Martial Universe (Wu Dong Qian Kun)

Thud.

Lin Dong slowly walked into the stone tower gently. After experiencing a momentary darkness, his vision brightened up abruptly.

An endlessly vast stone hall appeared in Lin Dong’s line of sight. The hall was pervaded with a vicissitude aura. Gentle lights were flickering like hovering spirits in the surroundings.

The stone hall was extremely unique and it did not contain any bookshelves. Instead, it was filled with stone tablets that were of different sizes. Each stone tablet was encircled by a faint glow.

Lin Dong stood at the main door and looked at the seemingly endless number of martial art stone tablets. Soon after, he could not help but suck in a breath of air. This is the strength of a super sect. The number of martial arts here was truly terrifying….

In the stone hall, one could see a few figures who were standing firmly while staring at the stone tablets ahead of them with an extremely focused expression. There were also some people who were seated cross-legged on the floor with their eyes fixated on the stone tablets. These people seemed to be engrossed in the world of martial arts.

Lin Dong strode forward lightly. He slowed down his pace and silently walked through the hall that was filled with martial art stone tablets. At the same time, his gaze was constantly sweeping through those stone tablets. Those tablets depicted a dazzling lineup of martial arts…

“High-grade Manifestation martial art, Raging Bull Power Skill.”

“High-grade Manifestation martial art, Swimming Dragon Step.”

“Low-grade Manifestation martial art, Water Dragon Blade Technique”

Lin Dong began to get dizzy after sweeping through the stone tablets. The multitude of martial arts blurred his vision. Clearly, the number of martial arts that this hall contained had reached a terrifying number. If any one of these martial arts was to be placed in the Great Yan Empire, it would surely cause a carnage. However, in this place, these martial arts were placed everywhere for the disciples to study.

“How long will it take to find the one…” As Lin Dong’s eyes swept across the multitude of stone tablets, he shook his head helplessly. If he was to check these stone tablets one by one, he would not finish the process even if he took days and nights.

“Let’s check out the Desolate Stone first.”

Lin Dong raised his head and looked into the depths of the hall. Soon after, he quickened his pace and walked past the stone tablets one by one. After approximately ten minutes, he suddenly stopped. He was slightly astonished as he looked at the direction ahead of him.

A few hundred feet ahead, there was an enormous platform. A gigantic grey stone, which was roughly a few hundred feet tall, silently stood tall and upright in the middle of the platform.

The huge stone was sphere-shaped and its entire body was dark grey in color. It seemed to be covered with moss as well. Indistinctly, one could see a few fine cracks on its body. An indescribable energy wave was constantly emitting from the huge stone.

While Lin Dong was standing at a distance away from it, the energy wave came and collided with him. At that moment, his body shivered and even his mind were slightly dazzled by it. Lin Dong felt as if he was being placed in an ancient desolate land, where heaven and earth was filled with a bleak emptiness. A feeling of desolation pervaded his mind. Even the Yuan Power in his body felt the corrosive effect of the desolation, channelling through his body slower and slower.

Huff!

Lin Dong heaved a breath of air. A solemn look swept across his eyes. That energy wave must be the ‘Desolate Force’ that Wu Dao was talking about. However, the Desolate Force that was emitted from this huge stone was countless times stronger than Tong Chuan’s.

“So this is the Desolate Stone?”

Lin Dong muttered to himself. Then, he shifted his gaze to the platform surroundings. Around the Desolate Stone, there were numerous disciples meditating silently. Traces of ‘Desolate Force’ released by the Desolate Stone were being absorbed by these disciples.

Lin Dong heaved a sigh and stepped forward. Some of the disciples around the Desolate Stone heard his footsteps and turned over. A surprised look flashed across their eyes. Apparently, they recognized Lin Dong.

However, Lin Dong ignored their stares and continued walking up the platform. Then, he stopped before a grey-colored stone tablet. On the stone tablet, there were some ancient characters.

“Desolate Force.”

The two ancient words appeared before Lin Dong’s eyes, making the corners of his eyes twitched. Then, he shifted his gaze downward and continued reading the rest of the words on the stone tablet.

