Chapter 193 – Exaggeration

[Amitabha Golden Body], rated SS+, an unparalleled body refinement technique in the Ancient Martial Arts world, comparable to the Heavenly Domineering Physique…

What a grand reputation.

But the actual cultivation method… is clumsy, like a farmer’s tricks.

“Endurance training… continuous endurance training… years and years of endurance training.

Combined with various secret ointments and special inner strength activation methods, one can gradually cultivate the so-called ‘Amitabha Golden Garment’.”

“Too crude.”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but frown, thinking that compared to this cultivation method, the [Ten Thousand Refined Domain Breaking Technique] of the Hundred Refinement Sect’s leader, Xiang Lei, seemed far more profound and exquisite.

However, the thing Lu Yuan found most problematic about the [Amitabha Golden Garment] wasn’t the simple and brutal cultivation method.

It was the difficulty of cultivating this body refinement technique.

“[Amitabha Golden Garment] First Stage, takes ten days to achieve, or as fast as three days for quick learners.

But the Second Stage stretches to six months.

The Third Stage takes three years.

The Fourth Stage five years.

The Fifth Stage ten years.

The Sixth Stage twenty years…”

“The description says, at the Seventh Stage of [Amitabha Golden Garment], one becomes immune to fire and water, and invulnerable to all earthly weapons…

But to achieve the Seventh Stage of [Amitabha Golden Garment], it takes a full forty years!”

“How much time is that in total?

Nearly eighty years!

Eighty years just to reach the Seventh Stage!”

“And the higher you go, the more time each stage takes, essentially doubling each time.

The Seventh Stage isn’t even the peak; there’s the theoretical Ninth Stage, and even the Tenth Stage!

The Tenth Stage can achieve the legendary ‘Amitabha Golden Body’!

The effects of the ‘Amitabha Golden Body’ are unknown, but the cultivation time required is… five hundred years…

Ugh… is this cultivation technique description for real?”

If it hadn’t been properly purchased from the merit shop of Yellow Bear, Lu Yuan would have had every reason to suspect that the last few lines were lifted straight from some Xuanhuan Novel.

Even Sun Wukong1 was only trapped under Five Finger Mountain2 for five hundred years; to master this pure martial technique, would it take over a thousand years altogether?

“Even just reaching the Seventh Stage, taking eighty years is long enough…”

His grandfather, Lu Yueping, isn’t even eighty years old yet…

“From what I know about longevity methods, they all require body replacement, which doesn’t cover such a long time span…”

Lu Yuan pursed his lips and clicked on the last of the three video files in the document.

As the video played, it showed a bald old man with a bare upper body.

He was thin, with visible ribs.

The bald old man seemed to be cooperating in some kind of experiment.

Two strong men approached, carrying large-caliber machine guns. The old man took a deep breath, and the light of inner strength surged over his body. His shriveled physique instantly looked as if it had been coated with gold dust, turning him golden all over.

Then came a barrage of machine gun fire.

The bullets hit the golden old man, but only produced crisp ringing sounds, with casings falling all over the ground.

Next, they tried electric saws, flamethrowers, and freeze guns.

The old man stood immovable, protected by his golden garment.

After the full set of experiments, he still looked rosy and could slowly dress himself.

Lu Yuan glanced at the video title-[Amitabha Golden Garment] Seventh Stage Effect Demonstration.

“The effect is decent, but it should be the limit. None of the new martial arts or modification system techniques were used; they probably wouldn’t hold up against those…”

Lu Yuan recalled the grandmaster videos he had seen earlier, feeling that the effect of the Seventh Stage of the Amitabha Golden Garment was still inferior to the Grandmaster Field.

But the Grandmaster Field is an active skill, while the Amitabha Golden Garment is semi-passive, which is a significant advantage.

“Training is a must, but whether to go deep into it depends on the cost-effectiveness…”

Lu Yuan wanted to use pure martial arts to compete against new martial arts and modifications, and physical defense was an unavoidable hurdle.

The [Amitabha Golden Garment] provided a considerable boost to physical defense. Although the training time was long, he had skill points.

