The First Martial Arts Tournament

Lin Huang squatted at the entrance of the little shop, washing dishes.

It was hard to imagine that the three proprietresses of the little shop were the famed Three Holy Mothers of the Human Realm, while Lin Huang, squatting outside washing dishes, was the newly risen Desolate Saint of the Human Realm—the Lin Huang who had seized the Zhongnan Dojo and faced a Divine Being without dying.

But the Three Holy Mothers didn't care, and neither did Lin Huang.

For three days, the Three Holy Mothers taught him nothing about the Dao or the laws. They simply treated him like a hired hand and put him to work.

Yet Lin Huang came to understand many things. From time to time, he imitated the Three Holy Mothers, carried a little stool to the doorway, sat down, and watched the people come and go all day.

He wasn't watching the people, but the Mortal World—the stories hidden behind them. He felt he was beginning to grasp something.

When the three days were up, Lin Huang grew anxious. The Three Holy Mothers had made it clear to him: of the three paths to godhood, no one had ever attained godhood through the Human Path. But as for the other two, the Heaven and Earth Paths, Lin Huang still couldn't find an opportunity.

"Three days are up."

"You should go."

"Don't forget your promise."

"Understand the Dao through the Mortal World."

"You need an opportunity."

"You're still far from it."

"Seclusion won't help."

"You'd better immerse yourself in the Mortal World."

"The First Martial Arts Tournament."

"It should suit you."

"Because you're young."

"So don't make yourself seem so old."

"You think you understand the ways of the world."

"You're still a long way off."

"Since you're still a long way off,"

"go roll around in this Mortal World."

"All right."

"You can leave now."

The Three Holy Mothers took turns speaking, not giving Lin Huang the chance to get a word in. Then they shut the shop door and sent him away.

Lin Huang didn't linger. He found a place to stay in town and considered his next step.

He naturally kept the Three Holy Mothers' advice in mind. He opened the Celestial Pivot, and found nothing but news about the First Martial Arts Tournament.

"The First Martial Arts Tournament begins tomorrow. Who will be the Human Realm's number-one genius? Stay tuned."

"...As of now, more than three billion people have registered for the First Martial Arts Tournament. Officials have revealed that this year's preliminaries will once again be held in the Dream God Realm..."

News about the First Martial Arts Tournament was everywhere. Held once every ten years, it was a major event in the Human Realm. It had been held more than nine hundred times, and only young people under thirty could participate.

Lin Huang wouldn't turn twenty-six until the end of the year, so he was eligible. With his Saint Rank cultivation, winning would be a piece of cake against a group of youngsters whose highest level was only Upper-Stage Marquis-Sealing.

"The Three Holy Mothers wouldn't have sent me there just to win. There must be a deeper meaning."

Lin Huang suddenly recalled a line from the Literary Saint's Asking Self: "At fifteen, I set my heart on learning; at thirty, I stood firm; at forty, I had no doubts; at fifty, I understood Heaven's mandate; at sixty, my ear was attuned; at seventy, I followed my heart's desires without crossing the line."

Lin Huang pondered it and murmured, "I now have the power to follow my heart's desires, but I haven't established my own rules or my own Dao. What I seek now is the Dao. I seek to establish my Dao. At thirty, one stands firm. At thirty, one stands firm. The participants in this First Martial Arts Tournament are all under thirty. They're at the right age to establish their Dao, but their Dao hasn't yet taken shape. That makes them perfect for me to learn from."

While helping the Three Holy Mothers sell chilled rice jelly for three days, Lin Huang had asked them to demonstrate their Dao. But he couldn't learn it. As the Three Holy Mothers put it, Lin Huang had the state of mind of a General Rank cultivator and the cultivation of a Saint Rank expert. The first thing he should think about wasn't becoming a god—becoming a god—but improving his state of mind and cultivation.

"Is this the true meaning of the Three Holy Mothers' words?" Lin Huang wasn't sure if that was what they meant, but the more he thought it over, the more it seemed right.

"I have to understand the Dao in the Mortal World. The Dao I need to understand is my own, so the Mortal World I walk through should be my own, too. If I hadn't become a Sage, would I have entered the First Martial Arts Tournament?"

"Yes. I definitely would have."

