「The next morning.」
「Shangjing Prefecture, Donghua Martial Arts University.」
Two large buses pulled up to the university’s main gate, drawing the attention of the crowd.
The mbers of the exchange et’s observation group stepped off the buses one by one, instantly catching the eye of the other students.
In no ti, news of the observation group’s return spread like wildfire throughout the Martial Arts University.
Everyone wanted to know: what was the outco?
Which Martial Artists had Donghua sent? What kind of experts had Bosha Country deployed? What was a duel between world-class powerhouses, possibly even beyond S Class, actually like?
For any martial arts practitioner, being unable to witness it all firsthand was like an unbearable itch, and their curiosity was about to burst.
As a result, the campus forums exploded with activity almost imdiately.
Not only that, but in the class group chats for those whose mbers had been selected for the exchange et, countless lurkers—students who usually focused on their strenuous Cultivation and never said a word—were all surfacing.
BING! BING! BING!
While still on their way back to the dorms, the phones of Xiangtian, Fan Hua, and Zhuo Tong began buzzing nonstop.
They all took out their phones to see ssages flooding their class group chat.
The three of them exchanged a glance before opening the chat.
"@Xiangtian @Fan Hua @Zhuo Tong, you’re back?! How did it go? Who fought?"
"Did we win or lose?"
"That’s a stupid question. You should be asking *how* we won. We couldn’t go, so describe the scene for us, will you?"
"..."
A flood of curious questions poured into the group chat.
Xiangtian and the others exchanged another look. Though their hearts were still pounding with excitent and they were eager to describe the stunning battle scenes to everyone, they had signed non-disclosure agreents before the return trip. They couldn’t reveal any specific details about the exchange et, so their hands were tied.
So, the three of them could only type out a single, unified reply:
"Sorry, we signed NDAs, so we can’t share the details. As for who won... just keep an eye on the news for the next few days. You’ll find out."
Their reply was t with a chorus of groans in the group chat, which only made everyone even more curious about the fight’s specifics.
’A non-disclosure agreent? That ans the battle must have involved so classified information. It implies that the world-class Martial Artists probably didn’t hold back during the exchange et.’
This made the other students even more envious of those who had attended.
’A battle like that must have been absolutely incredible.’
Other students who were curious about the exchange et’s outco asked around, but they all received similar replies. Resigned, they could only wait and watch the news over the next few days.
Finally, two days later, the news broke.
Donghua had won!!
...
...
「The Himalayas, Nanda Devi Peak.」
This was the highest peak in the Himalayas within Bosha Country, its summit towering over 7,000 ters above sea level and perpetually covered in pristine white snow.
Lack of oxygen, fierce winds, and severe cold were the defining features of this place. For countless people, it was a forbidden zone of life.
But besides the rare few mountaineers who challenged the extre elents, this peak was also a Holy Land for countless practitioners in Bosha Country on their pilgrimage.
Starting from the halfway point up the mountain, one could see countless tents standing firm in the wind and snow. Inside each tent was a person in simple clothing, a serene expression on their face, quietly enduring the erosion of the biting cold and harsh winds, their eyes lowered in ditation.
The practitioner’s way was a thod of Cultivation passed down in Bosha Country since ancient tis.
Through all sorts of extre, even cruel, acts, they challenged the limits of the human body to achieve a leap in their Spirit, reaching a kind of supre, wondrous state.
They called this state "Brahma."
It was the most ancient form of Cultivation. By subjecting the body to training that bordered on abuse, the Spirit could conquer the body’s instincts, detach from physical desires, and thus beco the master of the self, gaining incredible abilities.
This was the highest realm for a practitioner, known as "Brahma and Atman."
When not cultivating, the practitioners on Nanda Devi Mountain would turn their gazes toward the summit, their eyes filled with the piety of pilgrims.
At the very top of Nanda Devi Peak was the Cultivation ground of the leader of Bosha Country’s practitioners—the strongest practitioner since ancient tis.
Brahma Hall.
That being had spent his entire life demonstrating the power of asceticism, dedicating his very existence to that ancient Cultivation.
He blinded his own eyes, severed his tongue, carved off his nose, pierced his eardrums, and shattered the nerves in his spine.
This form of Cultivation was the extre of asceticism. Anyone subjected to such a state would soon go completely mad, but Kekao had gained imnse power from this extre practice.
His body seed to be decaying, but legend had it that his Spirit could create worlds.
Therefore, among the God Sanxiang, he corresponded to Brahma Heaven, the supre god in Bosha Country’s legends who created the world.
Not long ago, a piece of news had spread through the Bosha Country Cultivation Realm: in the exchange competition between Donghua and Bosha, Bosha Country had suffered a crushing defeat.
They didn’t believe the news was true. Even if it was, it must have been because the Venerable Brahma never made a move in the end.
At this mont, on the summit of Nanda Devi Mountain, beneath the blanket of white snow, there was no palace at all. There was only a cave, its entrance nearly buried by the snowdrift.
This was Brahma Hall.
A mountain needn’t be high; it is famous if an immortal resides there. A body of water needn’t be deep; it is magical if a dragon dwells within. This is a humble room, but it is ennobled by my virtue.
A true Holy Land doesn’t need to be adorned with magnificent palaces and structures, for the nobility of a single soul surpasses all extravagance and splendor.
A shaless person could cover themselves in gold leaf, but they could never beco a true Divine Buddha.
But a Sage, even if burned to ashes, will still leave behind jade-like relics.
At this mont, Kekao, having returned from the Dongfan border, lay in the dark cave. His body was wrapped in white bandages, making him look like a corpse.
However, though his body had lost all five senses, his Spirit, much like the Chief Commissioner’s, could perceive everything around him at all tis.
It was like a colossal divine being hovering over the peak.
Within the void, he used his will to create a world of his own.
Green grass, a gentle breeze, clear water, Golden Lotuses...
This place was like an Immortal Realm beyond the mortal world, a Divine Kingdom ford from a single grain of sand.
This realm was called the "Brahma World."
And at this mont, in the center of this world, the true form of Kekao’s soul sat cross-legged.
Unlike his physical body in the outside world, which was wrapped in countless bandages like a mummy, the Kekao within the Brahma World was tall and robust, with a physique that perfectly matched human aesthetic ideals. Golden light radiated from his entire being. He had four different faces and eight arms. Beneath him sat an imnse and beautiful peacock.
Here, he was Brahma Heaven, the creator of worlds.
Suddenly, Kekao, who had been in a state of ditation, snapped his eyes open.
As the Sovereign of the Brahma World, he clearly sensed a tiny crack appear on the barrier of this spiritual world.
A wisp of gray mist seeped in through the crack.
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