Martial Golden Sword

As Wu Kong spoke, he rose to his full height. Every movement carried the true meaning of martial arts; every gesture embodied its spirit. He threw a punch—simple, unadorned, without a trace of flourish—yet it carried an unwavering resolve to subdue every suffering in the world.

With every punch, he sought to bring peace and happiness to all humankind. This was a consummate fist art, a fist art of great salvation.

Lin Huang's eyes lit up. He sat straight and watched Wu Kong's punch, nodding again and again. "Legend says the Martial God attained divinity through martial arts and defeated every opponent beneath the heavens, becoming the Divine Being who ruled over all martial arts. But I never imagined that the Martial God's true path was to end war. He created martial arts not to compete for strength or victory, but to stop violence. Good. Good. Good. With great perseverance and resolve, he sought to save all living beings and subdue every suffering. No wonder he attained godhood."

Lin Huang offered heartfelt praise. The Martial God had attained divinity by following the Earthly Path: spreading the seeds of martial arts so everyone could practice them and gain the power to change their fate, thereby putting an end to all conflict.

But on second thought, Lin Huang sighed and rose to his feet, his face expressionless. He threw a punch. It was Earth, and it was Wind; Wind, and Fire; Fire, and Water.

With that punch, Lin Huang's Six Paths Divine Fist broke through once more. He fused the four fists of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind into one. His punch stirred the four elements, carrying the power of the world's primordial source. It was righteous and majestic, impossible to break.

Lin Huang's punch forced Wu Kong back. His expression unchanged, Lin Huang paid no heed to Wu Kong's ugly face and said mildly, "All troubles come from sticking your neck out. The Martial God's intentions were good, but how many who practice martial arts understand that its purpose is to end violence?"

"You don't understand."

With a long sigh, Lin Huang spoke with compassionate sorrow, a faint sadness in his voice. He sighed for the Martial God. The Martial God had attained divinity by ending war, yet later generations had turned that purpose into martial arts for the sake of competition and victory. What a tragedy.

How many Divine Beings in this world had begun with good intentions, wishing to use their own path, their perseverance and resolve, to put an end to worldly conflict, subdue every suffering, and bring peace and happiness to humankind? Yet later generations had twisted their meaning, turning their divine arts into tools for fighting over strength and victory.

The more Lin Huang thought about it, the more tragic it seemed. He felt that if he attained godhood, and later generations twisted his divine path, he too would unleash his fury and burn the world.

Moved by this thought, Lin Huang's fists surged with even greater force, vast and boundless. Every punch carried overwhelming might and the wish in his heart.

"When I attain godhood, all sentient beings shall understand my will."

"When I attain godhood, all the resplendent Gods in the heavens shall understand my heart."

"This path must not be violated!"

"This path must not be defied!"

As he spoke those four lines, Lin Huang threw four punches. The blows swept through the vastness, as though falling from the Nine Heavens and rising from the Nine Underworlds, brilliant as the sun yet faint as a mote of dust.

With the first punch, Wu Kong took a step back. After all four, he had retreated four steps.

With a thunderous crash, the Sacred War Chariot that had endured for ten thousand years was smashed to pieces.

Wu Kong was utterly horrified and could scarcely believe it. He spat out a mouthful of blood and roared, "My God descends, empowering martial arts! To overcome every suffering, subdue all living beings, and end violence! End violence!"

At his roar, divine light surged above Wu Kong's head, and a seven-foot golden sword appeared.

One side depicted all living beings in the world, the other the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Righteous and majestic, the sword instantly subdued Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, Yin and Yang, suppressing everything. In an instant, every sentient being within a hundred li seemed frozen like creatures trapped in amber.

A sonorous voice, like a great bell, echoed through the air. "End violence. End violence."

Tunbao was horrified. She sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and cried, "The Martial Golden Sword! It's actually the Martial Golden Sword!"

Her shriek cut off abruptly. Frozen like a fly in amber, Tunbao was left with her arms and legs flailing, her comical face revealing her profound shock.

"Hahaha!" Wu Kong laughed wildly. The moment the Martial Golden Sword appeared, it suppressed everything. Every sentient being within a hundred li was pinned in place, frozen and unable to move.

This was the supreme sacred treasure left behind by the Martial God, an object of proof that could slay anything.

With a cold laugh, Wu Kong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The seven-foot Martial Golden Sword hovered above his head as he slowly walked toward Lin Huang. "Damn you. You actually made me bleed."

"No one has ever dared to make me bleed. Not even a Saint would dare. And yet you made me bleed."

