Chapter 256.2 - Second Breakthrough! Impervious to Blades and Bullets, A New Era! (II)

The fight caused an even greater uproar online, given that it had been broadcast live. Whether viewers understood martial arts or not, they had all watched Lu Yuan fight a hundred opponents alone and even kill a Core Force Grandmaster with a single palm strike.

Anyone who wasn't obtuse could tell that Lu Yuan's strength was formidable, and that martial artists could never compare to him. What made it even more incredible was the fact that Lu Yuan had founded the Extreme Martial Dao only four months ago.

"I'm going to Pan City! I'm going to study the Extreme Martial Dao!"

"This is unbelievable... It's a completely new era! Martial arts involving Force is finished. After only four months, Lu Yuan beat a Core Force Grandmaster to death. Given a little more time, won't he be able to kill a Fortification Force Grandmaster too?"

"Exactly. How can four months even be compared with several decades?"

"I've practiced martial arts since childhood, and it took me more than ten years to barely reach the stage of Hidden Force. Now I finally realized that I've been wasting my time. I walked the wrong path, but now I will switch to the Extreme Martial Dao and rectify my mistake."

"I'm going to Pan City to study the Extreme Martial Dao too..."

For a while, countless people declared online that they would travel to Pan City to study the Extreme Martial Dao. As time passed, the online debate between the Extreme Martial Dao and martial artists training their Force grew increasingly fierce, with no signs of waning.

In the online space, so-called masters and experts of martial arts harshly criticized Lu Yuan and the Extreme Martial Dao relentlessly, flaming him in every conceivable way. They even resorted to personal attacks.

They claimed that Lu Yuan had inherited the Crane Style and practiced Spiral Force, drawing inspiration from them to establish the Extreme Martial Dao. By that logic, it should have counted as a major school of martial arts. And yet, Lu Yuan had turned around and trampled on martial arts, betraying his master and ancestors.

The so-called masters and experts kept pushing this narrative online, condemning Lu Yuan as a traitor to the martial arts community. It was essentially a smear campaign, and those behind it were relentless.

Of course, none of those individuals had even reached the stage of Core Force, much less Fortification Force. Not a single martial artist who had watched the battle dared to step forward and actually challenge Lu Yuan. Even Fortification Force martial masters remained utterly silent after watching Lu Yuan display his overwhelming prowess.

Ultimately, those people simply sought attention online. They had used martial arts to deceive people for fame and fortune, but now that the Extreme Martial Dao had torn away their fierce pretense, they could not help jumping out in protest. In any case, neither the Extreme Martial Dao Center nor Lu Changsheng paid those clowns any heed.

Following the battle of Pan City, the other martial arts centers kept their promises. Some relocated, while others closed down completely. As such, the Extreme Martial Dao Center seized the opportunity to establish branches throughout Pan City.

Despite the city being fairly small, it now had dozens of Extreme Martial Dao Centers, with anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of students. If not for Pan City's limited population, the Extreme Martial Dao Centers would probably have attracted even more students.

In the aftermath of the battle, Lu Changsheng lived in seclusion and kept an exceptionally low profile. Many new students of the Extreme Martial Dao Centers had never even seen their master, Lu Yuan.

Lu Changsheng was inside the cultivation chamber of the Extreme Martial Dao Center. Since he was now the master, he could afford a more lavish lifestyle. He had rented the entire third floor and turned it into his personal cultivation chamber, where no one would disturb him.

He opened his eyes, and the Status Panel instantly appeared before him.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Yuan

Extreme Martial Dao: First Growth (99%)

Still only at ninety-nine percent?

Lu Changsheng frowned slightly. A full six months had passed since the battle of Pan City. It had also been more than ten months since he entered the secret world, yet ever since Lu Changsheng saw the First Growth progress on the Status Panel reach ninety-nine percent last month, his body had not improved at all. It seemed that he was stuck.

I guess this is it...

The human body had its limits, and Lu Changsheng realized that the ninety-nine percent progress in First Growth was the limit of his body. According to his hypothesis, breaking through that limit would initiate the Second Growth. In all likelihood, that would also set him on the path to transcendence, but forcibly going over the limits of a mortal body was easier said than done.

In fact, if Lu Changsheng's true body could descend into the world, or if his true body could project its power, then embarking on the path to transcendence would become a walk in the park.

