A sea of fire engulfed the arena.
The bomb specialist had secretly rigged massive quantities of explosives around the entire ring without anyone noticing.
Now, he had detonated every last charge in a single instant.
He had shown no regard for the others on the platform.
After all, the contest among the top ten challengers was purely competitive. Whether the other contenders lived or died meant nothing to him. As long as he blew Lu Yuan to pieces, that was all that mattered.
And now, he had succeeded.
Every explosive charge went off simultaneously.
The entire ring was blasted into the sky. Aside from him having stepped down ahead of time and quickly dashed away, who could possibly survive? Everyone left on the platform would be reduced to fine powder!
Lu Yuan was dead for certain!
An uproar swept through the arena.
Seeing what had just transpired, the surrounding crowd erupted into clamor.
No one had imagined that on its final day, the Limit Martial Dao Tournament would take such a dramatic and theatrical turn.
The tournament had been publicized for weeks, and after everything leading up to this moment, the anticipation had reached a fever pitch. People across the entire world had been waiting eagerly to see just how formidable Lu Yuan's Limit Martial Dao truly was.
Was it really as invincible as the rumors claimed?
Yet this was all they got?
They had anticipated Lu Yuan putting on a magnificent display of divine might.
Instead, it was over just like that?
Before Lu Yuan could even make a move, he had been blown straight into the heavens.
For a moment, an eerie silence settled over the venue.
Even those watching through television broadcasts and internet livestreams fell utterly silent.
Perhaps the only person overjoyed was the man who had planted the bombs.
He was the ultimate victor!
"Hahaha! Dead, every last one of them is dead!"
"I don't care if you're martial arts masters, master marksmen, or chemical experts—so what? A single wave of bombs sent you all to hell!"
"Now that Lu Yuan is dead, I am the final winner!"
"One billion in prize money—your Limit Martial Arts Hall better not short me a single cent!"
The man—known as the Bomb Lunatic—wore a manic, ecstatic grin.
One billion in prize money!
He had joined the competition solely for that fortune. Once he had one billion in hand, why would he ever build another bomb? Wouldn't it be far better to retire at home and live in luxury?
"You certainly... handed me quite a generous gift!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted out from the billowing smoke and dust.
Immediately afterward, a burly figure strode out of the haze.
Though blackened by soot and clad in tattered rags that left him looking thoroughly disheveled, the sight of him still sent profound shockwaves through the audience.
Lu Yuan!
The founder of the Limit Martial Dao style—the man said to be impervious to blade and bullet, able to catch rounds barehanded, and capable of withstanding explosives with his bare flesh—was not dead?
"Is... is this real? A body of flesh and blood can really survive an explosion like that?"
"I thought catching bullets with his bare hands and surviving explosions with his flesh was just exaggerated marketing. How could anyone in this world not fear bullets or bombs? Yet here he is..."
"It's real. The Limit Martial Dao style's claims were all true, not exaggerated in the slightest. How could anyone survive under those circumstances?"
"Could practicing the Limit Martial Dao really allow your flesh to withstand bombs?"
Countless people around the globe were stunned.
They had witnessed it with their own eyes!
Many prominent figures abruptly rose to their feet, staring intently at Lu Yuan's silhouette in the ruins of the ring.
Step by step, Lu Yuan walked completely clear of the stage.
Everyone now got a crystal-clear look at him.
It was indeed Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan had taken the terrifying blast head-on.
The other nine masters had all been blown to powder.
Only Lu Yuan remained alive.
He appeared somewhat battered on the surface, but a closer look revealed the truth.
Lu Yuan was completely unharmed!
"How... how could you not be dead?"
The bomber's face twisted in sheer terror.
Having detonated the explosives himself, he knew precisely what horrifying destructive force they possessed. Never mind a human being—even an armored tank would have been flipped and torn to shreds. Yet Lu Yuan had emerged without a scratch?
It defied all reason.
Lu Changsheng walked toward the man step by step, reached out, seized him by the collar, and hoisted him off the ground.
