Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Upon returning to his cave residence, Lu Changsheng immediately entered seclusion. After sitting down, he took out more than a dozen pieces of Martial Dao fragments he had brought back from Secret World No. 18.

Although that secret world's highest energy level had only reached the Dao Foundation Realm, that did not mean its Martial Dao fragments were limited to the same level.

These fragments had been condensed from the Martial Dao of an entire world, so no matter how weak that world had been, refining them would still bring tremendous benefits to an Earthly Saint's Dao Body.

Before he started, Lu Changsheng summoned his Status Panel to examine himself.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 1,079,000 (Heaven-Born Saint)

Earthly Saint Dao Body: None (Martial Dao Fragment)

His Perception had not increased at all during the three years he spent in the secret world, but that was hardly surprising. After all, his true body had remained here the entire time, while his consciousness had been living in Lu Yuan's body in another world.

As for the Martial Dao fragments, he had only just brought them back and had yet to refine a single one. Naturally, what effect they would have on his Dao Body remained to be seen.

Let's begin. Lu Changsheng picked up the first Martial Dao fragment and focused. His Dao Body then surged with power and drew the fragment directly into itself.

Boom!

A large amount of insight flooded his mind. At the same time, he could feel his Dao Body expanding rapidly, but that wasn't what mattered most. His attention was caught by the sense of something else taking shape within him. It was faint, but he could tell that it was being formed by the Martial Dao fragment.

Lu Changsheng began refining the second. Then the third, the fourth, and the fifth. As more and more Martial Dao fragments merged with his Dao Body, that indistinct presence gradually became clearer.

What had initially been little more than a vague feeling slowly revealed its true form. With a Perception past one million, he quickly understood what was happening.

Martial Dao! What's taking shape inside me is my own Martial Dao!

Everything suddenly became clear. If a person's body was a self-contained world, then only when the Martial Dao was formed within that world could a martial artist unleash their peak strength and mobilize every drop of power hidden within them to tear heaven and earth apart.

Furthermore, only a world anchored by its own Martial Dao could grant a warrior an unshakable foundation—no longer drifting aimlessly in the void, but possessing a grand direction to strive toward.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The Martial Dao, the path unique to each martial artist and the true foundation of our strength, is now within me!

At last, Lu Changsheng understood why the Martial Dao fragments were so important. The true purpose of an Earthly Saint was to condense a Martial Dao of their own, then use it to command the Dao Body and bring every trace of its power under complete control. Once that Martial Dao was fully formed, the next step was the Heavenly Saint.

Lu Changsheng finally understood why the Divine Lords of the Divine Region, despite possessing strength comparable to Heavenly Saints, were once thoroughly defeated and ultimately driven back into the Divine Region.

The difference lay in the source of their power. Divine Lords relied on their pantheons and borrowed the "authority" of the world itself. Yet that so-called authority was ultimately only a portion of the world's power.

Heavenly Saints, however, relied neither on heaven nor on earth, but entirely on themselves. Their power came from the Martial Dao they had condensed within themselves. The stronger that Martial Dao became, the stronger the Heavenly Saint would become alongside it.

No matter where a Heavenly Saint went, they would carry their own Martial Dao with them. In a sense, a Heavenly Saint was themselves a complete Martial Dao, with all of their power rooted entirely within their own being.

And that was exactly why Heavenly Saints had been able to overwhelm the Divine Lords and drive them back into the Divine Region.

Lu Changsheng now understood the concept clearly, but understanding it also made him realize just how difficult the next step would be because condensing his own Martial Dao was far more difficult than allowing a Martial Dao to form within an actual world.

A world's Martial Dao could be condensed from the collective faith of everyone within it. Once enough faith had gathered, the Martial Dao would take shape, and the vast, ceaseless energy of the world itself could then nourish it until it fully solidified over time.

An Earthly Saint trying to build the Martial Dao within themselves had no advantage like this.

Before anything could be condensed, they first had to attain absolute clarity regarding the kind of Martial Dao they should condense—a profound epiphany known as Questioning One's True Nature.

Only after understanding their own martial path completely could they know what Martial Dao they needed to condense, and even then, that was only half the battle. Condensing a Martial Dao also required an enormous amount of energy, far beyond what an Earthly Saint could produce through their own strength.

Hence, Earthly Saints had to enter other worlds and obtain Martial Dao fragments.

Those fragments would gradually nourish the Martial Dao taking shape within them. And once enough fragments had been absorbed, and their personal Martial Dao was finally complete, an Earthly Saint would cross that final hurdle and become a Heavenly Saint.

Lu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. By now, he had refined every Martial Dao fragment he had obtained, yet the Martial Dao within him had failed to take even an embryonic form. More precisely, it had not settled into any particular form at all.

The power gathered within him remained fluid and chaotic, constantly shifting as though it could still develop in countless different directions.

However, Lu Changsheng was not surprised or disappointed. After all, he had yet to sort through his own martial path. He had not truly clarified his mind, perceived his true nature, or questioned his original heart.

Until he understood what path he himself intended to walk, his Martial Dao could not possibly take shape.

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes and began retracing the path that had brought him here. From his earliest days practicing martial arts at Miaoshou Garden to everything he had experienced since then.

He had practiced far too many different martial arts to count. He had practiced the sword and wielded the saber, yet he was neither a pure swordsman nor a pure saberman. He had cultivated fist techniques, countless martial skills, and contemplated one Principle after another.

