Great Shun, the Capital.
On a towering pavilion that reached into the clouds, the officials on duty immediately rushed over as the chart known to the world as the 【Weapon Register】 underwent a change.
This place was the 【Observation Pavilion】.
As its name implied, it was the department within the imperial court responsible for publishing the Weapon Register and overseeing the reputation of the realm. Its status within the imperial court was extremely special and transcendent.
For the officials of the Observation Pavilion, Titled Martial Masters moving up and down the Weapon Register and changes in rankings were normal occurrences. It happened almost every day. It would be more accurate to say that this was precisely the purpose of the Weapon Register’s existence— to incite the martial artists of the world to spontaneously fight amongst themselves.
After all, living in this world was nothing more than the pursuit of fame and fortune.
Not to mention that, to date, the simplest and most efficient path to becoming a Titled Martial Master was through the Weapon Register. No martial artist alive did not covet it.
And the rankings on the Weapon Register were determined solely by strength.
It was the pure law of the jungle—the strong rose to the top. Once on the Weapon Register, one would be imbued with reputation, condense divine intent, and could further elevate their strength.
As for the method to get on the Weapon Register, it was also largely uniform.
That was to find the Titled Martial Masters ranked at the very bottom of the Weapon Register and then find a way to kill them through methods like ambushes or sneak attacks.
If successful, one could replace their ranking on the Weapon Register.
As for how to advance further, that depended on the martial artist’s own mental cultivation, natural talent, and comprehension—whether they could cultivate even stronger divine intent using limited reputation.
However, as the old saying goes, everything is hard in the beginning. The chosen children of heaven might be able to rely on their innate talent to rapidly boost their ranking on the Weapon Register, but to get on it in the first place, the initial step required defeating a stronger opponent while being the weaker one. If one couldn’t cross this threshold, no amount of genius mattered.
Because of this…
When the officials of the Observation Pavilion clearly saw the ranking change on the 【Weapon Register】, they were all plunged into an indescribable, massive shock.
“Wang Ping… th-thirty-seventh?”
“Has this person appeared before?”
“No!”
“Xu Bingzheng’s name disappeared… Wait, he was ranked three hundred and forty-second. If this Wang Ping killed him, he should have just taken his spot.”
“Why did he skyrocket directly to thirty-seventh?”
The officials looked at each other in dismay. Finally, one raised his hand and whispered, “Could it be that the Weapon Register determined he killed Xu Bingzheng too easily?”
“Strictly speaking, the Weapon Register is also a weapon, and a 【Divine Relic】-grade weapon at that. It is not a dead object. It has its own set of criteria when judging a martial artist’s ranking. If the strength of the martial artist getting on the list far exceeds that of the Titled Martial Master they killed, the Weapon Register will appropriately elevate their rank…”
Before he could finish, someone immediately rebutted:
“You said it yourself—’appropriately elevate’. Advancing a few spots, or a dozen spots, is the absolute limit. How could he possibly jump straight to thirty-seventh?”
“Not even the successor of the Divine Dragon Temple was this exaggerated!”
“The top one hundred and eight are the Human List, the top thirty-six are the Earthly List, and the top five are the Heavenly List. Thirty-seventh—this is already considered first place on the Human List!”
Just then, a white-haired elder finally spoke:
“If that’s the case, then let’s take a look.”
“Please open the Weapon Register and see exactly how this 【Wang Ping】 killed Xu Bingzheng. Only then can we give him an appropriate title.”
For example, Xu Bingzheng’s 【Immortal Thread】, or Li Yiran’s 【Landscape Brush】.
Getting on the Weapon Register was only the first step. For a Titled Martial Master, the focal point was the title. It had to be connected to the person’s preferred weapon and fighting style.
Soon, with the elder taking the lead, the other officials of the Observation Pavilion took their positions. They simultaneously formed hand seals, and the Weapon Register suspended high on the pavilion immediately reacted. Heavy layers of light bloomed on the chart, then slowly coalesced toward the location of 【Wang Ping】.
Soon, the light took shape.
The officials waited with rapt attention, even taking out brush and paper, ready to record. After all, this was a case of the weak overcoming the strong; they assumed it must have been a grueling, protracted battle.
Their task was to analyze.
From the combat process displayed by the Weapon Register, they needed to identify this rising star’s fighting style, preferred weapon, the strength of their internal force, and even any fatal flaws…
“Here it comes!”