"I forfeit! I yield!" the man cried frantically.
If even high explosives could not kill Lu Yuan, how could he possibly fight him? His only choice was to surrender immediately to save his own life.
Lu Changsheng set the man down.
He turned and glanced around the arena.
This time, he had won without even having to do much of anything.
"It seems no one will be taking this one billion prize after all..." Lu Changsheng remarked, as though slightly disappointed by the lack of a proper fight.
Yet this very scene was being broadcast across the globe via television networks and livestreams.
*Boom.*
Lu Changsheng abruptly raised his head.
At this moment, he could clearly sense the rudimentary Martial Dao residing in the void swell dramatically. Countless thoughts and beliefs from across the world surged in like a torrential flood, feeding into the embryo of the Martial Dao.
If one were to visualize the Martial Dao's progress as a numerical value, it had previously sat at a mere ten percent. Now, it had skyrocketed past fifty percent in an instant.
And this was merely the beginning, not the end.
Following this battle, no one on Earth harbored any doubts about Lu Yuan. They would revere and admire the Limit Martial Dao style to the absolute utmost.
When that happened, the number of practitioners would experience an unprecedented explosion.
It could multiply tenfold, or even a hundredfold.
By then, the rudimentary Martial Dao would undoubtedly climb swiftly toward one hundred percent, culminating in the true condensation of the Martial Dao!
"Everyone has now witnessed my Limit Martial Dao style."
"Invulnerability to blades, catching bullets barehanded, and withstanding explosives with flesh and bone are merely simple feats."
"Once you break your limits and step into secondary growth, tertiary growth, and even quaternary growth, your lifespan will be drastically extended."
"My Limit Martial Dao is, in essence, the evolution of life itself. Breaking your limits again and again, undergoing growth cycle after growth cycle—that is step-by-step evolution. In the future, living past a hundred, two hundred, three hundred, or even a thousand years will not be out of the question."
"This is an evolutionary feast for all mankind! I will release the training methods of the Limit Martial Dao style so that anyone may cultivate it free of charge, stepping onto this path of evolution!"
Facing the cameras, Lu Changsheng unveiled the training techniques of the Limit Martial Dao style to the entire world right then and there.
He framed the future of the style in terminology that the people of this world could intuitively grasp.
Evolution!
The Limit Martial Dao style was synonymous with evolution.
Framed like that, everyone understood.
Speaking of martial arts, breaking limits, and renewed physical growth had sounded awkward and mystical to the general public. But once the word "evolution" was invoked, even the most ordinary individual could instantly comprehend its significance.
Starting from this day, the entire world would begin to undergo a profound transformation.
Years later, people would look back on this day and name it "Evolution Day."
And this year was hailed as the "Year One of Evolution."
The Limit Martial Dao Tournament concluded smoothly, but the fervor surrounding the Limit Martial Dao style showed no sign of waning.
On the contrary, widespread passion for the style erupted across the entire world.
Countless people threw themselves into a frenzy, eagerly practicing the free Limit Martial Dao techniques released by Lu Yuan.
After all, who did not wish to evolve?
Who did not wish to catch bullets barehanded or withstand explosives with flesh and bone?
Most importantly, who did not wish to extend their lifespan and live for hundreds or thousands of years?
With Lu Yuan having withstood high explosives in plain view of the world, combined with his framing of the discipline as life's "evolution," virtually no one doubted his words any longer. Practicing the Limit Martial Dao truly seemed capable of unlocking evolutionary growth and prolonging life.
At this stage, the rise of the Limit Martial Dao style was utterly unstoppable. It had become the prevailing trend of the era.
Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng adopted a lower profile. He kept to himself in seclusion, rarely showing his face in public.
Time ticked away.
Every day, Lu Changsheng communed with the rudimentary Martial Dao of this world, watching it grow richer and more substantial with each passing day.
One month, three months, six months, eight months...
