139: Heart of Martial Arts

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on the stone platform, eyes closed, feeling the brand-new power flowing within his body. Although his Innate Dao Body had only undergone 5% Awakening, it had already displayed many incredible characteristics. Pale purple dao patterns flashed across the surface of his skin from time to time, and every breath seemed to resonate mysteriously with the Void Realm.

"So this is the Innate Dao Body..." Lin Yuan opened his eyes, phenomena of swirling stars deep within his pupils. "Not only has my Physical Body strength increased several-fold, but even my thinking speed has clearly accelerated."

He tried to recall an ancient classic that had once been obscure and difficult to understand. The Profound Truths that had originally taken a long time to comprehend were now automatically parsed and reorganized in his mind, becoming clear and understandable. Even more astonishingly, his perception of the surrounding environment had become extremely keen; he could accurately capture even the subtle fluctuations of Spiritual Qi in the air.

"My perception has also improved." Lin Yuan reached out and touched the Void Realm lightly, ripples spreading from his fingertips; this was a manifestation of his will directly interfering with Spiritual Qi.

The increase in Divine Soul strength was an unexpected delight. Lin Yuan looked within his Sea of Consciousness and discovered a layer of pale purple mist swirling around the supreme soul seed; this was the nourishment of Soul Power converted by the Innate Dao Body from a portion of the Body Tempering energy.

What surprised Lin Yuan the most was the change in the chaos heavenly extreme sword. After this Origin Magical Artifact absorbed the special Void Realm energy, the originally blurry patterns on the blade became clearly visible, vaguely forming the appearance of a star map. With a thought from Lin Yuan, the chaos heavenly extreme sword flew out from within his body, hovering in front of him and emitting a joyous sword hum.

"To have such gains after just the first round of trials..." Lin Yuan clenched his fists, his Battle Intent burning even brighter in his eyes. "In the subsequent trials, I must strive for even greater Opportunity!"

Just then, a familiar, eternal voice suddenly rang out in the Void Realm: "The Endless Body Tempering trial has ended."

"Among the trillion participants, the top 10% in Physique and combat power growth will advance; the rest are eliminated."

As soon as the voice finished, Lin Yuan felt the surrounding space twist. He looked up, and the stone platforms that had originally densely filled the Void Realm were now much sparser. Within a ten-thousand-meter radius, where there had originally been at least a thousand competitors, now fewer than a hundred remained.

"The elimination rate is indeed astonishing." Lin Yuan clicked his tongue inwardly. Among those vanished stone platforms, there were no shortage of Prodigies who had performed excellently in the Body Tempering trial, yet they had now been ruthlessly sent out of the Heavenly Monument world.

In the Void Realm, a miniature phantom of the Heavenly Monument appeared once again. The originally dim gilded names on the monument surface began to glow slightly, as if anticipating the writing of new names.

"Congratulations to the remaining hundred billion Prodigies." The voice of the Heavenly Monument echoed in the depths of everyone's Soul. "Next, we shall proceed with the second round of trials — the Heart of Martial Dao."

Lin Yuan's spirits lifted, and he listened to the rules with full concentration.

"This round of trials will test your foundation of martial dao." The Heavenly Monument's voice suddenly became deep, as if it were coming from the end of the long river of time. "The Laws and Origin Laws you have comprehended, the Origin Spells you Cultivate, and the Divine Soul you have strengthened, all ultimately exist to achieve martial dao."

Scenes appeared in the Void Realm: powerful experts suddenly dissipating into Dao upon comprehending Origin Laws; Geniuses being controlled by the very Spells they created; and even mighty beings whose Divine Souls were so powerful that they tore themselves apart.

"The path of the Martial Artist is to Cultivate 'my Dao' rather than 'another's Dao'." The voice of the Heavenly Monument rang out like a great bell. "If you lack a Heart of Martial Dao to anchor your true self, when you come to comprehend the Great Dao, at best you will be lost within the Great Dao, and at worst, your body will die and your Dao will dissipate."

