Next,
Martial Graduate Dan went on to explain the cultivation realms beyond the Qi Sensing Realm for Internal Martial Masters.
"Beyond the Qi Sensing Realm lie the three great realms: True Qi, Innate, and Grandmaster."
"At the True Qi Realm, an Internal Martial Master possesses the strength to contend with an External Martial Master. True Qi can be infused into weapons, and even plucking flowers and leaves can wound others."
"However, reaching this realm is impossible without thirty to fifty years of meditation, even for those blessed with exceptional talent."
"By then, one is already in the twilight of life. Even with such strength, it is of little use."
"One must make a name while young!"
"As for the Innate Realm..." At this point, Martial Graduate Dan revealed a trace of emotion in his eyes. "The Innate Realm is attainable by both External and Internal Martial Masters. External practitioners temper their marrow into their bones and cultivate a breath of Innate Qi... Your Martial Ancestor traveled far to Qing Feng Prefecture back then in order to break through this realm, and vanished without a trace."
"Later, an old acquaintance sent back his golden saber. Only then did I learn that he had died suddenly while in secluded cultivation."
"Since ancient times, the Innate has been difficult to attain. If one succeeds, according to your Martial Ancestor, one may live for two hundred years."
"Two hundred years?" Wei Tu, who stood nearby with his hands clasped, was deeply shaken upon hearing this.
He had once believed that martial masters were brave and ruthless, seldom dying of old age and more often meeting violent deaths.
Yet he had never expected that once martial masters reached the Innate Realm, they could live for two hundred years—living out a "second life."
"If martial masters of the Innate Realm are like this, then what of the Immortal Way? Eternal life and enduring sight may not be a dream after all."
"I possess the Late Bloomer Destiny. Perhaps... I can reach the Innate Realm and live to be two hundred..."
Wei Tu instinctively touched the spot between his brows, where his greatest secret lay hidden—the Golden Purple Destiny, "Late Bloomer."
"As for the Grandmaster Realm beyond the Innate Realm, I never heard your Martial Ancestor mention it. Later, when I exchanged insights on the Martial Way with my peers, they too did not know what mysteries this realm held."
Martial Graduate Dan sighed.
Though people respectfully addressed him as Martial Arts Master, on the path of the Martial Way, he was still like a child babbling its first words and learning to walk with unsteady steps.
Life has bounds, yet knowledge has none.
Now, he had already reached sixty. His body was gradually declining, old injuries surfaced one after another, and even his visits to the bedchamber had fallen from three times every ten days to twice, then once every ten days.
With his current physical condition, living another ten or twenty years would already be a gain.
Further advancement in the Martial Way...
That was impossible.
Upon returning to his room,
Wei Tu sank his consciousness into the space between his brows and examined his "Late Bloomer" Destiny.
Within his sea of consciousness,
The Golden Purple Destiny shone brilliantly, emanating the vast and ancient aura of passing years.
Beside it was inscribed the progress of Wei Tu's Health Cultivation Technique.
"Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique (83/100): Practice nine times a day, and it will be completed in five years."
"Over the past three months, the progress of the Health Cultivation Technique has only risen by 2%. During that time, learning archery and Horse Riding Skills did delay my practice, but I still kept to at least nine sessions a day..."
"It seems my guess was right. After the Health Cultivation Technique reaches great mastery, attaining completion, moving from the outside inward, and entering the Qi Sensing Realm will not be easy..."
Wei Tu glanced at the progress of the Health Cultivation Technique and silently sighed.
"Still, the five-year deadline will arrive in at most two years. By then, I can enter the Qi Sensing Realm."
At that thought, the dejection in Wei Tu's heart was swept away.
With the Late Bloomer Destiny at his side, so long as he remained steadfast and unyielding, he would surely achieve something.
His master, Martial Graduate Dan, had practiced martial arts for so many years, yet still had not moved from external training to internal training and entered the Qi Sensing Realm.
Yet he needed only five years to cultivate the Health Cultivation Technique to the Qi Sensing Realm. What was there for him to be dissatisfied with?
"Now that I have the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist manual in hand, I can test some of my guesses about the Late Bloomer Destiny..."
"For example, that warm current."
Lighting an oil lamp, Wei Tu opened the yellowed booklet and carefully studied every form of Stance Training in the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist.
Compared with the Health Cultivation Technique, the Stance Training of the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist was far more complex. Aside from forty-five basic stances, it was further divided into one hundred and four minor stances based on the Tiger Form Fist and Crane Form Fist.
"According to Master, my Stance Training has already reached great mastery, and my martial foundation is firm. These stances may seem cumbersome, but they are not difficult for me."
Several hours later, after Wei Tu finished reading the manual, he began clumsily practicing according to its illustrations.
Once.
Twice.
By the seventeenth time,
Just like with the Turtle Breathing Health Cultivation Technique, words and progress for the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist appeared within the Golden Purple Destiny.
"Tiger Crane Double Form Fist (1/100): Practice seven times a day, and it will be completed in three years."
"Three years? Two years shorter than the five years needed for the Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique?"
Wei Tu was astonished.
The Tiger Crane Double Form Fist was Martial Graduate Dan's treasured boxing and kicking technique, far superior to the commonplace Health Cultivation Techniques passed around among martial masters.
The complexity of these stances alone made it clear at a glance that the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist was difficult to learn and exceedingly intricate.
It was impossible that the time he needed to practice the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist would be shorter than that needed for the Turtle Breath Qi Cultivation Technique—let alone shorter by two whole years.
"The only explanation is that after my Health Cultivation Technique reached great mastery, I gained a martial foundation. Practicing the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist now yields twice the result with half the effort, so the time needed to cultivate it to completion is two years shorter than for the Health Cultivation Technique."
Wei Tu pondered.
Over the following days,
Apart from practicing archery and military strategy each day, Wei Tu devoted all his remaining time to practicing the Tiger Crane Double Form Fist.
Hard work did not betray those with determination.
This time, Wei Tu spent only a little over ten days before once again sensing the warm current that had appeared in his body when he practiced the Health Cultivation Technique.
"This shows that—"
"This warm current is not unique to the Health Cultivation Technique. It comes from my body, or rather, from the Golden Purple Destiny, Late Bloomer..."
"Though the Late Bloomer Destiny will not send me soaring to the heavens in a single step, so long as I persistently practice the corresponding technique, the Golden Purple Destiny will release this warm current, transforming my body and making it better suited to cultivate that technique."
In an instant, Wei Tu understood the function of his Late Bloomer Destiny, as well as its marvelous uses.
"In other words—"
"For me, there is no such thing as aptitude, nor are there any corresponding thresholds for cultivation. My aptitude is not fixed. So long as I have sufficient lifespan, the Golden Purple Destiny will transform me into the person best suited for that technique."
Joy appeared on Wei Tu's face.
The reason seven or eight out of every ten martial masters cultivated external techniques was not because external techniques surpassed True Internal Martial Arts Techniques.
It was because True Internal Martial Arts Techniques were too difficult. A martial master needed a certain degree of aptitude to sense Qi and move Internal Energy through the meridians.
Even after encountering a fortunate opportunity and successfully sensing Qi, it was still difficult to continue advancing afterward.
In comparison, external techniques could be seen and felt. In the eyes of ordinary people, they naturally surpassed True Internal Martial Arts Techniques.
However,
Wei Tu was different.
With the Late Bloomer Destiny empowering him, so long as he obtained a True Internal Martial Arts Technique and entered its gate, he could continue advancing all the way onward.
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