Five Tools!
[Although your true cultivation level is Martial Saint, due to the effect of "Eternal Half-Emperor," you are actually Martial God.]
Even so, the moment you embark on the Ascension Path, you'll feel a terrifying resistance that sends chills down your spine.
[You feel like you're standing in front of a very strong wind wall; if you relax even slightly, you'll be blown away.]
[You unleash your martial arts to fight back, your muscles exploding and your bones roaring.]
[At the same time, you had the Myriad Souls Banner release half of Yi Chengsheng and the other four.]
[The bodies of the five demons were still inside the banner, only half of their bodies protruding, crowding onto the banner surface, baring their teeth and displaying ferocious expressions.]
"Chen Yi! Why did you let your grandpa out?!"
They're quite arrogant.
[Since we're all dead anyway, and there's no chance of us escaping under the pressure of the Super Immortal Artifact, the Myriad Souls Banner, we might as well just give up.]
[Upon discovering you're on the Ascension Path, they immediately began to mock and ridicule you.]
["You finally managed to seize the Ascension Path, and you've been holding back until today? Haha, we thought you were seizing the Ascension Path for the sake of all living beings, and didn't plan to use it yourself!"]
["Chen Yi! The Ascension Path isn't one that just anyone can walk! With your childish appearance, you wouldn't even be able to take a hundred steps! Hahaha!"]
["This Chen Yi is actually quite nice; he specially let us out to see him make a fool of himself, haha!"]
Just as the five demons were chattering away, they heard several crisp clanging sounds of metal being struck.
["Bite!"]
["Bite!"]
["Bite!"]
What was that sound?
["When!!"]
[Chen Yi punched Yi Chengsheng in the face, distorting his features and making him look completely disoriented.]
[Heartsteel Layers +1.]
[Next up is the East City Lord.]
["When!"]
[Heartsteel Layers +1.]
[After each of the five people has thrown a punch, you wait one minute.]
[Continue Steel Stacking.]
[Although they didn't understand what you were doing, seeing that you grew larger with each round you fought them, Yi Chengsheng and the others easily understood one thing:]
You're keeping them around to boost your combat power.
[The five Martial God Realm city lords, who once hid behind the scenes in the Human World and considered themselves from the Desolate Ancient Upper Realm, have become five tools in your hands, or rather, tool souls.]
["Ah!! This is outrageous!!"]
["They killed us! They humiliated us! Chen Yi!! I hate them!!"]
"Whoever can take down Chen Yi!! I'll be his slave for the rest of my life!!"
[You swept your indifferent gaze over the five demons on the banner.]
"What are you all chattering about? Get used to it quickly, you'll have plenty of opportunities to shine later."
What's more despairing than death is being used as a tool by your enemy even after you're dead.
The Five Great City Lords were in immense pain.
[After breaking through to Martial Saint, the maximum number of layers in the Heartsteel reached 10,000!]
[After the Steel Stacking is complete, your strength increases dramatically, and your size grows to hundreds of meters!]
The feeling of resistance on the Ascension Path gradually weakens.
[The ten thousand steps of the Human World path to Ascension Path shrink instantly before you, a towering giant.]
[With one big stride, you've covered one-tenth of the distance.]
This action left Hua Wuyan, Shen Yue, and the others stunned.
[Shen Yue: "It can be done like this...?"]
[Hua Wuyan: "Chen Yi appeared out of nowhere and then rose to prominence just as suddenly, like a mysterious shooting star. In fact, I still don't know anything about his background."]
[Possessing the cultivation of Martial God and ten thousand layers of Heartsteel.]
[The Ascension Path is located in the Human World, so it shouldn't pose much of a challenge for you.]
[After just ten simple steps, you find yourself standing at the border between another space and the Human World.]
[That place was hazy and dreamlike, seemingly real yet ethereal, exuding a captivating and enchanting atmosphere.]
[You turn around and look back.]
Standing high above this sky, the heavens and the sea resemble a magnificent scroll painting, with the infinitely distant sky and the azure sea serving as exquisite blank spaces within this artwork.
[You are filled with intense emotions, yet your feelings are complex.]
[After taking one last look, he turned and walked towards the other side of the bridge.]
You have ascended!
Before them stretched the Great Wall, seemingly endless, suspended in a space devoid of anything but radiating a pale golden light.
The Great Wall winds its way up and down, with a beacon tower standing at intervals.
[Look behind you; behind you isn't the Human World you just came from, but the same endless Great Wall.]
"Where the hell did I get this from? They said the Human World was halfway to the Ascension Path? So this is just the starting point?"
[Now you have a problem to solve.]
Which way should we run?
After some thought, you decide to continue forward from where you started.
["Hmph, a mere Ascension Path can't stop me! I'll fly!!"]
You leaped up, only to fall headfirst.
"Oh dear! Can't we fly here?"
[Within the Myriad Souls Banner, the Five Great City Lords mocked wantonly.]
[Enraged, Chen Yi dragged them out and used his Materialism iron fist to manually mute their microphones.]
[The strategist, Myriad Souls Banner, spoke with a somewhat pessimistic tone.]
"Dude, something feels off about this place. Is this really the Ascension Path? Have you been scammed?"
["If you put it that way, it's like asking me if I locked the door after I've left the house. I'd actually have to be a little suspicious..."]
[You choose to trust the system.]
[If this isn't the Ascension Path, how could the quest to send four people onto Ascension Path be completed?]
[The Demon Refining Pot is a more optimistic candidate.]
["Master, don't listen to that Evil Artifact's nonsense! Hey! Guess what? You've already ascended! You're an immortal! This is the Immortal World!"]
[Before setting off, you took out the Five Domains Sacred Pill.]
"Xiao Wu, your master needs you to play your role."
["Yes, yes! Xiao Wu is ready! Master is going to the Upper Realm, and will definitely face more challenges. Let Xiao Wu strengthen Master!"]
[The Five Domains Sacred Pill's effect on Martial Saint is negligible and can be disregarded.]
[But a lifespan of twenty years is a real number, and with the added benefit of "Bad News from the Martial Artist Community," that's forty years!]
"Xiao Wu, we'll meet again."
"Xiao Wu believes in Master!"
[You have consumed the Five Domains Sacred Pill, theoretically increasing your lifespan by 40 years, currently at 440 years.]
[You have begun your long journey to Ascension Path.]
Chen Mansion Compound, White Cloud County.
The moonlight was like water.
Chen Yi sat in the courtyard, watching the simulated characters move, and took out the Five Domains Sacred Pill.
"Xiao Wu, we meet again."
Although the Five Domains Sacred Pill didn't know what had happened or why its master had suddenly greeted it, it was happy to see its master.
"Hmm! Good evening, Master. Why aren't you asleep yet? Is it true that Martial God like you don't need to sleep?"
Chen Yi smiled.
"Master won't sleep tonight, because after tonight, Master will become much stronger!"
[Third year, age twenty-seven.]
[Extracting terms...]
[Extraction failed!]
[Should we adjust the entry?]
[whether]
Chen Yi: "?"
The second version of the comic series is now available online. It's an AI-generated comic, and the production quality is quite good. Those interested can check it out.