We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

Chapter 218 Breakthrough! Second-Order Spirit Stream Realm!!!

Boom! Boom! Boom!
Outside, the sky seemed to have opened a terrifying crack, and surging lightning energy poured out, striking towards Xiao Qingshan, or more precisely, towards Shen Bailian and the towering tree.

However, Shen Bailian remained unharmed under the cover of that hazy light, while even the towering tree only had some of its tops and branches reduced to charcoal.

Overall, everything is fine.

However, the surrounding trees and creatures were not so lucky. Without the protection of that layer of misty light, they were like a small boat on the sea, which could be capsized in an instant by even the aftershocks of a storm.

The once lush and verdant mountains have now turned pitch black, devoid of any green. Perhaps it would be more fitting to rename them Little Black Mountain.

However, the thunder that poured down like a dragon emerging from the sea and the deafening roar seemed to be non-existent to Shen Bailian at this moment.

Moreover, as vivid images flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, his originally restless heart became increasingly calm.

As time went by, something inexplicable changed.

According to the Great Xia's standard for classifying mental strength levels, those below level 10.0 are collectively referred to as 0-level mental masters, which is the apprentice stage. Ninety-nine percent of martial arts apprentices and martial artists at the Life Establishment Realm are in this stage.

After breaking through level 10.0, one will advance to the first-tier mental master, a stage also known as the Spirit Lamp Realm.

The biggest difference from the apprentice stage is that the originally illusory spiritual power will undergo a qualitative change, thus becoming a substance between illusion and reality, capable of initially interfering with reality.

Cultivating mental power is different from cultivating the physical body. One careless move can easily cause a shock to the sea of ​​consciousness, requiring a long period of recuperation to recover.

However, for martial artists, mental strength and physical strength complement each other, and for martial artists of the first rank and above, mental strength is of greater importance.

Once mental strength is damaged, the time required for recuperation is much longer than that for physical injuries, especially in this era where physical repair is highly advanced.

During the period of recuperation and recovery of mental strength, martial artists cannot practice visualization techniques, and their physical training and martial arts skills will also be limited.

The rare and precious materials and medicines used to heal mental states are extremely valuable, either priceless or prohibitively expensive, making them unaffordable for some martial artists.

Due to the limitations of the real-world environment, the spiritual power of the Spirit Lamp Realm is the spiritual power realm that the vast majority of Transcendent Realm and Sea Opening Realm martial artists must be in and remain in for a long time.

After breaking through to the second level of spiritual power, Zhanchi's spiritual power converged and formed a winding, flowing river, a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change.

Upon reaching this stage, all living beings, whether human, ferocious beast, or divine favored, will attain an astonishingly acute perception of their own condition and the external world.

Strong mental power can amplify comprehension to a certain extent; the degree of amplification depends on the level and strength of the mental power.

And what about Shen Bailian?
Not long after becoming a martial artist in the Life Establishment Realm, his spiritual power entered the Spirit Lamp Realm, making him a first-order spiritual master. His already extraordinary comprehension reached a level that was one in ten thousand.

Martial arts techniques have directly progressed from the original second stage of the unity of man and weapon to the third stage of the realm of breathing all things.

Whether it's martial arts realm, comprehension of various skills, or combat power, all have seen leaps in improvement. The growth of physical and mental attributes has also been "helped by the rich to get richer."

Now, Shen Bailian's mental strength has reached an astonishing 20.6, no, it should be more accurate to say 20.7, which is the peak of the first rank.

This is absolutely astonishing.

Logically speaking, many martial artists can only cultivate such powerful spiritual power by relying on their strong physical body when they reach the late stage of the Sea Opening Realm.

Even Duan Wuyai, who had earned the title of "Canghai Kuangdao" in the Opening Sea Realm, only managed to push his spiritual power into the second-tier Spirit Stream Realm when he was in the middle stage of the Opening Sea Realm, thanks to the nourishment of his powerful physical body and the help of rare and precious materials.

As we all know, mental strength and physical fitness are the foundation of martial arts. The stronger the foundation, the higher the level one can reach, and the easier it will be to comprehend and master martial arts techniques.

With the support of this astonishing spiritual power, Shen Bailian's cultivation speed was not only far ahead of his peers, but his martial arts skills also reached a level that made ordinary martial arts prodigies tremble with fear.

