Ye Liuyun was curled up in a ball, trembling constantly. His face, pale and bloodless, was a mask of terror.

"What happened here?"

This was the state he was in when Elder Qi and the others from the Martial World found him.

Inside the cave.

Fu Huanlian started a campfire and sat beside Ye Liuyun, gently patting his shoulder. Her expression was a canvas of shifting emotions.

"He lost?"

"Yes, he lost."

Fu Huanlian nodded.

"It’s alright," Elder Qi said, trying to console him.

"As the saying goes, where there’s life, there’s hope. Hero Ye, you’re still young. This was an honorable defeat against Dugu Wuwang. You’ll still have chances in the future."

"No." Fu Huanlian sighed.

"Dugu Wuwang didn’t win, either. The ultimate winner was the Third Prince, Zheng Hong—the future Emperor of the Zheng Kingdom."

Hmm?

Elder Qi’s expression faltered.

Fu Huanlian took a deep breath and relayed everything she had learned from Ye Liuyun, including how Zheng Hong had dispatched men disguised as fiends from the Red Blood Sect to slaughter people of the Martial World.

"SLAP!"

A man slapped his thigh hard.

"I always thought something was strange. The Red Blood Sect is strong, but not so strong that they could take on the entire Martial World. I knew some other power had to be involved."

"So it was the Imperial Court!"

"No wonder..."

He wasn’t the only one who had this sudden realization. Some faces flushed with anger, while others’ eyes darted about furtively. The atmosphere in the cave grew exceedingly strange.

"What do we do next?" someone whispered.

"Are we really supposed to go against the Imperial Court?"

"SWISH!"

A figure flickered, quickly distancing himself from the group.

"Everyone, I have some urgent business to attend to at home and can’t stay long. Since Hero Ye is alright, I will take my leave now."

"..."

The crowd exchanged uncertain glances. In the next moment, several more people made their excuses and left.

Even those who remained wore varying expressions; it was clearly impossible to unite them against the Imperial Court now.

"Zheng Hong killed Dugu Wuwang with a single slash and completely shattered Hero Ye’s spirit. Even if both of them were injured at the time, that level of strength is still unthinkable," someone lamented with a sigh.

"Unless the Unparalleled Grandmaster Fu Xuan himself were resurrected, no one under heaven could be his match. What’s more, he’s about to ascend the throne. For us to seek revenge would be a fool’s errand!"

"Hero Ye," Elder Qi said, stepping forward.

"That Saber Technique of Zheng Hong’s... is it truly that horrifying?"

"..." Ye Liuyun’s body trembled slightly. He slowly lifted his head, a torrent of complex emotions flashing in his eyes before finally dissolving into a long sigh.

"Cross and Vertical Saber!"

"If I had been uninjured and had perfected my Five Elements Celestial Sword, I might have had a chance against Dugu Wuwang. But... I would be no match for Zheng Hong. None at all."

Fu Huanlian’s heart sank. She couldn’t comprehend what kind of Saber Technique could drive Ye Liuyun—a man born with a flawless Sword Heart—to such utter despair.

’To make a master with the potential to be number one under heaven lose all will to fight... just how terrifying must such a Saber Technique be?’

A dead silence fell over the cave.

While his ambition was in the Imperial Court, he plotted against countless high officials. He forced the Emperor to place the Crown Prince under house arrest. Then, even while far from the Capital City, he orchestrated the deaths of both the Emperor and the Crown Prince. The brilliance of his methods was terrifying.

In the Martial World, he single-handedly incited massive turmoil, cultivated the most powerful Martial Arts under heaven, and with a single strike, killed Dugu Wuwang and shattered Ye Liuyun’s Sword Heart.

This...

He was... inhuman!

"A Celestial Demon Star has fallen!" Elder Qi lamented, his eyes closed in sorrow.

"Can it be? Is there no one in this world who can stop him?"

"No!" Fu Huanlian’s eyes flashed.

"There is one person who might be able to."

*

*

*

Tavern.

