Invincibility Begins with Mastery of Fist Techniques-Chapter 128 - 124: Heaven and Earth as the Furnace

The middle-aged man's steps were firm and steady. As he approached, a strange feeling came over Zhou Yuanjue. The man had a unique aura, yet Zhou Yuanjue couldn't sense even the slightest leak of his Life Magnetic Field.

Unlike Zhou Yuanjue, this man could completely conceal every abnormality, exerting no influence on his surroundings.

This was something Zhou Yuanjue was still unable to do. Even when he deliberately held back, his Life Magnetic Field and powerful Spirit would still unconsciously influence his surroundings, instilling a chilling terror in others that made them afraid to meet his gaze.

Clearly, the man's control over his Life Magnetic Field and mind was far superior to his own.

This man was Liehong Mountain, the head of the Secret Inspection Bureau's Southern region and a powerful Saint Awakening.

The middle-aged man's pace seemed unhurried, but in just a few moments, he was standing before Zhou Yuanjue and Lu Zhen.

"Director!"

Lu Zhen snapped to attention, his expression serious as he quickly saluted the man.

"Go on. Lend them a hand over there."

Liehong Mountain nodded at Lu Zhen.

"Yes, sir!"

Lu Zhen knew Liehong Mountain wanted to speak with Zhou Yuanjue alone, so after acknowledging the order, he quickly headed toward the memorial monument.

"Come, let's take a walk."

Liehong Mountain said to Zhou Yuanjue.

Zhou Yuanjue nodded and walked beside Liehong Mountain, heading out of the Martyrs' Cemetery.

Not far from the Martyrs' Cemetery lay a wide, silver-white beach. The sea was an azure blue, and the scenery was beautiful. The two men walked along the shore as the sky began to dim. A gentle sea breeze brought a refreshing coolness.

"Where there are people, there is ambition. Where there is ambition, conflict is inevitable. Humanity's brief history is but an insignificant moment for this planet, yet even this short time has been filled with war, slaughter, and death."

"Today, there are hundreds of countries in the world, large and small. Over tens of thousands of years of history, countless nations have risen and fallen, and countless civilizations have perished and vanished. But one nation, one civilization, has spanned five thousand years and tenaciously endured. Even when foreign peoples came to rule, the end result was always that they became absorbed into this civilization."

"Why? Because a certain spirit has always flowed through this civilization and nation. Because a certain group of people has always been willing to sacrifice everything to support this country and civilization, allowing it to be constantly reborn."

"After the battle on Haisa Island, you've come to understand this spirit deeply."

"I often feel that even though I've broken through the limits and possess power far beyond ordinary humans, I am in many ways no greater than those lying silently in the cemetery."

"In this world, anyone can be a hero. We have merely walked further ahead in mind and body."

Liehong Mountain and Zhou Yuanjue came to a stop at the water's edge. He watched the waves rise and fall, crashing against the sand, and spoke slowly.

"Saint Awakening lies within every person's heart."

Zhou Yuanjue said with a nod. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Since you've already ascended to Saint Awakening, I hope you will register your name with the Secret Inspection Bureau. I know your will is one of transcendence. But the Great Dao is found in the mortal world. Ordinary Martial Artists have finite bodies and limited minds; they must be completely focused, abandon all else, and sever their worldly ties just to concentrate their qi and blood and make any progress."

"But as the saying goes, a minor hermit hides in the wilderness, a middling hermit hides in the city, and a great hermit hides in the imperial court. For people like us who have broken through the limits, how can we possibly forge a new path out of the confusion and advance further on the road of Saint Awakening if we don't throw ourselves into the tribulations of this vast mortal world, if we don't undergo the baptism of its complex affairs, if we don't understand the greatness of the past and present?"

Liehong Mountain said slowly.

"When one lives in the mortal world, entangled by fate, some things are unavoidable. I can agree to register with the Secret Inspection Bureau. I won't refuse to do what is within my power. But I have my own judgment and my own path of Cultivation. This world doesn't only have pure people like Tang Chen and his men, who carry heavy burdens as they press on. Nor is it filled only with Martial Artists like us, who abandon everything to strive for their ideals. There are also treacherous and ambitious people who treat all things as pieces on a chessboard."