Finally, after eight months had elapsed, Lu Changsheng could sense that the rudimentary Martial Dao had reached nearly ninety-nine percent. It was on the verge of hitting one hundred percent at any moment, ready to fully condense into the Martial Dao!
*Host: Lu Yuan*
*Limit Martial Dao style: Tertiary Growth (99%)*
Lu Changsheng checked the progress of his Limit Martial Dao style.
Tertiary growth had reached ninety-nine percent.
In truth, his progress had already hit ninety-nine percent three months ago. Yet another three months had drifted past, and the number remained stubbornly fixed at ninety-nine percent. Without question, he had hit a bottleneck.
Breaking through this bottleneck would not be simple.
Lu Changsheng was already at tertiary growth, on par with Qi Refinement. Taking another step forward by breaking the limit to achieve quaternary growth would make him comparable to the Dao Foundation and Foundation Establishment stages.
Yet the highest energy ceiling of this world was capped at the Dao Foundation level. Reaching the absolute peak of this world's parameters was naturally no easy feat.
Thus, Lu Changsheng was stuck.
He understood very well that achieving a complete breakthrough required an opportune catalyst, one he had been patiently waiting for.
He had conceived the hypothesis long ago: that catalyst had to be the Martial Dao itself!
Once the Martial Dao condensed within this world, Lu Changsheng could perhaps harness the momentum of its birth to completely shatter his limits and step into quaternary growth.
Although the rudimentary Martial Dao remained stalled at ninety-nine percent, Lu Changsheng was not anxious.
People all over the globe were now practicing the Limit Martial Dao. Every day, the wills and convictions of countless individuals invisibly reinforced the rudimentary Martial Dao. Given sufficient time, the accumulation of their belief would inevitably bring it to full fruition.
All Lu Changsheng needed to do was wait.
Furthermore, he had been inside this secret world for over thirty-one months. With just over four months remaining, his three-year deadline was fast approaching. He had to condense the Martial Dao within this remaining window!
*Although the embryo of the Martial Dao has been steadily growing and will definitely condense one day, how long will that take? One month? Three months? Or perhaps half a year?*
*I must condense the Martial Dao within four-odd months. Only then can I project the power of my true body to shatter the Martial Dao and claim the martial dao fragment.*
*I need to add more fuel to the fire...*
Countless thoughts flashed through Lu Changsheng's mind.
He had to stoke the flames once more to make the Limit Martial Dao style even more popular, solidifying everyone's faith in it so the Martial Dao would coalesce that much faster!
However, he had yet to determine the best method.
*Ring, ring, ring.* At that moment, a phone rang.
"Hm? A war broke out?"
"Even the port has been blockaded?"
"Understood. I'll turn on the news."
Lu Changsheng set down the receiver.
The call had come from Senior Sister Xiang, reporting breaking news of major significance.
Lu Changsheng switched on the television.
Sure enough, the broadcast was reporting on the unfolding crisis:
"The Yanlong Federation fleet has brazenly blockaded the ports of the Yulong Kingdom and sunk our naval vessels. This constitutes a severe act of aggression against the Yulong Kingdom. Our kingdom has already appealed to nations around the world..."
News flashes scrolled across the screen.
Nearly every television channel carried the exact same breaking report.
The Yanlong Federation had launched a war against the Yulong Kingdom!
Naturally, they had merely blockaded the port thus far without deploying ground forces. However, the Yulong Kingdom's navy had suffered a crushing defeat, leaving the harbor entirely cut off. Panic and unease gripped the entire population of the kingdom.
"War..." Lu Changsheng muttered, somewhat taken aback.
Only now did he fully realize that this secret world was far from peaceful.
The Yanlong Federation and the Yulong Kingdom shared deep historical ties, marked by frequent border skirmishes and several major conflicts in the past. The Yanlong Federation had harbored ambitions of annexing the Yulong Kingdom for a very long time.
With the port blockaded, several federation warships cruised through the waters just outside the harbor. Not a single vessel from the Yulong Kingdom could set sail; any ship spotted would be summarily sunk.
