Chapter 49: Heaven's Gate and Divine Realm

  Gravity Room

  Next to a giant wolf-tooth club in the center, Shi Yan wore only a pair of shorts, his body petrified as he fiercely slammed into the wolf-tooth club, sweating profusely.

  The wolf-toothed club was seven meters high and three meters wide, deeply inserted into the stone floor of the gravity house. The sharp protrusions on the wolf-toothed club were like short clubs, shining with a dark luster.

  Shi Yan's body was a dark brown color, panting heavily as he revolved around the giant wolf-tooth club, continuously using his shoulders, arms, waist, abdomen, thighs and back to collide with the wolf-tooth club.

  In the gravity room, a dull rumbling sound was incessant.

  The Shi family's petrification martial soul, to bring out its full potential, must be tempered through a process akin to self-mutilation. Only by colliding with hard objects can the petrification ability be maximally unleashed.

  It is only through such cruel torture of his own body that the petrified martial soul in his body can adapt to the opponent's wild and violent bombing.

  Surrounding the Gravity Room were seven sleek, black gravity pillars. Due to the existence of these seven pillars, the gravity in this spacious room remained at seven times its normal state.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  Half-body, stone-rock expression is firm and resolute, selfless and unyielding in the extreme tempering of his body, determined to bring out all the potential of his petrified martial soul.

  Every time he was hit, his body would emit a faint brown glow at the point of contact with the wolf-tooth club.

  Those glows will flash and disappear, only when his body collides with the wolf's fang for an instant, they will suddenly burst into bloom, and after his body and the wolf's fang are separated, they will instantly disappear.

  After five thousand collisions in different areas, Shi Yan's body had become a mess of mud, unable to muster any strength, his limbs splayed out as he lay in the center of the Gravity Room. Sweat poured from his body like a stream, leaving water marks all over the bluestone floor.

  It's been half a month.

  In this half month, Shi Yan stayed in the Gravity Room for meals and sleep. Except for convenience, he almost never left here.

  This is Shi Jian's arrangement.

  Shi Jian discovered that his petrified martial soul had entered the second stage, and immediately stopped other cultivation, using all his energy to temper his body.

  Let him bring out the full potential of his second-stage Petrification Martial Soul as quickly as possible, and use it to change his physique to the greatest extent, making his body strong enough to withstand the impact of a Human Rank warrior!

  For half a month, Shi Jian, Han Feng, Yang Hai and even some elders from the Shi family would come over from time to time.

  Especially Shi Jian, who came almost every three days to meticulously examine Shi Yan's cultivation results, checking the subtle changes in his body, and then proposing the next direction and intensity of his grinding.

  Lying on the ground, Shi Yan's body was weak and powerless. He slowly adjusted his breathing, and when he found that his hands and feet had regained a bit of strength, he forced himself to sit up and began to circulate the essence in his body.

  His entire body was exhausted, but the circulation of his vital energy had accelerated significantly. As he meditated with his eyes closed, Shi Yan didn't think about anything, his mind as clear as a mirror.

  Every time at this moment, he would find that the flesh and blood, cells, muscles and bones of his body seemed to be nourishing his body in a way that was difficult for him to understand.

  His exhausted body on the verge of collapse would quickly recover its strength, and his fatigue would also be driven away in no time.

  This is the self-recovery ability of the Undying Warrior Soul!

  Snow is shining brightly in the heart of the rocky mountain.

  He slowly came to, his eyes shining brightly like cold stars. After this period of meditation and cultivation, the fatigue in his body was swept away, his vital energy surged, and his entire body seemed to be bursting with pent-up force, as if he had to release it or else.

  At this moment, the stone gate of the Gravity Room was pushed open a bit by someone.

  Han Zhong was seen carrying seven bamboo baskets of various sizes, walking in with a smile.

  After entering, Han Zhong put down the bamboo basket and took out the delicacies one by one, saying: "Today we have swallow's nest, sea cucumber, hundred-year-old turtle, bear paw, and lingzhi mushroom. Yan Ge, you can really eat! The young masters of the Shi family may not even eat as much in five meals as you do in one meal. Your appetite is enough to bankrupt some small families."

  Han Zhong said with a smile, putting down the delicious dishes one by one, and secretly taking out a jar of wine from his bosom. He chuckled and said: "This jar of 'Blazing Flame' is my treasure, you little guy hurry up and drink it, after drinking I will get rid of it early."

  Shi Yan didn't stand on ceremony, swaggering over to Han Zhong's side, sitting down and devouring the precious delicacies that ordinary people couldn't even touch, wolfing them down with gusto. Finally, he picked up that jar of "Blazing Flame" and drained it in one gulp, tilting his head back and drinking every last drop.

  Wiping his mouth, he put down the empty jar and smiled: "Old Han, next time bring two jars of this wine in, one jar is not enough."

  "Brother Yan, this 'Liangyan' is the fine wine of Yingchun Pavilion, one jar is worth 500 purple crystals! " Han Zhong smiled wryly, "This jar was saved from my last trip. Tomorrow, I'll come again and continue to bring you 'Burner', that wine only costs 100 blue crystals per jar, bringing four jars at once is no problem."

  "Isn't it just crystal coins?" Shi Yan said carelessly, "You can give me 'Inferno' anyway, you won't be short of crystal coins, I'll make it up to you next time."

  "That's all right then." Han Zhong chuckled and said, "Yan Ge, the news of you becoming a martial artist has been kept very secret by the family head. Even most of the family's martial artists and guards don't know about your situation. Do you know why?"

  "Why?" Shi Yan drawled lazily.