Lin Yuan's pupils constricted slightly, recalling his own experience of nearly sinking into oblivion when he had previously comprehended the three great Origin Laws—and that was just comprehending Origin Laws; when it came time to comprehend the Great Dao, the risks would only be greater. Many Prodigies around him also showed expressions of sudden realization, clearly having had similar experiences.

"Therefore, the true purpose of this round of trials—" The Heavenly Monument suddenly descended ten thousand rays of golden light, "is to assist you in condensing a seed of martial dao!"

Countless martial dao phantoms appeared within the golden light: a swordsman splitting the heavens with a single sword, a pugilist shattering stars, and a spearman piercing through time and space... These phantoms eventually transformed into the appearance of crystalline seeds.

"The trial venue is the 'Galaxy of Ten Thousand Scrolls', containing endless classics, each containing a different true meaning of martial dao. Participants must comprehend as many of the mysteries within as possible within 72 hours."

"The Profound Truths of the classics in the Galaxy of Ten Thousand Scrolls are all nutrients. And what you must do is use these nutrients to Cultivate your own seed of martial dao."

"The trial ranking is based on three points: first, the number of classics comprehended, which determines the amount of nutrients; second, the depth of comprehension of Profound Truths, which concerns the quality of the nutrients..." The Heavenly Monument paused, its voice rising sharply, "But the most important is the third point—the uniqueness of your self-created Cultivation Technique!"

"Because only by creating a Cultivation Technique that perfectly fits yourself can you condense a seed of martial dao that belongs uniquely to you!"

Boom! The Void Realm cracked open, and the vast Galaxy of Ten Thousand Scrolls surged out. Each scroll of classics shone with the light of the Great Dao, more miraculous than what had been displayed before.

"Remember, the strongest Cultivation Technique is not the most profound, but the one that best interprets 'who you are'! Now—the trial begins!"

"After this round ends, only those trial-takers who have condensed a seed of martial dao may continue to participate in the next round of trials!"

"Special reminder: Excessive consumption of Soul Power during comprehension may lead to damage to the Divine Soul. Act according to your ability, and take care of yourselves."

As soon as the Heavenly Monument finished speaking, Lin Yuan felt the stone platform beneath his feet shake violently. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding scenery blurred like ink wash painting, replaced by a vast sea of stars. Countless shimmering scrolls floated in the Void Realm, each containing different knowledge and Profound Truths.

"So this is the Galaxy of Ten Thousand Scrolls..." Lin Yuan gazed at the miraculous sight before him in wonder. The hundred billion Prodigies were scattered throughout this ocean of knowledge, and a Jade Slip appeared in front of each person, recording their comprehension progress.

"The trial begins!" As the Heavenly Monument announced, three lines of text appeared on the Jade Slip in front of Lin Yuan: [Classics Comprehended: 0] [Depth of Profound Truths: Initial Glimpse] [Self-created Cultivation Technique: None]

Lin Yuan did not rush to act, but instead first circulated his Innate Dao Body, feeling the special nature of this space. Pale purple dao patterns lit up on the surface of his skin, and the scrolls in his field of vision immediately became clearer. He could even see the textual veins flowing on the surface of each classic—that was the manifestation of the essence of knowledge.

"The affinity of the Innate Dao Body for knowledge is truly astonishing." Lin Yuan rejoiced inwardly and reached out to touch the nearest bronze ancient classic.

"《Tai Xu Spirit Refining Art》..." As soon as the scroll touched his fingertips, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind. If it were an ordinary Myriad Laws Realm Cultivator, it would take days just to digest this information. But with the support of the Innate Dao Body, Lin Yuan's thinking speed had increased by an unknown number of times; in just one minute, he had fully comprehended the true meaning of martial dao that would take an ordinary person three years to master.

The numbers on the Jade Slip jumped: [Classics Comprehended: 1] [Depth of Profound Truths: Slight Minor Achievement]