Eternal Heavenly Emperor

If the rules had allowed it, Chu Hao would have killed Lu Youxing earlier for daring to monopolize his possessions and acting as if it were his right to do so.

He detested such people the most.

After giving Lu Youxing a good thrashing, he felt quite pleased with himself.

He took out the Purple Crystal Sword, feeling its immense power.

A Third-Rank Treasure Artifact, it could slice through even the defenses of a War Venerate! Most importantly, it could withstand both Starlight and Green Flame.

Wait, his Power of Flame had now reached the level of Yellow Flame. Could the Purple Crystal Sword withstand it?

With one hand on the sword and the other activating the Yellow Flame, he scorched the blade.

To his shock, the blade quickly turned red and showed signs of softening.

Dammit!

Chu Hao couldn't help but grimace. The previous Deep Blue Sword had been ruined in the same way; now even the Purple Crystal Sword could not withstand his Flame Power. Was he supposed to directly use Divine Materials for his weapons?

"Yo, Hao, I haven't seen you for a few days and your physique has grown significantly," a very familiar and annoying voice sounded as Fat Cat suddenly appeared on the war chariot.

"Where did you go to cause trouble?" Chu Hao was not surprised; this dead cat could teleport and its appearance anywhere was not strange.

"Hehe, just dug up a few carrots and made some chicken soup," Fat Cat chuckled.

Chu Hao rolled his eyes. If it wasn't valuable, this dead cat wouldn't bother. Thus, the carrots were most likely ginseng, and quite possibly those of an astoundingly high age and rank. As for the chicken, it was probably a rare bird with ancient lineage or even Divine Beast bloodline.

He didn't expose him, instead asking, "So, what rank would my physique be considered now?"

"Barely, the tenth flow!" Fat Cat nodded.

Chu Hao sighed and said, "I thought I might have broken into the top five or seven."

"Pfft, unless the heavens spoil you, and you were born with a top-ten level physique, otherwise, your physique could only reach the tenth flow before becoming a War God," Fat Cat said.

Chu Hao realized why refining Fire Spirit Crystals no longer had an effect—it was hitting the ceiling of his Cultivation Realm.

"Are there people born with a top-ten physique?" he inquired, knowing there was a difference between the potential and current levels of a physique.

"Of course, if both your parents are exceptional beings, and you happen to inherit a powerful physique, you could be born as the second or third rank, or even the strongest," Fat Cat nodded.

"Let me tell you, once there was a Gold Spirit Body born that caused a resonance among all gold elements in nature, and it ascended an entire realm in one breath, directly becoming a War God!"

"Damn it!" Chu Hao couldn't help but curse. That was just too unfair. Yet, his own physique, one of the strongest in existence, still required him to advance step by step.

The Earth had its rich and powerful legacies, while here, they had martial legacies, born almost at the peak of the world.

"However, boy, if you become an Eternal Heavenly Emperor in the future and have a kid with that Taiyin Lady, tsk tsk! If Taiyin and Taiyang were merged within one person, that would not just be a supreme physique — it would be unrivaled across ages, definitely capable of dominating an era!" Fat Cat's eyes glittered.

Chu Hao did not respond; this damn cat was too lewd.

But now that he had reached the limit of his physique, he wouldn't need to worry about it anymore. That would be a matter for after becoming a War God.

The fact that the Purple Crystal Sword could not withstand the might of the Yellow Flame greatly disappointed Chu Hao, but at the same time, it proved how terrifying the power of his flames was! To think that Third-Rank Treasure Material was even tougher than the body cultivation of the same level, which means, he could potentially damage a War Venerate's body.

— provided his Yellow Flame could make contact.

No need for the Yellow Flame then, as the Third-Rank Treasured Sword was threatening enough for a War Venerate. Fusing it with Yellow Flame was just a bonus, not a necessity.

He began to ponder the Fifth Form of the Mad Thunder Sword Technique, the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation.

This was somewhat similar to the Heavenly Thunder Strike, but with the integration of Intent Realm, its power was much greater, capable of destroying an opponent's Sea of Consciousness and instantly killing them.

However, to fully unleash this sword's power, it was best to possess the Thunder attribute Intent Realm, otherwise the power would be less impressive.

After all, the senior who created the Mad Thunder Sword Technique must have had a Thunder attribute physique.

Chu Hao pondered deeply. The Intent Realm was the first step of a grand path. The paths of others could only serve as references. The true path had to be discovered by oneself. Otherwise, one would always be imitating, never reaching the pinnacle.

Could he create a swordsmanship that aligned with his Chaos Intent Realm?

That would be hard, especially since he was only at the War King Realm. Even if he could create a sword technique, how powerful could it be?

"No!" he shook his head. "The true path evolves from weakness to strength, enhancing little by little with the understanding of martial arts. Some stop at the War King Realm, and their martial technique remains at the Earth Level. Some breakthrough the War King, then their technique could reach the Heaven Level!"

"I have many sword techniques in hand; could I merge them and create a sword technique of my own?"

"Chaos Intent Realm, one Yin and one Yang, combined into Taiji!"

"In Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, he highly praises the way of Yin and Yang, clearly indicating that pursuing this path is absolutely promising," he reflected.

