Urban Martial Saint

Hearing Shijia’s words, Fu Qingping couldn’t help but want to swear, while Ye Qing simply made a scornful gesture at him.

”Shijia, you’re said to be the foremost master of the Buddhist Sect in the world, quite a figure as well, why are you talking so out of tune?” Ye Qing said helplessly, ”If you don’t know, just say you don’t know, are you trying to scare people with all that heavy breathing?”

Shijia said, ”I don’t know means I don’t know, but you can’t stop people from breathing, can you? I just breathe deeply like this, why, are people not allowed to take deep breaths?”

Ye Qing was speechless. Shijia, this old guy, is so similar to Old Chen back in Shenchuan City, they both babble on like that. I wonder if Shijia and Old Chen were put together, who would get fed up with whom?

”By the way, the limitations of being beyond the pinnacle that you mentioned earlier, what exactly is it?” Ye Qing changed the subject, not wanting to waste more time on this topic with Shijia.

”It’s the limitation of being beyond the pinnacle.” Shijia said.

”Stop talking.” Ye Qing waved a hand at Shijia, turning to Fu Qingping. This Shijia guy, at times when you need a proper explanation, he speaks so plainly. When you want him to be brief, he starts to babble, he’s doing it on purpose, isn’t he?

Fu Qingping smiled and explained, ”The limitation of being beyond the pinnacle is actually a restriction on the supreme peak power. Those beyond peerless masters cannot freely exert supreme peak power, or they will incur heavenly retribution.”

”What heavenly retribution?” Ye Qing was taken aback; this was the first time he’d heard of such a thing. Exerting supreme peak power could invite heavenly retribution? Then what’s the point of reaching such a level?

Fu Qingping said, ”I don’t know precisely what form this heavenly retribution takes, but historically, those who encountered heavenly retribution either died tragically or mysteriously disappeared.”

”This... this is coincidence, right?” Ye Qing frowned, ”Heavenly retribution? Is there really heaven above? So does this mean that there really are gods in this world?”

As he said this, Ye Qing was reminded of the gods and servants of gods inside the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. According to Guiguzi’s notes, there really were gods in this world. However, according to information obtained later, the so-called gods were also humans, just with stronger powers. So real gods didn’t exist; everything was just humans, that’s all. Therefore, the so-called ’heaven’ shouldn’t really exist either, right?

”There’s no way to explain such things.” Fu Qingping sighed and said, ”Do you remember when I broke through the acme barrier, and there was a black cloud above my head?”

”Oh, you didn’t say, I’d almost forgotten about it!” Ye Qing exclaimed, ”What was that black cloud about? There was lightning and thunder, didn’t I see a bolt of lightning strike down at that time?”

Fu Qingping took a deep breath and said, ”If you must say it, that black cloud was the ultimate barrier!”

”The ultimate barrier?” Ye Qing was stunned, looking at Shijia beside him, with an incredulous expression. Is there even a barrier at the acme level?

”Come, come, come, this is where you need me, a seasoned monk who’s been beyond peerless for many years, to explain things to you!” Shijia beckoned and said, ”Didn’t Fu Qingping already talk about the situation of being beyond the pinnacle back on Mount Tai? The so-called ’beyond the pinnacle’ actually means the power has changed, able to communicate with the power of heaven and earth. In other words, we start transitioning from cultivating ourselves to connecting with the power of heaven and earth. During the process of shifting from personal power to heavenly power, due to changes in the attributes of strength, a backlash can occur, which is the ultimate barrier just mentioned!”

”The so-called ultimate barrier is actually when we start absorbing the power of heaven and earth, the power backlash causes changes in the surrounding environment, leading to certain natural phenomena. The black cloud overhead, the lightning attacks, these are results of the power backlash. In a mythological sense, it’s similar to the concept of tribulation often seen in legends. However, this ultimate barrier is a result of changes in power, and not as magical as tribulation. Of course, this ultimate barrier is quite dangerous. If you can’t get through it, you’ll be completely consumed by the backlash, blown to bits with nothing left. Conversely, if you get through it, your power will fully merge with the power of heaven and earth, becoming a true beyond peerless master!”

After Shijia’s explanation, Ye Qing was left dumbfounded. It took him a while to come back to his senses. After pondering over it, he still couldn’t fully understand what Shijia had said. Actually, this is normal. For those who have not attained this level, how many could understand such things?

”So you’re saying, with this ultimate barrier, are there some people who failed to get through and died?” Ye Qing looked at Shijia and Fu Qingping, ”In other words, throughout history, there have actually been quite a few who could reach beyond peerless, but many of them couldn’t get through the barrier?”

