Second-rate Martial Art

"Second-rate martial arts are considered a foundation in any faction, at least here in Lin'an County City, because second-rate martial arts already allow one to explore the Blood Circulation realm."

Inside the side hall of the Ninth Squad's base, Wang Sanyang said with a smile, holding his wine cup.

Opposite him sat Lin Sheng, dressed in a loose black robe.

He wore this attire because after mastering the Raging Bull Fist and the White Ape Leg Technique, his physique had become significantly stronger. His arms and legs, in particular, were almost a full size larger than before.

The White Ape Leg Technique was one thing; he hadn't heard of anyone in the Beast Hunter Hall practicing it, so others wouldn't be able to discern much. But the Raging Bull Fist was different. Almost everyone in the Beast Hunter Hall practiced it, and Wang Sanyang and the others had already cultivated it to the Great Accomplishment stage.

His arms had changed considerably after reaching Great Accomplishment. If they noticed anything, it would be difficult for him to explain, so he decided to cover them with his clothes.

"You asked about our Town Mountain Tower's second-rate martial arts just now, Lin Sheng. Actually, we don't have many. As far as I know, only three."

"Thirty-Six Hand Strikes, Eagle Claw Thousand Jin Strength, and finally the Vajra Twelve Forms. Thirty-Six Hand Strikes and Eagle Claw Thousand Jin Strength are both hand techniques, while Vajra Twelve Forms is a saber technique."

Upon hearing this, Lin Sheng nodded, his gaze falling on Wang Sanyang's hands.

He hadn't seen Wang Sanyang use any saber techniques. The second-rate martial art the man practiced was likely one of the first two.

Noticing Lin Sheng's gaze, Wang Sanyang said with a smile.

"Don't look. I practice Thirty-Six Hand Strikes. Among these three second-rate martial arts, this one is the least difficult. However, it's still much stronger than something like the Raging Bull Fist."

As he spoke, Wang Sanyang, as if to show off, placed a finger on the wine cup in front of him, directly creating two clear finger marks on it.

Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed at this sight.

Leaving finger marks on a wine cup wasn't the difficult part. The real feat was doing so without breaking the cup. This level of control over strength was quite impressive.

With his current strength, he might not be able to achieve this.

"How about that? Compared to third-rate martial arts, second-rate martial arts don't show a huge difference in terms of strength and physical conditioning enhancement during the early stages of Body Tempering or even Muscle Forging. At least, not as much as one might imagine. However, the difference in refinement is considerable, meaning the control and application of strength."

"There's such a thing?"

Lin Sheng was taken aback. This was truly the first time he had heard about the actual difference between second-rate and third-rate martial arts.

"Of course, there is. Lin Sheng, you haven't been practicing the Martial Way for long, so it's normal for you not to know these things."

Wang Sanyang said with a smile, taking another gulp of wine.

"Actually, the strength contained within the human body is far greater than what we typically display. However, we can only utilize a portion of it. The main function of martial arts is to enhance physique and strength, but they also allow us to better utilize the power within our bodies."

"For example, if an ordinary person's strength is 200 jin, they can only exert less than 100 jin in their daily life. This ratio is around 40% or even lower. A martial artist who cultivates a third-rate martial art and reaches the early stage of Muscle Forging can exert about 60-70% of their maximum strength."

"A martial artist who cultivates a second-rate martial art and reaches the early stage of Muscle Forging can exert about 80% of their maximum strength."

"This 10-20% difference might seem small, but in actual combat, it provides a significant advantage. The 'maximum strength' I'm referring to isn't just about brute force; it applies equally to agility and speed. This means the opponent's speed and strength can essentially completely suppress a martial artist practicing a third-rate martial art."

Wang Sanyang spoke with a hint of wistfulness, as if he had suffered losses in this regard before.

After listening to Wang Sanyang's explanation, Lin Sheng nodded thoughtfully.

He hadn't expected that the grade of martial arts would have such a difference.

What Wang Sanyang said was not wrong. Battles between martial artists are often decided in the blink of an eye. If you have greater strength and speed, you can defeat your opponent.

Lin Sheng deeply understood the difference of 10-20% in strength and speed, as he had the clearest perception of this aspect from the integration effect.

As for the human limit the other party mentioned, he had encountered scientific discussions about this in his previous life.

A normal person's strength could be enough to kill a bull with a single punch, but the human body's density wasn't sufficient to support such an explosive release of power.

