Chapter 40: Breakthrough to Eighth Grade Martial Art, Unyielding Martial God

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Breakthrough to Eighth Grade Martial Art, Unyielding Martial God

Zeng Anmin swam desperately, wanting to get as far away from the riverbank as possible before surfacing.

But the burning sensation in his lungs reminded him that if he didn’t take a breath soon, he was very likely to become the first Cultivator in history to suffocate himself to death.

SWISH.

His diving speed slowed down. His consciousness gradually became hazy, and a bitter smile touched the corners of his mouth.

"I can’t hold it anymore. If I’m exposed, so be it. I can’t just suffocate to death!" Zeng Anmin sighed inwardly, beginning to struggle upward toward the surface.

Suddenly, however, he paused.

"This..."

The Martial Arts Aura within his body surged frantically, washing through every corner. In his abdomen, the aura condensed into a swirling vortex, accumulating more and more. A tremendous transformation was taking place inside him.

Zeng Anmin fell deep in thought. The system trait granted by his cheat allowed him to possess Eighth Grade combat power despite being at the Ninth Grade. Where did this Eighth Grade power come from? It wasn’t granted out of thin air. It came from condensing the Martial Arts Aura into a vortex in his abdomen, forming something akin to an Eighth Grade Martial Artist’s "Martial Pill."

His accumulation over the recent days, combined with the intense battle moments ago and his body’s current crisis of oxygen deprivation, had forced the Martial Arts Aura within him to circulate rapidly along the pathways of an Eighth Grade Martial Artist all on its own.

POP!

Finally, accompanied by a nearly imperceptible sound, Zeng Anmin felt his Martial Arts Aura become significantly denser. The swirling vortex in his abdomen seemed to be compressed to the absolute limit. If his aura had previously been a small creek, it was now a surging river! 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

His Martial Arts Dantian had condensed. He had broken through to the Eighth Grade!

With the operation of the Martial Pill, the burning, oppressive sensation in his lungs instantly eased considerably. At the same time, his [High-end Martial Power] trait began to take effect. A stream of Martial Arts Aura separated from the Martial Pill, completing a full circulation before rushing straight into his Sea of Consciousness.

His mind instantly cleared, and he could even sense the frequency of the surrounding water currents! Having just entered the Eighth Grade, he already possessed the sensory perception that only a Seventh Grade Visualization Realm expert should have.

Furthermore, system prompts surfaced before his eyes.

[Congratulations on breaking through your Grade.]

[Martial Arts traits have finished loading.]

[Please select one of the following three Martial Arts traits.]

[Special: Martial Artist True Qi. Increases Martial Arts progression speed by ten times every two hundred years.]

[Auxiliary: Unyielding Martial God. Grants immunity to all Divine Soul and Spiritual Attacks.]

[Chromatic: Wrath of the Martial God. Consumes one’s entire lifespan to infuse the body, raising one’s Realm to the Martial God Realm for fifteen minutes.]

[Note: Unselected traits will permanently disappear. Countdown: 30, 29, 28...]

After only a brief moment of hesitation, Zeng Anmin decisively chose the second option. The first one took way too long to take effect. As for the third one...

"Do I look like someone eager to die an early death?"

[Unyielding Martial God: Grants immunity to all Divine Soul and Spiritual Attacks.]

Martial Artists possessed inherently formidable bodies, but their singular weakness lay in their lack of defensive measures for their Divine Souls. This immunity was crucial. If nothing else, the vivid memory of the Confucian Inquiry of the Heart had left a lingering knot in his mind.

Following his breakthrough, the Martial Pill within him slowly rotated inside his Dantian, gradually relieving the pressure on his lungs. Although it hadn’t formed a true internal circulation yet, it was enough to significantly extend the amount of time he could hold his breath.

As a result, Zeng Anmin was no longer in a hurry. He swam slowly forward, putting as much distance between himself and the riverbank as possible.

"Huh? What is that..."

While diving, Zeng Anmin suddenly spotted a massive boulder blocking his path ahead. It resembled a towering peak growing straight out of the riverbed. To his surprise, there were a few gigantic scales resting on the rock.

He swam closer, carefully observing the scales. They were like mirrors, perfectly reflecting his impossibly handsome features.

"Such massive fish scales?!"

Curiosity piqued, Zeng Anmin reached out and touched one of the scales. With a gentle tug, he peeled it off the boulder. A pitch-black cave entrance was revealed. A few small fish swam out, but upon seeing him, they frantically darted back inside.

