"What exactly is needed to ascend to the Transcendent Realm?"
"Perception, body, or True Essence—mastering any one of these could suffice!"
Lin Ze replied, "Of course, the likelihood of ascension is greatest when all three are combined! Your perception is definitely not a problem, so in future cultivation, you should focus on strengthening either your body or your True Essence. If you really have the surplus energy, it’s best to enhance both simultaneously—the stronger, the better."
"The junior understands!"
From Lin Ze’s words, Ling Xiao discerned an underlying meaning.
It was that everything beneath the Transcendent Realm was actually a tempering of the martial artist themselves.
The so-called perception is actually the effect of having a sufficiently powerful soul, which is Soul Power!
Soul, body, True Essence!
These can be said to be the three paths of cultivation that a martial artist follows throughout their journey.
Breaking through the limits in any one of them might lead to ascension to the Transcendent Realm.
And from Martial Vein First Layer to Martial Vein Ninth Layer, it’s essentially an enhancement and tempering of soul, body, and True Essence!
Techniques turn out not to be that important.
At this stage, the role of techniques is to protect oneself, allowing one to smoothly ascend to the Transcendent Realm.
"General, there’s a situation!"
Suddenly, Lin Chen’s voice came from outside the carriage.
"A giant beast is blocking our path!"
"What level is the beast?"
"A Level 8 Peak Beast, but it seems to contain bloodline of the ancients. Its combat power is probably not lower than that of a Level 9 Early Stage Demon Beast!"
Although Lin Chen’s strength had not yet reached the Martial Master Realm, his Broken Martial Soul was quite special—it could analyze basic information about an opponent.
This ability was very similar to the first ability of Ling Xiao’s Mountain and River Martial Soul, but it was clearly a weaker version.
However, among the many Broken Martial Souls, this was already quite remarkable.
Why could Lin Chen follow Lin Ze even though he was not a Martial Master? It was not because of his surname Lin, but because of this Broken Martial Soul.
"Do you two want to take a look?"
Lin Ze suddenly smiled, looking at Ling Xiao and Ling Yixue inside the carriage and asked.
Ling Xiao was somewhat excited.
He remembered the time he was practicing in the Fulong Mountain Range, encountering a Level 8 Peak Demon Beast, the Great Strength Divine Ape, and being chased around in desperate straits.
But later, a woman in blue killed the Level 8 Peak Demon Beast with a single finger, which saved him.
When the Ling Family was being besieged, the corpse of that Level 8 Peak Demon Beast also played a key role.
Now, the corpse of the Great Strength Divine Ape was still preserved by Ling Xiao in the Mountain and River World, where it seemed nothing would decay.
This was also considered one of Ling Xiao’s killer moves. With it, even when facing a Martial Master of the Martial Vein Seventh Layer, he would have the strength to fight.
It’s just that this thing consumed Soul Power too terribly. Unless absolutely necessary, he dared not use it lightly.
Ling Yixue also jumped out of the carriage with Ling Xiao, looking towards the giant beast blocking the road.
It was a massive bull.
Its two horns stretched nearly into the clouds, standing ten-plus meters tall, the huge body alone was frightening to behold.
When the two nostrils puffed out air, it was as loud as thunder, causing a continuous "humming" noise in one’s ears, which was extremely uncomfortable.
"There are marks on its forehead; it must be a tamed demon beast. Hmph, hiding your head but showing your tail, you want to use this beast to gauge the general’s strength, don’t you?"
After observing for a moment, Lin Ze couldn’t help but scoff, then waved his hand.
A long blade appeared in his hand.
This blade was about a zhang long, with a Fierce Tiger coiled around the long handle, and the blade was incredibly sharp.
At a glance, it was clear that this was no ordinary weapon, at the very least much more formidable than the Ice Glass Sword and Gentle Breeze Sword Ling Xiao had.
"That is the Flying Tiger Crescent Blade, a Divine Artifact!"
