Chapter 557 - Complete! Qi Embodiment Stage 100%

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Its palm pressed against charred bark.

Buzz!

The Golem's life magnetic field activated in an instant, surging outward in all directions. It resembled a combat artist's aura, yet reached even deeper. Concentric ripples immediately appeared in the surrounding air. In his Golem state, Cassius could manipulate his own life magnetic field at will.

Swoosh, swoosh...

Air influenced by the field pooled like water, gradually solidifying before the demonic colossus into what looked like the fanged maw of a fierce monster.

With a

crunch,

it bit into the trunk.

Boom!!!

The air erupted in a silent blast, whipping up a gale in an instant. The terrifying life magnetic field of an Ultimate Dark Form soared sky-high from the corpse of the recently fallen Pale Origin.

For a moment, it seemed a vast ethereal tree stood at the ashy land's center, holding up the firmament. That dreadful Qi expansion caused ring after ring of shock waves to swell outward.

Creatures of ultimate life essence, even in death, left remains capable of frightening beasts to death. The eerie waves it emitted could even ensnare beings with weak life magnetic fields. Thus, they inspired fanatical worship and were revered as gods.

Humans were the most conspicuous of such devotees. Certain ancient sects might have been founded in this very way. Of course, others might feel awe or fear.

Cassius felt none of that; he only sensed delicacy, as every cell trembled with excitement. In essence, his Golem Covert Martial Arts had already undergone two blurred evolutions. One was through the Moon God's flesh, the other through the Blood of Immortality.

These two were like forbidden fruits that, once devoured, completely unlocked the Golem Covert Martial Arts. From a top predator not unlike other Ultimate Dark Forms, it had gradually transformed into the decomposer of the food chain. Since it was a decomposer, nothing lay beyond its power to digest. Even the greatest predator, once fallen, could only become nutrients.

Pale Origin's corpse differed little from Moon God's flesh or Blood of Immortality, save that its life magnetic field was far vaster. It would take time to dismember it, like peeling a crab's shell.

Crack, crack, crack, crack...

The Golem's life magnetic field struck repeatedly, trying to open a breach. At last, after nearly a hundred clashes, a flaw appeared. The illusory giant maw bit down, and flesh like crab meat oozed out.

Cassius suddenly shuddered, his eyes glazing over. The quantity was too large and the quality too high. The surge of life vibration energy pouring in threatened to drown him entirely. No, pouring was the wrong word. It wrapped and immersed him.

Pale Origin's life vibration energy cascaded like a waterfall as it wildly scoured Cassius’s insides.

Swoosh... swoosh...

A continuous auditory hallucination rang beside his ears. He felt as though he was soaking in a hot spring, warmth suffusing his whole body. Hot liquid burrowed straight into his pores, tingling just right and bringing incomparable comfort. Every cell throughout him cheered incessantly.

The Golem phantom wrought from Qi breathed much more heavily.

"Continue!" Cassius's eyes sparkled as he drove the Golem to throw a fist.

Bang!

More defenses shattered and more fissures were split open. Life vibration energy surged madly from every crack and swarmed toward Cassius, forming a twisted vortex of air.

Even an ordinary onlooker could see something being absorbed into his body.

"I have never felt such comfort...

ha...

" Cassius exhaled a long breath of hot air.

The Golem's life magnetic field expanded inch by inch, its phantom maw gnawing on Pale Origin's trunk like munching on sugarcane. Wherever it passed, charred bark split and white wood shards flew out. The life magnetic field exuded by Pale Origin's corpse weakened rapidly.

Rumble...

Life vibration energy turned into a tidal flood that squeezed into Cassius's body. His blood vessels ached, and his bones and joints crackled. After an unknown span of time, the tingling gradually faded. In its place came a satiated fullness. His body felt slightly swollen and he even felt an urge to belch.

"I'm stuffed..." Cassius adjusted his breathing as the Golem strode back and dissolved into black Qi that re-entered his body.

The huge charred remains on the ground, bereft of their life magnetic field, suddenly collapsed and shrank. They dried up, dwindling several times more. Even so, what remained was still a colossal object.

