Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Let's begin.

Lu Changsheng began refining the auxiliary materials needed to advance the forging progress of his three Saint Bodies. He knew the process would take a long time, so he settled into seclusion and prepared himself for months of painstaking work.

He refined the materials one after another, day after day.

Ever since arriving at the Martial Saint Institute, Lu Changsheng had spent nearly all his time either in seclusion or preparing for it. Using auxiliary materials did not improve his Saint Body quickly, but it required an enormous amount of time.

Just like that, three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Eventually, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. By this point, he had consumed nearly all the auxiliary materials he had purchased, and he could sense that the progress of his three Saint Bodies had risen considerably.

He summoned the Status Panel to check the results.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Comprehension: 391,400 (Praised for a Hundred Generations)

Primordial Hole Saint Body: Not forged yet (78%)

Five-Colored Divine Light Saint Body: Not forged yet (71%)

Ten Directions Saint Body: Not forged yet (99%)

Lu Changsheng studied the three Saint Bodies. The Ten Directions Saint Body had reached ninety-nine percent, and with just a bit more work, he could finish forging it and obtain a true Ten Directions Saint Body.

However, he had no intention of taking that final step, because once the Ten Directions Saint Body was fully forged, he would lose the opportunity to fuse it with the other two Saint Bodies. And that was not the outcome he had been aiming for. From the very beginning, his goal had been to merge all three Saint Bodies into one.

A sharp gleam appeared in Lu Changsheng's eyes.

The forging progress of all three has passed fifty percent. In theory, fusing them now would carry a decent success rate, though failure is still possible. The higher the progress on each, the higher the odds of success.

I need to make it so that all three Saint Bodies progress at roughly the same rate. Ideally, all three should reach ninety-nine percent before I fuse them. Then, if I time the fusion right, I might forge the fused Saint Body directly and become a Martial Saint.

For the Five-Colored Divine Light Saint Body, he still needed two key materials: the natural wood essence and the natural earth essence. Once he obtained them, raising its progress to ninety-nine percent should not be difficult.

The Primordial Hole Saint Body, on the other hand, posed a greater problem. The Void Devil Pearl he had already used clearly had not been enough. However, Lu Changsheng estimated that two more Void Devil Pearls should carry it close to ninety-nine percent.

Void Demon Pearls will be difficult to obtain for the time being. I should search for natural wood essence and earth essence first...

Just as Lu Changsheng was about to leave for the Exchange Hall in the outer division, the communication stone at his waist suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and quickly checked the message; it was from Li Guang.

"Brother Lu, the Li Clan Merchant Association has run into trouble. If you have time, please come back."

Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed. The Li Clan Merchant Association, in trouble?

He knew how strong the Li Clan Merchant Association was. It had a Martial Saint presiding over it, so under normal circumstances, nothing could touch it. This meant that if trouble had reached them, it was certainly no trivial matter.

Lu Changshen thought of everything Li Guang and the Li Clan had done for him, and quickly made his decision. The natural elemental essence won't be so easy to find anyway. I might as well go back first.

Without further hesitation, he left Cave Residence No. 1 and swiftly flew toward Heavenly Sacred City.

The distance between Heavenly Sacred City and the Martial Saint Institute was rather long. Even with Lu Changsheng traveling at full speed, it still took three full months before he reached the city.

When he arrived, he did not return to the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect. Instead, he went straight to the Li Clan.

"Brother Li."

"Brother Lu, you're back!" Seeing Lu Changsheng, Li Guang's spirits lifted. He had not expected Lu Changsheng to arrive so quickly. After all, the Martial Saint Institute was quite far from Heavenly Sacred City.

Lu Changsheng skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to the point. "Brother Li, what exactly happened?"

Li Guang took a deep breath, and in a grave tone, he said, "The Li Clan Merchant Association has run into serious trouble. All these years, no information about our grand elder's condition ever leaked out, but it's been a long time since he last made a public appearance, and some forces have grown suspicious. They started probing us, testing whether the Li Clan still has a Martial Saint presiding over it.

"A Martial Saint-level force that loses its Martial Saint can't hope to hold on to its power for long, and you can imagine what that invites. The organization testing us is the Black Light Merchant Association of Heavenly Light City."

Something stirred in Lu Changsheng's chest. "Wait. The Black Light Merchant Association? The same one that invaded the Ancient Region last time?"

"Yes, the very same one..." Li Guang said through gritted teeth. "Their Martial Saint had already inquired about the Li Clan once before, and our grand elder managed to fend them off with a careful reply. But it seems that Martial Saint never forgot. They've spent years testing us, pushing a little further each time in an attempt to force our grand elder to reveal himself or even take action.

"His injuries have never fully healed. He can still fight, but doing so would worsen his condition and cut his lifespan short, so unless it's absolutely necessary, he will not make a move. And over time, that hesitation has only made the Black Light Merchant Association bolder. They've been snatching away our businesses across the Sacred Earth one after another, pressing us back step by step."

The Li Clan Merchant Association had indeed been having a difficult time lately, and Lu Changsheng understood that, in a sense, its predicament was connected to him. Had he not borrowed the Li Clan Merchant Association's influence to restrain the Black Light Merchant Association during the invasion of the Ancient Region, their Martial Saint might never have fixated on the Li Clan's grand elder. Strictly speaking, he had dragged the Li Clan Merchant Association into this crisis.

After a moment, Lu Changsheng asked, "How exactly are they targeting the Li Clan Merchant Association?"

