Ye Xiao stood shirtless on the rooftop, sweat soaking the ground beneath his feet.
As he threw a punch, a faint ochre glow surfaced on his skin. It was a sign that his body was beginning to take shape.
Where his fist passed, the air gave off a dull, rushing sound—not magic, just pure power!
After Ye Xiao had given it everything and thrown nine punches in a row,
his cultivation had reached the Tenth Level of the Mud Embryo Realm.
According to his predecessor's memories,
Ye Xiao learned that martial artists in this world were divided into fifteen realms.
The first ten were: Mud Embryo, Bone Tempering, Tendon Changing, Marrow Cleansing, Golden Body, Gallbladder Condensation, Intent Gathering, Divine Communion, Dao Transformation, and Return to Truth!
Above the tenth realm, one had already transcended the limits of mortal flesh, gaining the might to soar through the heavens and plunge into the earth, split mountains, and cleave seas.
Each realm was divided into levels one through ten.
In addition, different professions had their own corresponding realm names.
But they all shared the same fifteen-realm system.
This provided a common standard for comparing different professions.
At this point, Ye Xiao could not even be considered a martial artist.
He was still in the Mud Embryo Realm.
The Mud Embryo Realm meant that "the body is like an unbaked clay figure, just beginning to take shape and in need of the furnace's flames."
It was a process of tempering the body.
At the peak of the Mud Embryo Realm, a single punch could shatter bluestone, and the body could withstand ordinary weapons!
Only then could one be considered a true martial artist.
"I've already reached the Tenth Level of the Mud Embryo Realm."
"So with my next punch, I'll break through to the Second Realm, Bone Tempering!"
Then,
Ye Xiao once again gave it everything he had and threw a punch!
The wind howled across the entire rooftop.
[ Ding! ]
[You have completed a punch. Punch intensity: 41%!]
[You have gained 1 Martial Value!]
[Your realm has advanced!]
[Current realm: Eleventh Level of the Mud Embryo Realm!]
Suddenly,
Ye Xiao froze in place.
The breakthrough he had imagined never came!
Instead, he had reached the Eleventh Level of the Mud Embryo Realm!
He had gone beyond everything anyone had ever known!
"My major realm didn't break through?"
"Instead, I can still advance through the minor levels?"
Ye Xiao was astonished.
According to his predecessor's memories, this had never happened before.
Ten levels to a realm—that was an unchanging law of heaven and earth since time immemorial!
But now, his existence had broken that rule.
Ye Xiao also noticed
that after his minor realm advanced, the power within his body continued to grow!
At the same time, the foundation of his physical training became even sturdier!
At that moment, Ye Xiao
suddenly smiled.
"Now this is interesting!"
"Other people stop once they reach the tenth level of a realm. They can't advance any further."
"Unless they break through the bottleneck into the next major realm!"
"But I can keep advancing through the minor levels, gaining strength and building a solid foundation!"
"That's my greatest advantage!"
And so,
Ye Xiao's body, which had been weak and utterly drained,
suddenly found a new burst of energy.
"Again!"
"Keep punching!"
He threw four or five more punches in a row.
His realm began to advance!
But as he pushed his strength to its absolute limit, his subsequent punches grew very weak.
When he tried to punch again, Ye Xiao found that his realm would no longer advance.
[ Ding! ]
[You have completed a punch. Punch intensity: 19%!]
[Realm advancement failed!]
At that moment,
Ye Xiao realized something.
Not every kind of punch could advance his realm.
On his attribute panel,
there was a separate entry: Realm Advancement Intensity!
[Realm Advancement Intensity: 30%]
At that point,
Ye Xiao understood what this so-called "Realm Advancement Intensity" meant.
His punch had to exceed thirty percent of his full-body strength.
Only then would that punch advance his realm!
"I should rest for a while."
Ye Xiao muttered to himself and found a place to sit on the rooftop.
He was completely out of strength.
Continuing to practice his punches wouldn't help him improve at all.
He might as well rest and let his body recover.
At the same time, he could study his system's functions.
He opened the system panel to take a look.
