My skills have mutated again!

Chapter 330 The so-called world barrier!
Wang Chenghao's eyes were already wide open.

He looked at the golden demon in front of him, and soon an exaggerated smile spread across his face.

"Excellent! Excellent! What true martial arts!"

The moment those words were spoken, thirty-six large stars instantly ignited within Wang Chenghao's body.

"Now, the second part!"

"Let me experience firsthand the power of what you call true martial arts!"

Blood and energy surged from Wang Chenghao's body like a dragon.

He shouted "Swords, come!" and two long swords, one green and one red, flew from afar and landed in Wang Chenghao's hands!

It takes time.

But Xia Lin gave Wang Chenghao ample time.

About ten seconds later, Wang Chenghao finally raised his two swords.

The dragon-shaped blood aura soared into the sky, hovering above Wang Chenghao's head. It was so real that the entire capital city was clearly visible!
"Take this! Dragon Strike: Sword Opens the Heavenly Gate!"

The two swords crossed, slashing down towards the head!

The giant dragon formed from blood energy, combined with Wang Chenghao's sword moves, lunged at Xia Lin!

Before the two even made contact, a powerful storm swept out, forcing everyone else present to retreat.

However, another figure went against the flow!

It was none other than Li Zhenyan, the patriarch of the Li family.

He used his cane as a sword and stepped out to appear beside Xia Lin.

He shouted "I'm here to help you," but a cold glint was already in his eyes!
Although I don't know why the two sons of the Xia family have become like this.

But clearly, Xia Lin knew too much.

The promotion to the third rank also shocked Li Zhenyan. However, the moment Wang Chenghao drew his sword, Li Zhenyan keenly seized the opportunity.

This might be the only chance in this round.

—Taking advantage of the moment when Wang Chenghao, this martial arts madman, attacked Xia Lin, he killed Xia Lin with a single sword strike.

In this way, it can achieve the effect of killing someone to silence them!

However, just as the white rainbow-like sword light shot out, before it could strike Xia Lin's swirling face, Li Zhenyan saw Xia Lin suddenly turn his head to look at him.

Then, everything went black before his eyes…

……

"boom!"

The sword opened the gates of heaven and struck Xia Lin squarely in the back.

Xia Lin, however, was completely unprepared!

He simply turned his head to look at Li Zhenyan, and then a sound of tearing through the air suddenly rang out.

Xia Lin struck down with a palm, as fast as lightning.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Li Zhenyan was blasted into a bloody pulp by Xia Lin's slap!
Relaxed and carefree, like swatting a fly in autumn!

The explosion only occurred after Li Zhenyan died on the spot.

The raging dragon hammered his back, instantly blasting a wound more than a meter deep into Xia Lin's third-grade golden body!

Wang Chenghao truly lives up to his reputation as the number one person in this field!
Even if his martial arts are wrong, even if he never opened the thirty-six external acupoints in his entire life.

However, the increase in the thirty-six acupoints within his body alone was enough to make Wang Chenghao's attributes no less than Xia Lin's at this moment!
This attribute is nearly ten times that of Xia Huangwei! This clearly demonstrates just how powerful Wang Chenghao truly is!
However, in the professional system, although level cannot be the only standard for evaluating combat power, it will inevitably bring considerable advantages.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be better if everyone just stayed at level one?
Those who cultivate immortality should also stop undergoing tribulations.

Those who practice martial arts should not be promoted.

At this moment, Xia Lin's third rank surpasses Wang Chenghao's rank. Even though their attributes are comparable, the advantage brought by the rank is like a chasm!

The key lies in the newly born talent: the third-grade golden body, on the body of the Hundred-Damage Blood Demon!
Xia Lin and Wang Chenghao have similar basic attributes.

However, after Xia Lin activated the Hundred Losses Blood Demon, his attributes became significantly different from Wang Chenghao's.

As a skill, "Sword Opens the Heavenly Gate" greatly amplified Wang Chenghao's attack power, even breaking through Xia Lin's Nine Revolutions Golden Body—this might be a sword move of racial foundation.

However, the same level of lethality does not mean that other aspects are also comparable.

You unleash your ultimate move, but I don't defend against it.

The implied meaning is quite obvious!
The weather in the sky suddenly changed.

