Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Hu Shan's eyes also widened against Lu Changsheng's Five Elements Decomposition. His composed expression, as though everything lay within his grasp, changed for the first time.

A thread of danger rose in Hu Shan's heart. "This divine ability..."

He could not recall the last time he had felt anything like this. Only once in his life had Hu Shan felt such a sense of danger, when facing a Martial Saint. Lu Changsheng was merely a Divine Ability Realm martial artist, merely a Martial Venerable, so how could he evoke such an overwhelming sense of danger?

"Tch!"

The next moment, Hu Shan hesitated no longer. His five supreme divine abilities burst forth at once, seamlessly merging into one as though they were a single divine ability.

Even Lu Changsheng was somewhat surprised. This was the first time he had seen anything like it.

Divine abilities complementing one another meant only that they influenced each other, patching one another's flaws. But actually fusing into one divine ability? That was extraordinarily rare, something not even Lu Changsheng had achieved.

Still, it doesn't matter. Fused or not, that's still just a major divine ability.

Within those five supreme major divine abilities, Lu Changsheng sensed a trace of the five elements. That was all he needed. Any divine ability not utterly independent from the five elements was bound to lose against his Five Elements Decomposition.

Boom!

And so, one divine ability clashed against five fused into one.

A contest of divine abilities was almost never flashy. Strong was strong, and weak was weak. In this case, everyone could see plainly that Lu Changsheng's Five Elements Decomposition, vast and unstoppable, would crush Venerable Hu Shan's five divine abilities without any resistance.

Sure enough, the five supreme major divine abilities melted like snow before spring, collapsing, disintegrating, and finally vanishing altogether.

"I-Impossible... Absolutely impossible! My five supreme major divine abilities fused as one can contend with the legendary immeasurable divine abilities. How the hell did you negate them like that?"

Hu Shan was in sheer disbelief, his eyes bulging. However, the facts were the facts: his five supreme major divine abilities had been shattered without the slightest resistance, utterly crushed and neutralized, as effortlessly as a major divine ability rolling over an ordinary one.

Lu Changsheng smiled. "Five supreme major divine abilities fused into one can indeed crush any other major divine ability. But what made you think they could contend with a so-called legendary immeasurable divine ability? Now that you're faced with a real immeasurable divine ability, what will you do?"

His words struck Hu Shan—and every spectator present—like a hammer blow. Lu Changsheng had just confirmed the theory everyone had fearfully dared to entertain: the five-colored radiance was an actual immeasurable divine ability!

"I can't believe I truly got to witness a real immeasurable divine ability! That's the stuff of legends!"

"Venerable Lu confirmed it himself, there's no doubt. That is the legendary immeasurable divine ability!"

"Look at Venerable Hu Shan's five supreme major divine abilities fused into one. They should be powerful enough to pierce the heavens, but so what? He believed they could contend with an immeasurable divine ability, and now he's staring at Lu Changsheng like a fool."

"A major divine ability, however powerful, can never transform into an immeasurable divine ability, much less contend with one. The gap between them is beyond imagining."

"Hu Shan is done for..."

On the arena platform, Hu Shan was fleeing from the Five Elements Decomposition, the radiance about to wash over him.

"I concede. I concede! You're the one truly invincible in the Divine Ability Realm!"

Hu Shan had no other choice but to surrender. Otherwise, he would have undoubtedly died at Lu Changsheng's hand.

Lu Changsheng nodded and withdrew his divine ability. He and Hu Shan had both been recruited by the two merchant associations to duel for ownership of the Geng Metal vein. The only requirement was fighting with their full strength; killing each other was simply unnecessary.

Deaths happened only when a battle raged so fiercely that a divine ability's power slipped its leash. And how fierce had this battle been? For Lu Changsheng, it had been effortless. His divine ability was never going to slip.

The Flying Boat chairman shot to his feet, unable to hold back his laughter. "Hahaha, victory! That Geng Metal vein belongs to our Flying Boat Merchant Association!"

In recent years the Mingzhou Merchant Association had mounted a fierce offensive against the Flying Boat Merchant Association, competing on every front, and now they had even tried to force their way into the Geng Metal market, something the Flying Boat Merchant Association could never tolerate.

This time, they had beaten the Mingzhou Merchant Alliance back—and decisively, at that.

