Infinite Fighting

Chapter 80: Chapter 71: Leaving, The Idea of Spiritualization

After Zhang Ji finished his experiment, he left immediately to get some rest.

However, the commotion he caused attracted the nearby guards.

Zoeyna had assigned a few people to guard the Divine Wind Tower for a specific reason.

For one, it was to keep children from playing around near it. For another, she was worried someone might inexplicably take the Treasure Pearl of Wind.

Though the likelihood of that happening was slim.

No one but Zhang Ji could retrieve it, after all.

Besides, Zhang Ji had the power to utterly crush them. If he truly wanted to take it, they couldn’t stop him anyway.

When the guards arrived, they stared in a daze at the widespread destruction and the tracks that looked as if they’d been carved out by a giant construction vehicle.

...

「The next day at noon.」

Zhang Ji was once again dining with Zoeyna and the others.

Zoeyna brought up the traces left near the Divine Wind Tower the previous night.

"Matriarch Zoeyna, I had a sudden insight during my training last night and made a breakthrough. I couldn’t help but test out a new move and accidentally damaged some of the woodland. I hope you don’t mind," Zhang Ji said, holding nothing back.

Although she had already suspected it, Zoeyna couldn’t help but look astonished.

She had only guessed that Zhang Ji was stronger than anyone else there; otherwise, he couldn’t have so easily climbed to the top of the Divine Wind Tower to retrieve the Treasure Pearl.

But she had no real measure of just *how* strong he was.

Now, she was finally getting some idea.

Weston and Hudson, who were also at the table, were utterly shocked as well.

They had both seen the area of destruction.

Neither of them could believe it was the work of a single person.

"How could I possibly mind?" Zoeyna replied courteously, recovering her composure. "Congratulations on your achievement, Mr. Zhang Ji."

"Thank you," Zhang Ji said with a smile.

’Breaking through to B-rank was indeed a joyous occasion for him.’

’Most importantly, he wasn’t some watered-down B-ranker after his breakthrough.’

’He wouldn’t have to worry about being suppressed or instantly killed by other experts of the same rank.’

"By the way, I’ll be leaving in a couple of days," Zhang Ji said. "Matriarch Zoeyna, have you considered my proposal for cooperation?"

Zoeyna paused for a moment before replying, "We’ve been isolated from the outside world for so long that we know nothing about it now. I’m afraid we won’t be able to adapt if we rush to establish contact. Therefore, I would like to ask a favor of you, Mr. Zhang Ji."

"Go on," Zhang Ji said with a nod.

"I would like you, Mr. Zhang Ji, to first take a few of my people out to see the world for themselves. I can make a better judgment once I have more accurate information," Zoeyna explained. "This concerns our entire people, so I dare not agree rashly. I hope you understand."

Zhang Ji nodded slightly. "That’s understandable, and it’s not a problem. I’ll be leaving in five days. Have your people prepare, Your Excellency Zoeyna."

’Zhang Ji’s attitude toward the Divine Wind Ruins Realm was not one of conquest. He hoped to cultivate its people into a force of his own, so a show of force and direct rule was out of the question.’

’Besides, this wasn’t Shanli Island; barbaric and crude methods might not work here in the short term.’

’He had no intention of getting bogged down in the minutiae of governance.’

’His approach to those he considered his own should be one of mutual benefit.’

’Once he took them out and they saw the dangers of the outside world—once they understood just how rare a B-rank martial artist like him was and what that signified—their cooperation would proceed with exceptional smoothness.’

...

While Zoeyna and her people made their preparations, Zhang Ji continued his training.

Climbing the Divine Wind Tower was now even easier for him than before.

It was like a stroll in the park, as if he were walking on flat ground.

He could clear two or three stories in a single leap.

The winds inside might as well not have existed.

He could clear a height of twenty or thirty meters with a light jump.

At the top of the Divine Wind Tower, Zhang Ji practiced the Iron Body Skill while basking in the sun.

His training speed was much faster than before, but there was no qualitative leap.

He went from producing one Essence every two days to producing slightly more than one Essence per day.

’This wasn’t because his talent hadn’t changed since breaking through to B-rank.’

’On the contrary, the change had been enormous.’

’According to the ’water storage’ theory he’d come up with, if he were to remove the crystals from his body, he himself would be like a small pond.’

’Pouring water into a pond is always an easy task.’

’The problem lay with the method of filling and the water source itself.’

The Martial Essence Zhang Ji obtained from practicing his fighting techniques was converted from the various nutrients he absorbed.

Sunlight, lunar essence, and the essence of food.

Those were the only three sources for now.

Sunlight and lunar essence were easily absorbed and converted, but there wasn’t enough of them.

The essence of food was abundant, but his body was slow to absorb and convert it.

This was one of the bottlenecks in his current training speed.

The other was his training method.

’This was the ’method of filling’—filling a pool with a small straw is a completely different concept from using a fire hydrant.’

’The Five Elements Fist was like five hoses filling the pool at once, while the Iron Body Skill was only one. Of course it was much slower.’

’In other words, if he wanted to improve his training efficiency, there were two paths he could take.’

’One was to focus on food.’

’He could either strengthen his digestive abilities or consume medicinal meals that were easier to digest and contained more energy.’

’Just like he had back at the Five Elements Sect.’

’Alternatively, he could find a training spot that concentrated sunlight and moonlight, allowing him to maximize the effects of his bloodline and the Moonlight Cup.’

’The second path was to improve the training method of the Iron Body Skill itself.’

’Zhang Ji planned to build a training machine as soon as he was settled. Training with simulated, ultra-high-intensity vibration frequencies would be much faster than vibrating his muscles on his own.’

’At that point, it could rival the Five Elements Fist, and producing several Essences a day shouldn’t be a problem.’

