I became a Sword Emperor in the Martial Arts World

Chapter 242 Don't worry, I'm terrified of dying.

Xiangxi, Wufeng Mountain.

Numerous construction teams are carrying out post-disaster reconstruction work here, and the battle between the two powerful deities is no less intense than the natural disaster itself.

When Ye Qingzhou and Xu Yunxi arrived, they were greeted by a scene of apocalypse.

Mountains collapsed, rivers changed course, and every inch of land seemed to have been turned upside down. Grass and vegetation were reduced to ashes, the earth was scorched black, and the devastation was unbearable to look at.

"The battle to kill the gods is truly intense."

Looking at the destruction caused by the battle, Ye Qingzhou couldn't help but marvel.

"The war was so terrifying. Fortunately, General Wang Yin made a decisive decision and ordered a retreat. Otherwise, the entire Southwest Military Region would have suffered heavy casualties."

Looking back now, Xu Yunxi still feels a bit scared.

It should be noted that she and her mother, Xu Wanqing, were among the people stationed at Wufeng Mountain at that time.

In battles between martial gods, every gesture and movement draws upon the power of the Great Dao, so much so that even the aftershocks of an attack often carry the impact of Dao essence, capable of shattering a person's physical body and even their soul.

Even a martial saint as powerful as him would face a near-death experience if caught in the crossfire. This is even more true for grandmasters and great masters, who would likely die even from being merely grazed by the aftershocks.

Therefore, Wang Yin's evacuation order was timely and successfully avoided unnecessary casualties.

Now that the Void Sun Rat has been killed in battle, and the high-level combat forces of the Heju, Manman, Yu Niao, Ershu, Juru, and the six clans have been almost completely wiped out, this is the best opportunity for the Eastern Pole Kingdom to represent the human race in restoring the Nine Li Cave Heaven.

In the past, the Mao tribe established the Second Heaven and learned the technique of refining grotto-heavens from the Yu tribe, thus building 365 grotto-heavens to complete the entire celestial sphere and setting up the Zhou Tian Star Array.

Unfortunately, in the final battle, more than half of the grotto-heavens were destroyed. It was only thanks to the Yin Empress Nuwa refining stones to mend the sky, repairing the broken celestial structure, and filling the gap in the Zhou Tian Star Array.

After the rise of humanity, each emperor, upon their death, transformed their own corpses into celestial realms to establish sanctuaries and preserve the flame of civilization on Earth.

The Jiuli Cave Heaven was formed from the corpse of the War Emperor Chiyou after the Battle of Zhuolu. It was originally intended as a place to protect the Jiuli people, but it was forcibly occupied by the Xu Ri Shu and other hairy tribes such as the Heju, Manman, Yu Niao, Er Shu, Ju Ru, and the Six Tribes.

The Jiuli people, having lost their homes, were forced to leave. Some of their tribes settled and multiplied in the Jianghuai, Jianghan and Dongting Lake areas, forming the Sanmiao tribe group.

Now that the Sanmiao people have long been integrated into the Dongji Kingdom's family, the Dongji Kingdom's government can, of course, use the banner of "since ancient times" to reclaim lost territory.

Large quantities of supplies were transported to Wufeng Mountain along highways and railways, and martial arts experts from the Martial Arts Association and the military mobilized in droves.

The number of participants in this battle exceeded three thousand, and even the lowest-ranking among them were professional-level martial artists. Moreover, it was a rare instance of a group battle, making the scale of mobilization truly astonishing.

"No one from a martial arts family?"

After looking around, Ye Qingzhou saw several familiar faces, such as Qi Shaoming, a commoner martial arts master who had once been stationed with him at Wufeng Mountain, and Li Yanwen, known as "Flame Spear," who was listed among the world's "Top 500."

However, these martial arts masters all came from commoner backgrounds and grew up with the support of the government.

Not a single master-level expert from a martial arts family was seen.

Martial arts families have sent quite a few professional-level martial artists like Xu Yunxi, nearly one or two hundred people, probably just to gain experience.

Only those with master-level or higher combat strength can participate in decision-making, which means dividing the pie.

Undoubtedly, the authorities are deliberately giving the benefits to martial arts practitioners from humble backgrounds in order to further support masters from commoner origins and to counterbalance the increasingly powerful martial arts families.

Xu Yunxi said with a smile, "We martial arts families who are close to the government are considered good. Stubborn factions like the Junshan Society can't even get any experience."

"By the way, who's in charge of leading the team this time? Zhao Zhiyi or Wang Yin?"

"Neither."

