A thousand steps may seem trifling, yet they cover a thousand miles. A thousand streams may appear small, yet they converge into a vast ocean.
Su Yan's lives across a thousand incarnations were varied. Some had been fishermen following their parents to haul nets. Others were tailors in bustling towns, stitching garments for coin. Some were schoolmasters teaching children in cramped classrooms; still others were butchers, blacksmiths, or masons. There were even sons of wealthy families, and the occasional figure born into the households of lords and generals.
But every last one had been a mortal.
They were the watched and the controlled. Once they reached a certain age, their memories were wiped, their cultivation sealed away, and a fresh set of implanted recollections replaced them. Then they were cast into a strange place to begin a new life.
When these seals were shattered, the accumulated achievements of a thousand fleshly incarnations flooded in at once. When myriad small streams of weak power converged, they became a raging torrent.
When Su Yan gathered together the indomitable will forged across a thousand lifetimes, the result resembled a butterfly bursting from its cocoon.
The stone idol of Heaven's Will stared in shock. Its runes of Heavenly Dao spun and shifted, coalescing into a long blade that slashed down toward Su Yan.
Bolstered by the power of Heavenly Dao, even a mediocre strike became irresistible. And this was no ordinary blade—the Blade of Heaven's Will.
"A thousand incarnations of street vendors and beggars, bundled together, are still mortals—still puppets under Heaven's Will!" It brought the blade down. Under its light, all living things were equal.
Even a Great Qi-Refining Master at the Ascension stage was nothing more than an ant beneath this blade!
Su Yan braced his feet against the ground. The earth caved in with a tremendous rumble, carving a crater dozens of acres wide. His palm shot upward to meet the Blade of Heaven's Will. This was the Form of Subverting the Earth from the Eight Forms of the War God. Its power rose from the deep earth, threaded through his entire body, and exploded outward through his right palm at the instant of contact!
The instant his palm force met the Blade of Heaven's Will, it detonated. The stone idol watched its Heavenly Dao runes shatter within the blade's arc. The blade itself cracked, then burst into fragments.
Su Yan twisted, half his body spinning. The Form of Subverting the Earth flowed seamlessly into the Form of Overturning the Sea, and his right palm descended as though it held the boundless ocean aloft—then slammed it down upon the sky.
The stone idol raised both arms. Heavenly Dao runes swirled around its limbs. "You worm," it sneered. "I should have thrown you into a cesspit—"
A colossal wave crashed downward. The runes around the idol's arms cracked and popped. When its hands met Su Yan's palm print, fractures raced along its forearms.
The next instant, shards flew. Both arms exploded into countless fragments.
Su Yan's qi, blood, and spirit surged in a violent wave, causing the stone idol's mind to reel for a heartbeat. In its eyes, Su Yan's body swelled to monstrous proportions. The fist that hurtled toward it seemed like a Fist of an Immortal King standing beyond the ninth heaven—each knuckle an indestructible divine artifact smashing down upon it!
The Form of Overturning Heaven!
The idol's arms were gone, but its powerful qi and blood erupted from its crown, forming Heavenly Dao runes that wove into a seal to intercept the descending fist.
*Boom!*
Its Heavenly Dao seal shattered under the blow. The fist struck its skull. The head remained intact, but everything below the neck was obliterated.
Su Yan curled his fingers, gripped the stone head, and lifted it free.
The idol chattered on. "Su Yan, this is only one of my avatars. Wounding it means nothing to me. Do you know what I will do to you? I will scrub your memories and cast you into a brand-new world."
Su Yan walked over and set the head atop the mountain of bones the idol had been building.
The stone idol grinned. "I am nothing like those fools Beichenzi, Yutang, or Fu Yi. I will place you somewhere comfortable. The moment you awaken, a little chime will sound, and my Will System will appear before you. Complete its tasks and you will receive rewards. Simple tasks, of course—though the bonuses will carry a touch of my particular sense of humor."
Su Yan straightened the head and glanced at his bloodied fist.
The idol went on. "Finish my quests and I will reward you. Techniques. Artifacts. Talent. Insight. Even beautiful companions—or the resurrection of your teammates!"
"I will make you grow stronger, little by little, sinking deeper into the tasks I set. But do you think I do this for your sake? I offer you the easiest pleasures, making you seem powerful while robbing you of the heart of a true warrior, the drive to improve, the refusal to accept mediocrity!"
Its voice grew excited. "You will be like a chicken I have fattened—come running at the sound of a gong, pecking at grain. Until one day you hear the gong and rush over, only to find not a single seed but a butcher's knife. You will spend every waking moment scheming to wring benefits from me, never honing your techniques or your Dao heart, never seeking the truth of the Great Dao. A thousand lifetimes of foundation—destroyed in an instant. You will never become a true powerhouse—"
Su Yan drew a deep breath, stepped back, aimed, and drove a fist into the head.
