Chapter 82

[In the blink of an eye, another year passed. Today, Ye Wumian suddenly mentioned a martial arts tournament—he wanted you to participate.]

"This tournament will draw many participants—Taiji Sect, Seven Stars Sect, the Wuxiang lineage... I want you to go out and see the world."

At this point, Ye Wumian had nothing left to teach Kei. In just one year, this little monster had learned everything he had—and even surpassed him. And Kei was only eleven!

"No."

Kei rejected him without hesitation.

"What's the point of fighting a bunch of nobodies? At best, it's just practice sparring."

"Fights like that can't help me grow. Rather than wasting time in some tournament, I'd rather spend it training."

"My Bājíquán and Xinyi Liuhequan are already starting to merge... I'm close to forming my own style!"

He stomped his foot—causing the ground to shake. When he punched toward the sky, it felt as if the earth surged upward to meet the heavens.

Bājíquán – Earth-to-Heaven Cannon Punch!

"Powerful, sure, but... why does it feel so different from what I taught?"

Ye Wumian couldn't help but shake his head. His version of the Earth-to-Heaven Cannon Punch focused on harnessing recoil from a stomp to gather strength, then releasing it explosively like a cannon.

But Kei's version… just the stomp alone quaked the entire land. Then, his punch carried not only his personal aura but also the force of the entire earth as it launched toward the sky.

"There's a saying: 'Taiji brings peace to the world, Baduanjin steadies the realm.' This isn't that kind of moment."

As Kei's foot landed, energy from all directions converged on him. When he punched, it thundered like a lightning strike, shaking heaven and earth.

"The human body alone has its limits, but if I can draw upon the power of the heavens and earth—my punch shakes the world!"

Kei was confident. His destructive power spoke for itself. How could this be the wrong path?

"Fine then. I'll take your senior brothers to the tournament. You stay here and train."

Ye Wumian relented. As long as it was effective, it didn't matter how the technique was applied.

[Ye Wumian took Wutian, Wuxia, Wushuang, and Xiaotu to the martial arts tournament. While many came to watch, only Wutian entered.]

[First match: Wutian vs. a no-name sect disciple. Wutian won with one hand.]

"Old Ye, your disciple's pretty good! Moves like a true crane—graceful and elusive, like floating clouds."

"He's grasped the essence of Five Animal Play, hasn't he?"

The current master of Seven Stars Sect, Niu Erzhu, walked over and praised Wutian. This generation had simple names—Niu Erzhu was already considered a decent one. Ye Wumian had gone with names like "Unrivaled Under Heaven."

"He's alright. Shame my most talented disciple didn't come. Otherwise, you'd all be amazed."

Ye Wumian made no attempt to be humble. In martial arts, power speaks for itself. Either you stand tall, or you lie flat.

"Psh, what a load of bull. That kid just now is obviously your best one."

That voice came from a man in a black-and-white robe—Wu Fa, the head of the Taiji Sect.

The Taiji Sect, Xingyi Sect, and Seven Stars Sect were old martial schools and old acquaintances. The elders quickly got into a lively conversation.

Soon, the second match began.

[Wutian vs. Wu Xiaoxiao from Taiji Sect. Match began. Match ended. Crowd went wild.]

"What the—so fast?!"

"Wu Xiaoxiao is Wu Fa's personal disciple and didn't even last a single move!"

"That crane form is terrifying!"

The crowd buzzed in disbelief. The three old men kept chatting.

"What's going on? Did you secretly overtrain him?" Wu Fa questioned Ye Wumian.

"I just let them train on their own. Maybe it's impressive to you, but for Xingyi Sect, that's just average. Oh, and did I mention I have a really talented disciple?"

Ye Wumian couldn't help himself—he had to brag about Kei again.

Wu Fa's smile froze. He turned away and refused to reply.

"You want me to ask about him so you can flex again? Nope. Not happening. You can die with that unspoken pride!"

Ye Wumian paced angrily. Wu Fa's silent refusal was killing him.

Meanwhile, Wutian returned. The other disciples surrounded him excitedly.

"Honestly? Before I came out, I thought the world was full of masters. I planned to flop if things got rough."

"But these guys? So slow, such big movements—one light shove and they toppled."

Wutian finally found his confidence. Having been crushed by Kei constantly, he thought he was weak. But now he realized—he was actually pretty strong!

"No wonder junior brother didn't want to come. If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have come either. Wanna go next?"

Wutian had picked up Ye Wumian's bragging habit and was now proudly showing off.

"I'll go! If I win, I become the second brother! Wushuang's the third!"

"No way! I can fight too!"

The brothers started bickering again.

[After several matches, the tournament concluded after three days. The champion? Without a doubt—Xingyi Sect.]

Wutian was practically strutting on clouds, eager to go home and brag to Kei.

Back home, Kei was training.

"Techniques in the Gourmet World emphasize control over the body—to refine strength."

"But because of Gourmet Cells, that whole system leans heavily on the physical. Techniques for energy and spirit are relatively underdeveloped."

Kei pondered how to integrate Gourmet Cells with martial arts. He analyzed the differences and strengths of both systems.

In the 'Zombie Brother' world, power came in three forms: Body, Energy, and Spirit.

Body (Jing): The physical vessel—flesh, blood, tangible matter.

Energy (Qi): The power—be it inner force, magic, or otherwise.

Spirit (Shen): The intangible—will, soul, aura, mental strength, supernatural force.

In Yanhuang martial arts, Qi was heavily developed due to weak physiques. Internal force was their method to strengthen the self.

