Chapter 155: How Vast the Martial World Truly Is

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Zhou Yi felt the faint aura lingering about an inch from his body—unseen but perceptible. His eyes stared blankly at the gradually cooling bodies of Weng Han and the others.

The flames, embodying all of Weng Han’s strength, burned themselves out, turning to ashes in an instant. As the fire died, a curse was born—transforming from the tangible into the intangible—a trace of cursed energy drifting in the void just outside Zhou Yi.

After a long moment, Zhou Yi withdrew his gaze from Weng Han and the others, turning instead to the cursed energy hovering nearby. He sensed the power contained within and was struck by a strange feeling.

“A curse?” he murmured to himself, his eyes complex. This trace of cursed energy, born from the complete incineration of Weng Han’s flames, carried a terrifying potency that unsettled Zhou Yi deeply.

Though its raw power was not overwhelming, its attack method was bizarre—its tenacity akin to a bone-deep sore. Once it clung to someone, it was impossible to shake off. The stickiness sent a chill through his heart.

With Weng Han’s strength, the final attack he unleashed—if it had truly struck Zhou Yi—would have cost him a piece of flesh, even now with his current power.

Given Zhou Yi’s own abilities, such an attack already caused considerable trouble. For anyone else, even those far stronger than Weng Han, without a suitable defense, being hit by such a strike would likely lead to near-death, if not death itself.

“Indeed, those who survive on Peerless Island and rise to such standing are not to be underestimated,” Zhou Yi thought.

If not for having mastered the Mountain-Heavy Technique and possessing a force field impervious to all methods, Weng Han’s last-ditch strike—drained of all life essence—would have overwhelmed him. Though suppressed by unyielding gravity, it did not collapse to the ground, but could not move either. It could only barely maintain suspension in midair, unable to break through the force field or attack Zhou Yi.

After a brief moment of shock, Zhou Yi no longer focused on this. Beyond amazement at Weng Han’s fierce strike and admiration for his own invincible force field, what stirred him most was the transformation he witnessed in Weng Han and his companions.

They changed swiftly from jesters into warriors unafraid of death, a transformation that took merely a flash of time. What had caused such a profound change? The suddenness of these two contrasting states left Zhou Yi’s heart unsettled.

He sensed a tangled aura he could not define—only that the moment he perceived it, an invisible weight pressed down upon his heart, swelling it with emotions he could not voice.

“Let’s go. You’ll understand someday,” said Dugu Shang, whose understanding of the matter was clearer. Though this was his first encounter with such a thing, having lived long on Peerless Island, everyone had once imagined a scenario like this, and the protagonist was undoubtedly themselves.

After a brief moment of vacancy and complex feelings, Dugu Shang naturally regained composure quickly.

“Hm?” Hearing this, Zhou Yi’s dark pupils shifted to Dugu Shang, a flicker of confusion crossing his eyes. After a moment of silence, he followed silently behind the guide, who led without speaking.

This man seemed somewhat different from before.

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“Here, come in,” Dugu Shang said softly as they stopped before the pitch-black gate of the training tower.

Zhou Yi did not rush inside but turned to survey the surroundings.

Sparse groups of people gathered around the tower—neither few nor many.

“So many?” His gaze swept over the scattered crowds, roughly totaling over a hundred.

A trace of doubt flickered in Zhou Yi’s eyes. Rumors said that though Peerless Island appeared intermittently, not frequently, the number of people who could enter each time was limited.

If that were true, even with centuries of accumulation, the population on Peerless Island should never be so large!

From his prior experiences, Zhou Yi had a rough understanding of the island’s nature: it was no paradise free of casualties.

On the contrary, it was a living hell. The harsh environment of Peerless Island meant danger was constant, and survival demanded ceaseless vigilance—or death was certain.

Even then, survival was not guaranteed.

Therefore, the death rate on Peerless Island must be high.

Yet now, the number of people Zhou Yi saw exceeded all his estimates of the total population accumulated over hundreds of years.

“There... shouldn’t be this many people.”

Considering the death rate, the distribution of those who had obtained false elixirs, wandering outsiders, and those training inside the tower, the total should be substantial but not to this extent.

“Something’s wrong,” Zhou Yi thought, puzzled. This did not match what he had learned. The number of people arriving at Peerless Island, according to the rumors, should never be so large.

After speaking, Dugu Shang waited but saw Zhou Yi remain outside. He turned to look at him and then glanced around at the scattered groups, pausing briefly before realization dawned.

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“Are you thinking that there shouldn’t be so many people on Peerless Island?” Dugu Shang asked with a smile, noticing the doubt in Zhou Yi’s eyes.

Zhou Yi turned to him but said nothing.

“It’s simple. When I first came here, I had the same doubts as you.”

“Peerless Island is indeed an endless hell, yet countless people wish to enter. But in the martial world, its appearances are rare,” Dugu Shang’s eyes flickered with complexity. “Moreover, the number of people it takes each time is small. By all logic, there shouldn’t be this many people here.”

“Yet there are, and far more than we imagine.”

“What is the reason?”

“Back then, I was troubled deeply by this question. But after living here a while and meeting many people, I gradually came to understand.”

He took a deep breath, as if calming his heart.

Zhou Yi watched him quietly, his eyes deep.

“Do you know what the martial world truly is?”

Dugu Shang’s chest rose and fell as he paused, then slowly exhaled like a toad, before softly asking:

“The martial world you know is only your martial world, but this world is not limited to you.”

“How vast is the martial world? How vast is the world itself?”

“Do you truly know?”