[Host: Ye Xiao]
[Profession: Martialist (sole heir of the Extreme Path)]
[Realm: Sixteenth Level of the Mud Embryo Realm]
[Fist Power Amplification: 0%]
[Technique: Extreme Martial Fist Sutra]
[Passive: None]
[Divine Ability: None]
[Status: None]
[Martial Value: 16]
[Realm Advancement Intensity: 30%]
[Requirements for the next major realm breakthrough: Complete a Law-Breaking Fist! (Incomplete)]
Aside from his realm having advanced to the sixteenth level,
Ye Xiao paid particular attention to his technique and Martial Value.
First, there was the Extreme Martial Fist Sutra.
It was a technique he had received when he activated the system.
He examined it.
As soon as he opened it, a grand, cinematic vision of the Martial Path appeared before him!
--
"Who stands at the peak of the Martial Path? One glimpse of Nameless, and the Dao is undone!"
The Extreme Martial Fist Sutra, an ancient Martial Dao Canon and the Extreme Martial Sect's most treasured technique.
It cultivated no spiritual power, refined no soul, relied on no external objects, and asked nothing of fate.
It trained only one punch!
When the fist struck, all laws were shattered!
When the fist withdrew, heaven and earth fell silent!
The sutra declared:
"Forge the bones and sinews of your body into a fist, burn your heart's blood into a fist, and condense the convictions of your life into a fist."
"As long as the fist remains, you remain. When the fist is gone, you are gone."
It was said
that the Extreme Martial Fist Sutra was created ten thousand years ago by a martial artist who called himself "Nameless."
In that age of immortal cultivation, when countless arts contended, the Martial Path was dismissed as brute force.
Nameless sat alone atop the highest peak for three thousand years, never throwing a punch.
Three thousand years later, he opened his eyes and punched the sky.
That punch split the heavens for ninety thousand years!
Beside the mark left by his fist, he carved twenty words:
"Push the limits of martial arts, of the fist, of the heart, and of the Dao."
"Everything else may be abandoned, but never the fist!"
--
After Ye Xiao finished watching the cinematic introduction,
his heart surged with even greater excitement and anticipation.
His mind was filled with the image of Nameless punching the sky!
One punch, and the heavens split for ninety thousand years!
Immediately afterward,
the details of the [Extreme Martial Fist Sutra] appeared before Ye Xiao.
[Extreme Martial Fist Sutra]
[Quality: Martial Dao Canon]
[Level: 0]
[Fist Power Amplification: 0%]
[Upgrade cost: 10 Martial Value]
There was very little information.
Ye Xiao immediately grasped the key point.
"An upgrade costs 10 Martial Value?"
"Every effective punch earns me 1 Martial Value."
"So I have 16 Martial Value right now."
"Then upgrade the Extreme Martial Fist Sutra!"
[10 Martial Value consumed. Extreme Martial Fist Sutra upgraded! (Level 0 → Level 1)]
Once the upgrade was complete,
Ye Xiao checked again and immediately noticed the difference!
[Extreme Martial Fist Sutra]
[Quality: Martial Dao Canon]
[Level: 1]
[Fist Power Amplification: 1%]
[Heart of Extreme Martial (Active): During battle, attacks generate "Battle Intent Value." Once Battle Intent Value is full, you enter a burst state, greatly increasing your combat power! Activating the "Heart of Extreme Martial" continuously consumes a large amount of your strength.]
[Upgrade cost: 20 Martial Value]
First,
the Level 1 Extreme Martial Fist Sutra gave Ye Xiao a 1% increase in fist power.
This meant
that when Ye Xiao threw an ordinary punch,
the Extreme Martial Fist Sutra would take effect and increase the damage of his punch by an additional 1%!
Though this extra 1% seemed small,
once he raised the level of the [Extreme Martial Fist Sutra]...
The damage boost it brought was bound to be considerable!
Besides that,
Ye Xiao had mastered his first skill: "Heart of Extreme Martial."
It appeared to be a skill that temporarily unleashed his combat strength.
If an enemy underestimated Ye Xiao and thought he was about to lose,
that would be the perfect moment for Ye Xiao to turn the tide against all odds!
Ye Xiao had to keep this secret hidden.
Until the moment it was needed.
Then this secret would help Ye Xiao shine!
Before you continue