He no longer dared to underestimate the Tao Te Ching. While at the Yunliu Sect, he saw a meteorite from beyond the skies, engraved with texts from the Tao Te Ching. These enabled him to perceive a scene of bygone ages, so impressive that it still startled him when he thought of it.

The Tao Te Ching was no simple matter!

"Then I will create two types of Swordsmanship, one called Taiji, focused on defense, and another called Wuji, focused on attack!"

Chu Hao's eyes shone bright, as he at last decided the path he was meant to follow.

Thunder rumbled, shaking the heavens and the earth, as thunderclaps rolled.

Fat Cat's fur bristled instantly, and it hissed before jumping far away from Chu Hao, saying, "You scamp, what rebellious thoughts are brewing in your head to even draw the Heavenly Thunder?"

"What Heavenly Thunder?" Chu Hao looked up, but there were no thunderclouds in the sky.

Fat Cat was full of doubt and murmured, "What exactly did this lad do, that even the earthly and heavenly blockade can stir up a thunder tribulation? Fortunately, the historical records by the Great Emperor are so comprehensive that they even trick the thunder tribulations, otherwise this lad would be dead if he were undergoing tribulations right now!"

"Fat Cat, what are you muttering about?"

"Nothing, I am just deciding whether we should have steamed or braised pork trotters for dinner."

"For a cat, not wanting fish is indeed bizarre."

"You are the peculiar one!"

The pair bantered back and forth, quickly heading back to the camp.

At the moment, the Copper Valley tribe was grappling with how to breach the final strategic position, requiring their undivided attention, giving Chu Hao no time to worry about that as he began practicing his swordsmanship.

The Mad Thunder Sword Technique and the Minor Sky Net Million Shadows Sword Technique served as his reference.

With a grasp on the Intent Realm from very early on, he quickly mastered the Fifth Form of the Mad Thunder Sword Technique and made initial progress in the Minor Sky Net Million Shadows Sword Technique, but to fully master them, he definitely needed to step into the War Venerate realm.

After all, he had only grasped the Intent Realm ahead of time, but his cultivation was far from sufficient.

But these were just foundational; Chu Hao planned to learn from various sources and integrate these into creating his own Sword Dao.

He pulled out the Sword Manual he had gained at the previous levels; not caring whether it was Earth Level or Human Level. he learned all of it. After completing these, he exchanged them with others and obtained a large number of Swordsmanship techniques.

He buried his head in his sword, completely forgetting everything else.

This naturally dissatisfied Gu Qingcheng and the Barbaric Girl, as he wasn't spending time entertaining them anymore, questioning whether they could still enjoy friendship. However, Su Wanyue was extremely approving; this focus was the mark of a true martial arts warrior.

She discussed Swordsmanship with Chu Hao and even handed him a very precious manuscript.

It was left behind by their War God ancestor from the Su Family, a supremely acclaimed figure in Sword Dao, who authored the "Mysterious Heaven Tri-Sword," claiming to split a man, the earth, and the sky with individual strikes. He was invincible under the heavens in ancient times. Unfortunately, having too many adversaries. The Su Family fell into great turmoil as consecutive ineffective members couldn't utilize the Divine Artifact left by their War God, which even led to their downfall.

That was a side note.

The manuscript given to Chu Hao by Su Wanyue documented the minor realizations on Sword Dao by the Su Family War God. Originally, the Mysterious Heaven Tri-Sword had one hundred-eight forms when the War God was a War General. It later transitioned into seventy-two forms when he advanced to War Venerate. On becoming a War Emperor, it condensed into thirty-six forms, and upon reaching War King, into nine forms.

Only when he attained the status of War God did the Mysterious Heaven Tri-Sword finally distill into three forms: splitting the sky, the earth, and man, thus making him invincible under the heavens.

This was an invaluable experience.

Naturally, Chu Hao was overjoyed, carrying the manuscript with him daily and ceaselessly perusing it. On the ninth day, however, he returned the manuscript to Su Wanyue, and then did nothing but lay on the vast plains, letting the wind and dew pass over him.

"Has he lost his mind?" Gu Qingcheng worried, recalling Chu Hao's disappearance for over half a year, spending every day with bugs—could it be that something went awry?

Fat Cat chuckled and said, "He is undergoing transformation, just like a chrysalis morphing into a butterfly, and is at a crucial period. If he crosses this threshold, he will truly embark on the grand path of heaven and earth."

"And if he doesn't cross it?" Gu Qingcheng asked anxiously.

"...Then he'll just keep going!"

"You cheeky cat always deserve a thump!" Fat Cat's statement infuriated Gu Qingcheng and the other ladies, making them panic as if there were only light or darkness ahead.

"A good cat doesn't fight with women, I withdraw!"

Meanwhile, the Copper Valley tribe launched an assault on Iron Sword Valley, but each attempt ended with heavy losses. The opposing tribes also faced them, appearing on the vast plains, and alongside Iron Sword Valley, which also harbored ferocious beasts, a three-party stalemate emerged.

This tribe is called the "Three Flames Tribe," also having assimilated fifteen tribes, now muscling up for a fight.

The two large tribes had several minor skirmishes, losing troops on both sides, but because they shared Iron Sword Valley as a common enemy, they dared not engage too fiercely, since the ferocious beast in Iron Sword Valley was incredibly strong.

It had only one beast, yet it rendered thousands of heroes utterly helpless. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to Qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)