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Chapter 404: Chapter 400 Martial Saint
"Oh, this must be the Ancient Martial King, Gu Jinlai, who just joined a few days ago,"
When Gu Jinlai’s gaze fell on the man, the man also felt it, and smiling, he clasped his fists in greeting: "I am Jin Yuhai."
However, Gu Jinlai did not speak.
Instead, his gaze shifted to the other fourteen Martial Kings.
Yellow, Light Red, Light Red, Yellow...
There was even a White.
Amidst a crowd of Martial Kings marked mostly by White, Yellow, and at most Light Red Names, the Dark Red Karma on Jin Yuhai was strikingly conspicuous.
But his attitude, not uttering a word in response to Jin Yuhai’s greeting, drew dissatisfaction from a middle-aged man by his side: "Such a high and mighty attitude this Ancient Martial King has. Commander Jin not only possesses the strength of a Top Martial King but is also the eldest son of Hall Master Jin of the Demon-slaying Hall, having worked diligently for years defending Wind and Rain City from devils. He has established countless meritorious services, and here he greets you, yet you don’t deem it fit to return the courtesy?"
"Heh, Brother Ximen need not say more, I’m guessing the Ancient Martial King is simply not in a good mood,"
Jin Yuhai said, gesturing a salute with an empty hand: "Ancient Martial King, please don’t take Brother Ximen’s words to heart, do as you please."
Having said that, he continued to converse with someone nearby.
The other Martial Kings also shifted their gaze away from Gu Jinlai and attended to their own business.
But their attitude toward Gu Jinlai had clearly become much colder.
It was evident that Jin Yuhai held a high prestige in their eyes.
Toward this, Gu Jinlai did not have anything to say.
He did not want to get to know someone with Karma so dense it enveloped his entire body.
Soon, three people arrived from outside the courtyard, one leading and two following behind.
The man in the lead had a cold demeanor, his entire body exuding chill.
The other two clearly made an effort to avoid him, stepping back several paces, which is why they appeared to be following behind.
Upon his arrival, the temperature of the entire courtyard seemed to drop significantly, and the voices of the people conversing lowered a bit.
Jin Yuhai, however, smiled and clasped his fists in greeting: "Dong Yuji, Brother Dong, I’ve heard your Moon Embracing Saber has made another breakthrough, and you’re only short of condensing your Martial Arts Will to become a Peak Martial King. By then, in terms of combat power, you’d likely be comparable to a Supreme Third Rank Deva, truly a cause for celebration."
The man glanced at Jin Yuhai but did not respond.
Seeing this, Jin Yuhai smiled slightly and did not mind.
At this time, a loud laugh came from outside: "Haha, it looks like everyone’s here, just waiting for me, Pan Dali, right?"
Following that, as a shadow was cast, a nearly three-meter-tall figure strode in.
Practitioners of martial arts often have very robust physiques.
Like the Martial Kings present, the average height was around two meters, which Gu Jinlai was no exception to.
But under normal circumstances, few people would intentionally make their body so abnormally large.
Such a man, maintaining a height of three meters...
Was extremely rare.
People of this stature either have poor control of their own strength, or...
Have grown strong to a certain extreme.
The man clearly belonged to the latter.
When he stepped into the courtyard, it grew even quieter, as if a fierce beast had entered a hunting ground.
Even Gu Jinlai could detect a strong smell of blood approaching him.
And the man’s Karma...
Was even deeper than Jin Yuhai’s.
"Pan Dali."
Seeing the burly man coming in, even the usually good-tempered Jin Yuhai’s expression darkened; he had no desire to greet him.
"Oh? A newcomer?"
Pan Dali’s gaze quickly fell on Gu Jinlai, revealing a ferocious grin; his large and somewhat coarse face showed a trace of savagery: "What’s your name? Where do you come from? How many are left in your family, and what misfortunes do you have? Share with us and give us all a laugh."
Gu Jinlai glanced at Dong Yuji and Jin Yuhai.
From their conversation, it was clear that both were Top Martial Kings.
But compared to this Pan Dali, their aura seemed much weaker.
Clearly, this was someone who had reached the peak of this stage and was perhaps only a step away from the Martial Saint Realm.
"Not speaking? Mute? Or do you look down on me, Pan Dali?"
Pan Dali glared at Gu Jinlai, stepping closer, his massive frame exuding a crushing presence.
"Pan Dali."
At this moment, a voice came from the courtyard.
Right after, Deputy Dean Yan Lie, who had been in charge of the reception earlier, emerged from inside: "Condensing your Martial Arts Will into one single tendon, I really wonder what you were thinking."
"Haha, Dean Yan,"
Pan Dali laughed heartily: "What do us martial artists need all those twists and turns for? Just look at that kid from the Yuan family, what are people saying? ’A heart as pure as a child’s!’ Do you know why everyone else is so far behind me? It’s because they overthink and suppress their true nature. The more straightforward and true to oneself a martial artist is, the easier it is to condense the Martial Arts Will. I am the best example."
"Yet you should not build your straightforwardness at the expense of others’ pain,"
Yan Lie rebuked, though he seemingly did not dare to offend this pig-headed Peak Martial King too deeply, and thus spoke sternly: "The Dean has just returned, and the lecture scheduled for the 20th has been moved forward."
"The Dean!?"
The Dean of Martial Saint Institute, the National Guardian Martial Saint Wu Tianya!
