Super Combat Soldier

Chapter 681: Chapter 680: No Longer Confined to a Narrow View

[PS: Here’s the second update for today. When Xiao Gou makes a promise, he keeps it. If you have the ability to reward, how about becoming an Alliance Hierarch? I’ll add updates especially for the Alliance Hierarch, thank you, brothers!]

This journey to the Ancient Martial World marked the most significant turning point in Ye Tianchen’s life, also determining the direction of his future development. From being a minor superpower user, he became a martial artist following the mainstream cultivation paths of this great world. Without such an opportunity, and without inheriting Shaolin Temple’s ”Yijin Jing,” he might never have met Master Fang Zheng, a monk of great magnanimity and kind-heartedness, willing to forsake his own life for the sake of helping others to pave their way into the path of martial arts cultivation, even at the cost of his own passing.

When Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng left Shaolin Temple, the tolling of bells echoed from the high mountains, mourning the passing of Master Fang Zheng throughout Shaolin, while the Sword Emperor, who had been gravely injured by Ye Tianchen, was naturally killed. The collapse of the Sword Emperor’s mental defenses rendered him no longer a match for Ye Tianchen, who he never dreamed would be the one to end him—one of the ten strongest on Earth, falling at the hands of such a greenhorn.

Ye Tianchen walked a few steps forward, then turned to look back, silently bringing his hands together and bowing deeply toward Shaolin Temple. Dongfang Meng approached and said with a sigh, ”Let’s go. Master Fang Zheng sacrificed himself for others, and we must not fail to fulfill his last wishes!”

”I promised Master Fang Zheng that even if I am not a follower of Buddhism, I will still lend a hand whenever the Buddhist Sect is in trouble. I swear, as long as I, Ye Tianchen, am alive, whenever Buddhism faces difficulty, I will step in to help!” Ye Tianchen said earnestly.

Dongfang Meng nodded and then said, ”Let’s go down the mountain. Masters like Master Wudao do not wish to see us. It seems that with Master Fang Zheng’s passing, Shaolin Temple will no longer participate in the Ancient Martial World’s grand assembly. Now only Mount Hua’s Feng Qingyang and Wudang Sect’s One Sword Taoist remain. I’d like to head to the Huashan Sect first!”

”I think after we go down the mountain, we should find a place to rest first and set out after daybreak!” said Ye Tianchen, glancing at the darkening sky.

Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng left Shaolin Temple and reached the foot of the mountain it was situated upon as the sky gradually dimmed. Dongfang Meng saw a lake nearby and suggested, ”Let’s spend the night by the lake and continue our journey tomorrow!”

”Hmm!” Ye Tianchen responded.

Although the spiritual energy for cultivation in the Ancient Martial World still existed, it was also gradually disappearing. No matter how formidable a formation was, it would develop flaws over millions of years of evolution and change. In this world, nothing is impervious to the test of time, not even the all-powerful Emperors or the star-plucking fierce beasts. Unless they achieve eternal life, they will all be submerged in the river of time.

Up to this point, Ye Tianchen was not yet a full-fledged martial artist. Superpower energy still resided in his body, but it had been forcibly suppressed in his Dantian by Master Fang Zheng, using his own Martial Arts Power to prevent it from running rampant and clashing with the Martial Arts True Power. This could lead to Ye Tianchen becoming possessed by deviant energy. Although temporarily under control, Ye Tianchen knew that he would have to rely on himself to continuously strengthen his martial arts cultivation and gradually erode the superpower energy. His ideal state was fusion—if he could merge the superpower energy and Martial Arts True Power, his cultivation strength might see a significant increase.

As darkness fell, Ye Tianchen gathered some firewood and lit a fire by the small lake, then sat down cross-legged in front of it. Dongfang Meng also sat cross-legged opposite him, both engaged in cultivation. The cultivation process of martial artists and superpower users was entirely different. Fortunately, Ye Tianchen had obtained the ”Yijin Jing,” a spell of considerable prowess. In addition to the cultivation of Martial Arts True Power, it also contained the essence of the Shaolin 72 Skills, an enormous treasure to Ye Tianchen, who knew well that anyone who encountered him would wish to kill for such wealth.

Gradually, Ye Tianchen immersed his Divine Sense into his Dantian, carefully observing his body from skin and blood vessels to muscles, meridians, and bones. He realized that the superpower energy was almost non-existent. It was evident that Master Fang Zheng had expended his life’s skill to enable the future fusion and removal of the superpower energy within Ye Tianchen. Without the encounter with Master Fang Zheng, he would never have inherited the ”Yijin Jing” from Shaolin Temple, nor would he have survived the clash between the two powers and the risk of becoming possessed by deviant energy.

At that moment, Ye Tianchen felt as if his entire body had been completely renewed, a sensation so distinct and pleasant that it was unlike anything he had experienced before. Even when he had been a Divine-level superpower expert on the apocalyptic planet, with considerable strength, he never felt this way. Could this be the advantage of becoming a martial artist, entering the vast world of martial arts?

