Chapter 722: Martial Soul Possession
Finally, Qin Mu led the group out of the Southern Heavenly Gate. The pressure abruptly lightened, and everyone felt a great sense of relief.
"Senior brother, where are you from?"
A man who looked most similar to the human race stepped forward and asked, "I am Hu Bugui of the Three-Eyed Divine Race. I haven't seen you before in the Bull and Dipper Realm. Earlier, I saw you speaking with the Heavenly Teacher, so I didn't dare approach."
"Qin Mu, Qin Fengqing."
Qin Mu sized up this man of the Three-Eyed Divine Race. He noticed that the man had large hands and feet, very broad shoulders with muscles bunched up at the top, but his upper arms were thin and out of proportion. At the elbow joint of his forearm, the muscles were thick and strong, yet at the wrist, they became thin again with little muscle.
His waist was similar—a tiger's back and a wasp's waist, forming a triangle between his back and waist. His thigh muscles were massive, but they thinned at the knee, and the upper part of his calves were thick, tapering down to thin ankles.
He had trained his muscles to exhibit a terrifying explosive power, which was different from Qin Mu.
Qin Mu's physique was well-proportioned. Hu Bugui had compressed his muscles into dense clusters, allowing his physical strength to explode in an instant, with astonishing sudden burst power.
In contrast, Qin Mu's muscles were trained into lines, increasing their toughness. He didn't have such exaggerated muscles. Every time Qin Mu exerted force, it was like drawing a bow and releasing an arrow, storing power to its limit before unleashing it in a single burst.
In terms of mobilizing power, Hu Bugui was faster. His attacks would surely come like a string of thunderbolts, striking countless times in a short span. However, in terms of raw strength, Qin Mu's muscle lines, after storing power, could unleash greater force, though his reaction speed was slower.
"I come from the Great Ruins. This is my first time meeting all you senior brothers and sisters."
Qin Mu asked curiously, "Hu Bugui means 'Why not go home?' Does your name have some origin, Senior Brother Hu?"
Hu Bugui followed the group as they walked forward. After a moment of silence, he said, "My parents left the Bull and Dipper Realm and had me outside. They tried to find a breakthrough method out there to solve our race's problem of lacking the Divine Bridge, but they never succeeded. Later, they wanted to come back, but they realized they couldn't return. Even if they did, their hearts were no longer here. So they named me Hu Bugui."
He smiled. "Why not go home? My parents gave me this name to give their own hearts a place to belong. The senior brothers and sisters in the Bull and Dipper Realm always laugh at me for this name, but now they all call me Big Senior Brother."
Qin Mu nodded. He had noticed earlier that Hu Bugui had the highest cultivation among these martial artists at the Life and Death Realm. Under the Southern Heavenly Gate, his physical form was taller than the others. Qin Mu had united everyone's spirits to withstand the pressure of the Southern Heavenly Gate, and Hu Bugui was the fastest to recover his physical body.
In the Bull and Dipper Realm, it didn't matter if you started later than others, because everyone would eventually be trapped at the Life and Death Realm, just like in the former Eternal Peace, where all cultivators were stuck at the Divine Bridge Realm, unable to break through. Hu Bugui's ability to rise from behind and become the Big Senior Brother here showed his talent and hard work.
The people ahead had already arrived at a palace. The path of the Bull and Dipper Heavenly Palace was peculiar—it passed through a series of palaces, leading directly to the Jade Pool, the Execution Platform, the Jade Capital, and the Heavenly Court.
Qin Mu and Hu Bugui lagged behind, discussing the cultivation method of the Martial Soul.
Qin Mu knew very little about the Martial Soul. He had only heard from the old farmer that cultivating the divine through martial arts resulted in the Martial Soul, and that when the Martial Soul entered the Dao, it became Martial Dao. But he didn't know exactly how the Martial Soul came to be.
"The Martial Soul is actually the Martial Dao Primordial Spirit."
Hu Bugui hesitated, glanced around, and lowered his voice. "I use methods from the outside world to cultivate the Martial Soul. In the Bull and Dipper Realm, there has always been an unwritten rule strictly forbidding the study of divine techniques and Dao methods from outside. But I learned some Dao techniques and divine abilities from my parents outside, so my understanding of the Primordial Spirit is a bit different from the people here."
Qin Mu was intrigued. "What's the difference between the Martial Dao Primordial Spirit and an ordinary Primordial Spirit?"
"Don't awaken the Spirit Embryo first; refine the Martial Soul first."
Hu Bugui said, "Don't awaken the Spirit Embryo. Instead, temper your soul until it's as hard as steel and iron. In youth, kill fierce tigers, horned pythons, and flood dragons! In the Bull and Dipper Realm, not many youths can pass such trials, and many die young."
