Permanent Martial Arts Chapter 1972: Severing the Present!

Lin Feng had once assumed that after cutting off the future, severing the present and even the past to achieve transcendence over spacetime would be a natural progression, devoid of significant obstacles.

However, he now realized that severing the future was merely the opening act.

In truth, if one sought to transcend spacetime, both the origin and the result were vital. Specifically, the past spacetime held a formidable spacetime inertia. No matter how many alterations occurred previously, everything would revert to its original state once one stepped into the past spacetime.

There existed only one past. It was eternal and fixed. This was the core essence of spacetime!

Countless spacetime cultivators had successfully severed the future and the present. Yet, every single one of them had ultimately met with failure upon entering the past spacetime.

Lin Feng lacked absolute certainty. He did not consider himself to be uniquely special.

After a long period of reflection, Lin Feng looked up and spoke in a low tone, “Regardless of how arduous severing the past might be, cutting off the future is a promising start. I doubt any cultivator would turn down the chance to transcend, even if only a theoretical possibility remains. Tell me, how do I sever the present?”

Lin Feng’s gaze burned with intense resolve.

No matter the power of the past spacetime, Lin Feng refused to retreat. Furthermore, he was now free of all burdens. His solitary objective was transcendence!

He sought to become truly liberated and without restraint.

This was the ultimate purpose of cultivation!

A grin touched the lips of the white-haired old man. He nodded and replied, “Exactly, that is the spirit a cultivator should possess! Severing the present is actually quite straightforward, particularly since you’ve already severed the future. It is constantly reflected within spacetime. For instance, your current self exists within the present spacetime. Do you truly not know how to cut it away?”

The words of the white-haired old man acted as a sudden epiphany, jolting Lin Feng into clarity.

It was true. The future was a mystery and the past was fixed; both required exploration by the individual. Entering the future or the past was an immense challenge, making them difficult to sever.

The present, however, was a different matter entirely.

To a cultivator, the present spacetime was the only thing truly tangible. As long as they were not drifting in the past or future, they were constantly situated within the present spacetime.

Since he had already managed to sever the future spacetime, could severing the present really be that difficult?

“I see. My thanks!”

Lin Feng bowed his head toward the white-haired old man to show his appreciation. Though Lin Feng might have eventually reached this conclusion on his own, it would not have happened nearly as quickly.

As for the matter of severing the past?

The white-haired old man lacked the authority to offer guidance there, and in truth, even the current Lin Feng possessed the ability to step into the past.

Nevertheless, Lin Feng was well aware that he must first sever the present spacetime and ensure his preparations were absolute.

Lin Feng bid the white-haired old man farewell and departed.

He began to carefully attune his state of being. More accurately, he was constantly feeling for the present spacetime that enveloped him at every passing second.

The present spacetime was also a manifestation of spacetime power.

In other words, as long as Lin Feng could perceive the spacetime rules, they represented the current era.

Severing the present was essentially the act of cutting the bond between the "self" and the current spacetime. This followed the same principle Lin Feng used when he severed the future; he merely had to disconnect himself from the present.

Since Lin Feng could already perceive the rules of the present spacetime with such clarity, how could severing it be a hardship?

The answer, naturally, was that it wasn't!

“Sever!”

Lin Feng’s preparations were complete. He let out a low shout. Instantly, the spacetime power throughout his body surged, clashing and intertwining with the rules of the present.

Were there traces of Lin Feng in the present at every moment?

This served as the sole "evidence" of Lin Feng’s existence. Without it, how could his presence be "verified"?

All living things dwell in the present. They can only manifest within the now.

Proof of one's existence seemed to permeate everything.

But now, following Lin Feng’s full-strength strike, it was as if every trace of his aura had vanished. Even his spacetime power seemed to have evaporated.

Even if spacetime power remained, it was the internal power of Lin Feng’s medium chiliocosm. It no longer held any connection to the external spacetime rules.

The outside spacetime could no longer detect Lin Feng.

To put it another way, Lin Feng no longer existed within this spacetime, this timeline, or the present moment.

“Is the present severed just like that? What a strange sensation…”

Lin Feng felt a truly bizarre shift in perception.

In his sight, all the rules of the present spacetime resembled a massive, intricate net of overlapping threads. Those cultivators and lifeforms who had yet to sever the present were all caught tightly within this sprawling web.

Furthermore, every vibration in this net could be projected to create infinite variations in the future spacetime.

He had successfully severed both the future and the present. Of the three milestones required for Lin Feng to achieve transcendence over spacetime, only the final one remained.

Having cut off the future and the present, Lin Feng finally seemed to grasp the link between the now and the yet-to-come. The fundamental nature of the entire universe was laid bare before him.

The present was inextricably tied to the future.

The grand web of spacetime was entirely interconnected. The reason the future held infinite possibilities was that every tiny action and shift in the present triggered countless ripples in the future.

While everyone in the present was tied to the future by a multitude of threads, there was only a single thread leading back to the past. No matter who they were, only one path connected them backward.

Lin Feng even noticed the white-haired old man. He, too, was tethered by just one thread.

Previously, Lin Feng could not discern the white-haired old man's level of power. Even after severing the future, his realm remained a mystery.

But now, Lin Feng had a vague understanding.

The white-haired old man had already severed both the future and the present. However, he had failed to conquer the past spacetime. It was possible he had entered it and become lost in oblivion, only to be saved by Dawn.

Only Dawn possessed the power to rescue someone who had vanished into the oblivion of the past!

Dawn had already moved beyond the past, present, and future. In other words, Dawn had long since achieved transcendence and attained true liberty. To Dawn, there was no distinction between the past and the future.

Because of this, Dawn could pull the white-haired old man back and prevent him from being lost in the past forever. This explained why the old man possessed such profound knowledge of the past.

It was because the white-haired old man had once been swallowed by the past himself!

However, while the old man was fortunate enough to have Dawn to wake him, other spacetime cultivators were far less lucky. Once they were consumed by the past spacetime, they would remain in that oblivion for all eternity, never to wake again.