All of us are one

Chapter 9 Divine Martial Kingdom Pass

"It's not Second Senior Brother." Jiang Yanming's expression was solemn.

The phone number that sent the message was indeed that of the second senior brother, Qin Wu, but the person who sent the message was not him, because the other party only addressed him as junior brother Jiang.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yanming dialed Qin Wu's number.

beep!

After a brief busy signal, the call was connected.

"Junior brother." A hoarse, indifferent voice came from the other end of the phone.

"How should I address you?" Jiang Yanming asked calmly.

"You can call me Senior Brother, or you can call me by my name, 'Kotak,'" the hoarse voice replied.

"I'll still call you Senior Brother, after all, you're Master's first true disciple." Jiang Yanming finished speaking and then asked, "How's Second Senior Brother doing now?"

"Not bad, it's just that my arm was dislocated during the sparring," Kotak replied in a hoarse voice.

"Just a dislocation?" Jiang Yanming was skeptical.

"Here you go, you can talk to your junior brother." Kotak's voice drifted away from the phone.

"Junior Brother Jiang, it's me." Qin Wu's voice came from the phone.

"What's going on?" Jiang Yanming asked.

"My senior brother challenged me to a duel, and I was subdued in just a few moves. My arm was dislocated at that moment," Qin Wu sighed. "My senior brother is different from the one I remember; he has really changed a lot."

"Give me your phone." Kotak's voice came again. "It's not that I've changed, it's that I've grown a lot. After all, when I left the martial arts gym, I was still two months shy of turning twenty."

"Junior brother, how about we meet? I'm very interested in your understanding of profound mysteries. If your strength satisfies me, I will give you something that is priceless to a martial artist."

"What kind of treasure is it?" Jiang Yanming asked, intrigued.

"I'll tell you when we meet," Kotak said.

"Let's meet at the park near the martial arts school," Jiang Yanming set the time and place.

"Okay, I'll wait for you," Kotak said and hung up the phone.

"Interesting. A martial artist's priceless treasure?"

Jiang Yanming got up, changed his clothes, greeted his father, and then drove straight to the Jingtao Martial Arts School in the bay area.

……

Jingtao Martial Arts School, fourth-floor lounge.

"Senior Brother, are you really planning to spar with Junior Brother Jiang?"

Qin Wu sat on the sofa, opposite a brown-haired man with a few scars on his face and a long scar on his throat.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Kotak replied in a hoarse voice. "After all, he's the one who truly inherited his master's mantle. I won't harm him or cut off his path in martial arts."

"Senior Brother, you've really changed a lot," Qin Wu remarked.

"That's why I say I've grown a lot." Kotak chuckled self-deprecatingly, then stood up and said, "Alright, I should go wait for my junior brother."

"Would you like me to take you to the park?" Qin Wu asked, getting up.

Kotak raised his hand to refuse: "No need. Although the area has changed, it's not to the point that I can't find the park."

As Qin Wu watched his senior brother leave, he sensed that the other man must be hiding something.

Especially that so-called priceless treasure, given the senior brother's pursuit of martial arts, he would definitely prioritize using it for himself, rather than thinking of giving it to junior brother Jiang.

……

One hour later.

The park near Jingtao Martial Arts School.

Jiang Yanming walked in through the main gate of the park and immediately spotted the brown-haired man sitting by the pool. Without hesitation, he walked towards him.

When he was about four or five meters away from the other person, Jiang Yanming stopped and stared at him.

He was a burly, brown-haired, blue-eyed white man with a few scars on his angular face, the most striking being the fatal wound that ran across his throat.

Sitting there, it resembled a sleeping ferocious beast, making people instinctively want to avoid it.

As Jiang Yanming stared at the other person, the other person also looked him over with great interest.

"Junior Brother." The brown-haired man's hoarse voice came.

"Senior Brother," Jiang Yanming called softly.

"Let's go for a walk in the woods." Kotak slowly got up and led the way.

