Urban Martial Saint

”Since Ancestor Chen Tuan had such abilities, how could he only live to be one hundred and nineteen years old?” Ye Qing couldn’t help but ask, still finding the matter rather odd.

”Who knows?” Old Wang Ba said. ”Indeed, he only lived for such a short time. Honestly, if it weren’t for various historical records and people from the Taoist Sect saying this themselves, I wouldn’t have believed it either. Such a top-level figure, you’d think he would live three or five hundred years or something, at least longer than the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s lifespan, right?”

”How did Ancestor Chen Tuan die?” Ye Qing asked suddenly.

”He just died like that.” Old Wang Ba replied, ”Before he died, he actually sensed it and even told his disciples about the time of his death. When that time came, he indeed passed away. At the time, members of the Taoist Sect and Buddhist Sect were present, and they all carefully checked and found Ancestor Chen Tuan truly passed away.”

Ye Qing fell silent, unable to accept the fact that a top-level figure like Ancestor Chen Tuan could just pass away like that. The Corpse Ghost Dragon could live over three hundred years, while Ancestor Chen Tuan only lived one hundred and nineteen years. How could this be possible? Could there be some secret hidden in this?

Although puzzled, Ancestor Chen Tuan lived over a thousand years ago. Regarding him, there are only records in history books and people’s legends. No one knows the specific circumstances of that time, and naturally, they don’t know how he managed to live for such a long time.

”By the way, you mentioned Wu Tianchi earlier.” Old Wang Ba looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Have you seen him?”

”Do you know him?” Ye Qing countered, suspecting from Old Wang Ba’s expression that he might be quite familiar with Wu Tianchi.

”You answer my question first.” Old Wang Ba said.

”I haven’t seen him, but he left three sword marks in Beimang Mountain.” Ye Qing replied.

”Three sword marks?” Old Wang Ba was silent for a while, then said, ”Are those sword marks filled with sword intent and extremely powerful?”

”How do you know?” Ye Qing asked, surprised.

”Nonsense, if they’re not filled with powerful sword intent, then it wouldn’t be Wu Tianchi!” Old Wang Ba said.

”Oh?” Ye Qing looked at Ye Qing and asked, ”Do you know him?”

Old Wang Ba shook his head, saying, ”I don’t know him, but the forefather of the Iron Calculation Sect does!”

”Forefather!?” Ye Qing widened his eyes and stared at Old Wang Ba for a while, saying, ”Are you kidding me? Your forefather, wasn’t that many years ago? It’s been at least eight or nine hundred years since then, hasn’t it? The traces left by Wu Tianchi in Beimang Mountain look pretty recent. Written in modern language, I’d estimate they’re only from the past few decades. You’re not trying to tell me that Wu Tianchi lived over a thousand years, are you?”

”Of course, he couldn’t live over a thousand years!” Old Wang Ba said. ”However, Wu Tianchi indeed lived over a thousand years.”

”What do you mean?” Ye Qing was confused by Old Wang Ba’s words, saying, ”What do you mean by Wu Tianchi living over a thousand years? Saying this doesn’t imply he lived over a thousand years? Old Wang Ba, are you out of your mind? Can a person live for a thousand years?”

”Listen to my explanation first,” Old Wang Ba said. ”The Wu Tianchi I’m talking about is not a person, but a set of martial arts, or rather, a set of inner strength.”

”What?” Ye Qing was even more confused.

”You’ve been to Beimang Mountain, so you should have heard about the Great Demon King, right?” Old Wang Ba asked.

”I’ve heard of it.” Ye Qing nodded.

”Then you should also know how much effort ancient people put in and how many things they did to achieve longevity!” Old Wang Ba said.

Ye Qing nodded. After entering Beimang Mountain, he indeed understood a lot. Ancient people would put their lives on the line for longevity. In Beimang Mountain, over hundreds of thousands of grievance-filled souls perished in pursuit of the elusive longevity, showing how tempting the idea of longevity is for humans!

”In ancient times, countless brilliant and extraordinary people tried every possible way to increase their lifespan. You know, the Buddhist Sect had its methods, and the Taoist Sect had its methods. Even the Great Demon King had his own method!” Old Wang Ba looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Can’t those who are neither Daoist nor Buddhist nor demon have their methods?”

Ye Qing stared at Old Wang Ba, knowing that what he was about to say would once again be something shocking.

However, after witnessing previous events, Ye Qing was already numb. Even if Old Wang Ba claimed he was a woman, Ye Qing wouldn’t be too shocked; he’d just think with that ugliness, being a woman would be worse than being a monster.

