After more than ten minutes, the battle between He Heng and god finally ended with He Heng's victory. It came as no surprise. Compared with He Heng, god had far less stamina. That hadn't mattered much at first, but when the battle reached its most intense point, it proved fatal.
In this world, where spiritual energy did not exist, everyone was a Mortal Body, a flesh-and-blood mortal with limits. He Heng and the others had reached those limits, so there could not be much difference in their strength. In the end, it came down to stamina: who could keep unleashing their power and hold out the longest. That was where He Heng excelled.
He had the He Family's unique techniques, which could enhance his strength. His physical strength was more than twice that of an ordinary person.
To counter someone as strong as He Heng, god and the others had to use techniques like redirecting a thousand pounds with four ounces. They also had to expend more Blood Qi and unleash greater strength. In a battle that was bound to drag on, this put them at a severe disadvantage. What's more, He Heng's stamina was several times greater than theirs. He could maintain his peak condition while god was worn to the limit. How could god not lose?
"Impressive. If we'd kept fighting, I'd have died right there. I couldn't have held out. I would certainly have exhausted my strength and died. The mortal body does have its limits." god looked at He Heng with some emotion. "You really are a monster. Your strength is more than twice that of anyone at the same level, and your Blood Qi is inexhaustible. Who could last against you in a fight like this?"
"Can't help it. I was born with extraordinary talent," He Heng said shamelessly.
god didn't mind. He only sighed. "There really are many people in this world with extraordinary talent, like the famed Overlord of Chu and Li Yuanba from history. They were born with divine strength and boundless Blood Qi. You must be the same. People like you become even more terrifying when they take up martial arts."
Faced with He Heng's extraordinary physical prowess, god could only marvel. Even though he called himself a god, he had to concede. What could he do when Heaven had made the other man that way?
"Heh, Xiang Yu and Li Yuanba? That doesn't fit..." He Heng thought that even if he wasn't some elegant sword immortal, he still couldn't be compared to a hulking brute who wielded a giant hammer or axe and smashed through mountains.
"Even if I was born with divine strength, I should be more like Lu Bu." He Heng muttered to himself. He didn't want people to give him a nickname like Fist Shakes Jiuzhou or Axe Splits Heavenly Gate when he became famous. But when he looked at his own muscles, the corner of his mouth twitched. He was headed farther and farther down the glorious but misguided path of Prove Dao by Force.
god naturally had no idea what He Heng was thinking. He had spent decades sweeping all before him, invincible and lonely. Now that he had finally tasted defeat, he was still in a daze. In particular, with someone even more powerful than himself in He Heng, god realized that many of his plans needed to change. Everything was different now.
After a long while, god suddenly said, "I have to admit, I'm no match for you. Wang Chao probably isn't either. Even though his momentum is unstoppable, he still can't outlast a monster like you. The title of Number One Under Heaven belongs to you."
"Not at all. I'm only relying on my superior physique. Otherwise, I might not have beaten you." He Heng was rarely modest. He knew his own capabilities. Without his exceptional physical strength, beating god would have been incredibly difficult. god's constant state of "Unity of Heaven and Man" was terrifying. In the Great Heaven World, only experts who had condensed a Yin God or Yang God could usually achieve that. Of course, that was also because this world was too weak to compare with the Great Heaven World's Heavenly Dao.
Setting aside their physical attributes, He Heng was no weaker than god in terms of fighting style or realm. But beating him would have been incredibly difficult. In truth, at the pinnacle of Dragon Snake martial arts, everyone's fighting style had reached its limit, and their realms were much the same. It was hard to determine who was superior.
That wasn't the case in the Great Heaven World. There, spiritual energy was abundant, and a person's combat power soared as their realm increased. Even the slightest difference in realm was an enormous, impassable gulf.
Here, as long as your physique was good enough, even a Ming Jin fighter could defeat a Hua Jin grandmaster. Realm wasn't especially important.
So even if people like He Heng, god, and Wang Chao differed in realm, their actual strength wasn't far apart. In the end, all they could do was exhaust each other and see who could last longer.
That would remain true unless He Heng truly stepped into the Human Law Realm. Otherwise, he could never completely overwhelm beings like god and Wang Chao.
"I've already arranged to fight Wang Chao to the death at the Martial Dao Convention. I hope you can come too. A Life and Death Battle might help us uncover the Future Path of martial arts. You're the one with the best chance." After saying this, god walked away, looking desolate.
"There really is a path beyond martial arts. But living in this world, you have no chance of breaking through..." He Heng watched god's retreating figure. He wanted to say more, but in the end he sighed. He felt pity for god and all the martial artists in this world. Their path had nowhere left to go.
He Heng understood god very well. As a fellow seeker of the Dao, he felt profound sorrow for him. There was no road ahead. That was the grief of everyone pursuing the Dao.
"Ah... I wonder how far I'll get along this long road of seeking the Dao?"
