Free Web NovelChapter 218: Chapter 165: Changzhou Shenhan (Part 2)
Two large, round cameras served as its eyes, while a rectangular electronic screen displayed a circular mouth pattern.
"What the hell is this thing? A sentient hunk of metal?"
Some students stared curiously at the robot guide, Yoyo, and a few couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it.
A cute, robotic voice then chirped, "Greetings, geniuses! Please don’t get handsy on our first date~ Please follow me, and don’t fall behind~
My companions are taking your luggage to your dorm rooms, so don’t you worry~"
"This is so advanced!"
"They say military tech is at least twenty years ahead of civilian tech. If you ask me, this looks like it’s at least a hundred years ahead!"
...
Yu Fei and the others curiously sized up their surroundings. It was a vast world unlike anything they had ever seen, something an ordinary person could hardly imagine in a lifetime.
Li Mengyao clutched Yu Fei’s arm with one hand. The girl seemed to have cast off her inhibitions ever since they got on the military transport, openly displaying her affection for him.
Ye Feng and Dongfang lagged slightly behind, walking side-by-side and constantly discussing all the new sights. Only Du Mingxuan walked alone at the rear of the group, a solitary figure.
’I’m not about to play third wheel to Yu Fei. A subordinate needs to know his place.’
’As Yu Fei gets stronger, he’ll attract more and more followers. It’s human nature to be drawn to the powerful. The only thing I have going for me is that we were classmates in high school, so I need to be extra careful about my place. From the very beginning, I’ve just been a classmate Yu Fei can hang out with, not a brother.’
’Yu Fei’s real brother is that fatty Lei Xiaoqiang, but he couldn’t care less about the martial path!’
The airfield was enormous. They walked for nearly an hour before they reached the black bridge.
Everything they saw completely overturned their perception of the world. Yu Fei had assumed the technology in this life wasn’t much different from his previous one, but now he saw that wasn’t the case. He recalled the contents of his high school textbooks and realized there was a glaring flaw he had completely missed.
Human society had entered the information age 300 years ago, but in the long period since, technological development had all but stagnated, with few new innovations. He had originally assumed society’s focus had shifted to the martial path, thus neglecting technological progress, but now it seemed that wasn’t true.
’It must have been then that the extraordinary world was cordoned off from the world of ordinary people.’
’The mundane world is kept stable, allowing ordinary people to live and prosper, while those with the seeds of martial talent are screened, layer by layer, until they finally enter the vast and splendid extraordinary world.’
’Those with little talent, content with mediocrity, govern the mundane world under the supervision of the Security Bureau, while those with martial aspirations battle in the extraordinary world.’
Yu Fei was immensely curious about what sort of organizational structure made it all possible.
As they drew closer, they realized the black bridge was carved from some unknown black stone. It had the texture of crystal underfoot.
Yu Fei sensed its properties; it felt somewhat similar to the Bright Spirit Crystal, a cultivation resource Su Yue had once given him.
’No, the concentration of origin energy within seems even stronger...’
This was... unbelievable, yet somehow expected. On the Martial Network, a hundred grams of Bright Spirit Crystal cost two thousand merit points. If this entire bridge was built from a similar material, what would the cost even be?
The cost was incalculable!
Even though Yu Fei hadn’t practiced a Cultivation Technique, his instincts told him the concentration of origin energy here was by no means low.
Li Mengyao held his arm tightly, letting out occasional gasps of amazement.
The young woman was in high spirits, occasionally "bumping" into him.
Yu Fei suddenly stopped walking. He took Li Mengyao’s hand from his arm, placed it in his own palm, and then started walking again.
The young woman’s eyes instantly lit up, sparkling brightly. She pursed her lips, unable to suppress the blossoming smile, and followed Yu Fei in a daze, too shy to say a word.
A young woman’s affections should not be betrayed. He was eighteen now—nothing was off-limits!
In that moment, Yu Fei seemed to forget the prohibitions that came with cultivating the Pure Yang True Body.
The massive black stone bridge was called the Heaven-Reaching Bridge. As they walked upon it, the group’s steps involuntarily grew more cautious.
The bridge led to the main entrance of Shenhan University. For those able to enter the nation’s top academy to cultivate, it was quite literally a path reaching to the heavens.