He could drastically shorten the process.

What Lu Yuan needed to consider was whether it was worth spending his skill points on this cultivation technique.

“The [Amitabha Golden Garment] alone isn’t worth it, but…”

Lu Yuan glanced at the remaining eight external martial arts that came with the Amitabha Golden Garment, his eyes glittering.

“If the [Amitabha Golden Garment] can later fuse with other external martial arts and mutate… the effect could improve by several levels. Using skill points for improvement wouldn’t seem like a waste then.”

At this point, the white bear had already directed the robots to move everything into the house and respectfully greeted him.

Lu Yuan nodded, and the white bear, along with a group of robots, boarded the shuttle and left.

The items unloaded from the shuttle were piled up like a small mountain in the villa’s living room.

Lu Yuan didn’t rush to examine them. He took another look at the remaining eight external martial arts.

First up was definitely the [Heavenly Ultimate Physique].

The cultivation method for the [Heavenly Ultimate Physique] appeared much more profound.

It required the practitioner to open nine “Ultimate Meridians” within the skin and flesh.

During the process of opening these meridians, a special inner strength called “Dominance” would naturally be stimulated.

Once the Dominance flowed through the nine meridians, it could significantly enhance physical strength in a short time, achieving unstoppable power.

“The [Heavenly Ultimate Physique] focuses on tempering the skin and flesh, while the Steel Bone Sect’s body training techniques focus on the bones. By this logic, the core legacy of the Overlord Fist Sect must be about tempering the Five Viscera…

Combining the three would complete the [Heavenly Domineering Physique]!”

The [Heavenly Ultimate Physique] also had a demonstration video.

In the video, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man activated the [Heavenly Ultimate Physique], and nine red lines appeared on his body. He then grew noticeably larger.

The effect was quite similar to Lu Yuan’s first rank transformation.

It also provided an all-around attribute boost, but it primarily enhanced physical defense.

After activating the [Heavenly Ultimate Physique], the man’s skin and flesh became harder than refined steel, charging around like an out-of-control tank.

The [Heavenly Ultimate Physique] didn’t have a true skill visualization diagram.

Lu Yuan continued to watch.

He studied all the external martial arts one by one.

[Kesa Skill], [Iron Shirt Skill], [Whale Body Ocean Encompassing Style], [Glazed Pagoda Body]…

Lu Yuan finished reviewing all the external martial arts.

He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged in the living room.

The autumn breeze blew into the hall, gently swaying the white curtains.

Countless inspirations burst forth in Lu Yuan’s mind, colliding in flashes, appearing and disappearing…

He realized that all external martial arts were essentially built around two core principles:

Body Conditioning and Inner Strength.

Body Conditioning made one resilient, while Inner Strength made one powerful.

External martial arts were not crude; Lu Yuan felt they were even more profound and intricate than martial arts focused on moves.

This was because external martial arts involved a much deeper understanding of the body’s functions and structure compared to move-based martial arts.

Each external martial art focused on continuously tapping into the body’s potential.

This process was akin to walking a tightrope while carrying a thousand-pound weight along the edge of a cliff.

A single misstep could lead to the catastrophic collapse of the body.

God only knows how many lives were lost to develop these level S external martial arts legacies.

Yet in this era of new martial arts and modifications, they were about to be buried and washed away like sand on a beach…

This was undoubtedly a tragedy.

Amid these waves of insights, Lu Yuan felt as if he had grasped something.

But his accumulation was too little, and he lacked practical experience.

These flashes of inspiration were fleeting and could not produce anything of real value.

“I still need to practice first.”

Lu Yuan opened his eyes and stopped pondering.

Instead, he got up and began organizing the items that came with the cultivation techniques.

The most conspicuous among the pile was a large device that looked like a game pod, which he had seen outside earlier.

It really resembled a game pod; a person could lie inside, and there was quite a bit of space inside.

The lid could close.

It was made of an unknown material, exceptionally heavy and hard.

“[Amitabha Golden Garment] exclusive Anti-strike Training Device?”