Finally, the light took form.
What it displayed was the exact scene of Wang Ping killing Xu Bingzheng. Even the perspective was from Xu Bingzheng’s point of view, accompanied by a text description below.
【Wang Ping threw a punch. Xu Bingzheng discovered it in advance through divine intent, used the “Immortal Thread” to block, used internal force to defend, and used vitality to protect his body.】
【Xu Bingzheng died.】
At the very end, the image froze on the sight Xu Bingzheng saw—impressively, a fist magnified countless times, as magnificent as a mountain.
“…That’s it?”
The corner of the leading elder’s eye twitched slightly. The officials behind him also widened their eyes and looked at each other in dismay. Are you telling me Xu Bingzheng was beaten to death with a single punch?
Was he really that weak?
After a moment of silence, the elder formed the hand seal again, having the Weapon Register replay the scene. He confirmed the image was correct and that the artifact wasn’t broken.
“Incredible.”
The elder looked amazed and let out a long breath: “No internal force, no weapon. An external martial artist beat a Titled Martial Master to death in a single move using just a fist.”
“This Wang Ping is likely an 【Extraordinary Talent】.”
As soon as these words were spoken, an official immediately chimed in: “Your Excellency is perceptive. It must be an error on the 【Fangxian Dao】’s end that caused them to overlook this person.”
“It might not necessarily be an error.”
Someone pointed at Wang Ping in the image: “Do you see this person’s body? Muscles like steel, qi like fire. It’s the 【Thirteen Grand Protectors Body-Tempering Art】.”
“He’s eighty percent likely from the Imperial Retainers Hall.”
As these words fell, looks of comprehension immediately appeared on everyone’s faces.
“The Imperial Retainers Hall… Then it’s not surprising. The Chief Retainer probably poached him from the 【Fangxian Dao】, intending to groom him into a new retainer.”
“If that’s the case, how should we determine this person’s title?”
The elder had a slight headache and said helplessly, “Why would a young talent from the Imperial Retainers Hall run to the Weapon Register? Don’t they have their own internal titles?”
“It’s probably a transition.”
An official guessed, “After all, being first on the Human List isn’t enough for an Imperial Retainers Hall title, so he came to our Weapon Register first to adapt?”
“It’s possible.”
“Huh?” Just then, an official holding a case file suddenly exclaimed in surprise: “This Wang Ping is actually a native of the capital, and a Gilded Cavalry Guard?”
“What?”
Upon hearing this, people immediately crowded over to look at the text description beneath the Weapon Register. After confirming it was correct, their expressions became even more troubled.
After a moment of silence, someone suggested:
“This person uses his fists to fight and seemingly dislikes weapons, which shows a reckless fighting style. Yet he possesses an indestructible body-tempering physique. If you ask me, we might as well call him…”
“Don’t even.” An official immediately objected: “A young talent valued by the Imperial Retainers Hall, who also holds the identity of a Cavalry Guard—how can we emphasize his reckless style? It sounds terrible. It needs to be a bit more elegant, carry deeper meaning, and highlight his status, so the palace can maintain face.”
“Then what should we write for his martial arts realm? External martial artist?”
“What else?”
“Won’t that be too exaggerated?”
“Exaggerated is better. It’s not a lie anyway, and it’s perfect for fooling some reckless fools into thinking someone just got lucky and running over to challenge him.”
At this point, the tone of the several Observation Pavilion officials grew incredibly cold.
“That’s true. They’re all just martial artists anyway. The more that die, the more peaceful the world will be. Otherwise, why would the founding Emperor have gone to such great lengths to forge the Weapon Register?”
“…”
After several rounds of discussion, the elder ultimately made the final decision. He added a stroke above 【Wang Ping】’s name to serve as the title for coalescing reputation:
【Dragon Fist】.
“This person beat Xu Bingzheng to death with three punches. His strength must be astonishingly immense. As the saying goes, the extreme of strength is the true dragon’s sinew. And since he uses fists, this name is perfectly fitting.”
“Furthermore, the character for ‘Dragon’ can serve as a metaphor for the Emperor, which is perfect for a Cavalry Guard.”
The elder stroked his beard and smiled, clearly very satisfied with the title he had chosen. He then raised his brush with a flourish, firmly adding it in front of 【Wang Ping】.
