Are Earth-Tier Martial Skills Very Difficult?

Taking advantage of his free time, Lu Chong observed for a full three hours before gaining a new understanding of his current cultivation speed.

"At this stage, the Qi Absorbing Art automatically increases by 1% every two hours, provided I have high-grade Nutrition Bars."

"If I cultivate actively, the speed can even double."

Lu Chong was quite satisfied with this rate.

The accumulation of cultivation is a gradual process; one cannot become a fat man in a single bite. Even if he were provided with higher-grade nutrients now, the Qi Absorbing Art wouldn't be able to digest them.

"At this rate, I have a good chance of reaching the third stage of Martial Artist before the college entrance exam. That should be enough."

He then looked at the four Martial Skills that had yet to reach Perfection.

The automatic cultivation speed of the Tiger Roar Skill had improved significantly, rising from 5% per day to 1% per hour.

And that was just the automatic speed; if he factored in Principal Fang's nightly guidance, the speed would double again.

"So, before the special training ends, I will definitely be able to reach Perfection."

"As for the three newly evolved Low-grade Earth-tier Martial Skills..."

Lu Chong frowned slightly; in three hours, each had only increased by half a percentage point.

These three Earth-tier Martial Skills were currently only at the Great Success stage, and once they reached the Microscopic level, the speed would become even slower.

"As expected, the difficulty of cultivating Earth-tier Martial Skills has increased. I won't reach Perfection until close to the college entrance exam."

Furthermore, Lu Chong couldn't find anyone to guide him and accelerate the progress of these three evolved Earth-tier Martial Skills.

If Principal Fang were here, he would likely scoff at Lu Chong's worries.

The difficulty he spoke of and the hardship Lu Chong perceived were worlds apart.

For an ordinary Martial Artist, it takes at least a year or two to reach Great Success in a single Earth-tier Martial Skill.

As for whether they can reach the Microscopic level or even Perfection, that depends on compatibility and opportunity; many Martial Artists spend their entire lives studying a single Earth-tier Martial Skill.

Who else could be like Lu Chong, lying at home for over a month and waiting for an Earth-tier Martial Skill to automatically cultivate to Perfection?

Of course, there are geniuses with superb comprehension whose speed in cultivating Earth-tier Martial Skills far exceeds that of ordinary people, but they certainly don't possess Lu Chong's speed and ease.

This doesn't even account for the fact that Lu Chong's Earth-tier Martial Skills evolved from existing ones, starting at the Great Success stage from the very beginning.

If other Martial Artists knew about these circumstances, they would likely be so infuriated they'd cough up blood and give up on the path of martial arts.

It was too demoralizing!

At eight o'clock in the evening, Lu Chong met Principal Fang again.

This time, Principal Fang didn't rush to take him to the Wilderness to practice the Tiger Roar Skill, but instead said with a smile, "Now that you've become an official Martial Artist, do you have many questions? You can ask them now."

Lu Chong nodded and immediately asked a question that nearly made Principal Fang spit out his drink: "Principal Fang, after breaking through to Martial Artist, can the school or the Department of Education reward me with an Earth-tier Martial Skill?"

Principal Fang laughed and scolded, "What are you thinking, kid? Do you really think Earth-tier Martial Skills are like cabbages?"

"Let me put it this way: the inheritance price for even the most common Low-grade Earth-tier Martial Skill is over a million."

"Most importantly, high schools and local Departments of Education are not qualified to reward students with Earth-tier Martial Skills."

"Furthermore, teachers in high schools generally do not have the ability to teach Earth-tier Martial Skills."

"That is part of the university curriculum. Only those lecturers and professors who specialize in Martial Skills have that capability," Principal Fang stated firmly.

"Worth a million!" Lu Chong's eyes lit up as he grasped the key point.

In that case, his three automatically evolved Martial Skills were equivalent to earning three million for free.

Reliable!

