Start from Wusheng

Chapter 1026 Performing a Saint in Front of Everyone
"Lord Shen is truly unfathomable!"

The Six Gentlemen exclaimed, "He has quietly accumulated the confidence to ascend to sainthood."

Originally, in the minds of countless martial artists, Zhenbei Ge and Tiannan Shenjian were the two most likely to be promoted to Martial Saint.

Lord Shen, who guards the southern border, is one of the top sects, but he always gives people the feeling of being 'relatively mediocre'.

Yes, that's right, he's relatively mediocre. He does things steadily and calmly from beginning to end. He doesn't have the heroic spirit of Yin Dao, the domineering presence of Zhen Bei Ge, or the revered status of Tian Nan Shen Jian.

But the so-called mediocrity is only relative to the top two.

He is essentially still a top-tier master, the strongest being closest to becoming a Martial Saint.

It wasn't until he personally admitted that he had the confidence to 'ascend to sainthood' that everyone realized how unfathomable this Lord Shen was.

Countless sighs rose, but at the same time, they were filled with excitement. Once Lord Shen ascended to the position of Martial Saint, there would be no doubt that he could deal with the Heavenly Maiden General.

As expected, Yin Dao was still inferior, and even risking his life, he only managed to touch the level of a half-saint.

"Can it truly lift the Nine Cauldrons and elevate one to the Martial Saint realm?"

Zhou You was somewhat skeptical, having witnessed the immense power of the Nine Cauldrons.

Although the small cauldron inside the body is an insignificant clone, its 'heaviness', which transcends the physical realm, is far beyond what an ordinary cultivator could lift.

The feeling he got from Lord Shen was that he was still a step short of the level of the Martial Saint lifting the tripod.

Countless questions flooded his mind, but reality wouldn't wait for him to figure them out.

"Reverse Mobile Martial Arts School, target has disappeared, about to be withdrawn."

"Hint: You have obtained the target relic... Half-Saint Yin Blade. This learning session can be restarted!"

"Trial Project (Ten-Star): Undefeated in the Face of the Saint. Lord Shen will act as the saint to suppress the celestial maiden. As an observer, please keep your mind at ease and do not miss any details."

Is performing sainthood the same as ascending to sainthood?

A single word can make a world of difference in meaning.

Ascending means to reach a high position, to be promoted from the top sect to the Martial Saint, an indisputable act of ascending to a higher position.

But acting is different; is it rehearsing, performing, or acting?
The meaning of the mission is very clear: Lord Shen's goal is to suppress rather than annihilate, and he is obviously not confident that he can unleash the true power of a martial saint.

"Hoohoo!"

Lord Shen gazed at the bright starry sky, his thoughts wandering, and he couldn't help but recall the scene when he and Yin Dao swore brotherhood and introduced themselves to each other.

Yin Dao was a notorious thief, not a respectable figure, but he was also not a prominent member of a noble family. He was born into a wealthy and dissolute family, loved pleasure, and his greatest hobby was performing on stage.

He chose a stick as his weapon because it was like the weapons on the stage—wooden and unsharpened.

Fate played a cruel trick on him. After becoming Lord Shen, who guarded the southern border, he never had the chance to rekindle his hobbies. He could only turn his lifelong regret to weapons and make great use of the staff.

This stick was not initially a pillar supporting the world, but rather a prop for him to immerse himself in the stage.

If you're playing the role of a general charging into battle, the stick becomes a spear and a broadsword; if you're playing the role of a woodcutter or fisherman, the stick becomes a woodcutter's knife and a boat oar.

In the first half of his life, he played too many roles. This time, he is going to play the highest role: the Martial Saint.

Lord Shen, a highly respected hereditary noble and minister, whose integrity was unquestionable throughout his life, was believed by everyone to have truly mastered the necessary skills to become a Martial Saint when he said he wanted to ascend to sainthood.

But he played a joke on the world; he didn't ascend to sainthood, but rather performed sainthood.

This is military strategy, a plan, and also his last resort to deal with the celestial maiden.

"Hey, you shameless monster! You wear human skin but don't look human. Do you think these fifty states are places where you can run rampant?"