Almost simultaneously, the branch copies of the 【Weapon Register】 published by the imperial court in crucial locations across all prefectures and commanderies in the realm resonated, and the text on them began to change as well.
Thus, less than a quarter of an hour after Xu Bingzheng’s death…
The title of the newly appointed first place on the Human List, 【Dragon Fist】 Wang Ping, spread north and south of the river through the Weapon Register. There wasn’t a single person across the Central Plains who didn’t know it.
…
Meanwhile, inside Longxing County.
“Who are you!?”
Li Yiran looked in horror at the heroic young man before him. Every muscle in his body was tensed, as if what stood before him wasn’t a human, but a flood or savage beast.
It wasn’t just because he hadn’t noticed anything and couldn’t save Xu Bingzheng in time when the other party killed him. It was also because his realm was higher than Xu Bingzheng’s. Xu Bingzheng could only vaguely sense danger, but he could clearly perceive exactly how massive the danger was.
Invincible!
Li Yiran took a step back. A splitting pain pierced his glabella. Divine intent circulated through his entire body, stimulating every muscle and causing every drop of his blood to wail.
Run! I can’t win!
I’ll die!
Right at this moment, as an indescribable, terrifying wave of reputation descended through the void, Wang Ping, who was just preparing to deal with Li Yiran, suddenly froze in place.
“Hmm?”
This was precisely the reputation brought by ranking thirty-seventh on the Weapon Register. Stimulated by this reputation, Wang Ping felt as if his mind had been instantly pulled out of his body.
Forgetting both himself and the world around him, all external changes had nothing to do with him at this moment… To describe it more vividly, it was as if an extra eye had appeared above his head. Not only could he examine his own body from an entirely new perspective, but even the flow of time in his eyes could be adjusted according to changes in his will.
Is this… divine intent?
Wang Ping widened his eyes, feeling somewhat incredulous. This was a sensory ability similar to spiritual sense, yet distinctly different—almost akin to some sort of intuition.
More importantly, it could perceive the microscopic.
Closing his eyes, Wang Ping felt as if he could hear the flow of blood in his body, the peristalsis of his internal organs, and even the pulsing of his acupoints—and he could precisely control them!
Divine intent, divine intent.
No wonder Xu Bingzheng’s performance earlier was so miraculously brave. Even though my punch was a sneak attack, he was able to detect the danger in advance and make a defensive move.
Although it was useless.
But that was because Xu Bingzheng himself was lacking, not the divine intent. This intuitive sensory power, born from the physical plane, was exceptionally excellent!
Furthermore, as divine intent grows, it can even compensate for the flaws of spiritual sense. After all, spiritual sense perception is often based on changes in the physical plane. Even when danger descends, spiritual sense might be deceived by others. However, this abstract intuitive perception of divine intent can warn me in time.
Thinking of this, Wang Ping felt quite pleasantly surprised.
To be honest, he had been close to losing interest in Great Shun’s martial arts and was preparing to focus entirely on cultivating immortality. But after experiencing divine intent firsthand, he changed his mind.
There’s still a future in practicing martial arts after all.
The next second, Wang Ping slowly relaxed. His detached mind returned to his body. Opening his eyes, he happened to see Li Yiran’s figure fleeing frantically.
“Hmph, trying to leave?”
Wang Ping sneered and stepped forward.
Instantly, divine intent circulated, and the flow of time slowed down. Yet, he himself experienced no change, rapidly closing the distance with Li Yiran, who had already fled far away.
“Y-you can’t kill me!”
Sensing the crisis approaching from behind, Li Yiran hurriedly turned his head. His divine intent vibrated, and his voice was transmitted directly into Wang Ping’s mind through mental resonance.
This was the voice transmission technique that only Titled Martial Masters could use.
Silent and without any warning, communicating purely through divine intent, it caused a “sudden impulse” in the other party, using intuition to depict the words spoken to each other.
“You are a Gilded Cavalry Guard, aren’t you!”
“I saw your clothes. They are specially made for Cavalry Guards… And you definitely have a military tally in your hand. Only then would Wu Xintai dare deploy troops.”
With his life on the line, Li Yiran’s thoughts were sharper than ever before:
“I know you must be carrying an imperial decree, giving you the confidence to strike. But I tell you, even with an imperial decree, you cannot kill a County Magistrate indiscriminately!”
