Chapter 90: Asura and Judgment

The Ancient Treasury of Military Arts.

A blood-soaked figure stumbled out of the vortex and plunged into the frozen sea. The biting cold permeated his entire body. Jian Changsheng endured the pain and stiffness from the cold, struggling to swim a hundred meters before finally pulling himself onto a two-meter-long ice floe.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

He lay weakly on the ice, his energy completely depleted. A gust of sea wind swept over him, freezing the moisture on his body into icy fragments and stealing his last few wisps of warmth. Jian Changsheng stared blankly at the black sky and the receding giant sword, his scarred face expressionless.

He had survived.

He didn't know how he had survived… The last thing he remembered was Chen Ling standing in front of him with a gun. He recalled his heart being pierced. At this thought, Jian Changsheng instinctively reached for his chest. His flesh was still intact; there was no large hole, and something seemed to be throbbing inside…

He could feel a surge of murderous intent flowing through his veins with each heartbeat, as if his entire being had been cleansed. Moreover, something new seemed to have appeared within his body… something that continuously resonated with the distant black greatsword.

“What kind of monster was that guy…?” Jian Changsheng recalled the red-clad figure who had single-handedly fought his way through the Ancient Military Treasury, a lingering fear in his heart. Ever since he had killed Yan Xicai in self-defense and fought his way through, his spirit had sharpened to an extreme degree. Yet, unexpectedly, Chen Ling appeared at the end and crushed his pride into dust with just a few moves. The most crucial thing was that, even now, he didn't know who that person was… A Usurper? An Enforcer? Or some other conspiratorial organization?

Jian Changsheng rested for a moment before sitting up on the ice. His gaze swept across the boundless frozen sea, and a terrifying thought suddenly struck him… How was he going to get back? They had traveled for several hours by ship to get there, and now he had nothing. Was he supposed to grab onto ice floes and drift back? Jian Changsheng’s face grew increasingly grim, as he realized that, apart from this option… he truly had no other way.

He gritted his teeth, prostrated himself on the ice, and plunged his hands into the seawater. With astonishing speed and strength, he began to slowly move in the direction of Winter Harbor. Jian Changsheng would never have imagined that the once spirited Asura would now be reduced to a human-powered engine. He had to speed up… before he starved or froze to death.

On the way back to District Three, Chen Ling recounted everything that had happened within the Ancient Military Treasury to Han Meng… naturally, his own refined version. Han Meng listened in silence. It was only long after Chen Ling had finished speaking that he asked his first question, his voice hoarse:

“How did Jiang Qin… die?”

“He was killed by Usurper No. 8.” Chen Ling paused for a moment. “I avenged him.”

Han Meng looked at the coat Chen Ling was wearing, which had originally belonged to No. 8. A flash of pain, impossible to conceal, crossed his eyes. Chen Ling had never seen such despondency and weariness on his face.

“…Thank you.” This time, it was Han Meng thanking Chen Ling.

Chen Ling did not accept the thanks, feeling he didn't deserve it… Jiang Qin was dead; avenging him changed nothing. If he truly had the ability, he should have saved Jiang Qin as well. As for the others in the Ancient Military Treasury, though their deaths were related to him, even if he hadn't incited the hatred between the Enforcers and the Usurpers, both sides would still have fought upon returning to the Treasury's entrance once the Usurpers had secured the path-foundation fragments. Not to mention the Rogue Saint Bai Ye waiting outside. From the very beginning, there was no possibility for this group of Enforcers to leave the Ancient Military Treasury alive.

“Right.” Han Meng looked at Chen Ling. “This time, did you step onto the Path of the God of War?”

“Yes.”

“Which path?”

“Asura.”

A hint of surprise flickered in Han Meng’s eyes. He nodded slightly. “Asura is good… Very few people in all of Aurora City have stepped onto that path.”

“Which path are you on?” Chen Ling asked, feigning ignorance.

“Judgment.”

“What’s the difference compared to Asura?”

“Of course. Judgment pursues extreme lethality, but at higher tiers, the user’s body becomes relatively vulnerable… Asura, on the other hand, is the king of close combat. While its destructive power might not match Judgment, its survivability is extremely strong. Especially the first-tier skill, Blood Robe, you should be able to feel the power it grants you… Unless you’re killed instantly, the more severe your injuries, the stronger your damage becomes. When this effect is amplified to its extreme, the damage can even rival Judgment.”

Chen Ling nodded thoughtfully. He now possessed the third and fourth-tier skills of Judgment, along with the first-tier skill of Blood Robe… Combined, he wondered if they complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“So, after stepping onto a Divine Path, how does one advance?” Chen Ling probed, “Are there any prerequisites or conditions to fulfill beforehand?”

“Conditions? There’s no such thing.” Han Meng explained, “There are fourteen Divine Paths in the world. While each path is different, their essence is the same… They all rely on mental power to ascend tiers. Each ascension, in addition to granting different skills, also triggers a substantial increase in mental power. Ultimately, it depends on individual talent. For those with talent suited to a Divine Path, mental power grows faster, and advancement speed is quicker… If one lacks talent, advancement becomes very difficult, eventually forcing them to stop at a certain tier, confined to that rank for life. Of course, beyond the fourth tier, advancement becomes increasingly difficult. Sometimes, in addition to accumulating mental power, certain breakthrough opportunities are also required.”

As expected, others' advancements weren't as troublesome as his… Chen Ling sighed inwardly. Besides the growth of mental power, he also needed to complete additional performance tasks on the stone steps. If he failed to do so, no matter how high his mental power was, he wouldn't be able to enter the next tier. This meant that every step he took would be several times more difficult than for others.

“So, how long does it usually take to advance from the first tier to the second?”

“For an average person, about two years. If one has good talent, they might manage to advance in a little over a year…”

“That long??” Chen Ling was shocked. “How long did it take you back then?”

“Six months.”

Chen Ling was speechless. No wonder people in District Three called Han Meng a genius of the Path of the God of War… The contrast was simply too stark.

Yet, Chen Ling felt something was off. It had only been a little over a week since he stepped onto the first tier of the Path of the God of Performance, and now, his foot was almost touching the second step… Chen Ling even felt that he would truly step onto the second tier in just a few more days. Was he naturally gifted? Or did… the rewards from completing performances directly save him a lot of time?