"Even if it weren't to win, fighting so many geniuses and proving what I've learned would make my life complete."

"I see. To understand the Dao through the Mortal World, I first need to walk this path through the Mortal World?"

Lin Huang understood in an instant.

Understand the Dao through the Mortal World. Understand the Dao through the Mortal World.

If he didn't walk the path of the Mortal World, how could he understand its Dao?

People in their twenties lived one way; people in their thirties lived another. They walked through the same Mortal World, but their paths differed because their Dao differed.

Once he understood this, Lin Huang didn't hesitate. He immediately registered through the Celestial Pivot. When he saw that the number of participants had already exceeded three billion, he did a quick calculation. Practically every young person under thirty in the entire Human Realm had signed up.

This only strengthened his resolve to enter the First Martial Arts Tournament.

"But can these people really help me understand the Dao?" Lin Huang still had his doubts. With a flick of his hand, he searched the Celestial Pivot for famous contestants.

"Profiles of the First Martial Arts Tournament's Two Hundred Seeded Contestants Revealed!"

Sure enough, there was such a report. Lin Huang opened it at once.

First seed, Xu Qingcheng. A fourth-year student at the Celestial Academy and a Saintess of the Taiyi Sect, with Upper-Stage Marquis-Sealing cultivation.

Commentary: A heaven's favored daughter and the people's goddess. She embodies the strengths of both the Celestial Academy and the Taiyi Sect. Born with the Taiyin Divine Body, she ranked ninth on the Dream God Realm's all-time Human Realm Genius Ranking. She deserved to be named the first seed.

Second seed, Heavenly Sword Marquis. The Sword Pavilion's chief disciple, with Upper-Stage Marquis-Sealing cultivation.

Commentary: A true heaven's favored son. It was said that he was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Sword from the Seven Swords Great World. He was born with Marquis-Sealing cultivation and had even refined the Innate Divine Body, the Indestructible Sword Body. He was a force to be reckoned with in the fight for the championship.

Third seed, Feng Dao. The Blade Saint's successor, with Upper-Stage Marquis-Sealing cultivation.

Commentary: The Blade Saint took him to the Blade World when he was a child. He had the impressive record of defeating King-Sealing experts, and was even said to have faced a Sub-Saint in the Blade World and walked away unscathed. He had fully mastered the Nine Methods of Heavenly Blade passed down by the Blade Saint. There were also rumors that he had received the Blade God's inheritance. He was ranked third only because he was far away in the Blade World and little known in the Human Realm.

Fourth seed, Shi Hao. The sole successor of the Supreme Dojo, with Upper-Stage Marquis-Sealing cultivation.

Commentary: It was said that he was born with the character "blood," with "supreme" in his left hand and "unbeaten" in his right. Whether that was true or not didn't matter. It was enough to know that he was the sole successor of the Supreme Dojo, one of the Ten Great Sacred Lands. He was ranked fourth only because he had few battle records.

Fifth seed, Hong Renyi. The Hong Clan's greatest genius of this generation, with Upper-Stage Marquis-Sealing cultivation.

Commentary: Fifty years ago, the Hong Clan produced a peerless genius of the age. He had reached Marquis-Sealing at twenty, King-Sealing at thirty, and Sage Rank at forty. He was the Shadow Saint, and was mentioned here because even someone as peerless as he hadn't been granted the character "Yi." Hong Renyi was descended from Yi Zi and was the first person in the Hong Clan to be granted the character "Yi." His talent spoke for itself.

There was much more, but Lin Huang frowned as he read. He wasn't interested in their strength. What mattered to him was whether any of them had already formed the beginnings of a Dao.

From the Three Holy Mothers, Lin Huang had already learned that under normal cultivation, even peerless geniuses could only understand the Dao in the later stages of King-Sealing. But before that, those with extraordinary talent could still grasp the rudiments of the Dao.

Sword intent, fist intent, and blade intent were all rudiments of the Dao.

"It doesn't say so, but they're all peerless geniuses from major sects. Some can even defeat stronger opponents and kill those above their level. They must have grasped the rudiments of the Dao."

Lin Huang murmured, completely forgetting that he himself hadn't grasped the rudiments of the Dao.

"Forget it. I'll find out in tomorrow's battle. If it's too boring, I can just withdraw."