Martial!
This was the ‘name’ of the 7th Savior.
Obviously, just like Shaman, Martial wasn’t his true name, and it represented a special symbolic meaning.
Shaman represented the Shaman Era.
Martial naturally represented the Martial Era!
This meant that the 7th era which was the era before the 8th era was one that emphasized on the Martial Dao!
The Martial Dao!
It wasn’t unfamiliar to Chen Xi at all. However, when he thought about it carefully, he noticed that the Martial Dao he understood represented a form of will and method of combat, and it wasn’t a system of cultivation.
Obviously, all of this was completely different from the system of cultivation during the Martial Era.
In Shaman’s memories, Shaman was filled with fear and even terror towards the 7th Savior.
At that time when Shaman had just stepped into the Door of the Last Days and arrived at the Land of Catastrophe, he’d encountered similar circ.u.mstances as Chen Xi. Martial had seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack against him with the intention to kill him.
However, Shaman had avoided danger in the end.
Since then, Shaman bore a grudge against Martial.
However, he was utterly unable to harm Martial with the strength he possessed. So, he could only exercise forbearance throughout the boundless years of the past and try his best to avoid conflict with Martial.
Exactly how formidable was Martial?
In Shaman’s memories, his judgment of Martial’s strength was very blurry, and even he was unable to determine exactly how formidable it was.
Now, after Shaman was killed by Chen Xi and the Seal of the Shaman fell into Chen Xi’s hands, Chen Xi had obtained all of these memories.
…
Chen Xi stared silently at Martial Emperor City for a long time. In the end, he placed his hands behind his back and walked towards Martial Emperor City at a neither slow nor fast pace.
As soon as he walked through the city gate, it instantly seemed as if he’d entered a completely different world.
The sky was calm and clear. There was a bright and beautiful son, white clouds that were like cotton.
The ground was covered in endless buildings, streets that spread out in all directions, an endless stream of people….
The streams of people bustled through the city while their clamorous voices filled the heavens and the earth, causing the entire city to be enveloped in the aura of the mortal world.
The flouris.h.i.+ng mortal world, happiness, anger, sorrow, resentment, and all the emotions of life were displayed here, and it vividly displayed a scene of life.
Chen Xi’s eyes narrowed when he witnessed all of this, and then he moved along the bustling limestone streets and continued forward.
As he pa.s.sed by, he saw a potbellied rich merchant spending lavishly to earn the favor of a woman and the see her smile.
He saw an emaciated young beggar curled up at a dark corner, and the young beggar’s dirty and young face was covered in a numb expression.
He saw wealthy cultivators in new carriages whistling through the streets in high spirits, and their gazes were filled with hope.
He saw an aged old man sitting by himself at a teahouse while he listened to the female entertainer there sing an unknown sorrowful ballad in a soft voice.
…
Looks like Martial is even more lonely than Shaman after being trapped here for so long. Chen Xi stood at the end of the street and looked back at the beings that were living in this world of mortals, and his expression grew even more indifferent and without any emotions.
An ancient building stood at the end of the street. Dense Greendrop Vines were all over the building while numerous small cl.u.s.ters of white flowers studded the vines. They swayed under the sunlight and revealed exuberant vitality.
Chen Xi shot his gaze towards this ancient building. An old and slightly shabby wooden plaque was hung on the door of the building, and it said ‘Greendrop Dojo’.
It was a name that seemed extremely ordinary, and it was even slightly amusing.
Greendrop was a verdant and popular plant, but it was mostly utilized as a woman’s name. Yet it just so happened that it was combined with a dojo, and it seemed slightly unfathomable.
Chen Xi was even sure that just this name alone would probably make countless people who pa.s.sed by to laugh with ridicule.
It was too feminine and not domineering at all.
This was the reason that others would ridicule it for.
A dojo was where the Dao was taught, it was a place to temper one’s Martial Dao. So, how could it utilize such a girly name?
However, at this moment, Chen Xi didn’t laugh. He stared at the wooden plaque for a long time. In the end, he pushed open the tightly closed door and walked in.
“The path of the Martial Dao is long and far. If you want to go far, then you must build your foundation well and not reach beyond your grasp!
“The 1st level of the Martial Dao, the refinement of skin to iron and the tempering of the bone into steel! Only by attaining this step will one be considered as having stepped to the threshold of being a Martial Artist!
“The 2nd level of the Martial Dao, the refinement of blood into a state like lava and the tempering of the lung to the point each breath sounds like thunder! One is considered to be a Martial Warrior upon attaining this level!”
Within the courtyard of the dojo was a group of handsome young men and beautiful young women in training clothes who were standing upright in a solemn manner. They had meticulously attentive expressions, and they were serious and concentrated.
There was a dignified middle aged man standing in front of them, and he was providing guidance in the Dao.
The fiery sun was setting in the west, and it emanated an expanse of orange light onto the world. Moreover, it covered this courtyard with an ethereal glow that was solemn and divine.
After Chen Xi entered the dojo, he just stood silently at the side and gazed silently at those young men and women as he listened to that dignified middle aged man who was ceaselessly pa.s.sing down knowledge related to the Martial Dao.
Strangely, it seemed like no one had noticed that a stranger like him had entered rashly, and everything continued being carried out in an orderly manner.