In the aftershocks of the explosion, a large hand suddenly reached out.

Thick, black blood emanated from the large hand.

Blood and qi stir the surrounding air.

With a forceful squeeze, the air surged and instantly condensed into a square seal nearly ten meters tall in mid-air!
This is the true Heaven-Covering Seal!

The moment the Heavenly Seal was formed, it immediately locked down the space, disrupting the sense of direction for everyone around.

Wang Chenghao only has offensive foundational skills, but no defensive foundational skills!
He couldn't withstand the effects of the Heavenly Seal!

As he floated along, his thirty-six inner orifices once again emitted a bright light.

However, the Heavenly Seal had already crashed down, creating a mushroom cloud like a nuclear explosion!

At this moment, the entire capital city fell silent.

……

"Hu~~"

"Sigh~~"

After a long while, heavy breathing finally broke out from the dusty ground.

When the smoke and dust completely dissipated, what appeared before everyone's eyes was unexpected, yet also perfectly reasonable.

Xia Lin remained standing, his golden body still stable, and even the wounds inflicted by the sword that opened the Heavenly Gate had completely healed—the nourishment came from Li Zhenyan, whose corpse had already withered.

He remained motionless, and upon closer inspection, it could be seen that Xia Lin's feet had not moved an inch from beginning to end.

Right opposite Xia Lin, the strongest being in this realm, Wang Chenghao, had both swords broken, his clothes were tattered and covered in blood, and he was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily as if he were drowning.

Until Wang Chenghao suddenly looked up at Xia Lin.

His eyes, however, did not show any dejection; on the contrary, they shone even brighter!
"Plop" sound.

Wang Chenghao went from half-kneeling to full-kneeling, and he kowtowed forcefully to Xia Lin.

"Taught me!"

"Please teach me!"

"I'll agree to whatever it takes! My only request is the third-grade martial arts you mentioned!"

He knelt there and refused to rise!

The only response to Wang Chenghao was the demon's maniacal laughter.

"I like you."

"So, I agreed."

Wang Chenghao was a pure martial arts fanatic.

Xia Lin, on the other hand, likes pure people.

He was not a martial artist, and naturally he did not have the sectarian prejudices of martial artists. He taught Xia Lin all his martial arts skills, which did not matter to him at all, since it did not cause him any loss.

On the contrary, the benefits are great.

Turning his head to look at Li Zhenyan's corpse at his feet, Xia Lin slowly spoke.

"There are two things that I need your help with, consider them as an entry-level test."

Wang Chenghao stood up and respectfully cupped his hands to Xia Lin, saying, "Master, please speak."

"The Wallbreakers, and the world barriers protected by the eight families."

Wang Chenghao simply nodded.

"Just leave it to me."

As a martial arts fanatic, there is nothing that Wang Chenghao cannot give up or relinquish in the face of higher levels of martial arts.

Even ancestral laws must give way to this!

But then they saw Xia Lin's golden body gradually shrink, and soon it had returned to its normal shape.

He strode forward and walked straight up to Xia Huangwei, a clean smile on his face.

"father."

Xia Huangwei opened his mouth, looking at Xia Lin with a complicated expression, but didn't know what to say.

……

When the morning sun rises again, the events of last night will be a thing of the past.

The World Government issued a statement to appease the people of Shenjing—using the excuse of a gas leak.

On the one hand, an internal purge was launched.

Under the accusations of Xi Xin and Wang Chengping, countless high-ranking officials fell from power, and all of this happened in just a few days.

Under Wang Chenghao's personal supervision, the Eight Guardian Sword Clan unleashed their power, instantly demonstrating the absolute strength of the actual rulers of this world.

The one who breaks through the wall is the wolf.

But the Eight Guardian Sword Clan are dragons!

When the dragon feigns sleep, the wolf dares to raise its head; when the dragon awakens, the wolf's death is imminent!

Half a month later, at the main residence of the Xia family, Wang Chenghao came to request an audience.

In the garden, accompanied by the melodious sound of a violin, Wang Chenghao slowly began to speak.

"I personally killed all the experts among the Wallbreakers, and all the middle-level members have been imprisoned."

"The so-called Wallbreaker organization has vanished into thin air."

Xia Lin nodded as she sipped her iced drink.

