Shackles

"How is this possible..." Zong Yan muttered to himself. Immediately after, another thought struck him. Yaoguang's understanding and control of blood and qi were so keen that he could actually intercept him—a Martial Saint—and make his boiling power of blood and qi gradually flow back. Did that not mean... The path of a Martial Saint held almost no secrets from him anymore?! Zong Yan recalled the wager Yaoguang had boldly proposed not long ago—what kind of support the Jishi Society would offer if he became a Martial Saint before turning twenty... All at once, he looked at the youth before him in sheer horror. "You..." Yaoguang raised his head and glanced at him. Zong Yan's mind immediately went back to Dayu headquarters, when Yaoguang had said he would fulfill the three target quotas for the Revelator position in two months... The truth was practically staring him in the face. "Two months?!" the Jishi Society Martial Saint asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Probably a bit sooner," Yaoguang replied. Things that needed to be clarified should be stated in advance. Besides... When Zong Yan realized he had been in mortal danger, the man hadn't hesitated to burn his blood and qi and risk his life in battle... Such conduct earned him the right to know some critical information. "Sooner... than two months..." Having thought he was mentally prepared, Zong Yan still couldn't help drawing a sharp breath at the answer. Less than two months! A nineteen-year-old Martial Saint?! "Really?" Zong Yan couldn't resist asking again. "Does it make a difference whether it's real or not?" Yaoguang said. Zong Yan choked on his words. Indeed, did it make any difference? Xie Yusheng possessed absolute Martial Saint combat strength! As the demon leader, Zhao Sheng was certainly no weaker than Xie Yusheng either. He had even mastered techniques of spirit intent! Zong Yan even suspected... That Zhao Sheng was already a Divine Realm Martial Saint! It was just that the speculation was too subversive; no matter what, he hadn't dared imagine it, so he had only guessed him to be a relatively powerful Martial Saint. Yet no matter how one analyzed it, the fact remained that Zhao Sheng possessed Martial Saint combat power. Slaughtering two Martial Saint-level demonic abominations in succession... Did it really make a difference whether he could cultivate into a Martial Saint within two months? At that thought, Zong Yan took another deep breath and said heavily, "I will report this matter to the president... Based on your achievements today, your Revelator status will be approved very soon." "Rather than that so-called Revelator status, you'd better gather my three hundred billion Chixing coins as soon as possible. Don't let it turn out that once I reach the Martial Saint realm, the Jishi Society can't produce three hundred billion Chixing coins on short notice," Yaoguang said. "It's only three hundred billion Chixing coins. Pooling it together from the nations will be enough," Zong Yan said with a smile. "Since you're so confident, why not pay in advance?" Yaoguang countered. Zong Yan froze, but then realized what he meant. When their group arrived at Xie Family Manor, the manor had clearly been premeditating this for a long time. Twelve demons! Including two Martial Saint-level demons, Zhao Sheng and Xie Yusheng. Such a lineup was enough to rival the entire Jishi Society branch in Dayu. If not for Yaoguang... They might have been wiped out entirely. Of course, if not for Yaoguang, they wouldn't have taken such a reckless gamble to encircle and suppress Zhao Sheng before reinforcements arrived. Yet the thorough preparations of Zhao Sheng and his cohort spoke volumes in themselves. Within the Jishi Society... Not everyone was of one mind. At least... not everyone saw eye to eye regarding the Rebirth Society. The Jishi Society's true purpose had always been to oppose Chixing's Martial Saints in order to reclaim the Artifact Sect quotas that Chixing had monopolized. It was no exaggeration to say that the moment Chixing conceded even slightly and granted Artifact Sect quotas, the royal houses and aristocratic families backing the Jishi Society would immediately withdraw their hands. This colossal organization spanning the Central and Eastern Continents would also lose its reason for existing and crumble away. As for truly fighting Chixing to the death using the alliance's power? Even if all the countries of the Central and Eastern Continents united, they wouldn't have the courage. "I understand," Zong Yan said in a deep voice. "I'll submit the request in advance." Yaoguang nodded. "Clean up the battlefield. Every single one of these demons held high positions, so they brought plenty of good things. Don't waste the spoils." Even a mosquito's leg was meat. Zong Yan didn't refuse. He quickly made the arrangements. He also promptly reported the events here to the headquarters. While Zong Yan reported to the headquarters, Yaoguang had already focused his attention on his mental world. Twelve demons. Because he had deliberately snatched the kills, fully eleven had died under his sword. Most of these demonic abominations were rank-three. However... Zhao Sheng was displayed as rank-five. This surprised him somewhat. Zhao Sheng's performance hadn't seemed much stronger than Xie Yusheng's. Immediately after, relying on his extraordinarily rich understanding of Martial Saints and spirit intent, he realized why. *The biggest difference between a Spirit Intent Martial Saint and an ordinary Martial Saint lies in perception and spirit intent techniques. But his spirit intent techniques had no effect when used against me, being almost completely neutralized. On top of that, I gave him no chance to manifest his true form. That's why it felt like Zhao Sheng wasn't much stronger than Xie Yusheng.