Immortality Begins With Internal Breathing

The sun sank toward the west. Around the Shen hour[1], the plaza hosting the arena challenge matches was packed with martial artists. On arena six, two combatants fought with extreme intensity, with the clash of metal ringing out without pause.

Clang, clang, clang.

A blade chopped down onto tungsten gloves, producing sharp metallic clinks. Lin Zheyu moved at extreme speed, circling a man rapidly, his body seeming to turn into an afterimage. Those with insufficient cultivation could not even see his movements clearly. His opponent remained expressionless, shifting his footing within a small range as the long saber in his hand cleaved again and again. The saber speed was astonishing. With a sharp whoosh, the blade tore through the air. A cold glint flashed past and arrived before Lin Zheyu in an instant.

Clang!

Lin Zheyu raised his right hand and blocked the opponent’s astonishing strike with his tungsten glove.

”Your saber speed is a bit faster than last time,” Lin Zheyu said.

The one fighting him was Luo Dinglin’s elder brother, Luo Dinglong. Like Luo Manghan, he also came from the War God Sect, but the two followed completely different combat styles. Luo Manghan was known for his seemingly prophetic battle instincts, while Luo Dinglong was famous for his fast saber. This was not the first time Luo Dinglong and Lin Zheyu had fought.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, three days went by. Lin Zheyu had joined from the afternoon of the second day of the martial cultivation exchange gathering, and by today, it had been exactly four and a half days. Over these days, powerful challengers continuously stepped into the arena. Among them, Li Yin, Luo Manghan, Yue Qinghong, and others came almost every day, yet all of them left in defeat.

Aside from them, many new faces appeared, and without exception, their strength was formidable. Luo Dinglong was one of them. The Heavenlight Shadowless Saber cultivated by Luo Dinglong was renowned for its speed. When the saber struck, no shadow could be seen. Only a streak of cold light seemed to shoot in from the horizon, and before one could react, a head would already fall. Unfortunately, the one he encountered was Lin Zheyu.

”Your speed is also faster than last time,” Luo Dinglong said calmly.

He was a sharp-featured man with resolute eyes. In his gaze, there was nothing but the saber.

”Do you still have stamina? If not, I can wait a bit longer,” Lin Zheyu asked.

Crossing hands with genius martial artists who cultivated different techniques brought him many gains, especially in the growth of combat experience and his understanding of the Dominance true intent.

”No need. Let us finish this quickly,” Luo Dinglong said calmly.

After speaking, he lifted his saber and charged toward Lin Zheyu. His movement speed was not fast, but the speed of his strikes was astonishing. Even Lin Zheyu found it difficult to easily close in on him.

A sharp whoosh rang out. The sound of the blade cutting through the air rang out as a saber arc swept past at an extremely tricky angle, aiming straight for Lin Zheyu’s lower back. Lin Zheyu twisted his body sharply and threw out a punch with his left hand. His fist slammed into the blade, producing a loud clang.

”Do you think your brother can win this time?” Hong Yuanjie asked with interest from beneath the arena.

”Unlikely. This Zhao Hao is truly abnormal. His lightness and movement techniques have reached such a profound level. With the amount of time he must have spent practicing, would it not be better spent comprehending another true intent?” Luo Dinglin shook his head, not optimistic about his brother.

Three days earlier, Luo Dinglong had fought Zhao Hao, but unfortunately, it ended in defeat. Three days ago, Lin Zheyu’s combat experience was still somewhat lacking, and he appeared a bit immature when facing a powerhouse like Luo Dinglong. However, the advantage of his lightness and movement techniques became apparent at that time.

With his superb lightness and movement techniques, Lin Zheyu could advance to attack or retreat to defend, naturally placing himself in an undefeated position. He adopted the kiting tactic he favored most when gaming in his previous life. Relying on lightness and movement techniques that far surpassed Luo Dinglong’s, he retreated when the enemy advanced, pursued when the enemy retreated, harassed when the enemy paused, and struck when the enemy grew weary. He forcibly drained Luo Dinglong’s stamina. To unleash saber strikes of such terrifying speed required a powerful physique and abundant stamina. Once that support was gone, Luo Dinglong was quickly defeated.

But that was three days ago. After three days of combat, Lin Zheyu not only pushed his Dominance momentum qi to the absolute limit, reaching a critical threshold where he lacked only a single opportunity to condense a true intent, but his combat experience was also rapidly improving. Previously, when facing Luo Dinglong, he could only rely on kiting tactics to exhaust the opponent’s stamina. Now, he was already capable of closing in and engaging directly.

”Your brother truly lives up to being a genius disciple of the War God Sect. In just three days, his saber speed has become even faster. But the speed of Zhao Hao’s movement technique has also increased. Both of them are monsters,” Hong Yuanjie said, feeling a mix of envy and jealousy in his heart.