Jiang Yanming hesitated for a moment, but still followed.

The two remained silent as they walked to a secluded grove in the park.

The forest floor was covered with withered leaves in late autumn, and the two walked along, making a constant rustling sound.

"My master used to bring me here to practice boxing in the mornings." Kotak stood in front of a big tree, stroking a dent in the tree with his hand. "I would also come here to practice boxing when I was in a bad mood. Many of the trees here have marks left by me."

"I always thought that with my talent to break through to Mingwu after six years of practicing boxing, I would one day inherit my master's mantle..." Kotak sighed softly. "When I broke through to Mingwu, I excitedly went to my master to share it, but he told me that perhaps Mingwu was the end of my martial arts path."

Jiang Yanming listened.

"I'm not reconciled, I'm not convinced, I question my master!" Kotak gritted his teeth, then shook his head and sighed, "But my master said there's nothing he can do."

Jiang Yanming looked puzzled.

"Because without comprehending the profound meaning, one cannot break through to the Mingwu level," Kotak said softly.

"Doesn't the Martial Arts Alliance have a way to break through to the Mingwu level?" Jiang Yanming asked.

"Martial Arts Alliance? That's nothing more than a tool put forward by the Four Nations Alliance and the Divine Martial Kingdom." Kotak shook his head dismissively. "One is used to control martial artists, and the other is used to select geniuses."

"The reason why the high-ranking members of the Martial Arts Alliance were able to break through to the Mingwu level was because of the cooperation between the Four Kingdoms Alliance and the Divine Martial Kingdom, which gave them the opportunity to go to the Divine Martial Kingdom to comprehend the profound meaning of cultivation."

"And I..." Kotak said bitterly, "will never have that opportunity!"

"Why?" Jiang Yanming asked.

"Why..." Kotak turned to look in the direction of the sea.

……

Several years ago.

Twin Islands, tens of thousands of kilometers west of the Quad.

The two islands are roughly the same size, but the buildings on them and the ships docked in the harbor are quite different.

The buildings on one side are made of reinforced concrete, the port is filled with steel ships, and you can even see fully armed soldiers holding automatic rifles.

On the other side are ancient buildings constructed of stone, clay, and wood. The boats moored at the harbor are also made of wood, and strong men wielding swords maintain order.

The Twin Islands are connected by two reinforced concrete bridges, allowing people to travel on one bridge without interfering with each other, and there are people on both sides of the bridge.

The difference is that at the bridgehead on one side of the ancient building, there are several burly men holding swords conducting inspections. Everyone who comes over needs to take out a black token and hand it to the inspectors for verification.

When a well-off, red-haired, bald man handed a black token to a burly man in white for inspection, the man only held it for a moment before casually tossing it into a bamboo basket.

"Your token is fake," the burly man in white said coldly.

"Fake? How could it be fake!" The red-haired, bald man's face flushed red. "I bought this for ten million!"

"A fake is a fake," the burly man in white replied coldly. "Even if the workmanship is exquisite and the materials are similar, it's easy to tell the difference."

"Get lost!" The burly man in black beside him said impatiently, drawing his long sword with a whoosh.

"You..." The red-haired, bald man's voice trembled, but he eventually obediently walked towards the other bridge to return.

Kotak calmly watched all this, then stepped forward and handed over his black token.

"The token is real, but I can't let you pass." The burly man in white took the token and then tossed it to Kotak.

"Why?" Kotak asked unwillingly.

"Because you are a barbarian who came to learn from a master," the burly man in white sighed. "If you had any bloodline characteristics of my Divine Martial Kingdom, I would have let you pass, but unfortunately you don't.

"Go back. Although you don't need this token, you can sell it to or give it to someone who needs it." The burly man in black next to him shook his head.

Kotak looked unwilling, but could only walk towards the other bridge to return.

The burly man in white watched Kotak's retreating figure: "Solid foundation, abundant energy and blood, what a pity."

