Chapter 119:

"Is this already the 7th rank?" Qiao Mu was quite surprised.

As one enters old age, it is common for one’s Qi and blood to decline. Being able to rejuvenate oneself is already extremely rare. But in the environment of the heavenly prison, to still be able to make a breakthrough truly shattered his understanding of martial arts.

Dao Zhen originally didn’t notice anything strange about Hai Wuya. It was only after seeing Qiao Mu’s expression that he turned his head to look at Hai Wuya, and then his brows unconsciously furrowed slightly.

"Hai Wuya, during the thirty years you stayed in the heavenly prison, were you practicing martial arts?"

He originally came with excitement, hearing that Hai Wuya was different from the others. But now, he suddenly felt a wave of disinterest.

"What’s the use of practicing martial arts? Even the Martial Saint that you guys speak of is already dead." Dao Zhen questioned with confusion.

"With martial arts falling behind, continuing to cling to old ways, what’s the point?"

"If you seek power, why not join the Immortal Gate and cultivate immortality?"

The dominance of the immortal path is an indisputable fact.

Forty years ago, and still so after forty years.

He didn’t understand why he didn’t cultivate the Immortal Path since there was already a path to immortality in front of him.

"The Martial Path and the Immortal Path are just two different paths, why try to compare them?" Hai Wuya, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up.

"Of course, in the past, martial artists only knew how to train their martial arts techniques – how to punch, how to make their fists stronger, and how to generate more powerful force – but they didn’t understand the principle of observing and understanding the world."

"The exploration in the Immortal Path does go further than the Martial Path."

"If one only pursues personal strength, then it is indeed more suitable to seek the Immortal Path."

To Qiao Mu’s surprise, he actually agreed with Dao Zhen’s words.

"Then why don’t you cultivate the Immortal Path? Could it be that you lack the necessary qualifications? No spiritual roots?" Seeing that Hai Wuya finally responded to him, Dao Zhen asked again.

Instead of directly answering this question, Hai Wuya sighed and said:

"For forty years, there were many people in the imperial court who had the idea of learning inhuman techniques and joined various Immortal Gates to seek immortality."

"After forty years, many of them have become inhuman."

Inhuman is not a different race, but their difference lies in their hearts.

They have flexible standards for what it means to be human.

On the surface, inhuman are also human, as they were born from the human race.

But the difference between immortals and mortals is not only in their power.

Only cultivators like them are seen as human in their eyes.

The rest of the mortals are seen as symbols of backwardness and ignorance, only being used as a means to offer devotion and exploit resources.

"You’re called ‘Dao Zhen,’ right? How many true cultivators from your Nine Immortal Gates are there compared to the number of martial artists in this Zhong Province?" asked Hai Wuya suddenly.

Normally, regular people would address cultivators as "immortal masters" or "upper immortals".

Hai Wuya obviously didn’t have this kind of respect for Dao Zhen, and Dao Zhen also seemed not to mind.

"Naturally, the number of cultivators from the Nine Immortal Gates is far less." Dao Zhen said proudly.

"Cultivating requires innate talent, which is quite rare."

"Cultivating requires innate talent, so the number of cultivators is much smaller compared to martial artists. It’s just that they have accumulated over the years, making it seem like there are more." Hai Wuya said.

"But martial arts is different."

"Martial arts focus on willpower and character. As long as one has enough willpower and character, anyone can practice martial arts, so martial arts is for everyone."

"What I pursue is not just personal strength." Hai Wuya said, his eyes filled with nostalgic memories.

He practiced martial arts at a young age and became a martial monk at Shaolin Temple, enduring a lot of hardships. He trained diligently for ten years and eventually reached the 4th rank.

But in his heart, he still identifies himself as a scholar, not a martial monk.

"As scholars, our ultimate pursuit is to cultivate ourselves, take care of our families, govern the country, and bring peace to the world, rather than solely focusing on martial arts and being brave and fierce."

Hai Wuya said lightly:



"In my early years, I practiced martial arts only to enter the government and apply the knowledge I gained to benefit society and help the people."

"And now, studying martial arts is also for the purpose of cultivating ourselves, taking care of our families, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world."

"Martial arts is synonymous with humanity. If everyone practices martial arts, martial arts will thrive, and so will humanity."

Qiao Mu listened quietly, with many thoughts emerging in his mind.

Hai Wuya also practiced the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique, so Qiao Mu concluded that he was likely a member of the Wuji Association too.

However, upon hearing his ideas, Qiao Mu realized that Hai Wuya’s martial path was quite different from that of a Martial Saint.

Martial Saint’s martial arts are about everyone fighting for me, and as the strongest martial artist, I challenge the immortal.

Hai Wuya’s martial arts, on the other hand, are about everyone practicing martial arts, and martial arts are the way of the people.

Dao Zhen listened and pondered, starting to see Hai Wuya in a new light.

"Mortal lives are limited, and you are already old. This is not a great feat that you, a mortal, can accomplish."

"It is precisely because of your weakness and vulnerability that it becomes even more precious."

What Dao Zhen liked most was observing the individuals among these mortals who had exceptionally strong and resilient spirits.

Hai Wuya was clearly one of them, which made Dao Zhen feel that he had not come in vain.

At this moment, a shadow approached quickly from the direction of the heavenly prison entrance.

It was Condor Wei En.

He heard that Dao Zhen, a disciple of Taoist Qingyi from the Great Dao Sect, had arrived in the heavenly prison, so he hurriedly came, afraid that something might go wrong.

Little did he know that as soon as he arrived, he saw this cultivator named Dao Zhen, seemingly engaged in a happy conversation with Hai Wuya.

"Immortal Dao Zhen." Wei En nodded, then looked at Hai Wuya.

"Hai Wuya, get up, come with me to the interrogation room, I need to interrogate you."

Hai Wuya glanced at Wei En, stood up, and left the prison under the escort of the jailer. Sёarᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Just as he left, Dao Zhen also stood up and followed behind.

"Immortal Dao Zhen, are you here to supervise the inmate Qiao Zhong? Hai Wuya has nothing to do with this case, it is another matter. It is inappropriate for you to follow like this," Wei En said coldly.

Dao Zhen innocently shrugged his shoulders and stopped there.

"Do all of you think that I am going to harm this prisoner? This time, you specifically want to take Hai Wuya away?"

"Okay, suit yourselves."

Dao Zhen wasn’t bothered either. He casually sat down in Hai Wuya’s cell and skimmed through his books.

……..

Inside the interrogation room.

"Hai Wuya, I know you’re part of the Wuji Association. I’ll keep it short and simple, as I’ve been asked to do so."

Wei En didn’t waste any time and went straight to the point, saying in a deep voice:

"People from the Wuji Association say that you possess the top martial arts techniques that even a disabled person can practice. They want you to teach everything you’ve learned to the prisoner in the adjacent cell, Qiao Zhong."

"Qiao Zhong? Wasn’t he a condemned criminal who angered the Immortal Gate?" Hai Wuya asked, confused:

"He’s just like me, living on borrowed time, with the possibility of being executed at any moment. So, even if he masters my techniques, what good would it do?"

"Hai Wuya, you said it…" said Wei En.



"These thirty years in a heavenly prison, weren’t you also living from day to day? Were these thirty years just wasted?"

Wei En broke through Hai Wuya’s thoughts, leaving him momentarily stunned before his eyes lit up.

Finally, he realized that Qiao Zhong was in a similar situation.

Perhaps… in his later years, he might just find a successor in the martial arts.

Even if this Qiao Zhong, like him, was not young anymore and in immediate danger.