. Its face was tranquil yet extremely ferocious, exuding a dense aura of slaughter. Monstrous blood-qi surged around it, naturally projecting a domineering momentum that looked down upon the world.
"Celestial Asura!" Lin Huang murmured, a look of profound shock on his face as he stared at the Asura’s figure in his Profound Sea.
An Asura gathered the world’s ferocity into one body, condensing the slaughtering will of eternity! And the Celestial Asura was the greatest of all Asuras. His Martial Soul was the Celestial Asura!
Lin Huang struggled to calm the shock in his heart. He never imagined that the Buddha God’s Relics actually contained the Martial Soul Celestial Asura, a Martial Soul that only existed in legends.
The Martial Soul Celestial Asura was not recorded on the mainland’s Martial Soul List. That was because no one in the world knew exactly what kind of power it possessed.
Rumors said the Martial Soul Celestial Asura was nothing but a trash Martial Soul. Other rumors claimed it had once forced the world’s number one Martial Soul to bow in submission. Still others said the Celestial Asura had once ranked 1,300th on the Martial Soul List, and even 108th! There were far too many legends, which ultimately meant no one truly knew how powerful it was.
Hmm? Lower Grade of Yellow Tier! When Lin Huang investigated the grade of his Martial Soul, his expression clearly froze, the smile stiffening on his face. He never expected this legendary Martial Soul to merely be at the Lower Grade of Yellow Tier.
This Martial Soul that seemed to overflow with endless slaughter was only a Lower Grade of Yellow Tier? The Martial Soul inside the Buddha God’s Relics that would drive the world mad was actually only a Lower Grade of Yellow Tier??
"This shouldn’t be right!"
"Damn it..."
No matter how good-tempered Lin Huang was, he couldn’t help but curse out loud. The soaring ambition that had just welled up in his heart was instantly doused by a bucket of cold water, chilling him to the bone.
In this world, the strength of Martial Souls was divided into the Yellow Tier, Profound Tier, and Earth Tier, with each tier further separated into Lower, Middle, and Upper Grades.
A Lower Grade of Yellow Tier Martial Soul was considered the most utter trash, a whole level lower than the Blade Mountain Martial Soul from his previous life.
A Martial Soul accompanied a Martial Artist for their entire life and was incredibly difficult to change. In combat, aside from Realm and Martial Technique factors, the Martial Soul was the deciding element.
"Having just broken through to the Human Element Realm with a Lower Grade of Yellow Tier Martial Soul and not yet started Cultivating a Martial Technique, I must be the weakest Human Element Realm Martial Artist in the entire world," Lin Huang mocked himself, his face twitching slightly.
"No, something must be wrong here!" Lin Huang frowned after calming down. Whether it was the rumors of the Buddha God’s Relics or the Celestial Asura, this Martial Soul should absolutely not be a Lower Grade of Yellow Tier. There had to be a secret he was unaware of!
"I suppose I can only unleash the Celestial Asura’s true power once I solve this mystery," Lin Huang muttered to himself.
"Boss Lin, Boss Lin, where are you? Get your ass out here!" A duck-like voice suddenly echoed from outside the courtyard. Wailing like a ghost in the middle of the night was enough to scare someone to death. Immediately after, Lin Huang felt the entire courtyard vibrating.
BANG! Unable to withstand the abuse, the courtyard door was violently kicked open.
Lin Huang shifted his gaze, only to see a mass of flesh rolling in. Two short legs were as thick as water buckets, and the flab on his belly nearly hung down to his knees. The meatball took quick, tiny steps, the flesh all over his body jiggling and dancing wildly, looking exactly like a rolling ball of blubber.
"What are you howling for in the middle of the night?" Lin Huang scolded as he watched the rolling ball of meat, though a smile surfaced on his face. "Haven’t seen you for two years, but you’ve certainly developed quite well."
Fatty Bai looked up at Lin Huang on the roof. His brows shot up, his eyes narrowing into slits. He planted his hands on his hips imposingly, cursing like a shrew in the street. "You son of a bitch, hurry up and get your ass down here so I can get a good look at you!"
Lin Huang chuckled and leaped down from the roof. He circled Fatty Bai three times, clicking his tongue in amazement. Just standing there, Fatty Bai was a mountain of meat. He wore incredibly gaudy, colorful clothes, looking vulgar to the extreme. The fat on his face nearly squeezed his eyes and nose out of sight. He truly looked like a mountain range no matter the angle!
"Did the Minister of the Ministry of War raise you like a pig?" Lin Huang teased.
"Shut your jinxing mouth, I have a standard figure." Fatty Bai snorted, looking at Lin Huang with a proud and arrogant face. "What does a bamboo pole like you know!"
"If you turn around right now, even the six hundred thousand troops of my Divine General’s Mansion would be scared into retreat!" Lin Huang shook his head, his face full of awe. Fatty Bai’s appearance was simply an uncanny masterpiece, stealing the fortune of Heaven and Earth.
