"So this is the Dan Jin (Elixir Force) of national martial arts, concentrating the strength of the whole body, focusing it in the dantian, internalizing the golden elixir, achieving roundness everywhere. Embracing the elixir and sitting in a horse stance, concentrating all the body's essence, energy, and spirit, blood and marrow into one point, like the primordial chaos just opening, evolving into that small point of the great world, reaching the realm of controlling blood and qi with the mind, breaking through the limits of the human body." In a spacious practice room, He Heng stood in the center, in a stable horse stance, eyes tightly closed, contemplating his situation after just breaking through to the Dan Jin realm.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, a gleam of light flashing in them as he looked around and said in a deep voice: "Actually, the Dan Jin realm of national martial arts is already equivalent to the great perfection of the external hundred vessels in the Great Celestial World. The subsequent Gang Jin (Hard Force) and breaking through emptiness are unique to this world, extensions of the national martial arts realms that don't exist in the Great Celestial World, because there the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is abundant, and these realms are simply not needed.
The so-called Gang Jin is just a method of release, highly concentrating force to strike through the body into the air, with force bursting out all over the body, able to tear the air currents and transform into hard qi. But in the Great Celestial World, with the existence of internal energy, one can directly release true qi from the body, so this isn't necessary at all."
As he spoke, He Heng suddenly threw a punch into the surrounding air. The force was fierce, seemingly exploding, with the air swirling wildly, like a torrent sweeping across.
"This is Gang Jin, a method developed by martial arts experts here to enhance their combat power when faced with a dead end on their path." He Heng looked at his right hand and said, "As for the so-called breaking through emptiness and seeing the indestructible divine, that's actually a perfect control over one's own body, or rather, entering subtlety. The third grade of martial arts technique, the realm of subtlety, can not only be applied to external things but also to oneself, mastering every inch of one's flesh, blood, and meridians, becoming the master of one's own divine spirit!"
"This realm doesn't need to exist in the Great Celestial World either, because there's internal energy there. Once one initially achieves the internal hundred vessels realm, they can use internal energy to observe their own body's condition, without needing to go through such trouble." He Heng frowned slightly, wondering if the highest realm of national martial arts would be of no great use to him in the future.
"No, that's not right!" He Heng shook his head. This realm should still have its unique aspects. In the Great Celestial World, the so-called internal observation is done with internal energy, controlling from the perspective of meridians, while the breaking through emptiness and seeing the indestructible divine of national martial arts uses blood energy and force to permeate the whole body, belonging to another perspective. If he could perfectly integrate these two major domains of internal and external, his control over his body would certainly far surpass other hundred vessels realm cultivators, laying the most solid foundation in the early stages of martial arts.
"In that case, I still need to carefully comprehend this realm. In martial arts cultivation, the foundation in the early stages is extremely important. If I can have achievements that others don't possess in the initial realms, then even if my aptitude is somewhat inferior, I can definitely catch up to those prodigies in the future." He Heng said solemnly. He knew that although his aptitude wasn't bad, much stronger than ordinary people, he was far inferior compared to those top students in the Flying Immortal Academy, let alone the top disciples in the major Mystic Path sects. Each of them was a one-in-a-million genius, with top-notch bone structure and comprehension ability. If he wanted to compete with these people in the future, he must surpass them in the early stages.
Although his He family was one of the 72 noble families of the Nine Provinces, his talent wasn't considered outstanding. Among his peers in the family, he could at most rank in the top thirty, unable to receive much resource cultivation. Otherwise, he wouldn't be thinking about entering a major Mystic Path sect. Although the major Mystic Path sects were good, he would only be an ordinary disciple there, which wasn't as good as being a young master at home.
However, the family's resources were limited. If he could rank in the top ten, it would be fine, with elders personally teaching and resources not much inferior to the true disciples of major Mystic Path sects. But for disciples like him, above average but not top-tier, although they had a certain status and were considered future backbone forces, not to be abandoned, they couldn't receive many resources. This made He Heng fall behind others in the early stages of cultivation, with no hope for the future. How could he be content with this?
So he gave up staying in the family to cultivate and entered the Flying Immortal Academy, hoping to enter a major Mystic Path sect. These sects were great powers with ancient heritage, each possessing resources dozens of times that of the He family, with more opportunities.
However, where in the world is there a truly benevolent place? Although the major Mystic Path sects had many opportunities, the competition would only be more intense. They gathered outstanding talents from all over the Nine Provinces, the elites of many ancient families. It wasn't easy to stand out there.
Moreover, whether He Heng could enter was still a question. With his original strength, he could barely qualify to enter those major sects, but whether he could actually enter still depended on luck. Even if he entered, he would only be an ordinary outer disciple, which was essentially just a menial worker. Whether he could receive any cultivation depended on whether he could build good relationships with those inner and true disciples, gaining the favor of some strong cultivators.