Wang Chenghao didn't need to say much about this, because the Ash Zone system had already given a hint.

[Mission: Nip it in the bud, perfectly completed!]

You can choose to accumulate rewards or withdraw them immediately!

The unblocked quota can be saved for now; there's no rush.

Xia Lin, on the contrary, had this curiosity.

"Are the only traitors the Li and Zhong families?"

Wang Chenghao stated bluntly: "It's not just the Li family and the Zhong family. My younger brother, Wang Chengping, is also one of the traitors. In addition, there are four Grandmasters in the Eight Guardian Sword Clan who are high-ranking members of the Breakers."

Xia Lin chuckled: "You've been quite thoroughly infiltrated..."

Wang Chenghao fell silent.

As the patriarch of the royal family, he is the strongest member of the Eight Guardian Sword Clan.

In some ways, Wang Chenghao was incompetent—he was too focused on individual power and neglected the sordid affairs within the family.

But no way.

Ultimately, Wang Chenghao lacked the ability to manage both his own military strength and the organization's operations—a capability that most people also lack.

"Forget about that, let's talk about what's next."

Xia Lin smiled and changed the subject.

Wang Chenghao chimed in from the side.

"Yesterday, at the meeting of the eight families, the heads of the eight families unanimously agreed that you are more suitable to be the leader and symbol of the eight families. At the same time, the Xia family is ranked seventh, which is obviously not appropriate. From now on, the Xia family should be the leader of the eight sword-guarding clans."

This is just a matter of status, seemingly insignificant, merely a matter of saving face.

But in reality, the title of the first of the eight families is related to another identity and mission of Xia Lin.

[Identity Mission: Reclaim Glory, Complete Ahead of Schedule!]

You can choose to accumulate rewards or withdraw them immediately!

There's no need to wait a whole year... Besides, given the current situation, there's no need to wait for any gathering of the Eight Guardian Sword Clan.

It had only been a month since the Ashes District opened, and Xia Lin had already taken care of everything!
A warm feeling welled up in my heart once again.

Thus, the spirit and the flesh were completely merged together.

……

At this moment, Xia Lin's perception was unleashed.

With the strength of a third-grade martial artist, Xia Lin could see everything in the manor without observing or moving around.

Near the garden, Xia Tian, ​​the eldest brother, was sitting near Xia Lin, playing the violin with complete concentration.

The melodious sound of the piano spread out, slowly calming the restlessness in Xia Lin's heart.

Memories flooded my mind, as if I had returned to those countless nights when my older brother secretly practiced the piano.

Summer likes music and painting, but she dislikes martial arts.

However, due to the family's financial difficulties, he had no choice but to take on the responsibility.

Now, Xia Lin's sudden rise to prominence has completely liberated Xia Tian. He can now pursue his own interests and realize his ideals without being bound by responsibilities.

The brothers looked at each other, Xia Tian grinned, and Xia Lin smiled back.

Perception dissipated once again.

Xia Lin saw Xia Huangwei meditating in the underground training room.

In the past two weeks, Xia Lin has helped complete the Xia family's Tai Tong Sword Manual—which is very simple for Xia Lin at the moment.

Originally, the martial arts of this world only opened thirty-six apertures, but the completed Tai Tong Sword Manual will open seventy-two apertures.

Although the realm core required to condense the inner world and achieve the third rank is destined to be unattainable, the fact that it has increased from thirty-six to seventy-two is still a significant breakthrough.

Xia Huangwei, who is quite a martial arts fanatic, has also found a new meaning and goal in life.

Perception is expressed once again.

Li Pingjuan was busy in the kitchen.

For this woman, her husband's happiness and her son's success seemed to be the entire meaning of her life.

……

Take all of this into view.

Xia Lin's body trembled inexplicably as he realized that he had completely fulfilled the original owner's wishes.

At that very moment, the notification sound rang in my ear again.

You have perfectly fulfilled the original owner's requests.

Your power has been fully unleashed!

[Note: The identity substitute card is still in effect! Therefore, you will have two attribute panels for the remainder of this Ash area.]

[One is your original attribute panel, and the other is a temporary attribute panel.]

You can switch attribute panels at any time to gain different powers for different identities!

