Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 143 Shine
Battle Fist: Transcendent Realm.

Gao Wu was both delighted and moved when he saw the annotations on the Book of Immeasurable Merit.

In less than twenty minutes, Zhanbingquan had improved from the initial stage to the advanced stage.

Such a level of martial arts skill had already exceeded the limit of the spiritual imprint left by Song Chunqiu, so this person's spiritual imprint was completely shattered.

If you do the math, you'll see. Even if he had 10 points of innate talent before, 18 points of innate talent means his martial arts talent has increased by 25 times. That's an astonishing improvement.

It is precisely because of this that he was able to directly elevate the Battle Soldier Fist to the highest level.

On the other hand, it also shows that Zhanbingquan is simple enough.

This military martial art, originating from combat, was created for ordinary soldiers, with both its lower and upper limits being very low...

How stupid I was before! I couldn't even master such a simple Zhanbing Fist!

Gao Wu suddenly understood Song Chunqiu and Lu Yuan; in the eyes of these martial arts experts, he was indeed somewhat clumsy.

If it weren't for his special physical and mental talents, he wouldn't even be qualified to meet these martial arts masters.

The Qilin Divine Hero Mantra is still very useful, so Gao Wu decided to take the opportunity to practice the Nine Forms of the Dragon and see what effects it would have.

As soon as he began chanting the incantation, he felt a splitting headache, as if his brain had been suddenly mashed into mush, and the Qilin divine image silently dissipated...

Gao Wu took a minute to calm down and finally regained full consciousness.

The Qilin Divine Heroic Curse is so domineering that even with his 20 points of spiritual power, he can only unleash it once?
Both the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra and the Vermilion Bird Divine Light Mantra are at the Transcendent Realm, and even after unleashing their full power, he did not suffer such severe aftereffects.

Gao Wu sighed softly. It seemed that his plan to cultivate martial arts by enhancing the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra was not going to work...

Despite being in very poor condition, Gao Wu still forced himself to finish his daily homework.

He needs to examine his true condition, familiarize himself with his body, and understand the negative effects of the Qilin Divine Heroic Curse's outburst.

The Book of Immeasurable Merit only provides an explanation; the specific details still require him to explore and practice on his own.

Even when he wasn't in good shape, he still felt great practicing the Nine Forms of the Dragon. Gao Wu discovered many details that he hadn't noticed before.

I also felt that some details in the Dragon Palm and sword techniques were not quite right.

Gao Wu discovered that he had indeed become smarter and had developed a keener intuition about martial arts.

No matter what you practice, you can keenly perceive the problems in your training as soon as you start.

A talent level of 15 should not be underestimated; it's equivalent to a 7.5-fold increase in martial arts aptitude!

He was both surprised and delighted. Was this what it felt like to be a top student?

Everything is easy to learn and master.

However, the Nine Forms of Dragon, the Swimming Dragon Palm, and the sword are all at a very high level, and he cannot reach the pinnacle in one fell swoop like he could with the Battle Soldier Fist.

After breakfast, Song Mingyue went to Xinyue Lake to study.

Gao Wu wasn't feeling well and originally planned to rest for a day, which he would have simply told Yang Tielin via Fetion.

After much deliberation, Gao Wu decided to go to the Ninth Limit of Heaven. He needed to push himself even harder when he wasn't in good shape.

He was also very curious about how much of a role 15 points of Root Attribute could play in battle.

Having found the way familiarly, Gao Wu and Lao Yang chatted for a while before leisurely entering Tianji Jiuxian.

In the first challenge, Gao Wu didn't use a sword; he wanted to try out the Transcendent Battle Fist technique.

As soon as the fight started, Gao Wu immediately realized something was wrong. In the past, with the Heavenly Fate Sword's enhancement to his mastery of swordsmanship, he could easily kill the giant tiger.

However, that was his own improvement, the most reasonable and optimized use of swordsmanship. His mastery of swordsmanship was only for himself.

Today was different. Gao Wu could tell what the giant tiger was going to do next, how it would exert its strength, and from which angle it would attack just by looking at the tiger's subtle movements.

