"Martial Emperor Era 5896—that was nearly five hundred years ago, yet this journal is still kept in the section for Fourth-Rank Martial Art journals. It seems Senior Sun ultimately failed to break through."
Seeing the signature at the end of the author's account of his life, Lin Yi couldn't help sighing softly.
Frankly, in Lin Yi's eyes, this senior named Sun Lu Shan was an absolute genius among geniuses!
He had broken through to Sixth-Rank Martial Arts and comprehended Extreme Strength at just thirteen. Even at Dongshan Martial Academy, that achievement would put him in the top twenty. In Guangling Commandery, he might even have gone down in history.
And yet someone like him had failed to break through to Third Rank before he died, and hadn't comprehended the "Breaking Limits" he mentioned, either.
What exactly was Breaking Limits? Why was it so difficult? And what did it have to do with breaking through to Third-Rank Martial Arts?
At this thought, questions crowded into Lin Yi's mind. He immediately turned to Dean Zhao Hai Hong and asked him about them.
"Oh, Breaking Limits? You saw that realm mentioned in this journal?"
At those words, Zhao Hai Hong paused in surprise. But instead of answering Lin Yi right away, he asked him a question in return.
"That's right!"
Lin Yi replied:
"This journal was written nearly five hundred years ago by a senior named Sun Lu Shan. In his account of his life, he clearly stated that he was then on the path to breaking through into the Limit Breaking Realm."
"But judging by what comes later in the journal, Senior Sun Lu Shan must have ultimately failed."
"Mm, Breaking Limits is indeed very difficult."
Zhao Hai Hong nodded in deep agreement, then sighed softly.
"Even I only managed to break through by sheer luck, when I was right up against the Sixty Year Old Limit. As for the many Fourth-Rank Martial Artists who were my contemporaries, the vast majority failed. It's perfectly normal that Senior Sun failed, too."
"But if he was able to embark on the path of breaking through into the Limit Breaking Realm, that means his strength was among the best even among Fourth-Rank Martial Artists."
"Mm, Senior Sun was indeed very strong."
Lin Yi agreed.
"His Martial Cultivation, Martial Skill, and Power Exertion Realm were all at the pinnacle among Fourth-Rank Martial Artists. I doubt there were many Fourth-Rank Martial Artists in Dongshan Prefecture who could match him."
"But Dean, after all that, you still haven't told me what Breaking Limits actually is."
"Heh, don't be impatient, young man. I'll tell you now."
Seeing Lin Yi's look of eager curiosity, Zhao Hai Hong chuckled and began to explain:
"Breaking Limits, also known as 'breaking through the limits,' is, like Extreme Strength, a state of power exertion. It's simply a level higher than Extreme Strength."
"You've mastered Extreme Strength at Minor Accomplishment, so you know that Extreme Strength comes from controlling the body and mobilizing all its strength, allowing your physical power to reach its limit and double your combat strength, right?"
"Breaking Limits takes place after the body has been perfectly controlled. You then gain even finer control over its muscles and bones, breaking through once more from the physical limit of Perfection Extreme Strength. This lets your physical power surpass its limit and surge again!"
"In the Nine Provinces Martial Dao, Breaking Limits has nine layers. The first layer doubles your physical power from its Perfection Extreme Strength foundation."
"The second layer increases it by two times from the Perfection Extreme Strength foundation."
"The third layer of Breaking Limits: three times!"
"The fourth layer of Breaking Limits: four times!"
And so on, all the way to the ninth layer of Breaking Limits. Compared with an Extreme Strength Martial Artist who hadn't comprehended Breaking Limits, even if their cultivation was the same, the former would have nine times the physical power of the latter!
Compared with a martial artist who hadn't even comprehended Extreme Strength, that gap would widen to a terrifying eighteen times.
With an enormous disparity of eighteen times, even the most ordinary Ninth-Rank Martial Artist could easily kill a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist by relying on this terrifying state of power exertion. That was just how frightening Breaking Limits was!
