Urban Martial Saint

”The Church?” Seeing Helian Tiehua’s expression, Ye Qing was quite surprised. One must know that Helian Tiehua had always been extremely steady, so why was he so agitated by this matter?

”What Church?” Huangfu Ziyu was also somewhat surprised and asked from the side.

”Those foreigners you mentioned, what characteristics do they have?” Helian Tiehua asked.

”These people are strange, very strong, and very fast.” Ye Qing paused and said, ”The strangest thing is, some parts of their bodies are different from normal people...”

”Do their fingers resemble the claws of beasts, capable of attacking people, comparable to sharp weapons?” Helian Tiehua asked.

”Yes, yes, just like that.” Ye Qing said, ”General Helian, do you know these people too?”

”As expected, they are people from the Church!” Helian Tiehua furrowed his brow and suddenly turned to say, ”Uproot all these bushes immediately, no matter what, we must find the thing Ye Qing hid here!”

”Yes!” Helian Tiehua’s subordinates immediately moved to start clearing the bushes.

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged a glance, both realizing Helian Tiehua’s seriousness about this matter. Undoubtedly, this Church was probably not some weak force!

”Uncle Helian, what exactly is the Church?” Huangfu Ziyu asked.

”This is a long story. In fact, most martial artists in Huaxia are unaware of this matter. Only a few people know about the Church.” Helian Tiehua sighed and said, ”You know, the sects in Huaxia are mainly divided into Buddhist and Taoist sects. But in the West, there’s an even larger sect, which is the Church!”

”You’re talking about a Western sect?” Ye Qing immediately frowned. He certainly knew about the Western Church. However, he didn’t expect that the Western Church, much like the Buddhist and Taoist sects, also possessed great power!

”Actually, the Western sect once had conflicts with Huaxia a long time ago. The Western sect wanted to invade Huaxia and turn Huaxia into their missionary land!” Helian Tiehua said, ”But they were met with resistance from the martial artists of Huaxia. After several large-scale decisive battles, both sides suffered significant losses, and neither could gain the upper hand. But during their last invasion of Huaxia, they coincidentally encountered the appearance of the Sun Shooting Bow.”

Helian Tiehua said this, glancing at the Sun Shooting Bow behind Huangfu Ziyu, and said, ”For the Church’s masters, the Sun Shooting Bow was almost their greatest nemesis. That time, when they entered Huaxia, out of thirteen peak masters, seven died under the Sun Shooting Bow, sustaining tremendous losses!”

”What?” Both Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu were wide-eyed. Although the Sun Shooting Bow was powerful, it shouldn’t be this terrifying. Killing seven peak masters wouldn’t be easy; even if the Five Uniques of Huaxia teamed up, they might not be able to achieve this!

”How strong are their peak masters, really?” Ye Qing couldn’t help but ask.

Helian Tiehua looked at Ye Qing and said, ”You ask this because you don’t understand what a peak master truly means. Among peak masters, their strengths are actually the same!”

”What do you mean?” Ye Qing was puzzled, and Huangfu Ziyu was also stunned. She knew very well that Helian Tiehua’s strength was one of the best among the Five Uniques, so how could the strength of peak masters all be the same?

”The so-called peak master is actually a title for when a person’s inner strength is cultivated to a certain limit!” Helian Tiehua looked at Ye Qing, then at Huangfu Ziyu, and said, ”The reason they’re called peak is because above them, there’s no one else who deserves the word peak. Therefore, a peak master is someone whose inner strength is cultivated to the utmost limit and cannot progress any further!”

”Can martial arts be trained to the extreme?” Huangfu Ziyu asked.

”Inner strength can be cultivated to the extreme, but martial arts have no limit!” said Helian Tiehua. ”The human body’s capacity is limited, so when inner strength reaches a certain realm, it can’t increase any more, which is the limit of inner strength. But martial arts are different. Inner strength is just the foundation of martial arts; it also requires techniques and comprehension of heaven and earth. So, even among peak masters, there are varying levels of proficiency!”

”I know about techniques, but what exactly is this comprehension of heaven and earth?” Huangfu Ziyu asked.

Ye Qing felt stirred because what Helian Tiehua was now talking about was something he had heard from the Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun before. He had studied for three days at the Shen Family Manor, where Shen Tianjun talked to him a lot about martial arts, including this point. However, at that time, Ye Qing’s strength was insufficient, and he was mainly busy practicing techniques, never thinking about this comprehension of heaven and earth. Now that Helian Tiehua mentioned it again, it made Ye Qing’s heart race.

