I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 788: Chapter Eighty-Two: Ceiling

Just after Gong Shu finished explaining about the Four Imperial Spirit Seals, Martial Arts Grandmaster Tang Luo sentenced this technique to death, defining it as a heretical method.

The so-called heretical method is a path that cannot reach the end. It has nothing to do with difficulty because all paths will narrow as you progress, but the problem with heretical methods is that there is no path at the end.

Controlling spirits without controlling the mind, cultivating qi without cultivating the soul, means that you are not refining your nature or your life, relying on spiritual power and honoring battle power.

In ancient times, many held this belief. This wasn’t unique to the Four Imperial Spirit Seals. The first to propose this idea was an ancient sect – Tianren Sect. They believed that the physical body would eventually decay, and the soul would wither. Only by merging heaven and man to become one, could one achieve the lifespan of heaven and earth.

And then what happened? The Tianren Sect, which misled many ancient humans, eventually disappeared in the long river of history.

The beliefs of this sect were indeed attractive, but it’s as empty as saying that becoming a god will lead to immortality. It has a goal but no method, so there is no possibility of reaching it.

Late in ancient times, the Zen sect proposed a new idea that the physical body was nothing but a stinking skin bag and that the eternal vessel was the soul. To reach the other shore, one had to empower the soul, making it perfect without any leaks so that it could achieve immortality.

This idea seemed more reliable than the union of heaven and man. By using this argument, the ancient Zen sect gathered a large number of adherents.

And then what happened? In the dark ages, when even contemplating Bodhisattva was a struggle, the Zen sect’s heads were smashed by ancient body cultivators, and it often happened that a wandering body cultivator would step beyond their division to shatter an Arahant.

This filled the cultivators of the ancient Zen sect with despair. After all, they had not yet seen the other shore, but dealing with the fists of fighters of the same division had become their most pressing problem.

These were sects that had ideas but needed time to verify them, and the primordial era was full of them.

Some of them realized that their ideas were unworkable, so they abandoned them; others discovered that their ideas were feasible and thus passed them down. But the majority continuously revised and adjusted their ideas, giving shape to the current form of martial arts.

For instance, look at the Zen sect. These bald monks have never given up the idea that the physical body is but a stinky skin bag and that the soul is the eternal vessel. However, if you look closely, you will find that no other sect is as diligent in body training, as are these bald monks.

The Zen sect’s current interpretation is that even though the soul is eternal, before reaching the other shore, it is clouded. Therefore, it needs a golden body as a protection. This golden body is the physical body, which must be cultivated to become indestructible and invincible. Only then can it be considered satisfactory.

Therefore, martial arts did not transform into their current form overnight. Instead, they have evolved through countless debates, eventually taking on their current form, which combines the cultivation of both life and nature.

However, current martial arts are not flawless, and constant changes and adaptations still occur. These minor evolutions will one day cumulate into a massive change that will transform the martial arts once more, so Tang Luo believes that martial arts, which cultivate both life and nature, are the orthodox methods.

As for these Four Imperial Spirit Seals, they are undoubtedly a heretical method due to the limitations they impose.

The crux of why Tang Luo despises this practice is not just the lack of cultivation of life and nature but also because those who practice this method have significantly shorter lifespans.

The length of a martial artist’s lifespan is determined by the robustness of their physical body and their soul’s strength.

The divine seal independently controls spirits – it sounds beautiful, but at the same time, it lacks the beneficial body-strengthening effects of the daily cultivation of qi. In simple terms, for the most ordinary martial artist to cultivate from scratch to reach the Fierce Realm would take approximately forty-five years. If calculated based on three segments of the day spent in cultivation, that would be exactly 49,275 segments. The disparity in physical strength is considerable.

This weakness in physical strength is one thing, but even worse is their neglect in cultivating the soul. Not only does it fulfill two main elements that lead to a short lifespan, but their spiritual power is also a threat to them.

The stronger the spiritual power, the more robust the physical body needed to endure it, as the meridians are not independent of the body’s strength.

Simply put, the more often the Four Imperial Spirit Race uses their hands, the earlier they die; the higher their cultivation, the earlier they die.

Just from Gong Shu’s explanation, Tang Luo had already seen through the limitations of the Four Imperial Spirit Seals. After understanding these limitations, in his eyes, the Four Imperial Dominion World was of no worth.

Due to the short lifespan, there will not be any spirit tamers over 120 years old in the Four Imperial Spirit Realms. Hence, they will not have any King Realm level spirit tamers; the highest they will reach is a Spirit Master with around hundreds of thousands of Spiritual Power.

As they do not cultivate the soul, the Four Imperial Spirit Race will not possess soul-infused spirits, limiting their destructive power. This is why even a high-level spirit art like the Xuanming Han Coffin could not injure him.

Lastly, because they control spirits without controlling the heart, there won’t be any Martial Arts Grandmasters or top tier fighters who comprehend the true meaning of martial arts in the Four Imperial Spirit Realms.noveldrama

These were the limitations of Xiehe’s battle power, having roamed for a thousand years, truly making one feel pitiful for no reason.

Without any Grandmaster level fighters, their physical bodies are incredibly weak. While possessing top-tier spiritual power, their lethality is only average. Tang Luo felt that starting a fight with the Four Imperial Spirit Race would be bullying them.

Although bullying weaklings is fun, the Four Imperial Spirit Race’s level of weakness has surpassed Tang Luo’s bottom line. He didn’t want to have any more conflicts with these natives. It would be better to gather some divine jade and find the hidden gate to the Spirit Realm to end this test.

This is akin to bringing the current world’s top-level martial arts achievements back to ancient times and facing the natives, whose power levels are far beneath his even though they seem the same. It induces a feeling of transcendence and pity.

Withdrawing his hand from Gong Shu’s eyes, he took one last glance at the young guard sealed in the ice. Tang Luo took off towards Guolan Valley. He had already decided to enter the Deathstorm to search for divine jade directly, trying to add a bit of difficulty to this small test. Otherwise, this second round would be too easy.

Although, even breaching the Deathstorm doesn’t pose much of a threat to him. After all, if encountered in the void, it would be a bit troublesome, but once inside the small world, it’s a paper tiger, frightening only in appearance.

The only complication is the Annihilation Light, which represents the withering of everything, the boundless void, and destruction. But considering the size of the Deathstorm, the strength of this Annihilation Force probably isn’t too potent.

Tang Luo, now already flying above Guolan Valley, looked at the deathly maelstrom that already destroyed a large part of the valley, rubbed his chin, thought about his Undying Battle Body, about his Two Ambiguity Innate Qi, as well as his Innate Yin-Yang Grinding Mill and the Yin-Yang Void Wheel, then plunged headfirst into the Deathstorm.

Meanwhile, Gong Wang and Gong Yang fled desperately back to Hanshui Village on the bank of the Hanshui River. They stormed into Spirit King Gong Quan’s residence, reporting about the events of the encounter with the outsider on the holy altar and the space storm in Guolan Valley.

Upon hearing that Gong Shu sacrificed his vital blood to freeze the strong enemy and transmitted a message upon seeing the spatial vortex, this Spirit King of Hanshui village felt extremely stirred, emotionally declaring, “Captain Gong Shu is indeed a great hero of Hanshui village. After this incident, a monument will be erected for him, and I will support his parents, wife, and children!”