“I didn’t kill a County Magistrate.”
Wang Ping said flatly: “Xu Bingzheng colluded secretly with White Lotus thieves, plotting rebellion—a heinous crime. I am leading troops to quell a rebellion. Everything is perfectly reasonable and justified.”
“Absurd!” Li Yiran gritted his teeth: “Where is the evidence?”
“The White Lotus Cult Leader Shouchong said it himself.”
Wang Ping said casually: “Moreover, when I moved against him just now, my original intention was merely to question him. Yet he dared to fight back. It’s obvious he had a guilty conscience.”
Li Yiran: “…”
Deceiving the heavens!
Boundless anger burned in Li Yiran’s heart. But looking at Xu Bingzheng’s headless corpse, he forcefully swallowed it down, continuing his divine intent voice transmission to stall for time:
“Taking a step back, even if Xu Bingzheng was under suspicion, he should have been detained and put on trial.”
“As the saying goes, punishment does not extend to senior officials!”
If it were those grunts, their deaths wouldn’t matter. But Xu Bingzheng was a student of the Imperial Academy, a seventh-rank County Magistrate. If an official like that was truly found doing evil deeds, it should be handled privately. A light punishment would be three cups of wine; a heavy one would be demotion. In the worst-case scenario, he would only be sent back to his hometown.
Under no circumstances should he die, let alone at the hands of grunts!
“This is breaking the rules!”
Li Yiran knew deeply how to incite people’s emotions. His voice transmission was filled to the brim with disdain, aiming to ignite Wang Ping’s anger and make him lose his reason.
Once reason is lost, divine intent naturally falls into chaos.
That way, he could carve out a path to survival.
However, what turned his heart icy was that Wang Ping’s divine intent was completely unmoved by his provocation. Instead, it tightened like a noose, drawing closer and closer.
“This is the end.”
As the voice transmitted over, amidst the wails of his intuition, Li Yiran uncontrollably turned his head, only to see a fist as large as a mountain filling his vision.
Mount Tai pressing down on the head… So this is Mount Tai pressing down on the head?
Boom!
Great Shun, the Capital.
On a towering pavilion that reached into the clouds, the officials on duty immediately rushed over as the chart known to the world as the 【Weapon Register】 underwent a change.
This place was the 【Observation Pavilion】.
As its name implied, it was the department within the imperial court responsible for publishing the Weapon Register and overseeing the reputation of the realm. Its status within the imperial court was extremely special and transcendent.
For the officials of the Observation Pavilion, Titled Martial Masters moving up and down the Weapon Register and changes in rankings were normal occurrences. It happened almost every day. It would be more accurate to say that this was precisely the purpose of the Weapon Register’s existence— to incite the martial artists of the world to spontaneously fight amongst themselves.
After all, living in this world was nothing more than the pursuit of fame and fortune.
Not to mention that, to date, the simplest and most efficient path to becoming a Titled Martial Master was through the Weapon Register. No martial artist alive did not covet it.
And the rankings on the Weapon Register were determined solely by strength.
It was the pure law of the jungle—the strong rose to the top. Once on the Weapon Register, one would be imbued with reputation, condense divine intent, and could further elevate their strength.
As for the method to get on the Weapon Register, it was also largely uniform.
That was to find the Titled Martial Masters ranked at the very bottom of the Weapon Register and then find a way to kill them through methods like ambushes or sneak attacks.
If successful, one could replace their ranking on the Weapon Register.
As for how to advance further, that depended on the martial artist’s own mental cultivation, natural talent, and comprehension—whether they could cultivate even stronger divine intent using limited reputation.
However, as the old saying goes, everything is hard in the beginning. The chosen children of heaven might be able to rely on their innate talent to rapidly boost their ranking on the Weapon Register, but to get on it in the first place, the initial step required defeating a stronger opponent while being the weaker one. If one couldn’t cross this threshold, no amount of genius mattered.
Because of this…
When the officials of the Observation Pavilion clearly saw the ranking change on the 【Weapon Register】, they were all plunged into an indescribable, massive shock.
“Wang Ping… th-thirty-seventh?”
“Has this person appeared before?”
“No!”
“Xu Bingzheng’s name disappeared… Wait, he was ranked three hundred and forty-second. If this Wang Ping killed him, he should have just taken his spot.”
