Wu Yuan looked utterly "serious." Paired with his still-youthful face, he showed not the slightest flaw.
"Is it that difficult?" Gao Yu was taken aback. He glanced at Huan Xinyan and smiled. "Junior Sister, you're the teacher here, but it seems you haven't fully mastered Double Extreme Strength either."
Huan Xinyan looked helpless. "Senior Brother, stop pointing out my shortcomings."
"Even Master Huan hasn't fully mastered it?" Wu Yuan looked surprised, but inwardly, he stirred.
Junior Sister? Just as I thought!
His original guess seemed to have been confirmed.
"This Protector Gao Yu even sent Dean Zhang Da away but kept Master Huan here. He clearly trusts her more," Wu Yuan mused.
He had been wondering why Gao Yu, a Sect Protector and a First-class Expert, had suddenly come to Li City.
Now, it seemed he had probably come because of Master Huan.
More importantly, Gao Yu had called Master Huan his junior sister. Just how powerful was their shared master?
A top expert? Or even stronger?
Their master was most likely one of the highest-ranking members of the Hengyun Sect!
"Wu Yuan, this knowledge is usually taught only at higher-level martial academies. Places like Nanmeng Martial Academy or Cloud Martial Hall explain it in detail."
"Since you've touched this level, I'll give you a rough explanation." Huan Xinyan continued, "Perfectly controlling your entire body's strength and uniting it as one is the foundation!"
"Beyond that, you use your muscles and bones... That's Force Extreme!"
"Beyond that, if you can unleash Force Extreme at will and retract it just as easily... that's Hard and Soft. If you reach this level, you're worthy of being called a grandmaster anywhere across the thirteen provinces!" Huan Xinyan quickly explained the Three Realms of Martial Dao.
Foundation, Force Extreme, Hard and Soft!
"Three Realms of Martial Dao? Reaching Hard and Soft makes one a grandmaster?" A trace of yearning and curiosity showed on Wu Yuan's face.
He looked like a martial arts novice hearing of it for the first time.
"Though there are only three realms, the vast majority of martial artists struggle even to reach the second." Huan Xinyan looked at Wu Yuan. "As for the third realm, Hard and Soft? Their control over their bodies has reached an unfathomable level. Across the world, one might be born in ten million!"
"That difficult?" Wu Yuan looked shocked, though inwardly, he felt the same.
Difficult? It certainly was.
In his previous life, Wu Yuan had trained in the specialized force-generating methods from the Optimal Martial Dao Solution, with access to a dedicated training facility. It had taken him a full three years just to touch the realm of "Hard and Soft in harmony."
Then it took him another two years to perfect it completely!
And in this life?
After being fully conscious for only four or five months, with an entirely new body, Wu Yuan still fell short of perfecting Hard and Soft.
His physical strength had already surpassed what he'd had in his previous life.
But he would need more time to make his Martial Arts Technique match the peak of his previous life!
"Wu Yuan, your saber and footwork are very solid."
Huan Xinyan looked at Wu Yuan curiously. "But I remember that during the Martial Academy Grand Competition, your saber technique couldn't even be called perfectly controlled. How did you improve so quickly?"
She wasn't questioning him; she was simply curious.
"Master Huan." Wu Yuan shook his head. "I can't explain why. Ever since I recovered from that serious illness last time, whenever I put effort into training, I feel like I improve extremely quickly."
"My physical fitness has improved quickly, and so has my saber technique. Not long after the martial arts competition, it reached the limit of Foundation Level."
"For the past two months, I've practiced with my saber again and again, completely immersing myself in it."
"Without realizing it, I figured out this way of generating force." Wu Yuan spoke very "honestly."
This was the explanation Wu Yuan had come up with as soon as he met Gao Yu.
His talent showed itself in two areas.
The first was physical fitness, and the second was Martial Arts Technique!
Given Wu Yuan's background, his Lineage had limited financial resources and couldn't provide many training aids. Even if he really had experienced Martial Dao Enlightenment, increasing his strength to ten thousand jin in just a few months would be the limit.
Any stronger? He'd easily arouse suspicion!
But Martial Arts Technique was different. It depended on comprehension, and comprehension was difficult to quantify like physical strength.
Sometimes, one could remain stuck at a bottleneck for ten years without breaking through.
Other times, a flash of inspiration could be enough.
"You mastered it naturally?" Huan Xinyan was stunned.
She couldn't help thinking of herself. She'd had a dedicated Strength Training area and a teacher specializing in saber-force techniques, yet it had taken her years just to get the hang of it.
And even now, she still hadn't perfectly mastered Double Extreme Strength.
Compared to Wu Yuan, they were worlds apart!
"Is Martial Dao Enlightenment really that amazing?" Huan Xinyan shook her head with a sigh. She had heard the term before.
But Wu Yuan was the first genius like this she had ever met.
