Over the next few days, Xiao Yishan stayed at the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel’s Mansion. He and Qin Xuance struck up a profound friendship like finding a kindred spirit, discussing mysterious Martial Techniques and the hardships of the common people.
Lin Huang originally had a few doubts he wanted to clarify, but he had no choice but to drop the matter. He focused entirely on reading Musashi to prepare for the second round of the Four Sects’ selection.
The second round tested Martial Arts theory.
On the Azure Sky Continent, Martial Arts theory was highly valued. Even though the continent’s Cultivation System was gradually being perfected, many aspects remained unexplained.
For instance, the human body had three thousand acupoints, but why were only a few hundred useful?
Where did the source of Martial Souls lie? How were they born?
Besides cultivating Martial Souls, what else could a Martial Artist cultivate?
There were still far too many unexplainable mysteries regarding these matters. To propel the Martial Arts World to its absolute peak, the verification and exploration of countless Martial Artists were required.
Naturally, any Sect assessment on the continent could not avoid testing Martial Arts theory.
For Lin Huang, Martial Arts theory below the Martial King Realm posed no difficulty at all.
However, he severely lacked knowledge regarding anything above the Martial King Realm. He had never taken a master, joined a Sect, or systematically studied Musashi.
All of his cultivation had come from his own blind exploration.
This was also why he had never been able to break through the Martial Saint barrier in his previous life—he had gone down a dead end.
Therefore, over the past few months, he had consciously and subconsciously emptied his mind of his previous life’s understanding of Martial Arts. He systematically read thirty thousand texts of Musashi to reshape his cognition of Martial Arts.
He even treated himself like an idiot, earnestly absorbing every word Xiao Yishan said and memorizing every single word in the Musashi.
These things were treasures left behind by predecessors, summarized through countless verifications. He had no chance to access them in his past life, so this time, he had to grasp the opportunity no matter what.
In the courtyard, starlight flickered. Lin Huang revealed a bitter smile. The path of Martial Arts was magnificent and brilliant, but it was equally filled with painful struggles.
Countless famous Martial Arts powerhouses had turned to dust, yet they left behind heavy, colorful strokes in the long river of Martial Arts history.
Gripping the Musashi tightly in his hands, Lin Huang’s resolve grew firmer. To be together with Jun Qingcheng, simply reading through the Musashi wasn’t enough. He needed continuous research and exploration to become a true powerhouse. Only then would he be qualified to shield her from the stormy winds of the world.
"I currently find it difficult to even step out of the East Spirit Realm. You, on the other hand, must have already broken through to the Celestial Element Realm, or perhaps even reached the Martial Marquis Realm. With the title of a peerless genius, you must have shaken the Great Domain," he murmured.
Lin Huang looked up at the bright moon in the sky, a self-deprecating smile appearing on his youthful face. The figure of a peerlessly beautiful woman in a red dress, wielding an unmatched sword, faintly surfaced in his mind.
Subsequently, Lin Huang thought of Liu Cangsheng, the greatest fated enemy of his life.
Originating from the Eastern Celestial Divine Sect and possessing the Nine Heavens Sword River Martial Soul, precious heavenly and earthly treasures were readily available to him. With thousands upon thousands of experts under the Eastern Celestial Divine Sect, it could be said that he gathered all the world’s favors upon himself.
As for him, Lin Huang...
He might have a glamorous identity in this Great Xia Dynasty, making countless people look up to him. But looking at the entire Azure Sky Continent, even the East Spirit Realm was nothing more than a barren land.
How could he possibly stand shoulder to shoulder with Liu Cangsheng?
Even with the experience from his past life, the gap in talent and background remained as vast as the heavens and the earth. Could he truly surpass him through sheer effort alone?
The night was pitch-black and bitterly cold. The firmament, void of starlight, seemed to rest directly above Lin Huang’s head, pressing down on him so tightly that he couldn’t breathe.
Even though he, Lin Huang, had been reborn for another lifetime, what right did he have to catch up to the footsteps of Liu Cangsheng and Jun Qingcheng?
This night, Lin Huang sat alone on the roof and thought about a lot of things. He thought of Lin Beichen, a hero in his twilight years, and Lin Cangxue, the genius whose wings were clipped in the Piaoxue Palace.
He thought of his mother, of whom he had no memory.
He thought of Jun Qingcheng’s father, who was as powerful as a god.
And Fatty Bai, Qin Xuance, Xiao Yishan, Dong Situ...