Zeng Anmin peered into the opening. It wasn’t large, but it was just wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Intrigued, he reached his hand inside to feel around. Before long, his fingers brushed against the back wall of the stone cavity.

"Such a shallow hole... I thought it was some kind of treasure cave." His curiosity instantly evaporated. He cast a bored glance at the hole before swimming onward without looking back.

WHOOSH.

Zeng Anmin stealthily poked his head above the river’s surface, greedily sucking in the fresh air. Glancing around, he could see peasant women washing clothes on the distant riverbank, along with rows of fields and villages stretching behind them.

"I swam this far?"

Even with his newly enhanced Eye Power, he could barely make out the distant silhouette of Liangjiang County City. Zeng Anmin decided to go ashore right here.

Meanwhile, inside Zeng Shilin’s office at the Governor’s Office, a corpse missing an arm lay silently on the floor.

Its soaking-wet, black cat-shaped hood had been peeled back to reveal an unfamiliar face. All the surrounding officials hung their heads like whipped dogs with their tails tucked between their legs, not daring to breathe too loudly.

BANG!

The desk shuddered violently.

"Go find him! Investigate!" Zeng Shilin retracted his palm. His face was flushed red, looking like an enraged lion, and his Dan Feng eyes radiated a thick, murderous aura. His voice carried the terrifying weight of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. "Tell the Government Office to leave no stone unturned in finding him!"

"Yes, sir!" Despite his usual foolish demeanor, Wang Deli didn’t dare say a word today. He dejectedly picked up his saber from the floor and headed out the door.

The rest of the officials shuddered, pressing their lips tightly together as they stared fixedly at the ground.

"And one more thing!" Zeng Shilin’s voice was laced with ruthless malice. "Order all the Red-clothed Guards of the Observation Department to shut down every business under their jurisdiction that is connected to Prince Jiang’s Mansion."

"Mother of God..." Wang Deli stiffened, his face going blank.

The other officials were equally stunned. One of them stepped forward, trembling, and said, "My Lord, the assassin is a Black Cat Martial Artist. They don’t have much of a connection... with Prince Jiang’s Mansion."

Doing this would be a declaration of open war! However, the official didn’t dare utter that second half of his thought out loud.

Zeng Shilin stared at him coldly. Catching the pure killing intent in the Governor’s eyes, the man immediately snapped his mouth shut and scurried back in fright.

"Additionally, have Lin Rong dispatch three thousand soldiers from the Southern Garrison to dredge the river with everything they have. I want to see him if he’s alive..." Zeng Shilin paused, taking a deep breath, his expression devoid of all emotion. "...And I want his corpse if he’s dead."

"Yes, sir." Wang Deli was acting like a frightened child. Scarcely daring to breathe, he hurriedly rushed out.

"All of you, get out." Zeng Shilin looked at the remaining people, his face entirely expressionless.

"Yes, sir." The dozen or so officials felt as if they had just received a grand pardon, quickly scurrying out of the room as if fleeing for their lives.

Left alone, Zeng Shilin sat in his chair, staring blankly out the window, a trace of dazed helplessness surfacing on his face. The Governor of Fengqi Road, a Second Grade high official of the Holy Dynasty, a man who reigned over his territory like a mighty warlord—at this moment, his expression was nothing more than that of an ordinary old man.

He looked like a helpless farmer who had lost his son.

"Whoa! What’s all this about?"

Zeng Anmin stepped onto the main street, only to see countless armored soldiers sprinting urgently toward the river. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were going to war.

Besides the armored soldiers, Zeng Anmin also spotted squads of Red-clothed Guards shouting and scrambling onto the passing boats. The ordinary civilians on the street were scared silly, their faces filled with trembling fear. The commotion caused when Wang Lin, the Crown Prince of Prince Jiang’s Mansion, had died completely paled in comparison to this spectacle.

Even the Liangjiang Commandery’s Southern Garrison had been mobilized!

Zeng Anmin was still wearing his official robes as the Left Chief Clerk of the Observation Department, though they were completely soaked through. He looked quite bedraggled, all things considered.

"Hey, you there! Got a spare horse I can ride?" Zeng Anmin called out when he saw a squad of Red-clothed Guards passing by. Spotting a familiar figure among them, he stopped the man.

The person’s body jolted violently. He turned around stiffly, his face full of utter disbelief...