Lin Huang's body was suppressed by the Martial Golden Sword. He remained expressionless and didn't even look at Wu Kong's approaching, twisted face. He simply focused on comprehending the mysteries within the sword.

This was the object with which the Martial God had attained divinity, inscribed with the many facets of his divine path. Seeing it today had brought Lin Huang great insight.

In Lin Huang's perception, the Martial Golden Sword embodied every truth of martial arts and could suppress everything. But its power did not come from martial arts themselves. It came from the pure, innocent heart of those who first took up martial arts—the original wish to change their fate.

The wishes of every race in the Myriad Worlds, all those who practiced martial arts in the hope of changing their fates, had gathered together and bestowed on the Martial Golden Sword the power to suppress everything. To resist it was to stand against the wishes of every sentient being in the Myriad Worlds.

Such a gathered will could suppress even a Divine Being, who would not dare defy the wishes of all living beings, let alone a Saint. That was why even Lin Huang was suppressed beneath the Martial Golden Sword.

This was Wu Kong's trump card, the power with which he could stand against a Great Saint.

Compared with Wu Kong's Martial Golden Sword, the Blood Droplet belonging to Xue Linglong, another descendant of divine blood, seemed rather small-minded. But that was only natural; even among the Gods, some stood above others.

Lin Huang knew that the Martial God's divine rank far surpassed the Blood God's. He stood just below a handful of supreme God Lords and was peerless in strength among the Gods.

"I'll kill you. I'll teach you that the Martial God's authority must not be blasphemed. Nor may my authority be blasphemed."

Wu Kong slowly approached Lin Huang, step by step. He wanted to see despair on Lin Huang's face.

But he saw nothing. Lin Huang merely let out a deep sigh. Under Wu Kong's horrified gaze, he spoke slowly. "Born at the wrong time, never having met the Martial God—that is a true tragedy."

After speaking, Lin Huang looked at Wu Kong, his expression unchanged. "When there are no heroes, even a whelp can make a name for himself! A tragedy! A tragedy!"

After three sighs, Lin Huang suddenly let out a great roar. At his shout, mountains and rivers shattered.

Wu Kong screamed. Lin Huang's roar shook him until he became a writhing mass of flesh. Martial arts secrets, divine techniques, protective powers—all were useless. Under Lin Huang's roar, they crumbled to pieces. The Martial Golden Sword barely shielded a sliver of his vitality, keeping him from death.

Lin Huang flicked out a finger, without the faintest trace of force. He tapped the Martial Golden Sword above Wu Kong's head. The gesture seemed casual, yet it severed the invisible bloodline connection between Wu Kong and the sword.

The Martial Golden Sword rang out, clear and bright, as if joyful, as if freed. Divine light surged from it, and it began to fall into Lin Huang's hand.

Lin Huang waved it away. "That is his path, not mine."

As soon as he spoke, the Martial Golden Sword's divine light blazed. Countless figures sprang into the air, practicing martial arts without a trace of impurity or divine glamour. Their techniques were crude and simple, yet their hearts were pure: the innocent path of all sentient beings as they first trained in martial arts, yearning to change their fate.

Billions of figures practiced martial arts, weaving laws and the Dao together before pouring into Lin Huang's body. Then the Martial Golden Sword flashed and vanished without a trace.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Lin Huang sighed. He didn't spare a glance at Wu Kong, who lay gravely wounded on the ground, barely clinging to life. He took one step and returned to his seat, closed his eyes, and carefully contemplated the impact the Martial Golden Sword had made on him.

Tunbao looked at Lin Huang with fear. He seemed ever more unfathomable now, vast and ethereal, as if he could attain godhood on the spot at any moment.

Suppressing her faint fear of Lin Huang, Tunbao rolled her eyes and went over to Wu Kong. She gave a cold giggle, grabbed a chain, and slipped it around his neck. "Heh heh! Divine blood?! Descendant of the Martial God?! Come on, give this old lady a smile. Heh heh heh!"

Tunbao laughed with delight, like a little fox that had stolen a hen. She dragged Wu Kong like a dead dog over to Lin Huang and fawned, "Lin Huang. Lin Huang. I have a tip for you: Xue Linglong and the others are planning to hire someone to ambush you. Since I've turned from darkness to light, why don't you give him to me? I've never tasted divine blood before."

Lin Huang slowly opened his eyes and flicked a finger. The chain around Wu Kong's neck turned into a collar. Tunbao was deeply disappointed and aggrieved; she knew Wu Kong had become Lin Huang's slave too and would have to find sacrificial offerings for him.

"No matter. I need a great many sacrificial offerings. The more people they bring, the better."

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