Chief Clerk Yu explained the meaning behind Chu Jie's Martial Artist's Will and the golden dragon patterns on his arms from atop the city wall, but—
Not one of the Literary Scholars present relaxed their brows.
Chu Yao's eyelashes trembled slightly. He pressed his lips together, his face grim.
"What's the matter with his Martial Artist's Will?"
He was asking Chief Clerk Yu.
Martial Gall Warriors differed from Literary Scholars. For example, Martial Gall Warriors found entering the path easy but mastering it difficult, whereas Literary Scholars found entry difficult, yet once they had crossed that threshold, the road was mostly smooth until they reached a bottleneck. The Way of the Scholar corresponded to the Martial Artist's Will.
The former belonged to the talent of the Literary Heart. Awakening it was relatively easy, yet there was absolutely no pattern to it. One might need to question one's heart, clarify one's principles, and search painstakingly; one might also wake up from a drunken binge one day and find it had appeared. Its forms were as varied as flowers, and its strengths were impossible to judge.
The latter belonged to the talent of the Martial Spirit. There was one and only one path to awakening it—comprehending one's own martial path between life and death!
The odds?
One in ten!
Chu Yao had not known what Chu Jie's Martial Artist's Will was. He had not even known Chu Jie possessed one. Clearly—the latter must have acquired it after the destruction of the Chu State. Chief Clerk Yu's answer confirmed his guess. "You mean this? Back when the Chu State fell, the troops he led were no match for Xin Country's elite soldiers. They retreated all the way to a valley, where they fought bitterly for three full days..."
Chief Clerk Yu paused here.