The Post Sky Tipping Era
Chapter 177 - 141: Upper Three Realms (Alliance Leader Bonus - : The Most Dazzling Life Dream)

Chapter 177: Chapter 141: Upper Three Realms (Alliance Leader Bonus Chapter: The Most Dazzling Life Dream)

The old servant within the City Lord Mansion never expected that this young Martial Artist would indeed act as soon as he said he would, without regard for the court, nor the so-called one of the eight kings, the Fan Family, and even though this person had not yet condensed his Fist Gang, the outburst of Divine Power could force him to repeatedly retreat.

The powerfully sinking fists, one after another, were indeed terrifying to the extreme.

If this continued, his death was certain, with no possibility of survival, and the only method was as Li Yi had said, to use the "Heart Blood" forcefully, to restore his strength to its peak, only then could he continue to fight with this Li Yi, and even turn defeat into victory should everything go smoothly.

Facing the terrifying punch force falling from Li Yi, the old servant had no time to hesitate, and immediately wanted to fight for his life.

However, at this moment.

A figure swiftly moved in front of the two and took action just as Li Yi’s punch was about to land, taking the potentially fatal blow for the old servant.

The same condensation of Fist Gang, Qi-Blood surging forth.

Clearly, this was another Qi Cultivation Expert, and moreover, this person seemed quite young, with robust Qi-Blood and abundant Jin Qi.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by the explosion of Jin Qi, the person had apparently not expected Li Yi’s fist force to be so terrifying, his face changing color immediately, then quickly retreating with the force of the punch to a relatively safe distance.

"Spare his life, we can discuss everything else," the person said at this point.

Li Yi looked up to see a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, wearing a brocade robe, with a fair complexion and a somewhat noble air, looking like a rich young master.

Although he might seem like a pillow embroidered with flowers, the strength that burst from his fist was by no means weak, but compared to a special Martial Artist like Li Yi, it was still not good enough.

"Who are you, and what right do you have to talk terms with me?"

Li Yi narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, stepping on the body of the old servant, clearly showing a sense of having his life in his hands.

"The old servant is incompetent, having shamed the Young Master," the old servant said in humiliation. He originally wanted to intimidate Li Yi but ended up embarrassing himself, being beaten down alive by Li Yi’s fists. If he hadn’t been saved at the last moment, he would have had to use his "Heart Blood," and using it meant being close to death.

Although the adversary relied on being young and strong for the advantage, being defeated so directly in combat, he was convinced and had nothing more to say.

The young man did not respond to the old servant, but just sized up Li Yi, then said, "My name is Fan Zhizhou, the Lord of Sanyang City. Are you the senior brother of Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall who took down two establishments in one day, Li Yi? Unlike ordinary people, such characters cannot emerge from Xingzhou, and no one dares to utter the saying, ’Whether kings or generals, they can be bested.’ Your origins are extraordinary, and your Martial Arts Cultivation is not from Refining Points, but your physical strength is truly terrifying, and any Qi Cultivation Martial Artist to endure a bout with you is undoubtedly courting death."

Looking at Li Yi’s shining vertical pupils, Fan Zhizhou’s face was extremely solemn.

This person was nearly like a demonic god, extraordinary, and certainly unable to be matched by Martial Artists from the Four Seas and Eight Continents.

"Good eye," Li Yi calmly said, "I have crossed borders just to avenge my master, Zhao Ge."

"I see, an expert from another world then? No wonder you are so extraordinary," Fan Zhizhou seemed not the least bit surprised; being a direct descendant of one of the eight kings, the Fan Family, he knew much more than the average person and had some understanding of cross-border existences.

"An expert? Hahaha, I hardly qualify, I am just a simple Cultivator," Li Yi laughed heartily, while revealing a bit of information, letting the people of the Four Seas and Eight Continents know just how terrifying the innately evil Earth Prisoners really were.

Fan Zhizhou’s complexion changed slightly, "Is that so?"

