The Tamon Sect's plaza full of promising disciples, the elders in the sky shouted to reclaim silence.
"Thank you all for coming here today!"
'But you ordered us to?'
"Today is a very special day for many of you! It is the day of departure! We will head to the sealed world of our region, where a legendary master unfortunately perished. This place is, obvious to all, filled with dangers. Nobody knows what will happen inside, even your seniors and predecessors. This place is a magical land of death and golden opportunities. You can back off if you wish to, but missing this opportunity will cause you to most likely regress compared to your fellow disciples. Since all who can survive this place and bring something out, no matter how trivial, will have a warm place in this Tamon Sect."
"You can even exchange your gathered treasures at the end with other disciples and the sect itself. You obtained a water attribute plant? You can always find the perfect trade so that both sides are happy!"
"Do you understand now? It doesn't matter how badly you perform, if you can just get something out, your contribution to yourself and this sect will be priceless!"
Both excited and dissatisfied gazes glimmered around. This sealed world was well known, a place many dreamt of entering. Rumors had it that anyone at the Golden Core Realm would come out with the potential to reach the Dao Heart Realm!
As for Alexander, even if he knew of its position by asking he would still choose not to go by himself. Why would he come to this plaza otherwise? There was no fun in playing around inside a lone, little ant's anthill. What he wanted was to play with much more ants inside of it.
Ignoring the disciples here and there leaving the plaza, the lead elder above shouted.
"If no one else decides to leave, then let us depart right away!"
.
.
.
Exiting the sect in the middle of three mountains and vast plains, the Tamon Sect departed from their home base toward the west.
Passing through a few plains, a simple forest and the edge of a strange desert, they arrived in this desert's center. The ground was arid and cracked, no sand in sight until the horizon from where they currently stood. The days of travel made them arrive during dawn, the cobalt sky charming, the breeze strangely fresh and invigorating.
The sea of disciples spread out, playing with the ground, losing some stuff in its cracks from time to time.
'Is this a field trip or what? Can't even notice the other three groups rushing in.' Sighing, Alexander looked ahead, where one army on foot and two giant flying boats closed in on them.
All arriving, the elders from each of the now four seas of people began greeting one another. It was clear that, while rivalries existed, the four powers had a rather friendly relationship. Almost all seemed on good terms.
As for the disciples, they were not as friendly toward each other. It was clear where the rivalry side proliferated the most.
A few people glaring at Alexander, he swiftly ignored their existence. Who were they to enter his eyes?
'So many people... at least a few thousands...' Estimating the current amount of participants, Alexander was not sure how to proceed anymore.
'I should target the annoyingly potent ones. Like those three rainbow fucks over there...' Looking around again, Alexander spotted multiple others talents.
'A three horned Risorx, a red crowned devil and even an angel with a damn white halo. All must die inside. I'll make sure of it.'
In the meantime, Alexander also inspected his internal world. Since a long time, some people began reaching the peak of cultivation in his Multiverse.
'...'
'I might need to let them out at some point. Thankfully my current flow of time is properly altered. No way I'm letting it go free again...'
'Anyway, now that I have some time, let's continue my practice.'
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"Senior Alexander, what are you doing?" Currently watching Alexander, Lana could not contain herself, wondering what moves he was practicing. They did not look fancy, yet she felt innate terror claw at her from time to time.
Punching the air lightly, Alexander answered calmly.
"Can't you see? Your senior is currently practicing martial arts."
"I can see that senior, but which one are they? I can't affiliate them to any from the sect."
'Of course you wouldn't, those are the World Arts from Ysh Zul.'
To many, and especially to people with low cultivation bases, he only appeared to be trying techniques. Yet, something like this was completely worthless to a higher being. After all, almost every single expert out there past a certain threshold would have mastered the true form of martial arts already.
Martial arts for beginner were the learning process of specific moves and techniques to compensate for a lack of judgment. At some point, one would be able to be freed from their restrictions and use martial arts not as a helping hand, but as an extension of their own body, their own mind.
Punching, for example, could be taught such that people would be able to do it faster than they could see it. The true form of a punch was not the same. It was about punching no matter how, without the limits of a specific route, requiring one to see it.
The best example would be classic swordsmanship. During the Devouring Sect's reign, Alexander played with a few disciples here and there. He even had a duel against a swordswoman named Livia.
