In the world of martial arts, there is a vast fantasy world.

Chapter 318 Ancient Martial Arts Selection

Illusion, a special power that should have unlimited potential, is not particularly prominent in this world. This is the first time Shen Xing has seen such a powerful environment, one that can even slightly deceive him.

It should be noted that his spiritual power possesses the Heavenly Grade Martial Arts Intent.

It can also be enhanced by the "Ten Thousand Dragons Technique" to unleash even greater power.

However, even after seeing through the illusion, Shen Xing found that he did not seem to be able to break free so easily; some kind of force was binding his consciousness within the environment.

After briefly sensing the shuttle within his soul and discovering that it could be started normally, Shen Xing felt relieved.

This means that he can still escape at any time.

Now, let's see what this fourth illusion looks like.

According to what the Holy Maiden of Dream Moon Palace said before, this fourth level is extremely mysterious. Outsiders only know that they can obtain a certain ancient alchemy inheritance by reaching the fourth level, but none of them can explain the specific content of the fourth level. It is as if a corner of their memory has been blurred and obscured. Even saints are helpless about this.

This phenomenon itself only highlights the power of this secret realm and that ancient alchemist.

Therefore, Shen Xing was also a little curious about the current scene.

Just as he was about to try walking towards the mountain, several streaks of light suddenly flew over. They were all figures floating in the sky, exuding powerful auras without restraint.

"All seekers of the Way must climb to the summit to enter the gate!"

A grand sound rolled down from the sky, and at the same time, Shen Xing found that his surroundings suddenly became lively.

One figure after another appeared around him, and for a moment, it seemed as if there was a cacophony of voices. Looking around, there were countless figures.

There are at least several million people!

Most of these people were dressed in uniform and simple clothing, their faces filled with fervor as they gazed up at the mountains before them, and the language they spoke was also the language of this world.

"The great path is right before us!"

"Climb to the top and you will see the Holy Emperor!"

"Life is full of suffering; only by touching upon the great principles can one transcend it!"

"I'd rather die than not reach the summit!"

"."

The voices surprised Shen Xing, who realized that although these people looked like ordinary people without martial arts skills, they were all clearly educated and their knowledge and speech were quite good.

In addition, their uniform attire suggests that these people are not people who came from all directions to join the sect, but rather disciples actively trained by this sect whose name is still unknown.

Shen Xing narrowed his eyes. He had realized that the scene in the illusion before him might be a glimpse into ancient times.

At this moment, he was already being swept along by the dense crowd.

They hurried toward that towering mountain.

The body Shen Xing possessed in the illusion was that of a genuine ordinary person. Even his reactions would be amplified a hundredfold or a thousandfold by some kind of power, ensuring that he could experience the same things as an ordinary person.

Although he had seen through the illusion, it did not affect his feelings at the moment.

My legs and back ached, I started sweating profusely, and my stamina was visibly declining.

"This secret realm doesn't worry about the trial participants seeing through the illusion at all," Shen Xing thought to himself, but he didn't speak. Speaking at this time would only waste his energy.

Moreover, he has also discovered that this mountain range truly has not a single trace of human intervention.

There wasn't even a path that had been made by people.

The dense bushes are taller than a person. When you walk through them, the thorns will mercilessly cut your skin. You have to protect your eyes, but the price is that your arms will soon be covered in blood, and the pain will come in waves, amplified by some kind of mechanism.

Obviously, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to climb such a high mountain.

Even disregarding the issues of physical exhaustion and injury, the cold air at a certain altitude is enough to easily wipe out all the trial participants.

Shen Xing didn't have any good solutions either.

This is an illusion, like a virtual space, and those technological devices can't be brought out at all.

It seems that this test is about willpower, and even he would need willpower to pass it.

"That's not bad." Shen Xing's lips curled up, not deterred by the intimidation, and a long-lost fighting spirit even emerged.

