As everyone turned their gaze toward him, Yang Gong remained completely composed, shaking his head as he said:

“Ning Yan, you are at the threshold of Martial Divinity. You should be most clear about your state.

“By all logic, you should know how to ascend.”

His meaning was that every cultivator had some degree of understanding about their next realm.

For instance, a Fifth-Grade Golden Core of the Daoist path would know their next step was to incubate a Primordial Spirit, and a Fifth-Grade Moral Realm scholar would understand their next step was to condense Noble Qi.

Even if they didn’t know the specific cultivation method, they should have an intuitive sense of the general direction forward.

Xu Qi’an was now at the threshold of Martial Divinity—he should innately know how to take that final half-step.

Most of those present were in the Transcendent Realm, and they immediately understood Yang Gong’s meaning, turning to look at Xu Qi’an.

Xu Qi’an pondered briefly before explaining in detail to everyone the changes he experienced after reaching the threshold of Martial Divinity, as well as Shen Shu’s analysis.

“So, as long as we complete the spiritual essence within your body, letting it become whole, you can ascend to Martial Divinity.”

Wei Yuan spoke first, then habitually took a sip of tea, leaving space for others to speak.

“Since it’s a formation pattern, let’s have Senior Brother Sun take a look and hear his opinion.”

As the Supervisor, Chu Caiwei held high status in Great Feng, and thus eagerly offered her suggestion.

The transcendent experts exchanged glances—pointless.

Sun Xuanji nodded and silently stepped forward to the desk draped in yellow silk, pressing two fingers against Xu Qi’an’s extended wrist.

He closed his eyes, examining the internal condition of the threshold Martial Divinity cultivator.

From his pulse, this brute must also be suffering from kidney deficiency… Li Lingsu watched this scene and couldn’t help thinking judgmentally, projecting his condition onto others.

Sun Xuanji opened his eyes, looking confused, and shook his head.

Seeing this, everyone except the Gu Tribe leaders looked toward Guardian Yuan.

Guardian Yuan bore pressure inappropriate for his realm and silently read minds:

“Senior Brother Sun says there are no formation patterns within Sir Xu’s body.”

None?!

Xu Qi’an was stunned, looking at Sun Xuanji:

“You can’t see them?”

The white-robed Senior Brother Sun nodded.

This is impossible. Those patterns are branded into my genes, as clear as fireflies in the night sky, so distinct, so obvious… Xu Qi’an’s brows furrowed. Then he felt a soft hand touch his pulse.

Take your hand away… Li Miaochen couldn’t stand such opportunistic behavior, definitely not because she was jealous.

Luo Yuheng frowned slightly.

Huai Qing closed her eyes, sensing for a moment before saying seriously:

“Indeed, there are no formation patterns!”

After a pause, she delivered her final verdict:

“It seems only Xu Ning Yan himself can see them.”

Asura picked up the thread, analyzing it in his deep voice:

“Rather than formation patterns, his condition seems more like divine-demonic spiritual essence, granted by heaven and earth. But even divine-demonic essence shows visible patterns—why can’t his be seen?”

Golden Lotus Daoist chose his words carefully:

“This poor Daoist believes discussing visibility is meaningless, but its significance is extremely important.

“Xu Ning Yan has already said the martial system forms its heaven and earth and cannot replace the Heavenly Dao. So although the ‘patterns’ in his body were granted by heaven and earth, they are not divine-demonic essence.

“Could they be… the Gatekeeper’s credential?”

This statement suddenly awakened everyone. Wang Zhenwen pondered:

“If Golden Lotus Daoist’s words are correct, then how do we complete this credential?”

“Amitabha!” Master Hengyuan seized the opportunity to offer his opinion:

“Since it was granted by heaven and earth, naturally heaven and earth must complete it.”

Seeing that the Gu Tribe leaders had been quiet for a long time, Heart Gu Master Chun Yan spoke up to show active participation:

“Then how do we get heaven and earth to complete it for Xu Qi’an?”

“Amitabha, this monk does not know. It depends on opportunity.” This question stumped Master Hengyuan.

That’s essentially saying nothing at all… everyone thought privately.

Luo Yuheng looked at Xu Qi’an:

“When you reached the threshold of Martial Divinity, was there anything unusual?”

Xu Qi’an shook his head:

“Following the Supervisor’s instructions, I consumed an ancient god-demon’s remains and seized their power. Nothing else unusual occurred.”

Seeing that the discussion was going nowhere, Wei Yuan tapped the tea table, shifting the focus elsewhere:

“You’ve all overlooked something.”

When everyone looked over, Wei Yuan unhurriedly said:

“Where did the term ‘Martial Divinity’ come from?”

The hall fell silent for a moment as everyone’s thoughts turned involuntarily to humanity’s strongest Supreme Realm cultivator, the sage who created the Confucian system.

The term “Martial Divinity” was defined by the Confucian Sage.

As the old saying goes, nicknames are never accidentally given.

When the Confucian Sage coined the term “Martial Divinity,” was it simply adding “Divinity” to the name like Shamanic Divinity or Gu Divinity, or did he have a thorough understanding of the martial system?

Instantly, everyone looked toward Zhao Shou.

Zhao Shou was startled but shook his head without hesitation or pause:

“The Confucian Sage left no information about Martial Divinity.”

He was well-read, having thoroughly studied the academy’s classics and ancient texts.

Moreover, anything left by the Confucian Sage would certainly be of utmost importance, and as academy chancellor, he would know about it.

Yang Gong sighed:

“The Chancellor is correct. Think about it—Martial Divinity is of great significance. If the Confucian Sage knew about it, he would have left at least some hint.

“The absence of information means there is none.”

At this point, Granny Gu laughed:

“You youngsters not knowing doesn’t mean the old artifacts don’t know.”

The Carving Knife and the Scholar’s Crown… everyone exchanged glances, then perked up.

Indeed, the Carving Knife and Scholar’s Crown were artifacts from the same era. The former had accompanied the Confucian Sage throughout his life, and while the latter was his chief disciple’s artifact, the Confucian school was short-lived. When the Scholar’s Crown gained sentience, the Confucian Sage must still have been alive.

The two artifacts couldn’t have been separated by too many years.

…

Extreme Abyss.

After waiting for a long time, the Liuli Bodhisattva finally heard the Gu God’s voice again:

“So that’s it, so that’s it.”

So that’s it? The Liuli Bodhisattva narrowed her eyes. Her voice remained cold, but she stared intently into the abyss and asked:

“What did you see?”

“Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed!” the Gu God answered.

Those who peek into heaven’s secrets will be punished by heaven if they reveal them.

This was a rule of heaven and earth.

The Liuli Bodhisattva fell silent. Even the current Buddha couldn’t peek into the future.

Seeing the future involved extremely profound rules. Unless one completely replaced the Heavenly Dao and became the will of the Nine Provinces, they couldn’t truly control Heaven’s secrets.

And by then, seeing the future would be meaningless.

The Gu God continued:

“Throughout history, only two people have known how to ascend to Martial Divinity.

“One was the Confucian Sage. Though there had never been a Martial Divinity in the world, he knew how to ascend to it. He also knew that First-Grade martial artists were the foundation of Martial Divinity, belonging to its initial stage, which is why he didn’t give it a special name.”

The Liuli Bodhisattva nodded slightly.

If the Confucian Sage hadn’t understood the roots of the martial system, he couldn’t have classified it so clearly.