The door to the mental time chamber slowly opened. Less than an incense stick's time had passed outside, and people were still waiting outside. When they saw the door open, they all crowded around.
In the white light, Li Daoyi stepped out first, followed by Zhu Zhu's petite and slender figure.
"Zhu Zhu!" the Empress called out immediately.
Soon, Zhu Zhu walked out of the gate completely, her imposing aura still not fully subsided.
"Martial Sect." The group said in unison.
"Mom, Grandpa, I did it!" the little girl exclaimed excitedly.
After speaking, Zhu Zhu stretched out her small hand, and a white true energy slowly appeared in her palm, transforming into a small sword that floated there.
"True Qi manifested in form, it really is a Martial Grandmaster, and a late-stage Martial Grandmaster at that!" the Empress exclaimed in shock.
“Originally, I planned to let Zhuzhu break through to the Martial King realm directly, but she is too young and has never systematically cultivated before. Let her familiarize herself with her current state first. There’s no rush,” Li Daoyi said slowly.
"An eleven-year-old Martial Master has never appeared in the world before, let alone a Martial King. Your Majesty, please don't scare us," the Empress hurriedly said.
"Hey, legend has it that the Sword God Sect had a fifteen-year-old disciple who reached the Martial Grandmaster level and was known as a once-in-a-millennium genius. Zhu Zhu is now far superior to that person. Is she a once-in-a-hundred-thousand-years genius?" Lin Xiaoxiao said excitedly.
Old man Lin Xuan excitedly walked towards his granddaughter and placed his hand on her pulse.
"Hmm, the pulse is powerful like a surging river, late stage of Martial Grandmaster, just one step away from Martial King, good, good, good." The old man said "good" three times in a row, and his eyes were already moist after he finished speaking.
"You must not be arrogant. Right now, you only have cultivation level, but your martial arts skills haven't caught up yet. You need to practice diligently from now on. Remember the two sword techniques I taught you; you must not disgrace them," Li Daoyi said to Zhuzhu.
When Zhu Zhu broke through, Li Daoyi also used the empowerment technique to teach her the Dugu Nine Swords and the Six Meridians Divine Sword. What surprised Li Daoyi even more was that Zhu Zhu actually had dual spiritual roots, namely a mutated ice spiritual root and a wood spiritual root.
"Cultivate diligently. Once your martial arts realm is stable, your master will teach you the methods of immortal cultivation," Li Daoyi encouraged.
"Yes, Master." Zhu Zhu nodded obediently.
"The method of cultivating immortality? What is this, Your Majesty?" the Empress asked.
“This is my method of cultivation, not martial arts,” Li Daoyi said.
Upon hearing this, the Empress did not press the matter further, knowing that it involved someone else's privacy.
Over the next few days, Zhu Zhu made progress every day, and her cultivation level became more and more stable, which made the Empress and others very gratified.
In the past few days, Li Daoyi has also learned more about the world through the Empress.
Outside the bamboo forest, Empress and Li Dao sat facing each other, with tea set laid out on a bamboo table. Not far away in the bamboo forest, Lin Xiaoxiao was practicing with Zhuzhu. As a Martial Venerable, she was naturally able to teach her niece.
In the Hundred Races Continent, the strong prey on the weak. Ten years ago, the Winged People somehow learned about Zhu Zhu's heterochromatic eyes. A million-strong Winged People army appeared on the outskirts of the Star Continent, using this to coerce the Great Gan Empress to hand over Zhu Zhu. The Empress had no choice but to send Zhu Zhu out of the palace and replace her with a baby girl who had just died. She also used a secret method to change the color of the baby girl's eyes, thus deceiving the public and announcing that Zhu Zhu was dead.
With the witness of various forces, the Winged People had no choice but to retreat, but it is clear that they have not given up in the past ten years, and many of them are still hiding in the territory of Da Gan.
"Alas, it's still because our human race is weak. Last time, if it weren't for my master's desperate protection, and the fact that the winged human race had no reason to attack, we would have been in trouble. I just didn't expect that the eldest prince to be so cunning, still searching for Zhuzhu after ten years," the Empress sighed.
"The eldest prince?" Li Daoyi asked curiously, as the assassins from before were this man's subordinates.
"Yes, the eldest prince of the Winged Human race, Yi Feiyu. The royal family of the Winged Human race all take 'wing' as their surname. Although this person has not yet become king, his power has already surpassed that of his father, the Winged Human King. He is also the number one genius in the Winged Human race, and he has already reached the Martial Emperor realm," the Empress introduced.
"How powerful is the Winged Humans among the Hundred Races?" Li Daoyi asked.
"It's good enough to be in the top ten." The Empress didn't hide anything.
"oh?"
"Among the Winged Humans, there are five Great Saints. Apart from the Winged Human King, the other four Great Saints are all incredibly powerful. The Hundred Races are ranked according to the number of Martial Saints in each race. The Demon Race ranks first, with a total of twelve Martial Saints, known as the Twelve Saint Kings. Legend has it that the Demon Race has a secret technique that allows the twelve Martial Saints to merge, making their strength comparable to that of a Martial God," the Empress said.
As she spoke, the Empress kept observing Li Daoyi's expression. To her surprise, he remained calm and composed, as if he were simply listening to an unrelated story.
"Your Majesty, Zhu Zhu's matter cannot be kept secret for long. Once it is exposed, she will likely become the target of public criticism. After all, everyone knows the story of the human race's Sword God, and everyone wants to obtain the secret to becoming a god," the Empress continued.
