Chapter Ninety: Twenty Thousand Miles

“Let me see just how strong you are!”

Before the armored Thunder Ox could even swing his hammer, Xu Chen appeared right in front of him, landing a palm strike squarely on the creature’s chest. Without even glancing back, Xu Chen continued his rapid advance toward the distant checkpoints.

At the checkpoint nine thousand miles out stood a giant ape, standing ten feet tall and wielding an iron staff, with a spectral image of a sacred ape, fifty feet high, looming behind him. Seeing this, Xu Chen could not help but pause.

“Are you a member of the Sacred Ape Clan?” Xu Chen inquired.

“Hardly. I am of the Earth Spirit race—a Steel-Plated Spirit Monkey.”

“Kid, to reach this far unscathed, I imagine the battles ahead must be brutal.”

“Come, let’s have a fight to our hearts’ content!”

The Spirit Monkey brandished its iron staff, its words brimming with the thrill of battle.

“Before we start, let me ask you something.” Xu Chen eyed the iron staff in the monkey’s hands.

“Make it quick. Ask, then we fight,” the Spirit Monkey replied impatiently.

“Is it true that all monkeys love playing with sticks?”

“It just feels right in my hands.”

“No more questions?”

“Then let’s begin.”

A shadow of the staff swept directly toward Xu Chen’s face.

With a resounding crash, Xu Chen dodged with lightning speed, letting the staff smash into the ground deliberately.

“A bit troublesome, but nothing major,” he judged. From that brief exchange, Xu Chen sensed that the Spirit Monkey before him possessed the strength of two dragons and five tigers.

Xu Chen’s hands, shielded by the body-forging force of Vajra Ninefold Revolutions, met the iron staff barehanded. He pressed the monkey back step by step, finally landing a palm strike atop its skull. The monkey’s head split open, and Xu Chen shook the blood from his protective aura before continuing on his way.

When he reached the ten-thousand-mile mark, Xu Chen thought for a moment he was seeing things: standing there was a figure with the exact same presence and appearance as himself.

“I am your mirror image, embodying every ounce of strength you’ve displayed along the ten-thousand-mile path,” the doppelganger announced.

“Judging by your face, you’re quite surprised,” it continued. “That’s normal; you’ll get used to it in time. I think we could keep each other company for a long while,” the mirror image grinned at him.

“Please don’t smile so idiotically. Thank you,” Xu Chen could not help but remark at the ridiculous grin.

“As for company, meeting once is enough,” Xu Chen replied.

He vanished in a flash, grabbed the mirror image by the ankle, and began spinning it in a mighty arc, smashing it to pieces. When the deed was done, Xu Chen pressed on, not having unleashed even half his full strength on this journey.

But as he continued, even the weakest foes he met possessed the vitality of two dragons, and at the checkpoints, alien guards with strength above three dragons began to appear. At first, Xu Chen could easily dispatch them, until at the twenty-thousand-mile mark, he encountered another mirror image—this one not only wielding eighty percent of his own power but also possessing the vitality of four dragons.

Xu Chen and his mirror image stared at each other for a long while. Though Xu Chen was confident he could overcome the challenge by employing his secret Fish-Dragon Transformation technique, he found it unnecessary.

“Are we fighting or not?” asked the mirror image.

“It’s too much trouble. Let’s not,” Xu Chen answered.

At that moment, the Immortal Path crumbled, and Xu Chen was ejected from the Human Realm.

Across the square, nearly half the columns of light still glimmered, signifying that many were still attempting the trial. Xu Chen glanced at the columns beside him—Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou were still within.

“I wonder how they’re doing,” he mused.

“Disciples who have returned may leave the square and use the teleportation hall to return to the sect,” a voice sounded in Xu Chen’s ear.

Leaving the square, Xu Chen used his disciple’s token to send messages to Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou, then joined the other disciples at the teleportation array to return to the sect.

Three days passed before Xu Chen received replies from both companions and arranged a meeting.

In a teahouse at the Human Market:

“How many miles did you manage in three days?” Xu Chen asked, curious.

“I made it eleven thousand miles,” Li Chengfu replied, casting a challenging glance at Zong Changshou.

“Twelve thousand. Beyond that, the gap in strength is too great—there’s no room left for clever tricks,” Zong Changshou said calmly.

“How about you, Junior Brother Xu?” Both men looked at Xu Chen expectantly.

“The mirror image at twenty thousand miles was a bit of a hassle, so I stopped there,” Xu Chen said.

“Twenty thousand miles!”

Both men were stunned.

“Junior Brother Xu, barring any surprises, you should be in the top ten for this Immortal Path trial,” Zong Changshou calculated after a moment.

“Top ten—aren’t you exaggerating?” Xu Chen, though sometimes vain, was usually clear-eyed about his abilities.

“The Immortal Path adjusts its challenges to each participant’s strength. Nearly ninety percent of disciples are stopped at ten thousand miles,” Li Chengfu explained.

“I see.”

“Junior Brother Xu, we invited you today partly for a chat,” Zong Changshou began, “and partly to ask what kind of weapon you prefer. I can have my family forge one for you. Ordinary weapons on the market won’t serve you well there.”

“In that case, prepare a battle saber and a bow for me,” Xu Chen replied after some thought. “The bow should be able to fully channel the strength of five dragons.”

“No problem,” Zong Changshou took out a notebook and charcoal to record his request.

“Also, word has it that the chaotic rules in the ancient battlefield of the Saints may settle sooner than expected. We should seize this time to strengthen ourselves,” Zong Changshou added, putting away his notebook.

“Agreed,” Li Chengfu nodded—rare for the two to be of one mind.

Xu Chen bid them farewell and returned home to resume his cultivation.

In the small courtyard, Xu Chen practiced the Blood God Threefold Body, a foundation-building technique that, upon reaching unity of form and intention, granted the strength of three dragons. Moreover, it greatly enhanced his internal vitality, exceeding that of peers by half.

Xu Chen’s blood and energy pulsed with a strange rhythm, fortifying his flesh, bones, and sinews. Accompanied by the peculiar postures of the Blood God Threefold Body, his presence radiated like a furnace; within thirty feet, the searing, surging energy could be tangibly felt.

Though he had not yet fully mastered the technique in these few days, Xu Chen sensed his vitality growing ever stronger.

As dusk approached, Xu Chen concluded his training. After exchanging farewells with Fox Moon and Bull Dali, he made his way home.

Just then, a white figure alighted before him—a crane, clutching a letter in its beak, which it eagerly presented to Xu Chen.

“Would you like to become an honored guest of the Crane Clan?” it asked. “For just nine hundred spirit coins a year, you get free delivery and ten express shipments.”

The delivery crane gazed at Xu Chen with glistening eyes.

Xu Chen couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“I’d like to wait and see what the Thunderhawks have to offer,” he replied.

“In that case, let me throw in another express spatial delivery—no matter how far, even to the front lines, your package will arrive within a quarter of an hour. The Thunderhawks’ reach is limited; their service only covers Leizhou and five neighboring provinces—any farther, and delivery slows to a crawl. But we Cranes have served the Human Realm for generations. We guarantee the very best service.”