The moment the skill was activated, Lu Yuan's Domain Power receded around his body; the blood sphere at his chest began to spin rapidly, releasing traces of bloody aura. The golden light in his mind shone brightly. Following that, a thick platinum aura seeped from every pore of his body, rapidly condensing behind him into a solid-looking, two-headed, four-armed Elephant God Dharma.

The two-headed, four-armed Elephant God Dharma was just barely over five meters tall, but it was meticulously formed, its entire body golden-white, like an idol cast from platinum. A fierce and majestic aura emanated from it, exuding a mysterious and noble presence.

The moment the Dharma emerged, Lu Yuan was startled to find that an unknown energy from the world seemed to gather towards the Dharma. A vortex of moderate size appeared in the void, drawing large amounts of this unknown energy towards itself. At the same time, the blood sphere in his body and the golden light in his mind seemed to grow stronger along with it.

What's the principle here? Lu Yuan blinked.

But before he could figure it out, Han Xun, now freed from the restraint of the Domain Power, erupted with his full strength. He swung his saber, unleashing terrifying torrents of frigid energy under the sky, like a celestial river pouring down. These torrents coalesced into icy mountains that he fiercely slashed towards Lu Yuan.

Light flared in Lu Yuan's eyes as a thought crossed his mind. The four arms of the Elephant God Dharma behind him rose...

BOOM!

Four thick, platinum-cast arms clamped down hard on the celestial river ice blade. Frigid currents surged outward, instantly freezing a large amount of frost in the surroundings.

"God Elephant Sect—Devouring Dragon!"

The light in Lu Yuan's eyes flashed dramatically. The two-headed, four-armed Elephant God Dharma behind him, still gripping Han Xun's ice blade, let out a low roar as its four arms twisted. The ice blade in its grasp instantly shattered.

Following that, the Elephant God Dharma leaped up and punched fiercely towards Han Xun in the sky...

BOOM!

Four balls of dazzling platinum light suddenly appeared in the sky, as if four platinum suns had risen out of thin air!

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Lu Yuan's eyes shone; he almost couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud.

This Dharma's power far exceeds my imagination! I can actually use the Dharma to directly execute martial techniques! What could be more perfectly suited for executing a school's martial arts than its own Dharma? "God Elephant Devours Dragon," when I perform it, can only deliver two punches at most. But when executed by the two-headed, four-armed Elephant God Dharma... it can deliver four punches at once! Four-Armed Dragon Swallowing! Both its power and the number of attacks far exceed my own capabilities.

"God Elephant Sect—Broken Realm!"

Han Xun was slammed directly into the ground by the Elephant God Dharma's Four-Armed Dragon Swallowing, creating a huge ice pit! Lu Yuan was about to have the Elephant God Dharma press its advantage when suddenly, an inexplicable sense of emptiness abruptly filled his body and mind.

"Huh?!" Lu Yuan looked astonished as the platinum luster on the four-armed Elephant God Dharma above him quickly faded, its form shifting from solid to semi-illusory. Only then did he realize that the blood sphere at his chest had shrunk by a large margin, and the golden light in his mind had also dimmed considerably.

Damn, the energy consumption is this high? Lu Yuan was surprised.

After a moment's thought, he simply retracted the semi-illusory Elephant God Dharma, compressing all the Dharma's power into his palm before charging towards Han Xun in the distance.

"God Elephant Sect—Broken Realm!"

BOOM!

Han Xun, who had just climbed out of the ice pit, took Lu Yuan's punch head-on. Without uttering a sound, his chest was directly blasted open. A brilliant platinum light burst from the exit wound on his back. His gaze quickly dimmed, and with a large hole now gaping in his chest, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Phew..." Lu Yuan exhaled, his imposing aura completely retracting. The blood sphere at his chest spun steadily, slowly recovering.

