173: Possible to be comparable to a martial saint

Yesterday, around 00:15, I added about a hundred or two hundred characters to the end of the previous chapter.

The gist is that under the pressure from the Yuan Emperor, Lin Yi wants to pass the Martial Emperor's Relic Palace's Innate Golden Core trial as soon as possible, so he wants to achieve Martial Saint-level combat power. Not knowing how to achieve it, he came to seek the Old Ancestor's advice and help.

If you want to read it, you can go back. If not, just read the main body of this chapter below... On the mountainside of the Heavenly Mountain Sect, in a remote cave within the back mountain.

"Hum!"

The void seemed to twist, and in the next moment, Lin Yi, clad in black, appeared here as if teleporting.

"Hmm? Lin Yi?"

As soon as Lin Yi appeared outside the cave, a slightly surprised voice sounded by his ear.

Immediately after, accompanied by a gentle breeze brushing past Lin Yi's eyes, an old man in green robes, whose speed was countless times faster than Lin Yi's, appeared before him.

"I pay my respects to Old Ancestor Yan Hui!"

Seeing this, Lin Yi quickly and respectfully cupped his hands in salute.

"No need for such formalities."

Old Ancestor Yan Hui smiled slightly upon hearing this and said:

"Lin Yi, what important matter brings you to seek me out today?"

"Reporting to Old Ancestor, this Disciple indeed has some matters."

Lin Yi began:

"That is, I wish to ask Old Ancestor, if I want to rival a Martial Saint while at the Innate Golden Core stage, is there any method? Or rather, what conditions would I need to meet?"

"What! An Innate Golden Core rivaling a Martial Saint?"

Hearing this, even Old Ancestor Yan Hui couldn't help but be shocked:

"Lin Yi, why do you suddenly have such an idea? Do you know how vast the gap is between an Innate Golden Core and a Martial Saint?"

"I know a little, but not very clearly, so I ask Old Ancestor to enlighten me."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi first nodded, but then shook his head.

"Sigh! Fine! Since you wish to know, I shall tell you!"

Seeing Lin Yi's demeanor, Old Ancestor Yan Hui also shook his head helplessly. He then paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before continuing to explain after a short while:

"The Martial Saint is a Realm above the Innate. The two greatest differences from the Innate stage are essentially two points."

"First, the mastery of a Dao within the world. Second, the possession of a Martial Dao Sacred Body!"

"Martial Dao Sacred Body?"

Hearing this unfamiliar term, Lin Yi couldn't help but be puzzled.

"Correct!"

Old Ancestor Yan Hui nodded:

"The Martial Dao Sacred Body is a physique unique to Martial Saints. It is a miraculous sacred body obtained after a Martial Saint, aided by the power of a Dao of the world and mixed with vast amounts of Spiritual Qi, washes over their own body, causing it to evolve perfectly!"

"Compared to the Innate physique of an Innate Martial Artist, the Martial Dao Sacred Body is stronger by an immeasurable degree!"

"Firstly, it possesses an incredible characteristic of life."

"In the Nine Provinces Continent, regardless of what Dao a Martial Saint has comprehended, their Martial Dao Sacred Body contains an unbelievable potential for life within."

"This vast life potential allows them to easily accomplish things completely unimaginable to ordinary people, such as regrowing severed limbs, regenerating broken legs, or healing ordinary physical injuries in an instant."

"For a Martial Saint possessing a Martial Dao Sacred Body, ordinary physical injuries can no longer harm them. Even if their internal organs are shattered, a Martial Saint with a Martial Dao Sacred Body can recover in an instant."

"For them, their true cores are only two—the heart and the brain!"

"One is the core storing life potential, the other is the core of spirit and Divine Soul. Even a being as powerful as a Martial Saint, once these two are destroyed, has no possibility of survival."

"Conversely, as long as these two are unharmed, the Martial Saint is immortal. This shows the formidable vitality of a Martial Saint!"

