Chapter 200: Chenlong's Epiphany

Recently, something new had appeared in the Great Shun Capital: the City God Temple.

Before this, even at the hour of Hai, every household in the capital remained brightly lit. Taverns and gambling dens bustled with noise, and residents roamed the streets and alleys.

Recently, however, that had changed.

The reason lay in a series of imperial decrees. Construction projects had sprung up across every district of the capital, erecting one modestly sized City God Temple after another.

Ever since these City God Temples were established, the streets had grown terrifyingly quiet every night after the hour of Xuzheng. Even though every household still hung lanterns, the light would inexplicably dim, fading to a murky yellow that failed to illuminate a person's silhouette. Over time, fewer and fewer people dared to walk the streets at night.

Gradually, rumors spread throughout the capital.

People said that after Xuzheng, the ghost emissaries from the City God Temples would emerge to guide the souls of the city's dead. The lanterns were meant to light their way, and the living had to step aside if they saw them.

But that was merely the change in the streets.

A far greater transformation occurred within the capital's government offices. In the past, the officials and guards handled affairs with heavy-handed brutality, freely handing out beatings and executions at the slightest provocation.

Yet ever since the City God Temples were built, the attitudes of these officials had shifted. Rumor had it that they once mistakenly arrested a commoner for murder. Too lazy to even interrogate him, they planned to execute him and close the case as usual. But on the very night the sentence was passed, the lanterns hanging outside the homes of the arresting officers mysteriously went out.

When they opened their eyes the next morning, the officers' demeanors had drastically changed.

Not only did they retry the case and clear the poor man's name, but as if their inner eyes had been opened, they marched straight into a dense forest outside the capital and apprehended the true culprit.

Beyond that, other parts of the capital saw significant changes as well.

Shopkeeper Qian, who ran a silk business in the eastern district, used to get robbed three times a year. But since the City God Temple was established, he had not lost a single bolt of cloth.

Occasionally, two or three petty thieves would sneak over his walls in the dead of night. But halfway up, they would suddenly seem possessed. Their legs would give out, and they'd plummet from the wall, breaking their legs in the process.

When questioned by the authorities afterward, the thieves claimed they had seen a dark-faced official in a red robe crouching atop the wall, gripping an iron chain. Without even moving, the figure merely blew a breath at them, clouding their minds and sending them tumbling down... Following that incident, night burglaries practically vanished from the capital.

Of course, the most outrageous changes revolved around funerals.

In the past, holding a funeral had simply been a matter of seeking peace of mind. The wealthy put on a lavish display, while the poor did what little they could, and the dead ultimately had to make way for the living.

Now, however, everything was different.

When a family member died, the common folk only needed to burn paper money before the spirit tablet. The ghost emissaries from the City God Temple would naturally come to collect the soul. Any lingering grievances or injustices would be sorted out clearly on the spot.

If someone suffered from a severe illness, the arrival of a ghost emissary ensured that even if their natural lifespan was at an end, all their pain would vanish. They would pass away peacefully, their faces devoid of any agony.

For instance, the elderly matriarch of the Zhou family in the southern district had always been kind and charitable. On the night of her passing, her family heard a crisp breeze sweep through the hall, accompanied by the clinking of chains. After a few passes, the old lady slipped away without a hint of suffering. It was a joyous funeral; the entire neighborhood said she had gone to the City God Temple to enjoy her afterlife.

Initially, these events caused a bit of chaos in the capital.

Skeptical martial artists, for example, deliberately went out at night to hunt for the ghost emissaries.

But after two or three months, the common folk grew accustomed to this new routine. They worked and traded normally during the day, and at night, they simply lit a plain lantern by their doors.

It was considered lighting the way for the night-patrolling ghost emissaries.

Although no one dared to walk the streets at night anymore, no one truly feared the dark either. Instead, they felt that the city's ghost emissaries were handling all the matters that the living could not.

"If you ask me, erecting these City God Temples was a brilliant move!"

In response to Chenlong's inquiry, a rice shop owner laughed. "In the past, we feared the government. Now, the government fears the city gods. After all, they were established by His Majesty."