Previously, he could read combat based on his own swordsmanship. Now, he reads combat in a comprehensive way, no longer limited by swordsmanship.

The difference between the two is significant. With swordsmanship as his foundation, he would be helpless without his sword. Now, he can handle the situation with ease even without his sword.

Gao Wu truly discovered the benefits of having 15 points of innate talent: a clearer mind, stronger analytical and comprehension abilities, and an extraordinary intuition for combat.

After two extreme tests, Gao Wu was just a hair's breadth away from being touched by the giant tiger, only a few centimeters away, causing the giant tiger's attack to miss.

He used to kill the giant tiger in the first level with ease, but he had never been so skillful and precise in controlling his opponent.

Once again dodging the giant tiger's pounce with a sliding step, Gao Wu unleashed a landmine-like attack with his feet, causing the ground within a one-meter radius to explode violently under his force.

The giant tiger's left leg landed in this spot. The impact force of the landmine couldn't hurt it, but the change in terrain caused it to slip. It instinctively curled up and pulled back.

Gao Wu had been waiting for this opportunity, and he stepped forward and punched the tiger squarely in the neck.

The sniper-style punch was stealthy yet swift, its force violent, fierce, direct, and exceptionally solid. This punch shattered the giant tiger's protective energy field, penetrating directly into its neck while avoiding its hard skull, and reaching into the giant tiger's brain tissue.

The giant tiger's two dark golden eyes suddenly burst open. Before it could even scream, its massive body collapsed and slid forward...

Having dealt with the giant tiger so easily, Gao Wu realized how crude and simplistic his previous methods of breaking through levels had been.

Ultimately, it wasn't that Zhanbingquan had reached a state of perfection, but rather that his 15 points of innate talent allowed him to truly read the battle from a holistic perspective and choose a shortcut to victory.

In other words, the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra can not only enhance his martial arts talent, but also improve his combat talent.

With 15 points of innate talent, he should be about the same as Song Mingyue, or perhaps even a little less.

After becoming Lu Yuan's disciple, Song Mingyue's growth rate was extremely fast, proving that she had very strong potential. However, she was still somewhat inexperienced in combat.

Gao Wu was genuinely hesitant. Should he use the remaining ten million merits to upgrade the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra or the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra?

Upgrading the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra is not just about improving physical constitution; it also raises the limits of various aspects.

The most direct benefit is a significant boost to the source power, and there's also a good chance of opening the acupoint between the eyebrows and advancing to the rank of advanced warrior.

A 25-point constitution also means that the Thunder Transformation can increase mental strength to 24 points, which is an exceptionally large boost.

With such physical enhancements, his swift and powerful movements would at least double his combat abilities. He would even have a chance to kill a martial arts master.

His exceptional physique also gave him a high margin for error.

Reaching the Transcendent Realm of the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra will greatly advance his martial arts cultivation. He should also be able to advance to the rank of Advanced Warrior.

His ability to read and understand combat scenarios can also greatly enhance his combat power.

In the long run, the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra is the natural choice.

In comparison, there are limits to upgrading divine spells, but there are no limits to martial arts.

However, the trial is imminent, and it's hard to say what might happen in this other world. The Azure Dragon Divine Qi Spell, as a fundamental divine spell, can save his life in a critical moment. This is something no other divine spell can compare to…

Gao Wu thought about it for a long time, but couldn't make a decision.

Fortunately, there's still time, so he doesn't need to rush...

Take this opportunity to fully experience the effects of the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra.

Even though he was mentally exhausted, Gao Wu still managed to fight his way to the seventh level using his fist techniques.

The Heavenly Mandate Sword is a level six divine weapon. Even disregarding the enhancements in swordsmanship, the sword itself is exceptionally powerful.

It's likely that An Ziru and other predecessors who overcame the challenges also used the power of divine weapons.

Breaking through the barrier solely through fist techniques increases the difficulty by more than tenfold. Yesterday, Gao Wu wouldn't have even dared to dream of such a feat.

