I Can Replicate Martial Arts

Someone complained.

His viewpoint attracted many supporters, who all felt the person who made the suggestion was inhuman.

"Let’s be clear. Gratitude and taking precautions for the future aren’t mutually exclusive."

"That’s right. I believe the only way to be truly safe is to hold the sharpest spear yourself."

"Bullshit! The age of ’might makes right’ is already here. You’re all just a bunch of frogs in a well. Do you really think he gives a damn about your opinion just because you spout a few words?"

"Emperor Zhao could crush you all with a single finger."

"What’s so great about his Martial Dao? Is he going to kill everyone? If we all spit on him, we could drown him."

"What a complete moron. I’m not even going to waste my time on people like this. Go, Emperor Zhao!"

All sorts of opinions ran rampant online, creating a chaotic mess.

But none of this had the slightest effect on the world-shaking battle taking place over the ocean.

The battle raged on. The man and the serpent had already ascended to an altitude of ten thousand meters.

Countless fist-sized hailstones rained down from the sky, striking the surface of the sea with a series of PLOPS.

Among the distant onlookers, only masters at the High Tier of Dharma and the Domain Realm could still fly closer to observe the state of the battle.

Everyone else had long since abandoned any thought of watching, retreating far back to the coastline.

They weren’t on the same level as a conflict of this magnitude. They didn’t even have the right to watch from up close.

"Young Master, Young Master! Please, please be careful!"

The "battlefield" photographer’s legs were trembling, and the camera in his hands shook uncontrollably.

He was currently being carried by Young Master Muyang, flying at ten thousand meters while filming the distant combat zone.

Even though he was a master in the Grandmaster Realm, flying on his own and being carried while flying were two completely different matters.

Especially at an altitude of ten thousand meters.

The cameraman thought to himself, ’If I can just survive this, I’m definitely going to write a book.’

’I’ll record this entire experience from start to finish.’

’The whole thing is just too intense, too insane! To think I’d be lucky enough to take part in such a ’high-level’ battle, soaring ten thousand meters into the air.’

’This is absolutely an unforgettable experience.’

Just as the cameraman was fantasizing about his future career as a writer, an overwhelmingly powerful Qi Force erupted from the heart of the battle.

"A failure to become a dragon is still just a serpent! Viper, you could have roamed free beyond our domain, but you just had to come to Blue Star. You’ve brought this calamity upon yourself!"

Zhao Rui’s voice rang out clearly, penetrating the thousand-li stretch of sea roiling with chaotic True Qi and reaching the ears of the distant spectators.

Everyone was overjoyed to hear it. It was Zhao Zhenren’s voice.

Before anyone could ponder the meaning of his words, they heard Zhao Rui continue: "By the majesty of the heavens, I command the thunder! All celestial lightning, hear my order! STRIKE!"

As his voice fell, endless bolts of lightning rained down from the heavens, instantly illuminating the space for thousands of li.

"ROAR!"

The Viper King Venerable’s roar was tinged with terror and agony.

Before anyone could react, the Viper Ancestor transformed into a streak of starlight and shot toward the heavens at extreme speed.

In the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight.

"Is it...?"

"Did he win?"

While everyone watched in confusion, the clouds and rain over the thousand-li battlefield suddenly dissipated, and a rainbow pierced through the clear sky.

The fire, ice, gales, massive waves, hail, and lightning all vanished in an instant without a trace.

Between heaven and earth, only Zhao Rui remained. He stood tall, suspended in mid-air, his robes fluttering like an Immortal.

"Everyone, you can go back now. That overgrown worm won’t be showing its face again anytime soon."

Suppressing his aura, Zhao Rui flickered and appeared before the crowd, speaking with a smile.

"Zhao Zhenren, your Contribution to Creation in driving out the Exotic Dragon is truly a boundless merit, and a blessing for our Central Plains Martial Arts."

Master Weiyang bowed and said, his expression formally solemn.

"The Master’s Contribution to Creation is truly a blessing for our Martial Arts!"

The others all chanted in unison.

"You’re all too kind."

Zhao Rui returned the gesture of respect, then looked into the distance at the man from Great Shang who was watching him from afar.

His figure abruptly vanished from before the crowd. When he reappeared, he was already in front of the man from Great Shang.

The man smiled, looking Zhao Rui up and down before nodding. "Impressive. Even the Viper King Venerable was no match for you."

"Do you have some business with me?"

Fresh off his great victory, Zhao Rui’s tone was placid, yet it carried an innate authority that permitted no retort.

The man seemed surprised for a moment, then shook his head. "You’ve expended a great deal of energy today. Some other time, we can have a proper spar."

After speaking, the man smiled, and his entire figure began to fade, gradually disappearing from view.

Zhao Rui frowned but said nothing more. The man’s power was unfathomable, no weaker than his own or the Viper King Venerable’s.

