Cultivation: Start From Simplifying Martial Arts Techniques

“Will you go in three days?” Zhao Ruizheng looked at Chen Fei in mid-air.

“I’ll consider it,” Chen Fei replied after a moment’s thought.

Indeed, Chen Fei needed to carefully weigh whether to participate in this three-way life-and-death battle.

Taking the stage meant facing life or death, with no option to surrender—only complete annihilation of one side would end the contest.

In this battle concerning the fate of dimensions, conceding was not an option.

Thus, lacking absolute confidence, it truly was a path of no return; one misstep could lead to irreversible consequences.

However, if he were to participate in this duel, the potential rewards could be astonishingly vast.

One could say, this might be the greatest gain Chen Fei could ever achieve in his entire life.

Zhao Ruizheng nodded without further inquiry.

Earlier, at the Central Hall, upon hearing Jian Xuming’s words, Zhao Ruizheng had entertained thoughts, but ultimately suppressed them.

He knew his own situation well. Zhao Ruizheng was currently at the peak of the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm among his own kin.

However, his actual combat strength was far from the pinnacle of this stage in the Mountain Sea Realm, where many were stronger than him.

Not to mention others, just among those top forces’ geniuses, they were definitely stronger than Zhao Ruizheng, let alone the Sacred Lands.

The Monster King’s side was the same.

The selection three days later carried its dangers, but Zhao Ruizheng felt it was better not to embarrass himself by stepping up, lest he be swept aside directly, which would have been quite unseemly.

However, Zhao Ruizheng didn’t have much confidence in himself, but he held high hopes for Chen Fei.

Some time ago, during the attack on Thousand Geese City by the followers of the Black Divine, Chen Fei had killed one person with a single sword, a scene that remained vivid in Zhao Ruizheng’s mind.

Such power undoubtedly placed him among the very top echelons of the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm.

But Zhao Ruizheng didn’t try to persuade Chen Fei to participate because if Chen Fei had been chosen and had ended up in the three-way deathmatch, he would truly have been risking his life.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei and Zhao Ruizheng returned to Thousand Geese City, where Tang Shouchang and others had welcomed them.

Upon hearing Chen Fei’s account of what had happened at the Central Hall, Tang Shouchang and the others had shown expressions of astonishment, followed by a heavy silence.

After a moment, Chen Fei had returned to the Tingfeng Pavilion, sitting in the courtyard and gazing into the distance.

To go or not?

Chen Fei had wanted to go!

If Chen Fei were to win, he could seize the opportunity to obtain resources for advancing to the Sun Moon Realm.

Not only spiritual materials, but also martial arts inheritances.

Currently, Chen Fei already possessed the Purple Sky Stellar Technique, a heritage that rivaled the foundational martial arts of the Sacred Lands.

However, if he could acquire other foundational martial arts from different Sacred Lands and integrate them, Chen Fei’s primary martial art could potentially reach the pinnacle of the Boundless Sea.

As long as Chen Fei achieved the Fourth-Tier Mid-Level, securing five spots in the duels, resources from all Sacred Lands would be fully available to him.

Everything needed for enhancement, the Sacred Lands would provide—all resources capable of boosting a contender’s strength.

Chen Fei planned to enter at the Fourth-Tier Mid-Level without raising his cultivation.

Seven innate talents, including the Thunderstorm, would be able to reach the Great Completion stage.

By then, if Chen Fei requested the Myriad Bamboo from the Sacred Lands, all such bamboos would favor him.

With all his martial arts reaching the Great Completion, the remaining Myriad Bamboo would suffice for Chen Fei to advance to the pinnacle of the Mountain Sea Realm.

One Myriad Bamboo, six thousand high-quality elemental stones—could such a thing be considered an issue?

And with Chen Fei’s strength, there was no reason for him to have fallen behind in the three-way deathmatch.

Contenders could only wield spiritual treasures of their own realm, limited to just one item. Any talisman or exotic treasure that surpassed their own realm was strictly prohibited.

Potent elixirs capable of unleashing formidable power were similarly forbidden.

You had to rely solely on your own strength, without borrowing from external sources.

With so many Fifth Stage powers watching, and the rules of the Boundless Sea encompassing them, cheating was absolutely impossible.

“The Black Divine could bestow Fourth-Tier talents upon Monsters, but they couldn’t bear too many talents because they weren’t complete. As for the foreign races, the number of talents they cultivated among peers was probably not much different from the Sacred Land Prodigies.”

Chen Fei pondered deeply. Long ago, he believed he could obtain a god palace and a talent because he had perfected each talent, meeting the conditions for exploring the void.

However, as he continued to train and eventually perfected the Purple Sky Stellar Technique, Chen Fei realized he could obtain a god palace and a talent for each, all of which were perfected.

Yet, a more significant part of this was due to the power of the panel.

Every realm had its own training limits, meaning that eventually, you had to break through the barriers to continue training.

The number of talents obtained in the void was similarly limited.

In the foundational martial arts of the Sacred Lands, the maximum number of talents a Mountain Sea Realm practitioner could possess was five, based on years of practical experience.

After all, while it was challenging to perfect each talent to the Great Completion stage, there were undoubtedly geniuses who could achieve this. Even some Celestial Treasures could assist in this process.

However, ultimately, the upper limit of talents within the Sacred Land martial arts remained fixed.

