December in the capital was bitterly cold, but that day was especially lively. After so many people had eagerly awaited it, the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament had finally begun.
Early that morning, He Heng left home. Heavy snow drifted from the sky, blanketing the ground in white and freezing the whole world. All things lay still, the world utterly silent.
"The world in the depths of winter is truly quiet!" He Heng raised his head, his clear eyes sweeping over the world. Amid the swirling snowflakes, a hint of killing intent filled the air.
He suddenly smiled and strode toward the heart of the city, walking into the swirling snow.
At the same time, in a quiet courtyard somewhere, a Long-Browed Youth had also finished fasting and practicing Bigu. He abruptly opened the door and gazed at the world with deep eyes, spreading his arms as though he wanted to embrace all of heaven and earth.
"It's time."
He took a single step and entered the snow. The thick, drifting snow completely swallowed him up. He disappeared into it without a sound, as if he had merged with heaven and earth.
Perhaps it was coincidence, or perhaps some unseen premonition. At that very moment, Wang Chao, Yan Yuanyi, Feng Cai, Wu Yunlong, and Liu Mubai also opened the doors and windows of their respective retreats. As they watched the snow and the wind-whipped shards of ice, a light of understanding shone in their eyes.
He Heng was among the later arrivals. Though his kung fu had reached the pinnacle, he wasn't well-known. If he'd arrived early, nobody would have recognized him, and he'd have been awkwardly standing around alone.
Besides, shouldn't the experts be the last to make their entrance?
The massive Bird's Nest Stadium was enormous. Looking up, its roof stretched overhead like the vault of heaven, covering everything as far as the eye could see.
At its center was a vast arena, surrounded by stands with more than a hundred thousand seats.
Over a hundred thousand seats! There was naturally only one stadium of such immense scale: the long-unused Olympic Stadium, which had been lent out for this Martial Dao Convention.
The arena was quiet.
There were no noisy reporters and no spectators.
Only a stillness remained, along with an air of killing intent.
All the wind and clouds of change began here, and would end here.
By the time He Heng arrived, the stadium was already packed. He had to use his footwork to weave through the layers of people and reach the edge of the arena.
At that moment, Wang Chao had just received the Martial Dao Golden Sword, specially made for the tournament and representing the highest honor. He was locked in a charged standoff with God. The scene was utterly quiet, steeped in silence.
Then Ba Liming made a dramatic entrance and announced his presence. Wang Chao tossed aside the Martial Dao Golden Sword in his hand, and the tournament officially began.
"It's already started? They didn't even give me a chance to make an impression..." He Heng's mouth twitched. He'd been planning to go up and show off, but reality had dealt him a heavy blow.
"Don't these people know how to respect their elders? They couldn't even wait for me, an old man. Terrible manners." He Heng muttered as he coldly surveyed the arena, paying particular attention to Wang Chao, God, Tang Zichen, and Ba Liming. At present, only these four warriors, who had reached the Shatter Void and See God Unbroken realms, could possibly fight him.
He Heng hadn't wasted these past days. The limitations of this world made it difficult for him to improve physically, but his mind had made genuine strides and undergone a transformation.
For instance, his mental state had returned to what it was in his youth, rather than the lifeless state of old age. His psychological age now matched his physical age, which showed outwardly as a goofy, carefree attitude.
"Uh, actually, I wasn't like this when I was young..." He Heng protested.
This was a return to simplicity in his state of mind, a return to the past—a second spring... Bah, a second life. Physical rebirth was easy. With the Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror in hand, He Heng could change bodies countless times. But a rebirth of the mind was difficult. That was something he could only achieve through his own efforts.
After all, his psychological age was over a hundred. The longer people lived, the more they lost the vigor of youth. Becoming overly worldly and cautious only made it harder to unleash their potential.
He Heng had long since recognized this problem and begun to take it seriously. He had only been reborn three times so far, so it hadn't become a major issue yet. But if he used the Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror to be reborn eight or ten times, what would happen after several thousand years? Wouldn't his mind decay?
In the Great Heaven World, many powerful people who valued their loved ones went to great lengths to extend their friends' and family members' Lifespans after attaining the Dao. Yet those whose Lifespans had been extended still couldn't live more than a few hundred years. It wasn't that their natural Lifespans had run out; rather, they lacked the state of mind needed to live for hundreds or thousands of years. Their minds quickly withered, and they perished. It had nothing to do with their strength.
That was why cultivating the Dao required cultivating the mind. Otherwise, no matter how powerful you became or how much life remained in your body, you couldn't stop your mind from decaying. In the end, you would still meet your demise.
To attain longevity, you needed the mindset of someone who could live forever. Otherwise, even with a sufficient Lifespan, you would still perish.
As the saying went, Form Follows Mind. Those with high levels of cultivation generally possessed abundant vitality, yet some appeared young, some middle-aged, and others old. This was actually a reflection of their state of mind, unrelated to their outward life.