She could use it accurately, but could not defy her own cultivation's limitations. On the other hand, Alexander, with his stronger mind due to higher cultivation, could see everything in slow motion.
When Alexander slashed horizontally, his opponent expected the same abilities as herself, yet, Alexander could see everything properly and changed course. In this case, why stick to a textbook and continue the slash? The outcome of that match was in some way unfair, but still showed the prowess of stronger martial arts. Since, without following the classic route, Alexander adapted and completely altered the blade's path, suddenly cleaving downward out of nowhere.
Not only so, but he also managed to retain his slash's sharpness and power.
It was a similar case here. To the outside, he was only learning predetermined pathways and moves meant to counter other specific moves, while he was in fact learning how to perform much stronger moves to a very specific level. He first needed to do them properly from start to finish as indicated in the knowledge he received. Then, he would try to master them so much, he would not even need to perform them entirely any longer.
The final phase would be to use them out of nowhere. The same way he used techniques such as the [Yin-Yang Union] or even [Dao Blast].
In some sense, he did not attempt to master how to do this. But how to do this anywhere, anytime, no matter how or what. How could it be better to defend against a set of a blade's movements when one could defend against all possible movements one could not even think about?
'These moves are weirdly... never mind. You can never expect average stuff from people like them. This Ysh Zul is no weakling.' Slicing the air with his hand, Alexander wobbled to his feet as if he was drunk, or more so on the verge of collapse.
'The pathways for these... I wonder if actually being mad would increase the learning process.'
'I have to let myself be one with the world, accepting all it can give, be it good or bad.'
'But I don't want to let bad things inside me! This is a dangerous mindset when cultivating... but I can see why it is asked as such.'
'If I can temper myself with the bad, only the good will remain.'
In the middle of the elders' speeches, Alexander sliced the air one more time, almost falling over while he felt the breeze caress his flesh. He could hear the arid earth cry and sense the spatial fluctuations from the area's center point. The sky became close while the myriad emotions of all disciples and elders present washed over him.
'Quite a lot of negativity around here. Wasn't it supposed to be a fun trip?' Smiling at their worries, Alexander's hand cleaved the air without resistance, something anyone could do. However, to him, this slice did something else as well.
'[Immortality Severing Hand], is it? I can see this title to be worthy of it. If a cultivator gets hit by this... would their cultivation remain? It is gentle yet sharp. It can cut even the connection between a cultivator and their Dantian. Dangerous stuff these incomplete World Arts are!'
Unfortunately, the incomplete World Arts were, obviously, incomplete. Some parts were missing and the available ones did not feel perfected.
'Good enough still. I can try these on them. Guinea pigs just for me!'
'Not like many will come out alive anyway.'
"...and so, everyone, please proceed! Let us all be blessed by luck, fate, and our dreams. Enter!" The last speech over, an elder shouted to the crowd, watching as a purple vertical slit in the air began pulsating.
Spatial fluctuations rampaging the close surroundings, the purple slit slowly began to shift, expanding. Purple lightning bolts crashing down, the slit opened fully, showing an oval portal toward the sealed world.
'This lightning...' His keen senses not rusty, Alexander's Empyrean Realm cultivation reacted to it.
'If someone... I think the lightning should be able to kill someone at the Nihility Realm, maybe. Not so bad, I expected way worse.'
The portal stabilizing, the sea of disciples rushed in while retaining an orderly appearance. None pushed others and everyone simply entered while running.
Amidst them, Alexander waited somewhat behind, and after spotting the three rainbows, he turned around, smiling eerily to the elders.
Noticing him, said elders felt a strange oppression grip their hearts, indicating a menace present nearby.
'This disciple...'
'Don't tell me!!'
"Hey you! Stop!! Stop right there!" A cultivator before being an elder of a sect, all elders were the same, rushing in hope of stopping Alexander. In the meantime, Alexander was already a foot inside the portal, kindly looking at them.
"Don't be so distressed, dear elders. This Alexander is just at the Earth Realm, what could I do to them?"
"Stop with the bullshit!" Roaring, one of the elders tensed up. They were not stupid. Alexander, someone at the Earth Realm? Then, what was this pressure bearing down on them? What was this feeling of dread, this feeling of powerlessness? Why did they feel like demons gazing upon a great deity?
Why was he aware of their thoughts?
What Earth Realm?
Was this Alexander playing with their intelligence?!