Outside the Martial Arts Hall.
The lean old man, Yamamoto Pan, watched as the South Sea Sword Saint's figure disappeared.
"To use Master Haruto as a stepping stone to break through to the Grandmaster realm... This is truly..."
For a moment, the lean old man, Yamamoto Pan, didn't know what to say.
A hint of sympathy couldn't help but appear on his face.
In fact, using the pressure of life and death to break through bottlenecks is not uncommon.
With the South Sea Sword Saint's talent and comprehension,
under the pressure of a Grandmaster, there was indeed a high possibility of achieving it.
After all, compared to Yamamoto Pan,
the South Sea Sword Saint had reached this point entirely on his own.
His potential was self-evident.
The South Sea Sword Saint's biggest mistake was setting his target on Master Haruto.
Because in Yamamoto Pan's eyes,
Rin Haruto's strength undoubtedly surpassed that of an ordinary Grandmaster,
and he could even be considered the strongest among all Grandmasters throughout history.
Yamamoto Pan was almost certain of this after nearly a year of interaction.
In fact, Yamamoto Pan even had a more terrifying conjecture.
"Has Master's strength truly broken through that step?"
Yamamoto Pan felt his whole body trembling.
Since ancient times, spanning thousands of years,
Grandmasters have always been regarded as the undisputed strongest.
It was the ultimate realm pursued by all martial artists in the world.
As for the realm beyond Grandmaster, transcending Grandmaster,
Yamamoto Pan dared not think about it, nor would he.
It was as meaningless as pondering why the sun hung in the sky.
But now,
after experiencing the power of Rin Haruto's roar, Yamamoto Pan finally began to doubt.
Perhaps, there was a higher realm above Grandmaster?
Like Rin Haruto?
It wasn't Yamamoto Pan's fault for thinking this way; it was simply that the combat power Rin Haruto displayed was too excessive.
It hadn't been many years since the Grandmaster Ancestor of the Great Li Dynasty passed away,
and Yamamoto Pan remembered the descriptions of Grandmasters very clearly.
No matter how strong, they wouldn't be this strong.
Coupled with the occasional guidance from Rin Haruto over the past year,
Yamamoto Pan clearly felt the existence of the Grandmaster bottleneck.
If a Grandmaster's guidance was so useful,
there wouldn't be a saying that a Grandmaster couldn't cultivate another Grandmaster.
Inside the Martial Arts Hall.
Rin Haruto sat cross-legged.
Since the martial arts tournament began in the capital half a year ago,
Rin Haruto's gains had been continuous, witnessing countless martial artists fighting.
The martial artists participating in the tournament might not be strong,
but the martial arts they displayed were diverse.
With his heaven-defying comprehension, Rin Haruto gained insights from countless angles,
which was far more useful than simply observing a few superior or profound martial arts.
"You have heaven-defying comprehension, comprehending the martial arts of the world, and your understanding of martial arts beyond the Mythical Realm has improved."
"You have heaven-defying comprehension, comprehending the martial arts of the world, subtly grasping the true essence of heaven and earth."
"You have heaven-defying comprehension, comprehending the martial arts of the world, and have created the 'Cloud Mist Refining Spirit Art'."
"You have heaven-defying comprehension, comprehending the martial arts of the world, and are beginning to perceive the breakthrough direction for subsequent realms."
Rin Haruto was completely immersed in the world of enlightenment; he would basically not awaken unless he was in mortal danger.
And with Rin Haruto's current physique and the Mythical Realm 'Origin Energy' that protected him,
even if a group of Grandmasters attacked, he would not suffer the slightest injury.
Half a month later.
Rin Haruto opened his eyes.
"Finally found it."
Rin Haruto sighed softly.
At this moment, with the aid of his heaven-defying comprehension, he had finally locked onto the path beyond the Mythical level.
Of course, it was only a lock; to fully reach it still required a great deal of effort.
However, as long as the direction was right, the rest was merely a matter of time for Rin Haruto.
"It's time to go back."
Rin Haruto stood up and walked out of the Martial Arts Hall.
Although, with Rin Haruto's current strength, cultivating anywhere was the same,
he had, after all, stayed at the Great Zen Temple for ten years and was quite satisfied with the undisturbed environment of ancient lamps and Buddhas on Mount Shaoshi.
Cultivating to the realm beyond the Mythical Realm would take a considerable amount of time, and Rin Haruto still wanted to return to Mount Shaoshi.