He has always been in an almost invincible position thanks to his cheat ability, but that doesn't mean that in Shen Xing's mind, he is a person who is useless except for his cheat ability.

His talent is excellent, even top-notch, and he is also quite confident in his willpower.

Even without the flying shuttle, he might not be able to reach the summit, but he would definitely not be just another ordinary person.

With this self-awareness and fighting spirit, Shen Xing abandoned his opportunistic ideas and began to take things seriously.

And so we walked forward step by step.

Start adjusting your breathing to conserve energy, and at the same time, wrap your body with clothes or leaves as much as possible to avoid contact with thorns.

They even began searching for wild fruits and water sources on the mountain to find ways to replenish their energy.

Then, slowly but surely, step by step, we move forward.

Clearly, not everyone has this kind of will.

Some people in the surrounding illusion seemed to have realized that it was impossible to reach the top in this state. Some who were not determined enough collapsed on the spot and became hysterical. Others began to attack others frantically, as if they would not let others climb up if they could not climb up themselves.

Shen Xing carefully avoided the frenzied crowd, holding a sturdy wooden stick in his hand as a weapon.

The tip of the stick is even quite sharp.

He became increasingly certain that this scene was not merely a hallucination, but very likely a real event that occurred at some point in the past.

Because all of this seems so real.

He was even able to glean intelligence information about that era from the words of some people.

In this era, there was indeed a unified and extremely powerful force, which they called the "Heavenly Court".

That's right, the translation is "Heavenly Court".

The Heavenly Court nurtures every mortal equally, even orphans and the disabled. As long as they do not violate the rules of the Heavenly Court, they can live a life without pain or disaster.

And everyone, once they reach the age of twenty, has the opportunity to challenge themselves in martial arts.

They may die in the trials, but if they succeed, they will have the possibility of living forever.

This is also the goal that all mortals are instilled with from the moment they are born.

If you fail, you won't starve, but the Heavenly Court won't assign you any work; your only future will be to live the rest of your life as a parasite.

This is an unbearable torment for many ambitious and warlike mortals.

Those who truly intend to live a peaceful and uneventful short life will not even come here.

This is why so many people break down and despair.

"A magnificent and powerful civilization." Shen Xing made this assessment of the tip of the iceberg that he now knew.

At least, the current Federation of Humanities is probably no match for it.

The current Human Federation cannot even support so many people and give everyone the opportunity to embark on the path of martial arts.

However, as he continued to climb, Shen Xing's expression became slightly more serious.

Before encountering the cold, hunger will become everyone's greatest enemy. It's fine if there's not much food at all, but once food is found...

Just as Shen Xing was on high alert, a scream came from not far ahead.

And it wasn't just one sound, but a continuous stream.

This made him immediately realize that the situation he had anticipated had occurred.

There must be food!

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Xing cautiously walked towards that direction.

As he passed through a thicket of bushes taller than a person, a scene came into view: a fruit tree that looked like an apricot tree, laden with pale yellow fruit.

Beneath the fruit trees, however, were seven or eight people, holding sharp wooden sticks, staring menacingly and cruelly at the people around them.

Some people tried to grab it but were killed.

However, there were also more than a dozen people gathered around, and more and more people like Shen Xing were attracted by the screams and were rushing over.

Clearly, a chaotic battle will break out here soon.

Shen Xing licked his lips, which were cracked from dehydration. He knew that it was precisely at times like this that he couldn't afford to delay.

The longer it drags on, the more complicated things will become.

Therefore, he simply picked up his wooden stick and walked over from the front step by step.

"Stop! Get out!"

A man wielding a wooden stick glared menacingly at Shen Xing, and simultaneously thrust the stick fiercely towards his vital points.

Their actions were surprisingly methodical.

It seems that those who are truly preparing for this day cannot have been completely ignorant.

However, Shen Xing reacted even faster than him!

The environment can suppress perception and power, but it cannot completely suppress his life level, which has already surpassed mountains and seas.

