Chapter 101 Five Years of Change and a New World

[Everyone finally woke up completely.]

[They understood a cruel truth.]

[The Heavenly Ladder is not for everyone; the Legacy of a mighty being belongs only to true Geniuses.]

[And if they wanted to leave this ghostly place alive, their only hope...]

[...was the only man who could walk out of the Heavenly Ladder alive—Grandmaster Xu Liang!]

[From that day on, the atmosphere in the camp changed completely.]

[No one dared to mention the words "Climbing the Heavenly Ladder" anymore; everyone completely extinguished that unrealistic ambition.]

[They devoted all their energy to building the camp well.]

[And on things like how to make their daily lives a bit better.]

[Aside from the tiny portion of sweet dew that Chen Chen had to withhold every day to maintain his Origin Opening Realm strength...]

[...almost all the "sweet dew" that descended daily for the entire Mutual Aid Society, including Chen Chen's subordinates, was voluntarily handed over to you.]

[They were willing to support you, only hoping that one day in the future...]

[...you would reach the top of the Heavenly Ladder and bring them back to the real world.]

[...]

[Time has no meaning in a Grotto-Heaven.]

[For the outside world, it might only be an instant.]

[But in the Xuan Shui Cave Heaven, time quietly slipped away in the day-to-day repetition.]

[Spring went and autumn came; winter and summer alternated.]

[In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.]

[Five years was enough time to change many things.]

[Year One: Seeking the Dao in the Abyss]

[Your progress in "Climbing the Heavenly Ladder" advanced steadily.]

[During this year, you did not rush for success but instead made steady and sure progress.]

[With the ample supply of sweet dew and the solid Foundation laid by the massive Legacy of the first stage...]

[...you forcefully climbed the Heavenly Ladder to the peak of the second stage!]

[But the higher you went, the more perverted the trials became.]

[The difficulty of each step increased exponentially.]

[Year Two: Finding a Different Path]

[This year, besides the honing of your ability, your martial progress was equally astonishing.]

[Although this was a place cut off from Origin Qi where you couldn't absorb external Origin Qi to condense yuan seeds...]

[...you had the "sweet dew" provided by over a hundred people in the entire camp!]

[Relying on this massive, incomparably pure energy...]

[...you embarked on an extremely unique path in the Cultivation process of a Origin Opening Realm Martial Artist.]

[You forcefully broke open all 144 Acupoints throughout your body!]

[However, facing these 144 fully connected Acupoints, you made an extremely rational choice.]

[You did not blindly use sweet dew to condense yuan seeds in all the Acupoints.]

[Through meticulous deduction, you found a perfect balance point.]

[You only condensed yuan seeds within the 36 most important main Acupoints.]

[Why?]

[Because there was no external Origin Qi replenishment here.]

[If all 144 Acupoints were filled with yuan seeds, once a high-intensity battle occurred...]

[...the intense consumption would cause a massive energy vacuum to form within your body.]

[You simply didn't have enough recovery means to fill that vacuum.]

[Ultimately, it would only lead to the exhaustion of your Meridians due to internal imbalance.]

[By retaining yuan seeds in only the 36 main Acupoints, supplemented by the daily nourishment of sweet dew...]

[...it could perfectly form a Great Cosmic Cycle within your body, achieving endless circulation and a balance of income and expenditure!]

[You pushed a Martial Artist's "mastery of one's own Qi" to the extreme.]

[Year Three: Stance Entering Meditation, Hidden Force Bursting Forth!]

[Besides the consolidation of your Realm, your honing of Martial Skills never ceased.]

[Without external distractions, you were completely focused during these five years.]

[The "Coiled Dragon Post Stance," the stance technique you regarded as your Foundation, finally broke through the bottleneck.]

[Reaching the same stance Realm as Old Wu, you officially transitioned from the Realm of "Entering Stillness" to the Realm of "Entering Meditation"!]

[Now, even if you closed your eyes, a wisp of breeze or a drop of water within ten zhang of your body...]

[...or even the frequency of an insect's muscle contractions, would be crystal clear in your mind.]

[And your force-training fist technique, "Eight Extremes Fist," finally underwent a qualitative leap.]

[You moved past the simple directness of Obvious Force and comprehended the "Hidden Force" that penetrates the internal organs!]

[Just last month.]

[You encountered a giant Profound Water Turtle as large as a nuclear submarine in the deep water area.]

[The hardness of its shell was such that you couldn't break through it with a single saber strike.]

[But you simply used an Iron Mountain Lean, your fist pressed against the turtle's belly, activated your force, and punched with all your might.]

["Pfft."]

[Hidden Force burst forth.]

[The surface of the Profound Water Turtle was unscathed, but its internal organs and brain were instantly vibrated into a puddle of mush.]

[Not to mention the "Water Moon Mirror Ripples Saber Technique," which reached Perfection in the second year.]

[Martial arts and abilities, like two thick towering trees on your martial path, relied on each other.]

[Year Four: Overcoming the Weak Water]

[This year, in the "Annihilation Weak Water Formation," the final test of the fifth stage...]

[...you encountered an unprecedentedly difficult situation.]

[The Weak Water, which could even dissolve Souls, stripped away almost all of your conventional ability defenses.]

[But this time, you weren't as disheveled as the other challengers.]

[Under the pressure of the Weak Water, the Profound Water Spirit Body and the heavenly river water lotus Origin within you erupted with unprecedented potential.]