”You could say that.” Shijia nodded, ”Anyway, I’ve personally seen five people who couldn’t make it through the barrier and ultimately vanished into thin air!”

”Wow, you saw that with your own eyes and didn’t give a hand!” Ye Qing said.

”Nonsense, what help could outsiders offer in such things?” Shijia rolled his eyes, ”The backlash from his own power was already just a small part. But if my power joined in, it would cause an even greater backlash. Then, it wouldn’t just be the person transcending the tribulation in danger; I’d be in danger too. If my power hit him, he would be blasted to pieces; forget about passing the barrier!”

”There are such things?” Ye Qing scratched his head. He hadn’t expected that the barrier for those beyond peerless was such a dangerous matter.

Ye Qing asked, ”Since that’s the case, beyond peerless masters dare not casually exert their powers. But earlier on Mount Tai, didn’t The Immortal Lord and Master use their supreme peak power, would they face heavenly retribution?”

”The Immortal Lord definitely can’t escape it, but Fu Qingping is different. He had just been promoted to beyond peerless at that time, and his power had not yet fully fused with the power of heaven and earth. At that time, exerting supreme peak power wouldn’t invite heavenly retribution.” Shijia paused, looked at Fu Qingping, and said, ”But now it’s different. His power has completely merged with that of heaven and earth. If he exerts his supreme peak power now, it would definitely invite heavenly retribution!”

Ye Qing breathed a sigh of relief, he’d worried that after this battle, Fu Qingping might attract heavenly retribution, which could be troublesome.

Ye Qing said, ”Since supreme peak power can’t be used casually, then what’s the difference between beyond peerless masters and peerless masters?”

”That’s not how to say it. First, the most crucial point is that a beyond peerless master can have a lifespan of three hundred years, while peerless masters only a hundred and fifty, is that a big enough difference?” Shijia paused, then continued, ”Moreover, peerless and beyond peerless masters are a whole realm apart. Even if beyond peerless masters don’t use their supreme peak power, it’s not difficult to handle a dozen peerless masters at will. Especially for someone like Fu Qingping who’s heavily offensive, even without using supreme peak power, handling a dozen or twenty peerless masters is a piece of cake!”

Ye Qing was stunned. According to Shijia, the capabilities of a beyond peerless master are indeed not weak. Without using supreme peak power, to have such a strong prowess, it seems the disparity in realms leads to a huge difference in strength.

”In that case, could there be other hidden beyond peerless masters in this world?” Ye Qing suddenly thought of something, excitedly said, ”Just that they haven’t used their supreme peak power, so they’ve gone unnoticed?”

”This...” Shijia and Fu Qingping glanced at each other, both showing a hint of doubt; it’s not impossible.

Seeing their expressions, Ye Qing sucked in a breath of cold air. If that’s truly the case, the world could really plunge into chaos. At the very least, Ye Qing knew that the Church might have beyond peerless masters. As for the Wanyan Family and the Sword Saint Sect, who knew if they had any hidden beyond peerless masters?

The three fell into silence for a while, then Shijia suddenly waved a hand and said, ”Ah, let’s not talk about this for now. Oh, Young Ye, I actually came over this time because I have something to discuss with you, you...”

”Huh? Someone’s looking for me outside, I’ll head out first.” Before Shijia could finish, Ye Qing immediately got up and ran outside, not wanting to listen to Shijia any longer. Every time this old bald guy came over, it was never for anything good, and indeed, he’s come with another matter. Ye Qing didn’t want to get tricked by him again.

”Who’s looking for you, stop fooling around.” Shijia grabbed Ye Qing with one hand and pushed him back into the chair, ”This matter is important. I’m coming to you because I think you’re quite promising, a potential great asset, so I want to give you an opportunity. Don’t be ungrateful!”

”Oh, give it a rest. Nothing you bring me is good, only trouble!” Ye Qing waved dismissively and said, ”Enough, don’t say another word, I’m not agreeing to it no matter what. Whatever you want to do is your problem, just don’t involve me!”

”Hey, why do you talk like that, kid?” Shijia felt a bit embarrassed, pressing down on Ye Qing and said, ”What do you mean all I bring are troubles, I don’t like what you’re implying, like I’m some kind of jinx. I’m telling you, this time, it’s definitely something good, a world-saving good deed!”

”World-saving, go find Superman, why come to me?” Ye Qing waved again and said, ”No, no, no, don’t talk to me about it, I’m definitely not getting involved. Good or bad, I’m not getting involved, I’m not getting tricked by you again!”