Being too rigid would lead to easy breakage, with too many talents causing the body and even the soul to burst.

It’s like a bottle that can only hold so much. If you want to hold more, you either have to enlarge the bottle or increase the density of what you’re putting in.

Both options, in fact, involve advancing one’s realm.

Similarly, this situation exists among the Monster beasts.

However, the panel seemed to defy this common sense.

The Boundless Sea and the Monster Emperors were willing to accept this life-and-death battle because the top Fourth-Tier powers on both sides couldn’t differ too much.

Even though the Black Divine and the foreign races had special abilities to add talents to their subordinates, the quantity was fixed, no matter how they were added.

Meanwhile, the sacred sons within the Sacred Lands had long ago perfectly integrated talents with martial arts, making them fundamentally unafraid of peers from the Black Divine and foreign races.

Chen Fei’s seven talents in the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm were simply unprecedented.

He had even dispatched the descendants of the Emperor at the Thousand Feathers Alliance Altar without any trouble. The Fourth-Tier mid-level powers of the Black Divine and the foreign races were probably at that level.

Or perhaps slightly stronger?

Chen Fei weighed the pros and cons of various scenarios and ultimately decided to participate in the selection three days later.

As for exposing his current strength or being suspected of being aligned with the Black Divine, Chen Fei only needed to employ the Divine Blessing Dream Entry Technique to explain everything.

The Sacred Lords in the Sacred Lands were bound to know about the Divine Blessing Dream Entry Technique, which was practically a cheating tool at the Fourth-Tier.

Chen Fei’s recent rapid advancement in realms now had a reasonable explanation.

Previously, he had been unwilling to reveal his strength due to insufficient benefits.

The news of the three-way deathmatch spread like wildfire throughout the entire sacred city.

Some people were hopeful, wishing for the Boundless Sea to triumph and bring an end to the current turmoil once and for all. The constant sense of impending doom was too unbearable.

Others were worried, fearing that the Fourth-Tier powers of the Boundless Sea were simply no match for the other two factions.

After all, the strong of the Black Divine and the foreign races were at least at the Sixth-Tier or higher, a level far beyond the current achievements of the Boundless Sea.

Many people even harbored some complaints in their hearts, questioning why those powerful figures who shattered the void of the Boundless Sea back then hadn’t returned.

If those powerful figures had been willing to come back, perhaps none of this would have happened.

Amidst this uproar, three days passed in the blink of an eye.

“I will participate in this competition,” Chen Fei said quietly to his master Feng Xiupu and the sect leader Qu Qingsheng, among others, at the residence of the Primordial Sword Sect.

“Be extra careful, and don’t force yourself!”

Feng Xiupu looked at his most accomplished disciple with the intention to dissuade him, but he was unsure of the right words.

Chen Fei, now at the mid-stage of the Mountain Sea Realm, had reached this level of cultivation through unwavering determination.

Once he made up his mind, he wouldn’t easily change it.

“I understand,” Chen Fei chuckled softly.

“Today’s selection will be conducted publicly. Would you all like to come and watch?”

Various factions within the sacred city could observe the selection process live.

By the time of the three-way deathmatch, those not of the Mountain Sea Realm wouldn’t even be able to be present.

Qu Qingsheng and the others exchanged glances and nodded. Such an occasion, even if they couldn’t participate, was still a precious opportunity to witness.

An hour later, the people from Thousand Geese City arrived at the central hall, which was already bustling with a sea of people.

Fortunately, the central hall was large enough, so there was no need to worry about finding a place to stand.

Moreover, for battles between Fourth-Tier practitioners, the arena had to be spacious enough to allow them to fully unleash their abilities.

“Are you all from Thousand Geese City?”

A figure appeared before Chen Fei and the others, sporting a goatee and smiling with squinted eyes.

“What business do you have?” Zhao Ruizheng frowned.

“Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not here to investigate you all. I’m here because someone has prepared a list of potential participants for today’s selection,” Fei Jiaxing quickly explained, seeing Zhao Ruizheng and the others’ unfriendly expressions.

He then took out a jade slip from his sleeve and continued, “This is the list. I came over because Brother Chen is on it.”

Fei Jiaxing turned to look at Chen Fei as he spoke.

The incident where the Black Divine’s ally attacked Thousand Geese City, followed by Chen Fei’s slaying of two mid-stage Mountain Sea Realm experts, had already slowly spread throughout the sacred city.

“At what cost?” Tang Shouchang whispered.

Fei Jiaxing coming to their doorstep and presenting the jade slip naturally wasn’t a free service.

“Not expensive at all, just fifty high-quality elemental stones,” Fei Jiaxing’s smile widened even further, his eyes almost disappearing into slits.

“Alright!”

Tang Shouchang didn’t haggle and directly took out fifty high-quality elemental stones, which Fei Jiaxing promptly accepted. He then placed the jade slip down and walked away towards another direction.

Fifty high-quality elemental stones weren’t cheap, but in situations where there might be potential opponents, it was considered worthwhile.

Regardless of whether they participated or not, human curiosity was always present.

And for Fei Jiaxing, selling these slips at fifty high-quality elemental stones each, the cumulative amount would certainly add up to a considerable sum.

Tang Shouchang handed the jade slip to Chen Fei, who briefly scanned it with his consciousness before withdrawing his focus..