Chapter 258.1: Third Growth! Stepping into Transcendence! (I)

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. "Outlaw the Extreme Martial Dao?"

His figure emitted faint smoke as he set the wire down, yet he seemed perfectly calm as he said, "Assassination didn't work for them, so now they're using their connections to have the Extreme Martial Dao outlawed? We've cut into the interests of the entire martial arts community. A frenzied counterattack is only to be expected."

"Here's what we'll do. Gather a large sum of money at once, spare no expense, and go to the royal capital of the Jade Dragon Kingdom to lobby the nobles and the members of parliament. Don't ask them to save the Extreme Martial Dao. Instead, only ask for a delay. The longer the better. Half a year to a year would be ideal."

Senior Sister Xiang was momentarily taken aback. "Only a delay? But even if we buy a year, what good would it do?"

She could see no way out of this. To spend so much money merely to buy half a year or a year... Would some miracle happen at the end of it? Surely not.

The martial arts community commanded too much influence. Once they bring official power into the picture, the Extreme Martial Dao Center would not be able to compete. A year, even two or three, or five years of delay would likely mean nothing at all.

Lu Changsheng neither agreed nor disagreed. He said calmly, "Just do as I say. The longer the delay, the better. If you can buy a year, then today's problem will no longer be a problem at all."

He did not explain further. Senior Sister Xiang nodded and went off to make the arrangements.

The Extreme Martial Dao Center had already monopolized the martial arts centers of Pan City, and its fees were far from cheap. It had also begun spreading into other regions. Its financial resources, therefore, were considerable. Using that wealth to lobby nobles and members of parliament would certainly be enough to buy some time.

Senior Sister Xiang had no idea what Lu Changsheng intended, but his plan was in fact quite simple. He needed to buy the time needed to break his limits once more and reach Third Growth. By now, he was certain that Third Growth would carry him into transcendence. His current self was merely impervious to blades and bullets. As for cannons or high-powered sniper rifles, he could not be sure of surviving those.

Once he reached Third Growth and stepped into transcendence, everything would change. He would make everything kneel before him and take whatever he pleased. Transcendence meant standing above all living things. He simply needed time.

"I need to speed this up..." Lu Changsheng said as he called up his Status Panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Yuan

Extreme Martial Dao: Second Growth (42%)

Second Growth had climbed to forty-two percent. Using electricity, three days had yielded one percent. By that reckoning, three months should have produced thirty percent, for a total of thirty-two. He was ten percent ahead of that.

That extra ten percent had come from occasionally risking a higher voltage. Raising the voltage did accelerate his body's advancement, but it carried real danger.

A moment of carelessness was all that was needed to kill him. After all, his flesh had not yet reached the level of transcendence. If his body sustained a powerful enough current, it was still lethal.

However, given the situation, those martial artists training their Force had mobilized every connection they had in the Jade Dragon Kingdom to shut the Extreme Martial Dao Centers down for good. That meant destroying the very foundation of everything he was building.

With the centers closed, how would he condense the Martial Dao when his three years were up? Condensing a Martial Dao could not be achieved by his own transcendence alone. It required great numbers of people practicing the Extreme Martial Dao, and attaining something through it.

"Five months... I need to buy at least five months to reach one hundred percent, then attempt to achieve Third Growth. I hope Senior Sister Xiang can win me at least five months..."

He returned to the factory and pressed on, using electricity to drive his body's growth faster still.

Senior Sister Xiang was indeed shrewd and capable. She quickly reached the capital of the Jade Dragon Kingdom and made the acquaintance of many royals, nobles, and members of parliament with the aid of money.

However, she did not rely on money alone. She talked about the Extreme Martial Dao itself, praising it to the skies. She claimed, for instance, that the further one advanced in it, the more it extended one's lifespan.

The moment that claim was made, a great many people in high positions were moved. Longer life was always welcomed in any place by anyone. Who did not want a few more years, or ten, or several decades?

Still, many did not simply take her word for it. They all knew perfectly well why she had come, and that was to stop the Jade Dragon Kingdom from outlawing the Extreme Martial Dao Centers.

Regardless, some were tempted. What if it were true? And so, the two sides pulled against each other, and the upper ranks of the Jade Dragon Kingdom kept putting off any decision.

In the blink of an eye, five months went by.

In Pan City, Lu Changsheng was in the factory when his phone rang.

Senior Sister Xiang's voice came through when he answered. "Master, I've exhausted every method I have in the Jade Capital and bought five months of time, but I still cannot shake the Jade Dragon Kingdom's resolve to outlaw the Extreme Martial Dao Centers. It will likely happen within the next few days. Master, I've failed..."

There was a faint tremor in her voice. These months had utterly exhausted her body and mind. She had to navigate a crowd of royals, nobles, and government officials. Every one of them was a cunning old fox who was difficult to handle. Five months was the most she had been able to win.

"Don't mind it; five months is enough. Stay in the Jade Capital for now. I'll go there myself in a few days," said Lu Changsheng before hanging up.

