All along, Li Feng had believed the eight great families stood at the very pinnacle of China. But after learning their true history, he no longer saw them as the ultimate powers.
Had every martial artist in the land truly been exterminated?
Li Feng thought it impossible. The eight families had hunted them for over two thousand years and still failed to wipe them out. Moreover, the eight families themselves had internal conflicts over that same period.
Li Feng was certain that, in two thousand years, the martial artists pursued by the eight families had long since banded together and formed their own hidden factions. Those factions were the real enemies of the eight great families.
What was more, after two thousand years, the eight great families probably no longer possessed even Earth Martial experts, let alone Heavenly Martial ones. The spiritual energy on Earth had grown far too thin.
Of course, this was only Li Feng’s speculation. He had no way of knowing the truth.
He had witnessed Innate experts in action, but he still had no clear idea of their full power, never mind the far greater might of Earth Martial and Heavenly Martial experts.
Li Feng looked at Ge Feng, a glint in his eye, and said, “Ge Feng, if I’m not mistaken, your Ge family are descendants of those martial artists from back then?”
“Correct.” Ge Feng nodded. Li Feng didn’t even know the history of the eight great families, so Ge Feng had no fear that Li Feng would kill him just to fulfil some ancient mission.
“As I thought.” A sharp light flashed through Li Feng’s eyes. The Ge family had never appeared among China’s top-tier or first-rate clans. Now, after hearing Ge Feng’s words, he finally understood what kind of existence the Ge family truly was.
Li Feng believed there were many families like the Ge clan. They might remain obscure, yet their strength could easily rival the eight great families.
Still, Li Feng had no interest in the mission of the eight great families. Qin Shi Huang had been dead for over two thousand years. Were they really still carrying out that so-called duty?
At that thought, something suddenly occurred to him. He quickly asked, “Ge Feng, did Qin Shi Huang ever find a way to the Ancient Martial Realm?”
Ge Feng had said earlier that Qin Shi Huang was a peerless expert who collected every secret manual under heaven. Surely that included records of other realms. Had he discovered the path?
Also, martial practitioners enjoyed far longer lifespans than ordinary people. Postnatal experts could live a hundred years, Innate experts two hundred, Earth Martial experts four hundred, and Heavenly Martial experts even longer.
If, as Ge Feng claimed, Qin Shi Huang himself was a great expert, why had he died just ten years after unifying the land?
“He did find it. After the three realms were divided, a teleportation array leading to the Ancient Martial Realm remained on Earth. After gathering every manual, Qin Shi Huang located that ancient array and used it to travel to the Ancient Martial Realm.” Ge Feng nodded.
Li Feng’s pupils contracted. “Then the historical records about Qin Shi Huang’s death…”
“According to our family chronicles, after he left, Qin Shi Huang left a body double in this world. Later, however, something major happened that directly caused the fall of the Great Qin Empire. The records only mention it in passing, so I don’t know the details.” Ge Feng replied.
Li Feng was stunned. He truly hadn’t expected Qin Shi Huang to have entered the Ancient Martial Realm. He had assumed the emperor was assassinated. After slaughtering so many martial artists, countless people must have wanted him dead. In that era, talismans, spirit symbols, and arrays were everywhere. Killing someone, even under heavy protection, was far from impossible.
Li Feng grew curious about what had happened after Qin Shi Huang departed, but since Ge Feng didn’t know, he suppressed the question.
He decided that once he reached Yan Jing, he would examine the Li family records. Since the Li ancestor had served under Qin Shi Huang, there must be documentation. The Ge family had stood against the emperor, while the Li family had been on his side. The Li records were bound to be more complete.
Moreover, after everything Ge Feng told him, Li Feng’s view of certain matters shifted. For example, the Qin Emperor’s mausoleum. It was supposed to be Qin Shi Huang’s tomb, yet the man had entered the Ancient Martial Realm. Why build such an enormous mausoleum for himself?
There had to be some secret there.
And if the eight families had served Qin Shi Huang, why had they done nothing when the Great Qin Empire collapsed?
Had they betrayed the empire? If they had betrayed it, why had they faithfully hunted martial artists for two thousand years afterwards?
Question after question flooded Li Feng’s mind.
At the same time, he was deeply curious about the location of the teleportation array to the Ancient Martial Realm. If the chance arose, he wanted to see that world for himself, the one separated from Earth long ago.
The path to the peak of martial arts was long indeed. It seemed he still had far to go.