This battle has allowed me to gauge my own combat strength. After advancing to Real Grandmaster, my normal combat power is already almost above that of an ordinary SSS-rank. After all, I could easily thrash Han Xun, a bona fide SSS-rank master. But whether I've actually surpassed SSS-rank... I can't say for sure. The only people I know whose strength definitely exceeds SSS-rank are the Ancient Brent King who tested me in the Lament Ruins, and Yu Wentong. The former's strength was entirely granted by the Feather of Hundred-Eyed Dark Crow and can't be measured by conventional standards. To truly test myself, I still need to find Yu Wentong, Lord Tong.

After advancing to Real Grandmaster, the potential of Pure Martial seems to truly be unleashed. Compared to New Martial and the Modification Path, Pure Martial is more comprehensive, more balanced... Apart from still not being able to fly, there seem to be no other major weaknesses.

Lu Yuan was still mulling over the effects of the Grandmaster's Dharma. He was curious about the strange energy that was invisibly drawn in when the Dharma was manifested, and he also recalled the little figure in the Pot Heaven Secret Realm Mural that grew increasingly larger.

Does 'growing larger' refer to the Dharma growing larger? If the mural depicts the Dharma, then the subsequent content would also make sense... After the Dharma grows to a certain level, does it gain the ability to create a Pot Heaven Secret Realm? It can't be that simple; there should also be a connection with the Three Flowers and Five Qi realms...

Lu Yuan pondered. On this path of Pure Martial, having come this far, I essentially have no points of reference anymore. So far, all I have are some ancient murals, and I don't know how much artistic license was taken with them or how accurate they are. Fortunately, I still have the Profession Panel. As long as I follow the panel step by step, the general direction will definitely be correct.

As he was thinking, Lu Yuan's gaze suddenly drifted towards Yu Wentong, who was the only one still standing in the Consciousness Space. He stared at Yu Wentong, his eyes beginning to glow faintly.

Although after I advanced to Real Grandmaster, my body was reshaped, and the several transformation stages originally brought about by Ultimate Outburst have disappeared. But the Demon form is still my ultimate combat form. In my current state, if I enter the Demon form, to what level can my combat power soar? Can I fight Yu Wentong?!

A surge of eagerness welled up in Lu Yuan's heart. Yu Wentong has always been the ceiling of what I believed possible in terms of strength in the real world. Compared to the Hundred-Eyed Dark Crow or the Crow God Lamashtu, who exist only in myths and legends, Yu Wentong is right here, visible... Though I... can't touch her, she is undeniably real. For now, Yu Wentong is my milestone goal. Now that my strength has significantly increased and undergone a qualitative transformation, I naturally want to verify just how large the gap is between myself and Lord Tong, the pinnacle of combat strength on this planet.

Let's try. I'll know once I try.

Lu Yuan stared at Yu Wentong and took a deep breath. The four Basic Attributes on his Profession Panel began to distort, and the blood sphere at his chest suddenly collapsed inward...

BOOM!

A terrifying and invisible shockwave of energy spread out. Billowing dust and debris swirled up like a brown tornado. Amidst the storm, countless aurora-like electrical currents flashed and danced. A massive silhouette gradually emerged from the aurora and the storm. On its chest, a magnificent, blood-sun-like pattern was faintly visible. A pair of radiant golden eyes shone within the storm, accompanied by a deep, cold voice—

"Tong, right now, help me... empty the shopping cart!!"

SWOOSH—

Sensing Lu Yuan's strong fighting intent, Yu Wentong's beautiful eyes flashed brilliantly in an instant!

BOOM!

SWOOSH—

Lu Yuan stumbled slightly, abruptly waking up in the Scripture Pavilion area of the Pot Heaven Secret Realm. The surrounding stacks of levitating pages all fluttered down, landing on the ground.

"SIGH—" Lu Yuan rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his expression full of resignation. But he soon comforted himself, Well, at least there's progress.

One move! After I entered the Demon form, Yu Wentong defeated me instantly with a single, spectacular move. I'm not entirely clear on the specifics of how I was defeated. I didn't even have time to hit the pause button; I was just directly forced out of the Consciousness Space. Still, it was indeed significant progress. At least I managed to force Yu Wentong to make a move. But whether the attack that obliterated me was a basic attack or a skill... I have no idea.

Soon, soon. It won't be long before I reach the ceiling... Lu Yuan patted his backside and stood up from the ground.

