Sensing Like Recognizing Characters, Aptitude Like Taking Tests

The library exclusively for Martial Arts Students was right next to the training grounds. It was a two-story building, with only an old man guarding the entrance.

When Li Ye approached, the old man didn't even look up, engrossed in his phone.

Seeing this, he paused, "Uncle, I'm going in."

The old man didn't even lift his eyelids, waving his hand to signal Li Ye to enter, showing no intention of stopping him.

This confused him.

"Uncle, I said I'm going in," Li Ye repeated.

The old man looked up, annoyed, "It's not some dragon's pool or tiger's den, do I need you to report before you go in? I'm not blind. Why are you walking in so confidently if you're not a main player?"

Li Ye chuckled, "And what if someone who isn't a main player comes?"

"Why learn so many martial arts? You can't chew more than you can swallow. It's all Qi Circulation anyway, one or two styles make no difference. Instead, it'll just slow down your progress."

The old man waved his hand indifferently, "Don't worry, you can't take them out of the school. Actually, it doesn't matter if you do, the martial arts academies won't care. If they wanted you, they would have noticed already and you'd just need to register."

"Alright, you take it easy then."

Li Ye chuckled and walked inside.

Then he understood why the old man was so nonchalant.

In his impression, martial arts were either taught through word of mouth and demonstration, or they were compiled into books. But the martial arts in this library weren't like that; they were videos and introductions.

Lined up on the shelves were rows of tablets, each displaying a name and a brief description.

[Golden Goose Skill], glides like a goose, arms spread like wings.

Li Ye clicked on the video and twitched his lips.

The video didn't feature real people, but crude 3D models. They had only the simplest torso and limbs. The mannequin in the video used the surrounding environment to take a few steps, then leaped into the air. Once airborne, it spread its arms and soared, hovering for a moment before diving down. It kicked off a rock below, shattering it.

This was a martial art primarily focused on lightness skills, with some leg techniques.

[Ascending Ladder], leaps and lightens the body, climbs with arms.

Li Ye clicked on another video. The mannequin in it jumped, its feet moving rapidly in the air, traversing across a row of green plants. It then reached a wall, using both hands and feet to climb quickly, its legs kicking rapidly while its hands gripped the wall, leaving several holes.

This was a lightness skill that incorporated claw techniques.

Li Ye went through them one by one. There was the [Sixteen Styles of Tablet Breaking Loose Hands] which focused on fist techniques, each move capable of breaking tablets and stones.

Then there was the fierce leg technique, [Whirlwind Skill]. The mannequin in the video truly resembled characters from Street Fighter that Li Ye played in his previous life. It extended one leg, sweeping low to the ground and transforming into a whirlwind. It spun around, kicking the opposing mannequin away with a single leg.

There were also Iron Body techniques like [Iron Shirt Armor Refining Skill] and [Essence Blood Condensation Skill], all focused on physical toughness and resistance to damage.

Weapon-based martial arts were also present: sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, adzes, hooks, forks, polearms, sickles, staves, whips, hammers, and claws. Each was stranger than the last. Surprisingly, common weapons like sabers and spears were fewer, while more unusual weapons were abundant.

Li Ye looked through several rows of martial arts and confirmed one thing: anything achievable in the videos, his own martial arts could encompass and accomplish.

Breaking tablets and cracking stones? He could grip iron like mud.

Blocking swords and sabers? He felt his current hardness would make it effortless.

The Dragon Gate, which trained qi and stamina, was inferior to his. The Tiger Gate, which trained strength and offense, was inferior to his. The Golden Palace, which trained defense, was inferior to his.

Even in terms of lightness skills, his Dragon Gate was superior to the martial arts here.

The pinnacle martial arts encompassed everything, so there was indeed no need to learn everything.

But Li Ye still wanted to experiment.

He chose a display labeled [Green Lotus Dust Breaking Skill], a saber technique, and took it to the old man at the gate.

The old man glanced at it, then sat down at his computer and clicked. "Add me on your phone, and I'll send you the materials."

Li Ye: "..."

Living in a modern world for so many years, yet suddenly encountering modernization in martial arts made him feel a bit awkward.

