I Can See Your Combat Power

Watching the incredibly eager eyes of Cui Haoran and Li Xuanba, Tang Luo sighed and said, “Think carefully, is this secret technique truly invincible? A warrior of the Fierce Realm is considered dead once their physical body perishes, and even the strongest of souls will eventually dissipate and turn to ash as the Spiritual Power fades away. What if your opponent destroys your physical body and then uses the Xuanji Jade to escape? What if they don’t even allow you to sacrifice your soul to the limit and activate the Xuanji Jade directly while you deplete your blood essence to cast the ‘Spirit Blood Curse’? For an ordinary warrior of the Fierce Realm, how many times can you withstand such loss?”

“Such opponents, stubbornly fighting to the death, are in the end only imagined simulations by the Illusion Dream. To forge iron, one must be strong themselves. To think you can overlook all under heaven with just one desperate technique is to not take the heroes of the world seriously, don’t you think?”

Having said his piece, Tang Luo turned and walked back into the house. Closing the door, he caught a glimpse through the crack of three young men outside, some deep in thought, others disheartened, and he sighed to himself.

The enticing thing about shortcuts is that they always present you with a beautiful yet illusory dream, much like the “Fury of the Common Man,” making you mistakenly believe that mastering this secret technique would grant you the qualifications to speak on equal terms with sects.

In reality, how could these young people represent any sect? They are but seedlings still in their growing phases.

Though some of them are already warriors of the Fierce Realm, this does not change the fact that they know nothing of the human world.

Everyone has their own time to come onto the stage; the stronger the organization, the longer the period of growth. In an ordinary family, being at the peak of the Mortal Realm is already considered the backbone, responsible for finding ways to support the family.

In noble families, it is not until the shedding of mortality that the clan sees their offspring as adults and begins to assign them tasks.

As for the prestigious families and sects, it goes without saying that unless one is exceptionally talented, only upon reaching the Fierce Realm would one have some say; before that, one should just focus on martial cultivation.

Why the children of ordinary families cannot compare with those from elite noble educations, and why the elite educated nobles feel that they cannot reach the elegance of sect disciples.

Many people attribute the outcome to the starting point and thus devise ways to compel innocent children to strive forward, to forgo all playtime, wishing they could begin Foundation Building at three, reach the Mortal Realm at five, and shed mortality by eleven, to show that they are adept at raising children and asserting that they will never allow their own to lose at the starting line.

But they seem to forget that the life of a martial artist is not a sprint; how far and how fast one can run is not determined by how early the child starts running.

Attempting to oversimplify such an immensely complex issue into a straightforward deduction can only lead to utter failure in the end.

In Tang Luo’s view, what sects do better than noble families is the continuous extension of this period of growth, so that eventually the disciples you see are all dazzling and extraordinarily talented.

As for cultivating two years earlier or later, when you stretch your gaze to the span of a hundred years, it seems to hardly matter.

Now seated back at his desk, Tang Luo felt a wave of emotion and began to take out pen and paper to work on deciphering the enigmatic transmission, time ticking away second by second until, without realization, it was late at night, and a gentle knock sounded at the door.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

The three sounds of rapping were neither urgent nor sluggish, measured as if by a clock, each spaced at the exact same interval. They neither rushed the listener nor came across as languid, hitting the perfect note.

This clearly wasn’t a display of cultivation one could expect from the three brash team members of Longxi, nor was it the kind of indifference that cousin Xu Lao Ying needed to show. So, who could be knocking at the door?

Tang Luo set down his pen, puzzled, and opened the door to find a slender man of gentle demeanor standing before him, none other than Chen Menglu, with whom he had had a brief encounter in the Illusion Dream Divine Array.

“Master Chen honors my humble abode with his presence, I am truly flattered. Please, come in.”

“I hope my impromptu visit isn’t too much of a bother, thank you for your understanding, young friend.”

Tang Luo stepped aside from the doorway and said respectfully to Chen Menglu, although he had tried his best to avoid meeting with the Grandmaster, there was no reason to evade now that he had come to his door. Moreover, he felt that this Grandmaster Chen, who knew the Four Imperial Spirit Seals were a dead-end yet still pursued them relentlessly, had a certain stubbornness typical of an artist. He didn’t admire it, but he couldn’t say he disliked it either.

Once settled in the room, Tang Luo poured a cup of fragrant tea for Chen Menglu. As the aroma filled the room, he asked, “Master Chen seems in good spirits. Could it be that there has been a new development with the Four Imperial Spirit Seals?”

“I wish your words were true,” said Chen Menglu with a wry smile. “In the past few days, I have gone through all the research notes on the Four Imperial Spirit Seals from Bifang Mountain, yet I still haven’t found the path to the King Realm. I’m quite troubled by this. However, on this vast Martial Saint Mountain, there is no one willing to discuss the Spirit Seals with me. Having no other choice, I thought of you, my young friend, and I hope you do not mind.”

It’s lonely at the top, which means when you reach a certain height, even if you’re willing to share, most people cannot understand.

They can only pretend to understand and flatter you on the side. True loneliness isn’t when you’re alone doing research; it’s when, after pouring your heart into completing it, you realize that no one else in the world can grasp its value but yourself.

Just as to every martial arts master on Martial Saint Mountain, researching the Four Imperial Spirit Seals was seen as a waste of life. Bu Chun was willing to exchange all of Bifang Mountain’s research on the Seals simply because he deemed the technique worthless.

In such a lonely environment, Chen Menglu felt that the only person he could actually talk to was this elite from a noble family, a bitter irony indeed.

“Master Chen,” Tang Luo carefully chose his words to console the dejected grandmaster before him, “Life is full of hardships as it is. You have already taken the Four Imperial Spirit Seals to unprecedented levels; why press yourself to advance even further? Even for a sacred place like Martial Saint Mountain, it took a thousand years to perfect the Sacred Martial Body. If I were you, instead of spending time on an aimless pursuit, I would rather leave this place in search of disciples willing to practice the Four Imperial Spirit Seals. Perhaps by continuing the legacy first, there may yet be a chance for the Seals to see the path forward.”

“I am well aware of what you are saying,” replied Chen Menglu with a bitter smile. “But the Four Imperial Dominion World was completely integrated into the Great Thousand World more than a decade ago, filled to the brim with Heavenly and Earthly Qi, and the last altar of the Spirit World has lost its divine power. I am now the last inheritor of the Four Imperial Spirit Seals.”

Faced with the ultimate inheritor and tomb keeper of a world, Tang Luo could only silently pour another cup of fragrant tea and quietly listen to the story of the Four Imperial Spirit Seals.

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