Four Great First-Rate

Over the next stretch of the road, Xu Qing seemed to have opened a floodgate of words.

Yang Ling and the other two, seeing this, slyly peppered him with all sorts of questions.

It turned out that among the forces on the Divine Realm Rank List, aside from the Iron Clothes Department, not a single one was a first-rate sect.

Among them, Ku Jue Temple and the Great Evolution Sword Sect counted as second-rate.

The Star Gazing Academy wasn't considered a Jianghu sect.

The Valley of the Dead, Heavenly Blade Sect, and the like were all third-rate, just like the Mountain River Sect.

This caught Yang Ling quite off guard.

He had only chosen the constable path as a fallback.

Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, he had ended up in a first-rate force.

Still, the Iron Clothes Department was fundamentally different from a sect—after all, it was a government office.

To truly become an Eighth-Rank Iron Clothes Constable, his freedom would be far less than that of a sect disciple.

"Ku Jue Temple really is just a second-rate sect; the Vajra Mingwang Technique isn't even their cultivation method.

The Ku Jue Heart Sutra that Huìnéng practices is the true foundation of Ku Jue Temple."

Yang Ling thought to himself.

"In our Zhao State, there are actually quite a few second-rate and third-rate sects—I haven't counted them all myself."

"But as for first-rate sects, there are only four."

Xu Qing's face turned solemn:

"They are the Divine Sect in the east, the Arhat Temple in the south, the Nine Immortal Dao Palace in the west, and the Extreme Flame Sword Mansion in the north."

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing dared not slack off and immediately committed this information to memory.

"Senior Brother Xu, how strong are these first-rate forces?"

Yang Ling asked curiously.

"How strong?"

Xu Qing mused, "If you're in the central plains, then the imperial court calls the shots.

But if you're in the east, the Divine Sect calls the shots; in the south, the Arhat Temple; in the west, the Nine Immortal Dao Palace; and in the north, the Extreme Flame Sword Mansion."

"..."

"A sect's strength can rival the imperial court!? Is that even possible..."

Chen Guoqing muttered to himself.

As a police officer, he found it hard to imagine that a local force could be so powerful!

"Why wouldn't it be possible?"

Xu Qing gave a wry smile: "Take the Mine Gang, for example. Under its banner, there are a full twenty-seven third-rate sects like the Mountain River Sect.

If our Mine Gang united as one, it could match a second-rate force.

But even the Mine Gang has to answer to the Arhat Temple."

"You all know that Huìnéng who came by recently? He's a monk from Ku Jue Temple. Ku Jue Temple is a second-rate force, and it too has to answer to the Arhat Temple."

"The foundation of these Western Great first-rate sects is beyond your imagination. Being able to join one as an inner disciple is simply the ultimate thrill."

Xu Qing clicked his tongue: "Things like pills to boost cultivation, Spirit Nurturing Pills that benefit martial skills—they eat them by the bottle!"

Spirit Nurturing Pills!

"Of course, this world is still the Zhao State's world."

Xu Qing shifted his tone: "The Western Great first-rate forces won't offend the imperial court unless they have to.

The relationships here are tangled and complex—don't overthink it; you won't figure it out anyway."

"Senior Brother Xu is right. Matters like this are far beyond us.

My dream is just to join the Mountain River Sect."

Yang Ling said.

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing quickly nodded:

"Us too."

"Joining the Mountain River Sect... If you can distinguish yourselves at this Red Gold Mine and help solidify my position, it's not impossible to arrange something."

Xu Qing said thoughtfully.

The three of them brightened slightly.

Just as Yang Ling was about to ask for details, Xu Qing changed the subject.

As they chatted, Yang Ling suddenly asked curiously:

"Senior Brother Xu, what exactly is that Spirit Nurturing Pill you mentioned earlier? Does eating it help with practicing martial skills?"

"Spirit Nurturing Pills are a fine thing. After taking one, the martial skills you cultivate will greatly advance."

Xu Qing: "Martial skills are divided into five levels: First Glimpse of the Door, Mastery Through Practice, Perfected Skill, Entering the Hall and Room, and Supernatural Skill."

"First Glimpse of the Door is the simplest. Take Black Tiger Fist for example—an ordinary martial artist might spend two or three months to reach First Glimpse of the Door."

An ordinary martial artist needs two or three months, huh.

Yang Ling felt a quiet satisfaction.

He had only taken five days the first time.

So Mental Power could indeed be considered comprehension.

"Next is Mastery Through Practice, which might take one or two years. As for Perfected Skill, that probably requires a decade of hard tempering."

"One could say each realm is ten times harder than the last."

Xu Qing sighed. "The martial artist I just used as an example would spend their entire life only able to train a single martial skill to Perfected Skill. Even Entering the Hall and Room would be difficult."

"If someone has higher talent, they might spend a dozen or so years to reach Entering the Hall and Room, but Supernatural Skill is out of the question."

"Even those disciples from first-rate sects, with talent among the best in the world, might only achieve Supernatural Skill in one martial skill by old age."

"But as a martial artist, if you only have one skill to rely on, that's too dangerous. If you want to train more skills, there's never enough time. So what do you do?"

"Spirit Nurturing Pills solve these problems."

"As far as I know, among the Western Great First-rate Sects, and even many Second-rate Sects, there are young martial artists who rely on Spirit Nurturing Pills to have multiple skills at Entering the Hall and Room while still young."

"Keep in mind, the martial skills they cultivate are far superior to ours, and their difficulty is much higher."

Xu Qing said gloomily, "Compared to them, I'm afraid I'll never catch up in this lifetime."

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing fell silent, struggling to digest this information.

But Yang Ling drew some conclusions from these words.

"The higher the grade of a martial skill, the more proficiency it requires? Collapse Mountain Fist only needs 100 proficiency to reach First Glimpse of the Door. For some profound martial skills, does the starting point require 1000 Points?"