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Chapter 164: Union of Heaven, Earth, and Man (2)

But their conviction soon crumbled, their miscalculation dreadfully apparent. In less than two hours, over 2000 land bandits met their end at the hands of Wu Yuan\'s unyielding fists. Even a first-rate Adept in heavy armor met a grisly demise, his chest caved by the sheer force of Wu Yuan\'s punch.

Currently, the vast stretch of mountain forest spanning ten li had turned into a field of motionless corpses. The mountain range was dyed crimson with blood!

Unfazed, Wu Yuan\'s countenance remained aloof as he muttered to himself. "That strike could have been more restrained." It was as though the bandits he had just killed were nothing more than a bunch of ants.

"Flee!"

"He\'s no human, he\'s a demon!"

"Run!" Confronted by Wu Yuan, who resembled a living devil, the once fearsome bandit horde crumbled. Overtaken by terror, they began to disperse, disregarding the shouts of their bosses.

"Top ten on the Human Rankings!"

"Could he be a Grandmaster? Only someone of that caliber could possess such physical strength." The bosses of the four bandit factions shivered. Though it was embarrassing, they chose to prioritize their own survival. After all, they only had one life.

Unfortunately for them, Wu Yuan\'s soul sense had expanded to a three-li radius. He had long detected four individuals with relatively stronger vital auras than the other bandits. How could he allow them to escape?

"Do you think you can flee?" Wu Yuan\'s gaze turned frigid as he unleashed his full speed, darting several hundred meters in an instant. In a flurry of motion, hundreds of bandits were tossed into the air, their limbs scattered, and blood spraying. None survived the onslaught. In an instant, Wu Yuan was standing before the four bosses.

“Not good.” A sense of impending dread gripped one of the bosses as his expression twisted in horror.

Boom! Boom! Sounds of impact echoed through the air, followed by four dull thuds. The four bandit bosses, each ranked within the top 150 of the Jiang Continent Human Rankings, lay lifeless on the ground.

The seven major bandit factions of the Great Spirit Mountain Range suffered heavy losses in this battle, with over 4000 dead and only a handful injured.

The Blackwind Fort was particularly pitiful, losing eleven of its leaders, including the ninth leader from their previous encounter with Wu Yuan. The faction was instantly removed from the seven major bandit factions of the mountain.

Fear gripped the entire Great Spirit Mountain Range, compelling numerous land bandits to flee the area, swearing to abandon their lives of crime.

This was the terror of Grandmasters, experts with overwhelming power, unparalleled skill, and unwavering stamina. Throughout history, there had been countless tales of individual Grandmasters battling armies upwards of 100,000 men, ultimately claiming the lives of over 10,000 soldiers and emerging unscathed.

One man against an army of a million. For a Grandmaster, this was far from challenging.

The battle shook the Great Spirit Mountain Range to its core. The name Fist King of Hell spread like wildfire, striking panic into the hearts of land bandits who fled the mountain in droves. This epic clash quickly became the talk of all the surrounding villages and towns.

The mysterious expert known as the Fist King of Hell was said to possess the strength to rival the top ten in the Jiang Continent Human Rankings, a suspected Grandmaster.

...

Wu Yuan, the man at the center of this storm, remained oblivious to the chaos he had caused. Instead, he saw this slaughter as an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the world\'s true nature.

Heaven and earth are uncaring. Wu Yuan’s mind was calm. The world nurtured all beings equally, without favor or bias. There was the saying that ‘human beings are the essence of heaven and earth, the primate of all things’, yet the fates of those he had slaughtered were no different from the fates of pigs and dogs slaughtered by humans. [1] This realization spurred Wu Yuan\'s spirit to undergo another shift.

Leaving behind the Great Spirit Mountain Range, Wu Yuan ventured into the Eastdream Province. At the northernmost tip of the Jiang Continent, two major families, the Eastdream Wen Family and the Westdream Dao Family, controlled the Eastdream Province and Westdream Province respectively.

