Chapter 10: One Man Guards a Nation

Dali Imperial Palace.

Taiji Hall.

An august man clad in dragon robes sat before a sandalwood desk.

Opposite him sat a lean old man.

"With Uncle Ancestor's current strength, there should be no opponent in the world for him now, right?"

The august man was none other than the current Emperor of Dali,

while the lean old man sitting across from him was a senior ancestor of the Dali Royal Family.

He was also the strongest, a martial arts master at the peak of the Grandmaster Realm.

Without this Sea-Calming Divine Needle,

perhaps the Dali Dynasty could have still achieved dominance over the four seas and commanded the allegiance of all directions.

But it definitely wouldn't have been so easy.

"Without reaching the Realm of Great Grandmaster, what's the talk of having no opponent?"

The lean old man shook his head, but his tone harbored not the slightest hint of humility.

Even among Grandmasters, there is a difference in strength.

And the lean old man was undoubtedly at the very pinnacle within the Grandmaster Realm.

In terms of heritage, the other Great Martial Sects also have Great Grandmaster legacies.

But the Great Grandmaster ancestor of the Dali Dynasty undoubtedly had the greatest influence.

After all, this ancestor was still alive over a hundred years ago, and his fame diminishes not a whit even today.

The many martial arts manuals he left behind, if not stronger than other Great Grandmaster heritages,

are at least more complete and perfected,

Let alone the fact that the ancestor personally visited the other Great Martial Sects in former years, taking all their martial arts and transcribing them to bring back.

Gathering the martial arts of the whole world, the foundation of the Dali Dynasty could only far surpass that of the Great Martial Sects.

"Great Grandmaster, ah... Uncle Ancestor is only a step away from becoming a Great Grandmaster, right..."

The Emperor of Dali asked with an indistinct tone.

"A step away can mean the difference between heaven and earth..."

The lean old man sighed,

The closer he approached the Realm of Great Grandmaster, the more he felt despair and helplessness.

This was even with the advantage of the many breakthrough insights left by the Dali ancestor.

Without these, the lean old man wouldn't even dare to think about the Great Grandmaster Realm.

Even so, the lean old man had little confidence in taking that final step himself.

"But Your Majesty can rest easy, in this present world, if I can't break through to the Great Grandmaster, no other Grandmaster should think of breaking through either..."

The lean old man spoke in a low voice, brimming with immense self-confidence.

Just as the Emperor of Dali was about to speak,

fearsome sound waves descended, filling every inch of the air.

"I am Hui Zhen, a monk, wishing to enter the Martial Hall of the palace for a look."

...

The devilish sound flooded their ears; the Emperor of Dali felt his eardrums tremble, and his vision began to blur.

Compared to the Emperor of Dali, the neighboring lean old man at the Grandmaster Peak was in a much more pitiful state.

The stronger one's power, the more sensitive they were to sound waves, and the more severe the suppressive effect they suffered.

"Ah?! What is this sound technique?"

The lean old man couldn't believe it,

merely with the sound of a voice, not knowing from how far away,

they could make a powerful Grandmaster Realm martial artist like himself lose the ability to resist.

Who could it be?

A Great Grandmaster, perhaps?

Even someone as strong as the Great Grandmaster ancestor of the Dali couldn't achieve such an effect, right?

...

Outside the palace,

Lin Yuan's gaze was calm.

He had just used one of the Great Zen Temple's seventy-two ultimate techniques, the Sound Wave Martial Arts known as Lion's Roar, to utter the phrase "wishing to enter the Martial Hall for a look."

The Lion's Roar belonged to superior martial arts,

and was also a rare Sound Wave Martial Arts that could intimidate by sound, causing dread and despair in others.

However, this martial art was difficult to affect those in the Innate Realm of martial artists.

After all, compared to punches, kicks, or weapons, the effectiveness of sound waves indeed wasn't high.

