Martial Immortality: Starting with the Spirit Beast Scroll

Chapter 318: Chapter 306: Unyielding Force

The arena fell silent, so quiet you could hear every breath. Suddenly, with a CLANG, the Judge’s Brush released by Wang Jing fell to the ground, no longer under the control of his Divine Sense.

Only then did the crowd realize the duel was over.

"That was so fast! It wasn’t even seven breaths!"

"Did you see the red glow on the sword? That was Sword Qi from the flying sword, and it was over five feet long!"

"The power of a flying sword is no joke. The rumors are true. His Spiritual Energy Shield only blocked three strikes before it shattered."

"Yeah, if it weren’t for the protective Array, Wang Jing would’ve lost his head..."

Zhao Lin stood dazedly on the sidelines. It wasn’t the Sword Cultivator’s skill that shocked him. It was the line of text that had just appeared in the fifth slot of the Spirit Cultivation Map in his mind.

Wood-Earth Generation Array!

He had been so focused on the duel that he hadn’t paid any attention to the Spirit Cultivation Map. Only now did he notice the change.

’Arrays... can be captured, too?’

Zhao Lin gasped, his shock quickly turning into elation.

An Array was a form of Magic, so as long as there were Mana fluctuations to sense, the Spirit Cultivation Map could capture it.

It made sense in theory, but the memories passed down from the Spirit Cultivation Map had never mentioned this possibility.

Zhao Lin soon came to terms with it. He’d had a similar experience with the Spirit Beast Scroll. The memories only contained the most basic operating principles; he had to figure out the rest on his own.

’This means the Spirit Cultivation Map can be used to learn Arrays.’

’If that’s the case, I might have to change my plan. I should reserve at least one or two of the nine slots for Arrays.’

’I just wonder how many Spirit Stones it will cost...’

The strength of a sect’s foundation was often determined by its Arrays. Any sect with a legacy spanning ten thousand years or more would invariably possess formidable offensive and defensive Arrays.

Some newly-risen sects might have just as many high-level cultivators as the long-established ones.

But without a powerful Array to anchor them, they were ultimately like rootless duckweed. A single major catastrophe could be enough to annihilate the entire sect.

In that case, there was no need to agonize over which Daoist Art to choose for his second year. He would choose Arrays!

With his mind made up, Zhao Lin turned his attention back to the arena.

The third duel: Yue Shengluan versus Wei Shi.

Yue Shengluan was from the same Spirit Dao Institute as Zhao Lin. He had been cultivating for three years and was already at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Having mastered several Magics to the Minor Achievement Level, he was one of the most outstanding disciples at the institute.

Wei Shi was the Body Cultivator from the Western Ox Continent. Sitting on the sidelines, he looked completely harmless, but the moment he strode into the arena, his entire aura changed in an instant.

He was like a mountain, exuding an intense, oppressive presence.

"One... two... three!"

Perhaps having learned a lesson from the previous two matches, Yue Shengluan went on the offensive right from the start. First, he unleashed a Metal Element Magic, the Flying Scythe-Blades.

Ten scythe-like blades shot out at once, weaving through the air from all different directions.

He followed that with the Thorn Skill. Countless vines covered in sharp barbs erupted from the ground, writhing like wild snakes as they coiled toward Wei Shi.

Finally, he cast the Vine Whip Skill.

The three spells formed a layered attack, from long-range to close-range. It was clearly a well-planned tactic.

But none of it could stop Wei Shi’s advance.

Wei Shi’s attack was straightforward. He leaped into the air to dodge the flying blades, and upon landing, he simply punched and kicked his way through the thorny vines in his path.

Even when several spells struck him, he didn’t so much as frown, continuing his reckless charge forward.

Zhao Lin was secretly astonished. ’Yue Shengluan’s Metal and Wood Element Magics have both reached Minor Achievement. Without a protective Cultivation Technique, even I wouldn’t dare to face them head-on.’

Although Wei Shi’s clothes were tattered and full of holes, his exposed skin was completely unscathed. He certainly lived up to the Body Cultivator’s reputation for having nigh-impenetrable skin.