Private room.

Zhu Ju cracked open the window shutter and peered down at the shopfront below, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"Wancai Cloth Shop..."

’Something isn’t right.’

He had planned on using the shop to lie low and recuperate for a while, but he found it was a facade of calm hiding a state of high alert.

A short while later.

When Zhu Ju returned to the tavern, two old acquaintances were waiting in his room.

"Brother Ye!"

"Miss Fu."

"Brother Zhu." Fu Huanlian spoke first.

"Is something wrong at the Wancai Cloth Shop?"

"Yes." Zhu Ju sighed lightly.

"The new Prefect of Yue City, Lord Qian, was assassinated in his mansion. The Government Office is saying I did it."

"Now..."

"My wanted poster has been distributed to every State Mansion."

"It seems Zheng Hong hasn’t spared you, Brother Zhu," Fu Huanlian said with a nod, before recounting the full story of the confrontation between Ye Liuyun and Dugu Wuwang.

"Such methods!" After a moment of thought, Zhu Ju couldn’t help but exclaim with grudging admiration.

"First, he has Lord Fang transferred away. Then he installs a man of insatiable greed to take his place, forcing me to act. And even if I hadn’t been moved to act, he could have sent his own men to assassinate the official and still pinned the crime on me."

"And then there’s the Whale Rider, Mui Beiting..."

"Even if I had made it up the mountain, based on Brother Ye’s description, I fear I wouldn’t have been his match. Yet despite that, he still had Mui Beiting try to intercept me. This Third Prince is not only a meticulous and flawless planner, but he’s also extremely cautious, allowing for no variables whatsoever."

"Indeed," Fu Huanlian agreed, her own expression complex.

"In the Imperial Court, he rises to the throne."

"In the Martial World, he is unmatched."

"Zheng Hong has everyone dancing in the palm of his hand. With methods like these, he is truly a worthy successor to the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Cross Method, even if a generation removed."

"Indeed," Zhu Ju said with a shrug.

"It’s a shame there are no Unparalleled Grandmasters left alive. The Martial World’s top experts have been all but wiped out. There’s no one left who can threaten Zheng Hong."

Dugu Wuwang, Old Sir Ye, Saint Monk Yuanding... one by one, these masters have fallen. Even a rising star like Ye Liuyun was grievously wounded and has lost his will to fight.

And below them...

The Whale Rider, the Three Capitals Guardians of the Red Blood Sect, the renowned Limit-Breaking Grandmasters of the Martial World—few of them survived either.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Court’s forces remain strong.

And Zheng Hong is seated firmly on the throne of the greatest master in the world.

"Sigh!"

Zhu Ju sighed.

"I put so much effort into the Wancai Cloth Shop, building it to what it is today, only for it all to turn to dust in a single day."

He didn’t much care for the affairs of the Martial World, but the loss of the Wancai Cloth Shop was a gut-wrenching blow.

"Not necessarily!"

Fu Huanlian narrowed her eyes.

"Since time immemorial, evil has never triumphed over good. Zheng Hong may treat the world as his personal plaything, but there’s always someone who can defy his expectations."

As she spoke, she stared directly at Zhu Ju.

A Prince, who cultivated an invincible Saber Technique. A mere merchant, who possessed an equally unbelievable depth of power.

’Isn’t this the perfect variable, right here in front of me?’

"Miss Fu."

Zhu Ju shrugged at her intense stare.

"Give me ten, maybe twenty years, and surpassing the Third Prince might not be impossible."

"But..."

"It would be meaningless!"

"The Emperor and Crown Prince are dead. Zheng Hong is on his way back to the Capital City to be enthroned. Soon, he will be the ruler of all."

’Even if I achieve great mastery in ten years, what then? Am I supposed to storm the Imperial Palace and assassinate him?’

’The Imperial Palace is heavily fortified and swarming with elite troops. Unless one is an Innate Qi Refiner, it’s impossible to break in and kill an Emperor.’