“Why did he skyrocket directly to thirty-seventh?”
The officials looked at each other in dismay. Finally, one raised his hand and whispered, “Could it be that the Weapon Register determined he killed Xu Bingzheng too easily?”
“Strictly speaking, the Weapon Register is also a weapon, and a 【Divine Relic】-grade weapon at that. It is not a dead object. It has its own set of criteria when judging a martial artist’s ranking. If the strength of the martial artist getting on the list far exceeds that of the Titled Martial Master they killed, the Weapon Register will appropriately elevate their rank…”
Before he could finish, someone immediately rebutted:
“You said it yourself—’appropriately elevate’. Advancing a few spots, or a dozen spots, is the absolute limit. How could he possibly jump straight to thirty-seventh?”
“Not even the successor of the Divine Dragon Temple was this exaggerated!”
“The top one hundred and eight are the Human List, the top thirty-six are the Earthly List, and the top five are the Heavenly List. Thirty-seventh—this is already considered first place on the Human List!”
Just then, a white-haired elder finally spoke:
“If that’s the case, then let’s take a look.”
“Please open the Weapon Register and see exactly how this 【Wang Ping】 killed Xu Bingzheng. Only then can we give him an appropriate title.”
For example, Xu Bingzheng’s 【Immortal Thread】, or Li Yiran’s 【Landscape Brush】.
Getting on the Weapon Register was only the first step. For a Titled Martial Master, the focal point was the title. It had to be connected to the person’s preferred weapon and fighting style.
Soon, with the elder taking the lead, the other officials of the Observation Pavilion took their positions. They simultaneously formed hand seals, and the Weapon Register suspended high on the pavilion immediately reacted. Heavy layers of light bloomed on the chart, then slowly coalesced toward the location of 【Wang Ping】.
Soon, the light took shape.
The officials waited with rapt attention, even taking out brush and paper, ready to record. After all, this was a case of the weak overcoming the strong; they assumed it must have been a grueling, protracted battle.
Their task was to analyze.
From the combat process displayed by the Weapon Register, they needed to identify this rising star’s fighting style, preferred weapon, the strength of their internal force, and even any fatal flaws…
“Here it comes!”
Finally, the light took form.
What it displayed was the exact scene of Wang Ping killing Xu Bingzheng. Even the perspective was from Xu Bingzheng’s point of view, accompanied by a text description below.
【Wang Ping threw a punch. Xu Bingzheng discovered it in advance through divine intent, used the “Immortal Thread” to block, used internal force to defend, and used vitality to protect his body.】
【Xu Bingzheng died.】
At the very end, the image froze on the sight Xu Bingzheng saw—impressively, a fist magnified countless times, as magnificent as a mountain.
“…That’s it?”
The corner of the leading elder’s eye twitched slightly. The officials behind him also widened their eyes and looked at each other in dismay. Are you telling me Xu Bingzheng was beaten to death with a single punch?
Was he really that weak?
After a moment of silence, the elder formed the hand seal again, having the Weapon Register replay the scene. He confirmed the image was correct and that the artifact wasn’t broken.
“Incredible.”
The elder looked amazed and let out a long breath: “No internal force, no weapon. An external martial artist beat a Titled Martial Master to death in a single move using just a fist.”
“This Wang Ping is likely an 【Extraordinary Talent】.”
As soon as these words were spoken, an official immediately chimed in: “Your Excellency is perceptive. It must be an error on the 【Fangxian Dao】’s end that caused them to overlook this person.”
“It might not necessarily be an error.”
Someone pointed at Wang Ping in the image: “Do you see this person’s body? Muscles like steel, qi like fire. It’s the 【Thirteen Grand Protectors Body-Tempering Art】.”
“He’s eighty percent likely from the Imperial Retainers Hall.”
As these words fell, looks of comprehension immediately appeared on everyone’s faces.
“The Imperial Retainers Hall… Then it’s not surprising. The Chief Retainer probably poached him from the 【Fangxian Dao】, intending to groom him into a new retainer.”
“If that’s the case, how should we determine this person’s title?”
The elder had a slight headache and said helplessly, “Why would a young talent from the Imperial Retainers Hall run to the Weapon Register? Don’t they have their own internal titles?”
“It’s probably a transition.”
