Chen Jiuyang walked back home. The Chen family patriarch was waiting for him on the main road and said, "Jiuyang, come with me."
The Chen family patriarch led Chen Jiuyang to the river not far away.
"Jiuyang, come, let's spar a few rounds."
The Chen family patriarch assumed a stance.
"Good."
Chen Jiuyang's eyes lit up. He hadn't had enough at the Zhu family earlier, and now the Chen family patriarch invited him to spar. His blood surged, and he punched towards the Chen family patriarch.
This punch did not carry any true qi, but his blood and qi surged, and his speed was extremely fast, stirring up heat waves as it came towards the Chen family patriarch. The Chen family patriarch's eyes flashed with a solemn look: "Well done, Yuan Dao! This punch is excellent!"
The Chen family patriarch circulated his true qi, and a sharp aura erupted from his body, like a terrifying sword drawn from its sheath. He lightly pointed a finger at Chen Jiuyang.
"Boom!"
In Chen Jiuyang's perception, it was as if the heavens and earth around him were covered by the Chen family patriarch's finger, leaving him nowhere to escape and forcing him to confront the move head-on.
Chen Jiuyang knew this was the divine might and imposing aura of the Heavenly Realm. The Chen family patriarch had previously revealed his cultivation at the Half-step Heavenly Realm.
"Rumble!"
Chen Jiuyang's physical body's punch collided fiercely with the Chen family patriarch's true qi finger, causing countless splashes.
"Cough, cough..."
Chen Jiuyang flew backward, coughing up blood. The residual true qi fluctuations slightly injured his internal organs.
"Thud!"
Chen Jiuyang quickly stabilized himself, standing on the water surface, his eyes shining with sharp light: "Again."
"Alright," the Chen family patriarch nodded slowly.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Chen Jiuyang rushed towards the Chen family patriarch again, throwing another punch. This punch carried his martial intent, and a giant fist phantom appeared, striking towards the Chen family patriarch.
The Chen family patriarch again used a single finger, effortlessly resolving Chen Jiuyang's punch. Chen Jiuyang was sent flying backward again.
After dozens of exchanges, Chen Jiuyang was panting with exhaustion.
The Chen family patriarch finally stopped and asked, "Jiuyang, do you want to walk the path of ancient pure martial arts?"
Chen Jiuyang replied truthfully, "I don't know. It's just that the path of divine might like a prison felt very empty to me. It wasn't as satisfying as my own punches, kicks, and saber strikes."
"We martial artists, besides abiding by the laws of the country, should be free-spirited and unrestrained. Only then can our martial path advance."
"Alas..." The Chen family patriarch sighed, "It seems your martial path is truly set and cannot be changed."
"In the martial path, one's foundation is considered stable only upon reaching the Earth Realm. At that point, there are two paths to choose from: one is divine might like a prison, and the other is invincible divine abilities."
"Your martial path is the path of divine abilities, walking the path of invincibility. However, throughout history, very few people have walked this path, and after the extinction of ancient times, the methods and insights for invincible divine abilities have hardly been passed down."
"Divine might like a prison became the mainstream cultivation path for martial artists after the Middle Ages. With divine might like a prison, one can cultivate quietly and gain self-understanding. If you want to walk the path of invincible divine abilities, you are destined to spar with many powerful individuals to gain insights into divine abilities."
"The path of divine might like a prison is suitable for most people to cultivate. As long as one's talent is not too poor, and they have cultivation methods and resources, they can cultivate to the Earth Realm."
"However, the path of invincible divine abilities is very difficult. In this world, you are likely the only ancient martial artist walking this path."
Chen Jiuyang asked, "Patriarch, why 'in this world'?"
The Chen family patriarch smiled faintly, "Do you think that in the countless years of our Dragon Country, only the few Heavenly Realm kings on the surface are supporting it? You are wrong."
"Currently, our Dragon Country's destiny is incomplete and not prosperous enough to support beyond the Earth Realm, and the Heavenly Realm."
"But the foundation of our ancient families, passed down for countless years, is far more than just this!"