This was He Heng's original plan. Backed by the He family, one of the great families of the Nine Provinces, and with the experience of two lifetimes, he had a steady personality and knew how to advance and retreat. He believed that after entering the outer sect, he could definitely build good relationships with those strong cultivators, work hard for a few years, and then plan to enter the inner sect when his cultivation was sufficient.
However, after obtaining the Treasure Mirror of All Heavens, He Heng had greater ambitions and was no longer satisfied with just this. The Flying Immortal Academies across the Nine Provinces were jointly established by the major Mystic Path sects to supply fresh blood for their respective sects.
To test the true quality of those students, they held an Ascension Examination every three years, equivalent to the college entrance examination on Earth. As long as one could perform outstandingly in this Ascension Examination, they could directly enter the inner sect of a major Mystic Path sect. Those who performed extremely well, if noticed by some Mystic Path experts, could even directly become true disciples.
Originally, with He Heng's strength, he couldn't possibly aspire to these. But now, with the Treasure Mirror of All Heavens, he had the qualifications.
The Treasure Mirror of All Heavens traversed myriad worlds. If it was a soul transmigration, no matter how long passed in other worlds, it would only be an instant in the Great Celestial World. Although this required sufficient time to accumulate energy, He Heng believed that before the Ascension Examination next July, he could definitely traverse one or two more worlds, cultivating for decades in those realms. With that accumulation, he didn't believe he couldn't compete with those prodigies.
"It's too early to talk about these things now. The biggest crisis in front of me right now is that my true body in the Great Celestial World has fallen into the hands of that demoness from the Red Fire Demon Sect. She wants to refine me into a great medicine. This is a life-and-death crisis." He Heng's hands suddenly clenched, revealing a hint of ferocity. He believed that after obtaining the Treasure Mirror of All Heavens, even if he failed in the Ascension Examination, he could still rise in the future. But he hadn't forgotten about that demoness from the Red Fire Demon Sect who wanted to refine him into a pill. If he couldn't resolve that demoness, everything would be for naught.
This person was the biggest crisis on his path of growth. As long as he resolved her, the future would be wide open. With the Treasure Mirror of All Heavens in hand, He Heng would never lack opportunities to rise. But if he couldn't resolve this, everything would be over, all would be empty.
"Obtaining the Treasure Mirror of All Heavens is a great opportunity, but great opportunities often come with great tribulations. This demoness is my tribulation. If I can overcome this tribulation, my future path to the great Dao is assured. Otherwise, I can only perish, and all my grand ambitions will come to nothing." He Heng's eyes were filled with killing intent as he coldly looked into the air. "Therefore, I must have the strength to kill her before I return, overcoming this tribulation with an invincible posture."
He Heng was determined to pursue the great Dao, and anyone who obstructed his path would be killed cleanly. Now, that cultivator from the Red Fire Demon Sect was the first tribulation on his path to the Dao. After overcoming it, he would surely have smooth sailing, commanding myriad worlds with the Treasure Mirror of All Heavens. If he couldn't overcome it, no matter how great his opportunities, he would be nothing more than a human pill. There was no room for compromise in this matter.
"That demoness is a martial arts expert at the Three Peng Realm, a full three major realms higher than me. She's also a disciple of the Red Fire Demon Sect, with the heritage of a major demonic sect, her strength surpassing ordinary Three Peng martial artists. Under normal circumstances, facing such an existence, I would have absolutely no chance of survival, let alone victory." He Heng calmly analyzed his own strength against his opponent's, feeling somewhat low-spirited. But this was quickly replaced by the determination in his eyes.
"No matter how strong she is, anyone who dares to obstruct me must be killed!" This sentence from He Heng was full of coldness and determination. After experiencing that journey through heaven and earth, his Dao heart had already become firm, like a rock, unshakeable.
"Although she's strong, I'm not without a chance. Firstly, this woman is currently severely injured. She killed Wang Da, who was very close to the Three Peng Realm, in an extremely short time. She must have paid a great price, possibly using some secret technique with severe consequences. That's why she needs to refine me into a pill. Her secret technique must have extremely great side effects, otherwise she wouldn't need to do this. Moreover, Wang Da must have inflicted great damage on her before dying, making her injuries even more severe. Conservatively estimating her strength, she has at most half left." He Heng estimated his opponent's strength, coming to a pleasing conclusion.
"This way, I have a chance. At least, I can make one move, a strike sufficient to take her life!" He Heng said coldly, already having a plan for his return. It would be a life-and-death struggle, but he was not afraid.
"What I need to do now is to increase my strength to the peak before returning, accumulating to the extreme, to deliver that strongest strike."
He Heng walked out of the practice room indifferently, standing on the stairs, one hand leaning on the railing, raising his head to look at the sky where clouds were drifting.