An official guessed, “After all, being first on the Human List isn’t enough for an Imperial Retainers Hall title, so he came to our Weapon Register first to adapt?”
“It’s possible.”
“Huh?” Just then, an official holding a case file suddenly exclaimed in surprise: “This Wang Ping is actually a native of the capital, and a Gilded Cavalry Guard?”
“What?”
Upon hearing this, people immediately crowded over to look at the text description beneath the Weapon Register. After confirming it was correct, their expressions became even more troubled.
After a moment of silence, someone suggested:
“This person uses his fists to fight and seemingly dislikes weapons, which shows a reckless fighting style. Yet he possesses an indestructible body-tempering physique. If you ask me, we might as well call him…”
“Don’t even.” An official immediately objected: “A young talent valued by the Imperial Retainers Hall, who also holds the identity of a Cavalry Guard—how can we emphasize his reckless style? It sounds terrible. It needs to be a bit more elegant, carry deeper meaning, and highlight his status, so the palace can maintain face.”
“Then what should we write for his martial arts realm? External martial artist?”
“What else?”
“Won’t that be too exaggerated?”
“Exaggerated is better. It’s not a lie anyway, and it’s perfect for fooling some reckless fools into thinking someone just got lucky and running over to challenge him.”
At this point, the tone of the several Observation Pavilion officials grew incredibly cold.
“That’s true. They’re all just martial artists anyway. The more that die, the more peaceful the world will be. Otherwise, why would the founding Emperor have gone to such great lengths to forge the Weapon Register?”
“…”
After several rounds of discussion, the elder ultimately made the final decision. He added a stroke above 【Wang Ping】’s name to serve as the title for coalescing reputation:
【Dragon Fist】.
“This person beat Xu Bingzheng to death with three punches. His strength must be astonishingly immense. As the saying goes, the extreme of strength is the true dragon’s sinew. And since he uses fists, this name is perfectly fitting.”
“Furthermore, the character for ‘Dragon’ can serve as a metaphor for the Emperor, which is perfect for a Cavalry Guard.”
The elder stroked his beard and smiled, clearly very satisfied with the title he had chosen. He then raised his brush with a flourish, firmly adding it in front of 【Wang Ping】.
Almost simultaneously, the branch copies of the 【Weapon Register】 published by the imperial court in crucial locations across all prefectures and commanderies in the realm resonated, and the text on them began to change as well.
Thus, less than a quarter of an hour after Xu Bingzheng’s death…
The title of the newly appointed first place on the Human List, 【Dragon Fist】 Wang Ping, spread north and south of the river through the Weapon Register. There wasn’t a single person across the Central Plains who didn’t know it.
…
Meanwhile, inside Longxing County.
“Who are you!?”
Li Yiran looked in horror at the heroic young man before him. Every muscle in his body was tensed, as if what stood before him wasn’t a human, but a flood or savage beast.
It wasn’t just because he hadn’t noticed anything and couldn’t save Xu Bingzheng in time when the other party killed him. It was also because his realm was higher than Xu Bingzheng’s. Xu Bingzheng could only vaguely sense danger, but he could clearly perceive exactly how massive the danger was.
Invincible!
Li Yiran took a step back. A splitting pain pierced his glabella. Divine intent circulated through his entire body, stimulating every muscle and causing every drop of his blood to wail.
Run! I can’t win!
I’ll die!
Right at this moment, as an indescribable, terrifying wave of reputation descended through the void, Wang Ping, who was just preparing to deal with Li Yiran, suddenly froze in place.
“Hmm?”
This was precisely the reputation brought by ranking thirty-seventh on the Weapon Register. Stimulated by this reputation, Wang Ping felt as if his mind had been instantly pulled out of his body.
Forgetting both himself and the world around him, all external changes had nothing to do with him at this moment… To describe it more vividly, it was as if an extra eye had appeared above his head. Not only could he examine his own body from an entirely new perspective, but even the flow of time in his eyes could be adjusted according to changes in his will.
Is this… divine intent?
Wang Ping widened his eyes, feeling somewhat incredulous. This was a sensory ability similar to spiritual sense, yet distinctly different—almost akin to some sort of intuition.
More importantly, it could perceive the microscopic.
Closing his eyes, Wang Ping felt as if he could hear the flow of blood in his body, the peristalsis of his internal organs, and even the pulsing of his acupoints—and he could precisely control them!