The chairman of the Mingzhou Merchant Alliance had a dark expression. He watched Venerable Hu Shan walk down from the arena and said coldly, "Venerable Hu Shan, you promised us victory regardless of who your opponent was. You were awfully confident, and what did you have to show for it? You got stomped here on stage... Hmph, consider our agreement null and voice, all of it."

Following the disastrous defeat, the Mingzhou Merchant Association would cut all ties with Hu Shan. He was merely a Martial Venerable, respected only when useful. And now that he was no longer of any use, why would the Mingzhou Merchant Association bother with him?

Regardless, Venerable Hu Shan paid them no mind. He looked like a man whose soul had left his body.

An actual immeasurable divine ability...

He had finally witnessed the immeasurable divine ability he had dreamed of all his life. However, it had come at the cost of a crushing defeat, and the bitterness was hard to swallow.

There's always a higher mountain. Ten years in the Martial Saint Institute made me lose sight of myself. How could I ever become a Martial Saint like this? The daze in Hu Shan's eyes gradually cleared.

He gave Lu Changsheng one long, deep look, even bowed to him from afar, then turned into a streak of light and vanished.

Regardless of the duel, this Hu Shan is no weakling. Becoming a Martial Saint shouldn't be a problem for him... Lu Changsheng nodded to himself.

A man who could condense five supreme major divine abilities certainly did not lack Perception, and now it was clear his temperament was strong as well. Such a man held enormous potential in the Martial Dao.

The next time they met, Hu Shan would likely be a Martial Saint—not that Lu Changsheng was worried about that. From the day he first began practicing martial arts until now, no one he had surpassed had ever caught up to him again. No one had even come within a tenth of his pace. In that regard, his confidence was absolute.

"Chairman, I have defeated Hu Shan. As for the agreement between the Flying Boat Merchant Association and myself..." Lu Changsheng alluded to the promised reward of natural Geng Metal Essence.

"Hahaha, indeed, Fellow Daoist Lu! Here's the essence, prepared long ago."

The chairman produced a fist-sized chunk of ore, dark golden in hue. Lu Changsheng could tell at a glance that this was no common stone. It was a natural Geng Metal Essence, a treasure countless people could only dream of.

"Good. Chairman, should any other natural five-elemental essences come your way in the future, do let me now. Now, I shall take my leave."

With that, Lu Changsheng rose into the air and vanished as a streak of light.

The chairman sighed with feeling. "That young man has the makings of a Heavenly Saint..."

A Heavenly Saint, the very pinnacle of the Three Saint Realms. The Three Saint Realms referred to Human Saint, Earthly Saint, and Heavenly Saint. When most people spoke of Martial Saints, they meant only Human Saints.

But above the Human Saint stood the Earthly Saint and the Heavenly Saint. In theory all three were Martial Saints, yet the gulf between them was vast beyond measure; the three could not be spoken of in the same breath.

To the Flying Boat and Mingzhou Merchant Associations, this duel had been like an earthquake. To Lu Changsheng, however, it was utterly unremarkable, barely worth a second thought. He soon returned to the Martial Saint Institute and took out the natural Geng Metal Essence for a careful examination.

Let me try refining it first.

Back in the secret chamber of his cave residence, Lu Changsheng entered seclusion and began refining the natural Geng Metal Essence.

Normally, such essence was forged into flying swords, enchanted treasures, and the like, tempering them so that they would grow with the passage of time. However, Lu Changsheng was refining it for the purpose of forging the Five-Colored Divine Light Saint Body.

Under his refinement, the extremely hard natural Geng Metal Essence truly did melt into his body bit by bit, absorbed completely into forming the Five-Colored Divine Light Saint Body. Of course, this was merely laying the foundation; four other key materials remained.

As for the Saint Body's other materials, Lu Changsheng tried refining and infusing those into his body as well, but the quantities required were enormous, and what the Martial Saint Institute provided was nowhere near enough. He would have to acquire more with spirit stones.

Fortunately, Lu Changsheng was not actually forging the Five-Colored Divine Light Saint Body straight off. He was only laying groundwork, and was in no hurry.

After all, he intended to fuse three Saint Bodies into one. This was only the Five-Colored Divine Light Saint Body; the key materials for the other two had yet to be found.