"It's not that Martial Dao Enlightenment is amazing. Wu Yuan is the one who's amazing." Gao Yu smiled. "Martial Dao Enlightenment is rare. Young martial artists haven't trained for long, so those who experience it are rarer still. But the Hengyun Sect's territory is vast. Every few years, young people who experience it emerge; sometimes, there are several in a single year."
"But there are very few as impressive as you, Wu Yuan!" Gao Yu exclaimed.
"Very few?" Wu Yuan asked, puzzled.
"Very few!" Gao Yu said solemnly. "What people call Enlightenment is actually the premature opening or awakening of the Dantian Palace in some exceptionally gifted individuals."
Huan Xinyan grew slightly puzzled.
Wu Yuan looked even more confused, though inwardly, a trace of curiosity stirred.
The martial arts of this world were profound and mysterious. He wasn't surprised that people had studied the Dantian Palaces.
But even the names were the same? It was strange!
"In martial cultivation, essence, energy, and spirit are fundamental."
"The brain is the Marrow Sea, the Upper Dantian Palace, where the spirit is stored. It's also called the Mud Pill Palace or Sea of Consciousness!" Gao Yu clearly knew quite a bit about this. "The heart is the Crimson Fire, the Middle Dantian Palace, where energy is stored. It's also called the Heart Meridian or Qi Sea."
"Three inches below the navel is where essence is stored. That's the Lower Dantian Palace, also known as the Life Meridian."
"The essence of martial cultivation is to continuously strengthen the Lower Dantian Palace and cultivate the Life Meridian!" Gao Yu exclaimed. "When the Life Meridian grows strong enough to run through a hundred acupoints, the Lower Dantian Palace can finally be opened, leading to the limits of the human body!"
"The Life Meridian reaches the human limit."
"The human limit means at least two hundred thousand jin of strength in one arm, and possibly even more. Such a person is a First-rank Martial Artist, also known as a Martial Dao Grandmaster or an Earth Ranking Grandmaster." Gao Yu continued.
Martial Dao Grandmaster! First-rank Martial Artist!
Gao Yu spoke at length, sharing only what he knew as common knowledge, but Wu Yuan listened with shining eyes.
At last, he knew the peak martial strength of this world!
It bore an uncanny resemblance to the Human Federation of his previous life.
Grandmasters were all called the limits of human physical ability.
The only difference was the genetic ceiling.
The Martial Dao Grandmasters of this world were far stronger physically than the grandmasters of his previous life!
Two hundred thousand jin of strength in one arm was the normal human limit in this world? Wu Yuan wondered.
"Earth Ranking Grandmasters? They're far too rare! There are only so many grandmasters in the entire world," Huan Xinyan said, shaking her head.
Wu Yuan listened quietly.
Since regaining consciousness, he had spent all his time training. He knew very little about this world, especially its deeper secrets.
"Indeed, they're very rare!"
"To be honored as a grandmaster in martial arts is to be granted land and a fief! It's no exaggeration to say that one Martial Dao Grandmaster can stand against ten thousand cavalry. They can become kings and marquises in a great kingdom, or the founding patriarchs of a clan in a remote province!" Gao Yu exclaimed. "And only after reaching the human limit does one supposedly have a chance of opening the Middle Dantian Palace..."
"The Three Dantian Palaces each have their own mysteries."
"Normally, all three Dantian Palaces are sealed. Occasionally, they open for a time, causing all sorts of miraculous changes in the human body. People call this Aperture Awakening."
"When the Lower Dantian Palace opens, ordinary food has the effects of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and physical fitness improves rapidly..."
"I don't know much about the Middle Dantian Palace. As far as I know, it's similar to the Lower Dantian Palace, but it greatly increases the body's potential..."
"According to the sect's records, ninety-nine percent of all cases of Aperture Awakening involve opening the Lower or Middle Dantian Palace," Gao Yu said.
Wu Yuan listened, feeling as if a whole new world had opened before him.
In his previous life, the Human Federation had conducted some theoretical research into the existence and function of the Three Dantian Palaces.
However.
Even among martial arts grandmasters like Wu Yuan and the others, few had truly managed to open their Dantian Palaces. The data was too scarce, and the human body was so mysterious that in-depth research was difficult. As a result, the Human Federation had never been able to develop a complete system.
As for Martial Dao Enlightenment, Wu Yuan had never heard of it in his previous life.
It was unique to the Central Land World!
Judging from Gao Yu's explanation, martial arts in the Central Land World were clearly far more prosperous than Wu Yuan had imagined!
"The Upper Dantian Palace is the most mysterious and the rarest. Once it opens, it affects the Middle and Lower Dantian Palaces, allowing them to exert some of their power. But that's not even the most important part." Gao Yu continued, "The most important thing is comprehension!"
"Opening the Upper Dantian Palace greatly improves a martial artist's comprehension. Memory, calculation, comprehension—all of them improve tremendously."
"Simply put, a person becomes extraordinarily intelligent!"
"Therefore, I suspect..."
"Wu Yuan." Gao Yu looked at Wu Yuan. "Your Martial Dao Enlightenment came from opening the Upper Dantian Palace."
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