"You've brought your Divine Body to great accomplishment."
"Your tribulations are complete."
"You may leave now."
The Three Holy Mothers spoke slowly. Though she had driven Lin Huang away several days ago, both she and Lin Huang knew that their bond had not truly ended. Only now, with Lin Huang's foundation established and his Divine Body brought to great accomplishment, did she speak of ending their connection.
Lin Huang nodded. "I came to return the blade."
The Three Holy Mothers' gaze sharpened as she looked at Lin Huang.
Lin Huang casually reached out and caught the long blade. He flicked its edge with a finger, and a ringing clang rang out, like clashing armies. Then he pushed his palm forward. The blade left his hand, like a dragon, like fire, like water, like earth, like wind, like yin and yang, like heaven and earth.
The Three Holy Mothers remained expressionless, but in that instant, the Calligraphy Saint raised her brush, the Zither Saint plucked her strings, and the Chess Saint extended a finger.
Without a sound, without the slightest trace of commotion, the long blade changed hands and was already in the Chess Saint's grasp.
With a sharp crack, the long blade broke and clattered to the ground.
"The blade is broken."
"Our bond is at an end."
"Why haven't you left yet?!"
Lin Huang suddenly smiled and waved a hand. "There's one more method I haven't proven. I haven't truly reached perfection, so I'll need to stay a few more days."
The Three Holy Mothers glanced at Lin Huang.
"Stay if you want."
"Leave if you want."
"We cultivators."
"Mustn't be so fussy."
"What a ridiculous sight."
Lin Huang nodded, his tone calm, as if he were talking about someone else. "I've gained many insights over these past two days. The Six Paths are a foundation that accords with my Dao, and they won't be difficult to take up. But there's one method whose roots I haven't grasped, and so I'm uncertain."
"Keep your heart as cautious as if treading on thin ice, and act with fearless determination."
"You already have your answer."
"Why ask me?"
The Three Holy Mothers snorted. Each spoke one line, then, without giving Lin Huang a chance to reply, shut the door and drove him out.
Lin Huang smiled and walked back to his quarters with his hands behind his back. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he focused his thoughts. He reached down and wrote the words Six Paths in the dirt, then turned his brushstroke and added the words Reincarnation. He stared at those two words in silence.
After a long while, Lin Huang sighed. "This is the Dao Path. Once I begin, I must follow it to the end. There can be no changing it. No rush, no rush."
He reached down and wiped away the writing, then looked at his palm.
"My Divine Body has reached great accomplishment, and my tribulations are complete. The alternative method of attaining Sainthood didn't ruin my foundation. But if I want my Divine Body to reach full perfection—or even go a step further and cultivate a Perfect Divine Body—I'll ultimately have to rely on this other method."
"I can keep competing in the First Martial Arts Tournament. Learning from the myriad Daos should help me establish that other method."
The cultivation of the Divine Body progressed through lesser accomplishment, perfected lesser accomplishment, great accomplishment, perfected great accomplishment, and finally the Perfect Divine Body.
Each step was harder than the last.
Once one reached lesser accomplishment, one had to find and fill in the gaps, reversing the acquired to return to the innate. But in the end, it all came down to resources. Many peerless talents were born with Divine Bodies, reaching the level of lesser accomplishment as soon as they were born.
But though the step from lesser accomplishment to perfected lesser accomplishment seemed small, it was almost impossible to cross.
What was perfection?
To be complete and without flaws—that was perfection. Four simple words, but how could they be easy to achieve? Especially when the strength of one's soul placed limits on one's perception: many minute details were simply impossible to grasp. That was why a Divine Body at the Marquis-Sealing ultimate realm was perfected at lesser accomplishment. Even at the King-Sealing ultimate realm, one could only reach great accomplishment. And at the Saint Rank, one could at most cultivate a Divine Body to perfected great accomplishment.
As for the Perfect Divine Body...
As long as one was human, one could not be perfect. Perfection was a synonym for the divine. That was why only Divine Beings could attain the Perfect Divine Body.
If Lin Huang hadn't had a sudden inspiration at the last moment and undergone the Heaven and Earth Two Tribulations again, reshaping his Divine Body with the power of heaven and earth, he would never have been able to cultivate it to great accomplishment.
