Chapter Fifty-Four: Since We're Already Here

After receiving the message from Cocoraru, Sun Meng finally breathed a sigh of relief—at last, there was a set time. Otherwise, he couldn’t just linger here bickering endlessly with the woman before him. Exchanging martial arts wasn’t out of the question—after all, Earth’s civilization was still in its developmental stage, and the more techniques, the better—but who said he had to trade with her in particular?

When Sun Meng suddenly fell silent, the woman grew tense again. She was trying to break through the sealed acupoints, but not only was there a slight gap between her own inner energy cultivation and Sun Meng’s, the core principles of Sun Meng’s Fusang Acupoint Technique differed entirely from those of the Central Plains. If it weren’t for the solid foundation of her Small Non-Phase Skill, which allowed her to regulate her inner energy, she would have already coughed up blood from a failed attempt.

“Is your collection of martial arts here complete?” Sun Meng suddenly looked at the woman and asked. Although this domain of Western Xia belonged to Li Qiushui, there was no resisting Xuzhu’s matchmaking stratagems.

“I have everything except for the Eight Desolations Technique, and besides that, there are over a hundred other first-class skills,” she replied, looking at Sun Meng with a clear message in her gaze: I have plenty to offer—what about you?

Indeed, the Xiaoyao Sect’s repertoire was already abundant, and with the strange transformations in this world and the prior martial calamities, they had seized even more manuals in the chaos. It could be said there was no high-level martial manual in the land that couldn’t be found within the Xiaoyao Sect—almost even surpassing the Shaolin Sutra Repository.

Sun Meng laughed heartily. “Don’t say I’m taking advantage of you. The martial arts I possess—never mind that their quality rivals your sect’s core techniques—the fact that you’ve never even seen them makes them rare enough. I don’t believe that in all these years, your sect hasn’t tried to deduce or create even higher level manuals!”

His words changed the woman’s expression. As the leader of one of this world’s top powers, she knew well what the greatest experts were striving for after that fateful battle years ago, when an almost unbelievable result appeared before their eyes.

Sweeper Monk, that enigmatic monk who had defeated all rivals and whose skills had reached a transcendent state, was still unable to break through the world’s boundaries and ascend, nor did he attain a new realm to guide future generations. All that was left was a tear at the corner of his eye, a trace of blood at his lips, and a chant of the Buddha’s name, heavy with helplessness—becoming an invisible mountain weighing on everyone’s hearts.

Was the path ahead truly severed? They had no real answer, nor could they accept that as final. Because of this, large-scale conflict in the martial world ceased. Conflicts between nations, unless they were full-scale wars, no longer drew the full force of the martial sects.

The lifespan of a postnatal martial artist capped at seventy; an innate expert (early second tier) could reach one hundred twenty; a grandmaster (mid second tier), one hundred fifty; a great grandmaster (late second tier), one hundred eighty. These numbers were the joint conclusion of several great powers, given that the very cultivation process consumed life potential, not to mention injuries and battles. Even Sweeper Monk, with his great grandmaster strength, had a lifespan cap of one hundred twenty, which he exhausted entirely in his final attempt to break through the heavens’ limit.

It wasn’t just about survival, but also about glimpsing the path ahead in martial arts. They would try anything, hence the division of martial manuals years ago.

Now, all major powers were facing a bottleneck. In the martial world, new prodigies were emerging rapidly—not only due to innate talent, but also because these great powers were secretly guiding them.

All they could do now was pin their hopes on these new prodigies, just as the previous generation had, hoping they would create new glories and blaze a trail forward.

And now, the unfamiliar martial arts Sun Meng possessed were precisely what these people needed!

“You’re right,” the woman replied seriously. “By your reasoning, you must have hit a bottleneck as well. Since the end of the last era’s greats, no new great grandmasters have appeared. Even with their personal instruction, none of us juniors have been able to break through—as if there’s some kind of barrier. What do you want to trade? If you like, I can help you contact one of the current great grandmasters.”

