Chapter 893 - 724: Journey to Fan City

Upon hearing Yun Jin’s question, everyone present looked over curiously.

On the True Profound Continent, each lineage excels in different Martial Marks.

In other words, one could deduce the corresponding lineage from the Martial Mark.

Though Lou Yi claimed to come from the deep mountains, many people did not believe him.

After all, not everyone could withstand the combined attacks of the core disciples of the Treasure Vase Lineage, all eager to discern his true origins from his Martial Mark.

Thoughts raced through Lou Yi’s mind, but he spoke slowly:

"My mark is related to emotions, but my master never told me its specific name."

After speaking, his hands performed a dazzling series of movements, chanting under his breath.

Soon, a black cloud surged from his body into the void ahead, forming a massive black eagle.

Its feathers unfurled grandly, with clear patterns, its body seeming tangible, and its golden eyes sharp and spirited.

"Caw!"

As the eagle let out a cry, an invisible wave covered a range of a hundred feet.

Meanwhile, everyone’s expressions changed.

Some furrowed their brows, lost in memories, some wore sorrowful expressions, tears streaming down, while others clutched their heads, sobbing uncontrollably...

But this situation only lasted for a dozen breaths. As Lou Yi retracted the eagle, everyone returned to normal.

They looked at each other, seeing the astonishment in each other’s eyes.

"So powerful, even we were affected!" Xu Feng, the chief disciple of the Treasure Vase Lineage, remarked to the female scholar Yun Jin.

"On the True Profound Continent, there are some Martial Marks that can affect others’ emotions. This isn’t particularly unique.

What’s rare is the ability to affect all of us, requiring extremely strong Divine Sense Cultivation to achieve."

Yun Jin stared intently at Lou Yi, as if trying to find some clue from his face.

Lou Yi remained expressionless, simply responding, "Oh, I see."

It seemed he had done something utterly ordinary, which made Xu Feng and the others grit their teeth in frustration.

’This Martial Mark indeed bears some similarity to the Martial Arts True Intent,’ Lou Yi thought to himself.

He had just used the Martial Arts True Intent of ’Emotional Injury,’ embedding it in the void, thereby bringing out the Grandmaster Realm, completely controlling the void within a hundred feet.

In the past, he typically used only the physical effects of the Grandmaster Realm to bind opponents, rendering them immobile.

This time, he had rarely employed mental influence, and the effect was unexpectedly good.

Of course, this was also because the Martial Artists present were vastly inferior to him; his previous opponents were usually much tougher, and such measures were unnecessary.

’If I learned this Martial Mark, could I further strengthen the power of the Grandmaster Realm?’ Lou Yi couldn’t help but wonder.

Based on his observations along the way, the two seemed somewhat similar in principle.

Although Lou Yi’s display caused some ripples among the disciples of the Treasure Vase Lineage, they quickly put it behind them.

This was because they were getting closer to the Fan Kingdom, and with the Vein Master still unconscious, everyone’s mood grew increasingly worried.

"What to do? If we don’t make it into the top five of the Martial Arts tournament this time, our lineage will really be removed from the five great primaries!"

"Though the second senior sister is extraordinarily talented, she hasn’t been cultivating long enough, how can she compete with those old veterans?"

"Damn it, if it weren’t for that traitor..."

Lou Yi gleaned a lot of information from their conversation.

Although the True Profound Continent has countless Martial Marks,

it is traditionally said to have five ancient or primary lineages: the Treasure Vase Seal, Lion Seal, Bright King Seal, Sun Seal, and Binding Seal.

These five marks originate from the five Martial Arts Ancestor Masters who descended with their followers ten thousand years ago, each with deep foundations and a long history.

In the subsequent thousands of years of development, the Martial Seal Path blossomed and bore fruit.

The forces of these five primary lineages naturally expanded, becoming the five strongest powers in the world.

Sadly, the world’s structure doesn’t remain unchanged.

As Martial Marks like these spread, more and more new marks have emerged, with some strong upstarts even challenging the position of the five primary lineages.

Some lineages are still formidable despite the vicissitudes of time, retaining a transcendent status, while others have gradually declined.

The Treasure Vase Seal is considered the primary lineage with the steepest decline, having fallen out of the top five at the Martial Arts tournament for two consecutive sessions.

According to the rules, if they fail to make the top five in three consecutive sessions, they will lose their direct invitation to the Martial Arts tournament, having to progress from the most brutal survival mode upward.

This would drastically increase the difficulty of advancing in future Martial Arts tournaments, turning it into hell mode.

"It’s tough!" Xu Feng looked at the unconscious white-haired elder, his expression also extremely grim.

As they traveled toward Fan City, Lou Yi witnessed the diversity of Martial Marks in this world.

There was a Martial Artist plowing the fields, summoning a golden hoe Martial Mark, able to simultaneously control dozens of hoes to help him work, a single person equaling dozens.

There was a hunter Martial Artist, summoning a silver bow and arrow Martial Mark, greatly enhancing his shooting power, each arrow comparable to a heavy crossbow, seemingly able to tear through space.

There was a fisherman Martial Artist, with a trident Martial Mark appearing above his head, his speed and accuracy in throwing a fish spear greatly enhanced, even slightly altering the flow of water.

’The fusion of body and spirit, with the spirit reinforcing the body in return, the Martial Mark Path is indeed ahead of the pure physical Martial Arts, more advanced.’

Of course, although many Martial Artists in this world can summon Martial Marks, the level gaps are quite apparent.