"The human heart is the most complicated thing in the world. Therefore, I need the right to refuse."

Zhou Yuanjue said calmly, not allowing Liehong Mountain's words to sway his own judgment.

"Agreed. What Saint Awakening doesn't have their own path? I can promise you that."

Liehong Mountain heard the resolve in Zhou Yuanjue's voice. He understood his meaning: Zhou Yuanjue had a favorable impression of the Secret Inspection Bureau, but he wouldn't so easily entrust everything to them. This was only natural.

After all, not even he could represent all of Donghua. Where there are people, there is conflict, let alone at the highest levels of power.

A Saint Awakening follows their own path, abandoning everything to press forward valiantly. How could they be swayed by a few mere words?

However, Zhou Yuanjue's promise was enough. For people like them, their word was their bond, and a promise was worth more than gold. Not even the imperial decrees of ancient emperors could compare to a single word they spoke.

"I'll have someone process the paperwork for your registration with the Secret Inspection Bureau as soon as possible. You'll also be granted a certain security clearance. However, we won't publicly announce your ascension to Saint Awakening for the time being, to keep it as a trump card. What you need most right now is to stabilize your condition. I imagine you have many questions for me."

Liehong Mountain said with a smile.

"Correct. I want to know what path to take after Saint Awakening."

Zhou Yuanjue asked with a nod.

This had become his greatest question since ascending to Saint Awakening. He now felt nearly omnipotent, filled with endless possibilities, yet at the same time, he felt lost. Unlike before, he no longer knew which path to take.

"No one knows where the path of Saint Awakening leads."

"We live in an era that surpasses all those before it. This is true for technology, culture, and everything else. In ancient times, a person like us might not have appeared even once in several hundred years. But now, you and I can stand here and speak as equals. The path they walked was perhaps not even as long as the one we are on."

"We can only feel our way forward, like crossing a river by feeling for stones. We draw on history, technology, and even the Celestial Demons, trying to explore the unknown future."

Liehong Mountain said, shaking his head.

"However, I did achieve Saint Awakening before you, so I can offer you some of my experience."

"I know that over these past seven days, you underwent Bathing Fire Nirvana, and your physical condition has hit a bottleneck. But that is nowhere near the true limit of a Saint Awakening."

Liehong Mountain said with a smile.

Zhou Yuanjue's pupils contracted sharply.

He suddenly felt an immensely powerful Life Magnetic Field radiate from Liehong Mountain. This field reacted with the free electrons in the air, causing the area ten to twenty meters around him to glow with a faint red light.

At that moment, even though he was also a Saint Awakening, he felt an immense pressure, as if Mount Tai itself were crashing down upon him. He unconsciously began to release his own Life Magnetic Field. The Flaming Giant Bird spread its wings, and only then did he manage to completely negate the influence radiating from Liehong Mountain.

Though they were both Saint Awakenings, the power of Liehong Mountain, the Southern Guardian, was far greater than his.

"A Saint Awakening shatters the shackles of the body, and their mind expands to dance with heaven and earth. We are no longer confined by the limits of this physical form; we can dance with nature and contend with the universe itself!"

"I know you received the true teachings of the Lamp Burning Technique and entered Saint Awakening through Bathing Fire Nirvana. As it happens, my own Cultivation is related to this Dao. I have a Dharma Sect that you can use as a reference."

Liehong Mountain's voice boomed, grand and fierce. It was as if raging flames had ignited around him, and the temperature instantly soared.

With a single step, his massive frame was in the water. He ran out across the surface of the sea, the water never rising past his calves.

Walking on Water!

His voice reached Zhou Yuanjue's ears from a great distance, yet it sounded as if he were standing right beside him.

Zhou Yuanjue sensed Liehong Mountain's intense Life Magnetic Field suddenly contract, condensing within a one-meter radius of his body. It took the shape of an egg, or perhaps a Furnace Cauldron.

"Heaven and Earth are the furnace, creation is the smith; Yin and Yang are the charcoal, the ten thousand things are the bronze."

"This technique is called the Heaven and Earth Furnace!"