Descend the Mountain, Battle Across the Realm

[As a Martial Arts Enthusiast, you paid little attention to your junior brothers Dong Tian Bao and Zhang Jun Bao. You continued as before, chanting sutras, worshipping Buddha, eating, and practicing martial arts.

Even though both of them, like you, had become disciples under Jue Yuan.]

[In the twenty-first year, bolstered by the Martial Arts Enthusiast talent, you finally restored your strength to the peak of the Body Tempering Realm—the Hua Jin realm.

Yet you felt no joy. As always, you cultivated and trained diligently, hoping to break through your limits and reach the legendary realm beyond Hua Jin: See God Not Bad.]

[In the twenty-third year, you made slight gains and continued your diligent cultivation and training.]

[In the twenty-fifth year, you came into conflict with the senior disciple of Arhat Hall.

Influenced by the Martial Arts Enthusiast talent, you did not hold back at all. With a casual punch, you defeated him and left him seriously injured.

This immediately drew the attention of countless monks, including the head of Arhat Hall—the senior disciple's master.

Believing that you had launched a sneak attack, he personally moved against you.

In truth, he simply wanted to teach you a lesson and help his disciple recover some face.]

[The head of Arhat Hall was merely at the Hidden Force realm, far below your peak Hua Jin realm.

Moreover, under the influence of the Martial Arts Enthusiast talent, you instinctively went all out whenever you faced an enemy, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Thus, even though you used only the most ordinary Arhat Fist, it took you merely five moves to beat this martial uncle of yours until he could not get back up, utterly disgracing him.]

[Many people witnessed your battle. Although the head of Arhat Hall had attacked you first, you were the one ultimately punished, on the grounds that you had shown no respect for your elders.

What was the punishment? You were sentenced to copy sutras in the Scripture Repository for three years.

But rather than a punishment, it was more like an open penalty and a secret reward.

What kind of place was the Scripture Repository? It housed most of Shaolin Temple's sutras, martial arts manuals, and insights left behind by predecessors.

How could just anyone enter it? Let alone copy sutras inside.]

[What you did not know was that all of this had been secured for you by your master, Jue Yuan.

Because of it, he also became enemies with the head of Arhat Hall.]

[As a Martial Arts Enthusiast, you did not care about punishment at all. You were even somewhat delighted at the chance to enter the Scripture Repository.]

[In July of the twenty-fifth year, you officially entered the Scripture Repository and began copying sutras.

That year, you copied a total of one hundred and forty-two sutras, twenty-one martial arts manuals, and four travel journals.

These sutras and martial arts manuals greatly broadened your horizons, giving you deeper insights into the realm beyond Hua Jin.]

[In the twenty-sixth year, you copied a total of two hundred and eighty-six sutras, forty-seven martial arts manuals, and twelve travel journals.

These sutras, martial arts manuals, and classics once again opened your eyes, deepening your understanding of what lay beyond Hua Jin.]

[In the twenty-seventh year, you copied another three hundred and fourteen sutras, forty-five martial arts manuals, and eleven travel journals.

As you thoroughly understood these sutras, martial arts manuals, and classics, quantitative change directly gave rise to qualitative change, granting you an extremely clear direction for the realm beyond Hua Jin.

You named the realm beyond Hua Jin "See God Not Bad, Imperishable Golden Body!"

This was the limit of body tempering. Upon reaching this realm, the physical body would lock in all of its essence, energy, and spirit, preventing them from leaking away. One could even remain youthful and keep one's flesh from withering until the end of one's lifespan arrived.

Of course, this was all merely your speculation. Only after breaking through would you know the truth.]

[In July of the twenty-eighth year, over the past half year, you copied another one hundred and seventy-two sutras, twenty-four martial arts manuals, and six travel journals.

These sutras and martial arts manuals brought you another step closer to the legendary realm of "See God Not Bad, Imperishable Golden Body!" You were even not far from a breakthrough.

Unfortunately, a hair's breadth of error could lead to a thousand miles of loss.

Though only two or three steps separated you from a breakthrough, let alone two or three steps, even half a step could bar you firmly from the gate, leaving you unable to break through for the rest of your life.]

[After finishing your copy of the final travel journal, which described the customs and people beyond the northern Great Wall, your time being "punished" by copying sutras came to an end.

As you left the Scripture Repository, you felt somewhat regretful. Even after three years, the sutras and martial arts manuals you had copied amounted to less than one-third of the entire collection.

But you did not linger over it.

As the saying went, reading ten thousand books was not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. You had copied enough books. It was time to see the world with your own eyes and, along the way, spar with the major sects to learn from one another's strengths.]

[Half a month later, you bade farewell to your master Jue Yuan. Then, with great ease, you passed through the Arhat Staff Formation and the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation before heading straight down the mountain.]

[In the twenty-ninth year, your two junior brothers, Zhang Jun Bao and Dong Tian Bao, were also forced to leave Shaolin Temple one after another.

By the time you learned of it, several months had already passed.

After hearing the news, you had no intention of getting involved and continued your journey across the realm.]

[It was not that you were cold-blooded, but as their senior brother, you understood their personalities.

Zhang Jun Bao was pure-hearted and deeply loyal. Dong Tian Bao was likewise loyal, but he was also calculating and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

The two practically ate and lived together, as close as brothers.

But with Dong Tian Bao's unwillingness to submit to others, he would sooner or later cause trouble, and Zhang Jun Bao would inevitably be dragged into it.

So it was not that you refused to care for them—it was that you could not. Unless you kept both of them by your side at all times.

But that was impossible. As a Martial Arts Enthusiast, martial arts would always come first in your heart!]

[In the thirtieth year, after two years of traveling, you had challenged nearly every notable master throughout the Central Plains.

Although none of these masters had reached the Hua Jin realm, their martial arts greatly broadened your horizons. You took another step forward, drawing closer to the realm beyond Hua Jin: "See God Not Bad, Imperishable Golden Body!"]

[In the thirty-first year, unable to find any opponents, you left the Central Plains for the first time and traveled northwest.

In the end, you crossed the Great Wall and ventured deep into the Northern Desert.

There, you witnessed unfamiliar customs and magnificent wonders, and encountered many masters from foreign tribes.

This gave you fresh insights and filled you with delight.]

[In the thirty-third year, you left the Northern Desert and arrived in the Southern Frontier, continuing to challenge masters of every tribe and leaving behind legends of yourself among them.]