Seeing his opponent about to close in, Yue Shengluan gritted his teeth. He gathered his Wood Element Spiritual Qi and, with a wave of his hand, conjured a Vine Whip from thin air.

CRACK!

The Vine Whip lashed out at Wei Shi like a dragon’s tail.

Wei Shi raised his arm to block. A green light coiled around it, forming a layer of armor.

The whip struck the light but couldn’t penetrate it. It did, however, manage to halt Wei Shi’s advance.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Yue Shengluan cracked the whip three more times as he retreated.

"Break!"

Wei Shi roared, and with a powerful shake of his arm, the Vine Whip exploded, dissipating into countless motes of Wood Element Spiritual Qi.

Seeing this, the spectators knew the duel’s outcome was decided.

Once a Magic Cultivator let a Martial or Body Cultivator get into close range, a thousand spells and ten thousand techniques couldn’t stop a single punch.

Wei Shi did not disappoint. He raised his hand and threw a punch.

The Wood-Earth Generation Array sensed the killing intent and instantly teleported Yue Shengluan out of the arena.

The duel ended, and the arena fell silent once more.

Of the three matches, this one had taken the longest, but it was also the most stunning.

Wei Shi’s utter fearlessness in the face of magic—charging through flying blades and thorns—left many of the younger disciples in the crowd frowning, speechless for a long time.

’What would I do if I had to face a Body Cultivator?’

"How are you supposed to fight that? His physical defense is just too strong!"

"Ugh, just watching gives me a headache."

"Magic is totally useless against him..."

However, an older cultivator soon explained, "How could magic be useless? If you cultivate your spells to the mastery level, no Body Cultivator could just tank the hits like that."

"That’s right. It would be the same if you had a powerful destructive magic treasure."

"As Magic Cultivators, we needn’t sell ourselves short. Whether it’s Body Cultivators or Martial Cultivators, just wait and see where they are in another ten or twenty years..."

That may be so, but at the end of the first round, all three eliminated contestants were Magic Cultivators. The ones remaining were a Martial Cultivator, a Body Cultivator, and a Sword Cultivator.

While this might have been anticipated, the result still left many feeling uncomfortable.

Was this even a magic tournament anymore? They might as well call it a martial arts competition.

The presiding elder called Zhao Lin, Fang Qinglu, and Wei Shi back to the arena to draw lots for the next round of matches.

There were three bamboo sticks: two short and one long.

Zhao Lin drew the long stick. According to the rules, he would fight first and got to choose his opponent.

"I choose Wei Shi!"

Zhao Lin said after a moment of consideration.

Hearing this, Wei Shi remained standing in place, his expression unchanged, while Fang Qinglu walked to the sidelines to watch.

"Younger Brother Wei, how many years have you been cultivating? Why did you choose to be a Body Cultivator?"

There was a short break between rounds, and since Wei Shi had just finished a match, he was technically allowed a moment to rest. Zhao Lin took the opportunity to make some small talk.

Wei Shi didn’t hide anything, stating bluntly, "I’ve been cultivating for three years. My Spiritual Root is low-grade. After a month of trying to open my meridians, I couldn’t even unblock a single Spiritual Acupoint. So, I just switched to Body Refining. I didn’t expect my progress to be so much faster."

"It’s true what they say: a tree dies if you move it, but a man thrives."

Zhao Lin nodded. ’To not open a single Spiritual Acupoint in a month... as a Magic Cultivator, his aptitude must have been truly terrible.’

’But to reach the Fourth Layer of Body Tempering in three years of Body Refining... as a Body Cultivator, his aptitude must be excellent.’

’If I had been born in this world, I might have chosen to become a Body Cultivator as well.’

’But since I’ve already become a Martial Cultivator, I can only continue down this path.’

’In just one year of cultivation, I’ve already refined my body’s Primordial Qi into Spiritual Qi. I’ve reached a new height in my martial arts and am ready to push even further.’

Dong Lingcheng once said that Body Cultivators were the natural counter to Martial Cultivators. That might not be entirely true, but it proved one thing: on paper, a Martial Cultivator was at a disadvantage against a Body Cultivator.

’Well then, let’s see who’s really stronger!’

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