"Simple. They cut off our suppliers and business partners by brute force, and we've had no way to protect them. Disappointed and left with no choice, those partners turned to the Black Light Merchant Association instead."

Lu Changsheng immediately grasped the situation. The Black Light Merchant Association was not competing through business. It was using martial force to crush its rivals. Unfortunately for the Li Clan, the Sacred Earth was a place built exactly on that. Ultimately, even business came down to martial force.

In that sense, if the Li Clan Merchant Association could not guarantee the safety of its own partners, there was no reason for anyone to continue doing business with them. In time, the whole association would simply collapse from within.

"Has the Black Light Merchant Association's Martial Saint taken action personally?" Lu Changsheng asked. "And why hasn't the Li Clan fought back?"

"We tried..." Li Guang said with a sigh. "But our strength at the Divine Ability Realm is inferior to theirs. Worse still, the Black Light Merchant Association's Martial Saint has publicly declared that he will personally deal with any Divine Ability martial artist who dares to interfere, so we can't even hire outside help.

"All we can do now is retreat step by step and pull our businesses back to Heavenly Sacred City. But if it comes to that, the Li Clan Merchant Association is as good as finished..."

Lu Changsheng understood what that meant. A merchant association that could not even guarantee its own goods, or so much as supply Heavenly Spirit Water would quickly lose the trust of its customers. Once that happened, its reputation would crumble, and the Li Clan Merchant Association would decline beyond recovery.

After Li Guang finished speaking, neither he nor Lu Changsheng said anything else, plunging the room into an oppressive silence.

After a while, Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Guang. "Brother Li, how strong is the Martial Saint of the Black Light Merchant Association?"

Li Guang shot him a puzzled look and shook his head. "Not particularly strong. He's merely an ordinary Martial Saint. If our grand elder weren't injured, he could overpower him without much trouble. But even with his injuries now, he could still win if he was willing to risk making things worse.

"The problem is that defeating him accomplishes nothing. Once, twice, perhaps even three times, our grand elder could still force that Martial Saint back. But if he keeps provoking us and our grand elder has to step in again and again, our grand elder might not even keep his life."

Lu Changsheng nodded. So the Black Light Merchant Association's Martial Saint wasn't especially powerful. Even injured, the Li Clan's grand elder could beat that Martial Saint. Killing him, however, may not be possible... And if he couldn't kill him, that meant endless trouble. Provocation after provocation, with nothing the Li Clan Merchant Association could use to fight back.

"Brother Li," Lu Changsheng said slowly, "this whole matter started because of the Ancient Region. Let me handle it."

Li Guang froze. "Brother Lu, you're getting involved? But that Martial Saint of theirs..."

Lu Changsheng waved his hand. "That Martial Saint will not act recklessly. He still has to be mindful of the Li Clan's grand elder. And even if he does, it's not like I'm helpless. Worse case, I'll just retreat. As long as I don't fight their Martial Saint directly, I don't care how many Divine Ability martial artists they throw at me. I'll kill every last one of them. Let's see who can last longer in a fight."

Li Guang's brow furrowed tight. Lu Changsheng made it sound easy, but he knew better. If a Martial Saint truly made a move, could Lu Changsheng really hold his own? Li Guang was not certain at all.

After all, once a Martial Saint stepped in, what Divine Ability martial artist could stand against them? Forget fighting back. Simply surviving the first exchange would already be an extraordinary feat. Even if Lu Changsheng had immeasurable divine abilities, the difference in their strength was far too great.

"Brother Lu, this is too dangerous..." Li Guang shook his head.

He had no intention of letting Lu Changsheng take such a risk. In his view, it was far better for the Li Clan to swallow its losses and keep a low profile for a few years. As long as their grand elder remained alive, the clan itself would not fall. And more importantly, they would still have Lu Changsheng as their hope for the future.

If they waited a few more years, long enough for Lu Changsheng to become a Martial Saint and forge a Saint Body from an immeasurable divine ability, suppressing the Black Light Merchant Association's Martial Saint would be all but guaranteed. They just had to put up with this until then.

"Brother Lu," Li Guang said slowly and earnestly, "the reason I sent you that message and asked you to come back was only so you could arrange for the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect to keep a low profile and start laying low as well. Not so you'd come back and throw your life away fighting the Black Light Merchant Association."

Lu Changsheng, however, had already made up his mind. "Enough. It's settled. Tomorrow, bring some of your merchant association's martial artists, and I'll bring some from the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect. We'll go to Heavenly Light City together. Whatever comes next, we'll discuss it there."

Li Guang hesitated, then finally nodded. "Alright. If we're going, I'll consult our grand elder first and make sure he comes with us. With him present, that Martial Saint from the Black Light Merchant Association probably won't dare push things too far."

Lu Changsheng did not object. Although the Li Clan's grand elder was seriously injured, he was still a Martial Saint. Having him there would make the situation considerably safer.

With his next course of action laid out, Lu Changsheng returned to the Sacred Earth Heavenly Sect From Sect Master Lu Tong, he learned about the merchant association's troubles, and the situation was much the same as Li Guang had described.

"A Martial Saint..." Lu Changsheng murmured to himself.

A Martial Saint stood for something beyond the Martial Dao as he knew it. Although he had killed a sacred beast flood dragon, he had never truly crossed paths with a Martial Saint. And tomorrow, in Heavenly Light City, he might finally witness for himself the difference between a sacred beast and a genuine Martial Saint.