"Um?"

Ye Qingzhou asked in surprise, "Besides those two, who else has the qualifications to subdue everyone?"

Xu Yunxi raised her eyebrows, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense: "Although the enemy's high-level combat power was almost completely wiped out, our Dongji Kingdom has always been lenient in its military operations. Therefore, the person in charge of leading this team is a powerful expert with the combat power of a Martial Saint. Moreover, he is from Hunan Province and has a very high reputation, which is enough to convince everyone."

"I'm getting more and more curious, who exactly is this person?"

"You actually know this person."

"Do I know him?"

Just as Ye Qingzhou was pondering, a figure descended from the sky.

The newcomer was graceful and had a friendly gaze. He wore a white research coat and stood on a disc-shaped aircraft.

"Oh, Ye Qingzhou."

Gu Minghui raised his hand in greeting.

"Dr. Gu?"

Ye Qingzhou was genuinely surprised. Then, after a moment's thought, he immediately realized that the martial arts master Xu Yunxi had mentioned was probably the "four-eyed guy" in the white coat in front of him.

"What, are you surprised?"

Gu Minghui habitually pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, a warm smile on his lips.

He looked very young, only a few years older than Ye Qingzhou, and in fact he was indeed young, but his strength was by no means weak.

"Dr. Gu, aren't you a researcher at the Celestial Secrets Research Institute?"

Ye Qingzhou couldn't understand why the military would agree to let a researcher in a white coat command the battle, even though the martial arts association was one thing.

Gu Minghui smiled and said, "Who says that researchers can't fight? I'm not some weak scholar. Besides, this campaign to conquer Jiuli Cave Heaven is very important, which is why the authorities invited me, the 'Divine Calculator,' to serve as the commander-in-chief."

Among the martial saints of the Eastern Pole Kingdom, Gu Minghui's strength is far from the strongest, but his deduction and calculation abilities are ranked first alongside the divine general Qinglong.

In addition, Gu Minghui himself possesses the combat power of a Martial Saint, which can provide a safety net for this expedition.

The Eastern Kingdom is determined to gain control of the Jiuli Cave Heaven this time.

Over the years, the Jiuli Cave Heaven has experienced a beast tide almost every ten years, causing immense suffering to the entire southwest region.

At that time, the Void Sun Rat still existed, and the Heju, Manman, Yu Niao, Ershu, Juru, and the Six Clans also had martial saint-level experts. Therefore, the Eastern Pole Kingdom was unable to deal with the remaining forces of these hairy tribes.

Now that the Void Sun Rat has been killed by Zhang Xinwu, and the leaders of the six clans have been almost all killed or wounded and are in internal strife, this is a golden opportunity for the Eastern Pole Kingdom.

Taking over Jiuli Cave Heaven not only means that Dongji Kingdom will have another source of rare treasures, but also that the entire Xiangxi region will become a safe rear area, greatly reducing military pressure.

Because this is a major event concerning the peace of the southwestern region of Dongji Kingdom for the next century, Dongji Kingdom has dispatched a top-notch team to ensure its success.

Led by Gu Minghui, a powerful figure with the strength of a Martial Saint, the group was accompanied by seven Grandmasters, more than fifty martial arts masters, and three thousand professional martial artists.

Such a lineup is enough to wipe out more than 90 percent of the countries on Earth.

Gu Minghui sized Ye Qingzhou up and down for a few moments, then looked surprised and doubtful: "You... you've advanced to Master?"

The hallmark of a master martial artist is that their energy permeates heaven and earth and their spirit connects to the spirit world. However, Ye Qingzhou's master level is rather strange. He does not have a bridge between heaven and earth on his body. Instead, his energy and blood are extremely restrained, like a black hole that devours everything.

"I just broke through, but the path I took is different from that of ordinary martial arts masters."

Ye Qingzhou didn't have much to hide about his own situation, since it would be discovered when he fought other martial artists in the future.

So he told Gu Minghui that he had broken through to the master level by constructing a furnace between heaven and earth, and that he was taking a completely new path in martial arts.

Upon learning this, the latter was overjoyed: "The Heavenly Furnace? You actually bypassed the limitations of the Heavenly Bridge, forging a new path to ascend the Heavenly Ladder?"

Whether inside the cave or in the martial arts world of Blue Star, the master level is a key threshold of strength.

The path to becoming a martial arts god, which involves ascending to the twelfth floor of the Heavenly Tower, begins with reaching the Master level, which is the first step onto the Heavenly Steps.

