Chapter 58: Breaking Through the Heavenly Pass
"You’re injured."
Pushing open the door, Ye Qingshi was surprised to see four deep purple, bruised fist prints on Fang Can’s chest.
"It’s just a minor injury. It’ll heal soon enough," Fang Can replied, sitting down cross-legged.
This was indeed the case. Thanks to the yielding, coiling, and force-nullifying properties of his Taming Tiger and Dragon Golden Body, most of the power had been deflected and neutralized.
The punches, which should have shattered his sternum, had only left a few dark fist prints. After half a day of self-healing, their color had faded from black to purplish-blue. By morning, his skin would be fair again.
"Do you need me to apply some medicine?" Ye Qingshi couldn’t help but ask. The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them, feeling she shouldn’t have been so soft-hearted.
"No need. It’s late. Just light a few candles," Fang Can said lightly.
As Ye Qingshi lit the candles, Fang Can could feel his cells absorbing the excess heat from the candlelight, converting it into the purest form of life energy to heal his injuries.
Gazing at his handsome profile, flickering in the candlelight, the young woman took a soft breath and moved closer to Fang Can. "I’m going to sleep now," she said. "You can focus on your cultivation."
After speaking, she slipped off her small, embroidered shoes and obediently burrowed into the covers, leaving only her back facing Fang Can. The whole process felt so natural it was almost strange to her.
Practice makes perfect, as they say. Throughout the night, Ye Qingshi was no longer as panicked and restless as before. She simply treated Fang Can as a handsome block of wood beside her, and after letting her mind wander, she fell into a deep sleep.
The night passed without incident. When Ye Qingshi woke up in the morning, the figure who had been by her bed was gone.
’Where did he go? Did he have a change of heart?’ Her arm emerged from the warm covers to rub her eyes, full of doubt.
「Meanwhile, over three hundred li west of the city, on a mountain peak that pierced the clouds, Fang Can was strolling up a narrow, winding path.」
This was the meeting point for several martial arts schools. Fang Can hadn’t been walking for long when a hearty laugh approached from a distance.
"HAHAHAHA, you must be Fang Can, the renegade disciple of the Tiger Slaughter Sect." A bald man in loose-fitting martial arts attire leaped in front of him. "I’ve long heard there was a genius in the area. I can’t believe you have the guts to deliver yourself to our doorstep."
"Including me, over thirty Heart Image Martial Artists from the Tiger Slaughter Sect’s territory have gathered here. I got lucky, won a game of rock-paper-scissors, and got to be the one to intercept you."
"If you can’t even get past me, then you can expect me to break your limbs and drag you back to the Tiger Slaughter Sect to report my success."
’This is just like a side-scrolling beat ’em up.’
Fang Can grumbled to himself as his gaze met the bald man’s. "Since our eyes have met, let the battle begin."
Three minutes later, Fang Can stepped over the unconscious bald man’s body and continued up the mountain. The next moment, a middle-aged man with sharp, simian features blocked his path.
"To be able to defeat ’Limitless Hand’ Zhao Liansheng, you certainly have some skill. But your luck runs out here."
The middle-aged man said confidently, "I am Li Guanfei, at the Profound Gate Eighth Layer. I hear you have good stamina, but should I wait for you to recover your Heart Image? Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll accuse me of an unfair victory when I win."
"Alright, alright." Fang Can cut off the man’s rambling. "If you want to fight, then let’s start. What’s with all the dilly-dallying?"
A minute later, Fang Can stepped over Li Guanfei’s body, took a couple of deep breaths, and continued his ascent.
He still had to face at least thirty more Heart Image Martial Artists. Even in one-on-one duels, it would be more than he could handle.
Sure enough, after defeating the fifth Martial Artist, Fang Can’s Heart Image was completely depleted. He could only rely on pure combat skill to fight his opponents.
Although he physically blocked each attack from these Heart Image Martial Artists, in the illusory space, Fang Can experienced the sensation of being destroyed by his opponents countless times, which took a massive toll on his spirit.
Despite this, Fang Can showed no fear or terror, toughing it out against the intense spiritual attacks as he fought.
After dying seventy-five times in the Heart Image illusions, Fang Can’s brain had grown completely numb to the pain.
His mental exhaustion led to powerless punches, unsteady footwork, and a scattered mind.
But in its wake, his consciousness began to see past the boundary of life and death, allowing the false illusions to churn within his mind without resistance.
To put it bluntly, these illusions were all fake. At the very least, a Martial Artist in the Transcendent Body Realm could not have their physical body annihilated by willpower alone.
Therefore, he just had to ignore the horrific pain his body transmitted to his brain and keep his body moving, even when faced with countless illusions of being dismembered, decapitated, or sliced to death.
After being killed over seven hundred times within the Heart Image, Fang Can threw a punch that directly shattered his opponent’s sternum, embedding the man’s entire body into the mountainside.
"PUH..." As he spat out a mouthful of blood, the Martial Artist said in disbelief, "How could you possibly resist my Heart Image?"
"The first lesson of cultivation: the Martial Dao comes from the heart. Nothing is impossible. You’ve trained yourself stupid, you old fossil," Fang Can said coldly. With a slight shake of his arm, he snapped his dislocated right shoulder back into place.
After defeating the sixth Heart Image Martial Artist, Fang Can continued onward, though his steps were a bit more faltering this time.
There were still more than twenty Martial Artists left, so...
COME ON, ROCK BOTTOM, TURN INTO GOOD FORTUNE!!!
Where is my supreme talent and hidden potential? Hurry up and come bursting out!!!
With this inner roar, Fang Can’s steps were slow but firm as he continued up the mountain.
「By evening, the sun was setting. Ye Yonglie and the others stood guard at the entrance to the martial arts school, their eyes filled with worry.」
Fang Can had left at dawn and had not returned for a long time.
’Could it be that the Lord has already...’ The thought had barely formed in Ye Yonglie’s mind before he dismissed it.
Because a god is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent; failure is impossible.
By now, Fang Can must have already defeated all thirty-odd Martial Artists.
But aside from Ye Yonglie, the others looked worried. Lacking his "fanatical believer" buff, they did not share his unwavering faith.
As they waited patiently, four figures appeared in the distance, walking toward them.
No! It was five figures!
Because one of the men was carrying a youth in blood-soaked white robes in his arms.
With his excellent vision, Ye Yonglie recognized the four approaching figures from hundreds of meters away as Heart Image Martial Artists, and the youth they carried was Fang Can.
But none of the five approaching figures looked well. They were either covered in blood or had broken bones and torn ligaments.
In an instant, Ye Yonglie rushed over. Disregarding the risk of exposing his identity as a believer, he took Fang Can from the arms of the Martial Artists.
Seeing that Fang Can was merely sleeping with even breaths—aside from dozens of broken bones all over his body—Ye Yonglie couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Lifting his head, Ye Yonglie asked with a hint of hostility in his eyes, "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, School Masters?"
"We are, of course, escorting our Lord back to his room to rest," one of the school masters replied with a devout expression.
"Your Lord?" Ye Yonglie’s voice was tinged with confusion.
"Yes. We have already sworn allegiance to Fang Celestial Emperor as our god," the Martial Artists said in unison.