Qin Mu was startled. Even in his own youth, he had never undergone such brutal training! The training from the elders of the Crippled Village was harsh, but it never risked his life. The people of the Bull and Dipper Realm actually sent their children to fight fierce tigers, horned pythons, and flood dragons—such ferocious beasts—truly treating their children's lives as if they were nothing!
Suddenly, a violent collision sound came from the palace ahead, like ten thousand thunderbolts roaring. It was the thunderous sound of martial artists' bodies moving. Though he hadn't entered the hall yet, Qin Mu could already imagine the sinewy bodies, forged through countless temperings, colliding in an instant, with sweat pouring like rain!
Hu Bugui was used to this. As he walked forward, he continued, "When you've trained to a certain level, the soul will fuse completely with the body. The martial spirit is refined into the flesh, blood, and bone marrow. In movement, it's like thunder; in stillness, like frozen lightning. When martial techniques carry your will and spirit, that's Martial Soul Possession. Then, you break through the Spirit Embryo. The Spirit Embryo becomes a supplement, using primordial energy to nourish the body. Because I lived outside with my parents, by the time I returned to the Bull and Dipper Realm, my Spirit Embryo had already awakened. Cultivating the Martial Soul afterward was extremely difficult, and I endured more hardship than all my fellow disciples."
Though he spoke lightly, the ordeal was clearly immense, beyond what outsiders could imagine.
Qin Mu thought about it. In his own youth, he had walked a similar path. But once his Overlord Body Three Dan Technique succeeded, he broke through to the Spirit Embryo Realm and didn't continue down that road. He hadn't expected the Bull and Dipper Realm to truly follow this path all the way, forging the Martial Soul and creating a different path from the outside world.
"When martial techniques carry your will and spirit, that's Martial Soul Possession."
Qin Mu recalled his own training with the Butcher, Old Man Ma, and Blind when learning combat techniques. He had been just one step away from reaching the level of Martial Soul Possession. He thought to himself, "The Martial Combat Heavenly Teacher said my fists have essence but no soul. That's true—I never trained to Martial Soul Possession back then. Later, when I became a cultivator, I neglected this aspect of training. Now, I can merge my Primordial Spirit with my body, but I haven't grasped the true essence of a martial artist."
They entered the hall. Suddenly, a figure rushed toward them. Qin Mu and Hu Bugui sidestepped as the person tumbled and flew out of the hall, crashing with a boom into the lintel of the Southern Heavenly Gate before falling. The Southern Heavenly Gate was ten thousand ren high, and it took a long time for the person to hit the ground heavily, lying motionless.
"With such a strong body, he probably won't die."
Qin Mu looked into the hall and saw a farmer standing casually before the throne, his blood energy surging like a tide. Around him were figures formed from his blood energy—manifestations of his fist intent and spirit, each practicing ultimate techniques and cultivation methods!
He stood there motionless, eyes closed, not looking around, while his fist intent and spirit attacked the Bull and Dipper Realm martial artists entering the hall!
This was an assault of will—sharp, domineering, with an irresistible power in his fist intent!
"Refining fist intent and spirit to the point of becoming real—this should count as entering the Dao through martial arts, right?"
Qin Mu admired inwardly. "If he opens his eyes and merges his fist intent with his spirit, one strike would surely be a heaven-and-earth-shattering blow!"
That farmer was an unremarkable plowman from a small mountain village, ordinary and plain. If he walked the streets of Eternal Peace, no one would give him a second glance. But now, he was like a great general among gods and demons, a deity controlling martial arts, with an aura that made it impossible to look up to him. He had clearly experienced battlefield slaughter, with countless gods and demons dying by his hand, killed in combat!
A powerhouse who had emerged from the battlefield and survived the fall of the Kai Huang era—his aura was simply incomparable to ordinary gods and demons!
If he truly struck, everyone present would be annihilated, shattered by his fist intent.
But this time, he was only testing them. The figures formed by his fist intent and spirit were like patterns on a mural practicing martial arts, yet they were three-dimensional and alive. This fist intent would fully display the mysteries of physical techniques, each strike as if delivered by a Life and Death Realm martial artist who had entered the Dao through martial arts!
Qin Mu had never seen such a test before.
Even so, the fifty-plus people who had walked out of the Southern Heavenly Gate couldn't withstand the assault of his fist intent and spirit. Many were beaten until their skin split open.
With a loud boom, another person tumbled out of the hall, unable to move. Then a woman was slammed into the hall's wall, shaking the entire building.
