I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

"Wait, is this also one of his abilities? 'Thousand Red and Ten Thousand Glamorous' or 'Withered Realm Tree'?"

"No, could it be that I've been mistaken from the start, this isn't a God-Given Secret Art, but an unknown Divine Relic ability?"

Most of a man's cognitive abilities relied on a chip embedded in his brain, responsible for data analysis, while his consciousness was merely in charge of the final 'judgment'.

But now, with the frequent appearance of situations vastly different from the database information, his remaining judgment ability nearly crashed on the spot.

Xue Jing stood atop the head of the Cherry Dragon, created from the Dragon Cherry Seed, leading his opponent straight into the sky thousands of meters high.

In the pitch-black night, unable to catch a single city light in the high skies, the visibility was actually quite good due to the lofty moon, closer in the sky.

Clouds dispersed everywhere, appearing ashen under the moonlight. With a thought, Xue Jing controlled the Cherry Dragon to fling the man in its mouth to the side.

"Tui~"

The Cherry Dragon opened its mouth and spat out a lump of Black Crystal resembling 'Dragon Phlegm', flying swiftly toward the side as Xue Jing vanished instantly, trailing colorful spiral tail flames and silver-white lightning, arriving near the man who was thrown away.

His right arm, wrapped in endless Shadow Flame, transformed into a huge Spiral Lance, continuously spinning like a drill, buzzing loudly.

"Roar—!!"

Amidst the Dragon's Chant, Skin, Flesh, Tendons, Bones, Blood all exerted force simultaneously, Mystic Art·Vital Point pierced forth again.

This time, unlike the hasty responses before, Xue Jing not only exerted all his strength, mobilizing his utmost Power, but also activated the Shadow Flame, producing a Spiral Lance.

Level 7 Shadow Flame, with a material strength a notch higher than before, now, under the enhancement of Vital Point, even an alloy armored tank would be penetrated outright.

Just as the battle was about to be decided in a single strike, the man's pupils suddenly shone, emitting an intense light.

The next moment, the man vanished.

Xue Jing's full-force Vital Point hit thin air.

Dark golden Power burst forth from his arm's Spiral Lance, forming a fist-thick dark golden ray that pierced through the clouds, tearing open mighty ring-shaped airwaves, disappearing into the night.

"Hmm?" Xue Jing was perplexed.

He looked back only to see an unexpected scene.

The man... was perfectly fine, held in the Cherry Dragon's mouth.

It was as if the man being 'tui~' and thrown away was just an illusion.

"Pupupupupu—"

The next moment, numerous huge Black Crystal spikes pierced through the Cherry Dragon's head, shattering it to pieces, sending wood chips flying, and a giant 'Sea Urchin' appeared in the sky.

The man walked out from the 'Sea Urchin', standing on it, looking towards Xue Jing.

Without any hesitation, Xue Jing materialized a black sword in his hand and in a flash, appeared behind the man.

"Zizzizizizi—"

Countless silver-white petals gently floated down, and the man's body suddenly burst apart into numerous fine slashes, and his ISE was instantly shattered cleanly, revealing his true form.

On his true form, there were countless wounds; as many Silver Cherry Blossoms floated in the sky, so many wounds covered his body, almost like dismemberment.

Heavenly Blade Mystique·Cherry Full Moon.

Executing this move on a night with an actual full moon enhanced its lethality and significantly reduced the consumption of spiritual power.

At this moment, the man's body was wrought with countless wounds, seemingly minor yet deep enough to see bone, his flesh and skin having already separated from the bones, merely hanging on them.

Yet the next moment, the man stood unscathed in midair.

No wounds, no blood, and the countless shattered pieces of Black Crystal also vanished. ISE was intact on his body.

It was as if a segment of a film was cut, making it unclear how he had recovered.

It appeared as if everything just now was Xue Jing's illusion—he hadn't moved a blade, and the man hadn't been injured.

"...Trouble."

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes.

...

While Xue Jing was entangled in battle high above.

Down below, as time progressed, throughout Qingcheng, countless Martial Artists, Sheriffs, and various powerful individuals converged like a swarm of bees, gathering around the home of Chief Councillor Chi Liangyun, at the center.

Among them were Meng Boshang and Meng Qingjiao from the Hidden Dragon Dojo, as well as Chen Fuguang.

Nearly ten thousand people, stationed on the streets, rooftops, and telephone poles... surrounded the residence of Chi Liangyun in concentric circles, densely packed.

All the nearby residents, whether awake or asleep, were forcibly awakened and evacuated from their homes, the scale of the operation stunned all onlookers and those in the know.

"...What on earth is going on? I was woken up in the middle of the night for this operation and no one has explained the reason yet?"

A young sheriff with his pistol safety off asked, looking bewildered.

"Shut up, just listen to the commands later, no talking!"

A senior officer scolded him sternly.

At the forefront of the encirclement, Meng Boshang was standing with several elderly men dressed like martial artists.

"What now? Should we just storm in?"

Someone suggested.

"...It's Councillor Chi's home," someone frowned, showing concern.

"With this kind of setup, who cares about Councillor Chi or Councillor Tang?"

"I don't understand any of this. If you're going in, go ahead, I'll just wait outside."

"You old coward, I've never seen anyone as cowardly as you..."

The men were arguing when Meng Boshang was constantly looking up at the sky, as if he was paying attention to something.

"...Boshang, us old guys aren't in our prime anymore, you're the strongest here, what do you suggest?"

An old man with unusually thick palms and a small stature looked at Meng Boshang with a pleasant expression and spoke.

Meng Boshang did not respond and withdrew his gaze from the sky, turning his head to look at the entrance of the Chi Liangyun household.

While everyone was puzzled, suddenly,

"Click, clack—"

The large iron gate of the house was slowly pushed open, and a young man in his early twenties stepped out.

The young man wore a black jacket, had a somber face, and greying hair. Despite his youthful appearance, he exuded an inexplicably aged and decaying aura.

His form was very upright, with unusually long arms and legs. As he moved and glanced around, he resembled a supreme blade overshadowing the present era, emitting an edge so sharp that it seemed looking directly at him could cut one's eyes.

In the young man's hand was a cube emitting a green light... a magic cube?

"He is..."

A few elderly men thought the young man looked familiar and stepped forward to take a closer look.

The next moment, a flash of golden light occurred, and everyone nearby was momentarily blinded.

The blindness wasn't caused by intense light.

It was simply that their line of sight towards the young man was 'slashed.'

The few elderly men who had stepped forward stiffened, and the upper half of their bodies slowly slid off, spilling red, black, and green entrails and blood all over the place.

"Golden Wind, White Rainbow Sword!"

"Jiao Hongyuan, he is Jiao Hongyuan!"

One of the men, now only a torso, coughed up blood and spoke in fear.

"He has Leapt Through the Dragon Gate!"

At this statement, the crowd immediately buzzed, and the people at the front instinctively stepped back.

Leaping Through the Dragon Gate, burying the old self—this was a vast chasm on the path of martial arts training.

Those who had crossed it and those who hadn't were fundamentally different.

Like the mythological Fish Leaping Through the Dragon Gate, shedding their mortal coil and transforming into dragons, such beings were almost a different species from ordinary humans, akin to the ascension myths of becoming another being from a human.

People revered them as 'Eternal Immortals' or 'Instantaneous Buddhas' and respectfully called them 'Martial Arts Grandmasters.'

In the small town of Qingcheng, such a being hadn't emerged in twenty years!

...