Chapter 69.1: Breaking Through the Profound Gate of Life and Death; Ascending to the Divine Strength Realm! (I)

Both

Layered Peaks Divine Strength Art

and

Raging Waves Divine Strength Art

provided the same instructions for crossing the Profound Gate of Life and Death: steady your mind and charge straight through. It seemed straightforward, but the true challenge lay in sensing the gate in the first place. Without sensing it, a martial artist would have nowhere to begin their breakthrough.

As far as Lu Changsheng was concerned, he had already sensed the gate once before. Now as it surfaced again in his mind, shimmering like a mirage, wavering between reality and illusion, he did not hesitate. He focused his mind and dashed straight through the gate.

Boom!

A loud, resonant hum echoed in his mind. As his consciousness crossed the Profound Gate of Life and Death, a remarkable clarity washed over him. He could feel that his mind was now closely connected with every bit of flesh and bone, giving him far better control over his own body compared to ordinary people.

Anyone could control their body to a certain degree, such as moving their limbs at will. However, no ordinary person could command every fiber of muscle in their body, stop the flow of their own blood, or nudge their organs from harm's way. Most of the human body simply remained beyond conscious control.

But crossing the Profound Gate of Life and Death would change all of that.

Lu Changsheng's mind was now connected with every inch of his body, allowing him to control his five viscera and six bowels, guiding their movements as if they were simply another limb. If a blade struck his heart, he could shift it away to prevent a fatal injury. If his blood vessel was cut, he could control the flow of his blood to prevent any bleeding. As long as no vital structure was damaged, he would survive.

This was what set a Divine Strength martial artist apart from those in the Body Tempering Realm.

So this is what it really means to cross the Profound Gate of Life and Death... As their mind and flesh become on, the martial artist gains complete command over the body. Even if two martial artists possess identical strength and the same physical abilities, the one who has crossed this gate will always hold an overwhelming advantage.

The realization had fully settled into his heart. The ability to control every part of the body was impressive enough, but that was merely an extra benefit of stepping into this realm. The real essence of this realm lay in its name: Divine Strength.

"I can feel it... Divine strength!" Lu Changsheng suddenly exclaimed, feeling a fierce power surge through him as his blood renewed itself and his marrow transformed.

This was the emergence of divine strength. Once a martial artist crossed the Profound Gate of Life and Death, the body would begin its own marrow transformation and blood replacement, steadily enhancing physical strength.

Lu Changsheng came to a sudden realization.

I have already undergone marrow transformation and blood replacement once, so I already possessed divine strength to some extent. But now that I have stepped into the Divine Strength Realm, the process is happening again for a second time. That means once this second transformation finishes, I will truly stand within the Divine Strength Realm.

The understanding that followed like a lantern flame catching light.

The Dao of martial arts truly only begins at the Divine Strength Realm. From here onward, the wonders of the Dao of martial arts will finally reveal themselves to me. The Body Tempering Realm was merely just laying a foundation for this.

He now clearly understood the relationship between the Body Tempering Realm and the Divine Strength Realm. The stronger the foundation that was built in the Body Tempering Realm, the easier it would be to break into the Divine Strength Realm.

Although Lu Changsheng's breakthrough looked seamless, the truth was far different. Ordinary martial artists without a solid foundation would not only fail to break through, but their body could be crushed by divine strength in an instant.

Fortunately, Lu Changsheng had already undergone marrow transformation and blood replacement once in the Body Tempering Realm, which allowed him to adapt early to divine strength. Because of that, the divine strength arising within him now caused little strain. What others found incredibly difficult, he had completed within a single hour—a testament to his solid foundation.

Lu Changsheng lifted his hand and threw a punch to test out his strength. The air burst apart with a sharp crack.

Bang!

Satisfied, he settled down and reviewed the Divine Strength Realm structure recorded in the Raging Waves Divine Strength Art.

According to the manual, a martial artist who stepped into the Divine Strength Realm began at the Ten Cauldrons Stage. After that, they could rise to the Hundred Cauldrons Stage and eventually the Thousand Cauldrons Stage. These three levels made up the Divine Strength Realm, representing the stages of divine strength.

Although Lu Changsheng was technically at the Ten Cauldrons Stage, his actual strength was equivalent to being able to lift twenty cauldrons. By undergoing marrow transformation and blood replacement once while still in the Body Tempering Realm, he already had ten cauldrons of strength. Now that he had entered the Divine Strength Realm and experienced the transformation a second time, he had gained another ten cauldrons of strength.

Realm and strength were two separate things. Even if someone possessed ninety cauldrons worth of strength, they would still remain within the Ten Cauldrons Stage. This was why so many martial artists longed to undergo marrow transformation and blood replacement once before breaking into the Divine Strength Realm. A single transformation granted ten cauldrons of strength, which essentially meant doubling your strength outright.

Furthermore, once a martial artist entered the Divine Strength Realm, gaining more strength became significantly more difficult. Rare treasures were required, along with matching secret techniques. Only by cultivating those techniques to Perfection could a martial artist refine the rare treasures to grow stronger.

Each time a rare treasure was refined, it would trigger another marrow transformation and blood replacement and increase strength by ten cauldrons. In a way, it was using the rare treasure to force the body to undergo a new metamorphosis in order to grow stronger.

Lu Changsheng finally understood just how valuable the Celestial Treasure-Refinement secret technique was now. With it, he could gain as much as seventy cauldrons of strength, placing him far above many Divine Strength martial artists who spent their entire lives stuck at the Ten Cauldrons Stage, with only ten cauldrons of strength.

Even if they were lucky enough to obtain a rare treasure, without bringing a matching secret technique to Perfection, there was no way to advance their strength or their realm.

Wait, speaking of secret techniques, I also have the Divine Dragon Transformation.

Lu Changsheng's eyes brightened.

That's another Divine Strength Realm secret technique!

With that thought, he quickly retrieved a stone tablet from a hidden compartment. Etched into its surface were the instructions for the Divine Dragon Transformation.

Lu Changsheng read the text out loud. "The First Transformation enhances the body by thirty percent, the second enhances it by one time, and the third enhances the body by two times!"

Lu Changsheng's eyes widened as he gasped in astonishment. When he first obtained the Divine Dragon Transformation, he did not think much of it because he had not understood what

enhancement

truly meant. But now that he had stepped into the Divine Strength Realm, he finally realized how terrifying this secret technique really was. The Third Transformation of the Divine Dragon Transformation could enhance the body by two times.

With his current strength of twenty cauldrons, enhancing his body by two times would grant an additional forty cauldrons. Added to his original twenty cauldrons, that would give him a total of sixty cauldrons. If he were to reach forty cauldrons one day and then complete the Third Transformation, his strength would instantly surge to one hundred twenty cauldrons.

What an unbelievably powerful secret technique! This would place my combat strength at the Hundred Cauldrons Stage!

Lu Changsheng could barely contain his excitement.

I need to complete the First Transformation now.

He immediately went into it. The Divine Dragon Transformation was a secret technique that only martial artists of the Divine Strength Realm could attempt, and even then, those lacking talent often struggled for years to grasp it.

However, with more than 500 points of Perception, Lu Changsheng found the technique surprisingly manageable. Within just two hours, he had already grasped its core principles.