These fifty-plus martial artists of the Bull and Dipper Realm were all at the Life and Death Realm, each extremely powerful, having immersed themselves in martial arts for a long time. Their strength was not to be underestimated. Even Qin Mu admired their cultivation and power. If he fought freely, without limiting himself to martial arts, he might not necessarily surpass them, given the difference in realms.
Yet, despite their strength, facing this farmer, they could only be toyed with by his fist intent and spirit.
Probably fewer than one in ten could truly pass this trial.
Qin Mu frowned. How could he pass this trial?
This was only the first trial; the later ones would surely be harder. Could it be that he could only let the Woodcutter Sage lie rotting in the ditch?
If he could fight freely, disregarding martial arts or sword techniques, passing this trial wouldn't be troublesome. In fact, killing his way to the Heavenly Court Hall wouldn't be difficult either. But that would defeat the purpose of this test.
"If Dragon Fatty is smart enough, he should run out of the Bull and Dipper Realm right now, drag the Woodcutter teacher out of the ditch at the village entrance, and flee."
Qin Mu blinked. "Dragon Fatty is indeed smart, but knowing him, he's probably sleeping outside the Southern Heavenly Gate right now."
Suddenly, Hu Bugui stopped, standing casually. His blood energy surged like a tide, and he too erupted with fist intent and spirit! His blood energy formed a figure that met the farmer's fist intent and spirit. The two blood-energy figures clashed, their fist intents vast and mighty, showing a trend toward returning to simplicity!
Qin Mu was amazed. To achieve this, Hu Bugui was truly extraordinary!
But he still fell short of the farmer. Soon, his fist intent and spirit were shattered by the farmer's fist!
Hu Bugui moved, stepping into the fray himself. He used his body as a weapon, his fists and feet clear and precise. Every muscle in his body could instantly unleash mountain-moving, sea-overturning power. Even the twitch of each muscle produced thunderous roars!
With one punch, dragons coiled and tigers crouched, myriad phenomena appeared. Even his hair could rival the sharpest sword, and every part of his body could become a weapon!
Qin Mu moved but didn't enter the hall. His eyes were locked on Hu Bugui. Layers of formation patterns rotated in his pupils as he pushed his Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique to the limit, observing Hu Bugui's muscle movements and analyzing his power techniques.
"No, it's not about power techniques—it's his soul exerting force!"
Qin Mu opened his vertical eye on his forehead, observing Hu Bugui's physical divine storage and his Primordial Spirit. He saw that the Primordial Spirit was tightly fused with the body. Streams of primordial energy, like dragons, flowed from the Spirit Embryo Divine Storage through the Sun and Moon, into the Five Luminaries, radiating into the coiled Star River. From the Star River, pillars of primordial energy crashed into the Spiritual Platform Earth, activating the Six Harmonies' power!
His Primordial Spirit stood on the Six Harmonies Continent, like a root of heaven and earth, with roots plunging into the Netherworld.
This was how his primordial energy and Primordial Spirit merged.
His body was like an extremely precise spiritual weapon, converting his overwhelming spirit into physical energy and unleashing it!
"The Martial Soul! So that's it!"
Qin Mu's eyes lit up. At the entrance of the hall, he began to practice his techniques, earnestly performing the combat techniques he had learned in the past—from Old Man Ma's fist techniques to the Butcher's saber techniques, Blind's spear techniques, the Three Heads Six Arms divine ability, and the Ancestral Dragon's combat skills.
He was tempering his spirit, tempering his will.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Mu suddenly came to. The hall was empty, with no one else inside. Bloodstains were everywhere, left by the earlier Bull and Dipper Realm martial artists.
The farmer still stood before the throne, eyes closed, not looking at him.
Suddenly, the farmer spoke. "Are you ready?"
Qin Mu nodded. "Yes."
He stepped forward. Suddenly, his blood energy exploded like a tidal wave, instantly filling the entire hall!
The farmer opened his eyes. In the blood light, his gaze was like lightning. Then, his fist intent and spirit erupted. Though he stood still, a figure shot straight toward Qin Mu!
Qin Mu laughed heartily and threw a punch. As his fist technique unfolded, it was like the chaos splitting open, opening a great gate!
"With my blood, I witness the Martial Soul!"
A thunderous boom echoed from the divine hall. After a moment, all was calm.
Qin Mu walked out from behind the hall and looked up at the sky. A blood-red rainbow pierced the heavens—that was his martial spirit.
"A fighting spirit, like the stars of the Bull and Dipper, dazzling and impossible to look at directly."
Inside the hall, the farmer still stood there, eyes closed, continuing to nurture his spirit. "The Kai Huang has a worthy successor. A good lad."
——This chapter is quite long, right? Because it's a four-thousand-word chapter! Hmph, asking for monthly votes!