Five Steps of Martial Dao

[Da Qing 277, the "Major Accomplishment" depth of the Flowing River Technique dispersed quickly, and with your relevant martial experience, you finished dispersing your energy in a year.]

[Since you didn't use the Primordial Chaos Art, 19% of your foundation settled, and your current Foundation Amplification is 253%, meaning half of an ordinary person's foundation (0.19 × 2.53) is locked and wasted.]

[You knew that once your energy dispersal was complete, Zhu Baowen would likely leave, so you kept questioning him throughout the year.]

[The reason for your questions came from the Sound Transmission Technique Zhu Baowen had actively revealed. You latched onto this, pestering him like before, and your questions gradually deepened.]

[At first, you asked: "Master Zhu, to transmit sound into my ear alone, that skill must be above Grandmaster, right? Are you some hidden expert not recorded in the annals of the martial world?"]

[This later evolved into: "Master Zhu, in your eyes, is the Great Grandmaster truly the limit of martial arts? I suspect you're a Great Grandmaster yourself—is there a higher mountain beyond?"]

[Zhu Baowen mostly brushed you off with vague answers like "I'm just an ordinary Martial Master with a few tricks" or "Martial Arts Have No End."]

[But when you told him your energy dispersal was complete, you noticed his aura change.]

[The Zhu Baowen who had been a little old man teaching a kid to train, with a hint of greed, now revealed a domineering presence that awed heaven and earth, as if a Supreme Martial Saint had descended!]

[You stood frozen, unable to move, because even the air itself seemed locked in place, every inch stagnant!]

[Zhu Baowen said he was about to leave, but before that, he pressed a finger to your brow and transmitted the "Primordial Chaos Art" to you.]

Yun Shou: "Good thing I'm not an electronic device, or when he pasted it, he'd find 'File: Primordial Chaos Art.txt already exists, replace?'—that would've been awkward."

[Afterward, Zhu Baowen answered your earlier questions, but only partially, to keep you from despairing over martial arts.]

["The Martial Path is long, yet short! The martial arts I know span merely five steps, but too many practitioners spend their whole lives unable to take the first."]

[Then he glanced at you and reassured you that you still had a good chance of taking that first step.]

Yun Shou: "...A First-rate Martial Artist isn't even the first step?"

[Zhu Baowen withdrew his aura that froze heaven and earth, and you pressed him on what the first step was, and which step he had reached.]

[This time, Zhu Baowen answered clearly: Essence, Qi, and Spirit fully condensed into one—that is the first step, the Grandmaster. The second step lies above the Great Grandmaster, while he himself had just stepped onto the third.]

[You wanted to ask more, knowing he was about to leave and wouldn't mind your questions, so you added: "What about the second step? And beyond?"]

[Zhu Baowen pointed to the sky, then to the ground, and said: "This is the second step." He didn't elaborate, because it was nearly impossible for this world to produce martial artists of higher realms, and also because: martial arts cannot be lightly passed on!]

[This is the Universal Consensus.]

Yun Shou felt the narration had revealed something significant.

[As for what the third step truly was, he smiled, turned, and walked away.]

[While he was still slowly retreating, basking in his own grandeur, you called out one last question: "The Martial Path has five steps, yet this world has never seen even the second. Is this land too remote, or is there a Heaven Beyond Heaven?"]

[This finally made him regard you differently. As he left, he tossed out his final guidance to his Registered Disciple: "If you achieve Unity of Heaven and Man, head east, to the Heaven Beyond Heaven!"]

[That day, Zhu Baowen tore open a new world in your worldview. Your understanding of martial arts and the world deepened, and some of your earlier guesses were confirmed!]

Yun Shou let out a long breath. As expected of the Simulator—it condensed the essence.

The content written was probably less than one percent of what actually happened, even the dialogue was abbreviated, but the core elements were so clear that even someone reading mere text could understand.

The Martial Dao Realm beyond the Great Grandmaster was the realm of sensing heaven and earth. Based on the mid-level martial arts novels he'd read, this realm was called "Heavenly Man," derived from "Unity of Heaven and Man."

And this place was indeed just a small corner. After reaching the "Heavenly Man" realm, one could head east, perhaps crossing the sea, where an "Ascension Platform" or "World Rift" awaited, leading to a higher martial world!

In that higher martial world, the Martial Path had five steps. A Great Grandmaster who could live two hundred years was only the first step, and Zhu Baowen, who could flatten an army with one palm, was merely the third!

"Martial Arts Have No End!"

Yun Shou sighed.

Even though he was just a First-rate Martial Artist, a small fry who hadn't even touched the first step, he couldn't help but feel fired up.

"I will become an immortal, everlasting Martial Emperor!"

[Da Qing 278, Grandmaster-level martial art: Sunday Resolution Initiation.]

[Da Qing 279, you were amazed. A Grandmaster-level martial art was truly different. Even at Initiation, the foundation it converted rivaled the Flowing River Technique's foundation plus Minor Accomplishment's extra amplification.]

[The depth bonus at the Perfection stage of Sunday Resolution had a significant effect even on Martial Masters.]

[Da Qing 280, a young hero of only twenty-three came to Qingcheng to challenge First-rate Experts and renowned figures of the martial world. He won battle after battle, finally challenging you, known as the "Second Young Hero" of your generation.]

[Then you struck him five times in a row, sending him flying back with blood, forcing him to admit defeat.]

[Da Qing 281, you were twenty-six, and your Vital Energy Infused into Bone progress reached sixty-five percent. You felt as strong as a monster.]

[In recent years, you had settled in Qingcheng. Though Zhu Baowen's departure four years ago had caused a spectacle, no one suspected you.]

[Da Qing 282, you set out for East Forest City. Your Vital Energy now appeared Radiant White, carrying a Scorching Aura. Your Sunday Resolution had reached Minor Accomplishment, making you nearly invincible among First-rate Martial Artists.]

[Just like last time, when you went to bully the Fierce Tiger King not for its meat, this time you came to deal with bandits not for their Grandmaster-level martial arts, but to test your strength against the previous simulation. (Note: Chapter 17 simulation plot.)]

[But the bandit group was large, so you decided to join the City Lord's Bandit Suppression Squad as a "passing chivalrous traveler."]

[Only when you arrived did you awkwardly discover: you came too early—the bandits hadn't moved in yet.]

[You had to stay in the city first and challenge several First-rate Experts within it.]

[Following faint memories, you found a large courtyard belonging to a renowned martial figure: Heart-Observing Spear, He Yi.]

[He Yi was forty-seven. He wasn't a "Grandmaster talent" who reached First-rate at twenty; instead, he had achieved External Qi Projection three years ago at over forty, making him the most ordinary kind of First-rate Martial Artist.]

[You invited He Yi for a private duel that wouldn't damage his reputation, and he agreed. Then, in a mere twenty rounds of sparring, with you using only sixty percent of your strength, He Yi still gave his all in every move, step by step on edge, and finally conceded.]

"You're slipping, old pal," Yun Shou sighed. "Last time, you were fighting side by side with me, and now you can't even make me (in the simulation) take it seriously."