He scanned the entire Pot Heaven Secret Realm. I've basically explored all the major secrets. The rest can be dealt with slowly later.

He glanced towards the place where the radiant light of the Pot Heaven Secret Realm spilled out, then quickly left. His time within the Pot Heaven Secret Realm hadn't actually been long, only a few tens of minutes in total.

「Back on Martial Saint Island.」

He saw a small number of people boarding ships to flee the island, but most had remained. Perhaps it was because although Lu Yuan had fought his way up, his methods hadn't been excessively brutal or cruel. There was no irreconcilable feud between the Evil Martial Association and Penglai; both sides had always adhered to the principle of 'live and let live.'

Even though the Heaven Lord had fallen and Penglai was now under new rule, many people still wanted to wait and see what this new 'sky' under Lu Yuan would look like.

Lu Yuan couldn't be bothered with those Grandmasters, each with their own schemes and eager to make a move. He used his communicator to report the situation to Yellow Bear Headquarters, then his entire attention was drawn to a battle unfolding below.

A true man-to-man 1v1 duel was underway between Liu and Cai Huazhang, the Sect Leader of the Heaven Water Sect. The two of them were fighting fiercely, creating quite a commotion. Eight Protectors from the Evil Martial Association had surrounded the battlefield, guarding against any attempt by Cai Huazhang to flee.

Finding the battle entertaining, Lu Yuan retrieved the chair Wu Chao had previously been sitting on under the radiant light. His figure flickered, and like a fleeting shadow, he teleported with the chair to the edge of the white plaza. He found a spot with a good view and began to watch the duel between Liu and Cai Huazhang.

The other Grandmasters, along with the Fighters from various sects who had specifically come to attend this martial arts tournament, felt rather "at a loss" in this situation. So, they too joined in watching the fight.

This grand martial arts tournament had, unbeknownst to anyone, turned into a personal showcase for Lu Yuan and his master, Liu. The disciple had his show, and now it was the master's turn.

The most awkward group among them were the disciples of the Heaven Water Sect from Sum Nation. Their Sect Leader was fighting in the arena. If he won, he might die; if he lost, he might also die. Regardless of victory or defeat, the reputation and face of Sum Nation's Heaven Water Sect were utterly ruined. Many of them couldn't bear it any longer and surreptitiously found boats to leave midway through.

Lu Yuan sat on the chair, looking utterly relaxed, so at ease that all he was missing was a handful of sunflower seeds to crack. Guard Ying, codenamed "Eagle Hound," immediately scampered over and recounted the whole affair to Lu Yuan in detail, including the bet between the two, Cai Huazhang's reneging on his word, his despicable behavior, and so on.

Lu Yuan listened casually, his eyes fixed on the situation in the arena. Even if Liu insisted on a one-on-one duel, Lu Yuan would definitely intervene if Liu truly couldn't win.

However, to Lu Yuan's surprise, Liu's performance in this battle was remarkably eye-catching. Despite having only completed his modifications about a month or so ago, Liu, who was laden with a dozen or so gun barrels and cannon muzzles, showed no lack of strength. From start to finish, he was actually suppressing Cai Huazhang, a Grandmaster.

Nuclear energy orbs and laser beams crisscrossed the battlefield, forcing Cai Huazhang to flee in panic. Liu knew the Heaven Water Sect far too well. Although Cai Huazhang was a Grandmaster, Liu could predict his every intention; the slightest gesture from Cai Huazhang, and Liu knew what move he was about to make. Conversely, Cai Huazhang knew nothing about Liu's Modification Path offensive style.

Crucially, Cai Huazhang had also been, to some extent, 'scared out of his wits' by the performance of Lu Yuan, this supposed "Crane Sect disciple." His Grandmaster's will was shaken, and being stared down menacingly by Lu Yuan and a host of Evil Martial Association Protectors made him even more flustered and perturbed. As a result, he could only bring out a fraction of his true strength.

Lu Yuan had originally thought this battle would conclude smoothly, without any further ripples. Yet unexpectedly, just as it was about to end... Liu had a big "surprise" in store for him!

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