The Changes Brought by the Alliance

Zhao Donglai noticed his hands were trembling. He forced himself to calm down and asked again, "If a disciple wants to leave the alliance, are there any restrictions?"

Si Ming smiled and said, "No, not at all. Everything is free and open. You can choose to join or leave at will. The only drawback is that all your contributions will be reset to zero if you leave."

Of course it should be free! Look at Tencent's games, they're all free. You can play without spending money. As for their billions in revenue every year, that's because the players are so enthusiastic and there are so many big spenders who insist on paying. The game operators really have no choice; they can't let down the goodwill of their enthusiastic players, can they?

Admittedly, contribution points cannot be bought with money, so what Si Ming wants is not money, but something else.

Furthermore, through this exchange system, Si Ming hopes that in the future, he will be able to say something to the members of the alliance—

Greetings, fellow martial arts masters. I am your father.

Chapter 340 The Changes Brought About by the Alliance

Si Ming finally decided to name the alliance "Heavenly Martial Alliance," meaning to spread martial arts throughout the world, so that everyone in the world could learn martial arts. As for other names like World Society or Yingxiong Meng, although they sound nice, he neither wanted to dominate the world nor believed that everyone could become a hero.

From the moment of its establishment, the Heavenly Martial Alliance was destined to be an organization open to the masses, not a group of a select few. Therefore, Si Ming established three simple and clear rules:

1. Contribution points are non-transferable and non-tradeable, and can only be used by the holder. Once the holder dies, the contribution points are cleared to zero.

Second, the martial arts techniques exchanged can only be viewed in the Flame Transmission Tower and cannot be taken out or privately passed on. Once discovered, one will be considered an enemy of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, and those with serious offenses will be sentenced to death.

Third, joining the alliance requires a guarantor. In addition to the leaders of each sect, each alliance member can act as a guarantor for a maximum of three people. If something goes wrong, the guarantor will also be punished accordingly, with penalties ranging from deduction of contribution points and reduction of privileges to being kicked out of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, depending on the severity of the offense.

The first rule is to prevent members from killing each other in order to compete for contribution points. The Heavenly Martial Alliance is not Evil Dao organization, so it will not promote the method of raising Gu poison.

The second rule is to maintain the fairness of the alliance and prevent members who have worked hard to complete the mission from feeling cheated. As for the leak of martial arts skills, Si Ming himself is not very concerned.

The third rule, on the surface, is meant to set a threshold, but in reality, it's for expansion. It only mentions guarantors and has no other requirements or conditions. Even if someone has never practiced martial arts, as long as someone vouches for them, they can join the Heavenly Martial Alliance. Of course, to prevent situations where "I vouch for you first, and then you vouch for my friend," a three-month assessment period is usually set up. Only those who pass the assessment can have the authority to vouch.

Currently, in the Heavenly Martial Alliance, contribution points can be exchanged for three types of items: the first is martial arts, which is the most basic; the second is martial arts guidance, such as having Zhao Donglai teach you martial arts step by step, which is similar to having a private tutor. The most expensive option is to have the Alliance Leader provide martial arts guidance, which costs 5,000 contribution points per session; the third is Soul Intent Diagram by Hongdou, with the price calculated based on the number of days.

At first, no one knew what the Soul Intent Diagram was, especially since the price was very high. The contribution points for watching "Mighty Eagle Claw Art" for a month were the same as the price of a copy of "Mighty Eagle Claw Art." Therefore, no one was willing to waste their precious contribution points. It wasn't until Liang Zhenhuan took the risk and tried it that everyone suddenly became enthusiastic and flocked to it. As a result, it became necessary to make an appointment to watch the Soul Intent Diagram because Soul Intent Diagram required a lot of mental energy. Even though Hongdou worked day and night, the number was very limited.

Depending on an individual's level of comprehension, practicing martial arts with the help of the Soul Intent Diagram can increase the speed by three to ten times. In other words, a martial art that others take three or ten years to learn can be learned in one year. This is already the level of those genius martial artists. Young talents like Liang Zhenhuan, who already have considerable talent, can reach the level of unparalleled geniuses after improvement.

