Chapter 769: Path To Heaven (I)

A faint smile played at the corners of Lin Zheyu's lips as he pondered the information he had just obtained.

The Immortal Shaman Alliance... Black Shaman Mountain... Interesting...

He did not know when Wei Jiarou had appeared. This was Black Tortoise City, after all, and the Discussion Pavilion was filled with numerous powerful formation restrictions. Rashly using one's perception to spy on or investigate others could easily invite trouble.

For that reason, Lin Zheyu had seldom used his perception during his time in Black Tortoise City. He merely kept his aura shrouded around himself to guard against the scrutiny of others. Just now, however, he had detected Wei Jiarou secretly observing him. It was that same familiar aura and the same familiar sensation of being watched.

"Wei Lixin appears to be plotting something... Although I don't know what he is planning, he doesn't seem to harbor much malice," Lin Zheyu murmured.

Although Wei Lixin had left a fairly good impression on him, Lin Zheyu had not completely lowered his guard. Even so, he remained highly interested in Black Shaman Mountain and the Immortal Shaman Alliance. What Lin Zheyu lacked most at present were advanced, profound cultivation techniques, texts, and resources. As the trial grounds the Mengna Tribe had once used for its clansmen, Black Shaman Mountain was certain to contain many things beneficial to the cultivation of the Shamanic Dao.

He might even find an opportunity there to break free of his fourth shackle. As Lin Zheyu grew stronger, breaking free of each successive shackle became increasingly difficult. Without sufficient opportunities and a deep foundation, it would be impossible. Therefore, he needed to seek opportunities far and wide while acquiring all manner of cultivation techniques, texts, and resources.

There is no time limit on the mission at Black Shaman Mountain. Once the Ascension Assembly ends, I'll return to the Martial Alliance and enter seclusion for a while. It won't be too late to consider Black Shaman Mountain afterward, Lin Zheyu pondered silently. He planned to wait until he had accumulated enough Origin Force before going. At the very least, he wanted 2000 or 3000 units of Origin Force at his disposal.

***

Time passed slowly, and the Ascension Assembly grew increasingly lively. In the arena challenges, cultivators from the various races and factions fought with ever greater intensity. Word had it that cultivators from the Wei Family had also entered the competition. Talented disciples from Great Wei's four great sects and eight great esteemed families had begun appearing as well, taking to the arenas to test themselves against cultivators from beyond Great Wei.

Ever since Lin Zheyu had conceded immediately in his previous match, all manner of troublemakers had attempted to provoke the Martial Alliance's other martial artists in hopes of dragging him into the conflict. Lin Zheyu, however, had rebuked them all and ordered the martial artists to behave themselves and keep a low profile.

Inside the inn, a burly man exclaimed furiously, "...I can't take it anymore. I've had enough! The things those bastards are saying are intolerable. They have absolutely no respect for us martial artists... Uh, no, I mean they have no respect for Senior Xiao!"

The man's name was Hua Bin, and he had a fiery temper. No one knew who had spread the story of Lin Zheyu's immediate concession, but it had become the talk of the entire assembly. Every cultivator attending the Ascension Assembly now knew that Xiao Yu of the Martial Alliance was supposedly a coward.

The martial artists who had accompanied Lin Zheyu and the others to the assembly were furious about it. Insulting Senior Xiao was bad enough, but those people had even dragged the Martial Alliance and all martial artists into their ridicule.

"Sigh... If Senior Xiao refuses to fight, all we can do up there is take a beating. Fellow Wang still hasn't recovered from his injuries last time. He's already spent three days secluded in his room recuperating."

The man beside Hua Bin sucked in a sharp breath as speaking tugged at the injuries on his face. He had also been unable to stomach the insults and had challenged one of the cultivators disparaging the Martial Alliance to an arena match, only to be severely injured.

At the sound of familiar footsteps, the martial artists who had just been talking indignantly all fell silent.

Ji Haozhong glanced at them. "Go on, then! Why did you stop? Keep your damned heads down. If any of you dare cause trouble again, I'll beat you myself!"

Hua Bin and the others answered in unison. "We wouldn't dare, Senior!"

"You'd better not. Enough of this. Go out and look around. If you have nothing else to do, head to the Discussion Pavilion and listen to others discuss the Dao. Just stop getting in my way. Seeing your pathetic state only makes me angry. You weren't strong enough, yet you still dared to challenge others in the arena. Those are life-and-death matches. You're lucky the Woo Family or one of the other ancient martial esteemed families didn't beat you to death," Ji Haozhong scolded irritably.

Admittedly, the ancient martial esteemed families and that fellow Collis had been stirring up trouble and provoking them. Even so, without orders from Xiao Yiqing or another expert of the Vermilion Bird Sect, no one could force them into the arena if they refused to fight. The martial artists sat obediently to one side and quietly endured Ji Haozhong's entire lecture.

