Suirenshi

Time flew like an arrow; the sun and moon raced like a shuttle.

The human race along the Eastern Sea had, under the nourishment of the Martial Codex, been like parched earth receiving timely rain, bursting forth with unprecedented vitality and potential!

The practice of martial arts swept through every tribe and every corner!

Hunting parties no longer relied solely on brute force and crude weapons.

Some wielded fierce palm winds, faint dragon roars accompanying them; some cast leg shadows like the wind, faster than galloping horses; some unleashed razor-sharp finger force, shattering stones from afar; some moved with elusive footwork, weaving freely through hordes of demonic beasts!

The dominance of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms! The speed of Wind God's Leg! The precision of the Six Meridian Divine Swords! The profundity of Lingbo Micro-steps! The resilience of the Muscle-Tendon Purifying and Bone-Strengthening Chapter!

With Demon Clan essence blood as a catalyst, human warriors rapidly mastered and improved in all manner of divine arts and ultimate techniques!

Human settlements expanded at a rate visible to the naked eye!

The original few settlements grew like rolling snowballs.

The population multiplied, flourishing with life.

In merely a few hundred years, it had surpassed one million!

A population of one million was no longer what it had once been.

Naturally, the human race divided into more than a dozen major tribes.

Those who lived by the mountains were called the Mountain Ridge Tribe.

Those who fished beside the waters were called the Azure Waves Tribe.

Those who hunted on the plains were called the Wind Chasing Tribe.

There were occasional minor frictions between the tribes, but under the awe-inspiring reputations of the "Sage Master" and the "Sages," and with the shared understanding that a great enemy stood before them, peace and exchange were generally maintained.

Dao Xuan's name had long since surpassed that of "Sage Master" among the human race.

The "Martial Arts World," where three thousand giant stones stood tall, had become the sacred land of martial arts in the hearts of humanity!

Dao Xuan was the source who had created this supreme Martial Dao and guided humanity upon the path of self-improvement!

"Martial Ancestor!"

This honorific resounded across the Eastern Sea with every roar and every victory of the human warriors!

Martial Ancestor Dao Xuan!

Yet the workings of the Heavenly Dao were exceedingly profound.

Of the three thousand martial arts in the Martial Codex, nearly everyone practiced one, each excelling in their own way.

But for every martial art, there was always one person of extraordinary talent, blessed by fortune, as though born for that very path!

They cultivated their respective martial arts to perfection, reaching the pinnacle of mastery!

With every gesture, their moves were no longer bound by form, and they had grasped the true essence and spirit within!

What was even more astonishing was this!

When these three thousand people cultivated their respective martial arts to great completion and perfection, it seemed as though they had broken through some invisible shackle!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Wave after wave of powerful auras shot skyward from the major human tribes!

They were not fluctuations of mana, but power of qi and blood refined to the utmost! Martial Dao Will condensed almost into substance! Majestic vitality from resonating sinews and bones, with qi and blood flowing like mercury!

These three thousand martial artists, each having cultivated their own art to its peak, actually, at the instant their arts reached perfection, naturally—

Entered the Dao through martial arts!

Their qi and blood connected Heaven and Earth's Bridge, their wills drew upon the baleful qi of the earth veins to temper their bodies, and their flesh underwent inconceivable transformations!

A faint yet incomparably pure immortal spiritual qi—more accurately, Martial Dao True Essence—began to arise within them!

The Earth Immortal realm!

Martial Dao Earth Immortals!

Though they lacked the marvel of a primordial spirit leaving the body, they possessed physiques and close-combat killing power far surpassing Earth Immortals of the same realm!

Dao Xuan stood atop a mountain peak, his divine sense covering the lands of humanity, and instantly understood the crux of the matter.

He calculated with his fingers. Though the heavenly secrets were obscure, a thread of spiritual light emerged.

"So that's how it is!"

A trace of understanding and amusement flashed through Dao Xuan's eyes.

"This is no coincidence. It is the flourishing of humanity's Martial Dao fortune; the Heavenly Dao responded and bestowed three thousand Children of Destiny!"

"Just like the Dao Ancestor's Three Thousand Guests at Purple Heaven Palace, each receiving a strand of the Great Dao's true transmission!"

"Or like the Three Thousand Sages under Sage Confucius in later generations, whose achievements in enlightenment blessed countless ages!"