Time is life. Even if people haven't heard this saying before, they instinctively understand this principle. Everyone admires a master who becomes famous at twenty, but a master who becomes famous at thirty becomes just another ordinary person. Besides, everyone around you is using Soul Intent Diagram to make rapid progress. Can you really settle down and cultivate at a snail's pace?

After joining the Heavenly Martial Alliance, Origin Return Sect became bustling with activity. Disciples were busy cultivating every day or discussing how powerful each martial art was. Disciples who practiced the same martial art shared their experiences and insights. No one thought about cockfighting or dog walking to pass the time. The pace of life suddenly shifted from an ancient mode to a modern mode.

The reason they used to practice only sporadically was because they didn't know many martial arts techniques. They could only practice one or two sets of techniques. After all, they were just apprentices, the lowest-ranking members of the sect. Zhao Donglai couldn't possibly teach them the martial arts techniques that he taught to the direct disciples. Apart from those genius martial artists, many people would hardly see much progress even if they practiced for a month.

Since there's not much difference between diligent and lazy people, why bother with hard work and self-cultivation?

People with self-discipline are ultimately a tiny minority. In fact, those with such self-control can be called geniuses and have long been recognized by their elders and taken in as their personal disciples.

Ordinary people can only see three days ahead; three months ahead is too far away for them, and three years is a matter for the next life.

But things are different now. They can practice countless martial arts techniques, and they only regret that they don't have enough contribution points. They can only drool over those powerful martial arts techniques.

In the past, if you slacked off for a month, there wasn't much difference between you and your fellow apprentices. But now, if you rest for ten days, you'll find that your friends, who used to be on par with you, are beating you up like chickens.

Most people can accept that the children of the wealthy are richer than themselves and will not feel competitive. However, if a neighbor who was just as poor suddenly becomes richer than them, they will feel uncomfortable, especially if they also know the same ways to make money.

As a result, all the disciples of the Origin Return Sect transformed into cultivation fanatics, immersing themselves day and night in the ocean of martial arts, unable to extricate themselves.

"Junior Brother Hou, your footwork is nimble and your movements are agile. Based on my many years of martial arts experience, the 'Snake and Crane Eight Strikes' is the most suitable martial art for you."

"Junior Brother Hou, don't be fooled. Senior Brother Ding has learned the 'Qimen Three Talents Saber,' a saber technique specifically designed to counter the 'Snake and Crane Eight Strikes,' which is why he tricked you into learning it. Why don't you learn the 'Returning Wind Brushing Willow Sword' with me? You see, in those martial arts stories, the protagonist always wields a sword."

"Junior Brother Hou, don't listen to them. Swordsmanship and saber techniques are just external skills, secondary details. The most important thing for us martial artists is our own cultivation. Therefore, Internal Cultivation is the most crucial. It may not seem very powerful at first, but given time, as our Internal Cultivation deepens, every move we make will have the strength of a tiger. At that time, even the most rudimentary martial arts can unleash tremendous power."

"Junior Brother Ma, please stop misleading others and yourselves. When the sect leader announced the joining of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, many people couldn't wait to exchange their contribution points for Internal Cultivation, fearing they wouldn't have the chance in the future. And now? These people are kicking themselves, because they've become the group with the lowest martial arts skills in the sect. I could beat them with one hand. Of course, we all know the importance of Internal Cultivation, but they take a long time to show Internal Cultivation. It takes one or two years to see any effects. It's better to learn Swordsmanship and saber techniques first to improve our martial arts. That way, we can complete more tasks, get more contribution points, and directly exchange them for the most expensive Internal Cultivation in the martial arts manual in the future."

"Stop arguing, hurry over to the martial arts arena, Young Master Jiaren wants to spar with his senior brother!"

"No way, wasn't it said that Young Master Jiaren couldn't practice martial arts before? Even though he became the leader's disciple, it's only been less than a month. What could he possibly learn in such a short time? How could he possibly be a match for Senior Brother?"

"If Young Master Jiaren had apprenticed under someone else, I also think it's impossible for him to have done so in a month. But his master is the Alliance Leader. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if anything happened to the Alliance Leader."