...

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Ji successfully obtained three Iron Body Skill Essences. By combining them with the seven he already had, he synthesized two Iron Body Skill crystals.

His physical strength increased once again.

His body, which had already seen a huge defensive boost from his breakthrough to B-rank, was now even more resilient.

’He estimated the total improvement to be around twenty percent.’

’To be able to increase his B-rank physique by another twenty percent... specialized Horizontal Training Grandmaster arts were truly powerful.’

’If Zhang Ji hadn’t relied on the durable body granted by the Iron Body Skill’s Horizontal Training, he probably wouldn’t have survived that missile, nor would he have escaped from that guy Falin with only minor injuries.’

When facing ordinary opponents, fighters from the Solid Body Sect were always the greatest threat.

Because your attacks can’t break through their defenses, but theirs can break through yours.

That’s why the Diamond Gate was the first to be targeted.

When Zhang Ji met with Zoeyna, she gave him the list of clan members who would be leaving with him.

There were ten people in total—not a large number.

But they were all elites.

Leading them was her brother, Weston, followed by a young priest named Jonas Montu, and her son, Hudson.

The rest were all warriors chosen from the guard.

Each one was at least at the Fifth Rank in terms of professional skill.

’Zhang Ji was surprised that Zoeyna was willing to send her own son, but on second thought, it was a true display of her courage and sincerity.’

’This was a woman who knew how to get things done.’

’Those who are overprotective and always keep their heirs under their thumb can only create spoiled, incompetent successors.’

’Unaware of how the world truly works, they would sooner or later bring disaster upon themselves and their families.’

...

「In the heart of the Zenar Desert.」

At the location of the Wind God statue.

As the base of the statue began to glow, eleven people, eleven camels, and a large quantity of supplies materialized in the air above the platform.

A current of air gently lowered them from the sky, setting them down on the platform.

Seeing the endless expanse of yellow sand, Weston, Hudson, and the others all wore dazed expressions.

They had lived their entire lives within the Ruins Realm and had only a vague understanding of the outside world. To see it now with their own eyes was an unavoidably shocking experience.

Zhang Ji remained silent, deciding to let them take in their new surroundings and acclimate for a moment.

The first to recover, surprisingly, was the priest, Jonas.

He spoke soothingly to a camel that was trembling slightly from the high-altitude descent, then asked, "Mr. Zhang Ji, where do we go from here?"

’He’d asked the right question.’

Zhang Ji glanced at the Wind God statue. Its gaze was fixed on the Guning Country, where her lover, the Sun God Dela, resided.

But he was headed in the opposite direction, behind the statue, toward the Roman Country.

"This way," he said. "Let’s get moving. We have a long journey ahead."

Zhang Ji patted the camel beside him, gently infusing it with a stream of Primal Qi to help it recover.

The camel instantly stopped trembling and affectionately nudged Zhang Ji with its head.

It seemed to want a little more Primal Qi.

But Zhang Ji didn’t give it any.

’His Primal Qi was hard-earned. He needed to save it for his own training and for dealing with emergencies; he couldn’t just waste it.’

He swung himself onto the camel, tugged on the reins, and the nose peg shifted, showing the animal which way to go.

As Zhang Ji set off, the others quickly followed suit.

The journey through the desert was long.

Even without any detours, Zhang Ji estimated it would take them ten to fifteen days to cross it.

He didn’t intend to waste that time.

Lying on the camel’s back, he kept his body in a state of slight vibration, practicing the Iron Body Skill while simultaneously cultivating the True Qi Nourishing Spirit Skill.

’Zhang Ji hoped to cultivate ten crystals for the True Qi Nourishing Spirit Skill as well.’

’Then he would see if he could raise his Spirit Attribute, strengthen his Control, and achieve the level of Spirit Strike, or even Spiritualization.’

’The pinnacles of technique were Spirit Strike and Spiritualization.’

There was even an entire school dedicated to it, called the Spiritual Intent Sect.

’You didn’t need exceptionally high attributes; once a B-ranker entered the Domain of Spiritualization, they were practically invincible among their peers.’

’Every move was executed with absolutely no wasted energy. Every bit of power was transferred without loss, and using it caused no harm to the user’s own body.’

’It also allowed one to dissipate external forces to the maximum extent.’

’It was no exaggeration to say that if a missile exploded in your face, you could ride the shockwave to escape the blast zone completely unharmed.’

’It was the ultimate in force dissipation.’

’One of the Five Saint Kings, the old man from Yis Country, Cyril Donovan, had used this very school he founded to reach the pinnacle of the world, becoming an A-rank master and one of the original Saint Kings.’

’In the Battle of the Saint Kings, not even Elaven Uth, the one with the most explosive power, could easily break his defense. In terms of sheer burst power, the two of them were evenly matched.’

’If it weren’t for the old man’s poor stamina and endurance, Zhang Ji believed he could have actually won.’

’Watching the official CG of that fight in his past life had gotten Zhang Ji incredibly hyped.’

’However, the Spiritual Intent Sect was pretty underwhelming before one mastered Spirit Strike and Spiritualization.’

’Their burst damage was lacking, they had short health bars, they were squishy, and their stamina was terrible.’

’Before achieving Spiritualization, players who chose the Spiritual Intent Sect were considered naturally inferior. They would get kicked from parties instantly when trying to join online co-op dungeons.’

’But after achieving Spiritualization, they could declare themselves gods.’

’They could look at any other school and declare, "Nothing special."’

’The massive contrast between before and after was what made it stand out.’

’Before Spiritualization, you wouldn’t give them the time of day; after Spiritualization, they’re out of your league!’

’It was the standard power-fantasy trope.’

’Players had made countless videos and memes about it.’

’Thinking about it now, Zhang Ji couldn’t help but smile.’

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