I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1826 - 257: Miscellaneous Matters

Chapter 1826: Chapter 257: Miscellaneous Matters

You can never persuade a sober yet stubborn person without practical action. No matter what stance Xiao Jinlin and Tang Hongtao adopted, Tang Cunfu simply refused to budge.

Unfortunately, many things in this world cannot be resolved by sheer sober reasoning. When the Tang Clan within the Minor Spiritual Realm learned the Elder’s and Clan Leader’s purposes for entering the Spirit Realm, the matter of selection transcended the grasp of a clear-headed leader.

Tang Cunfu had done everything he could. He merely overestimated the patience of his clanspeople and underestimated their desire to escape the Minor Spiritual Realm.

The Tang Clan was once the most powerful clan in Western Longzhou. From the moment this generation gained memory, the Tang Clan stood as the pinnacle of noble families.

Their composure and magnanimity were entirely built upon the Tang Clan as an entity. Their diligence and perseverance were driven by aspirations to achieve greater family glory.

Indeed, the Tang Clan succeeded. Lingjiang’s great flood swallowed a hundred cities and a thousand villages, destroying numerous noble families, but the Tang Clan managed to rise with the tide, vanquish evenly-matched rivals, and further consolidate control over the Lingjiang Seven Cities.

Anyone would believe this legacy was indestructible. Yet, how did it come to ruin?

For many clanspeople who fled to the Minor Spiritual Realm, their thoughts weren’t about compromising after the total annihilation of the alliance, but about rebuilding after a victorious conquest.

The worst-case scenario they envisioned was a pyrrhic victory. And yet, upon entering the Spirit Realm, Tang Cunfu seemed intent on leading them to a secluded paradise, cultivating a semblance of reclusive peace?

Such incomprehension breeds resentment.

To many clanspeople, they would rather die fighting outside than endure anonymity in the Minor Spiritual Realm, a forgotten name.

The most extreme of these rebellious sentiments stemmed from none other than Longzhou’s Flame King, the hero of the battlefield, Xiao Ziyu.

This man believed he retreated to the Minor Spiritual Realm as a reserve force, poised to make a strong and decisive entrance during the late stages of the war. Thus, even as his cultivation slowed after entering the Spirit Realm, he fiercely honed his mastery of his bloodline, anomalous fire, and combat techniques, his battle prowess steadily growing.

Yet, amidst his relentless self-training, news of defeat and retreat reached him, triggering the fiery-tempered Xiao Ziyu’s uncontainable fury.

If not for his limited cultivation preventing him from breaching the realm barrier, he would have long ripped open the Spirit Realm and fled outside.

Now, hearing whispers of an opportunity to leave the confines, how could he possibly sit still? And what Xiao Ziyu knew, his small faction knew as well.

The last descendant of the Li Family, who perished in defense of Fuling City—Li Xuanba; the final heir of the Cui Family, annihilated in Lanshan City—Cui Haoran.

Centered around these three individuals, teams formed that became the most defiant forces within the Minor Spiritual Realm. Countless young people unwilling to accept defeat gathered around them.

As soon as these groups learned of the selection process, it was as though the entire Minor Spiritual Realm had heard the news.

...

Tang Luo was an indifferent person. Once he handed the task of selecting clanspeople to others, he afforded them his absolute trust.

During these days, he obviously wasn’t idling on the mountain. The Lingxiao Sect’s Zhu was so adept at building relationships—it wouldn’t be right for Tang Luo to remain indifferent.

After delving deep into the Han Family’s research on Void Body Refinement, Tang Luo couldn’t help but marvel; indeed, the peak of ancient human sanctuaries possessed profound foundations unrivaled by ordinary noble families, even after partial destruction.

From Tang Luo’s perspective as a master cultivator, the Void Spiritual Body was almost unachievable due to its excessively stringent cultivation requirements.

To simplify, if the prerequisites for secret techniques were categorized into easy, moderate, and difficult levels, most Fierce Realm techniques required only one to three—at most one difficult condition, while the rest were comparatively easy to achieve within the realms of cultivation.

The Void Spiritual Body, however, stood apart. Even for warriors at the peak of the Fierce Realm, its prerequisites were exceedingly high—many were outright unattainable.

Yet, ironically, this seemingly impossible secret technique was one the Han Family had found a way to cultivate.

