In the Ancient Nebula Road, the older a sect or clan, the more importance they placed on refining and perfecting the True Martial Stage.

The cultivation of the great dao began with the True Martial Stage!

Anyone with a bit of talent could enter the door of the True Martial Stage, but not just anyone could establish a solid foundation within it.

The stronger one’s foundation, the further one would progress in the future.

The intense fight between Lin Xun and Fu Zhanzhen was an extraordinary duel of the True Martial Stage that had never been seen before. Every move and strike they exchanged radiated immense power, their wills were as unyielding as iron and as immovable as mountains, far beyond the imagination of the world.

However, upon careful observation, it was clear that, from start to finish, Lin Xun had the upper hand over Fu Zhanzhen.

Several minutes later.

Bang!

With an earth-shaking rumble, Lin Xun swung his fist, delivering an unstoppable blow that ended Fu Zhanzhen’s life.

Fu Zhanzhen’s body burst into a shower of light before being swallowed by the turbulent waves that seemed like a boundless river of time.

Lin Xun exhaled, his eyes clear and focussed.

The battle was not exceptionally challenging, but it made him realize that, since ancient times, there had been others like him who had reached the pinnacle of the Supreme True Martial Stage.

Such as Fu Zhanzhen.

If one were to compare, Fu Zhanzhen’s character, will, and strength were not inferior to Lin Xun’s in any way.

The only difference between them was that they pursued different Supreme Paths!

To rebuild his True Martial Stage cultivation, Lin Xun tempered himself using the Great Dao Furnace Art, drawing upon dozens of supreme dao scriptures as references. After three months of effort, he had finally tempered himself to the first layer of the True Martial Stage, Qi Drawing, to the pinnacle of perfection.

At this point, his True Martial cultivation had already transcended the conventional meaning of the Supreme Path.

However, whether or not it was truly unprecedented remained to be verified.

Shua!

The waves surged, and another figure emerged. It was a young girl in tight black attire. Her flawlessly sculpted figure, long hair tied back in a ponytail, cold demeanor, and razor-sharp gaze were striking.

Her every step exuded a bloodthirsty fighting intent, intensifying her fearsome presence.

Chi Ying!

She had attained the pinnacle of the Supreme True Martial Stage, and her strength was ranked eighth in the history of the True Martial Stage. She had reached the pinnacle of this stage at the age of eighteen...

She was another legend in the True Martial Stage, and she was a woman!

Shua!

The moment she appeared, she launched an attack. With a flash, a black blade slashed through the air, radiating unparalleled sharpness and power.

Lin Xun didn’t evade or defend but instead met the attack head-on.

His body was like a raging furnace, undergoing nirvana within the True Martial Stage and unleashing its full power on the Supreme Path.

Chi Ying was incredibly strong, her attacks as swift and fierce as lighting. A mere motion of her hand sent waves of sword qi tearing through the surroundings.

The most terrifying thing was her resilience. Even when Lin Xun seemed to have the upper hand, she always managed to hold on during those critical moments.

In the end, she was defeated, suppressed by Lin Xun’s overwhelming strength. Her body exploded.

Whoosh!

As the rain of light scattered, Chi Ying vanished into the boundless river of time.

At the same time, Lin Xun noticed his depleted strength being restored as a wave of obscure law power washed over him.

Realization struck him.

If I lose, maybe all this will be over.

But every time I win, a stronger opponent will appear!

As he expected, before long, another figure appeared from the surging waves...

……

In the vicinity of True Martial Mountain.

With the True Martial Contest over, cultivators began to leave one by one, and the area around the mountain became increasingly empty and quiet.

Qian Yuliu was still waiting.

Two days had passed, but Lin Xun had yet to return from True Martial Mountain.

“In every previous True Martial Contest, the champion who entered True Martial Mountain always returned within a day. But he…”

Qian Yuliu felt a trace of melancholy. “Did he really leave?”

She knew that Lin Xun was a reincarnator and he would leave this world one day.

“Third Princess, we should leave.” A group of Great Qian cultivators came over.

“You guys go first. I want to wait a little longer.” Qian Yuliu decided after taking a deep breath.

Very quickly another three days passed.

The area around True Martial Mountain was almost deserted. Apart from some experts who came to admire True Martial Mountain, Qian Yuliu was the only one still waiting.

True Martial Mountain was shrouded in obscure law power, with time flowing like an endless, surging river.

Boom!

Lin Xun’s figure flickered, and with a palm strike, he crushed a purple-clad youth. The youth disintegrated into a rain of light and was carried away by the rushing waves.

This was the eighth opponent Lin Xun had defeated!

In the past few days, he had defeated one legendary figure after another, each of whom had left their mark on history.

From Fu Zhanzhen, Chi Ying, to the seventh-ranked Huai Nanzi, the sixth-ranked Gu Daohun and the fifth-ranked Zhuo Jianchen...

There was also Ao Xinghai who ranked fourth and Wang Wuji who ranked third.

Every one of them had perfected their combat abilities to the ultimate level in the True Martial Stage and each was a heaven-defying genius, impossible to measure by ordinary standards.

In particular, when Lin Xun faced opponents ranked fifth and higher, he inevitably endured injuries, and victory became increasingly difficult.

The handsome purple-clad youth who he just defeated was called Qi Ning.

He was a brilliant legend at the pinnacle of the Supreme True Martial Stage, ranked second in all of history.