Divine intent, divine intent.
No wonder Xu Bingzheng’s performance earlier was so miraculously brave. Even though my punch was a sneak attack, he was able to detect the danger in advance and make a defensive move.
Although it was useless.
But that was because Xu Bingzheng himself was lacking, not the divine intent. This intuitive sensory power, born from the physical plane, was exceptionally excellent!
Furthermore, as divine intent grows, it can even compensate for the flaws of spiritual sense. After all, spiritual sense perception is often based on changes in the physical plane. Even when danger descends, spiritual sense might be deceived by others. However, this abstract intuitive perception of divine intent can warn me in time.
Thinking of this, Wang Ping felt quite pleasantly surprised.
To be honest, he had been close to losing interest in Great Shun’s martial arts and was preparing to focus entirely on cultivating immortality. But after experiencing divine intent firsthand, he changed his mind.
There’s still a future in practicing martial arts after all.
The next second, Wang Ping slowly relaxed. His detached mind returned to his body. Opening his eyes, he happened to see Li Yiran’s figure fleeing frantically.
“Hmph, trying to leave?”
Wang Ping sneered and stepped forward.
Instantly, divine intent circulated, and the flow of time slowed down. Yet, he himself experienced no change, rapidly closing the distance with Li Yiran, who had already fled far away.
“Y-you can’t kill me!”
Sensing the crisis approaching from behind, Li Yiran hurriedly turned his head. His divine intent vibrated, and his voice was transmitted directly into Wang Ping’s mind through mental resonance.
This was the voice transmission technique that only Titled Martial Masters could use.
Silent and without any warning, communicating purely through divine intent, it caused a “sudden impulse” in the other party, using intuition to depict the words spoken to each other.
“You are a Gilded Cavalry Guard, aren’t you!”
“I saw your clothes. They are specially made for Cavalry Guards… And you definitely have a military tally in your hand. Only then would Wu Xintai dare deploy troops.”
With his life on the line, Li Yiran’s thoughts were sharper than ever before:
“I know you must be carrying an imperial decree, giving you the confidence to strike. But I tell you, even with an imperial decree, you cannot kill a County Magistrate indiscriminately!”
“I didn’t kill a County Magistrate.”
Wang Ping said flatly: “Xu Bingzheng colluded secretly with White Lotus thieves, plotting rebellion—a heinous crime. I am leading troops to quell a rebellion. Everything is perfectly reasonable and justified.”
“Absurd!” Li Yiran gritted his teeth: “Where is the evidence?”
“The White Lotus Cult Leader Shouchong said it himself.”
Wang Ping said casually: “Moreover, when I moved against him just now, my original intention was merely to question him. Yet he dared to fight back. It’s obvious he had a guilty conscience.”
Li Yiran: “…”
Deceiving the heavens!
Boundless anger burned in Li Yiran’s heart. But looking at Xu Bingzheng’s headless corpse, he forcefully swallowed it down, continuing his divine intent voice transmission to stall for time:
“Taking a step back, even if Xu Bingzheng was under suspicion, he should have been detained and put on trial.”
“As the saying goes, punishment does not extend to senior officials!”
If it were those grunts, their deaths wouldn’t matter. But Xu Bingzheng was a student of the Imperial Academy, a seventh-rank County Magistrate. If an official like that was truly found doing evil deeds, it should be handled privately. A light punishment would be three cups of wine; a heavy one would be demotion. In the worst-case scenario, he would only be sent back to his hometown.
Under no circumstances should he die, let alone at the hands of grunts!
“This is breaking the rules!”
Li Yiran knew deeply how to incite people’s emotions. His voice transmission was filled to the brim with disdain, aiming to ignite Wang Ping’s anger and make him lose his reason.
Once reason is lost, divine intent naturally falls into chaos.
That way, he could carve out a path to survival.
However, what turned his heart icy was that Wang Ping’s divine intent was completely unmoved by his provocation. Instead, it tightened like a noose, drawing closer and closer.
“This is the end.”
As the voice transmitted over, amidst the wails of his intuition, Li Yiran uncontrollably turned his head, only to see a fist as large as a mountain filling his vision.
Mount Tai pressing down on the head… So this is Mount Tai pressing down on the head?
Boom!