I became a Sword Emperor in the Martial Arts World

Chapter 108 Refining True Gold in Fire

Divine Metal is a unique metal that can fuse with the spiritual power of martial artists. It can exhibit changes in strength or softness depending on the need. The "Refining True Gold in Fire" technique is a body-refining method specifically developed to address the ever-changing characteristics of Divine Metal.

"Using the hardest metal (庚金) as the bone and the softest metal (辛金) as the flesh, to forge an indestructible golden body, is indeed a brilliant idea."

As Ye Qingzhou studied the contents of the cultivation technique, he discovered an unexpected surprise: "The internal cultivation part of the technique 'Refining Gold in Fire' actually uses the internal energy of dragons? Moreover, it has been specially modified to have a higher compatibility with the bloodline of the human race."

"In this way, the biggest problem in 'Fish and Dragon Transformation' has finally been solved."

Ye Qingzhou was overjoyed.

The biggest difficulty in practicing the "Fish-Dragon Transformation" technique has always been that when using the dragon's internal energy to strengthen one's physique, the body will experience a phenomenon of bloodline reversion.

Moreover, it's not the kind of atavism where hair grows on the face, but rather a direct atavism from mammals towards distant ancestors like reptiles and fish, which is hard to accept.

Leon's waist and abdomen grew scales, and Zhu Jinfeng's head began to grow horns. Ye Qingzhou didn't want to develop in the direction of the Little Dragon Man.

Therefore, Ye Qingzhou has only cultivated the internal training part of "Fish-Dragon Transformation" and mastered the dragon's internal energy.

As for the external training part, which uses the dragon's internal energy to comprehensively strengthen the body, Ye Qingzhou has never tried it.

Now, with the improved ideas about the dragon's inner breath from "Refining Gold in Fire," Ye Qingzhou suddenly had a breakthrough and, drawing inferences from similar cases, came up with a solution.

The more Ye Qingzhou cultivated, the more he felt that the internal cultivation method of Blue Star was extremely profound.

The six elements of military strategy—wind, fire, mountain, forest, yin, and thunder—involve internal breathing techniques that are merely the most basic methods of cultivating qi.

The Dragon's Inner Breath is a more advanced method of cultivating Qi, and it can even be used to strengthen the Six Forms Inner Breath, transforming the acquired into the innate.

At this moment, Ye Qingzhou began to try to circulate the fire's internal energy by circulating the dragon's internal energy.

As he breathed in and out, the original internal fire began to transform from ordinary fire into dragon flame with peculiar properties.

Compared to ordinary fire, the quality of dragon flame has been greatly improved, which has also made the efficiency of refining divine metal much higher, and the effect is far superior to the past.

Soon, the entire piece of divine metal, about the size of a thumb, was directly sublimated into a vaporized form by the dragon flame.

Surrounded by scorching heat, Ye Qingzhou's clothes began to catch fire, and then the entire room was transformed into a raging inferno, as if it had been engulfed in a devastating fire.

However, even amidst the sea of ​​fire, Ye Qingzhou's body remained completely unaffected. The dragon's breath formed a barrier on his body, blocking the damage from the intense heat.

Ye Qingzhou ignored the room he had set on fire, as he was completely absorbed in his cultivation.

He took a deep breath, like a whale sucking in water, and inhaled the vaporized divine gold into his body. Then he began to cultivate "Refining True Gold in Fire".

The six internal breaths of wind, fire, mountain, forest, yin, and thunder are merely acquired internal breaths. When human martial artists practice the six internal breaths, they still rely on the instincts of mammals, using their lungs to breathe and mobilize the power of qi and blood.

Dragon's Inner Breath, however, is different. It is a secret innate inner breath technique that can directly absorb vital energy and transform it into energy using mental power.

Therefore, Ye Qingzhou, combining the techniques of Dragon Breath, began to try to modify the Fire Breath in the Six Forms, and the effect was immediate!

The vaporized divine gold was suddenly injected into Ye Qingzhou's body, and then he used the "Refining True Gold in Fire" technique to integrate it into his muscles and bones.

Divine metal is ever-changing, capable of being both hard and soft, and "Refining True Gold in Fire" brings this characteristic of divine metal to its extreme.

Geng metal represents the bones, and Xin metal represents the flesh, thus creating an indestructible and immortal golden body.

Real gold is not afraid of fire!

The divine metal refined by the breath of dragon flames possesses an unbelievable level of strength.