"These three thousand shall be the foundation of my Martial Dao lineage, carrying on the past and opening the way to the future!"

Since they were favored by fortune, Dao Xuan naturally would not be stingy.

Though he did not impart immortal methods, he began regularly teaching the "Dao" from atop an unnamed mountain peak, addressing the entire human race!

He did not teach cultivation techniques, but expounded upon the principles of Heaven and Earth, the workings of all things, the fundamentals of combat and struggle, and the essentials of tempering one's will!

His voice was not loud, yet it was like the Great Dao's Resonant Voice, clearly reaching the ears of every human, especially the hearts of those three thousand Martial Dao Earth Immortals!

"Heaven moves with vigor; thus, the noble person strives for Constant Self-Improvement!"

"The earth is receptive; thus, the noble person carries all things with great virtue!"

"The Martial Dao is not about competing in bravery or fighting with ferocity. It is an art of self-improvement and protecting the Dao! When the heart is upright, the fist is upright; when the will is firm, strength is great!"

"Observe the gentleness of water, and you may comprehend how to deflect force and transform power; observe the stability of mountains, and you may comprehend an unshakable foundation; observe the swiftness of wind, and you may comprehend the transformations of movement techniques; observe the fierceness of fire, and you may comprehend the eruption of qi and blood!"

"All things in the primordial world can be teachers!"

Dao Xuan's teachings were profound yet easy to understand, perfectly integrating Heaven, Earth, nature, and Martial Dao cultivation.

The three thousand Martial Dao Earth Immortals listened in rapt fascination, often feeling as if clouds had parted from their minds, their understanding of their own Martial Dao rising to a new level!

Their gazes toward the blue-robed figure atop the mountain were filled with fervor and reverence, like disciples looking up at their benefactor and teacher!

Though they had no formal title of master and disciple, there was the reality of transmitting the Dao, imparting knowledge, and resolving doubts!

As Dao Xuan looked at the three thousand figures below, whose auras grew ever purer and gazes ever firmer, that bit of his mischievous nature surfaced again.

"Heh, heh. The Dao Ancestor has Three Thousand Guests of the mortal world, Sage Confucius has three thousand disciples, and today I, Dao Xuan, have three thousand Martial Dao Earth Immortals listening to my teachings! Now that's impressive!"

He even mischievously wondered whether he ought to issue the three thousand of them something like a "Martial Dao Earth Immortal Certificate"...

Yet the progress of civilization was always accompanied by new perplexities.

One day.

A young man with a sorrowful face and a somewhat slight frame journeyed here and knelt beneath the mountain where Dao Xuan cultivated in quiet seclusion.

He was not one of the three thousand Earth Immortals, merely a young man in an ordinary tribe responsible for caring for the elderly and the weak.

"Martial Ancestor above! This disciple has doubts and humbly begs the Martial Ancestor for guidance!" The young man's voice was tinged with grief.

Dao Xuan's gaze fell upon him, seeing straight into his heart.

"Speak."

The young man raised his head, his eyes filled with confusion and sorrow. "Martial Ancestor! In the tribe, there are elders of frail health who, after eating raw and cold beast meat, unfortunately... unfortunately died!

"There are also young children who are often harassed by venomous insects and small beasts at night, unable to sleep peacefully... This disciple... this disciple's heart aches to see it, yet I do not know what to do!

"Could it be... could it be that only those like us, strong and healthy people who have achieved success in martial arts, deserve to survive in this primordial world?"

His question touched upon a crucial point in the development of human civilization—the primitiveness and fragility of their way of survival.

Dao Xuan did not answer directly.

His gaze turned toward the distance.

The sun was setting in the west, and dusk was drawing near.

Among the mountains and forests, chill air rose as darkness prepared to swallow the land.

The faint growls of wild beasts drifted over.

Within the human tribes, bonfires had been lit—fires maintained with specially fire-resistant wood, requiring dedicated guardians and difficult to spread widely.

Dao Xuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the young man, his voice calm and gently guiding.

"Look at that setting sun. It sinks into the western mountains, and Heaven and Earth return to darkness and cold. The beasts lie dormant, while poisonous insects run rampant."

"Yet in the darkness, there are also scattered sparks that drive away the cold, illuminate a small space, and deter lurking evils."

