Weapon-Type Martial Skills and Unarmed Martial Skills

Early in the morning.

Inside the White Crow Gang's training grounds.

After completing the most basic group physical training—a one-hour fast run.

A large number of students had long since scattered to carry out their own training.

Sabers, spears, swords, staffs, whips, fists, palms, claws...

Everyone had martial skills to practice.

However, after silently observing the actual circumstances of the various students for a while, the female martial-skill instructor, who appeared to be around thirty-five years old, bluntly voiced some of her opinions and thoughts before everyone.

"I said before that on the path of martial cultivation, if the cultivation method we practice is the foundation and road that allow us to continue forward, determining whether we have the means and basis to reach the far side of that road, then martial skills are the protective arts we must possess as we walk that road. They determine whether you can preserve yourselves on the path of cultivation, and even whether you can obtain resources sufficient for your cultivation..."

"However, although martial skills come in all shapes and forms, with many different categories—saber arts, sword arts, fist arts, whip arts, spear arts, halberd arts, palm arts... all capable of astonishing intricacy and of leveling mountains and destroying seas, making it difficult to rank them precisely—the people using them are clearly divided into superior and inferior. Moreover, you must consider all kinds of other factors, such as the situations each type of martial skill is best suited to handle..."

Halfway through her speech.

She raised a finger and pointed at several students who had always been practicing unarmed martial skills—fist arts, palm arts, claw arts, finger arts...—then said:

"Take you few, for example."

"Although unarmed martial skills are more convenient to use and train in, allowing you to practice and employ them anytime, anywhere, without worrying about being disarmed or encountering some unexpected situation while not carrying a weapon, but... and I mean but, if you encounter large ferocious beasts capable of using their fur to block ordinary weapons, or enemies wearing professional armor, you unarmed people will often die very quickly. Because you basically have no way to inflict any effective damage on your enemies and can only take a beating one-sidedly."

"I can make it even clearer."

"As people fighting empty-handed, while your close-combat strength is not weak, you simply cannot use your flesh-and-blood palms to directly catch all kinds of weapons wielded by your opponents. In frontal combat, you can basically only choose to dodge or strike from the side."

"Compared with you, your enemies possess obvious advantages in both attack range and attack power. So long as you make even the slightest mistake, they can often kill you quickly."

"So frankly speaking, although I do not think practicing unarmed martial skills is some bad idea or decision for newcomers like you who have only just become cultivators, when actual combat comes, I still think it would be better for you to pick up a saber or a sword."

"Never think that just because you have practiced martial skills for some time, you can use your flesh-and-blood body to clash head-on with weapons in other people's hands... To achieve that sort of thing, at the very least, you must learn a martial skill that has entered the ranks. Better yet, you should also learn a cultivation method specializing in body tempering, strengthening your flesh-and-blood body's defenses."

"Of course, if your opponent is a weapon expert wielding a divine weapon, then even a body-tempering expert must never use their body to directly receive that divine weapon—unless they want to die sooner..."

The meaning behind her words was very simple.

Unarmed martial skills.

Undoubtedly had broad prospects.

The instructor would not deny that in the slightest.

But that was for experts.

For rookies who had only just started, or had not even entered the gate.

Casually picking up any weapon was many, many times better than fighting empty-handed.

At the very least.

When fighting an opponent of the same level, you would not have to wonder whether you could break through their defenses.

Nor would you have to wonder whether, after chopping down at an enemy's head and successfully hitting them, you could kill them.

Is my damage output enough?

If I punch them, they won't be completely fine, will they?

These were things that low-level fighters could hardly avoid thinking about in unarmed combat.

Now, upon hearing the instructor's words.

The students practicing unarmed martial skills were largely unable to hide their disappointment, with only a small number appearing unconcerned.

The students practicing weapon martial skills, on the other hand, were the exact opposite. They all wore proud expressions, as though their choice had been completely correct.

However, the instructor soon told them:

"You need not feel proud of your choice."

"Although wielding weapons gives you more of an advantage in frontal combat, you cannot possibly keep your weapons in hand at every moment without ever letting go. There will always be times when you lower your guard and times when you encounter unexpected situations. When faced with those special circumstances, the combat strength you possess will often be less than one-tenth of normal, and your opponents will easily seize the opportunity to deal with you!"

"Therefore, while I advise you to focus primarily on weapon-type martial skills, it would be best for you to master the various basic principles of unarmed martial skills in your spare time as well. Never become complacent or arrogant..."

At this point.

The instructor pointed at Ling Wuyuan, who was practicing archery at the target range some distance away, and said:

"In this regard, I think Ling Wuyuan has done rather well."

"Although he mainly studies swordsmanship, he has also dabbled in fist arts and palm arts."

"Though he may not be considered particularly accomplished in them, he can still perform the basic martial skills of those categories with convincing form."

"I imagine that even without any weapon in hand, he could still display some combat strength. He even has some interest in archery..."

Hearing this.

Some students looked at Ling Wuyuan, who was silently shooting at targets with a short bow, and could not help grumbling inwardly.

"Others may not even manage to pass after specializing in one martial skill."

"But that guy has already learned swordsmanship, palm arts, fist arts, movement techniques, and archery. He is practically dividing his attention five ways. Even though most of his effort is still focused on swordsmanship, the dispersal of his energy is ultimately unavoidable. So long as we work hard enough, we will definitely surpass him in our specialized martial skills and make him understand that specialization is the best choice..."

Another person immediately echoed him:

"Brother is right. Look, isn't that guy's archery pretty poor?"

"At a target ninety paces away, he can only barely shoot his arrows onto the target. Aside from one or two arrows that are especially lucky, those arrows basically cannot hit the bullseye..."