“Martial artists refine qi only after refining the body. In Middle Antiquity, the reason martial artists were so formidable was precisely because of body forging. An army that had undergone body forging, even without cultivating true qi, could, with the aid of battle formations, annihilate powerful martial experts. After the body forging arts were burned, apart from a tiny fraction that survived through hidden lineages, most vanished into the river of history. That is why I was so shocked that you possess body forging techniques.” Ge Feng continued.
“Ge Feng, didn’t you say a small portion was passed down? Then it can’t really be considered lost, can it?” Li Feng asked.
“The most profound body forging arts in the world were held by the Great Qin Empire back then. Qin Shi Huang also collected the vast majority of the rest. After those were burned, the few who still possessed body forging techniques went into hiding rather than risk exposure, especially with the eight great families hunting them. Over two thousand years of changing eras, whether any lineage survived at all is questionable.” Ge Feng glanced at Li Feng as he spoke.
Li Feng began to understand. Martial arts were passed down generation by generation, and every family guarded their manuals like priceless treasures. If the inheritor died or faced threats, the lineage ended. After two thousand years, although it was not accurate to say no body forging arts remained at all, what little survived was exceedingly rare. Anyone discovered possessing them would become a target. Thus, for all practical purposes, they were lost, just like battle formations and alchemy.
Li Feng gave a wry smile. He hadn’t expected the eight great families, his own included, to be the chief culprits behind the decline of martial arts. For all their current glory, it was built on mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
Thinking of the Nine Heavens Heart Scripture and Profound Heaven Body Forging Art he had obtained, Li Feng felt secretly fortunate. Only now did he realise how incredibly lucky he was to possess the Profound Heaven Body Forging Art, especially since it was no ordinary technique.
Without it, at his current seventh-level qi refinement, he would never have possessed the combat strength of Postnatal ninth level.
Li Feng fell silent for a moment, digesting this shocking revelation, then said, “Ge Feng, I do happen to have a body forging technique. I’m just not sure whether, at your current Postnatal fifth level, practising it would still be effective.”
“Li Feng, that’s not what I meant at all!” Ge Feng hurriedly explained, afraid Li Feng thought he had revealed all this just to obtain the technique.
“What are you thinking? If I can teach the Black Eagle squad, why wouldn’t I teach you?” Li Feng laughed and scolded him.
Ge Feng paused, then smiled sheepishly. Yes, Li Feng wasn’t that sort of person. He had casually given away even the Thousand-Year Ice Dew. A body forging technique was nothing in comparison.
Without delay, Li Feng taught the Ge siblings a body forging method. Naturally, it was not his Profound Heaven Body Forging Art, which required the Nine Heavens Heart Scripture and was unique. He hadn’t even taught it to Hu Yuanyuan, let alone the Ge siblings. What he gave them was the same ordinary body forging method he had taught the Black Eagle squad. Fortunately, in the modern era such techniques were considered worthless, and he remembered several.
Once Ge Feng and Ge Ying had memorised the method, Li Feng said, “You’ve already cultivated true qi. I’m not sure if body forging will still help at this stage, but you might as well try. If it works, your strength will increase dramatically.”
Li Feng thought of Zhong Shuhui. Like the Ge siblings, she had refined qi without forging her body first. If the Ge siblings could successfully forge their bodies after cultivating qi, even if the effect was limited, as long as it boosted their strength, he would have Zhong Shuhui try it too.
“Li Feng, thank you.” Having recorded the technique Li Feng gave him, Ge Feng was overwhelmed with gratitude and didn’t know how to express it.
“Thank me? Then thank me by drilling the Black Eagle squad mercilessly.” Li Feng smiled. At the same time, he recalled the battle formations once used by the Great Qin armies. A single body-forged army, aided by formations, had been capable of slaying Earth Martial experts. The power of those formations was obvious. If the Black Eagle squad could master such formations, their future combat strength…
At that thought, a gleam flashed in Li Feng’s eyes. He resolved to study formations thoroughly in the future. Even if he couldn’t obtain the kind that could kill Earth Martial experts, ordinary formations would still multiply the entire squad’s power several times over.
“Li Feng, don’t worry. I’ll drill them hard.” Ge Feng nodded firmly. Li Feng’s kindness to him and his sister was as weighty as a mountain. Without meeting Li Feng, it would have taken them at least ten years to reach their current level. And now, Li Feng had unhesitatingly handed over a body forging technique.
“Me too!” Ge Ying quickly added from the side. Everything Ge Feng had just revealed about history was news to her as well. Unlike her brother, she had never been interested in the family records and knew nothing of those ancient events. She had been deeply shaken while listening and only now snapped out of it.
Li Feng nodded and said, “Good. Let’s all work hard together and climb to the peak of the martial path.”