* Understanding the reason, his mind focused on the [Martial Path] branch. Having absorbed the massive nourishment transferred from the [Demon Hunting] profession, the [Martial Path] branch—previously stuck at rank-six, 71%—instantly broke through its bottleneck and surged into rank-seven. Though it had merely crossed the threshold of rank-seven, nudging forward by just 1%, it was a genuine entry into the domain of a rank-seven Heavenly Being. Or rather... The Heaven and Earth Furnace realm. Because he already had some understanding of this realm, and because his actual physical strength lagged far behind his realm of comprehension, Yaoguang did not immediately inspect that change. Instead, he directed his gaze toward the Dao Fruit formed upon reaching the perfection of rank-six. "A sixth secret technique!" As his mind concentrated, the various wonders contained within rank-six martial path, along with his experiences throughout that realm, surged forward together. The fusion of his experiences and insights ultimately gave rise to an entirely new secret technique. "Heavenly Demon Disintegration." Yaoguang came to understand the marvels of this technique. Rank-six Martial Saint: Hunyuan Flawless. The cultivated flawless true body thoroughly locked down one's internal qi and vital energy, prolonging life. Once a Martial Saint stepped into this realm, as long as they did not fight to the death with others, suffer grave injuries, or severely deplete their vitality, living past a hundred would be effortless. Heavenly Demon Disintegration, however, ran contrary to that. It reversed the operation of a Hunyuan Martial Saint's flawless true body. Much like ordinary mortals. The older people got, the more timid they became. In truth, it wasn't that their courage had actually shrunk, but rather that knowing more and carrying heavier burdens gave them reverence and caution, causing them to hesitate and look back and forth in everything they did. Yet martial cultivation had always been about contending with the heavens for one's fate; what it demanded was fearlessness, turning the impossible into the possible. Knowing too much could actually become a hindrance, making one prone to losing that indomitable conviction and resolve to face death without retreat. It could even... Give rise to cognitive barriers. Heavenly Demon Disintegration used the reversal of the flawless true body and an immense mental willpower to overpower the human body's self-preservation instincts, shattering those barriers and restraints. Like a raving demon willing to gamble everything, it placed no shackles upon oneself, thoroughly liberating the physical body's strength to unleash power far beyond its limits until it collapsed. Yaoguang quietly examined the technique. At first glance... It seemed to be a desperate combat technique for life-and-death struggle. Reversing the flawless true body, using tremendous mental willpower to conquer self-preservation instincts, breaking through shackles, and unleashing power beyond physical limits. However... "Breaking shackles?" Yaoguang pondered. Shackles were bottlenecks. In theory, once a bottleneck was broken, it wouldn't exist a second time. If a person could beat a tiger to death in a state of extreme fury, that didn't mean they were incapable of doing so when calm. It only proved that humans truly possessed the capacity to beat a tiger to death. The crucial point thereafter lay in how one could ensure they remained in that state of extreme fury at will, unleashing the power to kill a tiger whenever they wished. By that reasoning... "This isn't just a life-risking technique; it's a technique specifically suited for breaking through cultivation realms!" Just as he was contemplating how to dig deeper into Heavenly Demon Disintegration's application for breakthroughs, he keenly sensed something. He raised his head and looked out toward the courtyard. A gentle breeze brushed against his face. The sunlight was pleasantly warm. Yet these familiar sensations had completely changed. In an instant, he brought his attention back to the bottom of the [Martial Path] branch. Rank: Rank-Seven Heavenly Being. Dao Fruits: Formless, Perception, Star Ignition, Great Sun Spirit-Suppressing Diagram, Divine Descent, Heavenly Demon Disintegration. The crux lay in that rank-seven Heavenly Being status, currently sitting at just 1%. For a moment, he rose to his feet involuntarily. A realm breakthrough was never an empty phrase. At lower levels, martial artists competed in basic strength and speed, where the physical body's power carried immense weight. But as his realm steadily advanced, by rank-five, the Great Sun Spirit-Suppressing Diagram had already granted him extreme resistance to spirit intent techniques. At rank-six, it had sparked the idea of cultivating blood cleansing, spirit intent, and Hunyuan simultaneously. Now that his realm had entered rank-seven—the seventh layer of Fiendgod Body Refining—his faintly nurtured spirit intent underwent an instantaneous transformation toward "heavenly intent." This transformation had originally lasted only a moment before grinding to a halt. Like a malnourished hen aborting an egg. Yet the essence of his spirit intent had genuinely undergone a metamorphosis. "The plan to replace heaven's will with my own mind and forge my body using the Heaven and Earth Furnace is no longer mere empty theory on paper." He stepped forward and walked out into the courtyard outside the hall. As he walked out step by step, his mind followed that special perception... Feeling the gentleness of the breeze, the warmth of the sunlight, the solidity of the earth, the fragrant scent of flora... Gradually, his entire being melted into the floral scent, into the warmth, into the gentleness, and even into heaven and earth itself. The instant he fused with heaven and earth, he clearly sensed his spirit sublimating toward a whole new realm, operating in parallel with a vast, majestic existence. Unfortunately, this sublimation lasted only an instant before he felt his physical body groaning under an unbearable burden. Intense pressure and pain battered his nerves and disrupted his thoughts, trying to tear him away from this state... That vast majesty... "Heaven and earth!" Yaoguang attained enlightenment. Replacing heaven's will with his own mind! The tempering effect brought by forging the body using the Heaven and Earth Furnace! Inspiration struck! The next moment, he activated and unleashed the newly derived secret technique, Heavenly Demon Disintegration. The physical shackles instantly shattered. His mental willpower, completely aligned with his current spiritual state, sublimated upward undisturbed, escaping the physical body's restraints. Like an onlooker, he allowed the Heaven and Earth Furnace to continuously forge and temper his body, allowed his skin to turn blood-red, allowed several capillaries to rupture, and allowed his internal organs to seep blood under the unbearable strain. Yet his thoughts remained peerlessly clear, ethereal, transcendent, and completely unaffected. Through Heavenly Demon Disintegration—a state devoid of any instinctive interference or restraint—he was even able to harness the power of the Heaven and Earth Furnace to forge his body with maximum efficiency, truly shattering the physical shackles and stepping into the realm that, in theory, should have taken him at least another month to attain. Martial Saint!