For those who had attained the Undying Pure Yang state, if your mindset was that of a twenty-year-old, then your body would be twenty. If your mindset was old, you would appear old. It had nothing to do with the years you had lived.
Once He Heng recognized this problem, he began transforming his own mind. He didn't want to become an old man in his eighties after attaining the Dao. He might have looked like an immortal, but wouldn't it feel strange?
There were no shortcuts to cultivating the mind. Over the years, He Heng had traveled widely, observed the natural world and the Universe Firmament, and fought many experts. Only then had he finally recovered the state of mind he'd had in his youth, returning to those passionate days and achieving a transformation of the mind.
This transformation had finally been completed two days ago, allowing his state of mind to take a truly significant leap forward. At present, he was only a hair's breadth away from the Human Law Realm, and he had gained considerable insight into the so-called Earth Law Realm. His strength had now truly reached the pinnacle of the Outer Hundred Bones, surpassing that of ordinary warriors who had attained Shatter Void and See God Unbroken!
In terms of martial realms, unlike cultivation levels, one could skip ranks. Someone who hadn't comprehended the Microscopic Realm and reached the Third Rank of Technique could still touch the First Rank Domain and build up momentum.
Likewise, someone who hadn't truly entered the Human Law Realm could still directly attain the Earth Law Realm. That, in itself, wasn't difficult.
The real challenge lay in the final two realms: Heaven Law and... the Dao!
Since ancient times, the Great Heaven World had seen plenty of geniuses who comprehended the Human Law and Earth Law realms in their youth. Every major sect had outstanding disciples of this sort. But almost no one could understand Heaven Law or the Dao Realm.
The Nine Ranks of Technique, the Human Law Realm, the Earth Law Realm, and the Heaven Law Realm seemed separated by a towering mountain. They were like flowers reflected in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water: visible, but impossible to touch. The Heaven Law Realm was unfathomably abstruse. Even the Sect Masters of the greatest sects, those who had seen through the world's truth, might not fully grasp it or be able to Orchestrate Creation!
As for those capable of Exhausting the Heavenly Dao, perhaps the only ones in the Great Heaven World were the people named on the Pure Yang Ranking.
But all of that was still far beyond He Heng. For now, he needed to find an opportunity to break through at this Martial Dao Convention and take the final step into the Human Law Realm.
If he could enter the Human Law Realm while still in the Hundred Bones Realm, He Heng believed he would rank among the elite, even in the Great Heaven World, where prodigies and monsters appeared in endless succession.
Just as He Heng was lost in thought, the Martial Dao Convention officially began.
Naturally, it began with a group of juniors and young people. They went up to fight, but He Heng had no interest in them. He only glanced over briefly and paid them no more attention. To him, anyone below Dan Force wasn't worth noticing; anyone who hadn't reached Shatter Void and See God Unbroken couldn't possibly fight him.
He Heng didn't take these people's matches seriously, but to some outsiders, they were all genuine experts, each one like a superhuman.
For example, the official seated beside him—the one who had asked Liu Mubai to find him last time—was now praising the match. Wang Chao's female disciple, Huo Ling'er, was fighting another woman in the arena, and their bout was exceptionally intense.
"Xiao Heng, Yuanyi told me your kung fu surpasses Wang Chao's, and that you're the most likely to become Number One Under Heaven?"
"She was lying to you..." He Heng denied it outright.
"Then what do you think of Wang Chao's kung fu? If someone trains to that level, are they practically an immortal?" The other man kept chattering.
Left with no choice, He Heng resorted to his ultimate move. "Uncle Xia, my mother mentioned you to me recently. She said..."
"Xiao Heng, I've got something else to take care of. I can't keep chatting with you." The Commander Xia's voice grew tense, and he abruptly walked away.
"Goodbye, Uncle Xia. Don't let the door hit you on the way out." He Heng chuckled to himself. Trying to pump him for information? No chance.
Just then, a mechanical voice rang out: "He Heng versus Chen Aiyang!"
Hearing it, He Heng abruptly got to his feet and walked into the arena, each step as heavy as a mountain.
"Is he He Heng? I've never heard of him among the famous martial artists. Where did he come from?" Below, martial arts experts from all over the world murmured among themselves. After all, He Heng really wasn't well-known.
Only Wang Chao, Tang Zichen, and Ba Liming, seated above, suddenly opened their eyes and looked at He Heng, their gazes grave.
"Heh, long time no see!" He Heng smiled at them.
At last, the other protagonist of the match, Chen Aiyang, came down from the platform. His steps were very slow, his expression utterly grave as he faced He Heng.
P.S. To everyone's comments, I'd like to say this: who says a sharp tongue keeps someone from following the Ruthless Dao? Do you think someone who follows the Ruthless Dao has to be cold and aloof all the time, acting like a tough guy? No, that's just a stereotyped image. I want to write a unique seeker of the Dao—bah, a unique follower of the Ruthless Dao. And one more thing: the next few chapters should be the best part of this volume, just what you've been looking forward to.
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