"For us commoners, we have the blue sky above, the underworld below, and government offices in the middle that are finally starting to listen to reason. We feel far more secure than in previous years."

"His Majesty is truly wise!"

Saying that, the rice shop owner glanced outside again. The two white lanterns emitted a dim light, yet it wasn't eerie; instead, it exuded a sense of tranquility and stability.

Chenlong smiled, bought a sack of rice, and strode away.

As someone in the Martial Dao Great Grandmaster Rank, he naturally didn't mind the City God Temple's ghost emissaries roaming the night. These minor ghosts normally wouldn't dare approach within three zhang of him anyway.

However, the changes sweeping the capital over the past few months still left him rather amazed.

'That brat... actually did a pretty good job.'

'This immortal cultivation really has its merits.'

If nothing else, with the appearance of the City God Temples, the capital's bureaucratic discipline, public security, and the livelihood of its citizens had all drastically improved.

The matters the imperial court usually couldn't manage were now handled by the City God Temples. With the temples' assistance, the court's efficiency had also skyrocketed. This scene of vigorous vitality and flourishing prosperity left Chenlong highly satisfied, save for one thing that irritated him slightly.

'That brat... he isn't about to break through, is he?'

According to the First Seat, these City God Temples were the Divine Powers that brat was cultivating. Once they were fully refined, he would be comparable to someone in the Martial Dao Great Grandmaster Rank.

Just then, Weifeng drifted over, carrying an ethereal voice:

"He is indeed close."

"It wouldn't have been this fast originally. But he holds a rare treasure in his hands, and coupled with that Tripod Cauldron, his breakthrough should happen within the next month or two."

Chenlong was left speechless.

Listen to that—was that something a human would say?

Thinking back, he had bitterly trained in martial arts for decades just to reach the Martial Dao Grandmaster Rank. Then, after enduring the endless trials and tribulations of the mortal world, he had finally broken through to the Great Grandmaster Rank just a few months ago.

And yet, that brat—let alone practicing martial arts, had he even been practicing immortal cultivation for a full year?

And now he was about to surpass him?

There was no justice in this world!

At this thought, Chenlong felt a sudden wave of stifling frustration. It wasn't that he couldn't accept the new generation surpassing the old, but wasn't this new wave crashing a bit too fast?

"Sigh..."

Chenlong let out a long sigh. It wasn't until he remembered Xugou—whom he had been drilling all the way into the night and had only just released to rest—that his mood improved significantly.

'Forget it. Even if I can't beat that brat in the future, I am already at the Great Grandmaster Rank now. If I can't beat him, can't I at least beat a Loose Immortal? The essence of the Martial Dao is doing whatever it takes to win. If I can't win, then I just won't fight him. Picking only the opponents I can beat—that is the true Martial Dao.'

Chenlong suddenly came to a halt.

He had to admit, after being repeatedly dealt blows by a peerless genius like Wang Ping, he had gradually developed an entirely new comprehension of life and cultivation.

The essence of the Martial Dao was seeking victory by any means necessary.

The past Chenlong had always held fast to this view, and so he had never shied away from sneak attacks or using poison. But now, his enlightenment had shifted.

He decided to further condense this phrase, extracting its very essence.

'The so-called Martial Dao, to put it bluntly, comes down to one word.'

'Win!'

In other words, as long as one could win, all other factors were irrelevant. Furthermore, winning was a multifaceted concept; it absolutely couldn't be generalized.

'For example, comparing myself to that brat—although I definitely won't be his match in the future, I am already nearing a hundred years old this year. That kid is in his early twenties at most. So strictly speaking, across my long life, there was a period of at least eighty years where he couldn't even catch a glimpse of my back.'

'Therefore, without a doubt, I won the past!'

'As for the present, I am still stronger than him. Under my hands, he can only barely hold on, scrambling like a beaten rat. So undoubtedly, I am also winning the present.'

'As for the future... as long as I don't fight him, I haven't lost.'

'Since I won the past and the present, and haven't lost the future, going by a best-of-three system, I am ultimately the winner! Rounding it up, it's equivalent to me winning the future as well!'

In short, it was nothing but winning!