’And if I really became an Innate,’

’killing Zheng Hong would be pointless by then. At best, it would only be for personal satisfaction.’

"No!"

Fu Huanlian gently shook her head.

"There is another way."

"My ancestor, Fu Xuan, left a painting for his descendants. It records the secret of how he became an Unparalleled Grandmaster. He decreed that if a descendant could achieve a Limit Break before the age of thirty, they could view the painting and inherit his true legacy."

"We have proven unworthy; in a hundred years, no one in our family has met the requirement. But you, Brother Zhu, are not yet twenty. Perhaps you can use this chance to become the second Unparalleled Grandmaster after my ancestor."

Hmm?

Zhu Ju was momentarily stunned. After a long pause, he finally spoke.

"Just how many good things did Elder Fu leave behind?"

"Heh..." Fu Huanlian gave a bitter smile.

"This painting... is the last of my Fu Family’s legacy."

As she spoke,

she drew a scroll case from her back.

...

Zhu Ju stared at the unopened scroll before him, his expression complex. He couldn’t help but rub the space between his eyebrows.

"Miss Fu, are you sure you want me to look at this?"

"I’m sure." Fu Huanlian nodded.

"Don’t be modest, Brother Zhu. I used a Secret Technique to achieve my Limit Break, which means I can’t advance any further. And while Liuyun has cultivated the Five Elements Fist Scripture, his fundamental technique is the Ye Family Heart Method. With the Celestial Demon Star’s arrival, time is of the essence. You are the only one suitable."

"Go on!"

"Sigh!" With a light sigh, Zhu Ju slowly unrolled the scroll in his hand.

"Very well, then."

Despite being over a hundred years old, the scroll was only slightly yellowed. Painted upon it were five majestic mountain peaks.

There were clouds, wind, mountains, and rivers...

’It’s well-painted.’

But,

’But what good is it?’

A look of confusion crossed Zhu Ju’s face. Just as he was about to look up at the other two, a brilliant light exploded in his mind.

"BOOM!"

Five-colored qi surged forth, five mountain ranges undulated...

Finally,

they transformed into five streams of qi.

Five Mountains True Form Map!

Five Peaks True Form Force!

This is...

A Cultivation Technique!

A Cultivation Technique that could commune with the Heaven and Earth Five Elements Power... It wasn’t just a Qi Blood Martial Art, nor did it seem to be a simple Martial Arts technique.

But rather...

A kind of ’Way’!

"BOOM!"

His Sea of Consciousness thundered.

His Physical Body trembled in response, and the Strength that had been just shy of perfect integration instantly coalesced into a unified whole.

External Training Fifth Realm,

Opening Essence Realm!

Success!

And this was just the beginning. The foundation he’d laid by achieving External Training Fourth Layer Perfection and his Qi Blood Martial Arts Limit Break, once his power was circulating freely, naturally began to nurture a wisp of Inner Qi.

One wisp!

Two wisps!

...

His formidable Physical Body and terrifyingly deep foundation allowed Zhu Ju to cross the Opening Essence Realm in an instant, stepping directly into the Inner Qi Realm. Moreover, his Inner Qi grew at a visible rate, eventually converging into a river that coursed through his Meridians.

The momentum was so overwhelming, it seemed he was on the verge of breaking straight through to the Inner Qi Release Realm.

A long moment later.

Zhu Ju slowly opened his eyes.

In just a few moments, his Cultivation and strength had skyrocketed. However, all his prior accumulation of potential had been completely exhausted in the process, leaving nothing more to tap into.

"Well?" Fu Huanlian asked, her face tense with anxiety.

"If I had seen this painting a year ago, my power would have certainly risen another notch." Seeing the expressions of Fu Huanlian and Ye Liuyun change, Zhu Ju quickly added with a smile,

"But even as it is, it’s more than enough for a fight!"

As he spoke, his gaze fell back to the scroll. He couldn’t help but frown when he saw that the painting had become nothing more than a meaningless smear of ink.

’How could this have happened?’

’No wonder only one person could ever view it.’