I Can Replicate Martial Arts

In an instant, the pair was bathed in a radiant glow, shrouded in clouds and mist. They looked as ethereal as immortals.

Below, the Taishan Sect disciples performing their morning practice saw this and were all left slack-jawed in astonishment. If they hadn’t recognized the two people above, they would have surely cried out that immortals were descending to the mortal realm.

"Junior Brother, do you know what I envy most about Zhao Zhenren?"

Beside the main hall below, Master Qingxu, the Sect Leader of the Taishan Sect, who had been drawn over by the sound of a zither and flute, stroked his beard and spoke.

Beside him, Master Qingyang asked with mild curiosity, "What is it? His aptitude or his fortune?"

"Neither. It’s his youth!"

Hearing the Sect Leader’s words, Master Qingyang couldn’t help but smile faintly. He looked up at the clouds, at the pair who looked as graceful as an immortal couple.

...

「Three months later!」

The naval vessels sent to Pangu Continent to retrieve the masters from the various sects had long since arrived.

The various sects naturally brought their masters and their families back to their respective strongholds to live. The other Martial Artists who followed were either recruited by the government or absorbed by various corporate organizations; all of them were now registered.

As for the nearly one hundred thousand ordinary citizens from the Song Realm, the Court arranged for them to settle in Su State. The land there was vast and sparsely populated, so with a bit of infrastructure development, a new resettlement town was quickly built.

After disembarking, on their way to Su State, the people of the Song Realm were astounded by the conveniences and advancements of modern society, the likes of which they had never seen. Trains, cars, skyscrapers, and wide roads—it all left them dumbfounded.

When they arrived at their new homes and saw the rows of temporary container housing—clean and bright, with warm, comfortable bedding inside—it all felt like a dream.

They couldn’t help but think in amazement, ’Even the high lords probably only live this well.’

When it was time to eat, they lined up to receive the meals provided by the government and were moved to tears of joy. They had probably never eaten such a lavish meal in their entire lives.

The meals had meat, vegetables, large white steamed buns, and rice.

For people of the modern era, it was just an ordinary meal. But for the people of the Song Realm, who had constantly gone hungry, it was a divine delicacy.

Perhaps being born in the right place is a person’s greatest advantage in life.

With the return of the masters from the various sects, the government also obtained more detailed intelligence on the military might of the Great Shang and the Great Zhou. A full-scale, top-to-bottom mobilization for war began throughout the Central Plains.

On one front, they had to face the perpetually hostile Central Asian Merchant. On another, the Great Zhou, who could emerge from the south.

And then there were the mysterious and unpredictable Exotic Beasts of Manghuang, which could make a comeback at any moment.

It was only then that ordinary citizens truly realized the greatest trial was finally at hand.

The recent disasters in America and other regions had been widely reported online, but viewed through a screen, it had all felt somewhat unreal.

Now, with war imminent, they realized that peace had become a distant dream two years ago.

「Another two months passed in the blink of an eye.」

Just as everyone was on high alert, preparing for war, a newly launched special satellite detected the first anomalous signals.

A horde of Exotic Beasts was riding the waves, having already crossed the entire ocean to close in on the Southeast Asia region.

The nations of Southeast Asia, which had survived thanks to the protection of the Central Plains, were the first to be hit, becoming the first place the Exotic Beasts would make landfall.

The cannons roared to life in an instant!

Countless shells rained down, blasting the horde of Exotic Beasts in the sea.

These Exotic Beasts included top-tier beasts, massive in size and comparable to Dharma Masters, as well as smaller, relatively weaker common ones.

They charged the shore in organized, disciplined formations.

Clearly, these were not the free-roaming, wild hordes of Exotic Beasts from the Wilderness.

They were a vanguard force of Exotic Beasts, controlled and manipulated by the Manghuang people who had submitted to the Great Zhou.

"ROAR!"

An Exotic Beast rose from the sea, opened its cavernous maw, and instantly fired a red beam of True Qi that precisely struck a shore-based anti-aircraft battery.

The missiles launched in response were utterly incapable of intercepting such a beam of energy.

One, two... then ten top-tier Exotic Beasts, each comparable to a Dharma Master, rose from the water in unison. In a single assault, they destroyed all the major defensive fortifications on the shore.

"Quick! Ask Huaxia for reinforcements!"

