It was the same Martial Pavilion.
Gu Yuan, clad in a black martial robe, his familiar face known to all, parted the crowds wherever he went. Newcomers, unaware of who he was, asked the elder leading them in. The elder told them that Gu Yuan was a formidable figure in the Martial Pavilion, having directly broken through to Golden Walker in two years. Today, it was said, was the day of his advancement to Diamond Walker.
Ignoring the gazes and discussions of others, Gu Yuan walked directly to the mission counter and submitted the record of the mission he had received two days prior.
The mission involved an international kidnapping ring that had abducted the son of a wealthy magnate from the Great Ming Empire. The magnate offered a high reward for his son's safe return. Gu Yuan had completed the mission within two days, eliminating all thirteen kidnappers.
These kidnappers were all at the Hua Jin (化劲) realm.
Indeed, Gu Yuan, disregarding the cost of medicinal herbs, had successfully cultivated his tendons, bones, and marrow. He had mastered all the medicinal formulas for body strengthening in the Bajiquan (八极拳) style. Now, a single punch from him could generate ten thousand jin of force.
It was important to note that this was not due to any spiritual energy, but purely from a little Chinese medicine and his own arduous training. To achieve such immense strength in a non-supernatural world was a testament to the hardship involved.
His physique had reached the Great Accomplishment stage, and his cultivation realm had ascended to Gang Jin (罡劲).
As for why he could break through so quickly, it was simple: Gu Yuan accumulated experience through constant combat.
By fighting against opponents at different stages, he learned the characteristics and strengths of various realms. Then, as his strength grew, his innate talent, gradually revealed with his increasing power, allowed him to comprehend methods for breaking through.
Especially his fate of "Martial Saint" (武道至圣), even a sliver of its talent had a profound and beneficial impact on Gu Yuan's cultivation of the national art. This impact was like a snowball, growing larger and larger over time, eventually becoming unstoppable.
*Knock, knock!*
Gu Yuan tapped his fingers on the counter. The staff member behind it looked up, recognized Gu Yuan, and quickly put on a smiling face.
"Hello, Walker Gu Yuan," he said. "How may I help you?"
"I'm here to submit a mission."
He then handed the mission completion report to the staff member. Because this was an advancement from Golden Walker to Diamond Walker, he had to appear in person at the Martial Pavilion to be promoted.
"Understood. Please wait a moment." The staff member respectfully took Gu Yuan's mission completion report.
Gu Yuan nodded, awaiting review.
Five minutes later, with a *ding*, Gu Yuan's brand-new Diamond Token appeared in the staff member's hand.
The Martial Pavilion's selection process was entirely transparent. As long as one met the promotion criteria, any mission counter could process the advancement.
It was remarkably efficient.
Taking his Diamond Walker Token, Gu Yuan examined it. The token was made entirely of crystal, and under the light, it was exquisite, bearing the inscription "Gu Yuan."
Its dazzling appearance drew exclamations of awe from the onlookers. It was a rare sight for many to witness a Diamond Walker Token, and today, it had certainly opened their eyes.
Tucking the token into his tunic, Gu Yuan proceeded to the mission hall, where a specialized staff member inquired about which mission he wished to accept. Upon advancing to Diamond Walker, a series of privileges within the Martial Pavilion were directly upgraded.
Aside from the highest-tier items, everything else could be exchanged at a fifty percent discount. Techniques and martial arts could even be read and practiced for free.
Gu Yuan followed the dedicated staff member to a room in the back.
This was where exclusive missions for Diamond Walkers were selected, missions that only Diamond Walkers could undertake.
The rewards were almost several times that of ordinary missions, but the danger level also increased proportionally.
Various missions appeared before Gu Yuan. Most of these involved the elimination of powerful individuals at the Gang Jin or Hua Jin realms.
In the martial arts world across the globe, the individuals assigned in these missions were renowned or held significant status.
His gaze swept across the options, and Gu Yuan searched for a suitable mission. His hand suddenly stopped as his attention was fixed on one particular mission. He marked this mission and handed it to the staff member, saying, "I'll take this one."