[You didn't choose to resist it head-on; instead, you chose assimilation.]

[You stayed in this stage's Secret Realm for nearly two months, repeatedly refining yourself.]

[Constantly using your body to adapt to and analyze the principle of how Weak Water dissolves Souls.]

[After passing the trial at great risk, you immediately began to study the obscure "Profound Water Secret Technique: Soul-Eroding Weak Water."]

[It wasn't until the end of this year that you finally fully mastered this stage's Legacy.]

[The reward mechanism of the Heavenly Ladder was surprisingly generous.]

[Starting from the second stage, whenever you completed a major stage trial...]

[...the central stone tablet would issue a pure "heavenly river water lotus" as the final reward.]

[Over these few years, you had harvested a full four more "heavenly river water lotuses"!]

[Under the frantic nourishment of these treasures of the same Origin, your Profound Water Spirit Body...]

[...had already transformed to a level that even you could not define.]

[Your control over the water element had reached a terrifying Realm.]

[Year Five: Spiritual Totem]

[Meanwhile, during these five years, the development of the camp had also undergone earth-shaking changes.]

[You didn't remain a hands-off manager the entire time.]

[In between your Cultivation, you made full use of the experience you accumulated as a "teaching assistant" in the school's special training class.]

[You opened systematic survival courses for the members of the Mutual Aid Society.]

[You taught them how to identify the strange plants in this Grotto-Heaven—which ones could stop bleeding, and which ones could replenish physical strength;]

[You taught them how to use simple tools for collective hunting in deep water areas, and how to avoid those deadly underwater undercurrents;]

[You even personally stepped in to teach them some simple and practical combined combat techniques.]

[After all, you needed them alive; you needed them to continuously provide you with sweet dew and maintain the camp's operations.]

[Under your leadership, the Mutual Aid Society flourished.]

[The once crude wooden shacks had long since been leveled.]

[The camp didn't lack talent; several Martial Artists who used to work in civil engineering and the construction industry stepped forward.]

[Under the guidance of these professionals, everyone used local materials to build primitive brick kilns.]

[After firing hard bricks, everyone worked together to build rows of uniform brick houses.]

[A two-meter-high defensive wall was even built around the camp, and dedicated drying areas and training grounds were established.]

[These five years weren't all smooth sailing for the camp.]

[You encountered violent attacks from lake behemoths and experienced ice and snow storms within the Grotto-Heaven.]

[But every time you faced a catastrophe, it was you, alone with your saber, standing at the very front of the camp.]

[You slew the behemoths, led everyone through the storms, and kept all disasters at bay.]

[In a relatively stable and comfortable environment, people always look for new spiritual sustenance.]

[It's been five years.]

[Some people fell in love under the hopeless circumstance of not being able to return home, and several new lives have already been born in the camp.]

[These little ones were born in the Grotto-Heaven, but it's unknown if they will have the chance to leave in this lifetime.]

[When the first pregnant woman appeared, everyone was very much against such behavior.]

[They even gave the father of the unborn child a severe beating.]

[Because they couldn't ensure whether this little life could be born and grow up safely.]

[Perhaps they were afraid of change, or perhaps they were worried about their own future.]

[However.]

[You stepped in; during the delivery, you took out a drop of reserved "sweet dew."]

[Using a drop of "sweet dew" as a medium, you performed the Secret Technique: "Clear Stream."]

[Easily protecting them, ensuring both mother and child were safe.]

[These newborn children could also receive the heaven-sent sweet dew every day.]

[But since they couldn't use it for the time being, it was given to you first.]

[Whenever someone saw the couple holding a healthy baby, sunbathing outside their safe brick house...]

[...different emotions would well up in their hearts.]

[There was expectation for the future, and also the moving feeling of life's continuation.]

[The Martial Artists under your command...]

[...when they looked at you after that...]

[...no longer had the simple fear of a strong person they once had.]

[It had now turned into respect from the bottom of their hearts.]

[You had become an eternal spiritual totem in the hearts of all the living people in this Xuan Shui Cave Heaven.]

[In this atmosphere, even Chen Chen completely changed his mindset.]

[After experiencing several crises, he knew deeply that the gap between you was as vast as the clouds and the mud.]

[Now, he not only voluntarily reduced his daily portion of sweet dew to hand over to you...]

[...but even acted completely as your "head butler."]

[Diligently helping you manage all the trivial matters in the camp.]

[And regarding his sixteen or seventeen-year-old nephew, "Chen Liang," who had absorbed a dimensional secret treasure...]

[...you weren't stingy either.]

[This kid's Water-elemental Ability actually had great potential; he was just too timid.]

[You took some time to give him many practical tips on "Morphological Transformation" and "Micro-control" of Water-elemental Abilities.]

[Under your guidance, although Chen Liang's combat power was still not strong, he became an excellent "infrastructure maniac."]

[The irrigation channels, filtration Systems, and even several uniquely styled two-story buildings in the camp...]

[...were all built under his leadership using his abilities.]

[He called you "Big Brother Xu" very smoothly, becoming even closer to you than to his own uncle, Chen Chen.]

["Whew..."]

[In the early morning, you stood on the highest watchtower of the camp.]

[Looking at the curling cooking smoke below and the busy people who were full of hope for life.]

[You slowly climbed down from the watchtower, ready to begin today's morning lesson.]