Chapter 711: Volume Finale: The Legacy’s Foundation (Middle)

No one was aware of Su Zhou’s arrival. Feng Qiang, being an old acquaintance, had been specially chosen to greet him. Guan Wanjing, however, clearly didn’t understand why their Grandmaster had specifically requested to see Su Zhou.

After passing through a series of training grounds filled with shouted slogans and sweating cultivators, the two men led Su Zhou to a plain, unremarkable building behind the village. They then prepared to turn and leave—the Grandmaster had invited Su Zhou, not them, and they wouldn’t listen in without permission.

’For the past three years, I’ve been cultivating Spiritual Power, honing my body, practicing my techniques, and strengthening my fundamentals. But I’ve had no real combat experience. Though Su Zhou is young, even I, sequestered in these mountains, have heard of his many exploits.’

As he turned to leave, Feng Qiang was lost in thought. He wasn’t someone who couldn’t stand loneliness, and he could endure great hardship. But after three years of arduous cultivation, he could already feel his limits. ’How can I be so arrogant as to think I can completely master a Spiritual Power that I’ve never truly unleashed?’ A scientific training regimen was certainly the best way to learn Martial Arts, but for Spiritual Martial Arts, spiritual transformation was also of paramount importance.

’Perhaps I should leave the dojo and try to find a job at the Security Bureau.’

Lost in these thoughts, just as Feng Qiang was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of Su Zhou out of the corner of his eye. Su Zhou, who had been completely relaxed the entire walk over, was now facing the small building with a slightly shocked expression.

Then, in an instant, Su Zhou vanished.

"Huh?!"

Guan Wanjing noticed it too. The two martial brothers exchanged a look, then stared at the empty space in front of the door where Su Zhou had just been, completely baffled.

’Not Teleportation, but a small-scale Secret Realm? The Only Martial System truly lives up to its reputation as the only long-established faction to hold a place in Zhengguo’s affairs without founding an Academy. They have some serious hidden depths.’

At this moment, Su Zhou, having vanished from before the building, found himself beside what was clearly an underground river. Transparent water surged past, rushing into the distance, stirring up a refreshing current of air and kicking up a cold spray.

Between the subtle details of the Spiritual Qi and the special senses he’d honed from his frequent travels between worlds, Su Zhou quickly realized this was not Earth, but a small Secret Realm, much like the Kunlun Ruins.

The Only Martial System was, after all, not an academic discipline, making it difficult to establish an Academy based on its teachings. While some of its disciples had made significant achievements in biology and ergonomics, that was the extent of it; they couldn’t form an entire field of study on their own.

Yet, despite not having the influence of an Academy, they had thrived to this day, proving they were not as simple as they appeared. This Secret Realm was a testament to that.

A moment ago, Su Zhou had heard a rather ancient voice speaking to him, so he wasn’t surprised to find himself transported into a Secret Realm.

What truly surprised him was the extent of the secrecy. They were already in an extremely remote mountain village, and *then* he was moved into a Secret Realm. This proved that whatever the old master of the Only Martial System wanted to discuss was a matter of utmost confidentiality.

The underground river rumbled deeply. There wasn’t a single source of light, but Su Zhou didn’t need light to perceive his surroundings. He followed a well-trodden path at his feet, slowly making his way forward.

The farther he walked, the gentler the rush of water became, and the slower the dark river flowed. Soon, Su Zhou found himself at the edge of an underground lake. He could sense that this lake, of indeterminate size, was fed by at least a hundred underground rivers, which also served as outlets, forming a wondrous and intricate subterranean water cycle.

Furthermore, the lake—and indeed the entire underground river system—was gradually becoming Spirit Water, much like how the Cross in his home slowly sanctified the water in its bottle.

Su Zhou could sense that the source slowly causing the Spiritualization of the entire subterranean lake was at its very center, directly ahead.

The path ended here. To continue, he had to enter the lake. Su Zhou wasn’t concerned. He controlled the water with his Water Assistance Power. The power of his Mingxun Dragon Transformation allowed him to control the Spirit Water more freely than ever before, causing it to part before him as if sliced by a blade, opening a path.

And after he had descended into the lake, Su Zhou heard another instruction from the ancient voice.

[Right this way.]

The voice spoke with perfect clarity: [In the direction where the Evil Qi and Spiritual Power are most concentrated.]

"Interesting."

Chuckling softly, Su Zhou followed the guidance, strolling through the water for about twenty minutes before arriving at his destination.

For Su Zhou, a twenty-minute stroll through the water was enough to cover over a hundred kilometers. During his journey, the lake grew progressively deeper and the concentration of Spiritual Power higher. Finally, Su Zhou sensed that the lake was nearly four thousand meters deep, and the surrounding water had completely transformed into a Spirit Water infused with a sinister, yin-aligned nature.

His destination was a region where the quality of the water was completely different from its surroundings.

If the water of the subterranean lake in this Secret Realm could be described as pure and transparent, then this patch of water was tinged with red. An incredibly dense Evil Qi saturated it, having ’Spiritualized’ it into the purest ’Jade Dew’.

And in the very center of this patch of water, a pure, colorless light shone, illuminating everything around it.