Chapter 197 Taiji

After unleashing his most powerful ninth spear, Xu Jingming's subsequent moves inevitably waned in momentum, their power certainly inferior to the ninth.

"Hmph." Liu Hai took a step, forcefully closing in. His saber flashed nimbly, disrupting Xu Jingming's spear, hindering his retreat.

"Not good!" Xu Jingming immediately sensed danger and tried to withdraw.

But Liu Hai's saber technique had already transformed.

Once his saber made contact! Xu Jingming's strength was affected, and he couldn't retreat with full force.

Liu Hai advanced relentlessly.

His left-hand shield blocked Xu Jingming's counterattacks, while his right-hand saber flickered, repeatedly sticking to Xu Jingming's defending weapon. With each touch, an invisible wave transmitted to Xu Jingming's body, affecting his speed.

"What kind of saber technique is this?" Xu Jingming felt uncomfortable, gritting his teeth as he forcibly executed his spear techniques, trying to force Liu Hai back.

But against the transformed Liu Hai, he couldn't push him away.

He was stuck! He was forced into close combat!

Even though Xu Jingming's spear techniques changed rapidly, Liu Hai's saber and shield coordination, in just over ten moves, forced Xu Jingming into a flustered state. A flash of saber light grazed Xu Jingming's chest. The light armor was cut open, and blood seeped out.

Liu Hai retreated after delivering the strike, looking at Xu Jingming with a smile.

Helpless, Xu Jingming tapped his personal interface and restored his body.

"Master, I lost." Xu Jingming said helplessly, then couldn't help but ask, "Master, your saber technique improved a lot at the end! Not only did it block my spear techniques, but it also prevented me from breaking free and even cut through my protective armor."

He also had a body that was 99% at the ultra-tier, and the light armor was heavier, providing excellent protection.

"I have to thank you."

Liu Hai chuckled, very pleased. "Those nine consecutive spear strikes of yours, especially the final ninth strike, almost defeated me. At the last moment, it forced out my potential, and in a flash of inspiration, my saber technique broke through… allowing me to block that spear."

"That saber technique, it's incredibly fast," Xu Jingming praised. "And it excels at sticking to weapons, affecting the opponent's body to some extent."

"My saber technique is rooted in the Taiji lineage," Liu Hai explained. "I have received inheritances and have also possessed Cosmic Legends, gaining a lot. Just now, I comprehended even deeper mysteries of the saber technique, dividing yin and yang with a single strike, incredibly fast and powerful. Moreover, the yin and yang undulations can disrupt the enemy's body's strength."

Xu Jingming was thoughtful.

"Your spear technique is powerful enough. If someone slightly weaker fought me, I could cleave their weapon with a single strike, and the yin and yang undulations transmitted into their body would cause them to lose control," Liu Hai said.

Xu Jingming nodded slightly. "I understand. Taiji first controls oneself, then controls the enemy. But this strike… to make the enemy's body lose control, it is indeed outrageous."

"Like your Nine Lessons of Martial Arts, this is actually the transmission of power," Liu Hai said. "When I strike with my saber, the transmitted yin and yang force is a kind of wave force. This force exceeds the enemy's control, so they will naturally lose control of their body."

"Impressive," Xu Jingming exclaimed. "I lost fair and square."

His *Hua Hong* (Rainbow Transformation) spear technique also borrowed force to strike, borrowing force with each spear strike, ultimately merging into the ninth strike.

But Liu Hai's control of power in his saber technique was clearly more profound.

Of course…

He couldn't envy that. After all, Liu Hai had devoted his life to studying martial arts, with Taiji as his foundation. The inheritances and possessions of legends he received were all aligned with himself, integrated into Taiji. That's how he could have such a saber technique.

And he also had his own path. His *Hua Hong* spear technique's 'Nine-Strike Combo' was also a very strong move. However, in the same situation of being 99% at the fourth level, in terms of actual combat, he was still slightly inferior to his master.

"I've practiced for several decades longer than you. I won so thrillingly. The next time we fight, I'm afraid I won't be your match. After all, you're improving quickly in terms of willpower, while my progress is slow." Liu Hai tapped the interface, and stone benches and a stone table appeared beside them, with fruit wine and food on the table.

"Sit," Liu Hai said.

"As long as there is progress, a breakthrough will eventually come," Xu Jingming said as he sat down.

