Raging Dragon River, Is Human Strength Finite?

"Ever since Huang Tian came to Funing, this old man has finally had some peace and quiet. Ah, what a comfort..." Inside the Company Office, Xu Shu sat in a wing room, pouring himself a cup of clear tea and sipping it slowly in leisurely contentment. Outside the window, bamboo shadows swayed, the wind rustled softly, and a faint floral fragrance drifted on the breeze. Breathing in the scent of blossoms and tea, Xu Shu truly felt that the life of an immortal could hardly be better than this. "A pity no one knows whether that supposed divine armament is real or fake, and it still hasn't appeared. Otherwise, I would have returned to the provincial capital long ago. Compared to the provincial capital, Funing is far too small, and there are no friends or kin here to keep me company..." He shook his head. More than three months ago, when he first arrived in Funing, he had been full of ambition, eager to seize the divine armament. But as time passed, no divine armament appeared, while the city and its outskirts descended into utter chaos. Martial artists fought ceaselessly, and Grandmasters ran rampant without restraint, leaving him, the local guardian, utterly beleaguered. Every day brought an endless pile of matters to handle, and at times he even had to step in personally. Fortunately, everything changed after Huang Tian arrived. Especially once the head of the Demonic Cult's Saint Yin was hung over the western city gate, all the martial artists quieted down, finally granting Xu Shu this delightful leisure. "Eh?" Taking a sip of the fragrant tea, Xu Shu suddenly looked up and gazed out the window, only to see spiritual qi sweeping across the sky in a vast surge, pouring down like a torrent not far away. "Who is breaking through?" As a Rank Two martial artist, he was naturally familiar with the phenomena accompanying such breakthroughs. "Looking at that direction... is that Huang Tian's residence?" He quickly set down his teacup, strode out of the wing room, tapped the ground with his foot, leapt into the sky, and looked down. "Indeed! The spiritual qi is surging straight toward Huang Tian's quarters!" Shock rippled through his heart. Huang Tian had broken through to Rank Four only about two months ago; how was he breaking through again already? What was more... Breaking through from Rank Four meant becoming a Rank Three Grandmaster! A completely new realm! "He could already defeat a Rank One while at Rank Four. If he advances to Rank Three, won't he be invincible among Rank Ones?" At the thought, the true qi within him churned with excitement. "Still, I wonder if he can succeed. After all, the leap from Rank Four to Rank Three is a major threshold. But with the Precious Elephant Sacred Fetus Pill sent by the provincial capital, combined with his natural talent and comprehension, breaking through shouldn't be an issue..." A few days ago, the Provincial Martial Restraint Guard had finally sent emissaries to Funing to apologize to Huang Tian, admitting their poor judgment in dispatching Niu Kuanyu to reinforce Kunyun. Along with their apology, the envoys from the provincial capital presented two gifts. One was a Precious Elephant Sacred Fetus Pill—clearly chosen specifically because they saw Huang Tian had already reached Rank Four. Although they knew Huang Tian had surely obtained Precious Elephant Sacred Fetus Pills after wiping out the Feihong Sect and subduing the Four Great Sects, no one would turn down an extra one. Moreover, it demonstrated a desire to draw close—such pills were reserved exclusively for the most trusted inner circle. The implicit message was that they considered Huang Tian one of the Provincial Martial Restraint Guard's own. Besides a Precious Elephant Sacred Fetus Pill, the provincial capital also sent a Grandmaster-grade divine armament: a long saber bright as frost, the "Frost Saber." They sent this because word had reached them that during the battle with Xiahou Yin, the dark-gold staff in Huang Tian's hands had been unable to withstand the intense combat. And the Frost Saber was considered top-tier even among Grandmaster-grade divine armaments, a supreme treasure of the Provincial Martial Restraint Guard's Divine Armament Division. Their willingness to part with it was proof of ample sincerity. There was actually one more matter: Huang Tian had slain the Demonic Cult's Saint Yin, performing a monumental service, and combined with his Rank One combat prowess, it