Chapter 90: Innate Transcendence of Mortals

"Not becoming the supreme grand master—"
"is a waste of talent!"

Hearing Lu Chunyuan's words, Lu Sheng was momentarily at a loss for words, caught between laughter and disbelief. Just a moment earlier, Lu Chunyuan had urged him to abandon lofty ambitions and first strive to become a grand master. Who would have thought that after such a short time, he had completely reversed his stance, declaring that failing to pursue the supreme grand master was nothing short of squandering his innate talent?

The abrupt shift in attitude left Lu Sheng utterly bewildered.

"Yes!"
"Your body, though not yet as formidable as that of a grand master, is already essentially identical in essence—"
"Once you achieve grand master status, refusing to strive for the supreme grand master would indeed mean wasting your talent."

Lu Chunyuan's voice rang out with unyielding conviction, silencing Lu Sheng's lingering doubts.

In this world, only those grand masters refined by the power of heaven and earth could transform into a complete innate physique. Though Lu Sheng's current physical strength lagged far behind that of a grand master, his innate constitution was already on par with theirs in substance. Comprehending the power of heaven and earth and attaining grand master status would pose no challenge for him whatsoever.

Thus, Lu Chunyuan had discarded his earlier counsel and resolved to cultivate Lu Sheng according to the standards of the supreme grand master.

"I never imagined... truly never imagined that anyone could possess a fully innate physique before even reaching grand master!"
"This is a talent that legends speak of but almost never see in this world!"

A complete innate physique not only grants the talents of spirit-connecting, orifice-penetrating, and vein-penetrating bodies simultaneously, but some even awaken the ability to command the essence of heaven and earth, possessing the rarer talents of essence-connecting and god-connecting physiques.

Such a constitution has virtually never appeared in the annals of this world. Knowledge of it came solely from fragmentary records unearthed in the God Ruins.

"According to the records preserved in the God Ruins—"
"Before the void realm, all cultivation exists to facilitate a body's metamorphosis into a complete innate physique."
"This stage is commonly referred to as the metamorphosis of mortals."

Recalling the ancient texts he had studied in the God Ruins, Lu Chunyuan's gaze burned with intensity as he addressed Lu Sheng.

"You have already completed the metamorphosis phase and possess a fully innate physique. Your body's essence stands on equal footing with that of any grand master. With this foundation, if you still refuse to aim for the supreme grand master—"
"what face would I retain to call myself your teacher!"

Given Lu Sheng's current aptitude, even without instruction he would naturally become a grand master. If Lu Chunyuan withheld the path to supreme grand master status, his role as teacher would mean almost nothing to Lu Sheng—and thus he would lack the right to bear that title.

"Peerless jade! Peerless jade!"

Lu Chunyuan stared at Lu Sheng with fervent eyes and murmured the words.

Every teacher dreams of molding a fine talent into a masterpiece. As dean of the Martial Academy, Lu Chunyuan had taught for decades, so the hope burned far brighter in him than in ordinary martial artists. Looking at Lu Sheng, he saw not a student but a raw, unpolished gemstone that, with the proper care, could shine with peerless brilliance. This vision kindled the passion he had gradually accumulated over thirty years of instruction.

His expression turning grave, Lu Chunyuan stood in the courtyard and declared to Lu Sheng,

"Attack me with everything you have! Unleash every martial art or profound technique you possess—show me all your true strength!"

Having learned his lesson, Lu Chunyuan no longer offered praise but ordered Lu Sheng to commit his full arsenal, striking with no restraint. Only through such exhaustive effort could he fully gauge Lu Sheng's capabilities.

"Then I must beg your pardon for my offense!"

Lu Sheng returned the gesture with equal solemnity. Having slain a god-list powerhouse and become the apex warrior beneath the martial master, he longed to measure the true distance between himself and that realm.

Without drawing a weapon, Lu Sheng raised his fist and declared,

"Rolling Stone Fist, born from the family's inherited palm art!"

His fists moved like giant boulders, rolling forward in an endless barrage that ground toward Lu Chunyuan.

"Good fist technique!"
"Is this your own creation?"

Lu Chunyuan detected the profound artistic conception within the movements and spoke.

Lu Chunyuan knew the Rolling Stone Palm, having studied the Lu family inheritance on Black Stone Island, yet he had never heard of Rolling Stone Fist. From Lu Sheng's words, the artistic conception, and the technique's form, it was clear this fist was Lu Sheng's own derivation from the palm art—proof of the depth of his comprehension of the Rolling Stone intent.

"If he had first grasped the Rolling Stone intent rather than the Primordial Unity True Intent—"

"overcoming the constraints of the Primordial Unity True Intent would have been far simpler!"

Though he sensed the shadow of Primordial Unity True Intent within Lu Sheng's Rolling Stone artistic conception, Lu Chunyuan also detected elements unique to the youth. If Lu Sheng truly understood the intent first, his entanglement with Primordial Unity True Intent would not be as profound as Lu Chunyuan had feared.

While these thoughts crossed his mind, Lu Chunyuan's hands did not halt. He refused to dodge or retreat, and with a gentle push from his right palm, he sent Lu Sheng's entire body tumbling to the right, treating the youth like a rolling stone itself.

"Use your utmost strength. Let me witness how you killed Shi Ying!"

Lu Chunyuan's voice carried command when he realized Lu Sheng's power fell short of his expectations.

The individual who could match and ultimately defeat Shi Ying, a cultivator of the God Elephant Great Strength Technique, possessed strength far beyond what was shown.

"Good!"

Knowing he could not harm his opponent, Lu Sheng shouted and spun, launching a counterattack from behind. This time he had activated the Three Treasures Ruyi Art, multiplying his total strength by three.

Seventy-two thousand jin of force erupted forth. Under power rivaling a martial master, Lu Sheng's first strike unleashed a howling gale through Lu Chunyuan's courtyard, flattening every flower and blade of grass as though crushed by rolling boulders.

"This is more like it!"

Lu Chunyuan praised even as he remained unmoved. He expanded his own aura, swept his arm, and deflected Lu Sheng's body and fist aside. Flowers and plants flattened by Lu Sheng's wind simply restored themselves to order within that field.

This was the domain a martial master formed after achieving human-nature resonance—communicating with the heavenly essence through mysterious energy within the body and projecting it outward. Within such a domain, a martial master could freely release mysterious energy to shape his surroundings.

"Seventy-two thousand jin!"
"Not bad at all. That power is more than enough to suppress Shi Ying!"

Sensing Lu Sheng's strength, Lu Chunyuan remarked.

Though for Lu Chunyuan, whose apparent age masked a hundred-thousand-jin frame, this force posed no real threat, it was already rare among the younger generation.

After Lu Sheng saw that Lu Chunyuan still handled his full assault with effortless grace, the youth gradually relaxed and unleashed the techniques he had trained—Primordial Unity Palm, Primordial Unity Hand, and all the rest—against his teacher one after another.