I Can Replicate Martial Arts

Zhao Rui waved his hand, then looked at the Sect Leader and Elders of the Qingcheng Sect, as well as Yu Zhengnan and Yun Hao—the two lone high-ranking members of the Qingcheng Sword Sect—and said,

"Everyone, this situation is far more serious than you think. Let’s go. We’ll continue this discussion in the main hall."

Hearing his words, everyone exchanged bewildered glances. The Elders of the Qingcheng Sect, in particular, were confused.

’With Zhao Rui’s current power, what could possibly be so serious that it warrants this level of concern?’

’Shouldn’t this be a time for him to be triumphant and make his move on the world stage?’

No one asked any more questions, and they followed Zhao Rui into the main hall of the Qingcheng Sect.

Sect Leader Weichen and Zhao Rui politely deferred to one another over the main seat, but in the end, the Sect Leader took it and said with a smile,

"Although the rampage of Exotic Beasts has brought great disaster and plunged the people into misery, for our Qingcheng Mountain to produce a great master whose power awes the world is truly a blessing in these chaotic times..."

"Boundless Celestial Venerable!"

Everyone clasped their hands and chanted the True Words.

"Elder Zhao, you must have gained a great deal from your battle with the Viper King Venerable. Please, share some of your insights with us. Allow us frogs in a well a glimpse of the splendor at the absolute peak of the Martial Dao."

Sect Leader Weichen said with a smile.

Hearing this, Zhao Rui did not feign modesty. He nodded and said, "Indeed, I gained quite a lot from this battle. As for the Viper King Venerable’s power, I’m sure Brother Weiyan has some sense of it."

"Elder Zhao is absolutely right. I, this old Daoist, have lived in vain for nearly a hundred years, and I nearly capsized in a gutter. I had thought that with my Domain Realm strength, even if I couldn’t roam the world unopposed, at least very few could harm me."

"In today’s battle, after just a few exchanges with that wicked beast, I was constantly in peril. Thinking back on the danger now, I still feel a chill run down my spine."

Master Weiyang was one of the main participants in this "Beast Hunting" war, so naturally, he had many feelings to share.

As he spoke eloquently, the Elders felt as if they were there themselves, the ferocious might of the Venerable-level Exotic Beast coming vividly to life.

After Master Weiyang finished speaking, Zhao Rui added some details about the Viper King Venerable’s specific strengths and characteristics.

It served to flesh out the image of "it."

"This fiend’s intelligence is no less than a human’s. There are surely many Exotic Beasts like it in the savage wilds. Everyone, the most dangerous time has arrived."

Zhao Rui’s expression grew grim as he continued, "I propose that from this day forward, Qingcheng Mountain be sealed. We will focus on our Cultivation. Everyone, the sooner you can take that step into the Domain Realm, the safer Qingcheng Mountain will be."

After speaking, he glanced at Sect Leader Weichen.

Weichen nodded without hesitation. "An excellent idea. Whether it’s to consolidate Qingcheng’s strength or to temporarily lie low, sealing the mountain is the best choice."

Seeing Master Weiyan so supportive, Zhao Rui gave a slight nod.

He had made the proposal directly in part to gauge Weichen’s attitude.

He wanted to see where the Qingcheng Sect stood.

Fortunately, Weichen’s response was very much to his satisfaction.

"This... must we really seal the mountain? In the Song Realm, we haven’t seen a single one in a hundred years..."

an Elder asked, confused.

"I only have a partial understanding of this matter myself; I will explain it to you all at a later date. All you need to know is that there is definitely more than just one Exotic Beast like the Viper King Venerable. You must all be extremely careful."

Zhao Rui said seriously.

Once he said this, no one asked any more questions, and they all couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

’Anything that makes Zhao Rui this cautious can’t be a small matter.’

"Tomorrow, I will teach you a formation, the Demon Capturing Primordial Array. It is a Combined Attack Skill designed to deal with powerful Demon Beasts like the Viper King Venerable. While it can’t guarantee victory, it will allow you to protect yourselves for a time."

Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed. No matter how fascinating the shared experiences were, nothing was as tangible as being taught a new Cultivation Technique.

The group chatted idly in the main hall for a while longer before finally dispersing.

Over the next few days, Zhao Rui remained on Qingcheng Mountain, teaching the Elders this newly created array formation.

He had reverse-engineered it after fighting the Viper King Venerable and copying its Lifebound Divine Technique, the Viper Transformation Dragon Technique.

The current Zhao Rui’s understanding and insight into the Martial Dao were absolutely top-tier.