“Are you Xuzhu’s daughter?” Sun Meng asked.

The woman paused, then nodded. “So you’ve guessed. Given how much you know, it’s only natural. Yes, my father is now the head of the Xiaoyao Sect. If you wish, I can write to him—you trust his character, do you not?”

Sun Meng did trust Xuzhu’s character, but he also had his own plans, and above all, there wasn’t enough time.

“That’s fine. You can inform your father, but I won’t be staying here indefinitely. You give me your Xiaoyao Sect martial arts now, and I’ll leave you a corresponding number in return. The rest, we can settle after I’m done with my affairs. What do you say?”

“Agreed.” The woman, her imperial manner restored, said, “Unlock my acupoints and I’ll demonstrate personally.”

Sun Meng raised his hand and tapped twice, unlocking her acupoints. The woman tried to sense the internal flow, but it all happened so quickly that she couldn’t grasp the full routine.

“This is the White Rainbow Palm.” As she spoke, she performed the palms slowly, describing the essential points and core principles as she went.

It had to be said, the power of the Xiaoyao Sect’s martial arts was almost secondary—their elegance and flair took precedence. As Sun Meng watched her demonstration, his accumulated martial knowledge allowed him to spot several superfluous movements. Not that these were weaknesses, but more like embellishments—moves added for style’s sake.

“Well?” After finishing the set, the woman’s confidence in her sect’s legacy was clear, her demeanor reminiscent of when she first appeared.

“It’s fairly ordinary, honestly. But since we’ve agreed, I can’t go back on my word. I don’t have any particularly good palm techniques, but take a look at this sword form.” Sun Meng stomped his foot, a long stone fragment popped up, and with a deft motion he shaped it into a simple stone blade.

“Watch closely—there’s only one move: ‘Of All Creation, Only My Blade Remains.’” With that, Sun Meng slashed at the roof—a blade light flashed, slicing through the ceiling. The cut was smooth and clean, without a trace of debris, as if the roof had always been that way.

But those outside had seen the strike. Though they knew they couldn’t block it, out of duty they prepared to rush in.

“All of you, wait outside! I’m fine!” the woman’s voice called out. The people exchanged glances and dared not approach.

“What a domineering blade intent—just for that, it could be called a top-tier technique of our age. Yet, ultimately, no matter how powerful a move is, it remains just a move,” the woman remarked.

“This technique is called the Overlord Blade. The emphasis is on ‘overlord’—the blade is your only concern. ‘Overlord’ is what others feel; the blade is all that matters to you. As I say, ‘Of All Creation, Only My Blade Remains.’ The strength of your blade depends on the strength of your will. I don’t know if it’s your own lack of mastery, or if your father didn’t tell you, but your martial arts aren’t truly your own!” As Sun Meng spoke, he gestured, and the dragon throne flew into his hand.

“The Invincible Vajra Body...” he said, molding the throne like clay into the shape of a blade.

“Defends against external attacks, grants immense strength, immune to all poisons. But it puts enormous pressure on the body’s interior—without sufficient internal energy, you’ll end up with shattered viscera.”

“That’s an internal skill?!” The woman looked at Sun Meng in shock, having assumed it was an external, physical technique.

“Why would you think it was external? But I won’t answer that for you. Your turn.” Sun Meng gestured to her.

“Hmph! This move is called the Tianshan Six-Yang Palm, paired with a unique hidden weapon, the Life-and-Death Talisman. Its core lies in the transformation of yin and yang energies. The talisman turns water to ice, infusing it with yin and yang; different acupoints produce different effects. Once activated, it leaves a person unable to live or die!” she retorted, as if competing with him.

“And? Wasn’t this the move you tried on me when we first met? Didn’t even break my defense, did it?” Sun Meng replied, a little disdainfully.

It was only when Cocoraru sent word that the goods had been acquired that Sun Meng paused at the exchange of four martial arts. Still, he had gained much, and now he would go to verify his own theories. If he succeeded, his journey to this world would not have been in vain.