Liu Hai smiled at his disciple. "This fight today has been a great help to me. My saber technique has made a breakthrough! My mental will has also strengthened a lot."

"Me too, I've had some breakthroughs." Xu Jingming also smiled, in a good mood. Being able to unleash the nine-strike combo… was due to an improvement in his spear technique, and also the strength of his mental will.

Only a strong enough mental will could unleash that strike.

He now had an increasingly clear perception of all the cells in his body, feeling that he could be considered to 'sense all cells.' The difference wasn't much.

"A breakthrough is naturally a good thing," Liu Hai said. "After all, what lies before us is the biggest difficulty in the cultivation of planetary lifeforms—breaking through to the fifth level."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

To break through to the fifth level, the first step was to 'clearly sense all the cells in the body,' which he had almost completed! The difference wasn't much. Three to five days of consolidation would be enough. Now it was the second step—

Start consciously controlling every cell!

Control was also very difficult. After all, there were too many cells in the body. It was impossible to divide one's mind into 'billions' and control each cell separately. That was unrealistic.

One had to uniformly mobilize every cell, and only when the degree of mobilization reached a certain limit could one be considered at the fifth level.

If one could perfectly mobilize every cell, that would be 99% at the fifth level.

"Cell-level body control." Xu Jingming knew what he had to do next.

"As long as you successfully break through to the fifth level, becoming a cosmic lifeform won't be difficult," Liu Hai said with emotion. "Jingming, your inheritance should also record cosmic lifeforms, right?"

Xu Jingming nodded. "Yes, we, including the countless people on Blue Star, can only be considered planetary lifeforms."

"Long lifespan, able to fly, able to walk the cosmos with their physical bodies, not eating or drinking, able to absorb the light of stars and various radiant energies…" Liu Hai said with emotion. "They are indeed much stronger than us. Only at that level can one be considered a cosmic citizen. We, these weak planetary lifeforms, are not even cosmic citizens and cannot receive the protection of the Cosmic Human Alliance's laws in the universe."

"The Cosmic Human Alliance's laws?" Xu Jingming asked in surprise.

"This is information I came into contact with when I possessed a Cosmic Legend," Liu Hai said. "The Cosmic Legend's family and clansmen still have many who are only planetary lifeforms. They are not cosmic citizens, so they cannot receive the protection of the Cosmic Human Alliance's laws! They can only rely on their home civilization for protection!"

Xu Jingming nodded. "When I possessed a Cosmic Legend, I learned that the Cosmic Legend was a councilor of the Cosmic Human Alliance at the tenth level."

Although many secrets were forbidden from being spread, including the exchange list and so on.

But those of them who had received inheritances and seen the exchange list, who knew the secrets, could talk about it.

"Jingming."

Liu Hai sighed and said, "From the information I have now, our Blue Star civilization only controls one human-inhabited planet, 'Blue Star.' The other planets in the solar system are uninhabitable and can only be used as mineral planets. With only one life-bearing planet and several mineral planets, such a civilization is indeed very weak."

"It is very weak," Xu Jingming agreed. "When I possessed a tenth-level expert, when a large power tried to recruit him at the ninth level, they were willing to offer ten administrative stars and the associated star system. In other words… the strength of the Blue Star civilization is not as good as a ninth-level existence."

"The Blue Star civilization's strength is very weak, and we are even weaker," Liu Hai said. "You and I are now the top experts on Blue Star, but we are not even cosmic citizens. A cosmic citizen is the most basic threshold for wandering the universe and interacting with other civilizations. We have not even reached that level!"

"So the Blue Star Alliance is sparing no expense to allow everyone to enter the virtual world and learn evolution methods," Xu Jingming said. "Only by becoming cosmic lifeforms will we be qualified to truly contact the outside world."

Liu Hai nodded. "In my life, I have seen a lot and experienced a lot. I understand one truth! One's own strength is the most important thing. Relying on the outside world for survival is not long-lasting."

Xu Jingming agreed. "If you fall behind, you will be beaten."

"Blue Star is very weak, and we are considered to be talented, so we must work harder," Liu Hai said. "If you and I can become ninth-level… it is estimated that we can greatly enhance the strength of the Blue Star civilization."

"Yes," Xu Jingming nodded. "Let's work hard, work hard to become ninth-level."