[Note: You can still improve your temporary identity's strength in the coming period. After the Ashes Zone ends, the Identity Replacement Card will still convert your temporary attribute panel into racial stats, base attributes, or other optional rewards at a high percentage.]

After a quick glance, Xia Lin suddenly understood.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, the dual panels appeared automatically.

One of them was Xia Lin's original attribute panel—that of a super strong person who was close to triggering the Third Law twice!
One is the current panel of an 8th-level professional in the third-grade Golden Body Realm.

"So, my strength has returned, but it's still necessary to continue training in martial arts. Because this will provide me with a huge reward when the Ash Zone ends."

That's the reason.

Xia Lin had no reason not to do it.

After all, with Black Star's martial arts experience, practicing martial arts is actually quite simple for him.

However, there is one more thing to deal with before that.

She stood up and looked at Wang Chenghao.

"Lead the way."

"Take me to see the secret that the Eight Guardian Sword Clan is protecting."

Wang Chenghao nodded immediately.

……

We took a car and left Shenjing.

They arrived at a seemingly ordinary manor outside the capital.

The manor is a shared property of the Eight Guardian Sword Clan. On a daily basis, Grandmasters and even Great Grandmasters are drawn from various clans to guard it. The Eight Guardian Sword Clan's gathering, which was supposed to be held eleven months later, is also located here.

We got out of the car and walked deeper into the manor.

As they walked, Wang Chenghao said, "Most of the eight legends circulating within the Wallbreakers organization are true."

Legend has it that the ancestor of the Eight Guardian Sword Clan fell into a dark ravine in the earth and gained astonishing martial arts power, thus establishing the Eight Guardian Sword Clan.

There is no problem with that; the Eight Guardian Sword Clan also has this record.

"But what they don't know is that on the other side of the world's barriers, there are not only opportunities, but also far more dangers..."

“The world’s barriers are essentially a seal, a form of protection.”

Xia Lin quietly processed Wang Chenghao's words.

"Unfortunately, some people only see the opportunities but fail to see the risks hidden on the other side. For their own selfish gain, they are willing to make grave mistakes..."

At this point, Wang Chenghao shook his head.

He was referring to the Zhong and Li families.

The Zhong family had fallen into decline and had no choice but to find a solution...

As for the Li family, with their ancestor Li Zhenyan nearing the end of his life, they set their sights on the other side of the world barrier...

Ignorance breeds fearlessness?
That's pretty much the situation.

But if you're asking how much more Wang Chenghao knows than Li Zhenyan... well, not by much.

"After the eight patriarchs returned from the other side of the world barrier, they remained silent about the situation there and did not leave any written records."

"It is simply to clearly inform future generations that the world barriers are untouchable and must not be broken. If the world barriers are damaged, the entire world will face catastrophe."

That's too unrealistic.

It's quite incredible to Xia Lin that this ancestral precept has been maintained for thousands of years.

Everyone is curious, especially about such a big secret.

How could a normal person endure this?
We walked along the winding path and entered the mountains.

Upon arriving at the cave, we continued downwards.

The underground road shows obvious signs of human intervention; it is clean and appears to be regularly maintained.

But as they went deeper, the air around them became increasingly stuffy.

Both were martial artists, with strong physiques and great speed. After going deep underground for about a thousand meters, Wang Chenghao was the first to stop.

Ahead, a faintly glowing iron gate appeared before the two. Without Wang Chenghao speaking, Xia Lin stepped forward and touched the iron gate, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"The power of an array, or rather, the power of a sophisticated martial arts array..."

It's not just the Immortal Path that has formations; Martial Arts and many other professions also have formation-related skills and traditions.

But it's rather strange that this thing is here—because martial arts are incomplete in this world, so where would array formations come from?

Thinking of the Xia family's tradition, which had a good intention but was emasculated, Xia Lin felt that the door in front of him was most likely an outsider as well.

But there's no point in thinking about it too much; it's better to just go inside and take a look.

Wang Chenghao, who was standing nearby, took out a crystal bottle.

The bottle contains a pale red liquid.

"Master, I need your blood, I need the essence."

Upon hearing this, Xia Lin simply bit her finger and dripped three drops of her semen into the porcelain bottle.

Wang Chenghao poured out the liquid from the porcelain bottle and smeared it on the iron gate as he spoke.