The nations of Southeast Asia finally realized that they could not hold the line on their own, not even for a moment.

Even as they called for help, the Huaxia Central Plains had already dispatched troops.

The principle was simple: when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. It was far better to meet the enemy beyond their own gates than to fight a war on home soil.

However, before the army could arrive with reinforcements, a group of Exotic Beasts had stealthily followed the ocean currents, heading straight for the coastal regions of the Central Plains.

Fortunately, scientists had recently managed to develop and launch satellites capable of adapting to New Blue Star’s unique force fields.

This allowed the Huaxia authorities to discover the enemy’s movements immediately.

At the same time, the satellites revealed that a large number of Flying Beasts were rapidly approaching from the region between Pangu Continent and the Blue Star Continent.

This, presumably, was the Great Zhou’s vanguard.

"The Taishan Sect, the university Martial Arts Clubs, and all levels of the Martial Arts Association will coordinate with the Dongqi Army to defend the peninsula! The Songshan Sect and others will coordinate with the Zhe Army to defend the Zhoushan Islands..."

As the war drew near, every force that could be mobilized, from the army to the Martial Artists, was sent to the front lines.

Zhao Rui’s Qingcheng Sword Sect, along with the main Qingcheng Sect, was dispatched to the coast of Fuzhou to participate in its defense.

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

"My hands are shaking!"

The waiting young disciples and civilian martial artists all looked tense, their palms sweating.

They had been training and acclimatizing constantly, but now that they were on a real battlefield, many of them found themselves trembling uncontrollably.

The long wait was agonizing.

"The Sea Beasts are here!"

Finally, as the shore-based radar alarms blared, hundreds of Exotic Beasts of all shapes and sizes, each with a hideous head, began to emerge from the boundless ocean.

They had arrived.

The army’s artillery immediately rained down on the sea. The sound of massive explosions rose and fell in waves as flames shot skyward and pieces of flesh and limbs were sent flying.

"ROAR!"

The military’s firepower provoked enraged roars from the Exotic Beast horde. Several behemoths tilted their heads to the sky and howled before charging toward the shore.

These were all top-tier Exotic Beasts, comparable to Dharma Masters. Not only were their hides incredibly thick, but they could also manipulate True Qi to unleash their own unique Divine Techniques.

For instance, some could breathe fire, some could radiate ice from their bodies, and some had tails that could change size at will.

Some could even command True Qi to form protective barriers or launch attacks.

Combined with their enormous bodies, their formidability was easy to imagine.

"Everyone, follow me into battle!"

With a sharp cry from Cang Zhenzi of the Qingcheng Sect, all the True Dharma Masters in the sect mobilized. They manifested their True Dharma Bodies and charged toward the Exotic Beasts.

The two immense forces collided, instantly unleashing an earth-shattering wave of power. True Qi crisscrossed the center of the battlefield, and smaller Exotic Beasts were obliterated by the violent energy before they could even get close.

Long-range anti-aircraft missiles that passed through this area would instantly detonate in mid-air.

Ultimately, it was these powers that transcended the mundane that would decide the course of the battle.

The other martial arts organizations preparing in the rear—such as the university Martial Arts Teams and members of the Martial Arts Association—were all aghast at the sight.

They had originally pursued their Martial Dao Cultivation for combat against other humans. Who would have thought that after reaching such a level, they would end up facing the most primitive form of battle: a life-or-death struggle against beasts.

"The Exotic Beasts’ reaction speed and physical toughness are far from ordinary. Don’t think hunting them will be simple. Everyone must be careful, and then be even more careful."

The giant Exotic Beasts were being held back by the Dharma Masters, leaving the rest to be handled by the soldiers and other Martial Artists.

Soon, the entire battlefield was split into two distinct parts.

One was the battle between the High-tier Beasts and the True Dharma Masters; the other was the struggle between the common Exotic Beasts and the human soldiers and Martial Artists.

The sounds of roars, explosions, and agonizing screams rose and fell in a constant din.

The entire surface of the sea was stained a reddish-brown.

"So the remnants of the Song Realm really are here. They all come from the same stock; they’re surprisingly strong!"

In the distance, several Martial Artists in strange attire stood atop a Flying Beast, watching the battlefield from afar.

"Aguli, how long can your Exotic Beasts hold out?"

A giant, round-faced man with a thick beard spoke, his expression grim as he gazed at the battlefield ahead.