Lin Huang suddenly realized that he was absolutely nothing. His Celestial Asura Martial Soul had yet to rise, he couldn’t cultivate Earth-Tier Martial Techniques, and even bitter cultivation day and night could hardly bridge the gap in talent.
In the vast Martial Arts World, even if he entered the Saint Realm one day, he might still be nothing more than an ant in the eyes of those colossal entities.
Not to mention the mighty, boundless river of Martial Arts history that had silenced countless peerless geniuses and unparalleled magnates.
"Hehe, this is really quite ironic!"
Lin Huang stood up, his self-deprecating laughter carrying a surge of unwillingness and even inexplicable resentment. It was like a massive boulder pressing tightly against his heart.
"But I am absolutely not willing to accept this!"
Countless faces flashed through Lin Huang’s mind, and countless events surfaced before his eyes. Eventually, they drew out the resentment within his body, surging straight toward his soul sea of consciousness.
He was unwilling to be an ant of this world, unwilling to be just a single grain of sand in the long river of Martial Arts.
He was unwilling to forever chase after the footsteps of Liu Cangsheng and Jun Qingcheng without ever catching up. He had to set his sights much further.
Under the moonlight, Lin Huang’s expression was resolute. His conviction was incredibly strong—even stronger than his desire to be with Jun Qingcheng.
At this moment, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi violently surged around Lin Huang, wrapping him up like a thick fog. The incredibly pure Primordial Qi seeped through the pores all over his body and flowed into his Profound Sea.
Then, it surged mightily toward his internal meridians without the slightest hindrance. Everything flowed naturally into place.
At this moment.
One Thought Breaks the Realm.
Human Element Eighth Heaven!
Behind Lin Huang, Xiao Yishan appeared at some unknown time. He was like a gust of clear wind—ethereal and intangible—yet he was genuinely standing behind Lin Huang, his expression serious and earnest.
"Master..." Lin Huang turned his head.
"Have you figured it out?" Xiao Yishan asked flatly.
"I want to become number one in the world!"
This was a dream as common and cliché as the dust on the ground.
There were tens of millions of people in the world who wanted to be number one, but there could always be only one!
Everyone else would become subjects of mockery for their bold, presumptuous words.
And right now, Lin Huang was one of those "everyone else," firmly speaking his presumptuous words!
Although he was only in the Human Element Realm now, this was where his conviction lay. No matter how long the path of Martial Arts was, he would not yield.
One day, he would set foot upon the peak of Martial Arts and look back, looking down upon all the Martial Artists in the world.
"I, Xiao Yishan, have seven thousand disciples. You are the very first to have this kind of thought; none of the others even dared to dream it," Xiao Yishan sneered. "No one dares to have such a presumptuous and arrogant thought while only in the Human Element Realm.
"Number one in the world? Don’t you think it’s just an idiot’s daydream for someone like you?" he scoffed.
"As a Martial Artist, if I don’t even dare to have such thoughts, then what is the point of cultivating Martial Arts? What difference is there between me and a walking corpse?" Lin Huang said, his face resolute and calm.
"Good!" Under the moonlight, Xiao Yishan’s hair and beard flared out as he laughed unscrupulously, bursting with high spirits.
"Do you still remember the words you said when you took me as your master beneath Thousand Feet Cliff?" Xiao Yishan looked back and asked.
"Uh..." Lin Huang awkwardly scratched his head. He had completely forgotten it long ago.
Xiao Yishan smiled instead, his voice softening as he said, "Pursuing the Ultimate of Martial Arts, taking a seat among the eternal gods!
"How could ’number one in the world’ be my expectation for you? Even if your aptitude is terrible, you are still my, Xiao Yishan’s, final legacy disciple. The so-called ’number one in the world’ is nothing more than a fleeting cloud within the eternal river of Martial Arts!"
On the roof, Lin Huang’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
This old rogue dared to dream even bigger than he did.
Lin Huang had originally thought Xiao Yishan would mock him. He never expected Xiao Yishan to have such wild ambitions for him, nor did he expect the man to hold him in such high regard.
"This... let’s talk about it later!" Lin Huang said evasively, breaking out in a cold sweat. He really didn’t dare to boast any further.
Xiao Yishan shook his head and asked, "Do you know what a Martial Artist’s greatest enemy is?"
"Inferiority!" Lin Huang replied. He had already come to this realization just moments ago.