However, when Ye Tianchen used his Divine Sense to look within his Dantian, he was taken aback. Inside his Dantian, there were two different colors: one was the surging purple superpower, constantly trying to burst forth, while the other was the golden Martial Arts True Power, firmly suppressing the purple superpower to prevent it from going berserk. With these two powerful forces in a standstill within his Dantian, and now with Master Fang Zheng’s help, the Martial Arts True Power inside Ye Tianchen was clearly prevailing over the purple superpower. However, there will come a day when these two powerful forces will have to battle it out, otherwise, they will always pose a threat and an obstacle for him, Ye Tianchen.

Truth be told, even Ye Tianchen himself never expected that this universe would be a Martial Arts Great World. Superpower Users were just a minor cultivation category that evolved over tens of millions of years, with some unique and unexpected moves. But as Master Fang Zheng told Ye Tianchen, Earth was no longer suitable for cultivation. Mighty Martial Arts practitioners were almost nonexistent. During the apocalypse, the most Ye Tianchen encountered were Demon Beasts, and he did not come across any Martial Artists with deep cultivation. This indicated that during the apocalypse, Ye Tianchen’s perspective was also quite limited, and he was unaware that this world was a Martial Arts World, vast and boundless, capable of using mysterious Transmission Arrays to travel to other planets.

It was like a person sitting at the bottom of a well, looking at the sky and thinking it was only as big as the well’s opening, unaware of the colorful and vibrant world outside. Only now did Ye Tianchen realize what kind of world this universe was. The true rulers of this universe were Martial Artists, and now that he had been given such a great opportunity to become one, it was time for him to embark on the path of Martial Arts Cultivation and move forward courageously.

”Master Fang Zheng is kind and generous. Not only did he help me suppress the rampaging superpower and enable me to become a Martial Artist, but he also kept my Cultivation Realm at Mid Martial Venerate. There’s no longer any superpower within my meridians, blood, and bones. It looks like I won’t need to use Superpower Skills in the future. During my Martial Arts Absolute Skill cultivation, I will create my own Martial Arts Divine Skills that suit me!” Ye Tianchen thought to himself with determination.

Ye Tianchen had become a Martial Artist. Although he had not yet managed to merge with or remove the superpower within his body, there was no immediate danger. Aside from the powerful superpower being suppressed in his Dantian, there was no longer any superpower in Ye Tianchen’s body. In order to find a way to become a complete Martial Arts practitioner in the future, he decided not to use Superpower Skills anymore. To grow, some things must be completely discarded.

Fortunately, Ye Tianchen had already come into contact with the absolute skills of Martial Arts, so he wouldn’t be starting from scratch, otherwise, everything would have to begin anew.

The Yijin Jing, Jade Maiden Heart Scripture, Heavenly Shocking Palm, Fast Sword Skill, Divine Movement Skill, and Bone Transformation Skill, as well as three of the ancient ten Divine Swords: the Taie Sword, Xuanyuan Sword, and Fish Intestine Sword—hesitating over Thunder Sky Fist, Golden Eyes, Thunder Bow, and Golden Divine Shield— these four absolute skills were all created by Ye Tianchen. He could also use them, but the power unleashed was no longer superpower but Martial Arts True Power.

What made Ye Tianchen feel most fortunate was that the record of Yijin Jing contained not only the spells for cultivating Martial Arts Power but also the essence of the Shaolin 72 Skills. If Ye Tianchen could understand each one, he would possess the Martial Arts Divine Skills of all seventy-two, and his combat power would be unimaginable.

”What’s going on? Can’t I access the realm of fighting beyond my level with Martial Arts True Power anymore?” Ye Tianchen suddenly stiffened. He had just tried to initiate the realm of fighting beyond his level and found that there was no reaction at all. He felt quite bewildered by this, as fighting beyond his level had always been his ultimate combat power, not to be used unless absolutely necessary and not something that could be used without restraint. Now that he couldn’t even touch this realm, it was terrifying for Ye Tianchen, meaning his combat power would be greatly reduced.

”Could it be that only Superpower Users can access this realm?” Ye Tianchen thought, chilled by the prospect.

Suddenly, Ye Tianchen’s ears twitched. His Divine Sense was extremely powerful, and he sensed something unusual. After opening his eyes, without time to think further, he stood up and walked over to Dongfang Meng. Dongfang Meng, not knowing what was happening, opened her eyes and was about to ask Ye Tianchen what was going on but was silenced by his gaze.

Immediately after, Ye Tianchen grabbed Dongfang Meng and swiftly dove into the lake. As they descended, he released a burst of finger force, extinguishing the campfire on the shore.

Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng both submerged into the lake water. Because the situation was urgent, Dongfang Meng subconsciously hugged Ye Tianchen, and both of them used the ”Turtle Breathing Skill” from Martial Arts to temporarily hold their breaths.

Just after Ye Tianchen and Dongfang Meng had submerged, seven figures appeared on the shore, each shrouded in black Poisonous Gas, with only a pair of blood-red eyes visible outside, their murderous gaze searching around. One of them walked up to the recently extinguished campfire, crouched down, and examined the charred remains of the firewood...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)