"This is something from the Wallbreakers. These people are quite resourceful."

"Originally, to open this door, the heads of our eight families had to come here simultaneously and retrieve their tokens. However, the one who broke through the wall found a simpler and more convenient way."

Right after Wang Chenghao finished speaking, the iron gate in front of him began to glow white.

The intense light illuminated everything, with subtle fluctuations emanating from it, falling upon Wang Chenghao and Xia Lin.

Xia Lin suddenly felt as if his entire being had been exposed.

This feeling was fleeting, and the door in front of me was already wide open.

This made Xia Lin even more puzzled.

What just happened was undoubtedly a rather sophisticated method of bloodline verification!
This is also beyond the scope of martial arts in this world!
……

Wang Chenghao never came to the road that followed.

Yes, this door has not been opened for hundreds of years.

Behind, there were far fewer signs of human intervention, and the passageway became narrow, allowing only a few people to pass at a time.

Wang Chenghao led the way while explaining.

"It's not that we're not curious, how could we not be curious..."

"But there have been three exploration incidents, and none of them ended well."

"The entire army was wiped out, with no survivors. The eight masters who entered simply vanished without a trace, and there has been no news of them since."

As he spoke, Wang Chenghao turned to Xia Lin and shrugged: "The Zhong family's legacy ended during their last exploration."

It's not that I'm not curious.

He was just terrified.

Xia Lin nodded in understanding, and ahead, a ray of light had already entered Xia Lin's eyes.

"arrive."

……

What appeared before Xia Lin was a seven-colored vortex.

And this is what is known as the world's barriers.

Xia Lin felt nothing special when facing this object.

Even after switching panels and restoring their original strength, no abnormality was detected, and observation did not provide any feedback.

This made Xia Lin slowly narrow his eyes.

"interesting."

Open the task list and look at the main quest.

The second part of the main quest requires Xia Lin to contact and open the world barrier.

Now, Xia Lin has arrived at the world's barrier; all that's missing is contact and opening it up.

After much deliberation, Xia Lin ultimately had no choice but to take the risk.

Switching the panel back to his own power, Xia Lin carefully stepped forward and reached out to touch the seven-colored vortex.

The soft yet elastic feel is palpable in your hands.

But after the brief period of elasticity disappeared, another suction force pulled Xia Lin involuntarily toward the world barrier!
This force is strong, yet not that strong.

If it were a domestic panel manufacturer, even a third-tier company like Sanpin would definitely not be able to withstand the competition.

But Xia Lin has now regained his power, which is more than enough to resist the suction force.

With a slight exertion, Xia Lin forcefully pulled his hand back.

The system notification sound from the Ash Zone naturally rang in my ears.

[Main Quest: The Mystery of the Eight Guardians, Phase Two Objective Completed!]

The three-phase goals are now being released.

[The Mystery of the Eight Guardians, Phase Three: Please travel to the other side of the world barrier!]

[Mission failure penalty: Permanent confinement in the Ashes.]

[Reward for successful completion of the mission: Activate the fourth stage of the main quest.]

The third stage is simple.

You can simply walk in.

"But this seems to be a trap..."

Xia Lin tilted his head and looked at the world barrier in front of him.

The second phase includes a requirement to break down global barriers.

But in reality, the barriers in this world are inherently open!

It is not only open, but it even has a hint of inviting people into a trap.

This phenomenon seems to contradict the warnings from the Ash area.

However, due to the pressure of the mission, Xia Lin had no other choice.

He turned to look at Wang Chenghao.

"You stay here, I'll be right back."

Before Wang Chenghao could speak, Xia Lin had already taken a step forward, squeezing his entire body into the world barrier!

Like passing through the esophagus of a ferocious beast.

A slimy, sticky, and slightly putrid odor filled Xia Lin's nostrils.

After swimming for an unknown amount of time, Xia Lin suddenly opened his eyes when the light came on again.

What came into his view were blood vessels as thick as towering pillars, and cells that had been tempered to the extreme, each ten meters in size, but were completely lifeless!

His eyes widened suddenly.

Xia Lin suddenly realized the true nature of the Eight Guardian Ashes Zone!
"This is the inner world of a martial artist!"

(End of this chapter)