Xiao Yishan nodded. "As a Martial Artist, if you don’t work hard, you can choose to work hard. If you lack talent, you can use time to accumulate and struggle. But inferiority is a death sentence on the path of Martial Arts. If a Martial Artist doesn’t even believe in themselves, how can they succeed? Inferiority isn’t terrifying. What is terrifying is knowing you feel inferior but remaining inferior, forever unable to break free from those shackles."
Lin Huang nodded inwardly.
He had been feeling inferior before!
Jun Qingcheng possessed a noble background and unparalleled talent; she was the proud daughter of heaven in the Human World. Meanwhile, he was just a wild dog whose nation and family had been destroyed. With a lowly background and meager talent, how could he possibly stand beside her?
During the ten years he was hunted down by Liu Cangsheng, he wanted to see Jun Qingcheng but didn’t dare to. Even though she loved him recklessly and wholeheartedly, he didn’t dare give her a promise. He didn’t believe he could give her happiness.
That pathetic state... was like a thief who didn’t dare to walk under the sunlight.
Even when he ranked among the four great Martial Saints on the Unrivaled List, deep down, he never dared to admit that he could stand on par with a favored son of heaven like Liu Cangsheng.
When he eventually appeared in the Fengxue Domain, he had summoned the greatest courage of his life, using feigned arrogance to mask the inferiority in his heart.
Even after being reborn, Lin Huang still felt inferior. He felt inferior because his talent wasn’t as high as Crown Prince Lingyun’s, and he lacked Qin Xuance’s strategic mind. Even if he cultivated desperately, he couldn’t erase the inferiority in his heart.
Until tonight...
He had finally figured it out. So what if he lacked talent and a background?
He had fighting spirit; he had conviction!
As time rolled on, the figures who were passed down eternally through the river of Martial Arts history were never remembered by later generations for their unmatched talent or their world-shaking backgrounds.
They were remembered for their conviction—or rather, their obsession—to become a powerhouse!
"Since you know that inferiority is a Martial Artist’s greatest fated enemy, why don’t you dare imagine yourself ranking among eternity and pursuing the ultimate of Martial Arts? You... are still inferior!" Xiao Yishan said.
Lin Huang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, speechless.
He wondered, "I’m already aiming to be number one in the world, and I’m still feeling inferior?
"Pursuing the Ultimate of Martial Arts, taking a seat among the eternal gods. I only said that for fun when I took you as my master. Doesn’t everyone say things like that during the ceremony? And you actually took it seriously!
"Your ambitions are way too wild!
"Don’t I know my own worth?"
"Master, this... we still need to take it one step at a time. Let me just think about becoming number one in the world first, okay?" Lin Huang said with a headache.
"You still haven’t understood the true essence of Martial Arts." Xiao Yishan looked at the somewhat youthful Lin Huang, smiled helplessly, and continued, "Never mind. Having a conviction is always better than having none. Becoming number one in the world will be as difficult as climbing Blade Mountain and crossing a sea of fire for you anyway."
Although Xiao Yishan looked quite helpless, he was actually somewhat gratified in his heart.
For a youth to already possess the word "conviction" was extremely rare. This was something that many Martial Arts powerhouses spent their entire lives trying to comprehend, yet never truly grasped.
He had possessed it once, and he had also given it up.
"Changsheng, if you had this kind of conviction back then, perhaps you would have already reached the peak of Martial Arts, and Dominating the World would have already spread across the lands," Xiao Yishan murmured with a melancholic expression, his eyes slightly moist.
"But it’s fine now. You have a new junior brother. Your Dominating the World, which was submerged within vast seas of Martial Techniques, will eventually be revealed to the world in a world-conquering posture!"
Under the moonlight, Xiao Yishan looked up at the bright moon above and laughed out loud, venting the pent-up frustration in his heart for many years. With his green shirt fluttering and his temples flying in the wind, he looked very much like a peerless powerhouse.
"For the next two days, you will sink into agony, begging for life and unable to die. Wanting to become number one in the world requires more than just conviction!" Xiao Yishan said, looking back. At some unknown point, a cluster of ethereal flames had appeared in his hand.
It seemed ethereal, yet it caused Lin Huang’s soul to thoroughly tremble in horror, even forcing it to prostrate!
Lin Huang looked up at Xiao Yishan’s serious face, then firmly shook his head, turned his back to Xiao Yishan, and sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
Xiao Yishan flicked his finger, and the flames in his palm instantly howled toward Lin Huang...