However, if he failed to embark on the path to transcendence now, he would have no way of establishing his Martial Dao in two years. Resorting to the power of his true body was not actually feasible, as it would take at least two years to tap into that power, and the effect would be short-lived anyway. Without a Martial Dao already established, tapping into that power would serve no real purpose. Thus, he absolutely had to strive toward the path to transcendence and establish the Martial Dao without delay.

Lu Changsheng had pondered the problem for an entire month and ultimately came up with three possible solutions.

The first was to let nature take its course and accumulate slowly. He could continue following his routine, practicing the Extreme Martial Dao every day and constantly consuming all manner of nourishing substances. Even if there was no improvement, there was no need to become discouraged. He would simply continue accumulating day after day and year after year. Eventually, there might come a day when his body naturally broke through its limits.

The issue with that plan was the sheer amount of time required—not a few days or even one year, but decades. And ultimately, there was no guarantee of success. Lu Changsheng might end up spending his entire life without ever breaking through those limits. These things depended on a person's constitution and, in some cases, luck as well.

The second method was to find a rare natural treasure capable of instantly supplying the body with tremendous energy and essence on a cellular and genetic level. Such a treasure could potentially allow Lu Changsheng to overcome the limitations of his mortal body. The issue was, however, that he had not seen or heard of such a rare treasure in this world.

The third potential plan Lu Changsheng had conceived was based on his cultivation as an Earthly Saint and his understanding of the human body. The human body possessed three treasures: vital essence, qi, and spirit, all equally important.

Vital essence referred to the body, and qi referred to yuan qi. Everyone possessed yuan qi, but without replenishment from an outside source, it could not grow. Spirit referred to one's mind and convictions. If spirit energy existed between heaven and earth, it could directly replenish yuan qi.

A martial artist had multiple choices upon reaching the limits of the human body. They could fight a life-and-death battle, nurture their personal momentum, seize the title of Strongest Under Heaven, or nurture their qi for many years, among others. In short, they had to find a way to set their own spirit ablaze. By burning their spirit and transforming it into vital essence, they could naturally break through the limit, send their body into Second Growth, and thereby embark on the path to transcendence.

For ordinary people, the first and third of these three methods were both tangible and practicable. However, the first relied too much on luck. One could wait decades without ever breaking through their limits. In the end, the third method was likely the most viable.

Burning through one's spirit was the path for breaking those mortal limits that Lu Changsheng had designed for ordinary people in this world. Of course, there was no need for him to do that.

Lu Changsheng's consciousness was that of an Earthly Saint, so his body's cells and genes were already laid completely bare and held no secrets from him. Using his consciousness to stimulate the body's cells and genes, transcend mortality, and send his body into Second Growth was absurdly easy. However, this method was only suitable for Lu Changsheng.

If he wanted to establish a Martial Dao, it was not enough for Lu Changsheng alone to break the limit, enter Second Growth, and embark on the path to transcendence. A large and continuous stream of people had to be able to break through their limits and transcend mortality as well. That was why Lu Changsheng had pondered the problem for an entire month. He had to find a path to transcendence that ordinary people could walk.

At this point, he had essentially found three such paths for them. Now, he was getting ready to make the breakthrough and complete the First Growth stage of the Extreme Martial Dao.

The path to transcendence...

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes, and his immense Earthly Saint consciousness instantly penetrated the deepest reaches of his body. The next moment, it was as though Lu Changsheng had "detonated" a particular point within his body.

Boom!

A thunderous rumble immediately swept through his entire body. His skin felt like it was boiling, and every cell in his body seemed to be craving something, like a wild beast aching to devour prey. His body was hungry.

Lu Changsheng had long since prepared for this. He immediately took out a vast quantity of nourishing items and swallowed them all down at once without even chewing properly. As Lu Changsheng swallowed the enormous quantity, his consciousness directed them into every cell.

His consciousness penetrated even his cells and genes. He did not need to alter any of his genes since every gene had its own unique function. All Lu Changsheng needed to do was direct large quantities of nutrients into his cells.

Boom!

Lu Changsheng felt as though a volcano had erupted inside his body. Before, he could clearly sense the human body's limits and constraints upon him, but now, that limit had been broken, shattered in one instant. His own personal constraints also seemed to vanish, and in their place, he could feel a vast new world.

Crack!

Every bone in Lu Changsheng's body cracked. At the same time, he could clearly feel himself beginning to grow. His height increased, and his muscles swelled. His entire frame was developing at a frantic pace.

This was Second Growth!