A peerless character who managed to seriously wound Lin Xun.

A name that sounded familiar to Lin Xun.

After a little thought, a memory from the past came to his mind.

Back when he was in Kunlun Dominion, he underwent the Saint Dao Ritual and transformed into a Sage on the Fengshan Platform, and the Fengshan Dao Stele belonging to him reached thousands of feet into the sky!

This represented the height achieved through the Fengshan Trail.

And in the past countless years, only three people’s Fengshan Dao Stele had reached a height of nine thousand feet.

The first was Xuan Shangchen, also known as Great Emperor Xuanyan.

The second was Feng Tianzi, who came from Mythical Huang Dao Court, and was also known as Mythic Emperor Nine Enlightenment.

The third was a mysterious man called Qi Ning from sixty thousand years ago. No one knew about his origin or where he went afterwards.

At that time, Lin Xun made sure to remember the name Qi Ning.

Now, seeing the handsome purple-clad youth on True Martial Mountain, Lin Xun suddenly thought of the Qi Ning who underwent the grand ritual in Kunlun Dominion.

Moreover, he was sure that the two were the same person!

“Interesting, for someone to actually infuse their great dao power into the origin laws of Ancient Nebula Road, their strength must be beyond comprehension...” Lin Xun muttered ruminatively.

Nirvana of Transcendence was transformed from the origin laws of Ancient Nebula Road, and this cycle of reincarnation was happening within the Nirvana of Transcendence.

This inference struck Lin Xun with the realization that, throughout the ages, the heaven-defying geniuses who had shone brilliantly were likely remembered in the pages of history.

They were as bright and dazzling as stars, representing the pinnacle of cultivation.

While he was in deep thought, another figure emerged in the depths of the river of time. It was a youngster with an exceptionally plain and ordinary appearance.

Wearing a straw hat and sandals, he had a dark complexion, but his eyes were strikingly clear, like a pool of spring water.

When Lin Xun caught sight of the youngster, he froze.

“Senior Brother Pu Zhen?!” he gasped.

Although the guy was a teenager, he looked exactly like Senior Brother Pu Zhen!

In a trance, Lin Xun seemed to recall the time when he first met Pu Zhen.[1]

“Junior Brother, my birth name is too vulgar, so after I joined our sect, Master gave me the Dharma name Pu Zhen, and I’m his eleventh disciple.

“Before I entered the sect, I was indeed a crop farmer who didn’t know a single word. Only after I was enlightened by Master did I embark on the path of cultivation.

“I’m not like Ninth Senior Brother Ge Yupu, he’s really stupid like a block of wood, while I’m just too honest to tell lies. But Master said that all beings are born different, and that honest people also have their advantages.

“I’m best at farming. After joining our sect, I helped grow and care for all sorts of aeth articles.”

Those scenes played in his mind as though they had happened just yesterday.

He looked again at the young man in the distance. His appearance and even his demeanor were strikingly similar to Senior Brother Pu Zhen, as if they were made from the same mold!

Sure enough, a piece of information surfaced in Lin Xun’s mind.

Pu Zhen!

His cultivation was at the pinnacle of the Supreme True Martial Stage, and he was ranked first in the True Martial Stage in all of history!

Lin Xun couldn’t help but inhale sharply. He never thought that his Senior Brother Pu Zhen, an honest and straightforward man who preferred to let his fists do the talking, was actually the number one True Martial cultivator throughout the ages!

No one had mentioned it to him before.

Immediately, Lin Xun remembered something. In the epic chess game, Senior Brother Pu Zhen was referred to as Emperor Zhenwu.

Zhen was one of the characters in his name.

Wu symbolized the might of his fist.

The word Zhenwu, paired with the title of Emperor, truly embodied its meaning!

But at this moment, Lin Xun realized that Senior Brother Pu Zhen’s title of Emperor Zhenwu [2] actually had another meaning!

In all of history, he was the strongest in the True Martial Stage.

As soon as the young Pu Zhen appeared, he sprang into attack.

Boom!

It was a plain and straightforward punch, yet it carried the mysterious charm of the simplicity of the great dao.

Caught off guard, Lin Xun was knocked back by the punch, his blood and qi surging chaotically within him. Yet, as he felt the force behind this punch, his blood seemed to ignite with excitement.

He drew a deep breath and burst into a hearty laughter, “Senior Brother Pu Zhen, since we’ve met here, let’s settle who is number one in this cultivation stage!”

As he spoke, he charged forward and punched, just as profoundly simple yet embodying a state of purity forged through endless trials and experience.

Boom!

The brothers clashed fiercely, exchanging punches and colliding repeatedly in an unparalleled battle above the river of time.

The battle was unprecedented.

Within moments, Lin Xun was left covered in wounds, qi tumbling within him, and blood trickling down his lips.

Similarly, the young Pu Zhen was staggering back with waves of light rippling turbulently around him. After all, he was not a body of flesh and blood, but a manifestation of great dao power. His injuries were unlike those of a normal person.

“Again!”

With a thunderous roar, Lin Xun cast aside all distractions. His body and mind were consumed by a blazing fighting intent as he charged forward, radiating confidence and superiority.

Just as he had said to his second senior brother Zhong Qiu a while ago, a disciple did not necessarily have to be inferior to his master.

Junior brothers also did not necessarily have to be inferior to senior brothers!

1. See chapter 1842 ☜

2. Zhenwu means True Martial ☜