Martial arts have become extinct worldwide, yet I am forced to have a large family.

"What?!"

"No Martial God?"

"Du Gu, are you fucking kidding me?"

Outside the secret gate, Principal Huang's roar echoed through the sky.

He grabbed Du Gu by the collar of his dusty robe, staring intently at him.

"You kept assuring me that you had a way to summon the God of War! I trusted you so much, and now you're suddenly saying you don't?"

"What exactly do you mean by this?!"

A violent aura exploded from Principal Huang, and the ground beneath his feet cracked open like a fine spiderweb.

Spit almost landed on Du Gu's face.

"Huang Meng, calm down!" Shen Qing stepped forward and pressed down on Principal Huang's arm.

Jiang Hong frowned and said, "Yes, Principal Huang, this is a very important matter. Let's hear Brother Du Gu's explanation first."

"Hmph!" Huang Meng snorted coldly and finally let go of her hand.

Du Gu straightened his collar, which had been pulled askew, but his face showed no sign of concern.

"Three hundred years ago, a catastrophe befell Earth, and monsters ravaged the land. It was the God of War who emerged and saved the entire nation of China with his own power."

"After that, our China did indeed have a true and unique Martial God of the Ninth Realm."

"but……"

Du Gu paused, a turn of events that made the other three people's hearts leap into their throats.

"But just a hundred years ago, our God of War... suddenly fell."

"All I know is that, in order to avoid causing nationwide panic and despair, the higher-ups chose to suppress the news and bury this secret forever."

"Impossible!" Huang Meng was the first to jump out and refute:

"In the past hundred years, although the God of War has appeared very few times, each time he has shown himself at the most critical moment for China!"

"If it's really as you say, then ten years ago, when Star City was on the verge of collapse and without the Martial God, wouldn't it have been razed to the ground by demons long ago?"

"That's right." As a high-ranking military officer, Shen Qingtong was even more qualified to speak on this matter.

"So many people witnessed the God of War descending from the sky, annihilating a million demons with a single strike, turning the tide and saving the entire Star City."

"That kind of world-destroying power couldn't possibly be fake, could it?"

Jiang Hong added, "The aura of a Martial God, that Daoist charm that transcends all living beings, is not something that can be easily imitated. The seventh and eighth realms are an insurmountable chasm, and the eighth and ninth realms are worlds apart. We all know this."

The God of War of China is the faith in the hearts of all Chinese people.

The news that the God of War was dead was even more shocking and harder to accept than the fall of South Sea City!

Faced with the three men's repeated questions, Du Gu's face remained calm, and he continued to calmly recount the shocking secret that had been hidden for a hundred years.

"You're both right, it wasn't an illusion, nor was it an imitation." Du Gu did not deny their words:

"Because every one that appears, in a sense... is indeed a 'God of War'."

"The higher-ups took the God of War's remains back to the Supreme Research Institute, and ultimately, they successfully created a liquid called 'Torchfire'."

"The torch?" the three asked in unison.

Seeing the increasingly confused expressions on the three people's faces, Du Gu continued to uncover the bloody truth:

"It can forcibly elevate a person's martial arts aptitude to the legendary SSS level in an extremely short period of time!"

"Furthermore, users can even break through barriers and enter the Ninth Realm within just a few hours!"

What?!

Huang Meng, Shen Qingtong, and Jiang Hong all froze on the spot.

They cultivated for most of their lives, enduring countless life-and-death trials, before finally reaching the threshold of the seventh realm.

Now someone is telling them that there is something that can make someone become a ninth-realm martial god in just a few hours?

Isn't this just a fantasy?

Shen Qingtong was the first to recover from her shock: "Even if what you're saying is true... I'm afraid the price won't be simple, will it?"

"That's right!" Du Gu nodded.

"The acquisition of any power comes at a corresponding price!"

"Besides the massive resources required to advance to the ninth realm, it also costs the user's life!"

"The most difficult part is that the user must have an F-level talent and their own cultivation level must be at least a second-realm martial artist!"

Any other martial artist with exceptional talent will experience a violent conflict with the power emanating from the God of War due to their own innate attributes, ultimately resulting in their body exploding and dying.

But people with F-level talent are different; they are like the purest "water," capable of absorbing the power of "fire" to the greatest extent.

At the same time, only when a martial artist reaches the second realm can their meridians be considered to have been initially tempered and formed, possessing the minimum qualification to bear that immense power.

"That Liang Gaoyi..."

The three of them then understood.

Why would Du Gu accept a martial artist with F-level talent as his personal disciple and painstakingly teach him for a full ten years?

Why does Leung Ko-yee rarely show himself, yet enjoy endless resources for his arduous cultivation?

That's it!

F-level talent is not suited for martial arts, and to be able to cultivate to the second realm through perseverance is an extremely difficult thing in itself.

This requires hellish asceticism from a young age, enduring loneliness and pain far exceeding that of ordinary people, and having the awareness to face death and the risk of having no offspring.

"That's right." Du Gu unconsciously turned towards the entrance of the secret realm:

"Although F-rank martial artists are everywhere, it is not easy to find a young person who meets the requirements in terms of temperament and perseverance and is willing to dedicate everything to China."

"Leung Ko-yee is one of them."

"We call these selected children 'Torchbearers'."

"Every major city is secretly cultivating its own 'Torchbearers' for any eventuality. This is our nation's last trump card after losing the God of War."

Jiang Hong's body jolted violently as he thought of the catastrophe that occurred ten years ago.

"Could it be...could it be that the one in Star City ten years ago was also...?"

"Yes, she is also a 'Torchbearer'!"

The three of them looked in the direction of Star City, their feelings incredibly complicated.

"There's one more thing I don't understand..." Principal Huang suddenly asked again, "Why did you bring Liang Gaoyi here to break through to the ninth realm, instead of in South Sea City?"

Du Gu explained:

"It will take time for the 'Torch' to arrive; by the time it arrives, the city will have already fallen."

"If we choose to break through in the city, we will inevitably be interrupted by the eighth-level demons."

"Left with no other choice, we had to send Liang Gaoyi to the secret realm..."

------

"Senior!"

Inside the secret realm, Yang Xian helped Liang Gaoyi steady, his eyes bloodshot.

The remaining half of the "fire" slipped from Liang Gaoyi's hands and rolled into the corner.

He has just instilled the "fire".

"Our China has never lacked heroes willing to sacrifice themselves."

"In our China, everyone can be a martial god!"

Liang Gaoyi smiled at Yang Xian, who was still in shock.

"Don't cry, junior..."

"To become a Martial God, that's the dream of every martial artist!"

"From the moment I became a 'Torchbearer,' I knew this day would come."

"From now on... leave Southsea City to me!"