Four Great First-Rate Powers

Along the way, Xu Qing seemed to have opened up.

Seeing this, Yang Ling and the other two slyly asked all sorts of questions.

It turned out that among the forces on the Divine Realm Level Rankings, aside from the Iron Garment Division, not a single one was a first-rate sect.

Bitter Enlightenment Temple and the Great Derivation Sword Sect were considered second-rate.

The Star-Gazing Academy was not a martial world sect.

Dead Valley and the Heavenly Blade Sect, like the Mountains and Rivers Sect, were all third-rate.

This greatly surprised Yang Ling.

He had only chosen the path of a Constable as a second-best option.

Yet through a twist of fate, he had ended up joining a first-rate power.

Still, the Iron Garment Division was fundamentally different from a sect. It was, after all, a government office.

If he truly became an Eighth-Rank Iron Garment Constable, he would have far less freedom than a sect disciple.

"Bitter Enlightenment Temple really is only a second-rate sect. The Vajra Wisdom King Art is not their cultivation method at all.

"The Bitter Enlightenment Heart Sutra that Hui Neng cultivates is the very foundation of Bitter Enlightenment Temple."

Yang Ling thought to himself.

"Our Zhao Kingdom actually has quite a lot of second-rate and third-rate sects. I have never counted them all specifically."

"However, there are only four first-rate sects."

A solemn look appeared on Xu Qing's face.

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

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing did not dare be careless, immediately committing this information firmly to memory.

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

Yang Ling asked curiously.

"How powerful?"

Xu Qing pondered for a moment. "If you are in the Central Plains, the imperial court has the final say.

"If you are in the east, the Divine Sect has the final say. In the south, Arhat Temple has the final say. In the west, Nine Immortal Dao Palace has the final say. In the north, Extreme Flame Sword Palace has the final say."

"..."

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

Chen Guoqing muttered to himself.

As a police officer, he found it hard to imagine a local force becoming this powerful!

"Why would it be impossible?"

Xu Qing gave a faint, knowing smile. "Take the Mining Gang, for example. It has a full twenty-seven third-rate sects like the Mountains and Rivers Sect under its command.

"If our Mining Gang were united as one, we would be enough to rival a second-rate force.

"But even the Mining Gang has to obey Arhat Temple."

"You all know Hui Neng, the one who arrived some time ago, right? He is a monk from Bitter Enlightenment Temple. Bitter Enlightenment Temple is a second-rate force, yet it too must obey Arhat Temple."

"The foundations of these four great first-rate sects are beyond your imagination. Being able to enter one as an inner disciple would be utterly amazing."

Xu Qing clicked his tongue. "Things like pills that raise cultivation, or Spirit-Nourishing Pills that benefit martial arts, they eat them by the bottle!"

Spirit-Nourishing Pills!

"Of course, this world still belongs to the Zhao Kingdom."

Xu Qing suddenly changed the subject. "Unless necessary, the four great first-rate forces will not offend the imperial court.

"The relationships involved are extremely complicated. You do not need to think too much about them. Even if you did, you would not understand."

"Senior Brother Xu is right. Such matters are far too distant from us.

"My dream is simply to join the Mountains and Rivers Sect."

Yang Ling said.

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing hurriedly nodded.

"Us too."

"Join the Mountains and Rivers Sect... If you can render meritorious service at the Red Gold Ore mine this time and help secure my position, it would not be impossible to arrange."

Xu Qing said thoughtfully.

The three men's eyes brightened slightly.

Yang Ling had just been about to ask for details when Xu Qing changed the topic.

As they chatted, Yang Ling suddenly asked curiously,

"Senior Brother Xu, what exactly is this Spirit-Nourishing Pill you mentioned? Does taking it help with cultivating martial arts?"

"The Spirit-Nourishing Pill is a fine thing. After taking it, the martial arts you practice will improve greatly."

Xu Qing said, "Martial arts are divided into five levels: Initial Mastery, Complete Integration, Perfect Mastery, Advanced Mastery, and Transcendent Mastery.