  "The martial arts conference that takes place every five years is about to begin in three months. You also know that last year, when we clashed with the Mo and Ling families, we suffered a bit of a loss. After the family head returned, he scolded us for several days, so this time..."

  "Is he going to make me participate in a martial arts competition?" Before Han Zhong could finish speaking, Shi Yan had already reacted and exclaimed in surprise.

  The Martial Arts Assembly is an event organized and run by the five major families of the Merchant Alliance, open to all martial artists.

  The martial arts conference is divided into five levels: acquired, innate, human position, hundred calamities, and land position. The top masters of each realm can compete for the top three in each realm.

  The five major families will provide rich rewards, such as elixirs, secret treasures, martial skills and other cultivation materials. The winner will receive the corresponding prize.

  This martial arts conference, operated by the five major families of the Chamber of Commerce, has two purposes: one is to select excellent fighters from the martial arts conference to strengthen their family's martial power, and the other is to enable the Chamber of Commerce's warriors to continue their hard training and improve the overall strength of the Chamber of Commerce's warriors.

  Mercenaries who do not belong to the major families, wandering alone, have a strong desire for the elixirs, secret treasures, and martial arts provided by the five major families. Some solo warriors also want to enter the sight of the major families through the martial arts competition, hoping to join the major families.

  As a result, every martial arts competition will have many warriors flocking to participate, and it will be very lively.

  Apart from scattered warriors, the five major families will also send out their own family's young masters to compete for the ranking in the martial arts tournament.

  Doing so is to prove one's own strength, so that those who performed outstandingly in the martial arts conference know how to choose.

  The Martial Arts Gathering is a great opportunity to select talents, and it's also a stage for the secret struggle of the five major families.

  Therefore, for the Martial Arts Assembly, not only the warriors of the Merchant Alliance and mercenaries will be very concerned, but even the Five Great Families themselves will also treat the Martial Arts Assembly with great caution.

  Sometimes, even the five major families' unclear ownership of industries would be resolved through martial arts tournaments.

  For example, last time Shi Jia and Mo Jia took out the ownership of three mines as a bet to gamble heavily.

  Unfortunately, in the battle between the three generations of sons on both sides, only Shi Tianyun won, while Shi Tianluo and Shi Tianke were defeated by the Mo family's sons. In the end, the Mo family won the ownership of two mines, while the Shi family only got one.

  "You don't know, recently the Han and Mo families have been at odds, with disputes in many industries that have yet to be resolved. This time's martial arts competition may again lead to a situation like last time, where they use ownership of some industries as stakes." said Han Zhongdao.

  "So I have a chance to play now?"

  "You will definitely go on stage, the master is counting on you to win a game, otherwise he wouldn't be staring at you every day, and even coming over every three days. You have no idea how busy the master has been recently, but he still takes time out to check on you, which shows just how much importance he attaches to you."

  "Oh, I see."

  ……

  In the Rock Temple.

  Shi Jian sat on a huge rock, his expression solemn, with sparkling lights in his eyes, as if he was constantly thinking about something.

  "In the auction house of the Misty Pavilion, a fragmentary painting of 'Tianmen' appeared...". Han Feng stood beside him, telling Shi Jian about the latest situation.

  "The Heavenly Gate" is a strange entrance that can lead to the "Divine Realm", and the "Divine Realm" is a mysterious space, which may be located in some eerie place on the continent of Shen En, or it may not belong to the continent of Shen En at all, but is an independent space.

  No one knows how "Shen Yu" was formed, no one knows what structure "Shen Yu" is, and no one knows where "Shen Yu" will appear, no one can tell clearly.

  Only "Tianmen" can lead to various "Shen Yu", and "Tianmen" is the entrance of "Shen Yu".

  On the continent of God's Grace, all sorts of legends about the "Domain of Gods" have been circulating.

  It is said that within the "Sacred Realm", various mysteries are hidden. It is said that in different "Sacred Realms", different levels of spiritual, mystical and divine martial arts are hidden, as well as rare and exotic elixirs that have been passed down but never seen before...

  "Four months ago, there was also a message that said Karu, the apprentice of Yao Wangmu, stole a fragment of a map with 'Tianmen' from him. Could these two fragments have come from one treasure map? Are they one or two maps? Is what has appeared now the one that Karu stole?" Shi Jian's mind quickly turned, soon linking it to the previous fragment.

  Han Feng shook his head, "That Karu has long since disappeared, without any news at all. However, the fragmentary map from Xuanhuan Pavilion was said to have been taken out by a woman for auction. Xuanhuan Pavilion saw that it was a matter of great importance and didn't dare take it out directly for auction, so under the name of verifying its authenticity, they temporarily kept that fragmentary map."

  "Is that damaged painting still in the Misty Pavilion?" Shi Jian asked in a deep voice.

  "Hmm." Han Feng nodded, "The Beiming, Mo, Ling and Zuo families have all contacted the Xuanwei Pavilion after receiving this news, expressing their intention to purchase that one remaining fragment. However, the Xuanwei Pavilion says they won't put it up for auction until its authenticity is confirmed, so those four families can only express their strong desire to buy it, but haven't made any moves behind the scenes."

  "That's because there is only one incomplete map, if it were a complete treasure map, the Beiming family would not have given the Xuanhuan Pavilion any face and would have taken action to seize it long ago." Shi Jian hummed.

  "Should we intervene?"

  "Keep an eye on this news for the time being, but don't get involved yet. Remember to stay in touch with the Left family. We won't make any rash moves until the second fragment appears."

  "Uh-huh."

  ……;