Whenever something could improve his strength or raise his Perception, he would learn it without hesitation. There had never been a particular weapon, technique, or branch of martial arts to which Lu Changsheng had devoted himself above all else. In fact, if he had possessed the talent for Qi Refinement, he would have taken up immortal cultivation long ago.

He had never had any attachment to one particular path. He asked himself a question: What, then, has remained unchanged throughout my entire journey?

And the answer quickly came to him. Becoming stronger!

From the very beginning, that had always been his goal. Whether he used a saber or a sword, followed the martial path or the immortal path, or some entirely different path made no difference to him. If something could make him stronger, he would learn it. If it could strengthen his foundation, he would master it. He had never cared whether his path was considered pure.

Once Lu Changsheng understood that, the confusion in his heart vanished. My path has never been about pursuing one particular form. Its purpose is to make me stronger. If something can strengthen me, then there is no reason for me to reject it. My Martial Dao should encompass all things and accept all things, using every path to strengthen itself.

When that realization settled in his heart, the chaotic power within him finally began to change. However, Lu Changsheng's thoughts did not stop there. If my Martial Dao exists to continually absorb, grow, and become stronger, then why should it ever possess a fixed limit?

A finite foundation could still pursue infinite growth. I want my Martial Dao to have an infinite limit, so I shall call my Martial Dao the Infinite Martial Dao!

At that moment, Lu Changsheng's entire path became clear, and...

Boom!

An embryonic form of his Martial Dao finally took shape. It was vast enough to encompass all things, rejecting nothing and capable of turning countless different things into nourishment for itself—it was the Infinite Martial Dao.

Lu Changsheng summoned his Status Panel once more.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 1,179,000 (Heaven-Born Saint)

Infinite Martial Dao: 5% (Not Condensed)

Infinite Martial Dao had appeared on the panel, and it had already reached five percent. That meant Lu Changsheng had completed only a small portion of the process; he still needed another ninety-five percent before the Infinite Martial Dao could be fully condensed.

Once it reached a hundred percent, he would finally become a Heavenly Saint.

I've absorbed every Martial Dao fragment I obtained, yet the Infinite Martial Dao only reached five percent. Reaching one hundred percent will not be easy... Lu Changsheng's gaze then shifted to his Perception, which had increased by a hundred thousand points. Did refining the Martial Dao fragments increase my Perception as well? That's unexpected...

At his usual pace, he added roughly one hundred twenty thousand points a year, so a sudden leap of one hundred thousand after refining the Martial Dao fragments was a wonderful surprise.

The Martial Dao fragments I gathered this time were from a world with relatively low energy levels... I mean, the fragments are complete, but I wouldn't say their quality is exceptional.

If I obtain fragments from a stronger world, would they grant an even greater increase? If so, then perhaps the next time it won't just be one hundred thousand points; it could be two hundred, three hundred, five hundred thousand, or even one million points!

Lu Changsheng then rose and carefully sensed the condition of his Earthly Saint Dao Body. At first glance, the Dao Body itself did not seem to have grown dramatically stronger. However, he knew that his actual combat strength had undergone a tremendous transformation.

Before condensing the embryonic form of his Martial Dao, he had already been among the strongest Earthly Saints. He could even be considered nearly invincible at that level. However, there were still a handful of Earthly Saints capable of contending with him, particularly those who had refined a substantial number of Martial Dao fragments and also condensed the embryonic form of their own Martial Dao.

However, Lu Changsheng had formed an embryonic form of his Infinite Martial Dao and refined more than a dozen Martial Dao fragments into it. His control over the Dao Body and the power he could unleash were both far greater than before.

He no longer needed to fear any Earthly Saint. Even those cultivator robbers who had been watching him were no longer much of a threat. As long as he did not face a Heavenly Saint, he had nothing to fear.

However, the path to growing stronger still presented another problem.

Secret worlds are difficult to find. If I want more Martial Dao fragments, I'll probably have to continue obtaining secret world coordinates through the Secret World Pavilion. And to get them, I'll have to pay in deity fragments... Lu Changsheng frowned.

He was an Earthly Saint and could not enter the Divine Region himself, which meant obtaining deity fragments directly was nearly impossible.

Do I really have to follow the example of those cultivator robbers and kill others for their deity fragments?

Lu Changsheng quickly dismissed the idea. He was willing to do whatever was necessary to become stronger, but that did not mean he would rob and kill people without reason.

More importantly, becoming a cultivator robber carried enormous risks. He was unrivaled among Earthly Saints, but if he spent enough time robbing powerful cultivators, sooner or later he could end up provoking someone who had the support of a Heavenly Saint. And if that happened, he would likely end up in big trouble.

Relying on myself alone in the Sacred Region will make gathering deity fragments far too difficult. I need a faction behind me... But creating a faction from nothing would take far too much time. Joining an established major faction isn't ideal either, since I'd inevitably be bound by its rules and lose my freedom...

Unless... Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly. What if I join an established faction that I can completely control?

His eyes lit as the shape of a plan came together. Around Sacred Star City, there were more than enough Earthly Saint-level factions to choose from, and no shortage of fallen ones either.

What he needed was a target he could infiltrate and bend to his absolute control; an organization that would answer solely to his command. Such factions certainly existed, and there were more than a few waiting to be claimed.

To put this plan into action, however, he needed reliable information. And when it came to intelligence, there was no point searching blindly when specialists already existed—and that meant a trip to the Celestial Star Pavilion.

The Celestial Star Pavilion made its business by gathering and selling information. As long as someone could afford to pay in spirit stones, there was very little it could not uncover.

Lu Changsheng rose and set off straight for the Celestial Star Pavilion.