The group argued amongst themselves as they arrived at the martial arts arena, only to find that Zhao Jiaren and Zhao Yili had already sparred. After all, it was just a friendly exchange between fellow disciples, so there was no need for any ceremony or lengthy discussions before the fight began.

Zhao Yili still used the Five Elements Lost Track Fist, which he was most familiar with. Compared to other disciples, he had studied the Origin Return Sect's unique skills and his need for ordinary martial arts was only average. So he exchanged 500 contribution points for the "Lesser Yang Art Upper Part" without hesitation. However, Internal Cultivation is slow to take effect. Although he cultivated True Qi using the Soul Intent Diagram, his progress was very limited in less than a month.

In contrast, Zhao Jiaren seemed to have undergone a complete transformation. He no longer had the excessive indulgence he once had. His eyes shone brightly, and he was full of energy. Although he still retained some of the traits of a scholar, he was more like a Confucian general than a weak and helpless bookish man.

Zhao Jiaren's palm strikes were light and gentle, like drifting smoke, avoiding the strong and striking the weak; the move he used was the "Cloud and Mist Palm".

According to the martial arts ranking system of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, the Cloud Smoke Cloud and Mist Palm is a relatively cheap mid-grade martial art, requiring only 1,200 contribution points, which is less than some low-grade Internal Cultivation methods. As for its advanced martial art, the Ethereal Cloud and Mist Palm, it is a high-grade martial art.

On the field, Zhao Yili had the upper hand, launching a relentless attack with his Rising Flame Fist, forcing Zhao Jiaren to retreat step by step. However, his advantage was slow to translate into victory.

Zhao Yili had originally thought that Zhao Jiaren, having just recovered from a long illness, would be Qi and Blood and unable to fight for long periods. He believed that Zhao Jiaren would eventually run out of energy if he only defended. However, Zhao Jiaren's body was not particularly strong, but his internal Internal Cultivation was very refined and his breathing was long, which made up for his lack of strength and endurance.

It turns out that Zhao Jiaren was weak from childhood and unable to practice martial arts, so Zhao Donglai secretly taught him the "Origin Return Art". He discovered that after practicing Internal Cultivation, people would become more sharp-witted and quick-witted, and would be able to study more efficiently. So he simply set aside some time every day to practice Internal Cultivation, and now he has reached the Internal Cultivation Level Five.

To be honest, Zhao Jiaren has exceptional martial arts talent and is hardworking. If he had been born in Su State and received proper martial arts guidance, his Internal Cultivation would probably have reached level eight by now.

Fortunately, it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. Based on Zhao Jiaren's physique, Si Ming passed on to him the "Divine Firmament Heart Method," which is the basic Internal Cultivation of the Divine Firmament Sect of Daoism. The Shenxiao Divine Firmament Sect has always been famous for its Thunder Method, which is a perfect match for his physique. Now he has transformed all the Origin Return True Qi in his body into Divine Firmament True Qi, and he is making rapid progress in his daily practice.

The Cloud and Mist Palm is not good at offense, but it is extremely good at defense. In addition, Zhao Jiaren has been exposed to it since childhood and is also very familiar with the Five Elements Lost Track Fist. Therefore, he still performed quite well despite lacking martial arts experience.

Zhao Jiaren could accept a draw, but Zhao Yili could not. He was a martial arts practitioner since childhood, yet he couldn't beat a novice who had only been training for a month. No matter how powerful the legendary Sick Young Master was, others would still laugh at his incompetence.

So, after he finished using the Rising Flame Fist, he didn't follow the principle of fire generating earth and use Earth Harmony Fist. Instead, he switched to the equally fierce Metal Splitting Fist, creating a series of piercing sounds as he tried to increase the pressure.

However, his actions resulted in a slight stagnation during the transition between fist techniques. Zhao Jiaren immediately demonstrated his exceptional martial arts talent, seizing this opening, concentrating his True Qi at his fingertips, and striking Zhao Yili's wrist with a single finger.

Zhao Yili suddenly felt an electric current surge up his wrist, making half of his body numb and even causing his hair to stand on end, resembling a punk rock style.