"It doesn't matter, they're just clay chickens and earthenware dogs," Li Daoyi said softly.
"..."
“I will naturally protect my disciple, so you don’t need to worry about that. No one can harm Zhuzhu,” Li Daoyi said.
"Yes, of course I believe in Your Majesty," Empress Linglong quickly replied.
"How far is this place from the Central Continent?" Li Daoyi then asked.
“Go east for a million miles,” the Empress replied.
"Your Excellency, are you perhaps going to the Central Continent?" the Empress continued.
"Isn't that supposed to be the center of the human race? I'd like to go and see for myself," Li Daoyi said with a smile.
“I don’t like staying in one place for too long. My pleasure lies in traveling the world. If it weren’t for Zhuzhu, I wouldn’t have stayed in Zhushan for so long,” Li Daoyi said, looking into the depths of the bamboo forest.
"Then Zhu Zhu, she..." the Empress pondered.
"She will naturally follow me, read countless books, and travel thousands of miles. Zhu Zhu's next cultivation method is to defeat the most outstanding talents of her age in the world."
"Furthermore, I want you to reveal the fact that she has heterochromia," Li Daoyi said, staring into the Empress's eyes.
"What?" Linglong was startled and immediately stood up.
Although she knew Li Daoyi was very strong, even if he were a living martial god, he wouldn't be able to withstand the entire world's people.
"Your Excellency, shouldn't we keep this a secret for now? Although I know that Zhu Zhu's matter can't be kept secret for long, we can probably just keep it a secret for as long as possible," Lin Linglong pleaded.
"It seems you still don't understand me, or my abilities," Li Daoyi sighed.
“A world like yours can be destroyed or not in the hands of my will, do you understand?” Li Daoyi said softly.
The Empress gleaned some key insights from those words.
"Your Excellency..." The Empress stared wide-eyed at Li Daoyi in disbelief.
"It's good that you know, there's no need to say it out loud. Just remember, in this world, there's nothing I can't do, only things I want to do." Li Daoyi said with a half-smile.
"How many years have you been stuck at the Martial Emperor level?" Li Daoyi then asked.
"Your Majesty, it has been eighteen years. It was precisely because I was unable to break through to the Martial Emperor realm that I left the Xuan Nu Sect and returned to the Great Gan to inherit the throne," the Empress replied.
Although Lin Linglong looks like she's in her twenties, she's actually over fifty. Of course, compared to her cultivation level, a Martial Emperor's lifespan is three hundred years, so she's still young.
“Three hundred years for a Martial Emperor, eight hundred years for a Martial Saint, fifteen hundred years for a Martial God, and three thousand years for a Martial God—that’s far too little. The path of martial arts is indeed difficult, and immortality is not easy,” Li Daoyi sighed softly.
"Immortality?" Lin Linglong was slightly taken aback.
“Cultivation is naturally for the purpose of seeking longevity; otherwise, no matter how strong you are, you will ultimately be nothing more than a handful of dust. Do you know how long Dongfang and the others can live now?” Li Daoyi raised his cup and took a sip.
"The auras of the Eastern Girls are strange, but I feel they are not as strong as mine," the Empress said softly.
"Yes, their current realm is equivalent to Martial King, but their lifespan is eight hundred years. Moreover, they cultivate both immortality and martial arts, so their combat strength cannot be measured by their realm. Lin Xiaoxiao is no match for the two of them at all," Li Daoyi said proudly.
Upon hearing this, the Empress swallowed hard. In the past few days, she had gained a general understanding of what the Immortal Path was. It was a different kind of cultivation method from their martial arts, and it was extremely magical.
"Your Majesty." At this moment, the Empress seemed to have made up her mind and knelt down on the ground.
"Linglong humbly begs Your Majesty to bestow upon her the Dharma." As clever as she was, she had already guessed what was going on when Li Daoyi asked her about her cultivation level.
“It’s a pity you don’t have spiritual roots and can’t cultivate immortality. However, I can help you with martial arts,” Li Daoyi said, shaking his head.
The Empress initially showed a hint of disappointment, but quickly regained her composure and respectfully kowtowed.
"Thank you, Your Excellency."
"Don't be disappointed. Do you think that being a Martial God is the end of martial arts? You should know that there is no limit to martial arts. Your so-called Martial God is just a very low level in the realm of martial arts," Li Daoyi said.
The Empress suddenly raised her head and looked at Li Daoyi in shock.
"Your Excellency, what comes after the God of War?" the Empress couldn't help but ask.
"The Celestial God Realm, and after the Celestial Gods there are God Kings, God Emperors, and God Sovereigns. Doesn't that sound a lot like your current titles? This is the Martial Dao. Nothing doesn't exist; there's only what you can't imagine," Li Daoyi said slowly.
The Empress was in turmoil, her mind filled with the words "god," "god king," "god emperor," and "god empress," and her aura became extremely unstable, showing a tendency to go into a state of demonic possession.
"Aren't you going to wake up?" Suddenly, Li Daoyi's voice rang out in the Empress's mind like thunder.
"Pfft..." Lin Linglong couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, but the chaotic true energy in her body gradually calmed down.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," the Empress said, still somewhat shaken.
"We must take things one step at a time. For now, let's focus on walking our own path. Just know what's going on and don't overthink it," Li Daoyi said softly.
"Yes." The Empress nodded.
"Take good care of yourself for a few days. Before you leave here, I will help you break through to the Martial Emperor realm." After saying this, Li Daoyi turned into a gentle breeze and disappeared.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com