"Initial Mastery is the easiest. Take the Black Tiger Fist as an example. An ordinary Martial Artist generally needs two or three months of practice to reach Initial Mastery."

Does an ordinary Martial Artist need two or three months?

Yang Ling felt secretly pleased.

He had only needed four or five days the first time.

Mental Power truly can be considered a form of comprehension.

"Then comes Complete Integration, which may take one or two years. As for Perfect Mastery, it probably requires ten or more years of hard training.

"You could say that with every realm, the difficulty increases tenfold."

Xu Qing sighed. "The Martial Artist I just used as an example could only cultivate one martial art to Perfect Mastery in his entire life. Even reaching Advanced Mastery would be difficult."

"If someone is more talented, perhaps they can reach Advanced Mastery after more than ten years, but they should not even dream of Transcendent Mastery."

"Even disciples from those first-rate sects, with their top-tier talent, may only be able to cultivate one martial art to Transcendent Mastery in their old age."

"But as a Martial Artist, having only one martial art to rely on is far too dangerous. Yet if you want to practice several martial arts, there is not enough time. What should you do?"

"Spirit-Nourishing Pills can solve these problems."

"From what I know, in the four great first-rate sects, and even in quite a few second-rate sects, young Martial Artists rely on Spirit-Nourishing Pills to possess multiple martial arts at Advanced Mastery despite their young age."

"You must understand that the martial arts they cultivate are far stronger than ours, and much more difficult as well."

Xu Qing said faintly, "Compared to them, I am afraid I could never catch up in this lifetime, even on horseback."

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing fell silent, doing their best to digest this information.

Yet Yang Ling drew several conclusions from these words.

"The higher the grade of a martial art, the more proficiency it requires? Mountain-Crushing Fist only needs 100 proficiency to reach Initial Mastery. Could some profound martial arts require 1,000 points just to get started?"

"If that is really the case, then without Spirit-Nourishing Pills, even with extremely high Mental Power, it would take me decades to cultivate a martial art to Transcendent Mastery. Even then, it might not be enough."

"Spirit-Nourishing Pills are the key.

"Xu Qing is right. Martial arts are methods for fighting enemies. The more, the better. Having too few puts one at a severe disadvantage."

"I currently have a fist technique and a blade technique, but I still lack a movement technique."

With that thought, Yang Ling asked in a low voice,

"Senior Brother Xu, where can one buy these Spirit-Nourishing Pills?"

"Only the imperial court and the four great first-rate forces can obtain Spirit-Nourishing Pills."

"We purchase ours from them as well."

"You want to buy some? Their price is very stable: five hundred taels of silver per pill."

Xu Qing said with a faint smile.

Hiss—

Five hundred taels!

A Spirit-Nourishing Pill could increase proficiency by five hundred points. Calculated that way, one point of proficiency cost one tael of silver?

"That is why you still need to make money in this world. Making money is the true way."

Xu Qing smiled faintly. "As long as you have money, even with poor talent, you can pile up a body full of cultivation through all kinds of pills."

"With something like a Spirit-Nourishing Pill, it makes no difference whether you are as dense as wood or a heaven-blessed genius. The effect is the same after taking it."

"Pills truly uphold the word fairness. They treat everyone equally."

Chen Xu and Chen Guoqing felt that the two of them were not worthy of hearing such things.

Five hundred taels... that was simply an astronomical sum beyond their imagination.

"If you truly want to buy some someday, I suggest you ask at the Iron Garment Division."

Xu Qing smiled. "They also have an allocation of Spirit-Nourishing Pills. Apart from using them as regular rewards, as long as you have connections, you can buy some."

Yang Ling nodded thoughtfully.

He had to admit that he now counted as a "disciple" of a first-rate power.

"I need to find a way to become an Eighth-Rank Iron Garment Constable as soon as possible."

"Though it is not the identity of a martial world hero, why does this government post make me feel so secure..."

Yang Ling muttered quietly to himself.