At this moment, Ye Qingzhou was bathed in crimson-gold flames, his body radiating golden light, clearly having initially mastered the Indestructible Golden Body.

Although Ye Qingzhou is not truly immortal, his physical strength has been greatly enhanced, making him virtually invulnerable to blades, spears, water, and fire.

Even if Ye Qingzhou were hit head-on by a 155mm howitzer shell, it would probably be about the same as an ordinary person taking a punch, only causing him minor injuries.

To penetrate his armor, one would probably need to use tungsten alloy armor-piercing discarding sabot projectiles used in anti-tank guns.

Meanwhile, as the fire raged on, Xu Lan and Xu Yinchuan, who lived next door to Ye Qingzhou, also noticed something was wrong.

"Ye Qingzhou's room is on fire?"

"Could something have happened?"

In order to save the person, the two chose to break down the door. As soon as they rushed in, they saw Ye Qingzhou sitting cross-legged naked, with one arm higher than the other, maintaining the posture of embracing yin and yang.

Xu Lan blushed and quickly left the room, while Xu Yinchuan stayed behind to protect Ye Qingzhou, braving the sweltering heat.

Ye Qingzhou only stopped circulating his energy after he had completely absorbed the small piece of divine metal.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Xu Yinchuan stepped forward and examined Ye Qingzhou several times before tentatively asking, "You're surrounded by golden light, looking a bit like the sixteen-foot golden body of the Brahma Pure Land Sect. How's your defense?"

"It can withstand the frontal bombardment of heavy artillery."

"What?!"

Xu Yinchuan was speechless upon hearing this, and even felt a little envious.

It should be understood that ordinary professional martial artists, if they haven't practiced any high-level defensive martial arts techniques or skills, only have a physical strength that can block bullets, but absolutely cannot stop cannonballs.

Ye Qingzhou's golden body was actually able to withstand the frontal bombardment of heavy artillery?

Even Xu Yinchuan himself doesn't have this skill.

However, this is also related to the inherited martial arts techniques of the Xu family in Linjiang. The Xu family's inherited martial arts techniques are strong in controlling the field, and are not mainly defensive techniques. Therefore, it is normal that they cannot block cannonballs.

A martial artist like Ye Qingzhou, who is at the apprentice level, is the abnormal one who can withstand heavy artillery fire with his body!

Xu Yinchuan asked with some concern, "Are you sure you're not practicing the 'Sixteen-Foot Golden Body' of the Pure Land School?"

Stealing martial arts techniques is a major taboo in the martial arts world, especially for a top-tier sect like the Fanjing Sect with immense influence. If they come knocking on your door to demand an explanation, it's no joke.

Ye Qingzhou shook his head: "I would like to learn it secretly, but I don't have the opportunity."

"That's good."

Xu Yinchuan didn't press Ye Qingzhou about where the technique came from. "Refining Gold in Fire" was a gift from Kang Jinlong. Just by looking at its appearance and effects, he knew it was no ordinary item.

Xu Yinchuan was clearly a man of principle. He wanted to cooperate with a peerless genius like Ye Qingzhou rather than risk offending him by demanding his cultivation technique.

After all, in the world of martial arts, it is always the person who is strong, not the technique!

Before he became famous, Zhang Xinwu was just an ordinary martial arts school apprentice who practiced basic boxing techniques that were commonplace in the martial arts world.

The results of it?

Back then, they were just a group of proud sons from martial arts families, and they were utterly crushed by Zhang Xinwu on the stage of the National High School Martial Arts League.

Therefore, it is clear that in Xu Yinchuan's eyes, Ye Qingzhou's own value is more valuable than any martial arts technique in the world.

Even if the Xu family obtains the cultivation technique, they may not be able to master it.

Instead of wasting time and effort, why not cultivate a good relationship with Ye Qingzhou?

Subsequently, hotel staff arrived at the scene and dispersed after Xu Yinchuan promised that the Linjiang Xu family would compensate them at the agreed price.

This incident further fueled the already famous Ye Qingzhou's interest in burning down his room while practicing martial arts, sparking heated discussions among a group of emerging martial arts talents.

Everyone was curious about what kind of martial art he was practicing that had such exaggerated effects, almost burning the room to ashes.

The next day, at the Golden Scale Research Center, Training Ground No. 4.