The Heaven-Reaching Bridge was a full three hundred meters wide and ten thousand meters long. A structure so magnificent and vast should only exist in the imagination; to see it manifest in reality was a miracle.
A fierce wind howled through the arches of the bridge, its low whistle seeming to cleanse the very soul. The group of geniuses entering Shenhan grew solemn, their whispers ceasing.
Every thirty meters or so along the stone bridge stood a pure white statue of a Martial Saint. Each statue was about five meters tall and seemed to possess its own will, watching over the students who passed by, gazing upon the descendants of ages past.
The base of each Martial Saint statue was inscribed with a maxim left by its subject.
"Fear is your enemy. Death is your teacher." —Blood Blade Ye Hongshuang
"The Martial Path is boundless; only blood can forge the way." —Broken Peak·Chen Ming
"Where my blade points, the myriad races are beheaded." —White Night Lin Kuku
"A true Martial Artist must take Heaven and Earth as their foe, and their own body as the blade." —Iron Heart Li Jueya
...
"Some of these are Martial Saints who were recorded in the Great Yu Martial Scripture..."
Li Mengyao whispered.
And she was right. As the robot guide, Yoyo, passed each Martial Saint statue, it would give a brief summary of that saint’s life.
The robotic, doll-like voice, tinged with a naive seriousness, echoed across the stone bridge, recounting the lives of those who had been the backbone of humanity.
Looking up, they saw row after row of Martial Saint statues pointing the way forward on the martial path. Sunlight reflected off their pure white forms, radiating the light of humanity.
They walked on, finally arriving before a colossal metal gate.
It was a colossal gate of greenish-gold metal, visually estimated to be a thousand meters tall and even wider than the Heaven-Reaching Bridge itself.
It was hard to make out from a distance, but as they drew near, enormous characters abruptly materialized on either side of the colossal gate.
Heaven, Earth, all beings—No Self.
The Great Void, all creation—Return to One.
Golden light flowed across the characters, which seemed to contain a boundless, profound intent. The first sight of them delivered a powerful shock to a Martial Artist’s mind and spirit.
Everyone’s eyes glazed over, as if their very souls had been captivated.
Yu Fei felt as if he had lost his body, lost all conscious thought. He plunged into a state of chaos, where endless martial principles flowed before him. Suddenly, he noticed a sharp, bright light and was unconsciously drawn to it, sensing the true meaning within.
A full hour had passed in the outside world before Yu Fei finally came to his senses. He was surrounded by a crowd of curious students. Li Mengyao and his other three companions were guarding him closely, and not far off, Wu Yi watched him with a satisfied smile.
"Not a bad haul, kid. Not bad at all. Guess my S+ rating for you wasn’t a waste!"
Yu Fei was confused for a moment, but then he realized his Sword Intent had become purer. The effects of its two characteristics, Sharpness and Fortitude, had at least doubled.
Wu Yi walked up to Yu Fei. He was wearing glasses, for some reason, and said with a broad smile, "I heard you had registered, so I rushed over. I didn’t expect to catch you right here at the Profound Armor Celestial Gate."
"Profound Armor Celestial Gate?"
Only then did he take a proper look at the soul-captivating, ancient metal gate. The characters on either side shimmered illusory, tinged with the color of bronze rust. The gate itself was covered in densely packed runes that formed ancient patterns.
Wu Yi’s voice took on a nostalgic tone.
"The Profound Armor Celestial Gate was a spoil of war from when humanity first broke through to the Border Realms seven hundred years ago. The predecessors of Shenhan University paid an enormous price to seize this unique treasure. The first time someone sees the Profound Armor Celestial Gate, they receive a guided epiphany based on their own cultivation and understanding."
"Starting from the first realm, the lower your cultivation level and the higher your innate talent, the longer your epiphany will last, and the greater the benefits!"
Yu Fei couldn’t help but ask, "How long was I out?"
Li Mengyao, still clutching his hand, her eyes sparkling like stars, said, "You just passed the one-hour mark! You lasted so long! I was done in a minute!"
Yu Fei glanced at Li Mengyao. Seeing her innocent expression, he confirmed she hadn’t meant it as a double-entendre.
Wu Yi cleared his throat and looked up at the two profound lines of characters on the Profound Armor Celestial Gate.
