Chapter 87: Indestructible Golden Body
The page count changed, but the trial was no illusion; all of it had been real. It was not reincarnation, only the soul’s passage.
Everything was real.
Enduring the pain in his body, Marley turned over and slowly raised his hands. In an instant, a golden radiance enveloped him.
The wounds upon him faded little by little, the pain receded, and in its place his flesh grew tougher than before.
“Reincarnation burns the body, a hundred lives of rebirth, shattered and remade, growing stronger in adversity.”
Marley murmured as he recalled everything he had endured.
Now he possessed his own method of body refinement, a martial art from the Battle Spirit Continent.
“Ha!”
With a shout, battle aura erupted from Marley, and his cultivation surged forward by three levels at once, reaching the Four-Star Battle Emperor realm.
He summoned wings of battle aura and rose swiftly into the sky.
“Instructor, thank you for your guidance!”
Marley said with cupped hands.
The man seated cross-legged high above opened his eyes and looked at him.
With utter indifference, he said, “Leave, or continue.”
“Instructor, I choose to continue!”
Marley answered firmly.
Boom!
The words had barely fallen when the man struck with a punch so fast it seemed to flash like light.
Marley’s pupils shrank. He hurriedly crossed both arms before his chest to block it, but he was still sent flying.
“Ah, Instructor, could you at least say something before you hit me? That hurt like hell!”
Marley wildly shook his hands and complained aloud.
“Will your enemy give you time?”
Marley stopped shaking his hands, for the instructor in front of him had already vanished. In his place, a voice came from behind him.
His heart jolted. So fast!
He had just raised a hand to block, but before he had even turned halfway around, he heard:
“Reincarnation Palm!”
“Not good!”
A giant palm came crashing down. Marley braced himself with all his strength, but when he was slammed into the ground, the instructor showed no intention of stopping; instead, he pressed down harder.
Rumble.
Rumble.
Rumble.
“Ugh!”
Marley was pinned beneath the palm, driven hard into the sand below.
Then the instructor shouted, “Aerial Sword!”
Battle aura around them transformed into countless swords of compressed air.
“Go!”
With a sweep downward, he sent the endless swords pouring into the great pit.
Whoosh!
The rain of air-swords descended in a furious torrent.
The page count changed.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Far below, Marley stared at the blizzard of blades and could not help cursing, “Damn it! Are you trying to kill me?!”
“What do I do? Should I block them with my body or with a martial skill? If I use my body, will I get pierced full of holes?”
“Forget it, I’ll use a martial skill!”
At last, Marley made his decision.
“Reincarnation Palm!”
Battle aura condensed in his hand, and he thrust it upward to meet the incoming swords head-on.
Boom!
Yet the blades showed no sign of stopping.
“Damn it, how many swords are there?!”
Marley resisted desperately and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“No, my martial skills are limited, and my techniques are limited too. Since I only have one body-refining art, then I’ll just block it with aura. If I die, so be it. I don’t care anymore!”
Marley abandoned all resistance, spread his body open, and shut his eyes as he welcomed the attack.
Seeing this, the instructor’s rigid mouth curved faintly.
Then the air-swords stopped.
“Hm? They’re gone?”
Marley, still under attack, opened his eyes and peered out cautiously.
“Naive. You were too optimistic.”
The instructor clenched his palm into a fist.
“Explode.”
The air-swords that had pierced Marley earlier, still retaining their force within his body, were instantly detonated by the instructor.
“Damn it, there’s even a trick like this?”
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
“Aaaah!”
...............
Elsewhere
“Come, sit down. I’ll help you awaken your body-refining art. Everyone who enters our Hall of Reincarnation will have a body-refining art of their own.”
The woman said.
“Yes, First Sister.”
Marla sat down cross-legged and, enduring the pain in her body, entered meditation.
“Calm your mind and feel the will of the Reincarnation Scripture in your sea of consciousness. Do not resist.”
First Sister said.
Marla followed her instructions, using her awareness to communicate with the Reincarnation Scripture in the sea of consciousness. The moment she touched its pages, an irresistible force dragged her awareness inward.
“Mm—”
“So this is the inside of the Reincarnation Scripture?”
She had arrived at the first page, the body-tempering page.
The floating characters upon it were incomprehensible to her. She reached out and touched them lightly, and a powerful shock surged toward her.
“Aaah!”
When the shock finally subsided, four words appeared before her: Undying Golden Body.
“Undying Golden Body?”
[Undying Golden Body: the flesh is imperishable, nothing in the world can pierce it, the golden body cannot be destroyed!]
“Flesh imperishable, nothing can pierce it, the golden body cannot be destroyed?” Marla murmured.
“Excellent, excellent. Since it is the Undying Golden Body, this is truly a superb art for body refinement!”
First Sister said with a full smile.
.............
Outside
In a desolate stretch of mountains and wilderness, a broad meadow at the center held a large house.
Hanging above it was a conspicuous sign bearing three large words: Crimson Battle Manor.
In the seat of honor within the manor sat a middle-aged man. He was the Third Leader of the Crimson King Mercenary Band, Crimson Battle.
At his side, a woman clung to him, smiling sweetly. She held a plate of fruit and cooed at him, “My lord, come, let me feed you. Ah~”
“Good, my beauty.”
Just as Crimson Battle was about to open his mouth—
“Report! Leader, Leader! Something terrible has happened!”
A subordinate rushed in hurriedly and shouted.
“Hm? What is the matter, so flustered? Can’t you see I am eating?”
Crimson Battle was deeply displeased. Someone had come to ruin the mood at this time!
“Speak at once!”
he roared.
“Yes, yes. Leader, none of the men we sent after Marley have returned, and we have received no word from any of them!”
The subordinate hastily reported. He knew the leader was angry, and his voice trembled slightly.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Crimson Battle violently smashed the cup and thundered, “A bunch of useless trash. They can’t even catch two little brats, and now the people are gone too? Useless, all of you!”
“Thunder come!”
“No, no, please, Leader!”
Lightning suddenly burst forth and struck the subordinate. The man screamed in terror.
“Aaahhh!”
Thud.
A living person had been turned into a corpse, blackened all over. His eyes were bulging wide, his death full of unwilling resentment.
“My lord, calm yourself. They’re just a bunch of trash, not worth your anger.”
The woman patted his chest soothingly.
“Damn it, filthy trash!”
Crimson Battle grabbed her and threw her onto the bed, stripping her with his bare hands.
“Aaah—”
Several hours later, after venting his fury, Crimson Battle dressed himself and walked out of the manor.
On the bed remained only the woman, her clothes in disarray. Her fair skin was marked with red traces, her twin peaks long since bruised, her hair a tangled mess.
“Come here!”
Crimson Battle stepped out of the manor and shouted at the gate.
“Yes, Leader! What is your command?”
A subordinate hurried over and replied respectfully.
“Gather the men. Leave with me for Ma Village!”
Crimson Battle said coldly.
“Yes, Leader!”
Soon after, the order was swiftly relayed.
“Marla... Marla... what a fine little beauty you are. You will not escape our grasp. Obediently become my toy!”
Crimson Battle revealed a wicked smile.
“Hahahahaha!”
The End