The Importance of Genes

"General Xu was willing to give Five Thousand Taels of Silver—enough for my cultivation needs. There was naturally no need to wade into Cloud Martial Hall's muddy waters."

The reason he had given four thousand taels to Clan Chief Wu Qiming was that Wu Yuan knew full well that the money had not been earned entirely by himself.

Without the Li City Wu Clan, if the Wu Clan were not a major clan in Nanmeng Prefecture City, would General Xu have so willingly produced such a hefty sum?

Dream on!

"Money only needs to be sufficient." Wu Yuan was quite open-minded about it. "If I kept it all for myself, even if the clan chief said nothing on the surface, he would likely grow dissatisfied over time."

"And now, what the clan chief feels toward me is probably more guilt than anything else. Given his temperament, he will naturally find other ways to compensate me."

With the Wu Clan's protection, his family would be safer, and Wu Yuan could devote himself to martial cultivation with greater peace of mind.

In the month or so since arriving in this world, Wu Yuan had only two thoughts in his heart.

First, to surpass his past life and reach the pinnacle of martial dao.

Second, to keep his family safe and well.

Whoosh! Another horizontal slash swept out, its fierce wind blasting the sand and pebbles on the ground flying to both sides.

"Above Force Extreme lies Hard and Soft!"

"In my previous life, I relied on the Gravity Room's irregular shifts in gravity to rapidly master this kind of Martial Arts Technique." Wu Yuan pondered. "But now, I have no such advantage."

Gravity Rooms had long since become widespread throughout the Human Federation, but on the Central Land Continent, they were nothing more than a fantasy. Perhaps countless martial experts had never even considered such a thing.

Good external cultivation conditions could better promote martial cultivation.

"I can only find a way to borrow the force of nature." Wu Yuan's gaze fell upon the South Dragon River not far away.

The undercurrents in the great river shifted unpredictably. Training within it would be far better than practicing on open ground.

"Or perhaps I could find a waterfall and borrow the force of its impact?" Wu Yuan considered.

But Li City Prefecture broadly belonged to the vast Jiangmeng Marshes. Rivers were plentiful, but mountains—and waterfalls suitable for martial cultivation—were even harder to find.

"No rush. Once Strength Training is fully complete and I begin Organ Training, I'll take the next step in my cultivation." Wu Yuan made his decision.

Martial Arts Technique was extremely important to martial artists. Some lean, weak-looking fighters could easily knock down burly opponents precisely because their techniques were superior.

When technique became terrifying enough, even a needle or a pen could become a lethal weapon!

Yet in the end, technique was an extension, while the body was the foundation. No matter how skilled Wu Yuan was, Triple Extreme Strength was only threefold. At present, he could at most unleash ten thousand jin of force.

But top martial experts could unleash tens of thousands of jin—or even more terrifying power—through their bodies alone.

How could they compare?

"On the Central Land Continent, martial dao is divided into nine ranks based on strength." Wu Yuan casually shook his saber. Its glint was icy as it swept, chopped, and lifted... Every strike contained several thousand jin of force, and the air seemed to erupt in a string of soft explosions.

"But the Human Federation divided martial realms into only three stages—Strength Training! Organ Training! Acupoints!"

Strength Training meant tempering one's flesh, tendons, membranes, and bones until they reached the limits imposed by one's innate genes!

In Blue Star's ancient times, this was external martial arts. Things like Golden Bell Shield, Iron Shirt, and Eighteen Falls That Don't Touch Clothes all fell within the scope of Strength Training.

Organ Training, meanwhile, went from the outside inward. Force penetrated the lungs and five viscera, making the organs strong and vigorous. At its highest level, one could achieve Internal Vision, almost qualifying as Marrow Washing and Blood Exchange—truly extending one's lifespan and keeping all illness at bay.

In Blue Star's ancient times, methods of Organ Training were collectively known as Internal Energy Cultivation.

"Train the organs without training strength, and things will never go as desired; practice martial arts without practicing internal energy, and you'll have achieved nothing by old age!" Wu Yuan understood this very clearly.

Before the Human Federation entered the Interstellar Era, there had been many so-called Internal Energy Cultivation masters. They merely attempted Organ Training while scarcely tempering their external tendons, bones, and strength. Their arm and belly flesh hung loose and flabby, making them a laughingstock.

Some boxing masters of that era had formidable external martial arts. In their youth, they were as fierce as tigers, but once they entered middle age, their physical condition rapidly declined, and illness plagued them before they even grew old.

Why?

Because they had not trained their organs and could not regulate their own bodies!

"Only in the Interstellar Era, when life sciences advanced dramatically and martial dao revived, did the Optimal Martial Dao Solution finally take shape on the basis of big data, forming the Three Realms of Martial Dao." As one of the compilers of the sixteenth edition of the Optimal Martial Dao Solution, Wu Yuan was naturally familiar with all this.

First train strength, then train the organs. Only when tendons and bones rang as one, coursing through the hundred acupoints and the heavenly circuit, could one hope to unlock the ultimate secrets of the human body's evolution...

