Martial arts is a transcendent craft specialized in taking life.
Whether it is strengthening the body, bolstering blood-qi, tempering techniques, refining the soul, or comprehending true intent, the ultimate goal is always the same: to take the enemy's life as swiftly and efficiently as possible.
The students of the Universe Daoist Academy, though they usually enjoyed a life of privilege and high status, were anything but soft when it came to actual combat; their murderous intent was second to none.
Li Taiji cultivated his grounds, lectured on true scriptures, refined his character, and suppressed his killing intent, but that was merely a way to contemplate the Great Dao. It was no different from a person tossing and turning during a bout of insomnia, adjusting their position to try and fall back asleep.
One should not assume he was a harmless old man just because he appeared kind and gentle in his daily life.
Martial Artists lived by a code of directness—repaying kindness with kindness and meeting enmity with vengeance.
In the Constant Universe Chaotic Realm, spatial tunnels radiating the auras of Dao Lords connected to the area one after another.
This star region, already a place of turmoil, welcomed a group of long-awaited disruptors.
Martial Artists from various Martial Arts Holy Lands stepped through the spatial tunnels and arrived in this chaotic land.
Long ago, the Constant Universe Chaotic Realm was known simply as the Constant Universe Realm.
The Constant Universe Realm was home to many transcendent worlds, numbering in the thousands. Martial arts, magic, immortal cultivation, witchcraft, beast taming, and bloodline powers—every variety of transcendent path could be found there.
It was once a vast and prosperous star region, until the claws of Hell reached into its depths, sparking a protracted interstellar war.
The armies of Hell arrived with overwhelming force, and the local powers of the Constant Universe Realm were unable to resist. Their defenses were quickly shattered by the demons.
In this star region, there were only two or three worlds that possessed Eternal-tier powerhouses. Under the crusade of the demon army, they appeared utterly powerless.
Fortunately, those few Eternal-tier powerhouses did not let their pride get in the way. They timely requested aid from Heaven. The Heavenly expeditionary forces arrived and clashed with the demon armies.
This war had lasted for a very long time—so long that the people of this star region had long since forgotten what a peaceful life was like.
Since the moment they were born, they had lived amidst the flames of war.
The news they heard most frequently each day was either that a certain territory had been seized by demons and its inhabitants slaughtered, or that a territory had been reclaimed by the Heavenly Allied Forces.
In the latter case, the land would be purged with Holy Light to wash away the sins left by the demons, allowing life to flourish once more.
Back and forth, time and again, it was a constant tug-of-war between Heaven and Hell. The people of the Constant Universe Chaotic Realm had long since grown numb to it all.
But today, the simultaneous appearance of several spatial tunnels, combined with the Dao Lord-tier auras emanating from within, caused a ripple in the long-frozen hearts of the local people.
Since this was an act of retaliation, the Dao Lords of the Martial Arts Alliance made no effort to hide their presence. In fact, they exposed their auras without any reservation.
For a moment, every angel and demon on the Starry Sky Battlefield turned to look.
The demons, in particular, were alert. The Hell Archdukes on the battlefield and Phili, the Demon King of Lies—one of the Seven Demon Kings of Hell—all turned their gaze toward the spatial tunnels opened by the Martial Arts Alliance.
Phili was of the serpent demon race. His upper body was similar to other demons, possessing a humanoid torso with four dark-red demonic horns growing from his head.
His lower body was a powerful snake tail, and that tail was covered with countless eyes of various kinds.
A single glance was enough to plunge an ordinary person into endless illusions. Those with weak wills would sink into them forever, becoming puppets for Phili to manipulate at will.
The Demon King of Lies spoke with an elegant voice, one filled with seductive charm.
“It seems Mother's plan is working. The Myriad Worlds are accelerating toward chaos. Martial Artists... Heh.”
Phili tilted his head slightly, glancing at the Hell Archdukes nearby from the corner of his eye. Those Hell Archdukes quickly lowered their heads, clearly terrified of the Demon King of Lies.
“Since the guests Mother invited have arrived, we naturally cannot be negligent. Go and prepare according to the previous arrangements.
“Remember, this is a part of Mother's grand plan. If anyone performs poorly...”