"With such powerful vitality, even if a Martial Saint's strength were slightly inferior to an Innate's, they could easily exhaust any Innate, let alone the fact that a Martial Saint's strength far surpasses an Innate's."

"Apart from powerful vitality, the combat power of the Martial Dao Sacred Body is also immensely formidable."

"Every Martial Dao Sacred Body, even that of a newly Breakthrough Martial Saint, has a base strength ten times the Xiantian True Essence contained within a Peak Innate Golden Core Realm practitioner!"

"Thus, based on base strength alone, there is a nearly insurmountable chasm between an Innate Golden Core and a Martial Saint."

"Finally, beyond this base strength, the more important factor is that every Martial Saint has mastered a Dao."

At this point, a much graver expression appeared on Old Ancestor Yan Hui's face as he slowly explained:

"The Dao is the most fundamental rule of the world, the core that constitutes everything within heaven and earth!"

"It possesses inconceivable, mighty power. Once mastered, it not only allows one to achieve a Martial Dao Sacred Body but also grants the Martial Saint boundless combat power—even stronger than the Martial Dao Sacred Body itself!"

"For example, an ordinary Martial Saint who has not mastered a Dao, relying solely on the Martial Dao Sacred Body and Martial Arts Techniques, would likely only be about twenty times stronger than an ordinary top ten on the Heavenly Ranking."

"But once they master a Dao, they instantly become more than two hundred times stronger than an ordinary top ten on the Heavenly Ranking!"

"This is the might of the Dao!"

"What! The Dao is actually this powerful?"

Hearing this, Lin Yi was utterly astounded.

Although, from Old Ancestor Yan Hui's earlier description that the Martial Dao Sacred Body was only ten times stronger than the True Essence of the Innate Golden Core Realm, Lin Yi had vaguely guessed the might of the Dao.

But upon hearing Old Ancestor Yan Hui's definitive answer now, Lin Yi still couldn't help but be shocked.

A Martial Saint, before mastering a Dao, is only twenty times stronger than a Peak Innate Golden Core Realm practitioner in the Heavenly Ranking's top ten.

But once they master a Dao, they become more than two hundred times stronger than the Heavenly Ranking's top ten. Doesn't that mean the Dao provides a Martial Saint-level powerhouse with over one hundred and eighty times the combat power of a Heavenly Ranking top ten? That is truly frightening!

Thinking this, Lin Yi immediately spoke up, voicing this speculation to Old Ancestor Yan Hui.

"Heh, Lin Yi, it's not as you think."

As soon as Lin Yi finished speaking, Old Ancestor Yan Hui immediately shook his head with a smile:

"The Dao's might is indeed strong, but not to that extent."

"In terms of its own power alone, it's roughly equivalent to about a hundred times that of a Heavenly Ranking top ten Martial Artist!"

"The reason it can cause a Martial Saint's combat power to soar so much is because Saint-level Martial Arts and the Martial Dao Sacred Body can both amplify the power of the 'Dao.' Ultimately, the combination of the three allows the Martial Saint's combat power to far surpass that of an Innate Golden Core."

"And if one comprehends a Dao before breaking through to Martial Saint, even if your Realm in Saint-level Martial Arts rivals a Martial Saint's, I estimate you could only possess about one hundred and thirty times the combat power of a Heavenly Ranking top ten. That's still considerably less than a true Martial Saint."

"Therefore, Lin Yi, if you wish to rival a Martial Saint while at the Innate Golden Core stage, you must first comprehend a Dao!"

"Then, your Realm in the Dao and your skill Realm in Saint-level Martial Arts must also surpass that of a Martial Saint! And surpass it by a significant margin. Only then, after the two combine, is it possible!"

"Oh, surpass a Martial Saint in Dao Realm?"

"Does the Dao also have Realms?"

Hearing this sentence, Lin Yi was puzzled once again.