was time to promote him once more. However, he was already an Assistant Commissioner. To rise any higher would make him a Vice Commander or a Commander overseeing an entire province, and transfers to those two positions required bureaucratic procedures through the Imperial Capital. As a result, his promotion order had not arrived alongside the Provincial Martial Restraint Guard's compensatory gifts. Boom! The sound of rushing air approached. Xu Shu turned to look, and it was Xie Zheng and Long Zhang flying across the sky. Arriving at his side, the three exchanged greetings, then looked together toward where the spiritual qi surged and poured downward. "Earlier, while drinking at a tavern, I noticed spiritual qi surging like a tidal wave in the direction of the Company Office, and I guessed Brother Huang might be breaking through!" Xie Zheng said with feeling. "Coming here to look, sure enough, it is so!" Though there were several Rank Four Pacification Commissioners in the Company Office, either their vitality and true qi were not polished to perfection, or they were too old and had lost their ambition; achieving a breakthrough was practically impossible for them. Thus, once all impossibilities were eliminated, the remaining answer was clear. Even though it had only been a little over two months since Huang Tian's last breakthrough... they were used to it! Everyone had gradually grown accustomed to Huang Tian's breakthrough speed. After all, he had advanced at this blistering pace the entire way... Long Zhang asked, "Vice Commander Xu, does Brother Huang have a Precious Elephant Sacred Fetus Pill?" "He does. The Provincial Martial Restraint Guard sent one, and he likely has a few on his person as well," Xu Shu answered. "That's good." Long Zhang felt slightly reassured. A Precious Elephant Sacred Fetus Pill not only increased a Rank Four martial artist's breakthrough chance, but more crucially, it nurtured and stabilized vitality and true qi, preventing vitality from deteriorating even if the attempt failed. Although Long Zhang believed that with Huang Tian's talent and comprehension, success was assured, having a Precious Elephant Sacred Fetus Pill was always comforting. Whoosh— The tidal surge of spiritual qi lasted for roughly a quarter of an hour before finally subsiding and coming to a halt. All three held their breath. "Did he succeed?" Click! The door opened. A smiling Huang Tian walked out. Looking up, he saw the trio hovering in the air. He immediately tapped the ground with his toes, flew up into the sky, and stood in midair. "Congratulations, congratulations!" Xie Zheng laughed heartily. Long Zhang and Xu Shu also raised their hands in congratulation. Huang Tian smiled faintly and politely returned their greetings. Down below in the Company Office, the Pacification Commissioners, Battalion Commanders, and guards shouted in unison: "Congratulations, Assistant Commissioner, on achieving the Grandmaster realm!" Their voices shook the heavens and echoed in all directions. Many martial artists outside the Company Office heard it, all looking visibly shaken. "It really was Huang Tian breaking through!" "Sigh, I'm truly sick with envy. I've been stuck at Rank Four for thirty years without making an inch of progress, yet he leaped across it in just a couple of months! Why does he seem to have no bottlenecks at all, breaking through effortlessly the moment his vitality and true qi are perfected?" "Save your jealousy. Did you forget the Grandmaster Roll's evaluation of him? 'The culmination of a province's millennium of martial fortune!' In our vast Qin Province of hundreds of millions of people, only one Huang Tian has appeared in a thousand years! Such a person cannot be measured by common sense." "Earlier, he could kill Saint Yin as a Rank Four. Now that he's attained Rank Three, won't he be invincible within Rank One?" "A supreme Grandmaster has been born..." "With him in Funing, what divine armament could we possibly fight for? Sigh! Let's go, let's go! Leave Funing and try our luck in other commanderies and counties!" "..." Up in the sky, Xu Shu asked, "Huang Tian, achieving Rank Three is a momentous occasion. Shall we throw a grand banquet to celebrate properly?" Huang Tian shook his head. "No need. Too many people, too noisy." If he was truly going to host a feast to celebrate, that would be after breaking through to Celestial Being—only then would he lay out a lavish banquet and invite friends from far and wide! For