Although Feng Yanqiu also entered the third level of martial arts skill at the Foundation Establishment Realm, her situation is completely different from Shen Bailian's.

The former had been taught by a renowned master for over ten years and had accumulated a wealth of martial arts skills and experience, but had yet to make a breakthrough, only to find himself still struggling to overcome the initial hurdle.

It wasn't that Feng Yanqiu didn't want to, but that she couldn't.

During the trials in the wilderness, when a sudden change occurred and her friend Wang Yuxuan faced a life-or-death crisis, Feng Yanqiu's more than ten years of accumulation turned into a sudden enlightenment.

However, this also means that her more than ten years of accumulation have been completely exhausted, and it would be wishful thinking to try to reach the fourth level of martial arts skills in a short period of time.

As for how long this "short time" is?

It will take at least four or five years.

Because the fourth level of martial arts skill refers not only to the subtlety of the body, but also to the subtlety of the mind. The two complement each other and can exert a power greater than the sum of their parts.

In essence, this is already the ultimate state of martial arts skills, with almost no possibility of climbing any higher.

So, things have come full circle. To reach the fourth level of martial arts skill, strong mental strength is an indispensable element, and it is only the minimum requirement.

As for how strong it needs to be?
At least in the late first stage.

Furthermore, the most crucial point in reaching the fourth level of martial arts skills—the subtlety level—lies in comprehension, because it is a kind of spiritual understanding.

Human talent can be simply divided into two categories: innate talent and acquired talent.

In the early stages of cultivation, innate talent plays a significant role, but as cultivation progresses, the weight of acquired talent gradually increases and eventually surpasses that of the strongest individuals.

Furthermore, innate talent is an almost fixed value, while acquired talent is not immutable and can improve with life's circumstances and experiences.

But this wouldn't work at all for Shen Bailian, because his innate talent is the highest level of original talent. No matter when or where, this original talent belongs exclusively to Shen Bailian himself.

Even without awakening your innate talent or manifesting it on your character panel, the passive skill "Heaven Rewards Diligence" will still produce its effect automatically.

But the reality is harsh, if we remove innate talent...

Shen Bailian could never have achieved what he has today. With his physique, even getting into a top-tier martial arts university and breaking through to the Transcendent Realm would have been a huge problem.

At the beginning, although his comprehension was far superior to that of martial arts apprentices of the same age, his physical talent was really not good. Compared with Li Hongling, he was like a firefly compared to the brilliance of the moon.

The path of martial arts is not a castle in the air, but a journey taken step by step.

Furthermore, in the Great Xia Dynasty, during this mythological era, how far a martial artist could go in the apprentice stage basically determined the martial arts realm they could ultimately reach.

Given Shen Bailian's mortal appearance before awakening his innate talent, he should be thanking his lucky stars if his physical attributes could break through level 5.0 during the martial arts apprentice stage.

If the early game is lost, what's the point of talking about the later game?

One step behind leads to further and further gaps, until the distance becomes so vast that it becomes impossible to even catch up.

This is the cruelty of the path of martial arts.

"Unfortunately, there are no 'what ifs' in this world." Shen Bailian looked at the scene that appeared in his mind, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, and he murmured softly.

The path of martial arts is cruel and full of uncertainty. Luck is also a form of strength and a crucial element on the path of martial arts.

With the help of the panel, Shen Bailian's transformation was more than ten times faster than normal cultivation, and his potential was raised to an unprecedented level.

The thunderstorm, aided by the hazy light, did not affect Shen Bailian; instead, it made him even more immersed in those scenes of memory, gradually falling into a special state.

Mysterious and mystical, the door to all wonders.

Although Shen Bailian's current state is not enlightenment, it is very similar to enlightenment. He can vaguely sense a trace of life in the vast thunder of heaven and earth.

And at the same time.

[Congratulations! Your Five Elements Breathing Technique skill has been upgraded, experience points +3] [Congratulations! Your character level experience points have increased, experience points +3]

Congratulations, your skill, Five Elements Breathing Technique...

【…】

Congratulations! Your Iron Body skill has been upgraded. Experience points +1

[Congratulations, your mental strength has been improved!] One notification message after another appeared on the panel, flashing by like a fleeting moment.

However, the notification messages and sounds on the panel had no effect on Shen Bailian at all.