Word was that the high-ranking leadership of both nations was engaged in emergency talks, while the Yanlong Federation appeared to be gauging the reactions of other global powers. In short, the geopolitical situation was exceptionally delicate. The slightest misstep could result in the total subjugation of the Yulong Kingdom!
Over the next few days, Lu Changsheng gained a comprehensive grasp of the situation.
"The opportunity to add fuel to the fire has arrived..." Lu Changsheng murmured under his breath.
His gaze locked firmly onto the Yanlong Federation warships shown on the television screen!
Yes, the warships!
Right now, the eyes of the entire world were focused on the conflict between the Yulong Kingdom and the Yanlong Federation—especially the port. The kingdom's navy had been routed; even if not utterly annihilated, it had virtually lost all combat capability. They were utterly helpless against the enemy warships.
This presented Lu Changsheng with his golden opportunity!
"To condense the Martial Dao, I need to stoke the flames, and it has to be a raging blaze!"
"The chance is right before me..."
Lu Changsheng stood up and gave immediate instructions.
"Senior Sister Xiang, prepare a car. I'm heading to the port."
"What? You're going to the port?"
"Yes, to the port. Notify the Yulong Kingdom's leadership and the news media."
"Every citizen shares responsibility for the survival of the kingdom. Those invading warships of the Yanlong Federation—I will deal with them myself!"
"You... you're going to take on warships?"
Senior Sister Xiang was left flabbergasted.
Deep as her reverence for Lu Yuan was, hearing that he intended to confront warships still struck her as utterly unbelievable.
Warships? The vessels patrolling outside the port were the primary capital ships of the Yanlong Federation. Every single one had a displacement exceeding ten thousand tons!
How could Lu Yuan, with mere flesh and blood, challenge such colossal behemoths? That was on an entirely different scale from ordinary explosives.
Yet once Lu Changsheng made up his mind, nothing could sway him.
Senior Sister Xiang had no choice but to arrange a vehicle for him at once, notify the kingdom's authorities, and contact the press.
The news spread with blistering speed.
Lu Yuan's influence was simply too staggering. Single-handedly, he had inaugurated an era of human evolution, and the Limit Martial Dao had swept the globe. Every move he made commanded worldwide attention.
The leadership of the Yulong Kingdom was also eager to leverage Lu Yuan's fame to rally international condemnation and exert pressure on the Yanlong Federation. As a result, the authorities spared no effort in publicizing and broadcasting the development.
Before long, the report reverberated across the globe.
The entire world was shaken, and the internet exploded with disbelief.
"What? Lu Yuan is going to fight warships?"
"Lu Yuan may have kicked off the evolutionary era and undergone a round of evolution himself, but warships represent the absolute pinnacle of human technology! How could they possibly compare to common explosives?"
"Can Lu Yuan really pull this off?"
"Between warships and the Limit Martial Dao, which one is superior? I suppose we'll find out very soon."
"I can't just sit here—I'm heading to the Yulong Kingdom's port to see for myself..."
There was no shortage of reckless daredevils within the Yulong Kingdom. Even though the port was about to become an active front line in an impending war, many still rushed there. They wanted to witness with their own eyes whether evolved humanity or mankind's technological might would prevail.
This spectacle completely eclipsed the geopolitical clash between the two nations.
At the port of the Yulong Kingdom, Lu Changsheng stood on the pier.
The immediate area had been cleared of civilians, but further back, crowds gathered with binoculars and cameras, taking photos incessantly. Across the distant waters, the silhouettes of several warships could be seen cruising back and forth.
Innumerable eyes were fixed on Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan had actually shown up at the port.
Yet he now faced an awkward dilemma: there was no boat!
"There are no boats left. How is Lu Yuan going to head out to sea?"
"Yeah, the federation's warships are patrolling far offshore, quite a distance from the pier. How can Lu Yuan reach them?"
"This is turning into a farce. He came prepared to smash warships, but he can't even get close to them?"
