Martial Ascent to Divinity

Before Zhou Leng could reflect on the battle with the man in white, the man in black appeared in front.

The opponent's style suddenly changed.

No longer was it a slow but skillful battle, but an extremely fast style.

Direct and straightforward, without any flamboyance, strong and aggressive, pushing forward relentlessly.

With just a few moves, Zhou Leng was beaten back again and again.

There was no time to think at all.

Gradually, Zhou Leng discovered the reason for his failure.

He was thinking too much.

Zhou Leng suddenly understood why the man in black seemed only capable of hard-hitting and charging, yet the man in white was always helpless.

The man in black's imposing momentum was formidable, but more importantly, once the speed of the moves reached a certain level, the moves that the man in white could neutralize became extremely limited.

At the fastest speed, receiving moves must be completed; any slight delay would lead to deviation or even failure.

Those flamboyant and ostentatious moves are useful in many situations.

But in this situation, they are utterly useless.

A cold sweat broke out on Zhou Leng's back as he vaguely understood the strength of the man in black's combat technique.

It was recorded in the East Monarch's Notes.

The world exists with me, standing apart from worldly concerns.

Once the man in black makes a move, everyone must center around him.

The more Zhou Leng fought with the man in black, the more he perceived, and the purer it became.

The man in white was like a brush, constantly painting on paper.

The man in black was an eraser, erasing all the unnecessary things.

Zhou Leng originally thought that white and black were two different styles of two people.

But as he delved deeper, he finally gained further understanding.

The white and black were two different states of one person.

White for learning, black for fighting.

The man in black unleashed a punch on his chest.

Zhou Leng flew backward, and before him, a grand gate swung wide open.

From the punch of the man in black, he saw the myriad techniques of the man in white.

Zhou Leng's eyes shone brilliantly.

Mastering the myriad techniques of the man in white, combining them into just one punch of the man in black.

"Again!"

The world perceived by Zhou Leng had completely changed.

The man in black still came with one punch and one palm.

With every move Zhou Leng made, in his perception, four shadow moves emerged around him simultaneously.

Each shadow move represented a possible attack, a technique.

Heart and Mind Shadow, like choosing one out of four.

But, it still couldn't compare to the man in black before him.

Because the man in black was not like choosing one out of four.

But like combining four into one, or even ten thousand into one.

Zhou Leng suddenly came to a realization and finally understood the direction of his cultivation.

He knew that he could not yet achieve even a combination of four, let alone ten thousand; attempting to do so forcibly now would be like trying to eat hot tofu in a hurry.

Therefore, Zhou Leng reverted to the simplest method, like choosing one out of four.

With every punch, he solidly considered four possibilities and instinctively chose the one most suitable for himself.

After only a quarter of an hour of battle, the voice of the Celestial Ladder resounded again, and the man in black exploded into black mist.

"Congratulations, child, for passing the Second Layer trial and comprehending Heart and Mind Shadow…"

Zhou Leng stopped, taking slow, deep breaths.

"Heart and Mind Shadow…"

Zhou Leng noted it down, recalling advanced battle techniques related to it he heard of in the East Monarch's Notes and online.

Usually, only those in the Vitality Stage or Innate, who have been famous for many years, can comprehend it.

Unexpectedly, he was able to master it too.

From now on, Heart and Mind Shadow would become the primary direction of his External Skills training.

"The Third Layer trial, Victory Skill…"

Before his eyes appeared a person.

The face was blank, like a mannequin.

The clothing was white on the left and black on the right, seemingly a fusion of the previous two individuals.

The Black and White Person stepped with Eight Trigrams Step, body like wandering clouds, using Overlapping Waves Palm to attack head-on.

Zhou Leng instantly understood, joy in his heart he could barely conceal.

Facing a master using the same martial arts as himself, his gains would be unprecedentedly enormous.

Victory or defeat no longer mattered.

Zhou Leng stepped forward eagerly to meet the challenge.

After three moves, the Black and White Person advanced close; Zhou Leng blocked but the opponent twisted the palm power, exerting force up close, True Qi surging in and out.

Bang…

Zhou Leng staggered back.

"Inch Skill…"

Inch Skill is a collective term for Inch Force, Inch Fist, etc., ensuring maximum force at close range through special control of True Qi and body.

Zhou Leng did not know Inch Skill, so on the stage, engaging in close combat with others was always a trade of injury for injury.

"No, this isn't complete Inch Skill, just a clever exertion of force, I must learn it…"

With this thought, Zhou Leng charged forward again.

Time and again, Zhou Leng advanced, time and again, he got hit.

The internal power, external skills, and all strengths of the Black and White Person were identical to Zhou Leng's.

The only difference was in combat ability and combat awareness.

Above Innate.

Time and again, Zhou Leng charged but at most survived ten moves before being struck.

After countless failures, Zhou Leng withdrew for the time being, sat on the ground, and began pondering the reasons.

He constantly recalled the process of failure, summarizing the process of success.

Then, Zhou Leng rose again to fight the Black and White Person.

In this way, Zhou Leng fought for a while, thought for a while, in a cycle, never losing heart.

For Zhou Leng, there was no longer a trial or care for rewards.

It was just cultivation, pure cultivation.

Time was forgotten, it felt like four or five years had passed, and at last, after exchanging over a hundred moves without determining a winner.

Zhou Leng stepped back a few paces, ending the fight, and let out a long sigh of relief.

My own techniques have been honed to perfection by the Black and White People before me.

Even the Heart and Mind Shadow has progressed from a four-out-of-one choice to a six-out-of-one, greatly enhancing my combat prowess.

Then, Zhou Leng summarized this experience and continued the battle.

Slowly, the longer the fight dragged on for both sides.

Eventually, both exhausted their True Qi, yet no victor emerged.

