I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 315 Martial God Hall

Chen Ming's Yang spirit returned to his physical body silently, without alerting anyone. The Purple Mansion Jade Book records the supernatural power of the Yang spirit to conceal its whereabouts.

Inside the room, he opened his eyes, spread his hands, and looked at the bead in his palm that was glowing with purple light.

He specifically researched the life of the Prince of Linjiang, a legendary figure born in a chaotic era who possessed a rare treasure called the "Mysterious Soul Pearl".

Records in the highest-level database of the Six Doors state that the King of Linjiang possesses a supreme treasure called the "Mysterious Soul Pearl," which is said to be able to control clones that are a whole realm higher than oneself.

Therefore, in the Great Jin Dynasty, the Prince of Linjiang was considered the strongest fighter, and there were even rumors that his strength was even a notch above that of the Great Jin Emperor.

Of course, using such a treasure would likely come at a great cost.

Therefore, the first King of Linjiang never reappeared shortly after the founding of the kingdom. No one knew whether he was dead or alive.

No subsequent kings of Linjiang used this treasure. Therefore, many believe that this treasure disappeared along with the first king of Linjiang.

Unexpectedly, it had been hidden in the ancestral hall of the Linjiang Prince's Mansion all this time, and no one had discovered it for so many years.

In the end, it actually fell into the hands of the current Prince of Linjiang, as if it were the will of Heaven.

After a moment of reflection, Chen Ming used the "Weapon Control Technique" to probe the bead with a wisp of his consciousness. His first impression was that the bead seemed alive and could communicate with him.

This feeling is mysterious.

It doesn't seem like the spirit of a peerless divine weapon; it's more like a living being, like flowers, plants, or trees.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, his expression a mixture of excitement and solemnity.

"So that's how the Mystic Soul Pearl works!"

This treasure has a unique function; martial artists cannot activate it. Only the Yang Spirit can unleash its power.

It's hard to believe that the legendary, invincible first King of Linjiang, who was said to be unparalleled in bravery and unmatched on the battlefield, was actually a cultivator.

To use the "Mysterious Soul Pearl," the first step is to refine it with the Yang God. In this process, the pearl is transformed into the shape of the Yang God.

Afterwards, it will be nourished with the flesh and blood of a powerful being, using a powerful being at the Divine Treasure Realm, and eventually it will grow to the cultivation level of a powerful being at the Divine Treasure Realm.

Using the flesh and blood of a Life Palace Realm expert, it can grow into a Life Palace Realm physical body.

Once the physical body is formed, the Yang spirit can control it.

Theoretically speaking, he could even control a body at the Yuan Tai realm—provided he could cultivate one. Moreover, controlling a body of this level places an immense burden on the Yang God, consuming its essence at a rate hundreds or even thousands of times faster.

It must be said that this treasure is extremely powerful.

Its power ceiling is incredibly high; however, obtaining the blood of a powerful being is by no means easy.

This step is enough to stump most people.

It's unknown how the first King of Linjiang obtained the flesh and blood of a Yuan Tai Realm expert and thus cultivated a Yuan Tai Realm body.

"Let's refine it first."

Thinking of this, Chen Ming took it into his Yang God and slowly refined it in this way.

……

Over the next few days, the mission continued its journey toward the capital.

Chen Ming successfully completed the refinement of the "Mysterious Soul Pearl". Next, he will cultivate his physical body.

That night, after dinner, a tall, imposing man walked in. He was wearing black armor and exuded an astonishing aura.

It was Xu Tianyu, the escort of the delegation, a peerless expert at the fifth level of the Divine Realm.

This person was sent by the emperor to protect him. Even the emperor wouldn't have many powerful figures of this caliber at his disposal.

After Xu Tianyu entered, he asked, "Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Chen Ming sat in his seat, gazing at the powerful expert at the peak of the Divine Realm. Even though the other party had concealed his aura, he could still feel the astonishing vitality within his body.

Just like the sun, you can feel the heat of his heat just by being near him.

Chen Ming asked in a deep voice, "Lord Xu, before we set off, His Majesty told me that you were absolutely loyal to him. Is that true?"

Xu Tianyu looked directly into his eyes and said calmly, "What does Your Highness want me to do?"

Chen Ming took out an imperial token. "Does Lord Xu recognize this?"

Xu Tianyu lowered his proud head. "I recognize it. This is a token bestowed by His Majesty. With this token, I must obey any order."

Chen Ming said, "Very well, I only need you to do one thing. For the next month, give me one drop of blood every day."

After a few moments of silence, Xu Tianyu asked, "Has Your Highness made up your mind? Do you really want to use this token to exchange for this order?"

