https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-377-Secret-Spirit-Masters-and-Martial-Artists-the-Differences-in-the-Secret-Martial-World/12850890/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-379-The-Dao-of-the-Mystic-Lord-Life-and-Death-as-a-Dream/12850892/
Chapter 378: The Path of Martial Arts, Who Wields the Will?
Chapter 378: The Path of Martial Arts, Who Wields the Will?
"Truly an interesting differentiation. The schools of martial artists are categorized by animals, while the organizations of secret spirit masters are expressed through plants."
Qin Muye, seated in the Endless Abyss, flipped through a large amount of intelligence. Of course, this wasn't his true form, but rather the shadowy avatar manifested by the abyss, the Book of the Sage.
"At first, I thought it was just an imitation by the Secret Martial artists, but I didn't expect there to be such a genuine distinction."
"The cultivation of both has extremely similar aspects. For example, Secret Martial artists need to train from a young age to best manifest the characteristics of their school, and secret spirits also need to be transplanted early on to achieve better symbiosis."
Qin Muye, looking at the intelligence consolidated from a vast amount of information, was somewhat surprised.
"The best age is around five years old, not only for building a foundation but also for cultivating loyalty."
"As for those who start later in life, their achievements are generally not high, due to inherent differences."
Talent needs to be guided and cultivated from a young age. One shouldn't assume that everyone is a protagonist, able to casually train and surpass those carefully cultivated geniuses in a short time after their bones have already set. Those geniuses are the ones with special advantages; ordinary people simply don't have that opportunity. Once missed, it's missed forever, with no chance for redemption.
Qin Muye himself had to rely on modifications to overcome these defects; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to achieve these things at all.
"The martial will and secret spirits are key; I need to conduct further research." Qin Muye instructed Tianqi to bring a martial artist up.
Soon, a muscular and robust martial artist was brought up by the Tianqi goblin, bound and clearly injected with a large amount of anesthetic and magical sedation.
"A Soul Nurturing stage martial artist, one of the lowest levels. Resources or talent must not have been very good; otherwise, he should have reached the Spirit Tempering stage by this age." Qin Muye touched the man's bones, estimating his age to be around thirty-five. At this age, he should have been beyond this stage.
Martial artists are divided into five stages: Body Forging, Intent Cultivation, Soul Nurturing, Spirit Tempering, and True Martial.
If cultivated from a young age with ample resources, most Secret Martial true disciples can reach the Spirit Tempering stage. The martial artist in front of him, however, was only at the Soul Nurturing stage, clearly indicating his limited strength.
Like the previously deceased Wu Dao and the Li Xiang who fled back to the Mad Lion School, both were at the Spirit Tempering stage.
As for the final stage, True Martial, it is far more difficult to achieve. Being the highest tier, it is not easily attainable.
The system is somewhat peculiar. Body Forging and Intent Cultivation are both considered stage 2, with Intent Cultivation being crucial. It refers to the period of training and condensing the martial will, the duration of which depends on individual talent, financial investment, and effort. If all three conditions are met, it might take just one day.
Soul Nurturing corresponds to stage 3, Spirit Tempering to stage 4, and True Martial to stage 5. The higher the stage, the fewer the practitioners. In larger schools, there might be a dozen True Martial martial artists, while in smaller ones, there might be only one as the school's leader. If a school lacks a True Martial martial artist, it will be dissolved unless a new one emerges.
There is also a stage called Supreme, or stage 6, although the goblins have not yet found any stage 6 practitioners, possibly because these old monsters are hiding.
However, both the secret spirit master and martial artist intelligence systems have records of the existence of the Supreme stage.
It's important to note that each time a practitioner reaches a corresponding stage, their lifespan is extended to a certain degree. As the current highest known stage, stage 5, they can live for about 500 years, provided they aren't killed. If they are killed, they lose everything.
"Where exactly does the martial will reside? From what I can see, it doesn't seem to be in the physical body but rather in the spiritual realm."
If it's in the spiritual realm, the brain is the most logical choice. Where else could it be?
The dissection went smoothly. Although the man's skull was quite hard, it was no match for the equipment in Qin Muye's laboratory.
As for why Qin Muye, in the space age, still uses dissection, a wasteful method, he argues that there are plenty of test subjects. Dissection allows for the most direct observation of the internal structure, and if any problems arise, he can simply replace the subject. Why not?