A sharp light flickered in Phili's eyes. In the vision of the Hell Archdukes, the world around them suddenly began to collapse, and the hellfire in their hearts began to roar and burn.
Their blood boiled, and the intense agony sent the Hell Archdukes collapsing to the ground.
“If anyone performs poorly, you won't have to wait for Mother to punish you personally. I will hang you upon Hell's Demonic Peak and tear the rotten flesh from your bodies bit by bit!”
Phili raised his hand to open a portal back to Hell and turned to step inside.
Before the portal closed, Phili's seductive voice drifted back with one last sentence.
“Of course, if anyone does well, Mother might be pleased enough to grant you the position of Destruction. It is not impossible.”
The portal closed completely, and the agonizing pain vanished instantly.
The Hell Archdukes finally caught their breath and climbed up from the ground.
Without exchanging a word, they glanced at each other and departed, returning to their respective assigned sectors.
...
On the Starry Sky Battlefield of the Constant Universe Chaotic Realm, the Martial Artists from the Martial Arts Alliance followed their pre-arranged plans. They formed squads of about ten and advanced toward different worlds.
The demons currently locked in combat with the Heavenly expeditionary forces were focused on breaking through the heavy shields raised by the paladins. They were eager to breach the defensive lines and slaughter the annoying priests in the rear.
Suddenly, objects resembling fiery meteors began to descend from the sky.
At first, the demons assumed these were the Meteor technique or similar skills cast by the mages of the Heavenly expeditionary forces, and they paid them little mind.
They merely made minor adjustments to their formations to dodge the impact.
After all, demons born in Hell naturally possessed high fire resistance and were largely immune to fire-based skills like Meteor.
However, the impact caused by these 'meteors' landing was far greater than that of a normal Meteor technique.
The surrounding demons were sent flying by the shockwave, screaming as they tumbled through the air.
Before they could even hit the ground, Martial Artists charged out from the craters. With thunderous roars, they unleashed a barrage of techniques upon the demons.
Sabers, spears, staves, and clubs; claws, fists, kicks, and palms—various forms of martial true intent blossomed across the battlefield.
In this world filled with the scents of Holy Light and demonic energy, a brand-new aura appeared: martial true intent.
Seeing this, the commanding angel of the Heavenly expeditionary forces immediately ordered the priests to stop their incantations, fearing that the large-scale destructive spells they were preparing might harm the Martial Artists in the middle of the demon swarm.
After dispersing their spells, the priests began to cast again. This time, they used the most basic healing spell, Holy Healing.
Streams of gentle Holy Light fell into the demon horde. The demons' skin was slightly scorched, leaving white marks and wisps of black smoke.
The Martial Artists of the Martial Arts Alliance sensed that this Holy Light carried no ill intent, so they did not dodge. They allowed the light to wash over them, restoring their stamina.
With the arrival of the Martial Artists, the stalemate was instantly broken. The scales of battle tipped sharply in favor of Heaven.
It didn't take long for a section of the battlefield to be flattened by the combined efforts of the Martial Artists and the Heavenly expeditionary forces. When the last fleeing demon was split down the middle by a Martial Artist's blade, its life extinguished.
The Martial Artists, participating in such a war for the first time, wore excited smiles on their faces.
“Haha! These demons aren't all that much. They die way too easily.”
“Exactly. They don't even seem as hard to kill as the beasts we hunt with the cooks.”
“Brothers, why don't we strike while the iron is hot and move to the next battlefield? We shouldn't let our colleagues kill all the demons before we get there.”
“Right, right! Senior brother is correct. Killing enough demons will grant us direct entry into the inner sect. Let's move!”
But just as these Martial Artists finished their lighthearted chatter, before the joy had even faded from their faces, crimson Hellgates suddenly snapped open across the battlefield.
Among the Heavenly expeditionary forces, several experienced warriors instinctively fired Holy Light energy at the nearby Hellgates, hoping to destroy them.
But before the Holy Light could reach its mark, swarms of demons surged out in numbers so vast they could no longer be described as a tide.
A squad of Corruptor demons spat fireballs mixed with corrupted saliva, dispersing the Holy Light in the air.
Then, more and more demons poured out from the Hellgates, charging toward the Heavenly expeditionary forces and the Martial Artists who had just been celebrating.
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