High Martial Arts Races: I Ascend to the Future in a Simulation

[Given that Tie Man once overpowered the Monkey King, you strongly suspect that he might be a dragon knight in a dual sense.]

"No, that's too spacious, isn't it?" After careful consideration, you dismissed your own thought.

"That's not right either. After all, while adult Tyrannosaurus Rex are extremely large, they weren't that big when they were first born."

"They need time to grow, and the size of a baby dragon should be just right." After a second round of rational consideration, you rejected that idea once again.

"No, that's not right. This looks like a male dragon!" you observed carefully.

"But even the official version isn't foolproof!" You nodded three times.

"This goes beyond just being perverted."

"Just how stifling is this flight simulator?!"

Xu Fei covered his face because he had spent too long in prehistoric times, and even the most beautiful female savage looked like a monkey. As a martial artist, Xu Fei was really uncomfortable trying not to force his aesthetic sense to be distorted.

All I can do every day is daydream to distract myself.

To prevent accidentally committing an unforgivable crime.

At 42, you discover that Tie Man has become somewhat deranged, almost like a madman.

Despite the fact that he has continued to develop new talents over the years and his strength has been slowly increasing, he is still stuck below the Martial Master level.

This is a limitation imposed by heaven and earth, an insurmountable chasm!

[In the same year, the Qi and Blood version of the Wind and Air Fist was perfected, nearly 20 years later than the regular version.]

[At 43, humanity's footprints are all over the world, and you rule over the vast majority of regions. Even in the abyss beneath the Great Rift Valley, the descendants of those priests still know that above the "Iron Chieftain" there is someone like you.]

[Achievement Acquired: King of Men.]

"...Not the Savage King."

"No, perhaps it should have been the Savage King."

At that moment, Xu Fei suddenly had a sudden realization.

If he hadn't existed in this prehistoric era, the future would have seen Tie Man sweep across the Central Plains and become the king of all the savages. At that time, Tie Man would have been the king of the savages.

But the arrival of flight simulators changed everything.

The change mentioned here is not just about taking away Tie Man's title of "Savage King".

Rather, he brought civilization; he successfully transformed those savages!

From savage to human!

Therefore, the Wildling King achievement no longer exists, because Wildlings are almost nowhere to be found across the land, with only a few small groups existing in some remote corners.

Everything else is just people!

The king of men is naturally the king of men!

[At 44 years old, the number of long-lived savages is increasing. At first, the savages in the tribe thought it was just an accident, until later they discovered that many of the savages who followed you in the early days lived to be over fifty or even sixty years old!]

They finally believe that people can live to be over 60!

At 45, you are not only exceptionally long-lived, but you also look as young as someone in their twenties, making you a paragon of humankind.

Because you brought fire, martial arts, literature, medicine, food, and tools to this ignorant age...

At 46, on a vast, empty mountainside, your myth was spontaneously painted.

[That same year, you prepared to retire, settle down permanently in the Great Rift Valley, and spend the rest of your life exploring its ventilation capabilities.]

When you express your intention to step down during a tribal meeting, it's like a nuclear bomb exploding in the ocean, causing enormous waves!

Several top warriors have appeared, seeking to challenge your second adopted son, "Shi Feng."

[This is no longer the early days. Martial arts have been passed down for decades, and the early, passionate techniques have long since disappeared among the savage tribes due to the passage of time (and the involvement of unseen forces).]

However, some young savages still managed to break through to the fourth or fifth level of Martial Soldier using ordinary martial arts, and two even reached the seventh level of Martial Soldier with extraordinary talent.

It's foreseeable that in another ten years or so, they will be stuck below the Martial Master level, just like Tie Man.

"But one person is stuck at the peak of the Martial Weapon realm because their level cap is the peak of the Martial Weapon realm. As for the others, it's because..."

Xu Fei paused for a moment.

In fact, those other savage warriors also have the potential to break through to the level of Martial Master, while the future of Iron Barbarian is very likely to be "Martial Grandmaster" or "Martial King"!

If there were no simulator, the person who was truly stuck at the peak of the Martial Soldier level, meaning that his potential was only at the peak of the Martial Soldier level... seems to be him.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Facing those challengers, Shi Feng bravely stepped forward to meet them.

[But he's only in his early twenties, far too young. Even with your special treatment and the consumption of various high-grade flesh and blood, he's still only reached the third level of Martial Soldier.]

Furthermore, his marksmanship and fist fighting skills were only at the proficient level; among the seven or eight challengers, he could at most exchange blows with the weaker one.

Therefore, the loss was entirely predictable.

He knelt on the ground and cried to you, "Godfather, I'm too weak, I'm no match for them!"

"My father named me Shifeng (Stone Wind), hoping I would become as strong as a stone, blowing as fast as the wind. But I can't do it, I really can't!"

"What should I do, my godfather?"

You look at him quietly: "I have two paths for you to choose from, both paths can lead you to victory."

You slowly raise your finger: "A road that harms others—no, it can't even be called harm, it's a betrayal. You can solidify your power by unfairly hurting others."

"That path completely contradicts the civilization and morality I've taught you over the years; it's a darkness I don't want you to encounter."

[You raise another finger: "The other path will only harm yourself. Now you know, our lifespan can reach 80, 90 years, or even longer, but this second path will shorten your lifespan to 60 years!"]

"You should be able to guess what the second path refers to. It's the forbidden technique that I abandoned from the path of martial arts many years ago and strictly forbid anyone from spreading it!"

The first option is to poison them, cripple those strong savages, and then Shi Feng will naturally become the leader.

[Or it could involve more than just poisoning; it could include other underhanded tactics, such as ostensibly going hunting together but actually stabbing the other in the back, causing them to perish among the beasts.]

The second path, needless to say, is the "Hot-Blooded Kung Fu."

[After returning home, Shi Feng thought about it all night. The next day, he told you that he chose option two.]

"The teaching was still too good." You nodded. Normally, those who chose the first path are more suited to be leaders.

But in this world, the savages are nearly invincible. Their vast tribes are no longer afraid of attacks from external beasts. Perhaps, as the number of savages increases and their lives improve, some shadowy figures will inevitably emerge, writhing in the sunlight.

[You just don't want to see all of this in your lifetime, and you hope this world can remain pure for a little longer.]

[Like the myths of certain saintly times, when doors were left unlocked at night.]