If this Li Yi, who easily beat Refining Points Martial Artists, claimed to be just an ordinary Cultivator, then how terrifying would the powerful Cultivators be? Could the warriors of the Upper Three Realms defeat them, or would it take a thousand-year-old ghost to contend with them?

"Do you think I need to lie to you?" Li Yi’s laughter gradually turned cold, "Less nonsense, what will you trade to save this old servant’s life?"

Fan Zhizhou immediately spoke calmly, "To me, the state of Sanyang City is not important. If you like it, you can take it. Your act of revenging Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall and eliminating the Han and Jin Families is also a good thing for me. Sanyang City is not large enough to support three Martial Arts Halls and many forces. Even if you did not make a move, I would still clean them up one by one."

"So you targeted Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall first?" Li Yi stared at him as he spoke.

Fan Zhizhou explained, "I am an officer, whether it’s Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall or the Han and Jin Martial Arts Halls, it’s all the same. With one fewer of them, Sanyang City will be more peaceful. Although I am a Family Disciple and a descendant of the eight kings, not experiencing the sufferings of the world, since I’ve come to serve as the City Lord, I should make some effort and accomplish some merits. So I did not specifically target Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall, but all parties."

"The fall of Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall, although I gave it a push, no one from my City Lord Mansion took action. After all, I have only succeeded as the City Lord for less than a year, and my wings are not yet full, unable to meddle in local forces’ strife. After all, the predicament of Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall was fundamentally due to the greed of other forces, wanting to take a bite out of you, Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall. The law of the jungle has always been so."

He spoke confidently and did not try to conceal his intentions in the slightest.

According to Fan Zhizhou’s plan, he planned to move against the other Martial Arts Halls and forces after Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall fell, but he did not expect Li Yi to emerge from nowhere, smashing his entire plan to dust with a punch.

"So you’re saying the blood debt of Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall does not fall on your head?" Li Yi said, narrowing his eyes.

"It depends on your decision now," Fan Zhizhou said. "Will you kill both of us and seize control of Sanyang City, fighting to the death with the Fan Family, or are you willing to give us a chance to atone for our sins?"

He knew as soon as he took a punch that Li Yi could easily kill him. Even if the old servant summoned all his Heart Blood at his peak strength, it would be futile.

This man was extraordinary, beyond the measure of common sense. Even if both servant and master joined forces, they would surely die.

Fan Zhizhou had the insight to recognize that.

Li Yi started to laugh. With a kick, the old servant at his feet immediately rolled out, landing in front of Fan Zhizhou: "Then make me an offer I can’t refuse, considering these are the lives of two Qi Cultivation Experts, which I’m sure are quite valuable."

He retracted his killing intent.

Because he realized, he couldn’t let himself get carried away and bring a string of enemies upon Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall. He also needed to establish a foothold in Sanyang City and couldn’t afford to make enemies of everyone. Currently, he had strength, but not enough to act without any reservations. Given a few more years to cultivate and grow, he wouldn’t just want Sanyang City, but the entire Xingzhou.

Seeing that Li Yi was open to negotiation, Fan Zhizhou immediately felt relieved.

He was afraid that the other might be an irrational Martial Artist, in which case he might have to pay with his life. But since there was a willingness to negotiate, everything was negotiable.

Fan Zhizhou thought for a moment, then quickly said: "I’ll give you half of Sanyang City’s tax revenue, and from now on, only Zhao’s Martial Arts Hall will be allowed to operate in the city. Whatever you want to do in the city, whatever it is, I’ll turn a blind eye. In addition, I’ll give you ten treasures and twenty ’big medicine’ pills, enough for you to cultivate another Qi Cultivation Expert. Furthermore, your Zhao Family’s Blood Refining and Soul Entrance technique is substandard. I’ll give you my Fan Family’s secret technique for Blood Refining and Opening the nine acupoints, which will strengthen your Divine Power."

"A secret technique for refining the nine acupoints?" Li Yi’s expression shifted slightly, showing a hint of interest.