'If they are stronger than me, I simply won't compare myself to them. If they are weaker than me, I will ruthlessly compare myself to them. And if they are exactly as strong as me, I will only compare myself to them in areas where they are weaker.'

'That way, I will never lose!'

At this thought, the expression on Chenlong's face grew increasingly serene. Even his Divine Intent, which had only recently broken through to the Great Grandmaster Rank, experienced another surge of improvement at this very moment.

'This is my Martial Dao!'

Before this, his Martial Dao had been obsessed with seeking victory and bogged down by external factors. Exhausting every trick just to scrape out a win was truly falling into the lesser path; it couldn't be counted as true winning.

Now, however, his Martial Dao ideology had metamorphosed. Stemming from the heart, like flowers reflected in a mirror and the moon in water, he could win without relying on a single external thing. This was the true greater victory!

'Exactly. I no longer need to use any methods to seek victory or try to win. Instead, I have already won. All other appearances are simply extensions of this victorious outcome. With this ideology, there's no need to obsess over external influences anymore. This is the true invincible Dao Heart.'

Opening his eyes, Chenlong's gaze was as placid as an ancient well.

"First Seat, I have attained enlightenment!"

As his words fell, the evening wind rustled past. Even the ethereal voice seemed entirely unprepared for this development. It paused for a long moment before asking with a hint of hesitation:

"What have you realized?"

Chenlong murmured, "I am truly invincible in this world; why must I vie with others for superiority? That's right! Since I have always been winning, that proves I am invincible!"

Rumble!

As soon as he spoke, Chenlong's Divine Intent explosively surged. Along with it, his Blood Qi True Gang also climbed a small notch higher, leaving even the First Seat momentarily stunned.

"...That actually works?"

Theoretically, the realm of Seeing Divinity had been created by her. The current Martial Dao Great Grandmaster Rank was entirely deduced and built upon the path she herself had forged.

Therefore, no matter what kind of path a martial artist walked, she shouldn't be surprised, because she was the foundation, the framework. Everyone else was merely a branch of her.

Yet now, she had witnessed an anomaly.

'Divine Intent... can be used like this?'

How are you invincible? You've only just broken through to the Great Grandmaster Rank. You're still a long way off from the four supreme grandmasters of this era. Why would you suddenly feel that you are invincible?

Who gave you this confidence?

The crucial point was that this wasn't baseless confidence. Because after this wave of enlightenment, Chenlong's strength had genuinely improved! He was no longer at the level of someone who had just entered the Great Grandmaster Rank!

'Instead of developing toward intuitive perception and sensing the external world, he turned inward, seeking his own perfection, even reaching a state where external things no longer burden the heart?' For the first time, the First Seat began to seriously evaluate this disciple who had followed her from the very beginning, her emotions rippling in response.

Say what you will... there really was something to it!

"Remarkable."

As Weifeng brushed past, a distinct note of admiration colored the ethereal voice. "To think that Chou Niu reached the Great Grandmaster Rank before you, yet you have graduated before him."

"The First Seat praises me too highly."

Chenlong brushed it off nonchalantly. "That mere Chou Niu—I have already beaten him by leaps and bounds."

The ethereal voice continued, "I originally planned to have Chou Niu return. But since you've made a breakthrough on the spot, I will leave this matter to you."

"Oh?" Chenlong paused upon hearing this. "What matter?"

"Go find Yin Hu."

As the words faded, a chilling, murderous aura suddenly bled into the wind. "His Divine Powers are on the verge of completion. For this next step, he needs someone to stand guard for him."

"...That brat is in danger?"

Chenlong frowned slightly, then asked straightforwardly without a second thought, "He's inside the Imperial Palace. It's heavily guarded; I can't sneak in. How am I supposed to find him?"

"You don't need to go. He will come to bring you in."

The ethereal voice swiftly faded into the distance.

In the next second, the world before Chenlong's eyes abruptly plunged into darkness, only to be torn open by light once more. Immediately after, he felt a wave of searing heat crash against his face.

Following that, a scene unfolded before his eyes.

It was a towering, three-legged Tripod Cauldron. At the mouth of the cauldron sat a Daoist with auspicious clouds gathering above his head. His expression was tranquil as he sat quietly amidst the roaring flames.

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