Comparing people to one another truly could drive one mad. They spent months cultivating, yet sometimes their results were not even as significant as someone else’s progress over a few days. Not far from them, Li Wensi, Li Mengqi, and the others had also arrived at the scene. Today was the sixth day of the martial cultivation exchange gathering, and they no longer had as many banquets to attend or social obligations to maintain as they did at the beginning.

”Beat him, Young Master Zhao. Ah. Careful.” Li Wensi watched with great excitement, letting out startled cries from time to time.

”Do not make such a fuss. Brother Zhao is so strong that he will not lose,” Li Mengxi said, speechless.

”At first, I only thought Brother Zhao had a small chance to achieve a hundred undefeated matches. However, I didn’t think he could actually do it, you know?” Xiong Yonghao said with a sigh.

Luo Dinglong in the arena was a true disciple of the War God Sect, the kind who could rank among the top ten of his generation. Yet, he too had fallen at Lin Zheyu’s hands.

”Brother Zhao might become the first martial artist this year to maintain a hundred undefeated matches,” Xu Zifan said.

”Yes, yes. Young Master Zhao will definitely succeed,” Li Wensi said as she nodded in agreement.

”No. Gong Shengbin on Arena Two has already maintained a winning streak for five days. If no one manages to stop him today, then he will be the first martial artist to obtain the title of a hundred undefeated matches,” Li Mengqi said calmly.

”Gong Shengbin has already won consecutively for five days. If it is him, then among the genius martial artists attending this martial cultivation exchange gathering, I don’t think there’s anyone who can take him down,” Xiong Yonghao said with some regret.

The significance of being the first to obtain the title of a hundred undefeated matches was completely different from being second, with a vast gap in fame and honor.

Clang!

Rumble.

As the martial artists below whispered among themselves, the battle in the arena had already reached a critical moment. Repeated clangs mixed with muffled thunderous roars echoed without pause. Lin Zheyu stepped with the Golden Goose Technique footwork, Dominance fist momentum surging to the extreme as he wielded the Violet Thunder Dominance Fist, like an unstoppable war god. Every punch he threw struck precisely against the blade Luo Dinglong swung. The immense force made the saber vibrate with a loud hum.

Has he already adapted to my fast saber?

Seeing this, Luo Dinglong’s eyes filled with disbelief.

He knew how fast his saber was, yet he did not expect Zhao Hao to rely on superb lightness and movement techniques and powerful perception to discern the trajectory of his strikes. After several days of adaptation, Zhao Hao could already use his movement techniques to evade the blade while striking the saber body with his fist. By using the immense rebound force, he reduced the speed of the follow-up strikes and rapidly closed the distance.

This is bad!

Luo Dinglong’s expression tightened.

The saber he slashed out was once again struck on the blade by Lin Zheyu’s punch. At this moment, Lin Zheyu had already arrived before him, muffled thunder roaring beside his ears.

Boom!

A terrifying gust of force surged forward. As the fist neared Luo Dinglong’s chest, its power diminished greatly, merely knocking him back several steps.

”I lost. You are very strong, but once I condense a true intent, I will definitely defeat you.” Luo Dinglong steadied himself and looked at Lin Zheyu as he spoke calmly, as if stating a fact.

The fast saber he cultivated contained multiple true intents. Once these true intents were integrated into true strength, they would not only act upon weapons but also upon his body, enhancing the speed of his movement techniques. At that time, they would compensate for his shortcomings in the speed of movement technique. This was also why few Marrow Refining realm martial artists spent excessive effort on lightness and movement techniques. As long as their path of martial cultivation still held potential for advancement, most would not waste too much time on movement techniques.

”I will wait for you,” Lin Zheyu said calmly. By the time the other party advanced to the Force Transformation realm, his own strength would have already risen to an unknown level.

”Arena six, Zhao Hao’s fifty-third consecutive victory.”

The referee’s voice rang out, announcing Lin Zheyu’s win.

From the second day he joined the arena challenge matches, more and more martial artists stepped onto the stage to challenge him. Even so, by today, he had only reached fifty-three consecutive victories. After all, the further it went, the fewer martial artists dared to step onto the arena. Only those extremely confident in their own strength would attempt a challenge.

”Young Master Zhao, do you need to rest for a while?” the referee asked.

”Yes.” Lin Zheyu nodded.

The recent battle with Luo Dinglong had consumed quite a bit of energy. Otherwise, he would have liked to continue with the next match. Fighting these genius martial artists benefited him greatly. Lin Zheyu’s momentum had already reached its limit. He was only one step away from transforming it into true intent. He needed to seek that breakthrough chance through continuous combat. Taking a few Essence and Qi Pills from his robe and swallowing them, he sat cross-legged on the arena to recover. Not long after resting, his attention was drawn by startled cries coming from afar.

”What happened?” Lin Zheyu asked with some curiosity as he stood up and looked toward the source of the sound. The noise was coming from Arena Two.

1. Around 3-5 pm. ☜