Chapter 534: Chapter Five Hundred Thirty: The Era

There are countless uses for Spiritual Power, but at the very beginning of martial arts, the warriors only used it as a fuel to enhance strength.

Shielding muscles, bones, and fascia with Spiritual Power to unleash physical power, the most ancient warriors only had this one fighting method: fighting with brute force. A blow that could muster a hundred-thousand-catty of strength was deemed a qualified warrior.

Humans clashed with monster beasts in contests of strength, smashing their teeth and tearing their skins with overwhelming force. Warriors seldom lived past a hundred in those times. Even with the protection of Spiritual Power, their bodies would shatter in the hundreds of thousands of collisions. The hope of recovering from severe injuries was nothing more than wishful thinking.

Every serious injury suffered by a warrior was a depletion of their own life force, and from ancient times to the present, no warrior can claim to have an endless life force, not even the monstrous beasts.

That was the most primitive age of martial arts and also the most brutal age. The initial martial arts was only physical arts where warriors honed their bodies to be stronger than monster beasts, using their strength to defeat them.

All kinds of energy techniques and skills exploded at that time. The top existing body refining methods were inherited from the top ancient times. The warriors of today prefer to use Spirit Arts because fighting with physical arts alone has too many drawbacks.

Since ancient times, it has been said that one inch longer is one inch stronger, training from fists to swords, then to spears and long bows. The primitive warriors discovered in surprise that the warriors who ultimately became superior were not those with extraordinary talent and breathtaking abilities. Instead, it was those average individuals who seldom came into contact with monster beasts and rarely suffered injuries. Upon observing their lives, they discovered a common point.

Warriors who fought with physical arts alone could hardly meet a good end, because while they were causing damage to others, others were also hurting them. Yet, those warriors who used spears or crossbows grew excellently.

Most things in the world are like this, and there are plenty of examples of rectifying an error only to overcorrect it. When people found out that practicing physical arts alone seldom resulted in a good end, martial arts researchers cast aside body arts at its peak and began playing around Spiritual Power.

They developed air-splitting force, started learning to convert Spiritual Power attributes to enhance killing power, and even sought a specific cultivation pathway to “throw” Spiritual Power, the results were extraordinary, and the achievements were astounding.

The first batch of cultivation methods that were derived from breathing exercises were born. The most significant characteristic of these cultivation methods was that through a special cultivation pathway, they could transform Spiritual Power into different attributes.

In those times, the warriors’ research into Spiritual Power was not deep, so they viewed a newly discovered conversion method as a treasure, wishing it could become their unique secret art. Every noble family and every sect started researching these cultivation methods and treating them as secret arts. Only those who joined their sects could learn these methods, which marked the beginning of the ancient sects.

The world is always infinitely approaching the truth through constant adjustments. The dazzling body arts could not possibly be abandoned completely. There are always people who persist in holding onto outdated things during the changes of the times, stubbornly not changing, like a group of tomb guards.

Although everyone was telling them that physical arts were outdated and held no future, they showed no intention of catching up with the trend. It was as foolish as if they were using their lives to accompany the spirits of the dead.

However, perseveration brings resonance. There is never an absolute in martial arts. Every era has its anomalies, and each one of them is extraordinarily talented.

They can emerge as individuals or as a sect, then stand at the pinnacle of the world, looking down at everything with an indomitable contempt, as if taunting, “I heard this is outdated?”

Saint Han once used the almost invincible physical arts to lay a vast territory for the Human Race. In that era, numerous advanced Spirit Arts emerged like a geyser, but no matter what kind, none could harm Han Wu’s body.

The use of the Awful Dragon Halberd that massacred sages was even more dominant, singing an ultimate praise for the physical arts.

It seemed like heaven wanted to show the warriors the power of physical arts. During that period, several eminent Golden Body Arhats and Undefeated Buddhas appeared.

At least thirty percent of the well-known experts were physical art masters, while those who solely practiced physical arts did not even amount to ten percent of total warriors.

Afterwards, a new trend of physical arts appeared, but to the surprise of warriors, those who intensively practiced physical arts often lost when they fought against warriors of the same realm who practiced Spirit Arts.

The limitations of attack range and the reality of easy injuries made many people abandon physical arts and start learning Spirit Arts again, cursing inwardly.

“Physical arts, rubbish!”

After the heated popularity died down, those who remained practicing physical arts were the fools who were sincere about it, and they kept climbing realm after realm despite losing more than winning.

Physical arts did not bring them anything noteworthy. Those people continued their cultivation until they reached the Fierce Realm, but the situation of losing more than winning still prevailed.

It wasn’t until just before Saint Step disappeared from the world that people learned why ordinary people could not reproduce the glory of physical arts.

Subsequently, fewer and fewer people devoted themselves to physical arts. But in order not to be caught off guard when facing physical arts practitioners, warriors would still have some understanding of physical arts, at least learning how to deal with them.

After all, when facing physical arts practitioners who are proficient in one or two kinds of energy, as long as you learn how to deal with them, you won’t be forced into a desperate situation.

Both Tang Qian and Du Sha had practical experience in physical arts. After all, transitioning from the Mortal Realm to the Fierce Realm is such a long process. Warriors who cannot feel the growth of Spiritual Power will choose to focus on physical arts during this period. Depending on the degree of their dedication, a noble family warrior can usually master nine types of clear forces when they grow into the Fierce Realm.

Talented individuals like Tang Qian not only have clear force, but also master numerous kinds of concealed force. Their accomplishments in physical arts are profound, but they stand no chance against Mi Yang, they can only take the beating.

The gap in strength was too great. Even their understanding of energy was several grades behind.

Each punch and kick from the opponent contained a mix of several types of energy. Tang Qian had to take quite a while to neutralize the energy. If it weren’t for the assistance from three members of the Du family, he would have been defeated long ago.

He originally thought that ganging up on Mi Yang would give him time to recover, but the reality was that all the recovered Spiritual Power was not enough even for neutralizing the energy, he only hoped that the clan’s support would arrive soon because his Spiritual Power was about to be exhausted.

“Bang!”

Another punch hit Tang Qian in the chest. Even though he blocked the formidable strike with both hands, he was still sent spinning and flying. If he hadn’t cultivated the Undying Battle Body and reached the eighth rank, he would have been severely injured in such intense combat.

Du Wei and Du Ling took over again, and they were also blasted away. The so-called Fierce Realm powerhouses were tossed around like rag dolls.

Just when several people were sinking into the despair of defeat, a large amount of fighting noise came from the east.

“The Tang Clan escorts are here to the rescue, our household head, do not panic!”

“Attack! Now is the time for us to pave the way for our household head.

“He is just an old man over a hundred years old.. Everyone, charge together!”