“In short, the Martial Artist, Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Martial Grandmaster, Martial Lord, and Martial King are the six great realms of the Martial Dao! Every single step is like a natural chasm, and the higher the level, the more difficult it is. There are no shortcuts at all! If all of you’re afraid, then you can leave right now!” The middle aged man carried an oppressive and dignified tone as he glanced at all these young men and young women.
All of them remained silent and didn’t answer him. However, their expressions carried a wisp of a firm expression. Obviously, none of them were willing to leave at this moment.
Perhaps many of them were doing it out of self-respect and were unwilling to admit that they were inferior to the others. However, while the middle aged man had noticed this, he still revealed a wisp of a gratified expression on his face.
“Alright, today’s cla.s.s ends here….” The middle aged man waved his hand and intended to end the cla.s.s, but he was interrupted by a young and bright voice.
“Master, I still have a question.” It was a thin young man who spoke these words. He had a young appearance, but his eyes were firm and sharp like an eagle, and his expression was resolute and composed.
The middle aged man frowned as he said, “Go on.”
“I want to know if there are even more formidable realms of cultivation above the six great realm of the Martial Dao!” The thin young man’s eyes had even started glowing as he spoke these words, and his eyes revealed a wisp of burning desire.
“There are, and you’ll naturally understand once you arrive there.” The middle aged man seemed to be slightly surprised. But he still nodded in the end, and then he turned around and left once he finished speaking.
“Hah! Little Junior Brother is truly arrogant. You’re actually thinking about the levels that are higher than the six great realms of the Martial Dao.”
“Didn’t you hear what Master said in the beginning, it’s a taboo in the Martial Dao to reach beyond your grasps. Little Junior Brother was slightly rash.”
“Haha! Stop discouraging Little Junior Brother. What if he really attains such an inconceivable state? Would all of you still speak in this way if that happened?”
“Him? Hmph! I would rather believe that ghost exists than believe he can accomplish it! I don’t believe it at all! We’ll see!”
After the middle aged man had left, the group of young men and women had started to roar with laughter, and they started teasing the thin young man. They didn’t have much ill intent, and it was just the desire to excel over their peers.
From the beginning until the end, the thin young man was smiling. His eyes were bright like the stars, and he didn’t care what the others around him thought at all.
In the end, only the thin young man remained in the entire courtyard, and the bustling atmosphere there had become cold, cheerless, and deathly silent.
“Do you think I’m laughable as well?” Suddenly, the thin young man gazed at Chen Xi while he revealed a trace of a questioning expression.
Chen Xi replied with a question. “What do you think?”
The thin young man was stunned. His originally bright eyes turned indifferent, and a wisp of loneliness appeared on his firm and resolute face.
After a long time, he sighed and said, “It’s laughable. Moreover, it isn’t just laughable, it’s very childish as well.”
He paused for a moment, and then he suddenly started laughing. “However, I don’t regret it at all. If I could return to the past, I would definitely ask this same question and do as I did.”
His voice carried a deep tone of recollection. He didn’t seem like a young man at all because his tone was clearly that of an old man who had experienced the vicissitudes of life and see through the truth of the world.
Chen Xi nodded and seemed to really understand. “However, you can’t go back anymore.”
The young man sighed. “Yes, I can’t go back anymore….”
His voice carried a wisp of sorrow.
His gaze shot towards the Greendrop Vines on the walls of the dojo, and then he suddenly said, “Do you know why this place is called Greendrop Dojo?”
Before Chen Xi could answer, he answered his own question instead. “Because my master’s favorite daughter was named after it. She was a kindhearted and shy girl. She wasn’t beautiful but I always felt a sense of inferiority when I was in front of her….
“Even after I defeated all my enemies and became the overlord of the world, I would still feel unconfident when I thought of her pure eyes. I felt that no matter how hard I worked or how great the glories I obtained were, it was impossible for me to be worthy of her.”
His voice was desolate, and it sounded like he was muttering. Moreover, it carried a wisp of indescribable sorrow.
“What happened to her?” asked Chen Xi.
“She died.” His answer was very calm, and no emotions could be discerned from him.
When he spoke up to here, he seemed to be unwilling to mention this topic again, and he gazed at Chen Xi and said, “Thank you. It has been very long since I was able to talk about these things like I just did. It feels very good.”
Chen Xi said, “Don’t mention it. I didn’t really do anything.”
The young man smiled, placed his hands behind his back, and then his back suddenly straightened.
In an instant, his imposing aura suddenly changed. His gaze was icy cold like lightning while his entire body emanated an extremely terrifying and dignified aura. It was like he’d become the supreme overlord of this world in an instant, and he had possessed oppressive aura of supremacy!
There was no doubt that the thin young man was ‘Martial’, the Savior who’d opened the Door of the Last Days during the 7th era!
“Alright, we should get to business now. If I’m not wrong, then you’re the 9th Savior who has arrived at the Last of Catastrophe. Since you were able to come here, then you’ve clearly killed Shaman and seized the Seal of the Shaman that belonged to him. I’m really curious, how exactly did you accomplish that with the ability you possess right now?” Martial’s gaze was like a bolt of lightning that suddenly locked onto Chen Xi, and his expression was cold and indifferent. It was completely different from how melancholic and sensitive he was just now.
It made others suspect that he wouldn’t hesitate to attack and kill Chen Xi immediately if Chen Xi didn’t answer in time!