After Qi Jingshi unleashed a strike that brought his essence, energy, and spirit together in perfect harmony, he was surprised to find that he had barely used up any of his strength.
It was as if his attack, unleashed in that state, had reached some kind of turning point, while he himself had merely guided it. The true force behind it had come from the world itself.
"That power covering such a wide area was incredible. It felt like it came from the same source as the power Buddha Lord used when he flew us here."
Qi Jingshi tried to direct his own strength in tandem with his consciousness. As he focused his will, a golden light rose from his body once more, its hazy radiance spreading across hundreds of meters of sea.
"Pop!"
The surface of the water exploded, and Qi Tian, surrounded by several meters of golden energy, shot up from the seabed.
Having just felt the full force of Qi Jingshi's strike, he was slightly surprised. The power unleashed by that punch had far exceeded what someone at his level should have been capable of. It had nearly matched the force he'd wielded when two blazing fireballs had formed inside his Life Crystal Core.
"Buddha Lord, are you all right?" Qi Shangye kept the beast claw hovering beside him. The moment he saw Qi Tian surface, he hurriedly flew over to ask.
That punch had given Qi Shangye quite a scare. After spending decades together and sparring countless times, he had never known Qi Jingshi could unleash such strength.
Qi Jingshi hurried over too, a look of alarm on his face. When he'd launched that attack, his fighting spirit had reached a new height, and he'd momentarily forgotten that his target was Qi Tian.
"Please forgive me, Buddha Lord. I can't really explain what came over me. I got carried away."
"It's all right."
Qi Tian shook his head. The attack had been powerful, but it hadn't even been enough to break through his defenses. The golden energy he'd released had blocked it with ease.
"Not bad," Qi Tian praised Qi Jingshi. The stronger his three generals were, the better. He hoped they would reach his level as soon as possible.
Qi Jingshi knew Qi Tian could never have been hurt by him. He'd only worried that attacking him might have been disrespectful. Now that Qi Tian had forgiven him, he let out a sigh of relief. When he heard the praise, delight spread across his face.
At that moment, Qi Tianshou flew back as well. He glanced at Qi Tian and saw that his clothes weren't even wrinkled, which put him at ease. Then he turned to stare at Qi Jingshi.
"Boss, how did you manage to make that attack so powerful?"
Qi Jingshi was taken aback. "I don't know. It just felt like that was how I should throw the punch. My physical strength, the energy in my body, and my focus all came together in that instant, reaching what felt like exactly the right state. Then I just let it fly."
Qi Tian marveled inwardly. Is this what a genius is like?
He could also produce the golden energy that covered a certain area around him, but that was something he'd been born with when his body was formed.
The fight just now hadn't even counted as a warm-up for him. He hadn't been able to fully unleash his physical strength the way Qi Jingshi had, much less bring out all the energy within him.
Judging only by the power of that battle, if he used the Golden Buddha Form, expanded the golden energy field, and drew on all his energy, he might not be able to sink a continent, but he could reduce every living thing on it to dust.
"Keep sparring. Tianshou, Shangye, pay close attention to Jingshi's state during that fight. Try to master that power as soon as you can," Qi Tian urged them.
"Yes, Buddha Lord!" the three replied in unison.
Qi Tian nodded and returned to the Gold Soul Clan Sacred Hall. He had only just formed his body today and had been eager to put it through its paces. He still hadn't had time to study his new Indestructible Golden Body talent in detail.
As soon as he returned to the sacred hall and sat back down on the altar, Qi Tian sensed a change in the bloodline of a nearby member of the Gold Soul Clan.
"Hm? Has a new life just come into being in the Gold Soul Clan?"
With his awareness spread out, he could sense the entire Gold Soul Clan Sacred Land. The village that had once consisted of several hundred wooden houses had become a sprawling city covering dozens of kilometers. It was called Gold Soul City.
The new city had a distinctly ancient Chinese style. Qi Tian had guided his people in building it. If he'd known more about architecture and materials, he would have built skyscrapers instead.
By now, hundreds of thousands of people lived in Gold Soul City. Most had been welcomed into the city as the Gold Soul Clan expanded its territory, while some had married into the clan in recent years.
Following the change in the bloodline, Qi Tian soon found a spacious courtyard. Two people were there.
The one carrying the new bloodline was a girl, swinging a stone pillar as she trained. A young man beside her was guiding her movements.
The girl wasn't a member of the Gold Soul Clan, but the young man instructing her was. At that moment, the young couple had no idea they had brought a new life with Gold Soul Clan blood into the world.
"It seems that after this new life was conceived, I began to feel the bloodline being suppressed."
Qi Tian carefully examined the sensation of the bloodline shackles. He couldn't understand why he was sensing it.
"Could there be a limit to how many members the Gold Soul Clan can have?" Qi Tian checked the number of people carrying the bloodline. "There are 10,081 in total. Is that the current limit on how many members of the Gold Soul Clan can be born?"
Qi Tian was puzzled. But ever since he'd sensed the new bloodline, he'd undeniably felt a constraining force. It wasn't very strong, though.
"It might have something to do with my current level of strength. If I can grow stronger, I should be able to increase the population of the Gold Soul Clan."
The thought eased his concerns. The Gold Soul Clan shared his bloodline, but they weren't the only source of faith. Anyone on the planet who believed in him, Qi Tian, could provide him with a greater or lesser amount of it.
In the early days, many tribes had struggled to survive under the threat of wild beasts. After Qi Tian sent members of the Gold Soul Clan to rescue them, those who had benefited from his kindness believed in him no less than the other members of the clan.
Besides, the Gold Soul Clan could still have children. It was just that those children wouldn't carry the clan's bloodline or gain the Indestructible Golden Body talent.
"I should tell Jingshi and the others about this. Otherwise, if their future children discover they can't take the Golden Buddha Form, there could be disputes within their families."
Qi Tian calmed his mind. He understood that the key to the problem lay with him. If he could break through and grow stronger, the Gold Soul Clan could continue to expand. That really did prove the old saying:
To forge iron, one must be strong oneself!
Thinking of the "Blood Cloud Palace Master" who had given him the Soul-Suppressing Buddha Bead, Qi Tian remembered how a mere imprint of that being's consciousness had made his whole body tremble. Compared with him, Qi Tian was no more than an ant.
"This is a world where all power comes from within. No matter how much stronger Qi Jingshi and the others grow or how many members the Gold Soul Clan gains, they'll only ever be outside help. If I want to become truly powerful, I have to rely on myself."
Having understood this, Qi Tian's resolve to grow stronger became even firmer.
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