Ding~

Ye Qingzhou threw a punch, which was equivalent to a 45mm thick steel plate on the surface of a tank armor. The surface was deeply dented, and a clear fist mark was visible in the center.

Snap snap snap~

Xu Yinchuan looked at Ye Qingzhou's unscathed fist and couldn't help but clap his hands in praise, "Impressive! Impressive! Your punch is no weaker than the Iron Arm Skill at the Great Perfection level, and it even surpasses it in defensive power."

Ye Qingzhou stood up, slowly exhaled and withdrew his fist, ending the test. However, there was no joy on his face. Instead, he frowned and said, "It's a pity. I integrated all my strength into one place and released it instantly, but I still couldn't make the fire reach the realm of divine skill."

Xu Yinchuan was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this: "You're only 17 years old, yet you've already mastered all five stances and your lightning strikes are incredibly powerful. This achievement already surpasses Zhang Xinwu's back then, so why are you in such a hurry to achieve success?"

He had no idea that Ye Qingzhou's wind and yin energy had also reached a level of unparalleled mastery.

Ye Qingzhou felt neither joy nor sorrow upon hearing Xu Yinchuan's praise. To him, praise was the most useless thing in the world, and he had no need for such trivial emotional value.

At this moment, Ye Qingzhou's thoughts were still focused on how to break through his cultivation level.

The ultimate force of the wind is divine speed.

The ultimate state of Yin power is Divine Emptiness.

The ultimate power of thunder is divine might.

The remaining three extreme forms—fire, mountain, and forest—correspond to divine power, divine aura, and divine skill, respectively.

Ye Qingzhou learned this knowledge from the "Fish-Dragon Transformation" technique. Unfortunately, the technique only briefly mentioned what the six extreme realms corresponding to the six postures were, but there was no detailed description of the realms, let alone the way to cultivate to the extreme realms.

Therefore, Ye Qingzhou still had to figure it out on his own.

"After initially mastering 'Refining True Gold in Fire,' my strength increased greatly, yet I still hadn't reached the pinnacle of divine power in fire. This shows that divine power isn't simply an accumulation of physical strength; mere quantitative change cannot lead to qualitative change."

Ye Qingzhou pondered: 'So, where exactly is the breakthrough point for the extreme realm of fire?'

Just as Ye Qingzhou was pondering, Xu Yinchuan talked to him about exploring Lingyun Cave Heaven, and advised him: "Even in the Shenyu Sword Sect territory that has been fully explored, there are still many dangerous areas inside Lingyun Cave Heaven. So once you enter the cave heaven, you must not act rashly, and your own safety should be your top priority."

"I see."

Ye Qingzhou readily agreed; he had always been a person who sought stability.

He never does anything high-risk... unless it's high-return.

Clearly, the two have a significant difference in their definition of "danger".

Xu Yinchuan was just too good at mind reading, otherwise he would have been so angry that he would have wanted to twist Ye Qingzhou's head off, crack open his skull, and see what was going on in that person's head.

Meanwhile, Xu Yuebing, Lei Ang, Miao Yi, and Zhu Jinfeng, who had also arrived at the training ground, saw the tank armor that Ye Qingzhou had almost punched through.

Leon stepped forward and touched the deep fist marks on the alloy armor, letting out an exaggerated roar: "Damn, can a human make these?"

Zhu Jinfeng then stepped forward herself, struck a pose, and gave it a try.

Ding~

Her fair fist was wreathed in flames and flashed with lightning. Her all-out attack could only leave a shallow fist mark on the alloy armor.

Without careful observation, it's almost impossible to tell the difference.

She straightened up in disappointment and sighed, "The gap is too big."

Seeing this, Leon, not to be outdone, also tried it, but his explosive power was not as good as Zhu Jinfeng's, and he only managed to wipe off the outermost layer of paint on the alloy armor.

Both of them were dissatisfied with their performance, while Miao Yi and Xu Yuebing, who were standing to the side, were dumbfounded.

They haven't practiced Dragon Breath, so they're not as good as Leon and Zhu Jinfeng. If they were to use their bare hands, they probably wouldn't even be able to scratch the outer paint of the alloy armor, no matter how hard they tried.

Miao Yi, in particular, found it the most difficult to understand, since he had fought with Leon before and knew Leon's capabilities.

It's only been a few days! Even if you ate fertilizer every day, you couldn't have grown this fast, could you?

So Miao Yi couldn't help but ask, "Leon, how did you improve so quickly?"