This scenario persisted hundreds of times.

Zhou Leng sat on the ground, quietly contemplating.

There's already no clear victor, but why doesn't the Celestial Ladder declare I've passed the Third Layer?

Does this mean the third stage's "Victory Skill" requires altogether defeating the opponent?

If the opponent were a real person, Zhou Leng would have many ways to win.

But the opponent is not.

The opponent has no emotions and cannot be disrupted by any external force.

This means, the strength of the Black and White People always remains at its peak.

"Then, how do I defeat my opponent?"

Zhou Leng kept recalling and suddenly noticed a point.

The Black and White People's technique seemed unchanged from the beginning.

While he had progressed from a four-out-of-one to a six-out-of-one.

However, such a minor improvement wasn't enough to defeat the opponent.

It still needed to be supplemented with truly powerful techniques.

"What powerful new techniques can I master now?"

Zhou Leng expanded his Martial Arts perception, recalling his Martial Arts Diary and past learnings.

For a moment, there was no clue, but Zhou Leng wasn't anxious, continuing to battle the Black and White People.

After exhausting True Qi, he would sit back and think.

Gradually, Zhou Leng kept examining himself and finally discovered the only powerful technique.

Killing Move.

Any External Skills, after Cultivating to "Perfection," need to create a "Killing Move" to progress.

Now that Zhou Leng's Overlapping Waves Palm is perfected, he can create a Killing Move.

However, usually, only those in the Body Refinement or Vitality Stage do this, so Zhou Leng had never considered this aspect before.

The reason Killing Moves are formed is that all beings share both similarities and differences.

Techniques like Overlapping Waves Palm can be learned by anyone.

However, each person's progress and understanding are different.

Every person's body organization, skin, pores, muscles, blood vessels, and even the most microscopic cells, etc., are all different.

This means that any technique, when executed by different people, will have varying effects.

Thus, a true expert needs to comprehend and develop a new technique that suits their body and True Qi from perfect External Skills.

Only such new techniques that perfectly align with the body can push one's strength to its peak.

Of course, this new technique is not an entirely new Martial Arts.

But a subtle adjustment to an old Martial Arts.

Generally speaking, only those at the Grandmaster level with highly developed Martial Arts Will and Combat Awareness are qualified to create entirely new Martial Arts.

"To defeat the Black and White People, I can only create a Killing Move..."

To create a Killing Move, one must improve upon basic techniques.

Zhou Leng's mind flashed through the eighteen moves of the Overlapping Waves Palm, Entering Water and Separating Waves, Crossing the Autumn River, Rushing Tide, Great Sea Boating...

Ultimately, in Zhou Leng's mind surfaced the move most frequently used in the Book of Spirituality's trials.

Great River Entering the Sea.

The sixth form of the Overlapping Waves Palm, the most dignified and straightforward of moves.

This move best embodies the essence of the Overlapping Waves Palm.

With Zhou Leng's current Realm being relatively low, rather than forcibly learning the vast ocean's momentum, it is better to start by learning from the Yangtze River.

Flowing down from Kunlun, accumulating over thousands of miles, unstoppable day and night, ultimately entering the sea.

Using the sea as a substitute for the river, spreading its wings over a vast expanse.

This accumulation on the scale of space and brewing on the scale of time reflects the journey of Martial Arts.

Zhou Leng exhaled a long breath, his gaze extraordinarily determined.

Zhou Leng began contemplating how to create his own Killing Move based on Great River Entering the Sea.

The Killing Move must not only suit himself better but also surpass the foundational technique.

Great River Entering the Sea is about being forceful and direct.

So, I must create an even more forceful Killing Move.

Zhou Leng slowly tried, but repeatedly failed.

Because a new technique must not only comply with the law of True Qi manipulation but also match one's muscles and bones, and consider mindset and momentum.

If any point is mismatched, the result is a hodgepodge.

Killing Moves are all created through trial and error, and no one can complete it in a short period of time.

Zhou Leng stood up, altering the Qi Manipulation and Power of Great River Entering the Sea bit by bit, continuously trying.

The cost of forcibly altering Qi Manipulation and Power is very high, often causing irreparable damage.

Before long, Zhou Leng's meridians and blood vessels were injured.

But soon healed by the powers of the Celestial Ladder.

Zhou Leng kept trying.

Initially, Zhou Leng wanted to combine the strengths of "Great River Entering the Sea" and "All Rivers Flow into the Sea," because the two are particularly similar.

But the problem is, the momentum of All Rivers Flow into the Sea is too immense, and the required meridians are frighteningly numerous, with a lengthy time for accumulation.

It's like trying to study one hundred rivers without understanding one single river first.

Zhou Leng quickly changed direction, recalling the Yangtze River, the vast ocean, the techniques of experts, and his own experiences.

Gradually, Zhou Leng began a new attempt.

Unaware of how long passed, Zhou Leng suddenly showed a joyful expression.

"There's a breakthrough."

Zhou Leng immediately struck consecutive palms, identical in form to Great River Entering the Sea, but with each palm quicker than the last, reaching a grand momentum by the tenth.

Boom!

A palm thrust, the tide roared explosively.

The hairs all over his body stood on end, his clothes fluttered as if rising and falling with waves, resounding loudly for a long time.

True Qi Layered Clothing.

Zhou Leng took a deep breath, having found the direction for the Killing Move, next was improving and refining it.

"The imagination of multiple rivers unleashing at once is beautiful, but realistically difficult to achieve..."

"Then improve the direction, take the 'accumulating momentum' of 'Great River Entering the Sea,' comprehend the momentum of rushing from Kunlun to the East Sea, exchange time for power, eventually accumulating into a powerful Qiantang River tide..."

"Next, the Palm Technique needs to be faster and stronger."