After finishing his lecture, Ji Haozhong took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and asked casually, "By the way, has Fellow Xiao not returned at all these past few days?"

"No. Senior Xiao entered the War God Hall five days ago and hasn't come out since," Hua Bin replied.

The others all looked curious when they heard this.

"Senior Ji, what do you think Senior Xiao is doing in the War God Hall? Has he successfully made it through the War God's Path by now? Or is he still attempting it...?" Hua Bin asked curiously.

When they first heard about the War God Hall and the Divine Martial Guard, their curiosity had also been thoroughly aroused. However, when they went to the War God Hall, they discovered that they couldn't even get through the entrance. Anyone who wished to enter the War God Hall first had to make it through the War God's Path. Just what sort of path was it?

Within the War God's Path, dharma artifacts, dharma treasures, and spirit power were all prohibited. Challengers could rely only on their physical strength. To complete the War God's Path, one had to defeat the nine Golden Core realm experts guarding it. The weakest was only in the early Golden Core realm, while the final and strongest guardian had reached the peak of the Golden Core realm.

"Want to know?" Ji Haozhong asked with a faint smile.

The group nodded earnestly.

"If you want to know, ask him yourselves." Ji Haozhong gave them a sidelong glance, waved dismissively, and headed toward his room on the second floor, leaving the martial artists speechless.

***

Inside the War God's Path within the War God Hall, a succession of muffled booms reverberated through the air. Two powerfully built figures raced across the enormous square at astonishing speed, moving so quickly that only two blurred afterimages could be seen.

A deafening boom erupted from the void as both burly figures were hurled backward. They landed and staggered back several steps. Lin Zheyu retreated a single step before planting his right foot firmly and arresting his momentum. The burly man opposite him, clad in golden armor and standing 2.3 meters tall, was forced back eight consecutive steps before finally coming to a halt.

"Hahaha, now that felt good! It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a fight this much!" the burly man declared with a hearty laugh. However, when he saw Lin Zheyu standing there calm and composed, looking entirely at ease and scarcely drained at all, he was left somewhat speechless.

The burly man looked at Lin Zheyu suspiciously. "Hey, kid, you've been fighting for five days straight, so why do you still look as fresh as when you first arrived? You haven't been holding back, have you?"

"I simply have a little more energy stored in my divine repositories. Though my abilities are modest, I have opened three great divine repositories. As long as the source energy stored within them is not exhausted, I will not feel much fatigue," Lin Zheyu explained with a smile.

"A freak who's opened three great divine repositories, huh? Even in the Wei Family, someone like you would be as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. It seems the Martial Alliance has produced another fine prospect after that brat Qin Hu. It's a pity you're not a cultivator of the Wei Family. Otherwise, I would definitely take you under my command," the burly man said with a chuckle.

He waved his hand and said with waning interest, "I'm done. Fighting you is no fun. Go find the next guardian."

With that, he gave Lin Zheyu no opportunity to object before transforming into a burst of golden light and vanishing from the square.

Lin Zheyu watched the burly man dissolve into golden light and muttered under his breath, somewhat speechless, "Uh... What was the hurry? I wasn't finished enjoying myself yet!"

Since the man had already left, Lin Zheyu could only continue forward. The War God's Path was called a path because it was quite literally an immense road. It was simply unimaginably wide, spanning a full ten kilometers. For experts with Golden Core realm strength like Lin Zheyu and the guardians, however, ten kilometers merely gave them enough room to fight without restraint.

Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead. "Here it comes!"

Two burly figures began to materialize upon the seemingly endless War God's Path. They suddenly sprang into motion and collided with a tremendous boom. What made the War God's Path truly worthy of its name was that whenever a challenger defeated a guardian and passed one of its trials, they could view recordings of battles fought by experts who had previously passed the same trial.

The martial artists who had completed the War God's Path included not only members of the Martial Alliance, but also martial artists from the ancient, esteemed martial families and the Wei Family.

In just five days, Lin Zheyu had immersed himself in more than ten thousand exhilarating battles, experiencing different martial cultivation methods in actual combat from a multitude of perspectives. This was the greatest and most valuable aspect of the War God Hall.

Completing the War God's Path, however, was no easy feat. Within it, challengers could rely only on the strength of their physical bodies, entirely unaugmented physical strength. Every other form of power, including blood qi, was prohibited. Attaining power comparable to the Golden Core realm through one's physical body alone was simply far too difficult.

After five days, Lin Zheyu had defeated only three guardians. However, he was deliberately concealing his true abilities and had not displayed his full strength. Otherwise, completing the entire path would not have been much of a problem.

More than four hours later, Lin Zheyu exhaled deeply and emerged from the battle recording of the past.

Lin Zheyu contemplated silently. Has it been five days already... I've gained about as much as I can from the third trial. I'm still only in the mid-stage of the Shackles realm, so it would be unwise to reveal strength far beyond that of an ordinary genius. Forbidden Mountain opens to the public today, so I'll stop here and go take a look.