Leon chuckled, thinking to himself, "You think I'll just tell you because you ask? Do you really think I'm an idiot?"

Instead of him saying anything, Zhu Jinfeng frankly revealed all his secrets: "Naturally, I was doing special training with Ye Qingzhou. Actually, I was the same. I have to say, Ye Qingzhou is really strong."

"What?! How could such a thing happen?"

Miao Yi knew absolutely nothing about Zhouzhou's tutoring center.

Zhu Jinfeng joked, "Out of the five of us, you're the only one who doesn't know about this."

Miao Yi looked at Xu Yuebing: "Even you..."

Xu Yuebing didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

After all, strictly speaking, she was Ye Qingzhou's first disciple and the first member of Zhouzhou's tutoring class.

However, unlike the shameless Leon, Xu Yuebing refused to acknowledge the master-disciple relationship between her and Ye Qingzhou.

After all, how can she be the master's wife if she's already the senior sister?

Wouldn't that mess up the entire generational hierarchy?

And so, Miao Yi joined Zhouzhou's tutoring class.

Although he was Ye Qingzhou's senior and two years older than Ye Qingzhou, in the martial arts world, those who have achieved mastery are always considered teachers.

No matter how senior you are, if a young person doesn't like you, they can put you in the ring, knock you out with one punch, and prove that everything you said was bullshit.

Two days later, after a period of rest, the twenty martial arts upstarts who had secured their spots gathered at the entrance of Lingyun Cave.

The so-called entrance has neither a magnificent bronze gate nor a dazzling natural wonder; it consists only of a circular altar with a radius of about two meters.

The area is not large, and if people stand close together, it can barely accommodate 31 people and a small amount of personal supplies.

This is a teleportation array. Currently, humanity only knows how to activate it; the principles and operating methods are completely unknown.

Xu Yinchuan said to Ye Qingzhou, "The teleportation array will automatically recharge, but it will take ten days. So after you enter, be careful to keep track of the time and it's best to come out immediately after ten days."

"Yes."

Ye Qingzhou understood why countries around the world were so keen to cultivate martial artists. It was true that human technology was powerful, but in terms of destructive power alone, tanks, cannons, airplanes, missiles, and powerful warships far surpassed the capabilities of most ordinary martial artists.

But all of this is based entirely on sufficient logistical support.

Gun ammunition needs to be replenished, vehicle fuel needs to be replenished, instruments and equipment need to be charged, and airplanes, tanks and warships have difficulty getting in.

The teleportation array in the grotto is only so big, and it has to transport both people and supplies, and only once every ten days...

Who could stand this?

In contrast, martial artists simply throw people into their caves and that's it.

More importantly, many of the secret areas inside the cave can only be entered and explored by martial artists, who can bring out valuable knowledge and resources.

For ordinary people, even survival becomes a problem once they get inside.

After their early explorations ended in disastrous failures, the various countries of Earth began to cultivate martial artists.

Twenty promising martial arts talents and eleven professional martial artists responsible for rotating shifts each carried loads of supplies and entered the teleportation channel.

Immediately, a beam of seven-colored light descended from the sky, and all thirty-one people, along with their supplies, disappeared into the teleportation array.

Seeing that Ye Qingzhou had safely entered Lingyun Cave Heaven, Xu Yinchuan, who was guarding outside the teleportation array, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he glanced at Gu Guangqi, who was standing not far away, without saying a word.

Gu Guangqi seemed to sense Xu Yinchuan's gaze, turned his face to meet his eyes, and a slight smile appeared on his lips, carrying three parts mockery and seven parts disdain.

He then turned and left, and as Xu Yinchuan watched his retreating figure, his unease grew: "What mischief is that old bastard up to now?"

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

Xu Lan also sensed something was wrong, walked over to Xu Yinchuan, and asked in a low voice, "Should we invite Second Aunt over?"

The second aunt Xu Yinchuan mentioned was Xu Yuebing and Xu Yunxi's mother, Xu Wanqing, the top expert of the Linjiang Xu family, a master martial artist who was famous throughout southern Hunan.

If Xu Wanqing were to do it herself, even if Gu Guangqi were extremely displeased, he wouldn't be able to harm a single hair on Ye Qingzhou's head.

Xu Yinchuan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, you're right. To prevent some members of the Gu family from resorting to desperate measures, we should be fully prepared."

After saying that, he took out his phone and called his wife.

(End of this chapter)