now, it was merely reaching the Grandmaster realm; there was no need to celebrate lavishly. Long Zhang suggested, "Why don't the few of us sit together for some wine? That can serve as our celebration." "Splendid!" "Fine." The four immediately flew down from the sky and landed on the ground. Xu Shu waved a hand, calling over several guards to head into the city and buy fine wine and delicacies. A short while later, the four sat in the courtyard, drinking, chatting, and laughing together. Only after more than half an hour did the gathering disperse. After parting, Huang Tian stood in his courtyard, slowly going through his fist forms to familiarize himself with the changes in his strength following the breakthrough. After a long time, he drew in his stance and came to a stop. "Not bad, not bad at all. Now my vitality and condensed true qi are several times stronger than before. If I fought myself from before the breakthrough, I could obliterate him head-on in two punches! Against Yue Dingshan of Wind and Cloud Villa, a single strike would be enough to kill him!" Huang Tian murmured thoughtfully, "My current strength is somewhat greater than that Saint Yang's. I am virtually invincible within Rank One, but compared to a Celestial Being, there should still be some distance..." Celestial Beings possessed divine intent, which acted like an accelerant—capable of leveraging heaven-and-earth spiritual qi to an immense degree, magnifying the power of each move by astronomical proportions! For instance, if one's divine intent was like a mountain, a strike would land like ten thousand mountains pressing down, as if the firmament itself were collapsing! If one's divine intent was freezing cold, an unleashed technique could freeze thousands of zhang of a surging river! To ordinary mortals, such might seemed like the stuff of legendary immortals and gods. That was why the world said: at Rank One and below, one is mortal. Above Rank One, one is an immortal of the heavens—a Celestial Being! "No rush. I am only at Rank Three; it's completely natural that I cannot contend with a Celestial Being yet. Once I reach Rank Two and perfect Samsara Heaven, the situation may be very different." He smiled faintly and toggled open the switch of his intent. Instantly, countless voice lines flooded into his ears. After examining all the black lines: "This Saint Yang will soon reach Qin Province, and within another day or two, he will arrive in Kunyun... Today I will familiarize myself further with the Frost Saber, and tomorrow I will head out to meet him." Both of them could be considered the strongest beings beneath the Celestial Being realm. If they fought in Funing, within less than an hour, the entire city would be utterly destroyed with countless casualties. Therefore, it was best to choose a suitable battlefield to serve as Saint Yang's burial ground. Thinking thus, Huang Tian entered the room, picked up the Frost Saber resting on the low table, held it in his hand, walked out into the courtyard, and slowly swung it. Though his movements were slow, each slash caused an invisible sharp aura to permeate in all directions. If anyone had been standing in the courtyard, they would have felt as though a blade were pressed against them, their whole body tensing involuntarily... The sun set and the moon rose; the moon set and the sun rose. A day passed just like that. In the morning, after finishing his breathing exercises, Huang Tian took the Frost Saber and had someone bring his dragon horse. The reason he intended to ride rather than fly was naturally because there was no need to waste true qi. Apart from Celestial Beings, even a Rank One Grandmaster like Xiahou Yang generally rode a dragon horse when traveling. A dragon horse was fast and required no true qi, so there was no reason to fly. Furthermore, flying in the sky was far too conspicuous, making it easy to expose one's movements... When he walked to the front gate of the Company Office, a guard led the dragon horse over. The beast gently nuzzled its large head against Huang Tian's waist, its large eyes filled with affection. Patting its head gently, Huang Tian vaulted onto the horse. Just then, Xu Shu, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, asked urgently, "Assistant Commissioner Huang, where are you going?" "Raging Dragon River! To take a head!" Huang Tian spurred the steed. The dragon horse gave a long whinny and surged forward, leaving Xu Shu standing dumbfounded in place. Clatter, clatter! The