Lu Yuan read the introduction and discovered that this device was specially developed by the Yellow Bear official for cultivating the [Amitabha Golden Garment].

It used gravity, electric currents, air pressure, and hydraulic pressure to simulate the effect of physical strikes.

It was even better than physical strikes.

Moreover, it was convenient-one could lie in it and start training anytime, anywhere.

“It turns out the [Amitabha Golden Garment] can be bought in parts. The cultivation techniques for the initial layers are quite popular…”

Lu Yuan checked the Forum and found that many people who plan to transplant defensive type new martial arts would first practice a few layers of the [Amitabha Golden Garment].

Once they had a solid foundation in external martial arts, they would transition to something like the Molybdenum Demon’s [Molybdenum Steel Battle Body] or the [Titanium Extreme Armor]…

Lu Yuan glanced at the remaining items; most of them were body repair fluids and similar products.

These products, developed by the Yellow Bear internal Research Group, were far more effective than the secret ointments from various Ancient Martial Arts sects.

After all, the new era brought not only challenges and eliminations but also progress.

“The Anti-strike Training Device, combined with the cell repair fluid, can reduce the cultivation time for the [Amitabha Golden Garment] by one-third, even half!”

“Eighty years cut in half is forty years.

If I push myself harder, twenty years isn’t impossible.

Round it off…

Phew—”

Lu Yuan exhaled deeply and stepped into the device.

“It’s not as exaggerated as I imagined.”

“Click—”

The hatch closed, and the spacious living room fell silent, with only the occasional “beep beep” from the device breaking the stillness.

…

“If that little brat dares to show up in front of me again, I’ll personally twist his head off!”

“Do I need you to teach me how to do things?…”

“Get out!”

“Crash!”

The sound of breaking dishes was followed by a dull thud, and a somewhat disheveled figure retreated from an antique-styled room.

Lin Zhiqin stood in the courtyard, his face flushed, hands and feet at a loss, like a child scolded by his parents for doing something wrong.

“Junior Brother Lin.”

With a soft sigh, Zhuang Xiujie slowly walked over, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. “Why do you always say things that our teacher doesn’t want to hear? Is this your talent?”

“Senior Sister, I…”

Lin Zhiqin opened his mouth, looking embarrassed and unsure how to explain.

He could only sigh softly and say, “Junior Brother Pei came to see me. His goal seems to be next month’s Hundred Cities Martial Arts Tournament in the South. I just wanted to remind our teacher that Pei Ye has… changed a lot.”

Zhuang Xiujie’s eyes flickered as she slowly began to speak, “Didn’t we already know about Pei Ye’s return? Besides, everyone has been waiting for this day for fifteen years…

Junior Brother Lin, you have no idea how much our teacher values this Southern League. Ever since he took on Little Senior Brother, he’s been looking forward to an opportunity to make a name for himself…”

Lin Zhiqin remained silent for a moment before finally responding with a soft, “Hmm.”

Seeing his dejected expression, a trace of softness and pity flashed in Zhuang Xiujie’s eyes. She spoke gently, “Alright, I’ll try to persuade our teacher again. Even if I can’t change his mind, at least I can make him be more cautious…”

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Lin Zhiqin raised his head and gave Zhuang Xiujie a grateful smile.

After a moment of hesitation, he continued, “Actually… There’s one more thing I’d like to ask of you, Senior Sister.”

“What is it?”

Lin Zhiqin lowered his head and whispered a few words.

After listening, Zhuang Xiujie’s expression changed drastically. She turned sharply, looking at him with an incredulous face.

Footnote:

1. Sun Wukong(孙悟空): Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a legendary character from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West (西游记), written in the 16th century by Wu Cheng’en.  He is a mythical figure with extraordinary powers and a complex personality.
2. Five Finger Mountain(五指山): The Five Finger Mountain represents the Buddha’s power and the idea of karmic retribution. It is also known as the Five-Finger Mountain because it is said to have been formed by the Buddha’s hand. Sun Wukong was imprisoned under this mountain for 500 years as a form of penance for his actions.