*Boom!*
The idol's monologue was cut short as its head burst apart.
Su Yan brushed his hands together, walked forward, and spoke with quiet resolve. "Today I destroyed one of your avatars. One day I will storm the Heavenly Dao World and slay your true self."
"Su Yan!"
Thunder boomed overhead. Dark clouds coalesced into an enormous face, pressing down upon the ancient battlefield. An unimaginable pressure descended, stealing the breath from his lungs.
"You will regret this humiliation!" the face rumbled. Its brow flashed, and the Blade of Heaven's Will fell from the sky, splitting the earth and carving a vast chasm.
"Regret?" Su Yan said. "You are not worthy."
He dodged the blade, tapped his toes against its flat, and launched himself toward the colossal face overhead. His fist roared forward.
Heaven and earth shuddered. Ten thousand laws resounded as one. This was the eighth and final form of the Eight Forms of the War God—the Form of Returning to the Dao!
With this punch came a surge of exhilaration, as if the Great Dao of heaven and earth was entirely within his grasp.
*BOOM!*
The punch tore a gaping hole in the very sky.
Su Yan dimly sensed that his fist had pierced into another world and struck something vast.
*The Form of Returning to the Dao—can it truly shatter the void?* he wondered. *What manner of existence was the one who created these Eight Forms? After achieving a Primordial Spirit, he left the Far Shore. Surely a being of that magnitude could find a way out of this place?*
He fell from the air, then his martial qi surged, catching him. He stood suspended against the wind, robes snapping like banners.
He looked up. The sky was calm—yet the oppression had only deepened.
A moment later, the sky tore open. A titanic hand reached through from beyond the heavens, and the enraged voice of the Supreme God of Heaven's Will boomed from another world, shaking the battlefield.
"Su Yan, you have enraged me—"
The sentence was cut short. A white-haired Primordial Spirit shot upward from below and pierced straight through the hand. Flesh and shattered bone erupted from the back of the hand; blood streamed and sprayed in every direction.
The hand was driven back into the Heavenly Dao World. The sky sealed itself shut, and silence returned.
Su Yan stared. The white-haired Primordial Spirit gradually dimmed, its flowing white locks settling as it descended. He looked down and recognized the place—a final torch-like stronghold of a martial master, where a pocket of safety persisted.
He descended and walked toward it.
This time, by shattering the seals and calling upon his thousand incarnations' fleshly bodies, Su Yan's physical form had never been stronger. And as his martial arts advanced, his bodily power only continued to grow.
He circulated the Grand Unity Daoyin Art repeatedly, refining his qi and blood, condensing his spirit, elevating his martial cultivation ever higher.
Still, he was the weakest within the Far Shore. Most practitioners there had reached the second Gate-Breaking stage, having opened the Spinal Gate. Only Martial Heavenly Sovereign had reached the Tower-Scaling stage and manifested a Primordial Spirit.
Su Yan remained at the Dual Refinement stage, having forged his golden core. He would need to temper his qi, blood, and spirit step by step, bringing his martial cultivation in line with his overall level, so that one day he might forge a Martial Golden Core.
"A Martial Golden Core is tempered from qi and blood and spirit, different from a Qi-Refiner's golden core, which is formed from divine sense and vital energy," he mused. "If I continue cultivating this way, could I eventually develop dual golden cores?"
He considered the question briefly, then shook his head.
No.
If he continued tempering his qi, blood, and spirit through martial arts, his spirit would evolve into a Martial Divine Sense, and his qi and blood would flow into his existing golden core. In the end, his single core would encompass both martial and qi-refining properties. There would be no second core.
"Dual golden cores would require two souls to evolve into two Primordial Spirits. A human body possesses only one soul. Dual souls are impossible; dual Primordial Spirits likewise."
Suddenly, Su Yan noticed something. The monument of qi and blood formed by the fallen martial master's corpse had begun to move!
He quickened his pace and pursued it.
His cultivation was only at the Dual Refinement stage, but his abilities were in no way inferior to those of Yuandao and the others at the second Gate-Breaking stage. Even if danger appeared, he could handle it.
Unless, of course, he encountered something as terrifying as a Corpse Abyss. In that case, he would have to flee.
Fortunately, the Art of Utter Ease and Freedom granted him extraordinary speed. Even if danger struck, he could evade.
Before long, Su Yan caught up with the drifting mass of qi and blood.
Beneath it, white-haired old men struck out in every direction, purifying the evil spirits and demon-things they encountered along the way.