In his previous life, news reports mentioned a woman who, in order to save her child trapped under a small car, lifted a truck with her bare hands.

There were many such examples, but without exception, they were followed by unavoidable muscle and bone damage, or even severe illness.

"Captain Wang, if second-rate martial arts allow one to exert 80% of their maximum strength, can first-rate martial arts allow one to exert their full strength?"

Lin Sheng looked at Wang Sanyang and asked.

"That's right. First-rate martial arts not only provide extremely powerful enhancements to all aspects of the body, but they also elevate the control over one's strength to an extremely high level, allowing one to fully exert their capabilities. I've even heard that some first-rate martial arts can unleash strength beyond one's limits..."

"Strength beyond one's limits!?"

Lin Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, that's correct. In addition, some secret techniques can also achieve this, but surpassing limits imposes very strict requirements on the individual."

Wang Sanyang said seriously.

"Such secret techniques are also extremely rare, and their value might even exceed that of ordinary first-rate martial arts. Our Town Mountain Tower has reached its current standing not only because of the first-rate martial art Nine Oxen Two Tiger Saber but also due to a burst secret technique. Only with these could we establish ourselves in Lin'an County City and take control of Yangping Mountain."

"Nine Oxen Two Tiger Saber, burst secret technique."

Lin Sheng felt that this trip was worthwhile. This information was already considered a secret within Town Mountain Tower.

Furthermore, this knowledge about the Martial Way was something ordinary martial artists would likely never learn if they weren't in Town Mountain Tower.

This was the advantage of major powers; in terms of cultivation, they possessed insights far beyond those of lone practitioners.

"One more question, Captain Wang."

Lin Sheng raised his wine cup to toast the other man and continued to ask, taking this opportunity to voice all his doubts.

"Feel free to ask anything." Wang Sanyang waved his hand dismissively.

"Since martial arts strengthen the body by refining one's Blood Essence, and third-rate martial arts are inferior to second-rate martial arts in terms of refinement ceiling and efficiency, can cultivating multiple third-rate martial arts simultaneously break through the ceiling and reach the late stage of Muscle Forging?"

Lin Sheng considered for a moment before asking.

He hadn't thought about this question before, but now that both his Raging Bull Fist and White Ape Leg Technique were mastered, he had some guesses.

"Well..." Wang Sanyang was taken aback, as if he hadn't considered the question. However, he quickly chuckled and said, "I didn't expect you to ask this, Lin Sheng. Theoretically, it might be possible, but I don't think anyone has ever tried it. After all, who would focus their energy on third-rate martial arts?"

"Doing so would be like cutting off your own path. While cultivating multiple third-rate martial arts will strengthen a person's abilities, it also consumes a lot of time. With that much time, why not choose to cultivate second-rate or even first-rate martial arts? As long as you achieve something, you can step into a higher realm."

As he spoke, Wang Sanyang's face showed a thoughtful expression, as if recalling something. After a pause, he continued.

"I heard from Tian Tou that the human body has a limit, and the cultivation of each martial art leaves an imprint on the body. These imprints are distributed throughout the body. While cultivating multiple martial arts can make you stronger in combat, it's not absolute.

Take fist techniques and leg techniques, for example. One targets the upper body, the other the lower body. To master the muscles and meridians involved in these martial arts, every part of your body, from the inside out, must cooperate to achieve optimal power output. One or two might not show much, but if you cultivate three, four, or even five or six martial arts simultaneously, your body will be subtly altered by these cultivation methods, and that is definitely not a good thing."

"This will make your body's meridians and internal structure a mess, alter your bone structure, and lead to counterproductive results where you achieve half the effort for twice the work. Even a peerless genius might be completely crippled, unable to master any martial art. That's the best-case scenario; in severe cases, you could suffer from qi deviation, even physical collapse, and a significantly shortened lifespan, with sudden death being quite common."

At this point, Wang Sanyang's gaze fell on Lin Sheng, examining him from head to toe with a serious expression as he cautioned.

"So, Lin Sheng, you must remember this: never be greedy when it comes to martial arts. Otherwise, you'll not only waste your talent but might not even be able to keep your life in the end."

"I understand, Captain Wang. Rest assured."

Lin Sheng's face also turned serious, and he immediately nodded in agreement.

Wang Sanyang's words deeply moved him. Upon careful consideration, they made perfect sense.

"Since cultivating multiple martial arts is not advisable, why does the tower begin its martial arts cultivation with Raging Bull Fist?"