Turning back, Cassius looked at White Bird Holy Fist and Flaming Sun Holy Fist. He found both men watching him as well, likely having noticed the peculiarity of the Golem Covert Martial Arts.

But it seemed neither White Bird nor Flaming Sun intended to ask. Each practitioner within the Covert Martial Arts Realm had his own lineage, path, and secrets. There was no need to dig to the root. If the other wished to reveal, well and good. If not, there was no need to press.

Such was mutual respect among Covert Martial Arts Practitioners. Unless their bonds were deep, they would not speak lightly. Of course, with the eyes of White Bird and Flaming Sun, they could not help but see that the core of the Golem Covert Martial Arts was Qi!

So long as one cultivated human Qi, it mattered not even if one imitated the demon among demons or an Ultimate Dark Form. To Holy Fists, the outer skin meant little; what mattered were the inner bones, flesh, organs, and Will.

There had once been Holy Fists who had forged unorthodox Covert Martial arts mimicking Ultimate Dark Forms with the idea of fighting foe with foe, poison with poison. The effect proved decent, though highly limited. No one but the creator could cultivate it.

Cassius's case was similar, except his Golem Covert Martial Arts was a far more thorough and comprehensive imitation. It was as if he truly became an Ultimate Dark Form.

"What a unique Covert Martial Arts. Perhaps when you break through to Holy Fist and battle an Ultimate Dark Form, it will work wonders." White Bird Holy Fist commented with a smile. The white brows above his eyes drooped by the corners.

"Of course." Cassius smiled confidently, eyes narrowing slightly. "And that day is not far off."

His gaze fell on the progress bar in the upper right.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment Stage 96.8% (Total Stage Three)]

If not now, then when? Cassius always believed that when a good thing was obtained, it should be used at once!

With a single thought, a hot current burst from his body with a roar. It nourished and enveloped his life magnetic field completely, soaking into every cell, muscle, and bone. The trailing digits of the status bar blurred. They were unreadable for a moment as though veiled by something.

Two seconds later...

96.8% → 100%

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment Stage 100.0% (Total Three Stages)]

No decimals ticked; it simply forced itself to perfection.

"

Ha...

" Cassius felt heat streaming from every pore, his body nearly floating. It was as if the air bore him aloft, pulling him toward the clouds. He was as happy as the clear wind or bright moon.

The technique progress had leaped by 3.2%, yet only a portion of the life vibration energy within him had been used. Much more lay hidden in the depths of his body.

When Cassius was at 94.7% of the Qi Embodiment Stage, devouring the Sun Totem's extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level life vibration energy had only raised the progress by 2.1%. The final 3.2% was unquestionably harder to obtain.

Converted, it equaled at least two portions of extreme Cataclysmic Spirit level life vibration energy. Thus, one could roughly gauge how immense Pale Origin's life vibration energy was.

If I had received such energy when I first became a combat artist, I might have risen to extreme combat artist realm in one go.

He mused inwardly.

Of course, that was unrealistic. The Golem Covert Martial Arts could never have absorbed this energy so easily without those two prior evolutions. After all, this was the corpse of an Ultimate Dark Form.

"Oh? Your Qi has grown stronger..." Flaming Sun Holy Fist sensed keenly and spoke.

"Perfected," White Bird Holy Fist confirmed.

"Yes. My Qi is perfected. I can vaguely feel the barrier to break through. It is very near, seemingly within reach..." Cassius had nothing to hide and admitted it at once.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"For you, it truly is within reach..." White Bird Holy Fist clasped his hands behind him and spoke slowly. "You cultivate the Dominator Fist. The Heart of the Dominator Fist is the hardest hurdle to break through. However, you have already overcome it. All that remains to hinder you is Qi tempering and fully opening the Southern Dipper acupoints. Of course, you could break straight into the Holy Fist realm after tempering Qi. But if you did, the Southern Dipper Force would not intertwine with your Qi to share infinite growth and expansion..."