"How awkward... Don't tell me Lu Yuan plans to swim over?"
Many onlookers were baffled. Putting themselves in Lu Yuan's shoes, if they arrived at the port only to see warships cruising far across the waves, they would likely feel just as helpless. There simply was no way—he couldn't possibly swim all that way, could he?
Just as everyone was fretting on his behalf, Lu Yuan moved.
He walked toward the water's edge, step by step.
Gazing out across the boundless ocean, Lu Changsheng hesitated no longer and leaped forward.
"Huh?"
"He jumped into the sea! Is he really going to swim over?"
Many onlookers gasped in astonishment.
*Splash.*
Lu Changsheng did indeed drop toward the ocean. Yet when his feet met the water, his entire body remained standing firmly on the surface. It was as though he were treading upon solid ground beneath the ripples, with the seawater only washing over the tops of his feet without even reaching his shins.
Then, step by step, Lu Yuan strode across the surface of the sea, marching directly toward the warships.
At the sight, jaws dropped across the shoreline in utter bewilderment.
Shock rippled through countless hearts.
What were they witnessing?
Lu Yuan was walking on water?
No, he was walking across the open sea!
They could all see it with absolute clarity. Walking upon the ocean waves—it defied all imagination!
"Lu Yuan is actually strolling across the sea! Walking on water without sinking?"
"Incredible! How can he not sink?"
"The evolution of life! This is true life evolution!"
Countless spectators stared intently at Lu Yuan.
Meanwhile, the three warships of the Yanlong Federation also spotted Lu Yuan treading across the waves toward them.
Even the crew found the spectacle uncanny, but they had received orders beforehand. Lu Yuan was an enemy, not a friend, and his objective was their three warships. Thus, the fleet's orders were clear: destroy Lu Yuan completely and eliminate him.
They cared nothing for his global fame. As an adversary, he had to be eradicated!
"Open fire!"
The massive main guns aboard the warships roared instantly, unleashing a devastating barrage of heavy shells hurtling straight toward Lu Yuan.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The sea around Lu Yuan detonated violently, churning up monstrous tidal waves. Lu Yuan even faced the giant naval cannons directly, with shells exploding at point-blank range.
The terrifying shockwaves certainly made Lu Changsheng feel the tremendous force of the blasts, but he held his ground. Or rather, his physical body withstood them. Even heavy naval artillery shells were incapable of breaching his flesh.
Witnessing this, even the naval personnel on the warships were struck with horror.
Withstanding bombs with bare flesh was something they could fathom, but taking direct hits from naval artillery shells—was he still human?
Rumors claimed Lu Yuan had evolved once or even twice. Seeing it now proved the rumors true. He was genuinely a non-human existence.
"Launch missiles!"
Finally, the warships deployed their ultimate trump card: guided missiles!
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*
Missile after missile shrieked through the air toward Lu Yuan.
These were precision-guided munitions that Lu Yuan had no way to evade. Yet Lu Yuan had no need to dodge. Having stepped into the transcendent realm, what were missiles to him? His physical frame could withstand them just the same.
Sure enough, missile after missile slammed into Lu Yuan's body, and the deafening concussions carried all the way back to the port. Yet Lu Yuan remained alive and well, steadily closing the distance to the warships with measured strides.
*Whoosh.*
Once he was close enough, Lu Yuan broke into a full sprint.
In a flash, his figure blurred into an afterimage.
He ran!
Lu Yuan sprinted at full throttle. Charging across the water at top speed, Lu Changsheng tore toward the lead warship like a living torpedo.
In no time, Lu Changsheng arrived right alongside the warship, halting directly beneath its towering hull.
Now the crew was out of options. Firing torpedoes at such close proximity risked blowing up their own ship. Their only remaining choice was to prevent Lu Yuan from boarding. Once Lu Yuan boarded the vessel, who could stop him? If he feared neither missiles nor torpedoes, would he fear the small arms on deck?
Despair crept through the hearts of the crew aboard the vessel.
