Chapter 235: Martial Dao Research

Death Qi gathered like a dragon, while Life Qi coiled around his body.

The sky-obscuring black dragon rampaged through the starry sky, roaring like falling thunder shaking the world.

Golden light erupted from Qiao Yi’s body. Though his Law, which had not yet reached Major Achievement, could not match the full power of a perfected Law, it was far stronger than Jiang Yan’s Law Embryo.

Fortunately, Jiang Yan had the enhancement of the True Word Leveling Method; otherwise, he would have undoubtedly lost in this clash of Laws.

Space rippled with waves as both were pushed back ten thousand meters, their solemn gazes meeting.

Qiao Yi was drenched in sweat and spat out a mouthful of turbid blood.

“Sigh, I’m old. This kind of power is no longer something I can control.”

Jiang Yan was not faring much better. The Law he had comprehended was only a faint embryo, far inferior to Qiao Yi’s. He could barely fight Qiao Yi only thanks to the enhancement of the True Word Leveling Method and the superior quality of his Life and Death Law.

Now, both were on the verge of exhaustion.

Qiao Yi chuckled weakly. “Young man, it seems we’ll be departing together in this battle.”

Jiang Yan remained silent, silently reciting:

“Time Law.”

His physical condition rapidly returned to the moment just after he used the Law and enhanced it with the 【True Word Leveling Method】.

That is:

True Word Leveling Method: 96%

Qiao Yi struggled to lift his head, looking at Jiang Yan’s composed expression as if he still had a trump card.

“Wait, you should be exhausted!”

The Death Qi transformed into a dragon, offering no explanation.

Qiao Yi’s pupils trembled violently. He tried to block with his remaining Law, but then felt a tightness in his heart and violently spat out a mouthful of foul blood.

“Sigh, such is fate.”

He calmly watched the oncoming black dragon until the death-filled black light completely engulfed him.

Withered, decaying, space turned ashen gray.

A skeletal corpse, desiccated and lifeless, slowly floated in the void.

Jiang Yan staggered, sighing at how exhausting it was to use the Law.

But without the Law, dealing with someone who possessed one using ordinary means was incredibly difficult.

Although Jiang Yan was only at the Seventh Rank now, his future opponents would not always be at the same realm as him.

“It seems I still need to learn more from the Life and Death Demon Skeleton.”

He lifted Qiao Yi’s skeletal corpse and returned it to Star Star. The rest was no longer his concern.

In the starry sky, the two armies were locked in fierce battle. Blue Star had a Martial Saint commanding them, while Star Star’s high-level combat power had been killed by him. The outcome held no suspense.

Jiang Yan glanced once and flew directly back to Blue Star.

With matters on Blue Star concluded, the next step was to immerse himself in cultivation.

“Enter Battle Space.”

…

One day later.

Star Star was defeated, and the Blue Star army advanced to its capital.

Star Star announced its surrender, henceforth becoming a subsidiary planet of Blue Star.

On that day, the people of Blue Star welcomed their victory.

This was the greatest war since the dawn of Blue Star’s high-martial era.

The casualties were the lowest, and the achievements were the most outstanding.

All of this was thanks to that man.

After four months, Jiang Yan’s name once again resounded across Blue Star.

Linjiang City.

“Still haven’t comprehended the Law.”

Jiang Yan paid no heed to the outside world. No matter how his achievements were rumored, he hardly cared. The only thing he cared about was that elusive Law.

A week later, Jiang Yan had lost count of how many times he had died and how long he had been cultivating.

There was still no clue about the Life and Death Law, as if that day’s epiphany had been merely a coincidence.

No wonder it was said that advancing beyond the Eighth Rank of Transcendent was incredibly difficult. It seemed the challenge lay not only in cultivation but also in comprehension.

“Zhuozhuo, go to the Myriad Realms Store and purchase a set of explanations on the Tianyuan Star’s Martial Way system.”

Jiang Yan had been pondering deeply these past few days, feeling the need to clarify the human cultivation system. Only by doing so could he accurately trigger [Heaven Rewards Diligence].

Otherwise, merely observing the Life and Death Demon Skeleton would be like copying without understanding—all gains would be nothing but accidental.

“By the way, also recommend some detailed cultivation systems from major human planets, and suggest a few non-human ones as well.”

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Yan held over a dozen books on the cultivation systems of major planetary species, studying them carefully.

[System Log Updated]

“You are attempting to comprehend Transcendent systems. You have triggered Heaven Rewards Diligence. Your thoughts grow increasingly profound…”

“…”

The so-called human and non-human systems differ, but their core principles are largely similar.

In summary, it boils down to one sentence:

“Born from the world, returning to the world, transcending the world, returning to oneself.”

Various Transcendent systems extensively emphasize harnessing the power of the world. Living beings themselves have limitations; when they evolve to a certain extent, they stagnate.

This corresponds to the first to seventh ranks of Tianyuan Star’s Martial Way, which place greater emphasis on the Martial Artist themselves.

Yet the natural world is vast and full of wonders, nurturing countless mysteries. Only by utilizing what the world contains can one possibly surpass the inherent constraints of living beings.

This corresponds to the eighth and ninth ranks of Tianyuan Martial Way: the Celestial Phenomenon Realm and the Divine Concept Realm.

These two realms emphasize perceiving nature, understanding nature, and utilizing nature.

“Born from the world, returning to the world, transcending the world, returning to oneself.”

Jiang Yan silently recited.

“What does ‘returning to oneself’ mean?”

“Is the Transcendent Creature itself more important, or is the myriad of nature more important?”

The ultimate leap to the tenth rank, achieving Martial Godhood—what kind of path must one traverse?

The outline of the cultivation path grew clearer, yet walking it would be an entirely different experience.

It is said that after the eighth rank, cultivation resources become secondary. However, due to Jiang Yan’s premature exposure to ninth-rank power, this anomaly posed an even greater test of his Comprehension Ability.

“I am currently only at the seventh rank. As long as I make good use of the Heaven Demon Origin, breaking through to the eighth rank is merely a matter of time.”

“But the path beyond will depend entirely on my own Comprehension Ability and Opportunities.”

Having understood this, he withdrew from the Divine Martial Space, no longer fixated on sparring with the Life and Death Demon Skeleton.

“First task: perfect the Domain.”

“Second task: relocate the Spirit Platform.”

Another week later.

Jiang Yan’s Spiritual Power suddenly vanished into thin air.

If a high-rank Spiritual Power Martial Artist were present, they would be astonished to discover that this person actually had no Spirit Platform!

Although the term “Spirit Platform” is not commonly used, as the vessel for Spiritual Power, everyone possesses one—some simply have yet to discover it.

Without a Spirit Platform, this person would be completely immune to Spiritual Power interference and attacks.

Achieving invincible defense in the spiritual realm!

Spiritual Power is not physical, so it cannot cause physical damage—this is an ironclad law of nature.

Jiang Yan’s Annihilating Cloud Slash actually targets the Spirit Platform. If someone lacks a Spirit Platform, it is equivalent to achieving an untargetable state; the Annihilating Cloud Slash would be unable to directly inflict damage.

At this moment, Jiang Yan had finally completely relocated his Spirit Platform into the Divine Martial Space!

Within the Divine Martial Space, aside from the two great doors, there now stood an additional radiant platform pillar.

A tripod standing on three legs!

Jiang Yan smiled knowingly.

“It seems I won’t need to purchase Spiritual Power defensive gear anymore.”

Jiang Yan collapsed weakly onto the ground.

These past few days, moving the Spirit Platform had truly exhausted too much of his strength.

After the 【Premonition】, Jiang Yan once again returned to his peak condition.