He was clearly another peerless master who had reached the Realm of Transcendence.

’Great Shang has people like this? Then Great Zhou must have them as well.’

Zhao Rui’s eyes narrowed. ’It seems Gui Xu still holds many secrets I’m unaware of.’

’My last hurried trip to Gui Xu was really just a whirlwind tour. I didn’t uncover any of the core secrets.’

’Like the origin of the Exotic Beasts, the true power of Great Shang and Great Zhou, or even the top masters of the Mangcang people.’

’The ancestor of the Yun Mansion... his strength is surely beyond the Domain Realm. Could it be that he intentionally let me go back then?’

A series of thoughts surfaced in his mind.

But just as quickly, he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being.

"Master, your divine might is unparalleled. This humble junior, Young Master Muyang, congratulates you on your great victory on behalf of my master, the Thousand Mechanisms Wanderer."

Just then, Young Master Muyang flew over from the distance with the cameraman in tow. He wore a respectful expression as he bowed to Zhao Rui.

"Oh? The Thousand Mechanisms Wanderer?"

Zhao Rui’s tone faltered. He had, of course, heard of the Celestial Secret Wanderer. He was a top-tier master of the Evil Dao, skilled in divining fortunes and determining karma—an extremely mysterious figure.

It seemed that Young Master Muyang and the other masters from the Evil Dao had shown up for this operation under his command.

"Yes. My master rarely involves himself in worldly affairs, so you may not have heard of him..."

"I’ve heard a little."

Zhao Rui nodded, acknowledging his formal greeting.

While the two were speaking, the cameraman to the side had already captured Zhao Rui’s image on camera.

It was being transmitted live to the internet.

The moment Zhao Rui’s image appeared, it set the entire internet ablaze.

"Emperor Zhao!"

"The Emperor is mighty!"

A flood of titles calling him ’Emperor’ completely dominated the screen. Countless instances of the name ’Emperor Zhao’ scrolled up from the bottom. The sheer momentum and pious reverence made everyone completely forget that just moments before, some had been discussing how to restrict Zhao Rui’s power.

This screen-flooding praise continued for a full ten minutes.

By the time the flood of comments subsided, Zhao Rui had long since vanished from the camera’s view. Not only him, but the True Dharma Masters from the various sects were also gone.

Only Young Master Muyang was left, ’graciously’ carrying the cameraman back toward the shore.

"I’ve been saying since he was a kid that Emperor Zhao had the makings of an emperor."

"You guys are just kidding, but I actually watched him grow up. I was his neighbor."

"I was the Emperor’s classmate! I have his autograph, @ me if you want it."

"I’m the Emperor’s girlfriend. We were childhood sweethearts."

"Enough out of all of you! If you keep making up these ridiculous stories, you’d better watch out. If the Emperor gets angry, there will be rivers of blood! Let me make a serious statement: I’m a taxi driver, and I gave the Emperor a ride once."

"...Somebody get this guy for me!"

The online clamor gradually changed its tone, turning into what was essentially a nationwide festival.

Great joy and celebration naturally follow great shock and fear.

As for this whole affair, even if Zhao Rui knew about it—which he didn’t—he would have simply laughed it off.

The old him would have cared about such things, but from the moment he truly grasped the mysteries of the Martial Dao, matters like these were of little consequence to him.

The coastline was a scene of utter devastation.

A hundred li of scorched earth and countless ruined walls. The refugees began to trickle back to their homes.

But other than dilapidated ruins, nothing was left to greet them.

"Oh, heavens! Why did this happen?"

"All of you who kept saying you would protect us, where were you?"

"You obviously had the power to defeat the evil dragon, so why didn’t you show up sooner? If you had, so many people wouldn’t have died! So many homes wouldn’t have been destroyed!"

Someone in the crowd screamed, their voice torn with grief. They couldn’t accept their new reality, and the resentment in their hearts turned toward Zhao Rui and the others.

"Amitabha Buddha! This old monk can see you’ve been possessed by an Exotic Beast! Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, World-Honored Ksitigarbha, Prajna Buddhas, Prajna Bamah Kong!"

Zen Master Zhisheng glanced at Zhao Rui, then suddenly fixed the loudest complainers with a Vajra’s Furious Gaze.

Immediately, a Brahma Sound Spell echoed in their ears. Within moments,

the men were prostrated on the ground, chanting, "Amitabha Buddha!"

"Ahem!"

Zhao Rui looked at Master Weiyang, a bit embarrassed. "The Demon Sect has its Demon Sound and Buddhism has its Zen Sound," he said. "How come our Daoism doesn’t have that kind of bewit—ahem, a spell for persuading people toward goodness?"

"Boundless Celestial Venerable," Master Weiyang replied. "We generally don’t persuade people."

"..."