"So that's what the Limit Breaking Realm is?"
After hearing Zhao Hai Hong's explanation, Lin Yi was shaken.
"You can still surpass your limits from the foundation of Perfection Extreme Strength, doubling your physical power again. The Limit Breaking Realm is truly terrifying. No wonder it's so difficult to attain."
"But Dean, what does comprehending the Limit Breaking Realm have to do with breaking through to Third-Rank Martial Arts?"
"Heh, that's easy to explain, too."
Zhao Hai Hong smiled faintly.
"Lin Yi, you've taken basic martial arts classes at Guangling Martial Academy, so you should know that although the human body is full of mysteries, it still has physical limits."
"Take an ordinary person. If they don't train through a Breathing Technique, and instead rely only on a few exercises they've figured out themselves, or train with other equipment—"
"No matter how exceptionally talented they are or how hard they train, their ultimate limit is only a thousand catties of strength in both arms. They wouldn't even measure up to the most ordinary Eighth-Rank Martial Artist."
"When martial artists train through a Breathing Technique, their limits rise dramatically—ten or even twenty times higher than those of ordinary people."
"But no matter how high that limit rises, it's still a limit. And that limit is the peak of Fourth-Rank Martial Arts."
"Once a martial artist reaches the peak of Fourth-Rank Martial Arts, they must comprehend Breaking Limits and use its profound realm to break the shackles of their physical limits if they want to continue on and break through to Third-Rank Martial Arts."
"And they must break through before they turn sixty to advance further!"
"Otherwise, once they pass sixty and their qi and blood begin to decline, then even if they comprehend Breaking Limits, they won't have enough qi and blood in their bodies to break through to Third-Rank Martial Arts."
"That's why Third-Rank Martial Arts is so difficult. It stumps the vast majority of Fourth-Rank Martial Artists in this world, including the Senior Sun in your journal."
As he spoke, Zhao Hai Hong couldn't help showing a trace of wistfulness.
"I see."
Lin Yi nodded softly.
The Martial Dao Path truly was one step, one heaven above! Harder than climbing to the heavens!
He had once thought that after awakening his Martial Saint Body, he could rely on its power to be guaranteed a place at Second Rank, First Rank, or even Above First Rank.
But now it seemed he'd merely been a frog at the bottom of a well.
After all, setting aside the requirements for Second Rank, First Rank, or Above First Rank, just breaking through to Third-Rank Martial Arts required comprehending the Limit Breaking Realm.
Without sufficient comprehension, a martial artist couldn't understand Breaking Limits. In that case, no matter how strong Lin Yi's physical aptitude was, he would have no chance of breaking through to Third-Rank Martial Arts, let alone advancing beyond it.
"But fortunately, besides my Martial Saint Body, I also have two Bright Yellow Grade talents: Saber Dao Prodigy and Body Control."
"Both Bright Yellow Grade talents are one-in-ten-million talents, and they're backed by the Comprehension Boost from my Martial Saint Body and Saber Dao Genius."
"With my current talents, breaking through to Third Rank should still be easy, and Second Rank shouldn't be difficult either. As for First Rank or Above First Rank, I have no idea."
Lin Yi thought to himself.
His talents were still excellent. Even setting aside his physical aptitude, his comprehension alone was one in tens of millions.
When it came to comprehending things like Extreme Strength and Breaking Limits, which were connected to the body's realms, his talent was one in hundreds of millions!
If he still couldn't break through to Second Rank with talent like that, then Second-Rank Martial Arts would be far too difficult.
As for First Rank, even if his current talents couldn't get him there, didn't he still have the Attribute Panel? He could keep evolving his talents, couldn't he?
In short, as long as he had the Attribute Panel, no matter how difficult the Martial Dao Path became, he had nothing to fear!
Once he'd made up his mind, Lin Yi stopped getting distracted. He lowered his head and silently began reading through the journal left behind by Sun Lu Shan.
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