”You will gradually understand the comprehension of heaven and earth once your inner strength reaches the peak,” Helian Tiehua said. ”To put it simply, it’s like the physics knowledge you learn now. When you punch someone, how can you maximize the force of that punch? At this time, you have to consider many factors, such as wind resistance, the movement direction of your opponent, the angle of your punch, and how much force will be dispersed due to the angle after the punch lands.”

”That’s too complicated!” Huangfu Ziyu was astonished and said, ”Do you have to consider so many things just for a punch?”

”What I just mentioned are merely the simplest rules of heaven and earth, or physics knowledge. In fact, only considering these things is the most rudimentary comprehension. True masters consider far more, including many things beyond the realm of physics.” Helian Tiehua glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”For example, your Tiangang Beidou Step Technique, which utilizes the Taoist sect’s formation techniques to make your movement technique unpredictable and elusive. When fighting an opponent, you can often catch them off guard, making them defenseless!”

Ye Qing nodded. He was quite clear on this; he had previously used this step technique to defeat several people who were stronger than him.

”But isn’t the Tiangang Beidou Step Technique a technique?” Ye Qing asked, puzzled.

”You’re mistaken!” Helian Tiehua shook his head and said: ”The Tiangang Beidou Step Technique is an evolved form of the top-level rules of the Taoist sect; these things have already transcended the realm of techniques.”

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged a glance, both even more puzzled. These things were still difficult to comprehend in a short time.

”I’ll give you another example!” Helian Tiehua said: ”You’ve seen my A Stone’s Throw Away technique. What do you think of its power?”

Ye Qing nodded and said, ”This technique is the most powerful I’ve ever seen among techniques!”

”A Stone’s Throw Away, reputed as a heavenly distance equaling a stone’s throw, is an evolved technique from the Taoist sect’s Earth Shrinking Skill.” Helian Tiehua laughed and said, ”But no matter how fast a person is, how could one possibly traverse a heavenly distance in an instant?”

”Then how is this achieved?” Ye Qing asked.

”Hehe...” Helian Tiehua chuckled lightly. Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu’s faces changed dramatically. Although Helian Tiehua was standing in front of them, his laughter came from behind them, what on earth was going on?

Both of them turned their heads at the same time, only to see that Helian Tiehua had indeed already moved behind them, and the one in front of them had vanished as if he had never been there.

”What...what is going on?” Ye Qing widened his eyes, though Huangfu Ziyu wasn’t overly shocked. She could sense the fluctuation of the Sun Shooting Bow, having already sensed Helian Tiehua’s presence behind them. But just now, seeing someone in front of them, she hadn’t thought too much about it.

”This is the true principle of A Stone’s Throw Away!” Helian Tiehua looked at Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu and said, ”So-called A Stone’s Throw Away is but a minor technique. This utilizes a Qimen Dunjia technique from the Taoist sect to create an illusion, making people believe the real person is right in front of them. But in reality, when you realize it, it’s too late to dodge or defend!”

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu suddenly understood, so this was the principle behind A Stone’s Throw Away. They had always wondered how this technique could be so fast, seemingly even surpassing the speed of light. Now they finally realized that the speed hadn’t increased much; it was just an illusion.

”This is somewhat similar to Japan’s ninjutsu,” Ye Qing said.

”It’s different.” Helian Tiehua shook his head, ”Japan’s ninjutsu only allows one to temporarily disappear, but once they vanish, their opponent becomes immediately alert, sensing the surroundings. But A Stone’s Throw Away is different; the illusion I create with Qimen Dunjia techniques stays put, and the opponent’s attention remains fixed on the illusion, never registering the surrounding changes, making it indefensible. Moreover, A Stone’s Throw Away has other traits, but I’ll save those for later!”

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu nodded. In truth, being told this much by Helian Tiehua already indicated a deep trust in them. One must know that this was the biggest secret of A Stone’s Throw Away. If this secret were leaked, this technique would practically become useless!

”Uncle Helian, can Qimen Dunjia techniques really create such illusions?” Huangfu Ziyu asked, puzzled.

”Far more than that!” Helian Tiehua said, ”At its acme, a real Qimen Dunjia master can stack rocks to form a formation, trapping people inside so they cannot escape. It’s not the area that’s vast, but because within it, one sees all sorts of illusions, difficult to break free from. As for creating these illusions, in Qimen Dunjia techniques, this is actually not difficult. However, this requires powerful inner strength for support, so this A Stone’s Throw Away can only be mastered by peak masters!”