Master

Beyond that...

Before the countless troops, a great general sat astride a blood-red steed, a halberd in hand, a gleaming silver crown on his head set with a pearl, pheasant tails trailing behind him as they fluttered in the wind. He cut an imposing and majestic figure.

This man was none other than the current king of the barbarian kingdom, the son of the previous barbarian ruler A Yanda—A Kakin!

"Haha! Your Majesty's martial arts surpass the world, unmatched under heaven. At barely over thirty, you've already reached the Legendary Realm, achieving unparalleled martial feats—far surpassing the old king. In today's battle, you will surely capture that wretched Ran Min alive, unify the Central Plains, and be remembered for a thousand generations, sung by billions upon billions of posterity!"

Before the ant-like horde of barbarian soldiers, a burly barbarian general clad in silver armor astride a tall horse flattered A Kakin in the barbarian tongue, his voice both reverent and sycophantic, his eyes burning with fervor.

"Heh! What's a mere Ran Min? My ambitions go far beyond him. Let alone a nobody like Ran Min—even if the strongest figure in Yan history, the founder of Treasure Pearl Temple a thousand years ago, Patriarch Bodhidharma himself, were to rise from the dead, I, A Kakin, wouldn't spare him a glance!"

Hearing the barbarian general's flattery, A Kakin sneered, his face full of disdain. A gleam flashed in his eyes as he swung his halberd. Instantly, a three-foot-long crimson blade-light burst forth, tore through the void, ripped apart endless air like thunder, and struck a boulder over two meters tall ten paces away, shattering it to pieces in an instant.

"Roar! Roar! Roar... Sijada! Sijada!"

Seeing A Kakin's divine might—able to unleash a strike like an angry god from over ten paces away—countless barbarian soldiers were inspired, their morale soaring as they roared in unison.

As for the barbarian general, he was even more awestruck, his face twisting into an exaggerated expression of amazement as he heaped on praise:

"I... this, this—Your Majesty is truly a god descended to earth! This subordinate's eyes were blind; I underestimated you just now. Your Majesty's achievements are far beyond a mere Ran Min or Bodhidharma. In the future, surpassing the peak of martial arts and creating a new realm beyond the Legendary Realm is well within reach!"

"Enough, stop kissing up to me. Go forward and issue the challenge—order Ran Min to come out! My halberd can't wait another moment; it longs to drink that scoundrel's blood!"

Hearing the barbarian general's further flattery, A Kakin raised an eyebrow, a cruel and bloodthirsty look spreading across his face as he urged him on.

Ran Min—a name he would never forget.

For this man seemed born to oppose him. Ever since Ran Min rose to prominence seven or eight years ago, he had been suppressing A Kakin at every turn.

Whether in military strategy, martial arts, schemes, or tactics, Ran Min always managed to edge him out and defeat him.

But now, all was well. Under the pressure Ran Min had placed on him, A Kakin had finally broken through to Great Accomplishment of Internal Qi yesterday, advancing to the Legendary Realm and gaining the upper hand.

At last, at last, he could take his revenge!

A Kakin gazed excitedly at the barbarian general not far away, who was loudly cursing Ran Min in Chinese. Seeing Ran Min endure such abuse yet still dare not come out to fight, A Kakin felt an immense surge of satisfaction.

Meanwhile, atop the walls of Xiongyuan City, hearing the barbarian general's insults, many of the defending officers were flushed red with rage.

"Heavenly King, that damned barbarian down there has been cursing for half an hour now. This general can't take it anymore—please give the order and let me go fight him to the death!"

On the city wall, a burly general wielding a pair of hammers stood beside the even more towering, giant-like Ran Min, bellowing in fury.

"No! That barbarian general down there is a Minor Accomplishment of Internal Qi expert, while you've only just broken through to Internal Qi not long ago. How could you possibly match him?"

Hearing the burly general's words, Ran Min shook his head in rebuttal.

"Then why don't you go yourself, General? With your strength, killing that barbarian dog would be no harder than slaughtering a chicken!"

As soon as Ran Min finished speaking, the hammer-wielding general retorted.

"Alas! Li Jin, you don't understand. I received word last night that A Kakin broke through Internal Qi yesterday and entered the higher Legendary Realm.

This realm is immensely powerful. Though I don't know its mysteries, I've felt its might from my master before—truly inconceivably strong, far beyond my current self! Right now, A Kakin has that barbarian cursing simply to lure me out of the city and kill me. If I can't bear the insults and charge out, I'll be falling right into his trap."

Ran Min sighed and shook his head in explanation. His towering frame carried an indescribable bitterness and helplessness, a sense of a hero at his twilight, a beauty with graying hair—a melancholy of decline.

Without seeing the Legendary Realm, one cannot comprehend its power!

Though the Legendary Realm was unseen in this world—aside from Patriarch Bodhidharma a thousand years ago, who was universally acknowledged to have broken through to it, no one in the following millennium, among countless prodigies across the river of time, had achieved such a feat—

Yet Ran Min himself had been fortunate enough to witness such an existence in action.

Ten years ago, he had just broken through to Great Accomplishment of Internal Qi, reaching the true peak of Internal Qi (A Yanda's level). He had planned to return to Qinghe City to tell his master, hoping to bring him joy, and also to spar with him to see just what kind of existence his unfathomable master truly was.

But in that bout, known to no one, he—who had already swept the world undefeated with overwhelming strength—was toyed with by his master as if he were still a child, utterly powerless. Not even half a move could he withstand!

At the time, his master had said he was still too weak, and only when he one day truly broke through to the Legendary Realm might he be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

Now, A Kakin had broken through to the Legendary Realm, reaching this inconceivable level. Even if he had only just broken through, his foundation unstable, and his strength no match for his master's, he was still far beyond what Ran Min could contend with.

"What! Master—the Heavenly King actually has a master, and one who has long reached the Legendary Realm? This... how come we've never heard you speak of it, Heavenly King? If you had asked him to intervene long ago, that barbarian A Kakin wouldn't have been able to strut around until today!"

As Ran Min's words fell, the generals beside him were all stunned, momentarily forgetting even A Kakin's breakthrough to the Legendary Realm.

"Alas! My master is a true recluse, always aloof from worldly strife. In the old days, he lived in seclusion at the Martial Lecture Hall of Prince Liu's Estate, spending his days studying various martial arts techniques, ignoring mundane affairs. Besides, I could still defeat A Kakin back then—how could I have troubled him?"

Ran Min sighed again, helpless.

"This... this..."

"Even the Heavenly King can't contact him? Are we truly to be bullied to our doorstep by that barbarian A Kakin today, with no way to fight back?"

Hearing Ran Min's words, the assembled generals exchanged uneasy glances, their hearts filled with anxiety.

"Alas! The cursing is a small matter. What I fear is that A Kakin, relying on his peerless martial power, will simply smash open the city gates, lead the barbarians in, and seize the city!"

Thinking back to his master's peerless martial might from years past, Ran Min felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

Ever since he had taken his master all those years ago, everything had gone smoothly. Even when facing powerful enemies along the way, his extraordinary talent and superb martial skills had allowed him to overcome foes above his level and turn danger into safety. But now, at this point, he truly had no way out.

Unless—unless his master could appear.

Ran Min thought in despair, but just then, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a familiar face. It was—it was—

Master!