"Yes."

"it is good!"

Chen Ming felt his hand suddenly go empty; the token was already in Xu Tianyu's hand. Without any apparent action, a drop of blood flew from Xu Tianyu's fingertip and slowly drifted towards him.

Then, Xu Tianyu left.

Chen Ming looked at the drop of blood in front of him, feeling the amazing vitality within it. He was overjoyed, put it in a jade bottle, and put it away.

Before he set off, the emperor gave him a gold token, telling him that as long as he showed this token, Xu Tianyu could do anything, even assassinate the emperor of Southern Chu.

The emperor solemnly instructed that each token could only be used by Xu Tianyu for one purpose, and that he should use it wisely.

To be honest, Chen Ming was a little skeptical at first, but he didn't expect Xu Tianyu to actually agree.

Blood contains all the life force of a person, and the stronger a person is, the less likely they are to give their blood to others.

It must be said that although the Jin Dynasty was in a precarious state, it still had a very deep foundation.

With Xu Tianyu's blood, he will be able to use the "Mysterious Soul Pearl" to create a physical body equivalent to the fifth level of the Divine Realm a month later.

With this trump card, there are very few forces in the world that can threaten him.

……

The capital of Southern Chu was located at the southernmost point of the continent. It is said that when Southern Chu was founded, it was afraid that the powerful Jin Dynasty would attack, so it set up its capital on the coast. In this way, if the Jin Dynasty were to come to the city one day, it could break out from the sea.

The mission traveled south, and the cities became increasingly prosperous.

They encountered more and more martial artists along the way, including many experts of the third rank or higher. Occasionally, they even encountered powerful figures at the Divine Treasure Realm.

Chen Ming was initially shocked, thinking that the proportion of martial artists in Southern Chu was ridiculously high. Later, he overheard the conversations of the traveling martial artists with his divine sense and realized that there was a reason why there were so many martial artists on the road.

The Martial God Temple is about to open, which is a grand event for Southern Chu and is enough to attract the nation's top martial artists.

Chen Ming had heard of the Martial God Temple.

This is the highest hall of the Martial Academy, a sacred place in the hearts of countless martial artists in Southern Chu. Built by the "Civil Minister," it opens once every ten years, allowing martial artists from all over Southern Chu to enter and challenge the Martial God Hall. Those who can pass the corresponding levels will receive precious cultivation techniques and martial arts manuals, and even a spot in a top-tier secret realm.

The Minister of Literature established the Temple of Martial Gods to break down sectarian barriers, and this has yielded results over the past two hundred years.

It is said that the martial arts manuals collected in the Martial God Hall surpass any other force in the world and are comparable to the Six Doors.

It's important to know that the Six Doors inherited the armory of the previous dynasty's Demon Suppression Division, a collection accumulated over a thousand years across two dynasties. Its contents are truly vast and boundless.

The Martial God Hall was able to rival the armory of the Six Doors in just two hundred years, all thanks to the "Civil Minister".

Chen Ming was also quite curious about the Martial God Hall. It was said that in the Martial God Hall, any martial arts skills you demonstrated would be recorded and added to the armory.

You can also use your own cultivation techniques and martial arts skills to exchange for the most suitable cultivation techniques and martial arts skills from the Martial God Hall.

This is just the most basic function of the Temple of Martial God.

Every ten years, the Martial God Hall will truly open. Any martial artist of the third rank or above can enter to challenge and, after defeating their opponent, can ascend to the next level.

Finally, the higher the floor you can climb, the richer the rewards you will receive.

This mechanism is somewhat similar to the "Merit Pagoda" of the Jin Dynasty royal family.

Unlike other places, the Martial God Hall in Southern Chu does not restrict one's background or origin; as long as one's cultivation level is sufficient, anyone can enter and take on the challenge.

Therefore, every time the Martial God Temple opens, tens of thousands of martial artists rush to the capital of Southern Chu to enter the Martial God Temple and challenge it.

After learning about this, Chen Ming specifically summoned an official from Southern Chu and asked, "I have heard of the great name of your Martial God Temple. May I ask if I may enter the temple for a trial?"

"This—" The official hesitated to answer. Although the Temple of Martial Gods did not restrict foreigners from participating, the person before him was none other than the Prince of Linjiang of the Great Jin Dynasty.

There was no precedent for this before.

He said, "This humble official is really not quite sure. If Your Highness is interested, you can bring it up with the Emperor when you meet him."

"it is good."

……

Half a month later, they arrived at the capital of Southern Chu.

This seaside city has no city walls; from afar, you can see a black line stretching straight to the horizon—that must be a tower.