The origins of these two large families could be traced back to the legendary Heavenly Ranker, Moon Slash Liu Guang, who wielded a saber capable of slicing through moonlight and enjoyed unrivaled fame 800 years ago.

As time passed, the Liu Family splintered into two factions, firmly entrenched in their respective territories with the aid of Grandmasters from both families.

During Great Jin\'s eastward campaign, the leaders of Eastdream and Southdream proclaimed themselves loyal vassals of the empire, and were bestowed the titles of Duke. Yet, they opted to remain neutral, refraining from joining the battles waged by Great Jin.

But this had little to do with Wu Yuan. He ventured into Eastdream and Westdream to gain insight into the intricacies of human nature. Of course, if he encountered any misguided ruffians along the way, he wouldn\'t hesitate to put them down.

Whenever he witnessed injustice, he would deliver swift punishment, ranging from a severe beating to a lethal blow, acting on his whims and attracting a good deal of trouble. However, those who foolishly sought trouble with Wu Yuan soon learned the calamity they had invited upon themselves.

Follow your desires, heed the fire in your heart. That is the path of a true martial artist.

Wu Yuan dispatched yet another group of experts who dared to challenge him, then left like the wind.

Heading north along the Westdream Province, the gradient of the terrain gradually steepened. After covering countless li and crossing the imposing Yangqu Mountain Range, the gradient flattened out, transforming from towering mountain ranges into vast stretches of rolling hills and plains.

From the terrain, Wu Yuan recognized that he had finally arrived at the Yuan Continent. Here, the pockets of grassfields spread around the hills and plains, and eventually over larger areas as one ventured further north, ultimately leading to a great grassland beyond the Central Plains.

According to the literature, compared to the Jiang Continent and Chu Continent, the Yuan Continent boasts a bolder folk culture and a somewhat more primal populace.

A smile graced Wu Yuan’s face.

Among the seven continents of the Central Plains, the Yuan Continent was renowned for its formidable cavalry, known as the Yuan Continent Iron Cavalry. The 300,000 Iron Cavalry was a true force of nature that struck fear into the hearts of its enemies.

Not long after Wu Yuan set foot on the Yuan Continent, he found that the continent was currently embroiled in unending chaos, a maelstrom of ceaseless warfare that had endured year-round.

The north king of Great Jin, stationed in the eastern reaches of the Yuan Continent, had gradually expanded his dominion by annexing three provinces over several decades. This expansionist fervor birthed a formidable cavalry force perpetually engaged in conflict with the two great nations of the continent.

Great Jin is truly an empire that makes enemies on all fronts.

Wu Yuan\'s journey from the plains of the central Jiang Continent to treacherous peaks of the northern regions, and through the Yuan Continent interwoven with grassfields and rolling hills took him two months. His physical constitution improved at an astonishing pace, and his soul grew ever stronger.

More importantly, as he ventured alone free from restraints, drawing upon the insights of the Grandmasters and the wisdom of The Sword Hierarch, Wu Yuan\'s understanding of the vast world deepened, his perception growing increasingly clear.

He became ever more aware of the vastness of heaven and earth and his own insignificance within it.

...

In the month of July, the early whispers of summer graced the land with lush grasses and the melodious songs of warblers. The gentle breeze carried warmth, and sunlight bathed the earth in its ethereal glow.

Situated in the eastern region of the Holy Continent stood a renowned mountain known as the Skysaber Mountain. Piercing the clouds, this towering behemoth rose thousands of zhangs from the ground. Its terrain was exceedingly treacherous, protecting the chokepoint between the Yuan Continent and the Holy Continent.

It was one of the eight famous mountains in the world. However, the origin of its name stemmed from a narrow, straight, and dark canyon that cleaved the eastern side of the mountain. This canyon appeared to have been created by an unimaginably powerful saber slash. Legend said that it was created during a clash between two Heavenly Rankers thousands of years ago. Thus, both the canyon and the mountain were named Skysaber.

In the present day, beneath an imposing boulder at the highest point of the Skysaber Canyon on the eastern flank of the mountain, a group of soldiers assembled on the mountain path, effectively sealing off the area.