Now, Ye Qingzhou's cultivation has reached the first level of the Ascension Realm, and in terms of combat power, he estimates that he can sweep away ordinary martial arts masters.

Any master-level martial artist who hasn't mastered a super-level martial art would probably be unable to withstand even a single sword strike from him.

"Great, great, that's wonderful!"

Gu Minghui was extremely excited.

The Eastern Kingdom was well aware of the problem with the Bridge Between Heaven and Earth, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Because the Eastern Pole Kingdom cannot stop the development of martial arts. After all, there are other powerful countries on Earth. If you don't develop, and others do, you'll be waiting to be beaten.

Now, Ye Qingzhou has pioneered a new path, an original path without any hidden technical problems. This is extremely important for the martial arts world of Dongji Kingdom.

"Are you willing to reveal the cultivation method of the Heaven and Earth Furnace?"

Gu Minghui asked with a burning gaze.

Fearing Ye Qingzhou might refuse, he offered several conditions: "As long as you're willing to reveal the cultivation method of the Heaven and Earth Furnace, I can arrange to exchange a Heaven-rank sword technique for you. At the same time, I can also upgrade your researcher level, directly raising you from the current Crimson Rank to the Azure Rank."

The Tianji Research Institute has seven levels of status: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. The cyan level is equivalent to an expert or professor in the scientific research field.

These are not self-proclaimed professors on the internet, but highly qualified professionals who enjoy various benefits and allowances. Typically, only teachers with high-level teaching and research achievements in higher education institutions can hold this position.

Moreover, they usually need a doctoral degree, are mainly responsible for teaching and research, and have a high academic reputation and influence in a certain professional field.

An ordinary person could never reach such a position in their entire life.

But for Ye Qingzhou now, it is readily available.

After a brief consideration, Ye Qingzhou nodded in agreement. He had originally planned to promote the Heaven and Earth Furnace cultivation method in order to obtain a massive amount of divine favor.

Now they can even squeeze some benefits out of the authorities, making the most of both sides – it's incredibly satisfying.

Only a fool would agree to that!

Afterwards, Ye Qingzhou finished organizing the methods and techniques for refining the Heaven and Earth Furnace and handed them over to Gu Minghui.

The latter was overjoyed and carefully put away the information: "I have already submitted the application for the Heavenly Rank Martial Skill for you. I believe the review process will be completed after this battle, and then we can settle the credit together."

After resting for several days at the temporary camp on Wufeng Mountain, Gu Minghui gave the order and the army set off.

Although the number of frontline personnel involved in the operation was only over 3,000, the team responsible for logistical support numbered over 20,000, demonstrating the importance the authorities attached to this mission.

Before the Nine Li Cave Heaven, Gu Minghui's eyes gleamed with a strange light. He used his divine calculation technique to quickly find the weak point in the cave heaven's barrier.

Immediately, a beam of white light shone on Gu Minghui, and powerful mental energy continuously poured in. Tiny nanobots flowed out from the flight device beneath his feet, enveloping his entire body and forming a unique suit of armor with white and blue as the main colors.

At the same time, a system notification sounded in his mind.

"The Celestial System is activating..."

"Prism module fully charged..."

"Spatial structure analysis complete..."

"Elemental Armor, Kun form transformation complete..."

Hundreds of white, scale-like crystals surrounded Gu Minghui, forming a light-focusing matrix that emitted hundreds of beams of light that directly pierced through the spatial barrier of Jiuli Cave Heaven.

This move successfully solved the problem of transporting personnel and supplies for thousands of troops. After all, relying solely on teleportation arrays, it would have taken forever.

"Set off!"

Gu Minghui took the lead and entered the Jiuli Cave Heaven.

"Humans!"

"Enemy attack!"

Behind the entrance to Jiuli Cave, a group of Heju tribe guards were stationed. They had rat heads and wolf bodies, and when they saw the enemy attack, they began to raise their heads and let out piercing pig squeals.

One of the shrews, possessing a master-level life force, bared its teeth at Gu Minghui: "Humans, how dare you break through the barrier and trespass into our territory!"

"What do you mean, your territory? The Nine Li Cave Heaven has been the land of my Eastern Pole Kingdom since ancient times. Although the Eastern Pole is vast, not an inch of land is superfluous!"

With just a glance, Gu Minghui unleashed a barrage of intense sunlight, instantly annihilating the master-level sniper rifle in front of him.

The Tianji Research Institute had long mastered the technology of disturbing space and opening the barrier of the cave. In fact, this technology is not complicated. As long as the true spirits inside the cave do not resist, it is easy to force the door open from the outside.