Crack.
The door of the Martial Arts Hall opened.
Yamamoto Pan, the lean old man who had been guarding outside, was suddenly startled.
"Master."
Yamamoto Pan subconsciously looked into the Martial Arts Hall.
He found that the young monk who should have been sitting there had disappeared.
"Master... has he left?"
Yamamoto Pan was stunned, feeling a sense of loss for a moment.
Even though he had long anticipated it and knew that a powerful expert like Rin Haruto couldn't stay in the imperial palace forever,
he felt as if he had lost something in his heart at this moment.
Great Zen Temple.
Abbot Hayashi, the head of the Martial Monk Institute, Hayama, and several other institute heads gathered at the temple gate, looking worried.
A year ago, the Great Li Imperial Palace was breached by a mysterious monk suspected to be a Grandmaster.
The Great Zen Temple had naturally heard of this matter long ago.
Unlike other martial artists and forces who speculated about the mysterious monk's origin,
Abbot Hayashi and the institute heads almost immediately identified the monk as their own Buddhist Son.
There was no other way.
He had the appearance of a young monk.
And possessed Grandmaster strength.
With such precise descriptions, who else could it be besides the Buddhist Son who had just entered the world?
At first, the few of them were still marveling at Rin Haruto's strength.
More than a hundred years ago, the Grandmaster Ancestor of the Great Li Dynasty had attacked Mount Shaoshi.
Now, the Buddhist Son of the Great Zen Temple, single-handedly breaching the Great Li Imperial Palace, was a matter of reciprocating the courtesy.
However, as time passed,
Abbot Hayashi and the institute heads realized something was amiss.
The Buddhist Son seemed to intend to reside permanently in the Great Li Imperial Palace?
Abbot Hayashi and the others didn't think Rin Haruto would abandon the Great Zen Temple.
Instead, they were worried that the Great Li Dynasty might have other intentions.
An open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against.
Indeed, with Rin Haruto's strength, no one in the Great Li Dynasty was his match.
But what if the Great Li Dynasty resorted to some dark schemes? One must know that the Great Li Imperial Palace was where the Grandmaster Ancestor resided back then; it might not be without means to deal with a Grandmaster.
If Rin Haruto stayed in the Great Li Imperial Palace for a long time, what if he fell into a trap?
Furthermore.
Abbot Hayashi had deeper concerns.
With the martial arts tournament being held, and several Grandmasters going to the capital to spar with Rin Haruto,
rumors about Rin Haruto's strength were increasing.
Grandmaster.
Peak Grandmaster.
Invincible Grandmaster.
The First Grandmaster of All Time, and so on.
These rumors came from other Grandmasters.
Their authenticity was beyond doubt.
As a result, Rin Haruto's reputation grew immensely, far surpassing that of Patriarch Bodhidharma a thousand years ago, and the Great Li Ancestor a hundred years ago.
This situation might not affect other Grandmasters much.
After all, other Grandmasters had spent at least several decades to reach this point, and their state of mind had already undergone numerous trials.
But Abbot Hayashi was well aware that the Buddhist Son was only a little over ten years old.
At such a young age, could he withstand the trials of fame and fortune in the martial arts world?
"Let's wait a bit longer. The Buddhist Son has only been down the mountain for a year; it's still a short time. Even if he is influenced by the mundane world, he can still turn back in time."
The head of the Disciplinary Institute said in a deep voice.
Not to mention a Grandmaster, even for an ordinary martial artist, a year is not long; it's considered just starting in the martial arts world.
"The Buddhist Son's state of mind is pure..."
The head of the Martial Monk Institute frowned, about to speak.
Just then.
On the narrow mountain path of Mount Shaoshi, a young monk, dressed in monastic robes and cloth shoes, walked up step by step.
"Buddhist Son, the Buddhist Son is back."
Abbot Hayashi was the first to spot Rin Haruto.
A moment later.
Rin Haruto arrived at the entrance of the Great Zen Temple.
"Buddhist Son."
The few of them bowed slightly to Rin Haruto, wanting to say something but swallowed their words.
"Everything is settled."
Rin Haruto merely said this,
then returned to the third floor of the Scripture Depository, sat down again, away from the dust of the world, away from the martial arts world.
On this day, the young Buddhist Son on Mount Shaoshi, in cloth shoes and monastic robes, entered the martial arts world and then left it.