"Where does this fire come from?"

Following Dao Xuan's gaze, the young man looked at the leaping bonfires in the tribe, then at the setting sun sinking into the earth. His brows furrowed tightly.

"Fire... fire comes... from lightning striking trees? Or... or from the Sages igniting it with divine power?"

"External aid will eventually run out." Dao Xuan gently shook his head. "Between Heaven and Earth lie countless wonders of creation. There is fire within wood and heat hidden in stone. Through friction and collision, life naturally emerges."

"There is fire in wood? Friction and collision?" the young man muttered, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes before a faint glimmer of light appeared.

It was as though he had grasped something crucial!

"Friction... collision... creates heat... creates fire?"

The young man suddenly rose to his feet and, as if possessed, rushed into a patch of deadwood forest at the foot of the mountain.

He picked up a dry, hard wooden stick, then found a piece of deadwood with a groove in it.

He recalled Dao Xuan's words and the sight of firewood cracking as the tribal bonfires burned.

"There is fire in wood! Friction creates heat!"

Never-before-seen focus and determination gleamed in the young man's eyes!

Gripping the wooden stick tightly in both hands, he pressed one end into the groove in the deadwood and used all his strength to spin and rub it frantically!

Once! Twice! Ten times! A hundred times!

Sweat soaked through his linen clothes, and his arms grew sore and numb.

At the groove in the deadwood, there was only the faintest trace of charring and barely perceptible warmth.

The young man did not lose heart!

There was only one thought in his mind: There is fire in wood! Friction creates heat! It will surely make fire!

A thousand times! Ten thousand times!

His palms were ground open by the rough stick, blood seeping out and staining it red.

Yet he seemed unable to feel the pain, continuing to spin and rub it frantically!

At that moment, his will condensed to its absolute limit!

Buzz!

Just as the young man's spirit and strength were both nearing their limits!

At the charred spot in the deadwood's groove, a faint orange-red spark, nearly invisible to the eye, suddenly burst forth!

Though tiny, the spark carried vitality enough to set the plains ablaze!

It fell onto the exceedingly dry, fluffy tinder grass the young man had prepared beside it!

A wisp of incredibly thin green smoke curled upward!

Then!

Poof!

A bright flame, like a sprite born in darkness, suddenly leaped from the tinder grass!

Warmth! Light! In an instant, they drove away the darkness and chill around the young man!

Fire!

Man-made fire!

Fire obtained by drilling wood!

"It worked! I did it! Fire! It's fire!" The young man held the dancing flame in his hands, his whole body trembling with excitement as tears streamed down his face!

At the instant this man-made fire, symbolizing civilization and hope, was born!

Rumble!

In the Nine Heavens Above, winds and clouds churned!

A vast, majestic stream of Mysterious Yellow Merit Qi, pure to the utmost, descended like the Milky Way pouring upside down!

Though its quantity was far inferior to Nuwa's creation of humanity, it was still enough to make Grand Unity Golden Immortals green with envy!

Seventy percent of it poured without question into the young man holding the fireseed, his body trembling with excitement!

Buzz!

Dazzling Mysterious Yellow light erupted around the young man's body!

An indescribable power of creation and comprehension of the Heavenly Dao instantly washed over his body and soul!

His originally somewhat slight frame rapidly transformed and strengthened beneath the power of merit!

The tiny trace of Martial Dao qi and blood within him was instantly ignited and sublimated by the power of merit!

His sinews and bones rang in unison! His qi and blood surged like a dragon!

Earth Immortal! Heavenly Immortal! True Immortal! Mystic Immortal! Golden Immortal!

His cultivation soared madly as though riding a rocket!

He advanced all the way with unstoppable momentum, without the slightest bottleneck!

In the end, it firmly stopped at—

The early Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm!

A vast, immortal, indestructible aura that could endure countless tribulations erupted from the young man!

Though he had only just become a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, his foundation was incomparably stable due to the power of merit!

Of the remaining thirty percent of the merit, ten percent transformed into a golden light and entered the bloodstained wooden stick in the young man's hand, the very stick that had just drilled forth fire!

Buzz!

The wooden stick shook violently!

Its charred surface faded away, revealing a warm, jade-like texture. Mysterious Yellow Merit light flowed over it, while countless Dao Runes appeared and vanished!