"I assume an ambitious man like you would never choose that path. After all, the road ahead is clear and obstacles have been removed. Why not spend a bit more time and gain utterly different combat power?" White Bird Holy Fist looked at Flaming Sun Holy Fist. "Let Flaming Sun assist you with the hurdle of Qi tempering. His Inextinguishable Flame is the finest tempering fire, and coupled with the best Pale Seed formed from Pale Origin's heartwood, your second shackle on the road to Dominator Fist can also be removed today."

White Bird Holy Fist smiled at Cassius, "I truly envy you a little. When I underwent triple Qi tempering, it took me five full years, which was considered short. Some Holy Fists spent more than a decade, even nearly twenty years, grinding it out step by step to succeed..."

Flaming Sun Holy Fist spoke, "Cassius, I'll assist you with the first Qi tempering in a moment, then force a wisp of Inextinguishable Flame into the Pale Seed.

After that, when you train your tempered Qi to its bottleneck again, you can trigger the Inextinguishable Flame within the Pale Seed to conduct the second tempering yourself, and so on. That way, you save on tempering time. You will only need a year or two to refine your Qi anew..."

But Cassius shook his head. "Senior Flaming Sun, no need for such trouble. We can finish the triple Qi tempering today."

He revealed a bit of the Golem Covert Martial Arts' effect. "I have a way to raise my Qi to the bottleneck limit in a short time. We don’t need to wait for a year or two..."

"Oh?" White Bird Holy Fist raised a brow slightly, and the flame figure of Flaming Sun rippled gently.

Both were men of vast experience; obviously they guessed something. Cassius's earlier aura surge was likely related to this as well.

Flaming Sun did not mind; both approaches consumed similar effort. "Since you have a method, then I'll handle the entire triple tempering today. It saves me the trouble of inserting Inextinguishable Flame into the Pale Seed. It's a delicate task that might scorch it if mishandled."

Indeed, the first method was even more cumbersome.

"In that case, let us begin." Flaming Sun said.

White Bird Holy Fist glanced at them both and said, "Flaming Sun, once you're done, it's my turn. I'll take you to the World of Calamity then return to the Black Abyssal Sea."

Flaming Sun nodded, subconsciously planning to quicken his actions. After all, White Bird's true body in the World of Calamity was likely still enduring the ever-deepening Moon God curse and Dead Abyss seal.

Though his strength was incredibly formidable, it must still be excruciating.

"Let's go."

The three immediately walked toward Pale Origin's remains, their figures gradually disappearing into its depths. The Covert Martial Arts crowd watching nearby could no longer see even blurred silhouettes.

The combat artists felt a wave of disappointment. They had hoped to glimpse those two Holy Fists for a few moments more. At that moment, more than seventy combat artists of the Covert Martial Arts camp, regardless of age or gender, lined up strictly like schoolchildren, crowding shoulder to shoulder.

Some even stood on tiptoe, craning their necks just to catch another glimpse of the Holy Fists. This was a fervor akin to fans meeting their idols. Even the bent, shrimp-like elders with white hair and cloudy eyes displayed a medical miracle. Their eyes shone, backs straightened, and spirits blossomed.

They dared not approach, desecrate, or disturb those two Holy Fists. They could only wait outside like eager students yearning for the teacher's instruction. The reason lay not only in the strength of the two Holy Fists but in reverence for the Holy Fist realm itself.

At the same time, it was respect for themselves and their own paths. Only those devout to themselves could be devout to martial arts.

Deep within Pale Origin's remains, three figures gradually halted and sat cross-legged.

Cassius sat at the center with Flaming Sun Holy Fist before him, while White Bird Holy Fist stood guard from the side. He guarded against disturbances and unexpected events.

"Let's begin, Senior Flaming Sun. Do not worry whether my body can bear it. Unleash the full power of the Inextinguishable Flame. Only then will the effect be optimal..." Cassius spoke while slowly closing his eyes.

"You brat, do you know how much pain my Inextinguishable Flame causes? Even with the Pale Seed..." Flaming Sun shook his head. "Very well. Since you wish to experience it, have it your way."