Today went very smoothly; he smashed every giant tiger in each level with his bare fists. Even more remarkable was that he didn't activate the Gale and Thunder Transformation.

His progress in martial arts also unleashed his physical potential. Even without activating his source power, his fist could reach 8,000 kilograms with his superb magical skills, and a single kick could reach tens of thousands of kilograms.

Looking at the giant tiger again, you can see that it is dull and lifeless, lacking any true vitality. No matter how thick its armor is, there is always a way to break through it.

By the eighth level, the difficulty had increased dramatically. Gao Wu had been maneuvering for a while when he finally found an opportunity to use his battle axe kick to sweep across the giant tiger's foreleg joint. After several sweeps, he finally broke one of the giant tiger's forelegs.

This secured the victory.

By the ninth level, Gao Wu really couldn't get past it with just his fist techniques.

Even without the protection of its source energy field, this giant tiger's armor was extremely strong. In addition, it was incredibly fast and agile compared to the giant tigers in the previous eight levels.

What seemed like a small, insignificant change brought about a fundamental transformation. Gao Wu tried to activate the Eightfold Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, which boosted his agility to 17 points and tripled his source power level, enough to kill the giant tiger.

However, the Eightfold Divine Spell can only be maintained for five seconds, leaving too little room for error. If the giant tiger isn't killed, it's entirely possible to be torn to pieces by it.

He wasn't willing to risk his life; it wouldn't make much sense.

If you use the Destiny Sword, even if your swordsmanship hasn't been upgraded, a high-level martial artist has a 70-80% chance of killing the giant tiger and clearing the level.

The problem is that clearing the level will trigger an alarm, which not only Yang Tielin can see, but will also leave a trace in the energy core, so others can tell at a glance that he has cleared the level.

Tianji Jiuxian is such a great place to practice boxing, so naturally we should save it for later.

Gao Wu is no longer in such a hurry to become an apprentice. If he really raises the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra to the Transcendent Realm, he feels that the Grandmaster level is not enough!
It's not that he's snobbish; it's just a two-way selection process.

When his aptitude was lacking, Lu Yuan looked down on him. Now that his aptitude had improved, he naturally wanted to choose a better teacher.

Martial arts grandmasters are indeed very strong, but above grandmasters there are Martial Kings and Martial Saints!
Of course, he would never forget the favor Lu Yuan had shown him regarding the "Regretful Dragon Ascends" technique!

There's no rush to upgrade his divine spells; he needs time to process this upgrade. He can decide which spell to upgrade after he's fully grasped the changes in the Qilin Divine Heroic Spell.

For the next few days, Gao Wu came to Tianji Jiuxian to practice his boxing every day.

The Zhanbing Fist had reached its limit at the Transcendent Realm, and after a few days it had only become more refined.

The Dragon Palm technique, along with the Dragon Sword and the Dragon Secret Sword, has improved. However, it is still a long way from the next level.

While a talent level of 15 is high, it only equates to the level of a genius. Such a mature and complex secret technique cannot be easily mastered.

The Qilin Divine Heroic Mantra's Sixfold Burst can increase one's root attribute by three points, but it can only be maintained for three minutes.

With his formidable mental strength, he could only unleash the Sixfold Qilin Divine Heroic Spell twice a day at most. Relying on this divine spell for martial arts training was unrealistic.

However, the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra can greatly enhance his comprehension and analytical abilities, improve his keen intuition, and enhance his subtle control over his own martial arts.

In other words, the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra is equivalent to temporarily boosting martial arts talent by three times, which is also very useful in battle.

Gao Wu tried stacking the Qilin Divine Hero Mantra and the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra, and the effect was very good. He almost defeated the giant tiger in the ninth level with his bare fists.

Trying a few more times is inevitable. But it's pointless.

After a few days, the Dragon Form Nine Styles have truly shown improvement.

In particular, the two moves, "Hidden Dragon, Do Not Use" and "Overbearing Dragon, Regretful," have spiritual imprints passed down to him. His martial arts talent improved, he had a clear direction, and his cultivation progressed rapidly.