A weighty aura of warmth and light, of driving away darkness, igniting hope, and symbolizing the inheritance of civilization, spread outward!

Postnatal Merit Spiritual Treasure—Suiren's Fire Drill!

The final ten percent of the merit scattered among the million or so humans below, nourishing the fortune of the race and enlightening their wisdom.

And at the very instant that vast merit descended!

Atop the mountain, Dao Xuan's gaze shifted slightly.

He did not absorb the ten percent merit that should have belonged to him—the Heavenly Dao had recognized his contribution in offering guidance and intended to grant him a share.

He lightly flicked his sleeve.

An invisible Dao rhythm spread through the air.

The ten percent of Mysterious Yellow Merit that should have merged into his body seemed to be drawn by something. It neither dispersed nor entered his body.

Instead, it transformed into a condensed, tangible, dazzling strand of Mysterious Yellow Qi. Like a docile little dragon, it spiraled down into Dao Xuan's palm.

With a thought from Dao Xuan,

an enigmatic little bottle, neither gold nor jade, formed from pure Dao laws, appeared out of thin air in his palm.

Its mouth opened slightly and gently drew the incomparably pure Mysterious Yellow Merit Qi inside.

The bottle flashed, then vanished into Dao Xuan's sleeve.

The entire process was silent and swift as lightning.

The millions of humans below, including the young man who had just advanced to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm and held Suiren's Fire Drill, noticed none of this subtle change.

Only Dao Xuan knew.

Feeling the pure, gentle power of merit contained within the mysterious little bottle in his sleeve, a profound smile curled across his lips.

This will be of great use in the future.

The young man—no, at this moment, he was already a great figure who, through his own wisdom and perseverance, had opened a new era of survival for humanity!

He felt the boundless power within his body, looked at Suiren's Fire Drill flowing with merit in his hand, then looked toward the figure in green standing atop the mountain with a smile.

He understood that it was the Martial Ancestor's guidance that had given him the chance for enlightenment!

Thud!

He prostrated himself in Dao Xuan's direction, performing humanity's most solemn rite!

His voice was excited and resounding, echoing through heaven and earth:

"This disciple, Suiren, thanks the Martial Ancestor for his grace of enlightenment! This fire shall become humanity's Fire of Civilization! The fire of inheritance! The fire of self-strengthening!"

"Suiren!"

"Suiren!"

"Suiren!"

The millions of humans below had witnessed this miraculous scene with their own eyes!

They felt the light and safety brought by the warm flames, as well as the nourishment that the light of merit bestowed upon their people!

They shouted this name in unison!

Their voices surged like a tide, filled with endless gratitude and reverence!

Holding Suiren's Fire Drill, Suiren slowly rose.

His face remained simple and honest, but his eyes had become as deep as the starry sky. A warm yet majestic aura emanated from him.

He looked at his fellow humans below, his voice gentle yet carrying the majesty of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal:

"The Martial Ancestor granted me wisdom, and I have obtained this fire!"

"From this day forward, humanity shall bid farewell to eating raw flesh and drinking blood!"

"Cooked food can strengthen the body and extend one's lifespan!"

"Flames can ward off cold and provide warmth, illuminate the night, and frighten venomous insects and wild beasts!"

"This is the beginning of human civilization!"

"I, Suiren, am willing to use this fire to protect humanity, passing the flame onward so that it may endure forever!"

"We pay respects to Human Ancestor Suiren!"

"We pay respects to the Human Ancestor!"

Humanity erupted once more!

Heartfelt reverence and cheers resounded through the clouds!

Martial Ancestor Dao Xuan had founded the martial path and pointed out the road to self-strengthening!

Human Ancestor Suiren had drilled wood to make fire, igniting the light of civilization!

Humanity finally had its own ancestral figure, renowned throughout the primordial world!

Dao Xuan stood atop the mountain, looking at Suiren below, who held Suiren's Fire Drill as Merit Golden Light flowed around him and whose aura had already reached that of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Then he looked at the million humans cheering in excitement.

The smile on his face was filled with gratification—and a hint of... strangeness.

Drilling wood to make fire... Suiren... Grand Unity Golden Immortal...

Merit really is simple, crude, and direct!

Still... this feels pretty good!

The flames of human civilization blazed fiercely along the shores of the Eastern Sea!

They illuminated the darkness—and an even broader future!