Undeniably, the Undying Battle Body deserved its reputation as the world’s pinnacle body-refinement technique. After completing the fifth rank of cultivation, the Innate Qi generated by one’s organs allowed even non-Innate Dao Body practitioners to gain insight into the Void Spiritual Body.

This was an oversight on Tang Luo’s part. He assumed that his unique physique, which constantly generated abundant Innate Qi, was the only plausible way to attain the level approaching two of the Innate Dao Body elements.

For ordinary cultivators, even reaching the third or fourth rank of the Undying Battle Body provided no comparable torrents of Innate Qi.

But Tang Luo failed to account for the Han Family’s sheer number of Undying Battle Body practitioners, among whom high-ranking practitioners were innumerable.

By aggregating the shared Innate Qi from these practitioners, indeed, individual members could briefly achieve self-healing capacities that rivaled even superior Dao Bodies.

Furthermore, by altering the cultivation sequence of the fifth rank, the probability of awakening the Void Dual Wheels divine ability was significantly increased.

Undoubtedly, the Han Family’s martial researchers had true talent; within just a few years, they had resolved two major obstacles in Void Body Refinement.

Yet, that’s as far as it went. The true challenges of the Void Body Refinement extended far beyond these tangible criteria.

Even now, having reached the King Realm, Tang Luo couldn’t help but shake his head at the thought of the pain caused by Void Energy invading his physique.

He wasn’t surprised that research remained stuck at this point. As for the research directions proposed by martial arts masters, in his view, they were akin to fantasy.

To break the impasse, there was only one feasible method.

"Utilize the power of laws to strip warriors of their pain sensations; otherwise, they won’t endure the agony of Void Energy refinement," Tang Luo said calmly. "But this method still has flaws—sacrificing the cultivation of one King Realm practitioner to enable multiple Void Body Refinement masters—is this trade worthwhile? That’s for you to decide."

...

Red Cloud Mountain, Unparalleled City

Where kings reigned, myriad clans gathered to offer congratulations. The diminutive Red Cloud Mountain along the middle reaches of Lingjiang saw its status rise unimaginably.

During these years of Martial Saint Mountain’s absence, Longzhou’s cultivators almost regarded Red Cloud Mountain as the new holy ground.

Thus, at this moment, the residents of Unparalleled City began to cast arrogantly condescending gazes at everyone.

It was as though farmers who had been impoverished for decades had suddenly become wealthy, and Unparalleled City, bathed in immense prestige, struggled to adapt to its newfound recognition. Their behavior indeed failed to match their current reputation.

However, such shifts in mentality required at least three generations to solidify. The municipal office wasn’t rushing, focusing their immediate attention on one task—establishing schools.

The Du Family’s three elders nearly went insane. Previously, the most common establishments along inner-city streets had been taverns and restaurants.

While not the most lucrative business ventures, their enormous foot traffic generated abundant profits.

But now someone proposed tearing down these money-making operations to replace them with schools—wasn’t this sheer nonsense?!

"Mr. Mi!"

Du Ting spoke sternly, "You want to establish schools, and we agreed. But surely schools don’t require spaces this vast, do they?"

"Indeed, Mr. Mi!"

Du Ling chimed in, "You mentioned enrolling civilian children free of charge—but those fisherfolk and bricklayers’ children can easily inherit their families’ craftsmanship, so why bother teaching them literacy? In my opinion, turning these taverns into martial arts academies would attract people in droves."

"I concur,"

Du Wei added, "Professions like politics and craftsmanship aren’t teachable. It’s simply dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and mice dig holes. Even if we invite master artisans as instructors, they won’t divulge their true skills. End up teaching half-baked knowledge—wouldn’t that make us a laughingstock?"

Aside from a few undecided council members, the overwhelming majority in the municipal office opposed Mi Bai’s proposal.

To these people, the city already housed the world’s finest academy, rendering secondary branches unnecessary. Most importantly, those branches were set to teach subjects deemed unconventional.

Think about it—if parents had the means to send their children to school, who would want their offspring to learn unsophisticated trades?

Why abandon the dominant martial arts discipline to study cart-making, sailing, bargaining, or crafting with bricks and stones?

If Unparalleled City pursued this path, surely it would become the object of ridicule!