Chapter 1399: Martial Arts, My Transformation

"You're fighting me with just two legs?" Tu Xin took a deep breath, his face filled with disbelief.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Emperor Qi and the others shook their heads and chuckled. "We have to admit that times are changing. Their combat power at the same cultivation level is higher than our upper limit because we could only learn up to five types of bloodline techniques, whereas they can learn countless techniques without any bloodline restrictions."

But while he might defeat a saint at the same level, an evil god? They scoffed.

Back then, weren't the Three Pillar Gods, Caroline, and Emperor Qi all beings with heaven-defying bloodlines? Weren't they all powerful warriors who swept across an entire era with their immense combat strength? Even when the three of them joined forces, they were still utterly crushed by just one arm of the Evil God! Even Emperor Zun, when he finally joined the battle, found it incredibly difficult to parry that single arm, managing only a bare stalemate.

The strongest combat power in history was no joke. This was the ultimate creature of the bloodline system. She didn't possess a single truly powerful, heaven-defying bloodline; instead, she combined various common bloodlines to form a being that was nonetheless the strongest.

Over 129,600 genetic positions... All other beings cultivated "one," but she cultivated "all." How could one even compare?

"Back then, we struggled to defeat even one arm. Now, the Evil God says one arm isn't enough to take down Tu Xin and needs two legs instead. That just shows how powerful he is," the Three Pillar Gods burst into laughter, their depression easing somewhat.

"He's picked the wrong opponent," Caroline chuckled. "At the same cultivation level, the Great Octopus would be a more suitable opponent for him... The Great Octopus is a conventional single, heaven-defying bloodline life form, whereas the opponent is a composite life form; there's no real comparison."

By now, Tu Xin was thoroughly enraged.

"Two legs? You're asking for death!" Tu Xin's expression turned grim. For him, the new protagonist, to be outperformed by a creature from the old, discarded era at the same cultivation level was an indescribable humiliation.

Tu Xin abruptly stood up, ignoring the severe injuries throughout his body, and leaped directly above Medusa's head. "River of Heat."

This was the River of Heat style. It was reputed to be the most violent and terrifying martial art. A pure embodiment of ultimate strength, every point within it seemed to undergo material fission, as if powered by ten billion planetary engines, as he violently swung his fist downwards.

"Useless. Bend." Medusa's cold voice rang out. In an instant, countless bloodline rules converged into a composite Dao technique, distorting and bending space. It was as if she wasn't using a single, simple law, but an entire universe. Her Dao technique contained a cosmic mystery, with hundreds and thousands of rules arrayed and combined to form a single law.

"Main... Law!" Zhiji exclaimed in astonishment from afar. "How is that possible?"

In the very next second, Tu Xin's fist was bent by an unknown force, curving around Medusa's body.

Medusa rose onto her toes, gracefully leaped, performing an elegant, gymnastic-like movement in the air, and thrust her legs out powerfully. Innumerable energies converged like a vibrant, colorful glow, forming an arrow-like impact that struck Tu Xin's abdomen with even greater speed.

"Quantum Div—" Just as he attempted to evade, his entire body was instantly slammed violently onto the ground. The next second, Medusa raised her long legs high and stomped forcefully on his head.

His entire body, fractured at the quantum level, was smashed deep into the earth. The incredibly hard and resilient cosmic membrane beneath them was severely dented, forming a massive crater. Tu Xin's body was reduced to little more than a pulp; his bones, flesh, blood, and sinews were all blurred into a single indistinguishable mass. Only a half-fragment of his white, hard skull, miraculously preserved within the mire, still contained a small amount of viscous, wet red neurons that pulsed faintly, indicating his last thread of life.

The old witch doctor, Broel, stared with wide, disbelieving eyes at the scene in the crater. "An instant kill? How could it be an instant kill? How could our King Tu Xin, at the same cultivation level, be..."

"King... King..." Boss stared at Tu Xin in the crater, his entire being seemingly collapsing in belief, his bloodshot eyes trembling slightly.

Tu Xin was brought to the brink of death with a single strike. Everyone understood what this meant: the true monster had made its grand entrance. This massive demon god also possessed "Lord"-level potential combat power, which would pose a significant obstacle in future battles to break through the eleventh rank. "What exactly is this creature?"

At that moment, Tu Xin's voice rang out. To everyone's disbelief, another entirely new Tu Xin slowly emerged from the house behind him. This new Tu Xin walked into the crater, slowly picked up the half-skull from the ground, and said in a low voice, "Was that Tu Xin killed? I can't believe I've reached the tenth rank and still got beaten like this... Broel, use your quantum computer to deduce all of the opponent's combat parameters. Tell me immediately what exactly this monster in front of me is."

"Yes, my lord." Sweat beaded on Broel's forehead as his brain furiously processed information, recalling and understanding old-era biological knowledge, as well as everything he had just witnessed. He fixed his gaze on Medusa, this wicked woman radiating arrogance and a dominant, dark aura, as countless parameters and data points raced through his mind. Soon, his massive, sun-like brain computed the result. Broel whispered into Tu Xin's ear. Tu Xin listened, a hint of shock on his face. "So that's it?"

Medusa remained standing still, intently observing her opponent, and smiled. "What martial art is this? Another you?" The previous Tu Xin hadn't used his own martial arts at all. He had used the River of Heat style, alchemy... While these martial arts were extremely powerful, they didn't seem specialized, and his proficiency appeared low. It was impossible that his combat power was only at that level; he must have created his own unique martial art.

"My martial art?" Tu Xin smiled and replied, "It's called 'Residual Slough.' Have you heard of creatures that shed their shells or skin? They shed a layer every time they grow."

"Shedding skin?" Medusa looked at the Tu Xin who had just been defeated and said, "So that's it. From beginning to end, it was just a freshly shed skin of yours fighting me?"

Tu Xin shook his head. "No, I'm not that powerful or easily replaced. The concept of this martial art is based on one point: a martial artist's brain is their vital point, the seat of their consciousness."

"Like snakes on some planets that shed their outer skin, my 'skin' involves shedding my entire physical body, including the skull and the external torso. My brain will itself open up, detach from the skull, and escape, then grow a new body around itself, excluding the brain."

"You're currently fighting my discarded old body." He pointed to the half-shattered skull of the defeated body. "Look, you fought him for so long, didn't you notice his brain was empty? My brain had already escaped... This was the skin I shed last time. The reason it still had consciousness and believed itself to be Tu Xin, even without realizing, is because some neurons were still attached to the skull and hadn't completely detached. It could briefly maintain self-awareness. However, even without battle, it would soon, within a few years, gradually become a vegetative state as the residual brain matter was exhausted."

Medusa listened with astonishment. This martial art was indeed extraordinary. Moreover, it was a technique utterly impossible to learn within the old era's system. In the old system, beings had their souls and bodies integrated; every single cell was fused with the soul. Every part was a vital point and integral to the main body, so how could they shed anything? Only with this new system, where the soul remains within the brain, integrated into the neurons, could such an operation be performed—shedding everything outside the brain and growing a new body.