The legendary Tower of Babel was said to have been built by the "Minister of Literature" in order to connect the Tower of Babel to the Heavenly Palace.

After the carriage entered the capital, Chen Ming truly felt the differences between the two countries.

The Great Jin Dynasty is like an old man: conservative, aged, slow-witted, and with profound cultural heritage.

Southern Chu, on the other hand, is full of vitality. Whether it is the architecture or the spirit of its people, it presents an enterprising and vigorous attitude.

Not only him, but everyone else in the delegation also sensed this difference, and they all wore solemn expressions.

Along the way, the onlookers pointed and whispered about the convoy, showing no awe or hatred towards the Great Jin Dynasty, only curiosity on their faces.

After all, there has been little communication between the two countries for over a century.

The people of Southern Chu were equally curious about the Great Jin Dynasty, as this empire from the Old World was quite unfamiliar to them.

Finally, the delegation arrived at the accommodations arranged by Southern Chu and settled in, awaiting an audience with the Southern Chu emperor.

Chen Ming wasn't in a hurry at all. From what he had seen along the way, there was no atmosphere of war at all. Whether it was the border region or the city, everything was normal.

This means that Southern Chu had no intention of taking advantage of the imminent war between the Great Jin and the northern states to kick them while they were down.

Of course, it is also possible that Southern Chu is waiting for an opportunity, waiting until Great Jin is weakened to a certain extent before making a move.

Even so, it is still an opportunity. As long as we can defeat the allied forces of the northern countries as soon as possible, we will not be in danger of being attacked from both sides.

Every day, Chen Ming either sneaks into the Demon Suppression Tower to farm experience points or uses Xu Tianyu's blood to nourish the "Mysterious Soul Pearl".

The blood of a fifth-level Divine Realm expert contains abundant vitality and power. With each drop of blood absorbed, the "Mysterious Soul Pearl" grows stronger, and even its color changes from purple to red.

Twenty days later, the aura had become so strong that it made him tremble, as if a peerless demonic fetus was about to hatch inside.

Fortunately, all of this happened within his Yang Spirit, and his aura did not leak out. Otherwise, it would likely have alarmed all the powerful figures in the capital.

On the tenth day after Chen Ming arrived in the capital, the thirtieth drop of Xu Tianyu's blood fell onto the "Mysterious Soul Pearl," and it underwent another astonishing change.

The "Mysterious Soul Pearl" split open and hatched a tiny person, exactly like him, with a blood-red body, like a miniature version of the Yang God, except that his eyes were closed.

"This is the physical body nurtured by the Mystic Soul Pearl?"

Chen Ming curiously examined the blood-red, miniature version of himself, and gently touched it with his finger, immediately sensing the existence of this body.

The feeling was quite strange, as if I had been split into two people, with four arms and four legs, and two heads...

He withdrew his hand, thinking, "Looks like I'll have to learn how to multitask in the future."

Unfortunately, he's currently abroad and surrounded by spies; otherwise, he really wanted to test just how powerful this body was.

This is a fifth-level Divine Treasure!

Suddenly, Chen Ming's mind stirred, and he opened his eyes. He heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in."

"Your Highness, the Emperor of Southern Chu has finally summoned us." The official who came to report was from the Court of State Ceremonial, and was also the deputy envoy on this trip.

A smile appeared on Chen Ming's face as he said, "You've finally arrived. Let's go see the Emperor of Southern Chu."

……

Chen Ming changed into formal attire and, accompanied by several officials and escorted by a group of imperial guards, headed to the palace.

Upon arriving at the palace gate, they found a group of young people, both men and women, dressed in matching outfits.

He asked the officials from Southern Chu, "Who are those people?"

“Those are disciples of the Martial Academy. In our dynasty, the Emperor serves as the dean of both the Martial Academy and the Literary Academy, so these people are disciples of the Emperor. With the Martial God Temple about to open, they are required to enter the palace to meet the Emperor as is customary.”

"I see."

Chen Ming's gaze swept over the young people, finally lingering on the leader for a moment before he looked away.

These martial arts academy disciples are too young; some are still teenagers, and the oldest looks to be only in their early twenties. Their cultivation levels are all above the third rank, with several even reaching the first rank.

Among the younger generation, the strength of Southern Chu has already overwhelmed that of Great Jin.

The leader was clearly at the peak of the first rank, only one step away from the Divine Treasure Realm.

At this moment, the young man at the peak of the first rank also looked over and said, "Is this an envoy from the Northern Jin? May I ask which one of you is the Prince of Linjiang?"

(End of this chapter)