Chapter Forty-Six: Warrior? Martial Adept? King of Battle?

Under the immense pressure, the energy was gradually compressed and shrank; though it threatened to rebound and expand several times, the relentless surge of power ensured the crisis was passed without mishap. Su Yi exhaled deeply; sweat glistened on his face, yet he could sense the energy in his lower abdomen had been condensed into a small cluster. Now, the most critical moment had arrived.

If he could compress this cluster further, it would form a vortex. But if anything went wrong and the energy exploded, not only would he fail, but he'd suffer grave injuries—at best a decline in rank, at worst, crippled for life. Proper compression would result in a transformation—a change in quantity leading to a change in quality, a strange metamorphosis of the energy.

For Su Yi, thanks to the medicine that had transformed into energy and mingled with his own, this transformation was much more likely to succeed. The medicinal energy not only readily underwent this peculiar change, but acted like a catalyst, helping his innate energy transform as well.

Carefully sensing the residual energy in his meridians, Su Yi cautiously allocated just enough power and began to press upon the cluster in his lower abdomen. Powerful pressure surged from all directions, tightly encasing the cluster and commencing the compression. The force had to be just right—enough to incite some resistance, but not so much as to overwhelm it. The precise measure depended on each individual's condition.

Some required greater resistance, others less. Su Yi compressed gently, not daring to let his attention wander for a moment. If he had attained the ability of internal vision as a battle cultivator, this process might be easier, but as if by design, a barrier remained—everything relied solely on his meticulous understanding and control of his own body.

Suddenly, a wave of resistance rose from his lower abdomen, causing his surrounding muscles to tense and stiffen. Su Yi sensed the resistance was not overwhelming, flickering in and out, almost as if it was guiding him, feigning reluctance.

Pressure and resistance stood opposed, forming a subtle balance. Su Yi dared not even breathe, focusing all his energy, gradually increasing the pressure as he'd learned, striving to reach the ideal intensity.

The cluster grew smaller and smaller, occasionally twitching as though undergoing a strange transformation. Then, in a sudden moment, it contracted sharply and, with an almost audible "boom," exploded!

After the explosion, a vortex began to form, drawing in energy from all around and transforming it into the familiar, exhilarating battle aura, gathering within the vortex!

"I did it!" Su Yi leapt up, arms outstretched, feeling the long-lost battle aura surge through him, unable to suppress his joy and excitement. The vortex medicine had worked! Su Yi was both delighted and astonished; it would have been remarkable enough to use it to break through to the rank of battle practitioner, but he'd had his vortex destroyed! In the past, those whose vortex had been ruined tried the medicine, but without exception, all failed.

No matter the amount of elixirs, none could restore those people to battle practitioners, thus "a ruined vortex makes one a cripple" became an unbreakable truth in everyone's eyes.

Who would believe that just a single dose of vortex medicine could let a cripple regather a vortex? Not even Su Yi had truly believed it—he only tried it out of desperation, and now he felt the unreality of a dream.

Feeling the once-lost battle aura restored, barely able to contain his excitement, Su Yi was about to practice his moves and test his power. But in the next instant, the vortex in his lower abdomen suddenly trembled, then silently detonated and vanished...

When he could no longer feel the vortex, Su Yi's mind was struck as if by thunder—had he failed again?! Was even the vortex medicine useless? Was the ancient axiom truly unbreakable?

A wave of overwhelming disappointment swept over him, nearly making him cough blood in frustration. Clinging to a shred of hope, he examined every muscle, meridian, and bone in his lower abdomen, then checked all parts of his body—he found not the slightest trace of a vortex. Then—

Then Su Yi suddenly realized something strange: he'd just performed internal vision!

What?! Wasn't that the ability of a battle cultivator? As he came to his senses, disbelief replaced the disappointment. Wasn't he still just a battle practitioner? Even if he were a cultivator, how could he possess the ability exclusive to that rank?

If he could use internal vision, why couldn't he see the vortex? What state was he in now?

Full of doubts, Su Yi carefully examined his entire body again, finding nothing. Uncertain, he suddenly focused his mind—and something astonishing happened.

At his chest, a vortex slowly appeared!

Overjoyed, yet even more puzzled, Su Yi wondered how the vortex had vanished only to reappear at his chest. In this continent, no one had ever heard of a vortex located there. Was this a counterfeit, or some mysterious change unknown to him?

Feeling the battle aura within the vortex, Su Yi was utterly baffled—it seemed genuine. Then, with a thought, the vortex vanished again. Another thought, and it reappeared in his chest!

He repeated this several times, always with the same result. He could freely gather and disperse the vortex—a phenomenon more bizarre than anything imaginable.

But when the vortex was dispersed, Su Yi sensed the battle aura wasn't stored in one place, but suffused throughout his entire body, as if he'd forged himself into a living vortex. Normally, only those who had advanced to the rank of battle king could achieve such distribution—after passing through the Yellow and Profound tiers and stepping into the Earth tier.

With battle aura filling every part of the body, battle kings could even fly—one reason for their power!

Su Yi was dumbstruck, his mind a muddled paste, flickering with countless images. Though he'd only been here a short while, he understood the hierarchy of power intimately, especially as the records were detailed and widespread.

On this continent, the hierarchy of power was divided into four tiers: Yellow tier, Profound tier, Earth tier, and Heaven tier.

Yellow tier practitioners had eighteen levels—the first ten were battle practitioners, the latter eight battle cultivators. The gap between tenth and eleventh level was more than merely numeric.

Profound tier practitioners were divided into ten grades—the first six as battle lords, the last four as battle dragons. Upon becoming a battle lord, one's vortex gradually turned purple—the so-called "Purple Aura of the Lords." After advancing to battle dragon, the purple faded and changed to golden—called "Golden Aura of the Dragon."

Upon a major breakthrough, one soared like a dragon ascending to heaven, becoming a battle king, entering the Earth tier.

Earth tier practitioners had four realms: King, Emperor, Sovereign, and Exalted. Each advance brought terrifying leaps in power, and each realm was divided into early, middle, and late stages.

For example, battle kings had early, middle, and late phases, also known as Human King, Earth King, and Heaven King sub-realms. Since these weren't subdivided as extensively as earlier ranks, every advancement was a tremendous challenge.

As for Heaven tier practitioners, they were divided into Battle Void and Battle God ranks, each with two realms: Insight Void and Deep Void, Insight God and Deep God.

The latter two realms were always debated, as when the hierarchy was established, no battle god had appeared. Their existence was so ethereal, even descriptions of the Insight God and Deep God realms were borrowed from those of battle voids.

No one knew what changes would arise upon becoming a battle god, or whether those realms truly existed. This lent battle gods an air of mystery—even after the continent's first and only battle god appeared, the enigma hardly diminished.

No one knew the extent of his power, only that he was as revered as a deity. His self-created battle technique was universally acknowledged as the strongest ever, unmatched even by later generations.

The battle god was an object of worship, awe, and faith. As for battle voids, though strong in their own realms, it had been many years since anyone had seen one on the continent.

To condense a vortex meant becoming a battle practitioner; internal vision was the ability of a battle cultivator; battle aura distributed throughout the body was a feat only battle kings could achieve. So what was he now—

A battle practitioner? A battle cultivator? Or a battle king?

(Second update!)

Martial Peak, Chapter 46: Battle Practitioner? Battle Cultivator? Battle King? Update complete!