"It really is the Martial Heavenly Sovereign."
He walked forward and approached the old man.
The white-haired figures radiating outward were manifestations of the Martial Heavenly Sovereign's martial spirit.
It had been this white-haired Primordial Spirit that had pierced the Supreme God of Heaven's Will's hand, driving it back into the Heavenly Dao World!
Though his cultivation had reached only the Tower-Scaling stage—the level where one manifests a Primordial Spirit—his martial mastery was profound beyond measure. He was the only one in the Far Shore to rival the original creator of the Eight Forms.
Su Yan bowed. "I thank the Martial Heavenly Sovereign for your aid."
The old man returned the bow. "A trifle—no need for thanks. That Supreme God of Heaven's Will was shameless. You smashed his stone avatar, so he sent a heavenly apparition. You shattered that, so he sent his true self. I could not stand by and watch, so I intervened."
Su Yan was deeply impressed. He walked alongside the old man. "Sovereign, do you recognize the Heavenly Dao runes on the Supreme God's body?"
The Martial Heavenly Sovereign shook his head.
Su Yan was startled. "Without recognizing the Heavenly Dao runes, you cannot identify their weaknesses. How did you manage to pierce the Supreme God's palm?"
The old man pushed back his sleeve, revealing arms rippling with muscle, great and small. "As long as your power is great enough, you can shatter anything and pierce anything."
He lowered his sleeve, looking composed and scholarly once more. "Besides, not recognizing Heavenly Dao runes does not mean one cannot find their weaknesses. I have cultivated a Martial Heavenly Eye. Though I cannot read the runes, the moment he strikes, I see every flaw. I simply target the weakest point and break it with a single fist."
Su Yan was full of admiration. He asked the Sovereign to teach him about the Martial Heavenly Eye.
"Once you achieve a Primordial Spirit, the eye develops naturally," the Sovereign replied. "There is no special technique involved."
"Why did the Martial Heavenly Sovereign leave the Far Shore and come here alone?" Su Yan asked.
The old man gazed ahead. "My lifespan is nearly spent. Rather than waiting for death within the Far Shore, I chose to follow the road the ancients walked—to go further still."
He smiled. "This road was forged by the creator of the Eight Forms. Where he went remains a mystery. While I can still walk, I wish to scout the path for those who come after. The fallen masters you encountered—they, too, were near death when they set out along this road, becoming milestones for future travelers."
Su Yan was silent for a time. "Did you not say farewell to Zhai Wuxian and the others?"
"I did not wish to add the sorrow of parting," the old man said. "Better to leave in silence. When they discover I am gone, they will feel regret—but not grief that might disturb their Dao hearts."
His lifespan had truly reached its limit. When Su Yan had first entered the Far Shore, the old man had said he had only a few months left.
He had held on for over two months—long enough for Su Yan to complete his martial studies and enter the ancient battlefield for tempering. Only then did he depart, partly to keep watch over Su Yan along the way.
The Martial Heavenly Sovereign moved with effortless grace, white robes billowing, traversing this hellish battlefield as though walking through an empty field. His martial power was too immense—even old, even at the end of his days, there was no trace of decline.
He rarely struck. His spiritual manifestations alone could annihilate the dark demon-things along the path.
But when the Martial Heavenly Sovereign did strike, it was terrifying.
Su Yan watched the old man flatten a Corpse Abyss born from the flesh of ancient gods with a single fist. A realm of specters conjured from divine remnants was pierced by his palm. Every dark thought melted like ice beneath his martial will.
The old man showed no fatigue. His qi and blood surged like a boundless ocean, seemingly inexhaustible.
"Heavenly Dao runes!"
The Martial Heavenly Sovereign shattered the obsession in a withered skull's mind with a martial seal. Su Yan stepped forward to examine it and froze. The bones bore Heavenly Dao rune markings.
"So these are Heavenly Dao runes?"
The Martial Heavenly Sovereign leaned in, curious. "We have smashed many such marked creatures over the years."
Su Yan grew uneasy. Was the martial path truly this powerful—capable of destroying even Heavenly Dao marks?
He straightened and surveyed the ancient battlefield. "What happened in this place? Why are so many divine beings buried here?"
"Divine beings?" the Sovereign said, puzzled. "They are so weak."
Su Yan followed the Sovereign deeper. The path grew more treacherous. The might of Heavenly Dao grew stronger.
He looked up. Ahead, a corpse hung impaled on a sheer cliff, pierced through the chest by a broken blade and pinned to the rock. Strange—the skeletons of other gods had long since decayed to bare bone. This body, however, still bore flesh and blood.
The Martial Heavenly Sovereign's expression turned grave. He seized Su Yan's wrist. "This one is powerful."
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