He Heng let out a long sigh. His shadow stretched far behind him as he left beneath the already-dark night sky.
"Hello, who's this?" One day, He Heng was practicing his punches at home when the phone suddenly rang.
"It's Liu Mubai from the Sharp Sword!" The voice on the other end belonged to a steady-sounding man.
"Oh, Instructor Liu. What's the matter?" He Heng furrowed his brow. Liu Mubai was the head instructor of the Sharp Sword, one of the Three Ace Special Forces, and a Core Strength master. But He Heng didn't think he had any connection to him.
"The chief wants me to invite you to meet him." Liu Mubai's voice sounded agitated, with a faint note of sorrow.
"Why?" He Heng asked, puzzled.
"Something's happened to Yuanyi." Liu Mubai's tone was low.
"How could anything happen to her?" He Heng asked, puzzled.
"She was abducted by Wang Chao overseas. I'm afraid her chances are slim." Liu Mubai sounded helpless.
"Oh. Good riddance," He Heng muttered casually.
"What did you say...?" Liu Mubai said angrily.
"Nothing, nothing..." He Heng knew Yan Yuanyi hadn't died. Wang Chao had only made her enter a state of deathlike meditation. She'd "come back to life" before long.
"Hmph." Liu Mubai snorted, his expression dark. He was one of the onlookers who didn't know the truth...
"Fine. Even if she's gone, why does your chief want to see me?" He Heng asked, puzzled.
"Because Yuanyi once said you were the only person in the world who could beat Wang Chao." Liu Mubai sounded unconvinced.
"You flatter me. She thought too highly of me." He Heng didn't care for such empty praise.
"True. With Wang Chao's incredible martial arts, he doesn't look like someone you could handle." Liu Mubai was in complete "agreement."
"Heh..." He Heng made it clear that reverse psychology wouldn't work on him.
"But..." Liu Mubai changed tack. "The chief believes her, so he wants you to come by and share your thoughts. Maybe you can help save Yuanyi."
"I don't think that's necessary. I'm a nobody. How could I trouble an important elder like him? Instructor Liu, please decline on my behalf. Thanks." He Heng brushed him off.
"Hmph, He Heng, who do you think you are? The chief is honoring you by asking to see you, and you'd better get over here right away!" Liu Mubai's voice turned harsh, cold killing intent seeping through his words.
"Oh, I can come, but I want to call my father first and tell him someone wants his son to risk his life. If he says it's fine, then I'll go." He Heng said casually.
"Th-that... General He is a member of the Central Military Commission. He has a lot of responsibilities and works day and night. We can't trouble him over such a small matter..." Liu Mubai's voice turned uneasy.
"It's fine. Even if he's busy, he'll still take my call..." He Heng said as if it were nothing, and Liu Mubai panicked.
He Heng's father in this life was one of the current members of the Central Military Commission, a powerful figure who commanded hundreds of thousands of troops. He was one of the most influential men in the military. But that wasn't the most important part. What mattered was that he was famously at odds with the chief who wanted to meet He Heng. They'd been bitter rivals for decades. There was more gossip behind it: supposedly, it had started over He Heng's mother when they were young...
Anyway, the two big shots couldn't stand each other and were the sort to start a fight as soon as they met. If He Heng's father found out his old rival wanted to see his son, he'd definitely raise a storm, and things would get out of hand. Liu Mubai would then be caught between two powerful men, pleasing neither side. They were both his superiors, after all.
"So, Instructor Liu, should I make the call?" He Heng's voice carried a hint of amusement.
"Well... I think you're feeling a little under the weather, He Heng. In my many years of experience, you've definitely caught a chill. Yes, that must be it. You should be sure to get plenty of rest. I'll go tell the chief that you're unwell and shouldn't come." Liu Mubai sounded utterly serious. In his heart, he quietly said, Yuanyi, it's not that I'm a bad friend. I just have to think about my future, so I'm going to do this for now. Don't worry. I'll avenge you someday...
"Well... I really haven't been feeling too well these past couple of days. You're right, big brother. I'll get some rest. I'll leave things with the chief to you, then. Thanks!" He Heng chuckled and spoke to Liu Mubai as if they were old friends.
"No trouble, no trouble... It's the least I can do, little brother. Take care of yourself." Liu Mubai spoke amiably, then hung up with a firm click.
"Goodbye, Brother Liu!" He Heng said with exaggerated reluctance. He even put on a show of coughing twice before hanging up.
"Hmph. Trying to mess with me? You're still too green." He Heng looked at the phone and laughed coldly, the corner of his mouth seeming to hold both mockery and a sigh.
P.S. Don't think these last few chapters aren't serious enough or are too lighthearted. People keep bringing this up in the book reviews. I just want to give everyone a somewhat cheerful beginning. This story is actually very serious and tragic.
This is a story about seeking the Dao. It isn't absolutely dark, but it certainly isn't bright. I want to try something different: to write tragic things amid laughter and jokes. That has a certain flavor.
Before you continue