"Experts above the Heavenly Realm are sealed within their own secret realms and cannot emerge. "
"The War of National Destiny, which our Dragon Country has been brewing for sixty years, will see Heavenly Realm experts emerge like clouds after next year's battle, and even transcendent experts of the Venerable Realm will appear."
"Only then will our Dragon Country truly stand up and look down upon all nations!"
Chen Jiuyang's heart trembled. He never expected that the Dragon Country had such secrets.
"It's not just the Dragon Country; it's the same for all countries in the world. In the War of National Destiny, whoever can contend for more national destiny will make their country stronger."
"And the national team will be selected from this year's Dragon Country Martial Rankings."
"This is the real reason why the Chen family invited you back to the Shu Mountain Chen family when you became the champion of the Feng Province Martial Rankings."
"Therefore, the Dragon Country Martial Rankings competition next month is of utmost importance to the entire Dragon Country martial arts world."
"The War of National Destiny occurs only once every sixty years, and participants must not be older than sixty."
"If you, Jiuyang, can enter the national team, it will bring glory to our Shu Mountain Chen clan, and even more so to our country. It will also bring inestimable benefits to your martial path."
"That's why I've always disliked you engaging in all sorts of troublesome affairs, wanting you to focus on martial cultivation."
"But now that you have created your own martial path and are walking the path of invincible divine abilities, I can no longer stop you."
Chen Jiuyang nodded slowly. The Chen family patriarch's revelation of so many secrets at once shocked him, and at the same time, a sense of solemnity grew in his heart.
Chen Jiuyang asked, "Are the people from the Heavenly King Alliance looking for ruins related to invincible divine abilities to reform their methods?"
The Chen family patriarch replied, "It's not just that. There are five paths to advance to the Heavenly Realm. You will understand the specific paths later."
"Since you are walking the path of invincible divine abilities, you can interact and communicate with them more."
"Let's go home for dinner. Your parents have already prepared the meal."
The Chen family patriarch walked back with Chen Jiuyang from the river.
...
They arrived at the doorstep of his home.
Two luxury cars were parked on the main road outside the house.
Peng Ziheng and Sun Haotian were kneeling by the roadside, facing Chen Jiuyang's house. Beside them were two anxious-looking middle-aged men.
One was Peng Jianxing, and the other was Sun Haotian's father.
Upon seeing Chen Jiuyang return, Peng Jianxing quickly put on a fawning smile and walked forward, rubbing his hands. "Marquis Xuanyang, hello. My son has offended you and your wife these past few days. Today, I have specifically brought these two scoundrels to apologize to you, hoping for your forgiveness."
As Peng Jianxing spoke, cold sweat streamed down his forehead. The young man before him was a ruthless character who killed without blinking and a great master in the martial arts world. Anyone in Ziyang County would speak to Chen Jiuyang respectfully.
His Peng family was merely a high-class employee, albeit with some money. His son offending such a person made him unable to eat or sleep.
Chen Jiuyang glanced at them and said, "You show some sincerity. I can let you go, but there's one condition: if your son commits any crime, surrender yourself to the Six Doors and go to jail."
"If he hasn't committed any crimes before, then let it be."
These two second-generation rich kids were kneeling on the asphalt road, their knees bleeding. It was unclear how long they had been kneeling. Moreover, they were ordinary people, and Chen Jiuyang couldn't just kill them with a single blow.
There were more important matters to attend to now, and Chen Jiuyang was too lazy to bother with them.
"Thank you, Marquis Xuanyang! Thank you, Marquis Xuanyang!"
Peng Jianxing and Sun Haotian's father, upon hearing Chen Jiuyang's words, immediately knelt and kowtowed to thank him, as if receiving a great amnesty.
For someone like Chen Jiuyang, dealing with them would be as simple as making them die clean deaths or wish they were dead in minutes.
It was like what Zhong Zhuiwu's son-in-law, Wang Chongyun, had done to Chen Jiuyang's family back then.
But here, Chen Jiuyang suddenly remembered something. Why did Zhou Fangzun instruct Xi Butui to do such a vicious and poisonous thing to the Yao family? He still couldn't figure it out.
How could an ordinary wealthy family offend a high and mighty King of Zhennan?
He was utterly perplexed.