As Lin Dong’s gaze shifted downward, an astonished look gradually formed on his face. That was because he discovered that the so-called ‘Desolate Force’ was not a kind of pure energy. In fact, it was a kind of technique. This had completely deviated from his expectations.

The description on the stone tablet recorded the technique to practising the ‘Desolate Force’. And at the end of the description, Lin Dong saw the real name of this skill – The Desolation Skill.

“The so-called Desolate Force should be a type of energy that one obtains after practising this skill,”

A thought came into Lin Dong’s mind. He could feel the potency of the ‘Desolation Skill’. Furthermore, the ‘Desolate Force’ that one could obtain by practising this skill was rather powerful as well. In his previous fight with Tong Chuan, if not for the fact that he possessed the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, he would definitely be put in a sorried state by the corrosive power-filled ‘Desolate Force’.

The stone tablet recorded down the detailed technique to practising the ‘Desolation Skill’. According to the description, the Desolation Skill was divided into ten levels. It was a skill that must be practised by the direct disciples of the Desolate Hall.

The technique to practising this skill was rather unique. One had to start off by absorbing the ‘Desolate Force’ from the Desolate Stone first. From there, he or she had to form the Desolate Force in his or her body and use Yuan Power to nurture this seedling. As the seedling grew, the Desolate Force that he or she possessed would become increasingly stronger.

In other words, if one wished to practise this skill, he or she would have to rely on the Desolate Stone. Otherwise, even if one knew the technique to practising this skill, he or she would not be able to actually practise it successfully.

“There’s indeed something unique about it…”

Lin Dong’s eyes flickered. Once again, he tried to comprehend all the information written on the stone tablet. Then, he raised his head and looked at the colossal Desolate Stone ahead of him.

Looking at the Desolate Stone from afar, one could sense the ancientness of it. The numerous marks on the surface of the stone were caused by the aging process. Clearly, this artifact must have existed for a long time.

A few hundred feet away from the Desolate Stone, there were several stone platforms that only had enough space for one person to sit. These stone platforms were filled with Desolate Hall’s disciples, who were absorbing traces of Desolate Force that were emitted by the Desolate Stone.

“The Desolate Force seems to possess an extremely powerful corrosive power…” Lin Dong discovered as he got closer to the Desolate Stone. The Desolate Force that was spiralling around that area was exceptionally strong and the surrounding disciples did not dare to get close to it. They were seated a few hundred feet away and were absorbing the Desolate Force that was flowing out from the Desolate Stone.

This scene put Lin Dong into a deep thought. He looked at the ground around the Desolate Stone. From what he had seen, the ground was dried up and cracking, giving the impression of a barren land.

“I see…”

Lin Dong muttered to himself softly. Following which, a faint smile appeared on his face. The technique of practising the Desolation Skil began to run through his mind once again. After a slight hesitation, he took a forceful step forward and walked toward the Desolate Stone.

Lin Dong quickly leapt over the disciples. Then, he continued walking ahead without stopping. His action quickly led to an outbreak of commotion in the quiet surroundings. Numerous disciples that were meditating widened their eyes in astonishment and looked at Lin Dong.

“Lin Dong, do not get too close to the Desolate Stone. Otherwise, you will be corroded by the Desolate Force till your life force is totally depleted!” One of the disciples could not help but shout at Lin Dong.

“Thanks for the reminder.”

Lin Dong turned his head and smiled at that disciple. However, he did not stop in his tracks. Even though the Desolate Force was powerful, his body possessed something that was far more powerful and terrifying.

At this moment, the surrounding disciples widened their eyes and pursed their lips tightly while looking at Lin Dong, who was walking towards the Desolate Stone. The fists in their sleeves were tightly clenched. They clearly knew how deadly was the Desolate Force around the Desolate Stone…

Thud thud.”

The sound of Lin Dong’s footstep was the only sound that could be heard on the entire platform. Everyone’s heart beats were beating to the pace of Lin Dong’s footsteps, getting increasingly faster.

As silence swept across the platform, a grey-clothed blind old man walked out from behind a stone tablet that was not far away. He raised his head while his pupil-less, ash-colored eyes were fixated on Lin Dong. Following which, a slightly surprised look appeared on his wrinkle-filled, aged face.