But Lin Yuan's strength was too overwhelming at the moment,

with the mythological realm physical strength and Yuan power that surpassed the Great Grandmaster,

one roar had the capacity to shatter not just mountains and rivers, but at least it proved too much for Grandmasters to withstand.

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Of course, Lin Yuan did not strike with lethal force.

Under the terrifying sound wave envelopment of the Lion's Roar,

those below the Acquired Realm Peak only felt their eardrums vibrating and did not sustain any other injuries.

As for those at the Acquired Realm Peak, Innate Realm Peak, and even Martial Taoists in the Grandmaster Realm,

the impact sustained was indeed more severe, but they would recover after a month or two of rest.

It wouldn't cause irreversible damage.

In years past, the founder of the Dali Dynasty had forced his way into the Great Zen Temple, using absolute martial force to compel the monks to surrender their secret techniques.

Now, with Lin Yuan's roar outside the Imperial Palace, causing the heavily guarded palace staff to be thrown into disarray, it could be considered a taste of their own medicine.

"Buddha Child, this, this, this..."

The middle-aged monk beside him was blank-minded at the moment.

Just a moment ago, he had been wondering why the Buddha Child mentioned trouble,

and what 'speak directly' meant.

Then he witnessed the incredible scene before him.

"You see, I guess we will probably be able to go in soon."

Lin Yuan glanced back at the middle-aged monk and said nonchalantly.

"...."

The middle-aged monk was still immersed in shock.

Although he didn't know what had happened inside the Imperial Palace,

after Lin Yuan's roar, all sorts of tumultuous auras emanated from within the palace,

even auras of Grandmasters were plummeting.

The middle-aged monk had a feeling that,

the palace's defensive force was now at an historically low point,

and probably just any group of Innate martial artists could massacre it.

Under such circumstances...

Lin Yuan's earlier remark 'I guess we will probably be able to go in soon'... The middle-aged monk had no doubts about it.

Given Lin Yuan's 'roaring' achievements,

never mind entering the mere Martial Hall, even intruding into the harem of today's Emperor of Dali,

would probably be just a matter of saying the word.

A few moments later.

Under the middle-aged monk's gaze,

an imposing mann dressed in dragon robes, accompanied by a lean old man, walked out hurriedly.

Behind them followed several figures,

whose auras were weak, but their demeanor and poise as they moved were far beyond what could be compared to those in the Innate Realm.

The Emperor of Dali came out of the palace and soon saw Lin Yuan standing there, dressed in a gray monk's robe.

"Greetings, Great Master..."

The Emperor of Dali felt bitterness in his heart and immediately bowed.

After suffering the terrible sound wave in the Taiji Hall, the effects on the Emperor of Dali were not severe, and he soon recovered.

The Emperor of Dali's first thought was to flee.

However, the lean old man beside him stopped him.

The lean old man was at the Peak of Grandmaster Realm.

He was very aware that anyone capable of causing such a scene with sound waves,

had a strength that, if not groundbreaking and remarkable,

was at least superior to the founder of the Dali Dynasty over a hundred years ago.

In face of such a powerful individual, where could one flee? And how could one possibly escape?

On the contrary,

by observing the extent of the Emperor's injuries, the lean old man judged that Lin Yuan likely bore no real malice towards the Dali Royal Family.

Otherwise,

merely with that terrible sound wave, it would have been enough to heavily injure someone like himself at the Peak of the Grandmaster Realm.

How could the Emperor of Dali, who was not even at the Innate Realm, sustain only minimal impact?

It was for this reason that,

following the suggestion of the lean old man, the Emperor of Dali mustered the courage to follow the source of the sound wave and came out of the palace.

"I am Hui Zhen, and I wish to enter the Martial Hall of the Imperial Palace for a visit."

Upon seeing the disheveled Emperor of Dali, Lin Yuan spoke directly.

"That's easy."

"Please enter, Great Master."

The Emperor of Dali breathed a slight sigh of relief.

At the same time, a sense of grievance surged in his heart.

If you wanted to enter the Martial Hall, why not say so earlier, instead of causing such a commotion?

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