According to Gao Wu's calculations, he should be able to break through to the Great Perfection realm before the trial.

On September 20th, during the freshman party of Beizhou Martial Arts University, Gao Wu had to interrupt his training and go to the guard regiment's garrison.

The guard regiment has a huge training square that can accommodate 10,000 people for a performance.

Tonight's gala begins with a training performance by various martial arts academies in Beizhou, which will be reviewed by the guard regiment, the supervisory department, and academy leaders.

Then, freshmen from each university will perform and a gala will be held.

Gao Wu, as the most popular freshman, was designated by the college as the representative of Anhui University's freshmen to give a speech on behalf of the freshmen and to be the first to demonstrate his swordsmanship.

Dean An Ziru personally arranged it, and Gao Wu couldn't refuse. After all, the dean had given him and Song Mingyue special permission not to attend the training, saving them a lot of time.

For this reason alone, he should make an effort to acknowledge it. However, to be honest, it's rather ironic to ask someone who skipped class to speak as a representative.

Gao Wu had lunch with Song Mingyue, Sister Jun, and Zhou Hongying. Then Zhou Hongying volunteered to drive Gao Wu to the guard regiment's residence.

The guard regiment is right next to the Ministry of Supervision building. Gao Wu had sized up the guard regiment from afar the last time he came to the Ministry of Supervision.

When Gao Wu and his group entered the guard unit, they were stopped by the guards. They were only allowed to pass after calling Dean An.

By the time Gao Wu led Song Mingyue and the others into the square, it was already 2 PM.

A high platform was erected directly in front of the huge square, with a banner hanging on it announcing the first-year performance of Beizhou Martial Arts University...

A group of people were rehearsing on the high platform. Everyone was busy and no one paid attention to Gao Wu and the others.

Wang Zhe, the student council president of Qinglong Academy, spotted Gao Wu at a glance and hurried over to greet him. He had won a lot of money from Gao Wu in the past and had a very deep impression of him.

Having watched the demon-slaying video, Wang Zhe knew that Gao Wu would be one of the strongest students in the entire martial arts academy for the next few years, and he had to manage his relationship with this person well.

"Hello Gao Wu, I'm Wang Zhe, the president of the Qinglong Academy Student Union. I'm here today to help out and coordinate the Anhui University student performance. Please come with me."

Wang Zhe was very enthusiastic and even took the initiative to arrange a resting place for Song Mingyue and the others. He took Gao Wu up to the platform and introduced Gao Wu to the host and the on-site director.

The on-site director, a middle-aged man, glanced coldly at Gao Wu: "You're the first one on stage. You have 120 seconds. The plan is to say a few words first, then demonstrate a sword technique. How long will it take you to practice? What kind of background music do you need?"

"Thirty seconds of sword practice is enough. Just arrange some rousing drum music or something like that for the background music." Gao Wu didn't have any specific requirements, but he only needed to practice one set of sword techniques.

"Okay, then ninety seconds should be enough for you. The sooner the show ends, the better; there's no need to drag it out." The middle-aged director made the decision on the spot, with an assistant taking notes.

The middle-aged director, Gao Wu, said, "You practice once first, and I'll check your positioning and sword style before arranging the background music."

His tone was cold and hard, with a hint of command.

The middle-aged man and Gao Wu were complete strangers, so he disliked Gao Wu a bit. After all, Gao Wu came from the military and valued discipline above all else.

In his opinion, it was one thing for Gao Wu not to participate in the training, but it was truly laughable that he came to be the student representative for the performance!
Wang Zhe hesitated, then ultimately said nothing, only giving Gao Wu a look to signal him not to be angry. Gao Wu noticed that the middle-aged man seemed to have some issues with him, but didn't pay it any mind.

Some people like him, and some people dislike him. That's perfectly normal. The other party's attitude wasn't very good, but it was still business as usual.

The platform was quite large, roughly eight meters by six meters. After all, there would be singing and dancing involved, and a platform that was too small wouldn't allow for proper movement.