crisp sound of hooves echoed down the long street. Seeing Huang Tian riding at a gallop with a saber at his waist, radiating heroic battle intent, the martial artists along the way were all startled. "Who offended this death bringer now?" someone said in a hushed voice. "Who knows? Probably some madman. Who else would dare provoke him?" "Pity I don't have a dragon horse; otherwise, I'd definitely follow and take a look." "I think you're the real madman. Anyone who can fight Huang Tian must be an expert among Rank Ones! The mere aftershocks of their clash could shake you to death!" "Not so, not so! To witness a battle between Rank One Grandmasters, even death would be worth it!" "..." Amidst the chatter, the dragon horse had already galloped out of the city and onto the wide official highway, thundering down the thoroughfare. Its hooves beat like drums, kicking up clouds of billowing dust... The Raging Dragon River was a renowned river within Great Gan. Stretching tens of thousands of li, it traversed multiple provinces, vast and mighty. The reason it was named the Raging Dragon River was that legend held there were dragons within its waters. However, legends were only legends after all. No one had ever seen a dragon, but flood dragons did exist. In the Raging Dragon River, vicious flood dragons devoured people and beasts. Terrified boat dwellers along the river worshipped them as dragon gods, performing sacrifices twice a year, uninterrupted through the ages. Crash— The mighty river surged, its turbid yellow waters carrying endless silt as it rushed from west to east. Wave after wave rolled in, crashing against the gunwales and dissolving into rushing sounds and splashing white spray. A fierce wind blew, swelling the sails taut as the massive prow cleaved through layer after layer of waves, forging ahead. On the open deck, a refined middle-aged man in wide robes and broad sashes leaned against the railing. "Whenever I travel upon these rushing waters, I cannot help but feel how vast heaven and earth are, and how minuscule is a single mortal." Beside him, a man in black martial attire said in a muffled voice, "Human strength has its limits, but heaven and earth are boundless. How could the two ever compare?" The refined middle-aged man nodded with a sigh, the gale sending his sleeves fluttering. "Human strength is finite, truly finite... Brother Wu, do you suppose those Grandmaster experts, when facing a river that surges relentlessly for tens of thousands of li, sigh with the same feeling as us?" The man in black, addressed as Brother Wu, thought for a moment. "They can soar through the skies and delve into the earth; perhaps their perspective is entirely different." The refined middle-aged man turned his head in curiosity. "Brother Wu, just how powerful is a Grandmaster?" Brother Wu fell silent for a moment. "Very strong! Tremendously strong! Have you heard about what happened over in Funing?" The refined middle-aged man shook his head. "I only know that a divine armament was suspected to have appeared in Funing County." Brother Wu briefly recounted the battle between the Demonic Cult's Saint Yin and Huang Tian, then said slowly, "The ground where they clashed was reduced to ash for over ten li across. Every blade of grass was obliterated, ten thousand trees were shattered, and the earth was torn open with hundreds, thousands of deep fissures. That kind of mighty power is far beyond anything we could imagine!" Hearing this, the refined middle-aged man wore a look of yearning. "The might of a single person can already rival the vast majesty of heaven and earth. Alas, my talent and bone structure are poor, and my martial practice yielded no achievements. After training for over a decade, I reached only Rank Eight. Thoroughly disheartened, I took over my father's business, traveling between various provinces and commanderies, and twenty years have passed since then..." Brother Wu consoled him, "Geniuses are few after all. There are hundreds of millions of martial practitioners in this world, but how many can ever become Grandmasters—" Before the word "men" could leave his lips, his entire body stiffened. Several hundred zhang away on the riverbank, a plain-looking young man in purple robes sat atop a horse. As an indifferent gaze swept toward him, Brother Wu instantly felt as though a blood-red blade were pressed against his throat—his hair stood on end, and an electric shock seemed to jolt across his scalp! "An expert!!"