While he couldn’t create Top-tier Techniques at will, it was still a simple matter for him to take an existing technique and condense it into a counteracting Martial Art.

What Zhao Rui taught them was an array formation designed to counter the power of the Dragon Transformation Technique. It utilized Innate Five Elements True Qi, leveraging the five elements’ cycles of generation and restriction to create a certain chaotic aura that could resist the invasion of an Exotic Beast’s Energy.

The Elders were all only at the Dharma Realm, and their understanding of the Domain was merely superficial. Now they had the chance to learn such a Top-tier Technique.

This would undoubtedly be of immense help for their future breakthroughs into the Domain Realm.

With one side teaching wholeheartedly and the other humbly absorbing the knowledge, the entire Sect was immersed in an atmosphere of martial practice and Cultivation.

On the very day Zhao Rui began teaching the Martial Arts, the Qingcheng Sect announced to the public that it would enter a year of seclusion and seal its mountain gates.

When this news broke, the various factions that had planned to come and pay their respects to Zhao Rui were all met with closed doors.

Many tycoons from the worlds of politics and business couldn’t help but frown, unable to understand the meaning behind the Qingcheng Sect’s actions.

In the current era where the Martial Dao reigned supreme, these figures who once commanded the old world naturally wanted to latch onto a powerful backer to continue their former glory.

Even if they couldn’t reclaim their glory, they could at least find a protective talisman.

And the newly emerged "Emperor Zhao" was undoubtedly the best choice.

Zhao Rui’s background was easy to investigate—a local kid with a "clean" record who had gone to school and practiced martial arts his whole life.

While his family wasn’t impoverished, they weren’t exactly wealthy either.

’He should be easy to control.’

But now, the Qingcheng Sect’s move had caught them completely off guard.

’What did this mean? Was this the Qingcheng Sect’s decision? Or Zhao Rui’s?’

’Or had some other power put pressure on Qingcheng Mountain?’

"Find out everything about his family and friends! I want the most detailed files!"

"I need all the information on the women around him. Even if they’re prostitutes, I want to know."

For a time, all sorts of speculation ran rampant among the rich and powerful elite. In connection with this, many began to make their moves, seeking opportunities to access information about Zhao Rui.

Compared to the disappointment and confusion of the political and business circles, the thoughts of the common people were far more complex.

"Emperor Zhao is injured!"

"He must be seriously injured! How could he drive away such a powerful Exotic Beast without paying a price? The Emperor helps the world and saves the people!"

"Is it possible Emperor Zhao already died over the East Sea? That the one who came back was just an illusion?"

"You know, that’s actually possible. A lot of novels have that trope, right? The main character sacrifices his life to save the world."

"The Emperor is mighty!"

"I bet the Emperor secretly brought back the ’dragon root.’ Hiding out on Qingcheng Mountain, enjoying it all by himself, eh?"

"Damn, what a weird take!"

All kinds of wild speculation swirled about, adding to the chaotic and toxic atmosphere of the internet.

But none of this toxic nonsense had any effect on Zhao Rui whatsoever.

Because after he finished teaching the Cultivation Technique, he had already left Qingcheng Mountain quietly and was heading for the Great Shang Land.

He had been able to sense the goodwill from that man from Great Shang.

Although Great Shang currently occupied Central Asia and was vast and populous, most of its Martial Artists were those brought over from Gui Xu.

Their real strength lay in their modernized military forces which, while not as formidable as those of the Central Plains, were still an extremely powerful force.

The Central Plains, on the other hand, had the weakest Martial Dao strength but the strongest military power and the most advanced technological firepower.

In terms of the Martial Dao, both sides were inherently a step weaker than the Great Zhou. Right now, with a three-way balance of power, forming alliances would surely be of some use.

Of course, none of this had much to do with a man of the Martial Dao like him, but under the circumstances, it at least meant that, for the time being, Great Shang was not an "enemy."

Zhao Rui flew into the stratosphere, reaching the borderlands in the blink of an eye.

The border area between the two nations was already a barren wasteland. Besides having been baptized by artillery fire, the main reason was that the two sides did not have open passage between them.

Only a few scattered camel caravans passed through to exchange goods.

Zhao Rui had cleared this area out once before, and looking down now, things were clearly much better.

The camels traveled steadily, and the people on their backs looked relaxed, clearly not having suffered any harm.

’Only long-term peace and stability can foster the people’s well-being and development.’

Zhao Rui sighed. If it were possible, he would rather be an ordinary master of the Martial Dao living in an era of peace than a top-tier master living amidst the chaos of war.