"The brain does show some degree of mutation, but it's not what I imagined as the martial will. Instead, it affects reaction and intuition, suggesting that while the martial will is understood through the brain, it doesn't reside in the brain?"
Qin Muye narrowed his eyes and then focused on the martial artist's arm.
This martial artist was from the Heavenly Eagle School, specializing in the Secret Martial technique, Fierce Eagle Claw. The lineage was very well-established and could be considered one of the best among all Secret Martial techniques, complete with secret medicines, breathing methods, tempering methods, and martial techniques.
The evaluation of a Secret Martial lineage does not depend on its power but on its completeness and the smoothness of cultivation. A lineage that is complete and allows for continuous advancement, including foundational and advanced methods, is considered a superior lineage.
"From the foundational Eagle Claw technique to the current Fierce Eagle Claw, if he could cultivate this Secret Martial technique to its peak at the Spirit Tempering stage, he could further advance to the Divine Eagle Claw, becoming a pillar of the Heavenly Eagle School's claw lineage."
Each Secret Martial technique has a vast lineage. If the lineage is broken or damaged, it will inevitably lead to the decline of the entire school.
The Heavenly Eagle School is not a small school but rather a medium to large-sized one, with influence spanning several cities.
As a martial artist primarily cultivating claw techniques, Qin Muye naturally focused on the entire arm.
However, this does not mean that he only trained his hands. The strengthening of the body, the improvement of reactions, and other aspects all have corresponding exercises. Claw techniques are prominent, but other techniques such as footwork and leg techniques are also practiced, albeit as supplementary methods. Otherwise, he would be nothing more than a pair of strong arms and legs.
When Qin Muye started dissecting, he clearly felt a slight resistance, but this was not significant in his hands. The resistance was slightly different from when he dissected the skull, which made Qin Muye realize something was off.
He had precise control over his force, so when he encountered resistance, he naturally used a bit more strength.
The muscles on the arm began to break down, looking somewhat strange.
"Interesting, it seems like a passive counterattack. Is it a bodily instinct?" Qin Muye felt that every bit of flesh and bone in the martial artist's body was trying to resist.
It was as if the body was defending itself against an invasion.
"Pity, it's just a group of scattered guerrillas, still lacking quite a bit."
"According to martial artists, he has spirit but lacks divinity, his martial will is still lacking."
The system of martial artists is very unique. Although it is based on the physical body, after the Body Forging stage, the focus is on enhancing the martial will. Other aspects are merely supplementary, and the martial will continuously elevates their strength.
Spirit Tempering stage martial artists can even sense an enemy's killing intent in their sleep and manifest their martial will as a living entity.
When Wu Dao and Li Xiang fought, the vivid dark snake and raging lion were proof of this.
"Tsk, I can't help but feel there's some kind of conspiracy theory."
Soon, Qin Muye extracted a certain ethereal entity from the martial artist, codenamed Heavenly Eagle.
A golden eagle, spreading its wings, almost entirely ethereal, as if it could dissipate at any moment, with lifeless, wooden eyes, like a puppet.
The only difference was that the eagle's claws were particularly real, with clear details and a sharp, menacing appearance.
The core of the entire eagle was in its claws.
"This isn't a conspiracy theory, I don't believe it!" Qin Muye watched as the golden eagle dissipated. After all, it was just extracted and separated from the martial artist's body, so it naturally couldn't last long.
"This should be his martial will, but it's incomplete and seems to have been artificially divided. Hmm, good idea!"
Incomplete means that the golden eagle would only have spirit after reaching the Spirit Tempering stage, not just a shell like it is now. The good idea refers to how these schools divide a complete martial will into parts to assist in the cultivation of other secondary techniques.
Thus, even if a martial artist reaches the True Martial stage, they won't be killed by their martial will unless they cultivate all the school's Secret Martial techniques to their peak, which would be disastrous.
"Could secret spirit masters also have this drawback?" Qin Muye pondered. If the martial will of martial artists who cultivate Secret Martial techniques has issues, then the secret spirit masters, who are part of the same extraordinary system, must have similar problems. Otherwise, how could they be evenly matched, rather than one side completely overwhelming the other?
(End of Chapter)
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