Before this towering figure, a peak existence even among the Saints, even Pan Dali swiftly reined in his arrogance.
His Martial Arts Will was violent, expressing the brutality and murderous intent within his heart, but that didn’t mean his mind would be clouded by slaughter and violence.
Facing the National Guardian Martial Saint, a terrifying existence who could easily squash him with a flick of a hand, he naturally had to retract his fangs and sharpness.
At that moment, he grinned at Gu Jinlai, "Since we’re both members of this year’s Martial Saint Institute, we’ll have plenty of time for a good spar later."
Having said that, he took a seat at the very front, forcing the two Martial Kings nearby to move aside and not daring to utter a single word of complaint.
"Truly... a gathering of the strong."
Gu Jinlai thought to himself.
The reason why the Qiantian World was able to exhibit such a splendid and glorious scene, with five Earthly True Immortals erupting into a great battle a hundred years ago, was all thanks to the Divine Weapons.
Otherwise, how could the Qiantian World, where a Saint was hard to come by even once in two hundred years, suddenly have a spate of Earthly True Immortals?
It was precisely because of this peculiar discontinuity that there were so few Devas in the Qiantian, and the number of Saints seemed to be only slightly higher than that of the Earthly True Immortals.
In fact, in the Xuanji Sect, among twenty or thirty Devas, only one had the hope of becoming a Saint.
The probability of Saints achieving the state of Earthly True Immortal was slightly higher, but that was because Saints lived many times longer than Devas. If their lifespans were similar, the probability of Saints becoming Earthly True Immortals would probably also be more than twenty or thirty to one.
He did not know the probability of a Martial King becoming a Martial Saint.
But, if the probability was similar to that of becoming a Saint, judging by the number of Martial Saints, there might be hundreds of such powerhouses in Wind and Rain City.
In the entire Holy Dynasty, there could be more than ten thousand at this level of strength.
With such a powerful Holy Dynasty, it was no wonder they could keep the Devil armies at bay, outside the Holy Land.
Just then, Yan Lie seemed to sense something and suddenly announced, "The Dean has arrived."
Immediately, the venue, which had already quieted down a bit because of Pan Dali’s arrival, quickly became so silent you could hear a pin drop.
One by one, Martial Kings, who would be fawned over by countless people outside, sat with serious expressions, their gazes fixed on a cushion at the front of the hall.
Soon, a series of footsteps could be heard.
At the sound of these footsteps, Gu Jinlai could clearly feel his heart beating.
That feeling...
It was as if his own heartbeat was being influenced by some invisible force. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
This force...
Gu Jinlai thought of the Undying Will of Saints.
When he had faced Blood Demon Emperor Di Luo head-on, he had likewise felt that tangible Will Power that suppressed the spirit.
The only difference between the two was that one affected the spirit, while the other affected the Martial Artist themselves.
After a while, the footsteps approached, and an old man, who looked to be about one meter eighty and seemed somewhat skinny, appeared in everyone’s field of vision.
The elder had grey hair at his temples and seemingly possessed the dignified air of a senior.
But when he appeared before Gu Jinlai, he couldn’t help but lean forward slightly, his eyes filled with...
Shock!
Disbelief!
"How could this be...?"
Gu Jinlai stared at the Dean of the Martial Saint Institute.
It was already shocking that Karma on Jin Yuhai and Pan Dali was dark red like ink.
The Dean of the Martial Saint Institute, the National Guardian Martial Saint who presided over the martial training in Wind and Rain City, had Karma even more exaggerated than both Jin Yuhai and Pan Dali.
Gu Jinlai felt as if he saw dark as fire Karma burning fiercely around the man, within which...
He could even hear the wails of countless people emanating from that dark flame-like Karma.
This was...
Darkness that Gu Jinlai had never witnessed before.
Even the ambitious True Immortal Palace Hall Master Blood Demon Emperor Luo couldn’t compare to him in terms of Karma.
"Looks like he’s from a small place, witnessing the true body of a Martial Saint for the first time, and lacks experience," mocked Pan Dali, Jin Yuhai, and the others as they watched Gu Jinlai with a look of "making a fuss over nothing."
Even the Dean of the Martial Saint Institute turned his gaze toward him.
Although there could be hundreds of Martial Kings and Devas in Wind and Rain City, it was undeniable that every one of them, without exception, belonged to the core forces, the upper echelons.
At that moment, he also nodded slightly at this "newcomer."
Gu Jinlai realized his own loss of composure, and immediately attempted to gather his scattered Divine Sense.
But even so, there remained an indescribably cold feeling in his heart.
Having been with Qing Lian for six years, his understanding of Karma was very profound.
Those with a Light Red Name often had their hands stained with a dozen or several dozen lives.
Those represented by Bright Red as blood had accumulated the sins of hundreds, even thousands of killings.
If it reached Dark Red like ink...
That was killing tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands.
Extrapolating from this, if it were black like flames, it would be at least the taking of several hundred thousand, a million lives, or even ten or several tens of millions of people dying directly or indirectly because of him.
Keep in mind that the entire Wind and Rain City had only a population of 110 million.
And now, one of the Four Great Giants of Wind and Rain City, the Dean of the Martial Saint Institute, had Karma that was so profoundly thick.
"Seeing" the black, flame-like Karma around Wu Tianya, within which spirits struggled and howled, unable to break free of his binding...
Gu Jinlai felt as though he had fallen into an ice cave.
