"This kingdom with its dark clouds hanging overhead is truly unfortunate..."

Even as an outsider, Ye Qingzhou felt suffocated by it.

It's imaginable what the local Martial Artists would feel.

"No wonder the martial arts world of the Land of Chuyun is rumored to be stagnant, with the new generation labeled as the 'Heisei Shut-ins.' Once the spiritual backbone is broken, martial arts cultivation is essentially ruined."

Ye Qingzhou deeply understood that the essence of Martial Dao is a cultivation of "self-exclusivity," pursuing the sublimation of life and transcendence of spirit, which is also why Ye Qingzhou never wanted to be anyone's lackey.

Once you learn to obey and follow orders, you've already lost your independence and initiative to some extent, making it difficult to climb to the peak of Martial Dao.

Especially, the condensation of the Martial Saint's mental imagery requires absolute self-will.

This is also why none of the major powers on Blue Star have been able to cultivate a genuine Martial Saint.

Whether it's the mental ability sanctification and bloodline modification in Western Pole Kingdom, or the Four Great Divine Generals of the Divine Strategy Army in Dongji Kingdom, essentially, they all obtain Martial Saint-level combat power through external means, rather than reaching the Martial Saint Realm through one's own cultivation and foundation—Body Ascension.

A true Martial Saint, with the sublimation of essence, Qi, and spirit into an extraordinary realm, is a genuine transcendence into the saintly domain, thereby gaining a formidable physique, extended longevity, and a powerful mind and will.

In comparison, Gu Minghui and the Four Great Divine Generals have lifespans similar to ordinary people, living up to a maximum of one hundred and twenty years if lucky.

In contrast, Qi Shengtian is almost two hundred years old and still vigorous; barring being killed, living another five hundred years is easy, watching the rise and fall of dynasties, observing changes in the world calmly.

Of course, Gu Minghui and the Four Great Divine Generals can abandon their decaying bodies, extending their lives in the form of Yin Spirit, but they ultimately have significant defects, far less free and easy than a true Martial Saint Strong Person.

"Cultivating nature and not life, a myriad of Yin Spirits hardly enter sainthood."

Ye Qingzhou sighed in his heart; the power of Elemental Spirit Armor is naturally excellent, but it is ultimately just an external thing.

Martial arts cultivation is the foundation of a Martial Artist.

Just after stepping out of Haneda Airport, Ye Qingzhou saw a stunning beauty with a curvaceous figure holding a sign waiting for him, even approaching proactively.

"Hello, Ye Sang. I'm Huanji Meiqin, a staff member of the current World Martial Arts Tournament. Please see, this is my work badge."

After saying that, the beauty in a business suit and skirt slightly bowed in greeting, then pushed her chest forward a bit, displaying the badge hanging in front of her chest.

Ye Qingzhou frowned while looking at the badge on her chest, then his gaze fell on her well-proportioned figure, feeling that everything seemed too out of place.

After activating the Celestial Eye, his gaze penetrated through her clothing, even reaching the texture, and he witnessed an extremely bizarre scene.

The voluptuous beauty before him, who claimed to be Huanji Meiqin, had only one layer of skin that was real, and beneath the 'skin' was a sharp-featured man.

"Who are you really?"

"Huh?"

The person let out a startled sound, then transmitted a thought: "You saw through me so quickly? I am the White Tiger. This is my disguise. The Land of Chuyun is heavily infiltrated by the Western Pole Kingdom, with the Celestial Sword Bureau's spies everywhere. I can only contact you this way without raising suspicion."

"..."

After confirming the identity of the White Tiger Divine General, Ye Qingzhou was rather speechless, wondering if this cross-dressing master had some unspeakable peculiar hobby.

At the same time, Ye Qingzhou was also very interested in the 'Shadow Puppet' artifact used by the White Tiger Divine General, a treasure known as Painted Skin, refined using exotic treasures by special methods.

The original version required stripping an entire layer of human skin from a living person for refinement.

Of course, this cruel and bloody method has long been abandoned; the latest version only requires collecting a little bit of essence blood to perfectly disguise oneself as the other party, akin to creating a temporary copy using the other party's DNA data.

It can't be detected by ordinary means and is considered the most perfect disguise.

Ye Qingzhou found it very interesting, and after understanding the principle, he quickly mastered the ability to temporarily alter his DNA through the Path of Creation obtained from the Fungal Civilization.

With a single thought, Ye Qingzhou could transform into anyone whose skin he had touched, regardless of gender.

Watching Ye Qingzhou's hand "flip" through various skin colors and forms before him, the White Tiger Divine General was completely dumbfounded.

"Do you also have a Shadow Puppet? No, Shadow Puppet is single-use, only transforming into a specific person. Yet, you can constantly change your skin color and form?"

"Just a little trick."

Ye Qingzhou tried it and lost interest. This ability might provide an excellent disguise, but to a Martial Artist, it's just a small trick.

The White Tiger Divine General widened his eyes: "This ability is a dream skill for agents. I've heard there's a bloodline modifier in the Western Pole Kingdom known as 'Mystique' who possesses this ability to transform into anyone, giving the Celestial Sword Bureau a hard time."

Ye Qingzhou shook his head at this: "This shape-shifting ability changes skin but not bones. It's useless having only the form. It's not as good as the genetic change in 'Fish-into-Dragon Transformation,' which, if perfected, allows myriad transformations, even shedding the mortal body and ascending to become a dragon."

"You say it so easily."

The White Tiger Divine General couldn't help but retort: "Do you think just anyone can perfect the 'Fish-into-Dragon Transformation' technique? Many people, after practicing, can't suppress their inner wildness, leading to animalization and even grotesque mutations, with countless cases of becoming demon-possessed."