Blood Martial Artists who wish to undergo Blood Refining and Soul Entrance need the true transmission, but across the Four Seas and Eight Continents, these techniques are closely guarded secrets, hard to come by even with formal martial apprenticeship. Even if one is lucky to obtain a technique, it’s generally of lower quality. Only nobility and great families possess the top-tier techniques for Blood Refining and Soul Entrance.

Top-tier techniques for this process are said to allow one to refine the nine acupoints in the Refining Realm, harboring vast stores of Qi-Blood in the body. If fully mastered, the Gang Qi produced is extremely powerful, and ordinary Qi Cultivation is no match for it.

Martial Arts Master Zhao Ge has only cultivated three major acupoints, and others like Jin Zhihuan and Han Tianbao are roughly equal in capability.

Even so, this remains the best technique available to common Martial Artists, and to advance further, one would need to obtain a technique for refining six acupoints by entering a family as a servant, much like the seriously injured old servant had.

That’s why the old servant, despite his declining Qi-Blood, can still unleash power stronger than Jin Zhihuan, who had vigorously summoned his Heart Blood.

"If you reveal the secret technique, it won’t be a secret anymore," Li Yi said skeptically. "Are you trying to deceive me?"

After all, he had experience with deceptions.

"I swear, there is no falsehood," Fan Zhizhou said. "As you know, in the Four Seas and Eight Continents, oaths are bound by ghosts and gods, and the more powerful the Martial Artist, the harder the binding. Violation would bring divine retribution."

Fan Zhizhou continued, "I’m not worried about it leaking because Xingzhou is under Fan Family control, and few others would dare to practice this technique even if they had it. They aren’t like you, who can proclaim dominance and challenge nobles. If you teach it to someone from the Otherworld, it doesn’t concern me; after all, the Fan Family’s power doesn’t extend to the Otherworld."

"Hearing you put it that way, I believe you to some extent," Li Yi said.

In this world, oaths had effects; it wasn’t like the Earth Prison, where over a thousand years ago, Sima could lie as freely as farting by the Luoshui river.

Li Yi also understood the situation better. The Fan Family’s technique for Blood Refining and Soul Entrance was their hallmark, considered deadly for anyone but direct Fan Family disciples to practice.

He dared to offer it to Li Yi because Li Yi was not of this world, and as long as Li Yi crossed borders and left, the Fan Family would no longer care.

However, Li Yi did not immediately agree to these terms, but instead continued to ask, "What are the Upper Three Realms for Martial Artists?"

If someone else had asked, Fan Zhizhou might have laughed at their ignorance. But Li Yi’s question did not spark such thoughts; instead, he became more convinced that Li Yi was not from the Four Seas and Eight Continents, since he wasn’t even aware of the Upper Three Realms.

"After undergoing Blood Refining and Soul Entrance, one can form Gang Qi, but it can only envelop the body within a half-zhang radius and cannot kill from a distance. Thus, the first realm of the Upper Three Realms for Martial Artists is Refining Gang. Reaching this realm allows one to control Gang Qi to fly and kill enemies from a hundred meters away."

"Above Refining Gang is Refining God. When martial will condenses, one can create a Yin God body. Even if the flesh dies, one can transform into a Yin God and remain in the world—this realm is also known as the Martial God."

"The final realm is Dharma Image, where the Yin God materializes, leaving the mortal body behind to achieve a ghostly deity existence that could be near impossible to extinguish for a thousand years," Fan Zhizhou finished, pausing briefly, "The Dharma Image, the last of the Upper Three Realms, hasn’t been achieved in the Four Seas and Eight Continents for five hundred years. Currently, the strongest Martial Artists are at the Refining God level."

"Refining Gang, Refining God... and the almost unreachable Dharma Image? Are these the Nine Realms of the Four Seas and Eight Continents?" Li Yi’s expression shifted subtly; it seemed that a Qi Cultivation Martial Artist really was considered a master.

And from the description, he felt he probably couldn’t defeat an expert in Refining Gang.

After all, he couldn’t yet fly.

He just wondered if the cultivator could ultimately learn to fly as they evolved.