Redemption of a Born Demon

Chapter 179 - 172: New Ascension, the Top 10 Pay a Visit (Part 2)

Wang Chen, thirty-three years old, came from an ordinary family. At the age of ten, a distant relative taught him the White Snake Fist Technique, which he practiced tirelessly day and night. After graduating from university, he achieved a breakthrough in his martial arts and began to travel the country, visiting famous masters and renowned sects. Thanks to his natural talent and ability to grasp the whole from a single example, he managed to master the skills of a hundred schools over ten years, integrating them all to create his own fist technique: the Dragon Transformation Technique.

As fate would have it, a golden fish is not destined for a common pond; upon encountering wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon.

Originally, his ranking among the conference’s top one hundred was merely upper-middle. However, he cut a swath through his opponents. During the Modu Street Fight, he had already defeated two provocative foreign Martial Artists in a row. Afterward, with every battle, it was as if he crossed a Dragon Gate; his strength grew with each fight, allowing him to stand out from the crowd of top hundred contestants.

Finally, in the round of sixteen, he scored a major upset by defeating Mu Ruoyun, a disciple of Chongyang Palace and one of the favorites to win the conference. Amidst thunderous cheers, he broke through to the Realm of Ascension in one fell swoop. He then announced his withdrawal from the rest of the competition to focus on secluded cultivation, leaving the opportunity for other Martial Artists. This announcement shocked all the contestants.

His early withdrawal even caused a public outcry, with many people suspecting foul play. The controversy only subsided after Wang Chen himself stepped forward to clarify the situation, and more information about the meaning of the Saint Realm was popularized online.

Because of his background, he became a symbol of a grassroots-to-hero story in this Martial Hero Conference, garnering immense public attention. For a time, Wang Chen’s name was known throughout all of Donghua. His success completely ignited the fighting spirit of the other contestants, making their will to battle burn even brighter.

’We’re all contestants from the same generation. If he can break through to the Saint Realm on the stage, how can we possibly fall behind?’

And so, in the matches that followed, other contestants also began breaking through to the Saint Realm one after another.

Meng Qianyuan, during his quarter-final match against the Desert North Blade Dao genius, Xie Daosong, broke through to the Realm of Ascension in one fell swoop and announced his withdrawal from the rest of the competition.

And in the final match, Shu Xuanji, the Female Sword Cultivator from Qingcheng Mountain, shattered her Life and Death Mysterious Gate with a single sword strike. She defeated her opponent, won the tournament final, and simultaneously became the only female Saint of the event.

Furthermore, because she hailed from the Shu Region, she and Zhou Qingchen came to be known as the "Two Immortals of the Shu Region."

Of course, some troublemakers also took this as further proof of her "Sichuan-Yu Tyrannosaurus" moniker, leading to the creation of many popular internet memes.

Everyone’s focus was no longer on the tournament rankings. The title of first place had become insignificant. The only regret was that they could not witness a showdown between these newly ascended Saint Experts.

Online discussions about the three new Saints continued to brew. In the end, people could only rank them based on the order in which they had broken through their Saint Formation Barrier.

Throughout this process, Yi Beidou neither served as a judge on-site nor attended the matches. He gradually faded from the public eye, his popularity eclipsed by that of the new Saints.

For a single Martial Hero Conference to produce three individuals who reached the Saint Realm was, by all accounts, an incredible success.

Moreover, while others failed in their breakthroughs, they had also accumulated power, and perhaps they too would have a chance to break through to the Saint Realm in the near future.

Of course, this was also the result of years of accumulated potential within the Donghua Martial Arts Cultivation Realm, which finally erupted like a geyser, taking advantage of this rare Great Trend.

Dragons and serpents rose in unison; a multitude of stars twinkled brightly.

However, as Martial Arts Cultivation became more familiar to the public and corresponding training systems were established, more and more people would get involved. The various cultivation systems were set to undergo further development and refinement.

It was foreseeable that the number of Saints in Donghua would increase rapidly in the near future.

「One week after the Martial Hero Conference ended.」

Several SUVs pulled up in front of a manor in the suburbs of Modu. The environment was superb and the scenery was delightful, far removed from the clamor of the mortal world.

A group of men and women stepped out of the vehicles, all possessing extraordinary auras. The three leading them, in particular, exuded a presence that faintly but naturally made them the center of attention.

This group consisted of the top-ten-level experts from the Martial Hero Conference, and among them were the three new Saints from the event.

Now that the conference was over, many of the top contestants were having a small gathering. They decided to take advantage of the fact that many Saint Experts were still residing in Modu to visit them and seek guidance, hoping to improve their own Martial Arts Dao and broaden their horizons.

Their first chosen destination was Yi Beidou—the man who had single-handedly suppressed multiple powerful enemies when foreign Martial Artists first entered Donghua, just before the Hundred Heroes Martial Arts Discussion began.

These martial heroes had all been present for the great battle between Yi Beidou and Devi. It was safe to say that fight had left a powerful impression on them, etching the memory of Yi Beidou deep into their minds.

Of the three new Saints, Wang Chen was thirty-three, and Shu Xuanji was over thirty-five. Meng Qianyuan was the youngest, but even he had just reached the thirty-year-old threshold. Yi Beidou was actually younger than all of them, yet he was now their "predecessor."

Everyone was greatly looking forward to this meeting.

"Is *that person* really here? I can’t sense a thing."

Wang Chen had a mature and handsome face, full of a masculine air. Yet, his aura wasn’t sharp; instead, it exuded a sense of well-rounded harmony. With a constant smile on his face, he gave off a very approachable impression.

His ability to visit various sects and learn the essence of their techniques wasn’t just due to his talent, but also because of his excellent social skills.

Harmonious without lacking passion—this was the so-called principle of being "outwardly mellow, inwardly principled," the way of a gentleman.

He was far more adept at handling worldly affairs than the others.