Yet Lu Changsheng appeared to have no intention of climbing aboard. He simply stood on the water beneath the warship, tilted his head up at the hull, and extended his hand.
"What is Lu Yuan trying to do?"
"He doesn't actually plan to overturn a warship with his bare hands, does he?"
"Each of those ships displaces over ten thousand tons! Overturn a warship? Impossible, absolutely impossible..."
Many onlookers watched with bated breath.
"Limit Triple Transformation!" Lu Yuan growled softly.
*Boom.*
Lu Yuan's body swelled rapidly, expanding from a height of one point eight meters to over three meters tall. Furthermore, this was not the power of his past state; his current physique was at the ninety-nine percent mark of tertiary growth within the Limit Martial Dao style. The strength coursing through him was staggering beyond belief.
Lu Yuan intended to add one final blaze to the Limit Martial Dao style: he would blow apart this warship right before the eyes of the world!
"Heaven!"
"Overturning!"
"Seal!"
Lu Changsheng enunciated each word with absolute clarity, each syllable ringing distinctly in the ears of everyone aboard the vessel.
"What is he doing?"
"Does he really think he can overturn a warship with bare flesh?"
"Ram him at full speed!" the captain shouted, rage surfacing on his face.
He ordered the warship to plow into Lu Yuan at maximum power. The vessel accelerated, bearing down on Lu Yuan with the terrifying inertia of over ten thousand tons.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan thrust his palm forward to meet the warship head-on.
This was an unyielding clash between an evolved being and a modern warship!
Which force would claim supremacy?
*Boom!*
At last, Lu Changsheng's palm slammed into the hull, releasing the entirety of his strength.
In truth, he could no longer be classified as a mere creature of flesh and blood. He had crossed into the transcendent realm. Transcendence meant surpassing mortal comprehension. A mortal's comparison between Lu Changsheng and a warship was fundamentally flawed. Their sizes were completely incomparable: even swollen to over three meters tall, Lu Changsheng was like a speck of dust before a ten-thousand-ton warship, pitifully tiny by contrast.
Yet despite that contrast, the moment Lu Changsheng's palm landed, the warship's hardened steel hull emitted an ear-grating, tooth-aching screech of bending metal.
Immediately afterward, a deep, rumbling groan resonated through the entire vessel, as though an incomprehensible force were coursing through its very core.
"What is that...?"
Everyone watching through binoculars stared in frozen astonishment at the unfolding spectacle.
With a single palm strike from Lu Changsheng, the ten-thousand-ton warship shuddered violently.
*Crack!*
Finally, the warship's steel armor plates fractured. It was not merely one crack, but two, three, and then countless fractures branching outward like a colossal spiderweb.
Moments later, the mountain-like ten-thousand-ton warship slowly succumbed, slipping inch by inch into the depths of the sea.
He had shattered it!
Lu Yuan had truly blown apart a warship—and a ten-thousand-ton warship at that!
"Is... is this real?"
"How is that even possible?"
"A body of flesh and blood—even if evolved, even if able to catch bullets and withstand bombs—how could he blow apart a warship? That's a ten-thousand-ton vessel! Where did he summon such monstrous power from?"
"Unbelievable, this is truly unbelievable! Who could have imagined Lu Yuan could actually shatter a warship?"
"Before, everyone thought Lu Yuan merely had terrifying defense, that evolved beings enjoyed longer lifespans, great durability, and immunity to guns. But who could have guessed their raw strength could reach such a horrific scale?"
Total shock gripped the onlookers.
Lu Changsheng sprinted across the sea once more toward the remaining two warships.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
This time, Lu Yuan was utterly brutal.
Punch after punch slammed relentlessly into the hulls of the two warships. Both ten-thousand-ton vessels were battered beyond recognition, as if torn limb from limb by raw, overwhelming power.
Within moments, both sank into the ocean depths.
The surface of the sea was cleared completely, leaving not a single warship in sight.
Chapter 261