There are countless transcendents in this world. Some believe that cultivating spell arts is most important, while others argue that training the physical body is the true foundation.
Those who champion spell arts have a simple reason: spells can enhance combat power from multiple angles—offense, defense, support, and more—making them far more effective than mere physical cultivation.
Those who support physical cultivation, on the other hand, argue that the body is the very root of everything, unlike spell arts, which are external tools. If one encounters certain restrictions, a frail body might very well fail to survive the crisis.
In short, both sides have their own valid points. And so, much like in cultivation novels, transcendents gradually began to diverge into categories like spiritual cultivators and body cultivators. Although the division isn’t yet clearly defined at this stage, this trend will inevitably lead to a complete split between the two schools.
After all, if a person wants to train both their body and spell arts to a high level simultaneously, they would have to invest an enormous amount of energy—and chances are, they wouldn’t succeed anyway. Specializing in one area, on the other hand, might actually allow them to go much further.
As for which one is stronger and which is weaker—without a specific set of conditions, there’s simply no way to compare.
Because even body cultivators can’t completely break away from spell arts; they simply choose to cultivate only those techniques related to enhancing their physique.
Similarly, spiritual cultivators can’t ignore physical training either. After all, some spell arts are too overbearing—if one’s body isn’t strong enough to wield them, they’d be hard to control. Never mind killing enemies—just keeping yourself from self-destructing would already be an achievement.
Take what Su Mo and the others were experiencing in the temple’s secret realm, for example.
Facing Yuan Tianxiu’s copies, which relied solely on physical strength without any spell arts, Sato Mami and Kusanagi Red—both B-ranks—found it difficult to secure a win. Sakurai Mii, being relatively weaker, was even being suppressed.
On the other hand, Su Mo and Ye Qingyi, despite being only C-rank, were able to hold their ground thanks to their formidable physiques. Add in their techniques and spell arts, and victory wasn’t out of reach.
As for Weil—since she was the Chosen One of the God of Strength, all of her cultivation methods and combat techniques were power-oriented. Even without using any spell arts, she could still easily dominate the copies.
If someone mentioned the so-called suppression of Divine Bloodline, she’d probably say: Sorry, that only makes me stronger. And I’m already pretty strong as it is.
And so, after Blake—who had been getting pummeled by Yuan Tianxiu’s main body—was replaced by Weil, she was actually able to hold off the enemy’s attacks for a while.
In truth, the three of them weren’t that far apart in strength. It was just that this was Yamata-no-Orochi’s territory, and both Blake and Weil had their Divine Bloodlines sealed, preventing them from using their divine skills—hence their apparent disadvantage.
Without access to Netherfire, Su Mo’s attacks were severely limited. But that didn’t stop him from defeating Yuan Tianxiu’s copy.
When a crimson glow appeared in his eyes, Ye Qingyi made no effort to hide her excitement. She knew that soon, everyone present would be left stunned—and she was the only one in on the secret.
Rage Formula!
Su Mo’s entire aura instantly tripled in intensity. Though Peach Blossom wasn’t even a proper magical weapon, at this moment it seemed razor-sharp.
When the sword intent of All-or-Nothing poured into the blade, it let out a crisp hum—like a phoenix lifting its head in song.
For a brief moment, Su Mo even had the illusion that this blade was a true magical weapon.
“Go to hell!” Su Mo roared, looking every bit like a fallen female war goddess. With terrifying force, she cleaved the copy’s war blade clean in two.
The copy didn’t show shock—but it did laugh, and cry while laughing…
When Su Mo decided to use the Rage Formula, he stopped caring about hiding his identity. After all, the goal of this trip had already been achieved. If he didn’t pull out his trump card now, he might very well end up dead here.
Peach Blossom vanished from his hand, replaced by an ancient, heavy, rust-covered five-foot-long blade.
Though the blade wasn’t sharp, it exuded an overwhelming sense of dread—as if a single touch would mean certain death.
A gale howled past, and before the copy could dodge, it suddenly felt itself lifted into the air. Looking down, it realized its lower body had completely vanished.
“Again!”
At Ye Qingyi’s urgent shout, Su Mo unceremoniously snatched her opponent away. With no other choice, Ye Qingyi went to help Sakurai Mii instead.
Sakurai Mii finally caught a breather. Looking up, she caught sight of Su Mo’s current appearance, and her heart skipped a beat—she didn’t want to believe her own eyes.
Crimson eyes. A rusted long blade. Wasn’t that exactly Ye Qingyi’s signature look?
Although he still wore his mask and his physical disguise hadn’t faded, Sakurai Mii was already certain—this wasn’t Chiba Masaka. This was Ye Qingyi!
No, to be precise—the girl before her was both Ye Qingyi and Chiba Masaka.
An indescribable ache filled her heart. Her mind wandered as she fought, and if not for Ye Qingyi’s help, she might have already died on the spot.
Su Mo’s sword intent was all about explosive bursts. So while that earlier strike looked simple, it actually consumed a great deal of energy. As a result, he couldn’t finish off the second copy as quickly.
In his left hand, he gripped the Heart of Life—a magical tool given to him by Yang Jie—to recover his spent energy. In his right hand, he wielded his blade against the copy. With the terrifying boost from the Rage Formula, he consistently held the upper hand.
After more than twenty exchanges, the copy determined that Su Mo couldn’t unleash another attack with that level of explosive power. So it suddenly pressed forward, intending to end the fight quickly. But Su Mo’s lips curled upward—and his Tetanus Blade descended like a mountain from the heavens, forcing the copy to its knees.
“You think a mere copy can figure me out?” Su Mo sneered. “You’re still too green.”
Blade up, blade down—another corpse joined the floor.
These copies would vanish after death, and their destruction seemed to have some effect on the main body.
Su Mo quickly formed a plan.
Fighting one copy alone was tough—but fighting it as a group was far easier. And initially, that group was three people, then four, then five.
When Su Mo, Ye Qingyi, Sakurai Mii, Sato Mami, and Kusanagi Red surrounded the last remaining copy, they looked like a gang of villains circling an innocent child…
“Don’t look at me like that. Let’s figure out a way out of here first.” Su Mo ignored Sato Mami’s hostile gaze. The other woman wasn’t some small-time player either, so she chose to prioritize the bigger picture.
Only Sakurai Mii seemed somewhat sorrowful, but she stayed close to Sato Mami without saying a word.
What used to be a pair of close friends now looked like two complete strangers.
All the copies had been scattered—only the main body remained. Lei Wu Yinov finally woke up, dazed for a moment before suddenly leaping to his feet: “Everyone, attack together! This guy’s no joke.”
And that’s exactly what they did. Eight people surrounded Yuan Tianxiu and pummeled him. Even with the forbidden technique temporarily boosting his strength, he gradually began to falter.
Just when it seemed victory was within reach, an invisible pressure suddenly descended from above. Everyone except Yuan Tianxiu was slammed flat against the ground.
“Master?” Yuan Tianxiu was both relieved and confused.
Before him, the mastermind’s aged figure slowly approached. A withered hand gently patted his shoulder: “Well done. Leave the rest to me.”