A crowd of martial artists and even common folk watched from a distance, curiosity bubbling within them.

"The governor hasn’t arrived yet?"

"Who in the world could that be? A Grandmaster?"

"Controlling power from afar, even a Grandmaster couldn’t accomplish that. Could it be an immortal?"

"Who can say?" The soldiers engaged in hushed conversation amongst themselves. They had been deployed here after being informed that a formidable expert was blocking the path to the Skysaber Canyon.

The Skysaber Canyon was an acclaimed scenic attraction. Many officials and nobles from Great Jin passing through the Skysaber Mountain would often visit the canyon, marveling at the breathtaking landscape. But in recent days, access to the prime viewing platform had been obstructed.

"Senior Lu, over there, that expert is right there." A middle-aged man garbed in official attire led an elderly figure cloaked in black robes, hurrying along the mountain path with utmost deference. Several officials and generals followed behind respectfully. Clearly, the black-robed elderly man held an exalted status.

"The governor has arrived, but who is that?"

"Who knows!"

"The provincial general from the city is also here. Who is this distinguished person?" The multitude of soldiers, martial artists, and onlookers whispered amongst themselves, utterly shocked.

In their eyes, the governor and the provincial general were already figures of the highest echelon, capable of determining the fate of countless individuals.

Who could wield such authority over them?

"Expert?" The elderly man in black abruptly halted his steps, his gaze fixated on a colossal boulder several hundred meters away. Perched atop the rock was a figure, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes. The man was disheveled, appearing around 30 years old, emanating a ruggedness that hinted at a life in the grasslands.

However, the elderly man in black knew better than to judge him solely based on his appearance or attire. He understood that some individuals, particularly those who had reached higher levels of cultivation, could not be assessed by their external traits alone. A moment of observation was all it took for a look of astonishment to appear on the elderly man\'s face.

"Heaven, earth, and man, united in a painting," he murmured to himself, increasingly awestruck by the man on the boulder. Sitting there, he seemed to have seamlessly merged with the surroundings, akin to a magnificent work of art.

Suddenly, a recollection flashed through the elder\'s mind, filling his eyes with irrepressible astonishment. “This feeling, could it be?”

"Governor Wang, has anyone attempted to approach this senior?" the elderly man in black turned his head, speaking in a deep voice. Unconsciously, he had already begun addressing the man as ‘Senior’.

Governor Wang, quick to notice this, stepped forward and whispered, "Senior Lu, when this mysterious senior appeared two days ago, some soldiers initially tried to drive him away. However, before they could even get close, they felt an invisible force pushing them back. Sensing something amiss, they wisely refrained from acting hastily and promptly reported the situation to me."

"I\'ve heard myths of immortals," Governor Wang cautiously continued, "and thus, I was concerned and immediately notified you, Senior."

Inhaling deeply, the elder in black nodded approvingly at Governor Wang. "You\'ve done well, exceptionally well! Fortunately, you didn\'t recklessly disturb this senior."

"Give the order, everyone is to leave without making a commotion.”

"Understood." The governor couldn\'t help but shudder. Deep within, he felt a growing certainty that his initial guess had hit the mark. Mulling over this revelation, the governor\'s gaze involuntarily flickered towards the rugged figure hundreds of meters away.

A Heavenly Ranker?

The elderly man in black robes walked up, his strides deliberate and measured. Soon, he walked past the group of guards, until he was only 30 meters from the imposing boulder.

At this point, he could feel an invisible resistance, a force exceeding 10,000 catties. With every step forward, the resistance intensified, bearing down on him like the weight of the entire world.

It\'s spiritual qi! In the past, my mentor wielded a first-grade divine weapon and displayed this power. Any doubts left in the elderly man vanished.

Compared to the power my mentor exhibited, this feels like true spiritual qi. And that expert can control it from 30 meters away! Awe mingled with the elderly man\'s gaze as he beheld the figure perched on the boulder.

He’s a Heavenly Ranker!

1. From Shakespeare\'s Hamlet ?