Lord Shen's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but feel regretful. The Martial Saint wanted to lift up the Nine Cauldrons, but the real Nine Cauldrons were too heavy, so he could only use the cauldrons he had to impersonate them.

The true Nine Cauldrons are far beyond his ability to lift. He could sense when the two cauldrons had been damaged. He could still touch them, but when he tried to lift them high, he feared his physical body would collapse and his fist intent would be completely suppressed.

Just as he was about to perform his magic trick to create the 'Nine Cauldrons', a sudden exclamation came from the crowd. Lord Shen turned around in a flash and saw the phantom of a large cauldron slowly rising from behind him. Its aura was clearly that of one of the two cauldrons that had just disappeared, the Nine Cauldrons of Southern Xinjiang.

Because it had just appeared, traces of it remained in the air, and the ground and stones were covered with marks left by the Nine Tripods.

The presence of these nine tripods here confirms Lord Shen's boast of "ascending to sainthood".

"..."

When Lord Shen saw the large cauldron, his first thought was, "This is terrible, what happened?"

Zhou You, with his hands hidden behind his back and his fingertips trembling slightly, said, "Shen Hou loves acting, and I love directing. We're kindred spirits, so we hit it off immediately."

They might as well add fuel to the fire, thus solidifying his position of holding up the reins.

If we're talking about impersonating the Nine Tripods, who can compare to Zhou You? He uses two principles as his core, then adds some text to create a fake appearance.

A genuine Jiuding has been made!

Of course, this small cauldron is a replica and cannot compare to the real Nine Cauldrons, but you can't tell the difference without looking closely.

Lord Shen felt a chill run down his spine. He was now in a dilemma; he had just made a boast and couldn't refuse.

He gritted his teeth, stretched out his arms, and grabbed the two legs of the cauldron. The next moment, the enormous weight generated by his fist intent and spirit descended from the sky.

In an instant, Lord Shen's mind was shattered, leaving it completely blank.

Only one thought remained in his mind: "It really is the Nine Cauldrons!"

He began to reflect on whether he had acted too well, which had actually caused the real Nine Cauldrons to descend and test him.

That 'heaviness' that transcends the physical realm is a superior suppression from the level of rules, something that cannot be moved by physical strength.

In a sense, the Martial Saint's ability to lift the Nine Cauldrons signifies that his life has undergone a transformation, reaching a level consistent with the Nine Cauldrons, which enabled him to lift them.

Lord Shen's face turned red as he was pressed down by the Nine Cauldrons, his arms pressed tightly against his shoulders.

His emaciated body instantly transformed as if inflated, with countless muscles filling the space beneath his skin, turning him into a muscular old man in the blink of an eye.

Even so, they only managed to raise the Nine Tripods by a mere inch.

"Ah, this!"

Zhou You was very familiar with the functions of the small cauldron and knew that after injecting his fist intent and fist spirit, the weight of the small cauldron would increase to its own limit.

I thought it would only be useful to me, but I didn't expect that Lord Shen would also find it particularly difficult.

It seems that the weight of the falling cauldron exceeded his limit.

If it were the real Nine Tripods, Lord Shen would probably have collapsed under the pressure at this moment, his body and will vanishing into nothingness.

But how could Zhou You allow this to happen...?

Lord Shen suddenly noticed that the large cauldron on his body had loosened slightly, and countless thoughts flooded his mind.

"It's done!"

He suddenly exerted all his strength with both arms, lifting the cauldron inch by inch above his head, and finally threw it into the heavens.

At the same time, an aura belonging to a martial saint arose from within his body, exactly the same as that of Yin Dao before his death.

Zhou You's fingertips drooped down, and large amounts of sweat dripped from his arms to the ground. It was too difficult. Maintaining that cauldron consumed more energy than fighting ten Earth Sect masters.

Hmm, Lord Shen's acting is truly convincing; he even exudes the aura of a martial saint...

Zhou You's expression suddenly froze. This was a huge mistake; it seemed that Lord Shen was truly on his way to becoming a Martial Saint.

(End of this chapter)