As for Principal Fang's talk about how difficult Earth-tier Martial Skills were and how only university professors could teach them, Lu Chong didn't take it to heart.

Perhaps noticing Lu Chong's indifference, Principal Fang continued earnestly, "Do not become arrogant because of your recent achievements."

"Lu Chong, the difficulty of cultivating Earth-tier Martial Skills is not something you can understand right now."

"Let me tell you this: I know your homeroom teacher, Wang Tong, quite well. He has been practicing that Earth-tier Wind Splitting Axe for ten years, and it's still stuck at the Great Success stage with no progress."

Lu Chong was stunned, thinking to himself, "Are Earth-tier Martial Skills really that difficult?"

However, he didn't reveal his own situation.

Firstly, he was afraid of scaring Principal Fang, and secondly, it was hard to explain.

A Martial Artist who had just broken through and already mastered three Earth-tier Martial Skills at the Great Success stage? He would surely be dragged to a laboratory to be sliced up for research.

He would have to wait at least ten days or half a month before saying anything.

Thinking of this, a thought stirred in Lu Chong's mind, and he asked, "Principal Fang, is there any possibility of deducing an Earth-tier Martial Skill from a Human-tier one?"

Principal Fang looked at Lu Chong strangely, as if he didn't understand why he would have such a thought.

However, after careful consideration, he responded seriously, "Theoretically, it is possible."

"In fact, some old professors at martial arts universities have conducted similar research."

"After all, if one could deduce a large number of Human-tier Martial Skills into Earth-tier ones, it could solve the problem of the scarcity of Earth-tier Martial Skills."

"Moreover, Martial Artists could use the corresponding Human-tier Martial Skill as a foundation to master Earth-tier Martial Skills more quickly."

Lu Chong nodded repeatedly, understanding the logic. "So, has anyone succeeded?"

Principal Fang gave a slight nod. "There are indeed successful cases, but they are few and far between, and the time and energy required are simply too great."

Lu Chong's eyes lit up. This was perfect; in the future, if he revealed his evolved Martial Skills, he would have a plausible explanation.

Principal Fang continued, "Most people feel that rather than wasting so much time and effort, it is better to do the exact opposite."

"One can decompose and simplify existing Earth-rank Martial Skills into Human-rank Martial Skills."

"In this way, although you aren't increasing the number of Earth-rank Martial Skills, you can still progress step-by-step and lower the difficulty of mastering them."

"For instance, the Wind Splitting Leg you practice was simplified from the Wind Splitting Axe that Wang Tong practices."

"When you have the chance to practice the Wind Splitting Axe in the future, it will be much easier for you," Principal Fang said, offering a concrete example.

Lu Chong understood and seized the opportunity to ask, "Then is the Gale Step I learned from the instructor also a case like that?"

Principal Fang recalled carefully before nodding. "That's right. I remember the Military Department has an Earth-rank Martial Skill called the Wind Controlling Step, which is the source of the Gale Step."

Lu Chong finally realized, "So that's really how it is."

"What about the Golden Cicada Robe and the Tiger Roar Skill?" Lu Chong pressed on.

"The Golden Cicada Robe is the same; Old Wei stripped it from an Earth-rank mid-grade body-refining Martial Skill, so it barely counts as his own creation."

"But my Tiger Roar Skill is different. That is entirely self-created, though I haven't managed to develop the corresponding Earth-rank Martial Skill for it yet." Principal Fang looked rather proud as he said this.

Lu Chong, however, felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this.

That meant the Tiger Roar Skill likely had no potential for evolution for the time being.

It seemed that the few Human-rank Martial Skills he had successfully evolved were not created out of thin air, but rather possessed that potential precisely because they were derived from Earth-rank Martial Skills.

It was just that the direction of their evolution seemed to deviate slightly from the original Earth-rank Martial Skills.

"Then, is there any possibility of finding a way to evolve those Martial Skills of mine that failed to evolve?" Lu Chong was still unwilling to give up.