At that moment, with just a slight twist, he dodged the wooden stick thrust at him, while simultaneously wielding the stick in his hand, its sharpness and determination piercing into the opponent's eye.

puff--

Fresh blood exploded.

Shen Xing pulled out his weapon and then stabbed the second person who rushed up.

Same place, same result.

Shen Xing didn't seem to make any big movements or move very fast, yet he always hit the target with the slightest precision, appearing extremely relaxed.

It was this ease that made everyone else afraid to go up.

Even some of the people around were trembling with fear.

Watching Shen Xing casually walk to the tree, pick a large pile of fruit, wrap it in his clothes, and then casually leave.

Just as his figure disappeared, someone could no longer contain themselves, and a scream came from behind again.

But it has nothing to do with Shen Xing anymore.

He looked at the fruit in his hand, then carefully licked it. It was sour and astringent, but had no other taste, so it should be edible.

Swallow it whole.

The already starving stomach was rapidly digesting everything inside.

Some of his strength has visibly recovered.

However, Shen Xing suddenly frowned.

wrong.

To his surprise, he found that a warm current was rapidly flowing into his feet.

That was clearly vital energy!

Indeed, as he replenished his food, the same vital energy was also being replenished into his body.

"What kind of rule is this?" Shen Xing muttered to himself.

But he immediately realized that the mountain climbing test was probably not so simple.

He was not referring to the illusion itself.

Rather, it is the real test of ancient times recorded in this illusion.

Shen Xing walked forward again and could clearly feel the vital energy surging into his body, strengthening his body little by little. Moreover, it was not like training his skin and flesh, but strengthening everything at the same time!

"This is the foundation building stage!"

A guess began to form in Shen Xing's mind.

A more comprehensive foundation-building method than the five stages of the Body Refinement period!

Shen Xing couldn't care less about anything else at this moment. He continued to walk upwards, but he firmly kept this feeling of Foundation Establishment, which was different from Body Refinement, in his heart and carefully experienced it.

When hungry, the influx of vital energy slows down, while when food is replenished, the influx of vital energy increases.

Furthermore, as it continues to move upwards, its overall vitality also continues to increase.

Shen Xing leaned against that pile of fruit and walked for three days.

At this point, the number of people around seemed to have decreased, but everyone's strength and speed actually increased. Clearly, the vital energy belonged to everyone.

This becomes even more apparent when food runs out and people are competing for new food.

Shen Xing could still speak casually, but the scale of the battle had already surpassed that of ordinary people, and without realizing it, he had at least reached the level of skin refining.

At this point, everything can be confirmed completely.

This trial itself is a method for building a foundation!

"The vital energy that surged into my body was different from the vital energy in nature; it contained a certain martial will." After dealing with more than a dozen enemies, Shen Xing continued to ascend and had a new feeling. "It was a kind of extremely profound martial intent that approached the essence of vital energy, which is why I was able to cross the five stages and comprehensively strengthen my body, step by step stepping into the extraordinary realm."

It sounds somewhat similar to elixirs.

Moreover, Shen Xing discovered that this kind of energy was extremely suitable for the basic training exercises of the Human Federation!

This was a discovery he made after a sudden inspiration at some point, when he started doing basic training exercises.

It allows vital energy to be more evenly distributed and to be absorbed into the body more quickly.

It can also accelerate the consumption of physical strength and speed up hunger.

As long as there is enough food, it also means that he will get more energy than the others!

"I didn't want to use cheat codes, but I didn't expect that the basic training exercises would have such an advantage." Shen Xing muttered to himself, his eyes showing a little bit of fervor.

If this special, highly suitable energy for Foundation Establishment could be brought to the Human Federation, the martial arts foundation of the Human Federation would be further enhanced.

That would be taking things to the next level, a significant improvement!

Shen Xing became even more interested in the inheritance of ancient martial arts.

(End of this chapter)