After obtaining the martial art, Li Ye returned to the training grounds and began circulating energy while reviewing the materials.

This martial art primarily focused on saber techniques, but it wasn't solely that. A complete martial art must include a complete chain. It also had palm strikes and other hand-to-hand combat skills, a unique movement technique, and even some Iron Body aspects.

The circulation route primarily involved the arms, with some involvement of the legs.

In terms of circulating energy, Li Ye had the Authority buff, making him a genius among geniuses. He could learn it in one go.

Following the provided materials, Li Ye condensed his Blood Essence and circulated it along the path. He then raised his palm and struck, mimicking a downward saber chop, creating a sharp gust of wind.

The power seemed decent, but that was due to his inherent strength, not the technique itself.

What was related was the Blood Essence issue.

After circulating the energy, he discovered that the Blood Essence increase from this martial art was pitifully small, even less than the Foundation Building Technique.

Mastering a martial art was not difficult for Li Ye, but increasing Blood Essence was related to aptitude.

It was like being given a problem written in an ancient, incomprehensible language. Blood Essence sensing was like easily understanding what the problem was asking, while aptitude was about how to solve it.

The better the aptitude, the easier the problem.

Li Ye, with his average aptitude for learning martial arts, was like trying to solve a doctoral-level math problem with high school knowledge. He wouldn't understand, and he'd never figure it out even if he practiced until he died!

No wonder many people only ever reached the First Dragon Gate in their lifetime.

"Indeed, only what's suitable is best. Although the Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate lowers Blood Essence before raising it, it's actually more fitting for me right now," Li Ye thought to himself.

He chose a martial art to see how much other martial arts could improve.

These were clearly basic martial arts, and their improvement was minimal even for his ordinary talent. Martial Arts Students like them, who came from the preparatory course, truly had little talent.

Li Ye quickly gave up on this martial art. He wouldn't waste time pondering it anymore; focusing on improving himself was the right path.

"What are you practicing?"

Yao Leden walked over, curious. "Is this your realm-breaking martial art?"

"No, I just learned a saber technique at the library," Li Ye replied truthfully. "I haven't learned anything else, I wanted to try it out."

Yao Leden's eyes widened. "You learned it in one go? Weren't you in the preparatory course just to build a foundation? What kind of divine art requires building a foundation in the prep course?"

Li Ye smiled. "Something like that."

Before obtaining Authority, wasn't he just building a foundation? Learning General Knowledge was also a form of building a foundation; otherwise, how would he have the means to kill Demons?

"Why bother practicing this kind of martial art? You should be practicing a realm-breaking martial art. If it's just about increasing Blood Essence, Foundation Building Technique is enough. It's the strongest when it comes to raising Blood Essence."

"Huh?"

Jia Dong finished Circulating Energy and walked closer, overhearing the conversation. "What do you mean, the martial arts I learned at the gym were all a waste? Teacher Gu just told me to learn an Iron Body Technique, saying my physical condition isn't great. According to you, I should just focus on increasing my Blood Essence?"

Yao Leden said, "There's definitely a difference. If you don't learn martial arts, you won't get into a good university. Even ordinary Martial Arts Universities have divisions."

"The First to Three Dragon Gates are for entering ordinary Martial Arts Universities, but if you only practice Foundation Building Technique, it will be quite difficult to get into a good school. Universities like the Police University require a foundation in martial arts; you wouldn't even pass the assessment with pure Foundation Building Technique."

"Even if you want to graduate and join a better company, many companies have assessments, all testing martial art strength. So, you still have to practice what you need to practice; there's no escaping it."

Jia Dong clicked his tongue. "Martial Arts Students have it tough too."

Yao Leden rolled his eyes. "Who told you it was easy? When you get back to school, you practice martial arts. When you leave school, you undergo trials. The basic Foundation Building Technique, martial arts to improve your strength, martial arts to compensate for your weaknesses. Once you've learned them and become stronger, you go out for trials, get more resources, and then continue practicing. You'll be too busy to even sleep."

"It's only the start of the semester, and there's still a week for rest and adaptation. Cherish it; next week, it'll be non-stop."