BXBX NOVEL Chapter 265: 175
After some assessment, Han Li felt that a tenfold increase in combat ability after activating his Divine Sense should be considered among the pinnacle of the True Martial Realm.
Even at the pinnacle of the True Martial Realm, the gap in strength could be vast, ranging from the grade of the cultivation techniques one practiced, the level of martial skills mastered, whether one possessed a Divine Weapon, whether one had secret techniques to unleash bursting power, the quality of the Martial True Pills condensed, and so on. These were all factors that could affect one’s combat ability.
Han Li smiled to himself, no longer dwelling on this issue, and turned his attention to his defense and speed.
The Nine Heavens Stride was an Earth-grade Superior Martial Art that, when augmented, could compare to a mid Heaven Rank technique. Han Li had perfected it to the completion level, giving him a speed that rivaled the fifth Heaven of the True Martial Realm before his breakthrough. Now, further enhanced, it was comparable to the eighth Heaven of the True Martial Realm.
A speed of the eighth Heaven in the True Martial Realm was incredibly fast, one capable of crossing five hundred thousand li in a single breath and spanning the entire Yuanzhou in just two breaths.
In terms of defense, Han Li possessed the Undying Golden Body, which was an Earth-Level Extreme Martial Art that could match a Heaven Rank High Grade Martial Technique after enhancement. He had practiced it to the completion level, which raised his defense to that of a half-step from the ninth Heaven of the True Martial Realm.
If he were to use his trump card and summon the shroud of the Undying Golden Body over himself, he could, for a short duration, possess defense equivalent to that of the ninth Heaven of the True Martial Realm.
Having sorted out his own strength, Han Li was in high spirits and then opened the system panel to check how many years of cultivation he had left.
358 years!
Seeing this number, Han Li contemplated whether or not to use it all to break through to a higher realm in one fell swoop.
After reaching the True Martial Realm, advancing even a minor realm required an incredible amount of time; a cultivator with Third Grade aptitude, under normal circumstances, would need fifty years of arduous training to ascend to the second Heaven of the True Martial Realm, with increasing time needed the further one advanced.
Aptitude, elixirs, and opportunities were three crucial factors that influenced the duration of cultivation, enabling a cultivator to break through realms in less time.
Han Li inquired with the system and discovered that the accumulated cultivation couldn’t advance him to the mid-phase of the True Martial Realm; he was still quite a bit short.
With Fourth Grade aptitude, going from the first to the second Heaven of the True Martial Realm required one hundred years of cultivation, reaching the third Heaven needed one hundred and fifty years, and ascending to the fourth Heaven took two hundred years.
With only 358 years of cultivation, advancing to the third Heaven of the True Martial Realm would leave him with 108 years remaining. To reach the fourth Heaven, he would need an additional 92 years.
“This is too difficult,” Han Li said with a wry smile as his face darkened.
However, he thought it made sense; even advancing to the True Martial Realm was less likely for those with Fourth Grade aptitude, and the time required to further progress within the realm would undoubtedly be even longer.
Han Li then checked how many years of cultivation were needed to reach the ninth Heaven and the pinnacle of the True Martial Realm, and it nearly sent him into seclusion.
For a cultivator with Fourth Grade aptitude to reach the ninth Heaven of the True Martial Realm, it would take 2800 years, and to reach the peak, it would take 3000 years, but one could only live up to two thousand years in the True Martial Realm.
Generally speaking, for Fourth Grade aptitude, ascending to the True Martial Realm was practically the limit, and most would end their journey at the initial phase of the realm.
Unless they encountered further opportunities that could rapidly increase their cultivation and shorten the time to break through realms, reaching the ninth Heaven of the True Martial Realm would be impossible.
Even for Third Grade aptitude within the True Martial Realm, reaching the ninth Heaven would still require 1400 years, while reaching the peak would need 1500 years.
Most cultivators with Third Grade aptitude in the True Martial Realm also found it difficult to reach the pinnacle of the realm. It required fortunate opportunities to shorten the cultivation time before considering ascending to the Divine Yuan Realm.
“Sigh~”
Han Li sighed. He knew this was somewhat one-sided.
The cultivation times provided by the system were calculated based on the standard of a cultivator’s arduous training—assuming a True Martial Realm cultivator in secluded cultivation, not taking spirit pills to boost their cultivation, nor seeking opportunities outside.
Normally, cultivators would search the world for elixirs to enhance their cultivation and continually undergo trials and tribulations, exploring relics and secret territories, all for the chance to rapidly increase their cultivation.
Han Li, on the other hand, simply lay flat, not even cultivating, aiming to rapidly increase his realm by accumulating the necessary cultivation. Each year of cultivation was equivalent to a year of arduous training by a True Martial Realm Emperor Wu.
After some contemplation, Han Li sighed again and abandoned the idea of further increasing his realm.
The cultivation required for a Fourth Grade aptitude to advance realms was immense. It wasn’t too late to wait until his aptitude improved to Third Grade, which was just a few months away anyway.
With his current combat ability, he could be considered nearly invincible in the Xuan Domain, with only the Divine Yuan Realm Emperor Wu of the Ancient Empire able to overpower him.
As long as he kept a low profile, the few months would pass without incident, at which point his ascension to Third Grade aptitude would allow him to advance his realm.
By then, he would have accumulated more cultivation and could surge to the fifth or sixth Heaven of the True Martial Realm in one attempt. At that point, his combat ability would surely reach the level of the Divine Yuan Realm, rivaling Emperor Wu.
Previously, he had been eager to advance his realm and break through to the True Martial Realm to more securely capture the female Demon King. Now that he had the combat ability of the pinnacle of the True Martial Realm, it was completely sufficient, and no accidents were likely to occur.
Han Li didn’t think the Demon Emperor of the Demon Clan would go to great lengths to come to the Xuan Domain to fetch the female Demon King; it wasn’t worth the effort, and the Demon Emperors surely wouldn’t dare enter the heartland of the Human Clan, would they?
“Don’t rush, don’t rush. This ancestor can be patient,” Han Li murmured.
After breaking through to the True Martial Realm, his lifespan had increased by a thousand years, and now he had a lifespan of over 2750 years. If he were to obtain more life-extending elixirs, living over three thousand years would not pose a problem.
He still had three thousand years, and with the current trajectory of development at Han Mansion, not only ascending to the Divine Yuan Realm, but also to the Tongxuan Realm, would be entirely feasible.