Standing in the center of the stage, Gao Wu calmly drew his sword. With the Destiny Sword in hand, he did not deliberately activate his source power, but his mind and the sword naturally converged, and his eyes revealed a sharp sword aura with a cold light.

The female host and the middle-aged director, watching from the sidelines, were also taken aback by the sword aura emanating from Gao Wu. The female host's expression changed slightly, and even the middle-aged director, though a martial arts master, couldn't help but feel a chill: "Such powerful and pure sword aura..."

Wang Zhe's expression was even more solemn. He had watched the video of Gao Wu slaying the demons repeatedly, but in that state, Gao Wu was obviously using a special secret technique. Right now, Gao Wu was just drawing his sword in a pose, and his movements were calm and gentle, yet they had the demeanor of a master.

He couldn't help but be somewhat surprised and doubtful. Was Gao Wu's swordsmanship really that powerful?
Regardless of what others thought, Gao Wu performed the Sixty-Four Forms of the Soaring Dragon. His movements were calm and graceful, his body following the sword. When the sword light rose and fell and swirled, it truly resembled the flying dragon.

When Gao Wu finished his stance and sheathed his sword, he was standing right where Gao Wu had started.

The female host glanced at her watch; exactly thirty seconds had passed. This precise timing left her secretly impressed: These young people today are truly remarkable!
The middle-aged director nodded slightly. Although he didn't like high-level martial arts, he had to admit that this swordsmanship was truly exquisite. It was far superior to the violent and ferocious style of the demon-slaying videos.

He said to the female host, "You two discuss the specific details and keep the time under control."

Actually, such performances don't usually have very strict requirements. It's just that this time many important figures came, including representatives from the Governor's Office, the Ministry of Supervision, the military, and various universities.

After all, this is the first time the martial arts academy has expanded its enrollment, and all parties are taking it very seriously. Therefore, the performance must be taken seriously, and no major problems can be allowed to occur.

After two rehearsals to finalize the flow, Gao Wu told Wang Zhe that he was going to rest in the next room...

At four o'clock in the afternoon, all the new trainees from various colleges had arrived. The square was densely packed with teenagers dressed in black combat uniforms.

Then each college held a rehearsal, with more than 10,000 people forming multiple squares and marching in turn in front of the high platform.

The training period was short, but the formation was already quite impressive. After all, they were all martial artists, so marching in unison and with power wasn't difficult for them. The only problem was that they were all too inexperienced, lacking the cold, resolute strength of true soldiers.

However, they also possess a vibrant energy that soldiers lack.

Gao Wu watched with great interest from a small building nearby. To be honest, this thing looked simple but was very powerful.

Among the formations, he indeed spotted several skilled individuals. In particular, there was a flag bearer in the Beizhou University formation who was about his height, but much broader and stronger, with a cold, sharp gaze and keen senses. He had actually noticed his gaze.

He also saw Bai Yushuang, Baidishan, Yuan Qiansheng, as well as Han Yang, Yang Ru, and Song Minglin.

After twenty days of training, everyone got tanned. At this point, Bai Yushuang's wheat-colored skin had an advantage; no matter how much tanning she got, it stayed the same...

When Gao Wu thought of Bai Yan's request, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Shang Qingjun and Zhou Hongying accompanied Gao Wu to watch the excitement. However, their eyesight was far inferior to Gao Wu's. From such a distance, they could only see the neat formations and could not make out the faces of the people or distinguish who was who.

Zhou Hongying didn't know what Gao Wu was laughing at, but she could tell that there was a hint of sinister smugness in his smile... She clung to Gao Wu's arm and asked coquettishly, "What are you laughing at?"

Gao Wu said seriously, "It's nothing, I'm just a little excited thinking about how I'm going to shine tonight!"

"How dazzling?" Zhou Hongying asked enthusiastically.

"Crackling sound!"

"Hahaha..." Zhou Hongying and Shang Qingjun both burst into laughter. Zhou Hongying, in particular, laughed so hard she was shaking, making Gao Wu a little embarrassed...

(End of this chapter)