Chapter Twenty-Two: The First Members of the Godslayer Army
Lin Fan’s words rang out with resounding force.
Having personally endured the brutal wars of the future, Lin Fan understood with absolute clarity what martial arts meant for humanity.
The gods possessed divine arts and commanded legions of believers.
But humanity—humanity had only their own strength to rely upon.
Martial arts would become humanity’s sword against the gods.
Before him stood the heirs of great martial families and ancient sects, each having devoted their lives to arduous cultivation, their mastery of martial arts already reaching the realm of the extraordinary.
Decades of relentless training had opened all their meridians, allowing them to bypass the most formidable step of the God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art.
It must be understood: it wasn’t that ordinary people couldn’t learn the God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art. If it were possible, Lin Fan would have gladly taught it to everyone in Daxia through television, granting them all the power to slay gods.
But the problem lay in the complexity of the human meridians. For ordinary people to open them, it would take at least half a year, and any misstep could lead to disastrous consequences.
Even Lin Fan himself, who had perfected the God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art in his past life and commanded the Asian Alliance, spent an entire night in excruciating pain to fully unlock all his meridians.
Yet these inheritors of ancient martial traditions, though they had lived in a world devoid of divine power and could never break through the limits of the human body, had already opened their meridians!
All that remained was for them to absorb divine power.
“Wait...divine power...” Dao Wanchian suddenly sensed something amiss. “You just said, absorb the divine power from heaven and earth...which means—”
“Exactly.” Lin Fan nodded. “Until recently, there was no divine power on Blue Star.”
“But now, those two ocean gods are breaking through Blue Star’s dimensional barriers. A rift has already opened.”
“In at most three months, they’ll descend upon Blue Star.”
His words grew heavy, but quickly, Lin Fan pressed on.
“But precisely because of the rift they’ve created, the aura of the divine realm has entered our world and a trace of divine power now lingers in the air.”
“Ordinary people can’t sense this divine power, but to you...it’s what your Daoist tradition calls the essence of sun and moon, what the Confucianists call the righteous spirit, what the Buddhists speak of as the compassionate Buddha’s aura.”
“It’s also what other sects refer to as inner force...the names differ, but in truth, all speak of divine power.”
“With this power, martial arts become true martial arts.”
Lin Fan’s explanation allowed everyone present to finally understand the nature of divine power.
Dao Wanchian nodded in sudden realization. “So that’s it—divine power is inner force... No wonder all my years of cultivation never produced the inner force our ancestors described in the texts.”
“It seems our forebears weren’t boasting after all.”
“To soar upon the sword for a thousand miles, to summon thunder and lightning, to forge elixirs and banish monsters—these feats were all once real... The reason we couldn’t do them wasn’t because our predecessors lied, but because we lacked inner force!”
“The Diamond Sutra of Subduing Demons says, ‘Skill without inner force is like duckweed on water—merely a hollow shell, rootless and floating.’” The white-robed monk nearby recalled a line from scripture and softly recited, “Amitabha—so it is. The Buddha had long since forewarned me. Had it not been for your guidance, I would remain blind to the truth.”
In that moment, everyone’s hearts surged with emotion.
They had thought martial arts had fallen into decline.
They had believed themselves, the inheritors of ancient martial arts, to be relics discarded by the times.
They had even wondered if their ancestors had deceived them—why else would years of following the classics yield not a trace of inner force?
But now it was clear.
They simply had never unleashed the true power of martial arts!
True martial arts.
Just as their predecessors recorded: on the day of mastery, one could soar across rooftops, wield a sword to strike down foes a thousand miles away!
With a body radiating righteous spirit, a word could invoke the laws of heaven and earth!
A Buddha’s light shining for miles, the wrathful glare of a Vajra!
A body as elusive as ink, a sword falling like a meteor!
Mechanical dragons and hundred-foot puppets!
This was the true Daxia martial tradition!
Five thousand years crystallized, generations of pioneers innovating through hardship—how could it ever be mere empty form?
In that instant, the inheritors of the ancient arts were overcome with excitement.
This was what ancient martial arts were meant to be!
“Now, may I ask—are you all willing to learn the God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art and join my God-Slaying Army?” Seeing the moment was ripe, Lin Fan quickly posed the question.
Their spirits still ablaze, the crowd answered without hesitation.
“Of course I’m willing!” The hot-tempered Wang Hu seized Lin Fan’s hand. “Earlier I was in the wrong—don’t take it to heart, brother...but let’s be clear: once I join, you must teach me that god-demon technique of yours. And don’t you dare trick me—I may not be well-read, but that technique better work just like you say, and make my fists...”
“All right, all right, Wang Hu.” Dao Wanchian brushed Wang Hu aside with his whisk, saying gravely, “If, as you say, this God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art can restore the glory of the ancient arts, then it is our duty to accept!”
After all,
These inheritors, who had believed themselves cast aside by history, had always dreamed of reviving the martial traditions.
Now—how could they refuse?
“If this is true, my Ink Veil Falling Stars Sect will join the God-Slaying Army!”
“My Mo Sect as well—we will restore our founder’s art of wooden puppetry and mechanisms!”
“To stand against the gods—heh, now that’s interesting.” Confucianist Mo Buzhi laughed, stepping forward with a scroll in hand. “Let the gods witness the righteous spirit of a scholar!”
Only Dao Wanchian paused, frowning. “Wait—if our ancestors once cultivated inner force, then...divine power once existed in this world?”
At these words, all fell silent.
Lin Fan smiled. “That’s right. There was a time when the gods descended upon Daxia.”
“But those human heroes and legendary figures drove them away.”
“It was in that era that those heroes wielded Eastern martial arts to strike fear into the hearts of the gods, who dared not set foot here again!”
“But now...they can no longer stand guard over us.”
“And so, it falls to us to protect them!”
There was one thing Lin Fan had not said.
As the rift to the divine realm widened, the divine power on Blue Star would only grow stronger.
Even without the God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art, these inheritors would gradually develop various forms of inner force on their own.
The God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art was crafted specifically to help ordinary people absorb divine power, to lower the barrier to entry. But with divine power still so sparse in the air, it had become the most effective way for these martial heirs to absorb it.
As for how to spread the art in the future, Lin Fan already had a plan.
But for now, the focus had to be on those with solid foundations—those who already lacked only the absorption of divine power—since it would take ordinary people at least half a year to lay that groundwork.
And right now, what Daxia lacked most was time!
“All right. Congratulations, all of you, on becoming members of my God-Slaying Army.” Lin Fan’s tone was solemn. “We’ll handle enlistment procedures later. For now, everyone, sit cross-legged, close your eyes, and follow my instructions to circulate your inner breath!”
It was then that
The first members of the God-Slaying Army were finally enlisted.
This blade forged to resist the gods was at last taking shape.
And as Lin Fan began instructing these ancient martial heirs in the God-Slaying and Demon-Subduing Art,
A tempest of public opinion was already brewing!