Chapter 704: Ninth Realm of the Martial Dao (1)

Chapter 704: Ninth Realm of the Martial Dao (1)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
All the martial artists in the Tianwu Continent knew that martial dao was divided into nine realms. There were lower three realms of martial arts, intermediate three realms, and upper three realms.
To most martial artists, they only knew about the intermediate three realms of martial arts because the Sage Realm was already the end that most martial artists could see in their lives.
As for the upper three realms of martial arts, they had always been known as the legendary realm. No matter which era it was, those who could reach the upper three realms of martial arts were extremely rare.
Many people did not even know the name and characteristics of each realm in the Upper Three Realms. They only knew that these existences in the Upper Three Realms stood at the top of the Tianwu Continent.
The ninth realm of martial arts was not only the highest realm of martial arts, but also the strongest realm. It was also the most mysterious realm. Even Xiao Shi’s current understanding of the ninth realm of the Martial Dao was no different from an ordinary person.
He only knew that the ninth realm of martial arts was the ultimate realm of martial arts. It represented the end of martial arts and also represented true invincibility. Other than that, he didn’t have any other information. He did not know the name and characteristics of the ninth realm of the Martial Dao at all. Even in the many ancient books in the Martial Emperor’s treasury, there were no records related to it.
“The ninth realm of the Martial Dao…” At the mention of this realm, the expression Heavenly King Yao Xi became complicated. Her eyes were filled with longing, yearning, desire, fear, and many other extremely complicated emotions. She sighed, “There’s actually no fixed name for the ninth realm of the Martial Dao because this realm is usually named by people who have reached that realm.
“For example, in the Ganwu Era before the Great Wu Empire, the person who had reached the ninth realm of the Martial Dao had named it as Martial King. And the era of martial arts before the Ganwu era is the Martial Venerable. In the Great Martial Era, the ninth realm of martial arts was named… the Martial Emperor!”
The words of Heavenly King Yao Xi undoubtedly formed a powerful earthquake in Xiao Shi’s mind. He had never thought that the ninth realm of martial arts actually had no fixed name. Instead, it was named by those who had reached this realm!
In the Great Martial Era, the ninth realm of martial arts was the Martial Emperor. Xiao Shi had always thought that the Martial Emperor was just a form of address for the emperor. He did not expect the word Martial Emperor to have such a layer of meaning.
He also understands why the three demigod Heavenly Kings and many people from the Great Wu Empire would leave the Great Wu Empire after the Martial Emperor died. Because what they were loyal to had always been the Martial Emperor, not the Great Wu Empire.
Even if the Martial Emperor still had children, still had an heir, he was not qualified to rule them anymore. Those who could control them were only the Martial Emperor!
Unless it was someone like the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect who was loyal to the Great Wu Empire, they would not leave the Great Wu Empire because of the Martial Emperor’s death. As long as the Great Wu Empire still had an heir, as long as the Great Wu Empire was not destroyed, they would be loyal to the Great Wu Empire for life.
Xiao Shi also understood why the prince still considered himself a prince after inheriting the Great Wu Empire and not directly ascending the throne to become the next Martial Emperor. What the Martial Emperor represented was not something his children could inherit at all.
Therefore, even if the Martial Emperor’s son inherited the Great Wu Empire, he would still be a prince.
In the Tianwu Continent, there was only one Martial Emperor. It was impossible for a second Martial Emperor to exist. Even if someone reached the ninth realm of the Martial Dao now, they would undergo a brand new name and would not use the names of their predecessors.
“Apart from the fact that the ninth realm of the Martial Dao doesn’t have a fixed name and is self-named, there can only be one ninth realm of the Martial Dao in an era! If the era doesn’t end, no one can reach the ninth realm of martial arts even if there are thousands of demigods.” Heavenly King Yao Xi lamented.
Xiao Shi was enlightened. It was no wonder that ever since the Martial Emperor died, the three demigod Heavenly Kings had been thinking of ways to suppress the Great Wu Empire and constantly weaken it.
If the Great Wu Empire was not destroyed, the era of Great Wu was not over. Then, it was destined that it would not produce a ninth-realm martial arts expert.
Therefore, even if these three demigod Heavenly Kings were not all greedy for power and wanted to unify the Tianwu Continent, at their realm, they all had an indescribable pursuit and fanaticism for the final ninth realm of the Martial Dao.
This kind of pursuit was different from the pursuit of being ambitious and determined to become the number one martial artist. It was not so much a pursuit. It was more like an instinct! Just like how one needed to eat when they were hungry and sleep when they were sleepy, it had already become an instinct that could not be disobeyed.
In other realms of martial arts, one could choose to lie flat or not break through to a higher realm. The most representative ones were from the Martial Soul Realm to the Martial Demon Realm.
Many Martial Soul Realm cultivators chose to give up on advancing after knowing that the Martial Demon Realm would give birth to a demon avatar and that there would be huge risks. They were willing to stay in the Martial Soul Realm for the rest of their lives.
However, a demigod couldn’t give up! As long as one became a demigod, they would definitely attempt to break through to the ninth realm. Even if there was a bottomless abyss ahead, even if the price of failure was their souls dissipating, they would not hesitate.
Because this was an instinct that they could not go against!