The staff member cautiously asked, "Walker Gu, are you not accepting any other missions?"
Gu Yuan nodded.
The staff member immediately went to retrieve the mission details for Gu Yuan.
Mission Name: Wu Yifeng, the Third Elder of the "Star of Freedom," has appeared in the Kunshan Mountain Range on the western border of the Great Ming Empire, reportedly seeking an opportunity to break through to the "Seeing God" realm.
Mission Difficulty: Limited to Diamond Walker and above.
Mission Reward: One hundred million yuan, one opportunity to freely read any technique from the Martial Pavilion's Scripture Repository, three Physique Pills, and one opportunity to experience the "Seeing God" intent.
These were the rewards for a Gang Jin martial artist. If not for such generous compensation, why would the powerful Gang Jin martial artists who traversed the world be willing to risk their lives for them?
In the absence of "Seeing God" experts, Gang Jin martial artists were dominant. But how many "Seeing God" martial artists were there in the world? Most were in secluded cultivation or traveling to seek opportunities for higher-level breakthroughs.
Therefore, the pinnacle of martial artists was Gang Jin, and Gu Yuan was an outstanding among them.
The force he generated could even withstand bullets.
On one extremely dangerous mission, facing three snipers and dozens of armed individuals, Gu Yuan endured a hail of gunfire and eliminated them all. He was later hit in the abdomen by a bullet because his internal energy had been depleted, leading to insufficient defensive power.
However, his incredibly resilient muscles blocked the shot, and he only sustained a minor injury.
From that day on, Gu Yuan's name became renowned in the underworld, marking him as another world-class expert of the Great Ming Empire.
Five minutes later, the staff member brought Wu Yifeng's profile to Gu Yuan.
After receiving it, Gu Yuan thanked the staff member and left the Martial Pavilion.
He mounted a motorcycle parked by the roadside and rode towards the outskirts of the city. As his strength grew, the power of his punches became increasingly formidable, fearing he might accidentally break through his own house with a single kick.
He had spent hundreds of thousands to buy a house in the suburbs, located near a main road but in a sparsely populated area.
The house also came with a hundred-square-meter yard, which Gu Yuan had leveled and paved with concrete.
It was filled with various training equipment for practicing martial arts.
In the past two years, Gu Yuan had not only perfected the Great Bajiquan but also cultivated the best martial arts techniques available in the Martial Pavilion.
For instance, the "Gang Jian Qi Quan Liu" (罡剑气拳流), a style focused on explosive power.
With each strike, it was as if countless swords were thrusting out with piercing sounds, possessing unparalleled armor-piercing capabilities. Furthermore, as Gu Yuan had reached the Gang Jin realm, the accompanying internal energy felt like sharp swords emerging with each punch, piercing enemies through and through.
He had also mastered the "Long Xiang Bu Dong Liu" (龙象不动流), a style emphasizing strength, thanks to his "Martial Saint" destiny.
Normally, practitioners of the "Long Xiang Bu Dong Liu" would suffer from a common drawback: their muscles would become bulky, their physique would enlarge, and their speed would decrease. However, due to the effect of Gu Yuan's "Martial Saint" destiny,
Gu Yuan had modified it into a comprehensive martial art suitable for explosive synergy with the "Gang Jian Qi Quan Liu."
Upon returning to his yard, the previously flat concrete ground was now riddled with small and large craters from the sheer force of Gu Yuan's training.
Gu Yuan sighed. It couldn't be helped; his chosen martial arts styles were all about extreme explosive power, and the intensity of his training was simply too great.
He took off his shirt, revealing his well-developed physique.
His muscle lines were full and flowing, like a leopard's, not exaggerated. Every inch of his flesh seemed like a perfectly crafted work of art.
Gu Yuan took a deep breath, a large volume of oxygen forming tangible streams entering his lungs.
His arms began to swell, turning a deep purple, exuding a strange aura.
He struck out suddenly.