The Nine Li Cave Heaven was left behind by the War Emperor Chi You, so it does not reject the bloodline of the Eastern Pole Kingdom and can be opened at will. The reason it wasn't done this before was because even if it was opened, it couldn't defeat the Void Sun Rat.

Now that the Void Sun Rat is gone, Gu Minghui naturally led his team to sweep through the enemy's territory and settle the score in one battle.

After breaching the gate, the main force immediately entered and, under Gu Minghui's command and coordination, began to systematically clear out threats, establish positions, and solidify the defense line.

With a continuous influx of supplies, a heavily fortified military base sprang up from the ground, rapidly expanding as if inflated, providing everyone with a solid rear base.

The following battles will be led by grandmasters, with other masters accompanying them, each leading their own professional martial artists to harass the enemy.

The Heju, Manman, Yu Niao, Er Shu, Ju Ru, and the six tribes occupied various territories in the Jiuli Cave Heaven and were scattered in different places. They were unable to gather their forces in time, so they suffered heavy losses in the first round of attacks.

After harassing the enemy with small groups of troops to lure out the grandmaster-level experts among them, Gu Minghui personally launched an attack, eliminating the enemy by decapitation, and then dispatched a large army to break through the enemy's leaderless main camp.

Soon, the Heju and Manman tribes were annihilated; some died, and others surrendered.

The remaining Yu Niao, Er Shu, Ju Ru, and Liu Zu finally realized what was happening and hurriedly gathered their main forces to retreat to the Hundred Battles Emperor Cave, attempting to put up a last-ditch resistance.

Boom boom boom~

Before the Hundred Battles Emperor's Cave, ten thousand cannons roared, and the warriors of the four tribes—Bird, Ear Mouse, Sniper, and others—lay dead on the ground, their wails and screams echoing endlessly.

With Gu Minghui personally overseeing the battle, the remaining enemies could only rely on the unique environment of the Hundred Battles Imperial Cave to eke out a living, and dared not show their faces at all.

The three thousand professional martial artists of the Eastern Pole Kingdom are all soldiers trained by the army. They are all equipped with mass-produced Yuanling Battle Armor, and each of them can briefly unleash half-step master-level combat power.

In its normal form, it is equivalent to a professional-level seventh-dan or higher expert, and it can also form formations to fight.

In contrast, the warriors of the four tribes—the Bird, the Ear Mouse, the Sniper, and the Four Clans—only rely on their wild instincts to fight, and when their numbers are small, they can barely hold their own against the warriors of the Eastern Kingdom.

However, in large-scale military conflicts that emphasize teamwork, they are destined to be slaughtered.

After Wang Yin led his team to wipe out the remaining enemy forces on the outskirts, he returned to report to Gu Minghui: "The last organized enemy force outside the Imperial Cave has also been annihilated."

Zhao Zhiyi, who had also just returned from a major battle, his clothes still damp with blood, asked, "Are the remaining enemy troops still unwilling to surrender?"

"Then let's storm the Hundred Battles Emperor's Cave and completely eliminate all hidden dangers."

Gu Minghui coldly gave the order, showing no mercy to these stubborn and obstinate Mao tribe members.

Subsequently, a sharp-edged force was quickly formed. Gu Minghui personally led the team to launch a strong attack on the Hundred Battles Emperor Cave. Ye Qingzhou was also extremely curious about the legacy left by Chi You, so he also joined the attack team and entered together.

Before leaving, Xu Yunxi specifically instructed Ye Qingzhou: "Don't be too reckless, and prioritize your own safety."

"Don't worry, I'm terrified of dying."

Ye Qingzhou nodded and followed Gu Minghui into the Hundred Battles Emperor Cave.

The Imperial Cave was incredibly deep, like a giant maze. After Ye Qingzhou followed the others through the dark tunnels, they entered the depths of the Imperial Cave.

This place resembles a giant gladiatorial arena.

Gu Minghui explained to Ye Qingzhou, "The Hundred Battles Emperor Cave is the manifestation of the spirit of the War Emperor after his death. According to the ancient documents discovered so far, in ancient times, powerful beings at the Emperor Realm possessed the Great Dao, controlled the universe, and had the divine power to transform the illusory into the real."

Ye Qingzhou recalled the five-colored divine stone he had obtained, which was probably made using a similar method. Such a method of creating things out of thin air was truly inconceivable.

But because of this, even thousands of years after the death of the War Emperor Chiyou, it is still extremely dangerous.

Even the veteran martial god, Xu Rishu, suffered a fatal injury here.