"Xinyi Liuhequan is divided into the external three harmonies and internal three harmonies. External: hand-foot, elbow-knee, shoulder-hip. Internal: mind-intent, intent-energy, energy-strength—in short, body, energy, and spirit in unity!"

Kei activated his Gourmet Cells, circulating his inner energy. He compressed it with his spirit and stand, then detonated it!

Divine Technique: Liuhe Celestial Martial Strike!

One punch released a blinding golden light that pierced the sky, shattering clouds and tearing open the heavens.

He broke through space itself!

"AHHH—!"

Wutian had just reached the door to brag, but as his hand touched the doorknob, he was blasted backward by the shockwave. Dazed on the ground, staring at the torn sky…

"Wait… what was I going to say?"

The other disciples looked at him.

"You were going to brag and challenge junior brother."

"HAHA, I was kidding! Don't take it seriously!!"

Wutian laughed awkwardly. Challenge Kei? Was he insane?! He'd die! Better to lie flat and stay safe.

Kei had literally knocked the arrogance out of him.

Meanwhile, Ye Wumian returned—with Wu Fa and Niu Erzhu in tow. The moment they saw the sky, they were stunned.

"This… this is your 'decent' disciple's doing?"

"Yep," Ye Wumian replied.

"Holy crap! That's... insane! How much of that did he do alone?!"

"Ye old man, you broke through to Divine Realm and didn't tell us? We should be celebrating!"

"I didn't."

"Then your disciple…?"

"Surpassed the master."

"How old is he again?"

"Ten… or eleven? Can't recall. Why are you running?"

Wu Fa bolted away.

"This child is fated to follow me! I'll take responsibility for his training. No need to trouble yourself, Brother Ye!"

"YOU OLD BASTARD! YOU'RE TRYING TO STEAL MY DISCIPLE?!"

Ye Wumian was stunned for a moment, then roared in rage, lunging toward Wu Fa.

"Wait! Our Seven Stars Sect is a fine choice too! We'll take him if he's willing!"

"SHAMELESS!"

"I was here first!"

The three of them instantly began fighting again—equal in strength, none gaining the upper hand.

Meanwhile…

"With body, energy, and spirit fully merged, I've undergone a transformation. I should now be at the Divine Realm."

Kei had read descriptions of the Divine Realm in Xingyi Sect's ancient scrolls. Human, Earth, and Heaven referred to power differences.

But Divine was a biological evolution.

Below Divine, lifespan capped at around 120 years. Divine-level beings could easily live 300 years or more.

The fusion of Jing (body), Qi (energy), and Shen (spirit) purified the self—becoming truly one.

[Congratulations! Your martial arts realm has evolved. Strength control and physical constitution slightly improved.]

[Congratulations! You've broken into the Divine Realm. Body, energy, and spirit fully fused. Your Stand is now integrated into every cell!]

Now, every breath Kei took resonated with his soul and energy. His Stand moved with him, empowering every motion.

Thanks to the Stand, every ounce of Kei's strength now had double the effect!

Just then, the door burst open—three old men fighting and yelling stumbled inside.

"Do you know what your disciple did? He made my Wu Xiaoxiao cry with ONE move! Do you realize the mental trauma?!"

"Not my fault your disciple's weak!"

"Calm down!"

"Calm down, my ass! Your Seven Stars Sect didn't even meet the Xingyi disciples before getting wrecked!"

"So you wanna fight the peacemaker too?! BRING IT!"

"FIGHT!"

Kei stepped in, pressing all three of them down with one hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Good heavens…"

Wu Fa struggled but couldn't break free—his arm felt welded in place.

"Such sharp aura!"

Niu Erzhu, a sword practitioner, immediately sensed the sword-like pressure from Kei's body.

"He got us all with one move... looks like I'm not the only one outclassed by my disciple!"

Ye Wumian was delighted. Seeing the others suffer too restored his pride.

Kei let them go. The three instantly stopped fighting, acting like nothing had happened.

"Little friend, how about joining my Taiji Sect? Your talent is perfect for learning the Way of Taiji."

"Our Taiji path reflects the truth of heaven and earth, the principles of balance and transformation—supreme martial philosophy!"

Wu Fa summoned ten Taiji diagrams with a spin of his hands. Everything around him began to shift, caught in the flow.

Kei raised one hand and mimicked the move—an identical diagram emerged.

In the next second, his Taiji diagram spun wildly, morphing into a black hole that devoured everything nearby.

"What?!"

Wu Fa turned to the others, speechless—but his eyes said it all:

"Is this even Taiji anymore?! When did it become a black hole?!"

"On one hand, he's clearly a genius—he instantly drew the diagram and grasped its essence."

"On the other hand, he took it somewhere entirely different... I don't even know anymore."

Kei observed the black hole. He didn't manifest a white hole externally, but instead connected it internally, using the matter pulled in to fuel his body.

"Yin-Yang Cycle? Nailed it!"

Wu Fa was stunned. He was still demonstrating, but Kei had already mastered the core concept!

Taiji isn't just about Yin and Yang, but the cycle between them—life and death, increase and decrease, constant transformation.

Kei had now established an internal and external Yin-Yang Cycle, absorbing the outside world to reinforce himself.

"Not bad. Any other techniques to show me?"

Kei asked with a calm smile.

Note:

Some readers may confuse Divine Power and Divine Realm. Let me clarify: the protagonist just broke through in realm, not in power level. This chapter is about fusing Body, Energy, and Spirit into one.

(End of Chapter)

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