Lin Chen proudly said to Ling Xiao and Ling Yixue.
Ling Xiao indeed was taken aback. The Ice Glass Sword in his hand was just an Ordinary Treasure, and it had already satisfied him greatly. Indeed, the weapons in the hands of martial artists at the Ninth Layer Pinnacle of Martial Veins are extraordinary.
"You beast, take this blade!"
Lin Ze’s speed was not very fast.
Well, at least that’s what it seemed to everyone else.
Yet strangely, his strike, seemingly ordinary and not swift, somehow couldn’t be dodged by the giant bull!
The giant bull tried to evade, but no matter how it tried to escape, the blade seemed to lock onto it.
Just then, a loud noise was heard.
The head of the giant bull was cleaved off effortlessly, as if slicing through tofu.
"Terrifying! That’s a Level 8 Peak Monster Beast, of the same class as the Great Strength Divine Ape, and it was killed just like that!"
Ling Xiao couldn’t help but think of the blue-clothed woman he had encountered back in the Fulong Mountain Range.
"Hmm, that woman’s strength must be even stronger than General Lin Ze’s," he thought.
With this thought, Ling Xiao really felt a bit horrified.
If Lin Ze had already attained the cultivation of the Ninth Layer Pinnacle of Martial Veins, could it be that the blue-clothed woman’s strength had reached the Transcendent Realm?
"Hahaha, exhilarating! My boys, this giant bull is highly nutritious. Tonight, let’s set up camp ahead and make roast giant bull meat."
Lin Ze sheathed his crescent blade and laughed heartily.
At this moment, though, Ling Xiao was neither laughing nor responding.
Because all his thoughts were focused on cultivation.
Ninth Layer Pinnacle of Martial Veins!
And he himself wasn’t even considered a Martial Master yet, which gave Ling Xiao a sense of urgency!
A strong sense of urgency!
When the night deepened, Ling Xiao also received some giant bull meat to eat.
This giant bull’s body contained ancient bloodlines, faint but invigorating for martial artists.
Seizing the cover of darkness, Ling Xiao concentrated on cultivating. In just one night, he had absorbed most of the giant bull meat, raising his cultivation level from the Middle Sixth Level Martial Vein to the Late Sixth Level Martial Vein.
However, he now presented himself as being at the Early Sixth Level Martial Vein, not too low nor too high, to avoid drawing attention.
In addition, using this power, he enhanced the Ghost Ship Remnant Soul he had obtained from William Turner to a thirty percent completion.
A thirty percent complete Broken Martial Soul was already extremely rare among the martial artists of the Human Race.
"It’s time to enhance ’Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique’!"
There was ample gold in the Mountain and River World within Ling Xiao, so he planned to spend the upcoming time enhancing the ’Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique,’ because this defensive martial art had a terrifying effect on strengthening the body.
Lin Ze had said that to break through to the Transcendent Realm, it was best to have the soul, body, and True Essence unified, elevating all three to a high level at once.
He intended to do just that.
Although focusing exclusively on one aspect could also lead to a breakthrough, it certainly wouldn’t be as good or as solid as advancing all three together.
Based on his estimation, once he ascended to the Transcendent Realm, he could cultivate a specific series of martial arts depending on which one broke through. For instance, there are Transcendent Martial Arts that focus on the soul, some on the body, and others on the True Essence.
If one cannot keep pace in all areas, the loss would be tremendous, as he would likely be unable to cultivate many Transcendent Martial Arts.
"Lin Chen, do you see? The reason why a genius is called a genius is not only because his talents are high but also because he knows how to endure hardship!"
Lin Ze sat at a distance and was very satisfied when he saw how hard Ling Xiao was working at his cultivation.
"General, when we return to Baiyun Capital, can I start to go into seclusion for cultivation?" Lin Chen suddenly asked.
"Hahahaha, of course, you can. Competition breeds improvement."
Lin Ze laughed heartily.