Unless he also carved the method of Reincarnation—which he had yet to figure out—into his Divine Body. But if he did that, Lin Huang would have fixed his Dao in place, with no chance to change it. Otherwise, his foundation would collapse, and he would never have another chance to become a god.
Now, Lin Huang had used the Six Paths as his bones and heaven and earth as his skin to complete his foundation and bring his Divine Body to great accomplishment. Only then had he truly reached the same level as the Three Holy Mothers and the others.
A thought stirred in Lin Huang's mind, and insights welled up one after another. After grasping everything, he made his decision and settled down to carefully contemplate the changes brought by his Divine Body's great accomplishment.
The next day, at ten o'clock sharp, Lin Huang opened his eyes. With a thought, he entered the Dream God Realm.
After two days of competition, the original pool of more than three billion contestants had been whittled down to just thirty million. With a ninety-percent elimination rate in every match, the First Martial Arts Tournament's preliminaries rapidly sifted out the chaff, leaving only those who were no ordinary talents. They also drew the attention of more and more races from beyond the worlds.
One after another, names that had once gone unnoticed began to shine through the preliminaries, drawing everyone's attention.
Listening casually to the discussions around him, Lin Huang heard one genius's name after another as people argued over who was most likely to win the championship.
With an indifferent expression, Lin Huang once again walked past the Divine Stele. He stopped for a moment and looked up. Dream God Machine's name stood high above, shining through the ages as if it would remain eternal.
Lowering his head, Lin Huang looked at his palm and clenched his fist. Then he suddenly smiled and strode into the third day of the preliminaries.
"Thousand-person battle. Map: Eternal Silence Plain. The match ends when one hundred contestants remain."
It was said that the maps used in the Dream God Realm for this First Martial Arts Tournament all existed in reality. No one knew which great world the Eternal Silence Plain belonged to, but it was exactly as its name suggested: there wasn't even a trace of air. It was a vacuum.
Like the outer reaches of space, it was eternally silent. There wasn't the faintest sound—only darkness and stillness. Even the sound of one's own breathing was inaudible.
"Interesting."
Lin Huang suddenly spoke. With his strength, what difficulty could a vacuum pose if he wanted to talk?
After thinking for a moment, Lin Huang didn't leave. His lips moved, and his voice spread across the entire Eternal Silence map. "I'm here. Who dares come?"
After speaking, Lin Huang stood with his hands behind his back and quietly watched the sky.
With his Divine Body at great accomplishment, even while suppressing his Saint Rank soul, he was strong enough to sweep aside every genius. The only reason he was still competing was to witness the myriad techniques. After all, the further the tournament progressed, the more the contestants left would be the true geniuses of this generation, drawing from every sect and teaching in the Human Realm. He would get to see all kinds of divine arts and secret techniques—and it was far easier than visiting them all in person.
"Well, look at that. He can actually speak in a vacuum. He must be a genius. Now that's the kind of opponent I want."
Lin Huang's words shook the entire Eternal Silence Plain. Some were frightened and fled immediately, while others, confident in their skills, hurried toward him.
"Why are there so many experts?" Qianshan Huo said, holding his blade in surprise.
He had encountered Lin Huang in the first preliminary match and fallen just short of victory, leaving him furious and frustrated. He hadn't expected to run into another madman in the third preliminary match—someone who, with a single simple sentence, meant to challenge the entire field alone.
"Come on. Let's go take a look. Qianshan Huo, the two of us can challenge even our master together, let alone some arrogant genius."
Another man spoke. His ability to talk in a vacuum showed how powerful he was. He held a sword in his hand and was the sole disciple of the World-Surpassing Sword King, who was on good terms with the Mortal World Blade King. By chance, he had been placed in the same preliminary match as Qianshan Huo, and they had immediately joined forces, hoping to make a name for themselves.
Qianshan Huo nodded. "Good. Let's go. I want to see what kind of arrogant fool he is."
"Exactly. Everyone who entered this First Martial Arts Tournament thinks they're a genius. There can't be that many geniuses. Come on, come on, come on."
The two ran and talked as they went. Before long, they had reached a point within three hundred feet of Lin Huang.
Both of them were seasoned fighters with rich experience in battle. Though they spoke dismissively, they knew that anyone who dared challenge the entire field would be difficult to deal with. They concealed their presence, intending to watch and see what happened.
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