"Strength Training depends first on food and nutrition, second on effort, and third—and most importantly—on genes!" Anticipation flickered in Wu Yuan's eyes. "Genes!"

"Genes represent innate talent. They are incredibly important!"

"No matter how good the nutrition is, no matter how diligently one trains strength and organs, one cannot grow ten meters tall, nor can one fly."

In his previous life, the Human Federation had exhausted itself over life evolution, consuming countless resources. Martial experts sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain, but the genetic ceiling remained where it was.

At Wu Yuan's peak, his own explosive strength had been only a little over twenty thousand jin, while Triple Extreme Strength amounted to merely seventy or eighty thousand jin of immense force!

Other Martial Dao Grandmasters, even if stronger than Wu Yuan, had only been stronger by a limited margin.

"But in this Central Land World, a growing youth whose tendons and bones have yet to reach their peak can casually unleash three or four thousand jin of force?" Wu Yuan sighed. "And some Fourth Grade and Fifth-Rank Martial Artists who have not even comprehended Force Extreme can unleash tens of thousands of jin of force?"

Then what about martial artists of the Upper Three Grades?

Or even the legends of the Heavenly Ranking, known as Land Immortals?

Without question, it was the advantage of genes!

"Just like tigers in my previous life. They did not need to train; in bodily combat, they could easily slaughter human martial artists."

"This life is the same. Ordinary people who do not train can still possess a thousand jin of strength upon reaching adulthood."

"This body of mine may be an Eighth-Rank Warrior, but strictly speaking, its tendons and membranes have not even been fully trained. It is still far from completing Strength Training!"

In Wu Yuan's eyes, the nine-rank division of martial dao was not particularly scientific.

But to some extent, it also reflected that the upper limit of human physical genes on the Central Land Continent was likely ten times that of the Human Federation!

"Although I lack the external conditions of my previous life, the Central Land Continent is vast and possesses its own unique alchemical arts that can assist martial cultivation."

"In my previous life, I was nearly thirty before reaching the peak of the Federation's martial dao. Looking back on my youth, I took many detours."

"I transmigrated here."

"It is equivalent to starting over, yet my body's genes are a full ten times stronger. In the end, just how far will I reach?" Wu Yuan's heart brimmed with anticipation!

The pinnacle of martial dao!

It was precisely because he possessed a pure heart devoted to martial dao, an incomparably fervent desire for life evolution, that Wu Yuan had stood out among the Federation's tens of billions of humans!

Now that he had been reborn, he likewise longed to see just how powerful the pinnacle of martial dao on the Central Land Continent could be!

Thus, Wu Yuan continued tempering himself until dawn gradually broke and more and more boats appeared upon the great river.

"By my reckoning, Mother should be waking soon. It's time to return." Wu Yuan sheathed his saber and fastened it across his back.

Whoosh!

Like a wisp of green smoke, he drifted away through the reeds along the riverbank. If one looked closely, one would find that not the slightest footprint had been left upon the reeds.

Tread Snow Without a Trace, Pass Grass Without Leaving a Trace—this was the most ordinary manifestation of technique nearing Hard and Soft.

That way,

even if someone discovered signs of Wu Yuan practicing martial arts on the riverbank, they would find it difficult to trace his route in or out.

He returned home without a sound.

After breakfast, Wu Yuan bade farewell to his mother and younger sister, then headed to the Martial Academy for morning practice.

Martial Academy morning practice was merely a waste of time to Wu Yuan, but in order not to draw attention, he had patiently endured it all along.

After morning practice, low-level and intermediate disciples attended martial arts classes.

The advanced disciples scattered and acted on their own. Some went to the Combat Room for practical combat training, while others headed to the Strength Room to temper their bodies.

With the grand competition approaching, advanced disciples were already free to act as they pleased.

As for Wu Yuan,

he entered a room in the Martial Academy, put on two layers of inconspicuous everyday clothing, and left through a side gate.

He entered an empty alley.

"Bone Shifting!" Wu Yuan controlled the force throughout his body. His limbs, tendons, and bones trembled faintly, and his entire body suddenly shrank by a noticeable amount. His arms and thighs shortened as well, while his cheeks swelled slightly!

"Phew~" Wu Yuan lightly wiped his face, and a faint scar appeared on his right cheek.

If Wu Yuan had previously been a sturdy youth, he now looked like a short, stout, scarred man. At first glance, he appeared to be around twenty years old.

Rip~

Wu Yuan casually tore off his outer shirt, then quickly took out and changed into a brand-new pair of leather boots from his pack.

"I have never shown these clothes or boots in public, and I've altered my bones a little as well. Even Mother probably won't recognize me." Wu Yuan muttered to himself.

To hide himself, he naturally had to be cautious!

"To Stellar Tower."

Wu Yuan packed away the clothes and shoes he had changed out of. With a light leap, he darted along the eaves to another street alley, then stepped onto the main road and vanished into the crowd.