The burly man in black sighed softly: "Yes, he has seen blood and been tempered by life and death, but it's a pity he's a barbarian."

……

"I am a barbarian."

Kotak sighed in reluctance, "The Divine Martial Kingdom will not allow barbarians to enter the Divine Martial Kingdom to learn martial arts, so for me, the end of the martial path is almost the Ming Martial Kingdom."

"I was not reconciled, so I left the martial arts school and went to the Northern Continent, hoping to understand the true meaning of the Stormy Wave Style through the trials of life and death."

"But the true meaning is too profound. Even though I have hovered between life and death several times, I still cannot comprehend the true meaning of the surging waves."

Kotak shook his head and sighed, "I thought I would die on the way to comprehend the profound truths, before my master passed away, but in the end..."

Jiang Yanming remained silent. His senior brother's heart was set on martial arts, and he was willing to go to the Northern Continent to undergo life-and-death trials in order to comprehend the true meaning of the mysteries.

He greatly admired, truly admired, those who strive for their life's goals and are willing to sacrifice their lives.

"Come on, junior brother." Kotak turned to look at Jiang Yanming, his eyes filled with longing. "Let me witness the profound mysteries of my Surging Waves!"

"Not now," Jiang Yanming shook his head.

"Why?" Kotak asked, puzzled.

"Senior Brother has been at the Mingwu level for many years and has experienced the trials of life and death, while I have just broken through to the Duanwu level. I am no match for you." Jiang Yanming said frankly.

"I can control my strength, only using my Martial Forging level power," Kotak hurriedly said. "As long as you let me witness the profound meaning, I promise I won't hurt you, Junior Brother!"

"That's not fair, neither to you nor to me." Jiang Yanming refused again, then challenged him, "Please wait a while, Senior Brother, until I break through to the Mingwu level, then we can have a good fight."

"Alright!" Kotak was taken aback for a moment, then laughed loudly, "You truly are worthy of being Master's disciple. Here, take this."

After saying that, Kotak took out a black token and threw it directly to Jiang Yanming.

"What is this?" Jiang Yanming caught it instinctively.

"The Divine Martial Kingdom Pass, a treasure I went to great lengths to obtain. With it, you can travel to the Divine Martial Kingdom to cultivate," Kotak introduced with a sigh. "Unlike the Martial Arts Alliance's recommendation, it allows you to stay in the Divine Martial Kingdom and go further on your martial path."

Jiang Yanming looked at the black token in his hand. It was a metal token with the words "Divine Martial" engraved on one side and "Pass" on the other.

The Divine Martial Kingdom Passage—this was the priceless treasure Kotak spoke of.

Jiang Yanming shook his head slightly, then returned the token to Kotak: "You should keep this token."

"You don't want it?" Kotak took the token with a puzzled look.

Jiang Yanming shook his head: "I don't think I need this token."

"Huh?" Kotak was even more puzzled.

There are many descendants of the Divine Martial Kingdom in the Four Kingdoms Alliance, and many of them are skilled in martial arts. Not to mention, there are also some wealthy locals who fall ill and need to use a pass to travel to the Divine Martial Kingdom for medical treatment.

Because of the high demand, the pass was extremely valuable, and Kotak risked his life to obtain it.

"Since you don't want it, then this token..." Kotak looked at the token in his hand, unsure of what to do with it.

"Senior Brother, you can handle it however you want," Jiang Yanming suggested. "Perhaps you could consider giving the token to Senior Brother Qin."

"Give it to Second Junior Brother..." Kotak put the token away, as if he had made a decision.

"Senior Brother, could you give me a way to contact you?" Jiang Yanming said. "I'll contact you again once I break through to the Mingwu level."

"Okay." Kotak nodded.

He then exchanged contact information with Jiang Yanming and they went their separate ways.

After leaving the park, Jiang Yanming originally planned to go to Jingtao Martial Arts School, but he received a phone call on the way, which forced him to go to Xinyue University.