”In ancient times, there were also people who didn’t cultivate Buddhism, didn’t learn Dao, nor practiced demon methods, yet they also wanted longevity. But, achieving longevity was an incredibly difficult problem.” Old Wang Ba said, ”Among them was a person named Wu Tianchi, a martial arts genius, regarded as the undisputed top martial artist of the time. However, as he aged, he gradually understood that no matter how high his martial arts were, he couldn’t escape time’s erosion and would ultimately die of natural causes. But he was stubborn and didn’t want to just die like that. So, he began contemplating ways to achieve longevity.”

”But, you know, longevity is almost impossible. Even the Buddhist and Taoist Sects can only extend the lifespan and no one dares claim to achieve longevity. The Great Demon King was perhaps the closest to achieving it, but his method was not desirable!” Old Wang Ba paused, saying, ”Wu Tianchi couldn’t find a way to achieve longevity, so he thought of a method. Since the human body has a lifespan, after a certain period, it gradually loses function and dies. But human thoughts are eternal. If one could preserve human memory and transfer it to a new body, wouldn’t that count as longevity?”

Ye Qing gasped, thinking Wu Tianchi’s method was too beyond comprehension.

”You also think this method is amazing, right!” Old Wang Ba scratched his head, saying, ”Wu Tianchi, no doubt about it, was a genius. You wouldn’t believe it, but he actually created a set of martial arts capable of transferring a person’s consciousness to another person. He later used this martial art to transfer his consciousness to another body, along with all his martial arts.”

”How can consciousness be transferred?” Ye Qing couldn’t help but ask.

”Nonsense, you ask me, who do I ask?” Old Wang Ba said, ”If I knew, would I be sitting here bragging with you? For thousands of years, only Wu Tianchi found this method, and no one else knows how he did it. But it has to be said, Wu Tianchi did succeed in living an extra lifetime.”

Ye Qing was utterly shocked, ancient people literally used any method for longevity. Wu Tianchi’s method was indeed crazy, even more shocking than the Great Demon King’s method!

”Originally, with his method, he could live freely and achieve longevity. But not long after, he found a severe problem...” Old Wang Ba said, ”Although he transferred his thoughts and consciousness to that person’s body, the original memory and thoughts of that person weren’t erased and remained. Unable to erase this person’s memory and thoughts, it led to a major problem.”

”What problem?” Ye Qing asked.

”Split personality!” Old Wang Ba looked at Ye Qing, saying, ”At one moment, he is Wu Tianchi. At another, he becomes that person himself. Every day, he switches between these two identities, not even knowing when he would suddenly become another personality himself!”

”This...” Ye Qing was speechless, who would have thought this crazy method has such a huge flaw.

”At the time, when the forefather founded the Iron Calculation Sect, Wu Tianchi approached the forefather, seeking help for his split personality. It’s because of this reason, the forefather knew about this matter and knew that there was such a person as Wu Tianchi in the world!” Old Wang Ba said, ”However, the forefather hadn’t encountered such a thing, and Wu Tianchi defied fate with this method, surviving multiple lifetimes, which were beyond fate itself, so the forefather couldn’t calculate everything for him. Even the forefather could not help him, and eventually, Wu Tianchi disappeared.”

”Then how do you know his sword marks could hold sword intent without dissipating?” Ye Qing asked, curiously.

”That’s the biggest feature of the martial arts he cultivated...” Old Wang Ba said, ”The forefather said this might be the key reason why he could transfer consciousness and thoughts to others. That’s why I told you earlier, if you really have to say Wu Tianchi as a person, he actually died long ago. What’s left now is just Wu Tianchi’s consciousness and thoughts, along with his martial arts. Wu Tianchi can’t be considered a person; he can only be considered a set of martial arts!”

Ye Qing suddenly realized, feeling deeply that the price ancient people paid for longevity was truly substantial. Although Wu Tianchi lived over a thousand years, he was no longer who he once was. Did he really achieve longevity, or had he already died?

”But this Wu Tianchi must be the strongest martial artist in the world!” Old Wang Ba suddenly said, ”Even if he transfers to a new body, causing split personality issues, he never stopped practicing. Every time he moves to a new body, he transfers all the previous inner strength over. Now over a thousand years later, think about how much powerful inner strength Wu Tianchi accumulated and how strong his power level actually is!”

Ye Qing gasped, thinking that if Wu Tianchi was considered the top martial artist in the world, then it truly couldn’t be rebutted!