He glanced at his Status Panel. His Extreme Martial Dao progress had reached one hundred percent a few days ago. It had sat at one hundred percent for several days, but he had not broken his limits yet. He was waiting for the right moment.

"It's about time. I've spent these last days getting my condition right, and I can attempt it now. Until now, I've used up to three hundred and eighty volts to strengthen my body. However, that cannot break the ceiling of Second Growth. To break it, I need an enormous burst of energy in a single instant... At least a thousand volts."

The reason he had spent days preparing was that a thousand volts carried genuine danger for him. He had to judge the voltage precisely. Too much would kill him, but too little would do nothing either.

He knew that breaking through required taking an enormous current in a single instant. By his judgement, a thousand volts was enough. Besides, his powerful consciousness commanded every inch of his body. If there was any danger, he would instantly detect it.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Changsheng flipped the switch for a current above a thousand volts and closed his hand directly around the wire.

"Let's begin."

Crackle.

The current instantly numbed him. His consciousness seized that energy and absorbed it deep inside him, hammering savagely at the limits of his flesh.

Boom.

A tremor ran through him before he felt hunger. Ravenous hunger. A thousand volts carried an immense amount of energy, and he devoured it in a frenzy. A moment ago, a thousand volts seemed terrifying to him.

Now, with his limit broken, it seemed like nothing at all.

Multiplying the voltage by tenfold or even a hundredfold still could not harm him. He no longer had an ordinary human body; he had a transcendent's body!

Transcendence meant rising beyond the mundane, standing above the ordinary world. He was already inhuman.

The hunger he felt was beyond measure. No amount of food could satisfy him. Only the energy of electricity could replenish him, and even that would not last him a day.

One day, two days, three... Time passed until, at last, the hunger left him on the third day. By then, he had undergone a massive transformation.

"My physique..." Lu Changsheng started. He had grown by nearly half his original height. Where he had stood some six chi and four cun before, he now rose to roughly nine chi.

This was followed by a massive frame, with muscles knotted across every inch of it. Furthermore, his muscle and bone density was beyond imagination. At such density, a cannon striking him would likely amount to little more than a scratch.

He could clearly feel that his physical capabilities had far surpassed the Divine Strength Realm and Divine Fortification Realm. It ought to rival the Divine Treasury Realm! His fleshly body alone, without any techniques, rivaled the Divine Treasury Realm. Without doubt, he had stepped into transcendence.

The Divine Treasury Realm was equivalent to Qi Refinement. In any world, that was the benchmark for transcendence.

Lu Changsheng's head snapped up. The moment he stepped into transcendence, he felt the whole world change—and from somewhere beyond his perception, he could tell that this world was beginning to condense something. However, it still could not take shape.

A strange light flickered in his eyes. "The Martial Dao..."

He could feel it plainly. This world was beginning to condense a Martial Dao. Only an embryo of one—no, it wasn't even that much. Regardless, it had begun.

His own transcendence alone was not enough to condense it. It was better if a second person reached transcendence too, but if that didn't happen, it was still no problem. So long as great numbers practiced the Extreme Martial Dao, the collective fortune of the people would be gathered, and a Martial Dao could be condensed from it.

The Martial Dao was, by its very nature, condensed out of countless living beings. Without living beings, what Martial Dao could there be?

With a thought, Lu Changsheng called up his Status Panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Yuan

Extreme Martial Dao: Third Growth (1%)

He had achieved Third Growth, but his physique could still grow stronger, and was strengthening with every passing moment. The sensation was exhilarating/

It was as though he had leaped from a small pond into a great river. The sky is vast, and the birds fly free; the sea is wide, and the fish leap at will.[1] This was what it felt like to shatter one's limits and step into transcendence.

"Contract." Lu Changsheng shrank himself down, returning to his usual height. But whenever he wished, he could release the full power of his physique.

"So this is the Extreme Third Body. At the Extreme Third Body, ordinary guns and cannons shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps only the deadliest weapons of this world could do me the slightest harm."

A keen glint moved in his eyes. If his present strength were converted into an energy-level equivalent, it would sit on the level of Qi Refinement. The highest this world reached was the Dao Foundation Realm or its equivalent, the Foundation Establishment Realm. There were still forces here capable of threatening him, but such things would require the most advanced technology. The Jade Dragon Kingdom's technology was mediocre at best. It certainly possessed nothing of that caliber.

Even with such weapons, killing him in one strike would be difficult. Weapons of that class took time and precision to deploy. Lu Changsheng was an extraordinarily agile man. How easy would it be for anything to lock onto him and strike him down?

Besides, his Status Panel showed he could still climb higher. When his Martial Dao condenses, he might break through his limits again and reach Fourth Growth. Fourth Growth should rival the Dao Foundation Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm. By then, there was no way for this world to threaten him.

For now, though, he had more pressing matters.

Lu Changsheng rose and left the factory. "Time to go to the Jade Capital and have a word with those people."

1. 天高任鸟飞，海阔凭鱼跃 — a well-known Chinese saying describing the boundless freedom that comes with escaping confinement. Used here for the change in scale Lu Changsheng experiences on breaking through. ☜