Lin Sheng voiced his inner question.

This was something he had wanted to ask for a long time. Since the Raging Bull Fist's limit was only the early stage of Muscle Forging, and one had to switch to a second-rate martial art to continue progressing, why not start directly with a second-rate or even first-rate martial art?

As for concerns about martial arts techniques being leaked, they could be addressed by teaching them in stages.

"The higher the grade of the martial art, the higher the starting point and the greater the achievement in cultivation. However, the difficulty of cultivation also increases. For most people with average aptitude, third-rate martial arts are more suitable. They don't require too many resources; all it takes is time and diligent practice to achieve results."

Wang Sanyang replied without hesitation.

"Of course, this only applies to ordinary people. For those with outstanding talent, higher-grade martial arts are more suitable."

As he spoke, Wang Sanyang lowered his voice slightly.

"However, the value of second-rate martial arts far surpasses that of third-rate martial arts. In the black market, you can buy a third-rate martial art for a few hundred taels of silver, but a second-rate martial art costs at least several thousand taels, and they are often unavailable even with money. You might not be able to buy them even if you have the funds."

"Therefore, second-rate martial arts are also quite important to the major powers in the city. Even if someone has talent, they won't be taught them easily."

At this point, Wang Sanyang sighed softly.

"Lin Sheng, do you know how long I've been with Town Mountain Tower?"

"It should be about ten years, right?"

Lin Sheng estimated. He only knew that Wang Sanyang was an old member of Town Mountain Tower, having worked in other departments before joining the Beast Hunter Hall.

"Heh heh... No, I've been in Town Mountain Tower for nearly 20 years."

Wang Sanyang revealed a hint of self-mockery on his face.

"Although I, Wang, am not a genius like you, Lin Sheng, I consider myself to have some talent. At the age of twenty-seven, I had already mastered the Raging Bull Fist and entered the early stage of Muscle Forging. Three years later, I finally obtained the preliminary cultivation method for the Thirty-Six Hand Strikes. Otherwise, I might have already attempted to enter the late stage of Muscle Forging by now, and I wouldn't be much worse than Ma Long."

Hearing this, Lin Sheng's brow furrowed slightly.

Now that he had mastered two third-rate martial arts, he planned to obtain his next second-rate martial art from Town Mountain Tower. From the looks of it, Town Mountain Tower's emphasis on second-rate martial arts seemed much stricter than he had imagined.

When Lin Sheng emerged from the base, his mood grew heavier.

He learned from Wang Sanyang that Town Mountain Tower's control over second-rate martial arts was the most lenient among the major powers in the county city.

Although it required several years of observation, and the cultivation methods provided were only early-stage fragments, at least the techniques themselves were not problematic.

Other major powers in the city, even if they didn't have the so-called observation period, provided cultivation methods that contained various forms of restraint.

The deeper one's cultivation realm, the greater the restraint. This could be through long-term consumption of poisonous pills or hidden traps within the cultivation method itself, which could easily cripple one's cultivation. These methods were more insidious than those of Town Mountain Tower.

The situation in government offices or the military was slightly better. While they didn't use poisonous pills or flawed techniques for control, they employed other methods of restraint.

In short, the control over cultivation techniques and martial arts was quite strict.

In comparison, Town Mountain Tower was relatively better in this regard.

Although, given his displayed talent, it was highly unlikely he would have to spend an extra two or three years for instruction like Wang Sanyang, the delay would still be considerable.

To obtain the cultivation method for a second-rate martial art from Town Mountain Tower, he would at least need to publicly master the Raging Bull Fist.

And that would be at least half a year later, as others perceived him to have only just broken through the Body Tempering stage.

"It seems my idea of obtaining a second-rate martial art from Town Mountain Tower needs to change."

As he walked back, he pondered his next plan.

Under these circumstances, he couldn't obtain a second-rate martial art from Town Mountain Tower in a short period, let alone a first-rate martial art.

This was the plight of ordinary people without background or resources.

Even with talent, without suitable cultivation methods, they would be buried, or they would have to choose to become tools for aristocratic families and powerful clans.

"Cultivation techniques are also a troublesome matter, and the physical conflicts caused by practicing multiple techniques are also a problem."

He had originally considered using his advantage of integration to cultivate multiple martial arts. This way, even if he couldn't improve his realm, he could improve his actual combat power horizontally.

"It seems I'll have to consider my choices of cultivation techniques carefully in the future."