The Treasure Vase Mark, for instance, far exceeds ordinary Martial Marks in both power and mystery, truly living up to its name as one of the five ancient lineages.

Several days later, they finally arrived at Fan City.

Fan City is a gigantic ancient city towering over a hundred feet, built from massive, darkened stones.

The city’s surface is full of cracks and pits, filled with the marks of time.

The city gate was shaped like an inverted U, with a row of strong men wearing red headscarves standing on each side, holding long spears, their eyes sharp.

Inside and outside the gates, the crowd surged, and the people coming and going generally had vigorous Blood Qi. Most of them had cultivation above that of a Martial Artist, showing that this world had a very strong martial ethos.

Stepping into Fan City, an outburst of lively noise greeted them.

"Great Strength Vajra Pill, infused with over a hundred precious medicines, no matter how severe the internal injury, one pill and you’ll recover instantly!"

"Dragon Slayer Treasure Saber, made entirely of Deep Sea Profound Iron, it cuts through iron like mud. Even a Vein Master can’t withstand a single slash!"

"Centennial White Deer Blood, a sip can increase your power for several months, it’s an absolutely potent supplement. Only ten taels of silver for a bowl.

Yes, you heard right, a big bowl for just ten taels, miss today and you’ll have to wait another three years..."

Inside Fan City, the roads were paved with polished white flagstones, four or five feet wide, enough to allow five or six carriages to pass side by side.

Both sides of the road were packed with vendors selling weapons, elixirs, and various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, making for a lively scene.

There were even people performing on the streets, chanting under their breath.

With a lift of a hand, circles of bright red fire rings connected, floating in mid-air, exuding heat, with a high level of spectacle.

"Good!"

"Amazing!"

"This is really impressive!"

The onlookers clapped and cheered, shouting excitedly.

"This is a special Martial Seal called the Flowing Fire Seal, which can channel the Fire Element within the human body to aid in combat.

They must be from the Mohan area, where martial artists excel in similar Five Elements Techniques," explained the scholarly lady Yun Jin beside Lou Yi as she noticed his astonished expression.

Humans also possess the Five Elements, especially martial artists with abundant Blood Qi and naturally potent Five Elements Power, which, when forced out, can create visible phenomena.

The martial artists of the Flowing Fire Seal Lineage can summon strings of red fire rings.

Of course, in the Cultivation Realm, this is considered a low-grade Minor Magic Technique, not much different from a trick.

But for martial artists, being able to perform a fire ring trick and cross into the Path of the Five Elements is already an impressive feat.

Of course, the most bustling area on Fan City Main Street was a small square on the east side.

There were several circles of people around, with occasional powerful shouts and sounds of fighting, making for a lively atmosphere.

Lou Yi’s group, while searching for lodging, happened to pass by the area.

They discovered it was two people dueling, engaging directly in combat in an arena that wasn’t very spacious.

One was a young man with a broad face, pale and beardless, with thick eyebrows and big eyes.

The other was a burly man with two noticeable scars on his face.

However, they didn’t engage in close physical combat but each summoned their Martial Seal, controlling them in the air to fight their opponent.

Their Martial Seals were weapon-shaped.

One was a Silver Spear, extending about ten feet, emitting a faint glow.

The other was a Gray Axe, larger than the Silver Spear, more imposing.

The two Martial Seals collided in the void, producing metallic clanging sounds, causing the surrounding white aura to surge, eliciting awe from the onlookers.

"Impressive, Jing Dachao from the Divine Spear Sect has cultivated the Divine Spear Seal to a tangible state, probably not much worse than the elders in their sect.

He’s only thirty years old this year; truly the young fearlessness!"

"Sun Ahxun from the Giant Axe Sect isn’t bad either. To be honest, cultivating the Giant Axe Seal is more challenging.

Since the Axe King’s creation, this seal contains heavy murderous aura, making it easy to suffer backlash for the comprehenders..."

"These two sects are strong contenders; I reckon both have a chance to be victorious in the grueling first round of the Martial Arts Tournament, successfully advancing to the second round!"

The disciples of the Treasure Vase Lineage passing through were drawn in by the commotion and watched for a while.

Senior disciple Xu Feng also nodded in appraisal, "Indeed, it’s no simple feat."

The group was about to leave and find an inn to settle in when a peculiar voice came from beside them:

"Has the Treasure Vase Lineage fallen to such a state? Even these two mediocre fighters can impress you?"

Upon hearing the mockery, Xu Feng and the others’ expressions changed.

But the members of the dueling sects were even more incensed.

Sun Ahxun from the Giant Axe Seal Lineage flushed red, roaring, "Who dares to be so arrogant? Stand out, let’s see if you can match up with me!"

No sooner had he spoken.

’Tap, tap, tap!’

A person strolled forward, squeezing into the field.

Their steps weren’t loud, but were rhythmic enough that they momentarily overshadowed the surrounding chatter, drawing everyone’s gaze.

The newcomer was a young man dressed in a black short outfit.

He had a tall frame, handsome appearance, seemingly in his twenties.

What stood out most were his arms, naturally hanging below his knees, and his hands were much broader than average.

On the chest of his short outfit was embroidered a golden giant ape thumping its chest towards the sky.

Seeing this person, the previously furious Sun Ahxun suddenly went silent.

"The Ape King Seal Lineage??" His face turned solemn, spelling out the identity of the opposite party word by word.

The onlookers, upon hearing this person’s identity, also buzzed with amazement.

...