"I have the face of a flower and the beauty of the moon, with an enchanting figure."
"Fatty, looking like that, you could ward off evil spirits!"
"Hmph, evil spirits are just afraid of falling for my charm, so they stay far away."
"Can you even see your own feet?"
After a moment of silence, Fatty Bai suddenly let out a wail. Bawling his eyes out, he threw himself onto Lin Huang for comfort, directly pinning the latter to the ground.
"Boss Lin, I didn’t want this either! But ever since I broke through to the Human Element Realm and drew my Martial Soul into my body, I haven’t been able to stop myself from eating!" Fatty Bai cried with snot and tears streaming down his face as he crushed Lin Huang. "I have so much fat on me that I can’t even find my little buddy anymore! The Bai Family’s century-old grand plan to carry on the bloodline is ruined!"
"Get off me first!" Lin Huang’s mouth twitched, unable to breathe under Fatty Bai’s weight.
"Xiaohuang..." Lin Beichen walked into the courtyard. Looking up, he saw Lin Huang and Fatty Bai tangled together on the ground. His dignified face instantly changed color, and he fled the scene blushing furiously.
Lin Beichen had fought battles his entire life without ever retreating half a step. Yet, faced with this scene today, he had no choice but to flee in panic.
Lin Huang stared at Lin Beichen’s retreating figure, his face full of embarrassment.
"Hehe... my bad, my bad..." Fatty Bai chuckled awkwardly, wiggled his rear, and stood up.
"Don’t you know how to lose weight?" Lin Huang asked, his face darkening.
"I tried sticking to bed exercises before, but then the fat just kept piling on. Sigh... as for eating less..." Fatty Bai trailed off and suddenly plopped his butt onto the ground, looking at Lin Huang pitifully. "Boss Lin, I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten a single thing in half an hour."
Lin Huang froze for a second, then turned and ran.
Ultimately, Lin Huang was grabbed by the ankle and dragged into the largest tavern in the Imperial City by Fatty Bai.
Even though Fatty Bai weighed over four hundred pounds, he wasn’t slow at all when he actually ran. His Martial Arts Realm also gave Lin Huang a massive fright: Human Element Seventh Heaven!
Lin Huang knew exactly what kind of character Fatty Bai was. If he could sit, he would absolutely never stand; if he could lie down, he would absolutely never sit. He was a lazy bum who could put a pig to shame and would absolutely never take Cultivating Martial Arts seriously.
Yet, somehow, Fatty Bai had stepped into the Human Element Seventh Heaven. Lin Huang could sense that if Lin Haoran stood before Fatty Bai in a real fight, the former would be slapped to death in a single strike.
Naturally, Lin Huang couldn’t escape Fatty Bai’s demonic clutches and was dragged into Tianxiang Tower.
"Shopkeeper, slaughter a cow for me, and bring me one of every dish on the menu!" Fatty Bai declared with towering heroism as he walked into Tianxiang Tower.
Inside the tavern, the elderly Shopkeeper was currently running faster than a rabbit, muttering under his breath, "The Fortune Bringer is here, the Fortune Bringer is here." Ever since Fatty Bai began his binge-eating spree, he had earned the nickname ’Fortune Bringer’.
He thought, "It’s a good thing you have the Minister of the Ministry of War for a father," Lin Huang sighed inwardly as he looked at Fatty Bai’s grand and majestic back.
"Boss Lin, if you’re going to fake an illness, you should do it properly. Why not just lie in bed for a full three years? That way, you could avoid your battle with Crown Prince Lingyun. How can you be so stupid?" Fatty Bai asked with a look of disdain after the two sat by the window.
"Why would I fake an illness for no reason?" Lin Huang replied.
"Then how did you suddenly wake up? You had Fallen into the Demon Realm. No one ever recovers from that! If it isn’t a fake illness, what is it? You couldn’t even last two years; you have no stamina at all!" Fatty Bai scolded.
Lin Huang shook his head helplessly, feeling that there was no reasoning with Fatty Bai.
"Isn’t there still a year left? Whether I win or lose, the odds are fifty-fifty!" Lin Huang said indifferently.
"Uh..." Fatty Bai blanked out, staring at Lin Huang with wide eyes.
He thought, "Fifty-fifty? Fifty-fifty my ass! If you don’t get strung up and beaten by Crown Prince Lingyun, it’ll be your Great Blessings Equal to Heaven! Did he get kicked in the head by a donkey?"
While Fatty Bai was staring at Lin Huang in disbelief and roasting him endlessly in his mind, a cold scolding suddenly echoed through the tavern. "Shopkeeper, since when did Tianxiang Tower start raising pigs? Do you no longer want to run this tavern?"
Immediately, Lin Huang felt a gaze shoot toward his direction. Following the voice, he saw a young man walk out of a private room. He was dressed in magnificent cloud-brocade silk with a crane-patterned white jade belt wrapped around his waist, though his facial features were somewhat ordinary. A folding fan waved slowly in his hand!
And in the dead of winter, too...