Because, with the help of the life force of the flowers, grasses and trees of Xiaoqingshan, the elemental power of wood, and the traces of life contained in the thunder and dragons filling the sky, it has entered a kind of spiritual transformation.

The roaring sound in my ears was like a raging sonata.

As one orb of light after another disappeared, Shen Bailian, who had completely entered the fourth stage of martial arts skill and reached the subtle realm, could clearly sense that his mental strength was also increasing at an unimaginable speed.

"Splash~" "Splash~"

Like a surging river, with the help of an unknown force, this river has gathered from a series of small stagnations into a river that is several tens of centimeters wide.

[Congratulations, your mental strength has been improved!] Another notification message flashed across the screen.

"My mental strength is already at level 20.9, just one step away from the second tier." Shen Bailian spared a moment to glance at the panel.

His current mental strength is already very close to the second-order limit.

"It seems unlikely that I can break through to the second tier this time." Shen Bailian used his Divine Eye to quickly scan the area. The number of green light orbs, which originally numbered over a thousand, had now dwindled to less than two hundred.

As one progresses through the later stages of the martial arts path, the gap between each level becomes increasingly larger.

At level 19, the mental strength index is 10.6; at level 20, it is 21.2; and at level 21.0, the mental strength index jumps to 36.1.

Shen Bailian's mental strength broke through from level 20.6 to level 20.9, requiring more than 800 memory orbs.

Currently, there are fewer than two hundred memory orbs.

Shen Bailian understood that it was virtually impossible for his mental strength to break through to the second level today.

But he was already extremely satisfied, because this was a completely unexpected surprise. He never thought that by using a towering tree as an anchor point, he would receive such a gift.

……

Time passes slowly.

"Just as I expected." Shen Bailian looked at the last living being's gift before him, feeling both excited and unable to hide his loneliness.

After nearly half an hour of digestion and absorption, his mental strength has now reached nearly level 20.9, or more accurately, level 20.95.

Although he was only one step away from the second tier, it was nothing short of a pipe dream to think he could break through by relying on a gift from a living being.

"However, given my current condition, I should be able to break through normally after just a few days of cultivation back home," Shen Bailian murmured.

However, at this moment.

Whoosh!
An invisible and intangible light, appearing from nowhere, suddenly entered Shen Bailian's spiritual stream from his unseen vision.

Rumble~
With a thunderous roar, the once calm Lingxi River surged with excitement once more, causing Shen Bailian to feel a sharp pain.

"This, this... what is this?" Shen Bailian noticed the abnormality in his mind and became suspicious.

Because he felt that his mental strength, which had stopped growing, was now like a rocket that had been fueled and was soaring into the sky.

However, this violent improvement also brought unusual pain.

"No matter what, we must persevere. Only by enduring hardship can one rise above others!" Shen Bailian was in a bad mood, silently chanting to himself, containing a terrifying obsession with not giving in the slightest.

Despite the pain pounding against his spirit, he did not give up resisting.

Ultimately, as time passed and the waves of his spiritual ocean surged, Shen Bailian's unwavering determination grew ever stronger.

Like a pillar stabilizing the sea, it stands firmly amidst the raging waves.

"Om~"

A slight ripple spread through the darkness, and the last gift from a living being completely dissipated into the black sky behind Shen Bailian.

The phantom images of stars appeared.

But upon closer inspection, it wasn't a phantom of a star at all, but rather resembled a...

world!!!

Some were shining with bright, living light, some were running smoothly, some had gradually gone out... and some had completely fallen into silence.

……

The world of Earth Origin Star originates from Xuhai.

"Why?...Why?"

"Gaia!!!"

"Why did you help them? Tell me! Why did you help them?!" In the Yuanxu Sea, accompanied by hysterical roars, towering waves surged up to the sky.

They are determined to sweep the entire world.

however.

"It wasn't me." A faint, ethereal voice spread out: "However, you shouldn't ask me about this; you should ask yourself."

"Why did we bring it into this world?!"

In the end, the ethereal voice became hysterical, and flames of anger ignited in an instant.

……

Quietly.

"boom!"

As if breaking free from shackles, or as if shattering the limits of life, Shen Bailian felt his ocean of spiritual energy suddenly calm down.

Congratulations! Your mental strength has been enhanced!

【…】

Physical Strength: 20.7; Spirit: 21.0

【…】

(End of this chapter)