Realm

"Such domineering fist force! What kind of fist technique is this? How have I never seen it before?"

"Reporting to the Prajna Hall Chief! This fist technique was created and given to me by a former Shaolin disciple. I never expected it to possess such power!"

"Hmm? Who was this highly gifted Shaolin disciple who created his own fist technique?"

"He was a Shaolin lay disciple named Hong Xiguan. Because he was unable to practice martial arts, he became a Shaolin lay disciple. He gave me a fist manual, allowing me to inadvertently reach this level!"

"So that was it! What a pity to lose such a genius! You are quite impressive as well. Once you join Subduing Tiger Hall, you will surely achieve great things!"

The Arhat Hall Leader said arrogantly, "Need you say that? Are the disciples of my Arhat Hall any worse than those of your Prajna Hall?"

"Kid! Put in more effort. If you seize a place in the top five, I'll personally reward you with a cultivation technique!"

"Thank you for your reward, Arhat Hall Leader! This disciple will certainly work twice as hard and will not disappoint you!"

"Good! Remember what you said. Don't disappoint me!"

Dong Tianbao declared arrogantly, "Kid from Arhat Hall! You do have some skill. You are worthy of me personally stepping in to defeat you!"

"Hehe! You make it sound real enough. I hope you can do it—don't disappoint me."

Golden Arhat also walked over at this moment and patted Li Changfeng on the shoulder. "Junior Brother Li, don't let your guard down! This fellow's strength cannot be underestimated. Take him seriously!"

"Alright! Senior Brother Jin! I understand!"

Li Changfeng thought to himself, Damn! Do every one of you have to remind me how formidable he is? Is my strength something you can even imagine? Whatever. The truth will reveal itself when the time comes.

"Sixth Brother! You really gave me a fright just now! I might not even be a match for that kid, yet your Inner Force is already so profound. You've even mastered the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill. You've hidden yourself well, you brat!"

"Big Brother! I only achieved this through a fortunate opportunity during my earlier travels. Compared to your solid, steady cultivation, I am far behind!"

"Listen to you! I'd like to have your lucky opportunity too! Sadly, I don't, so I can only cultivate honestly and diligently. I really envy you, brat!"

Prajna Hall's area.

Chen Feng slowly walked up to Yuan Mingzhi and sneered, "What's this? Weren't you so arrogant? Didn't you say that the chief disciple of the Second Branch Academy, me, was trash? How did you end up getting effortlessly defeated? What a fraud!"

Yuan Mingzhi's face darkened as he retorted in a deep voice, "At least I exchanged blows with him! You fucking couldn't even last a quarter of an hour, and you have the nerve to talk about me?"

"Hmph! If I hadn't underestimated him, would he have defeated me so easily? With your little bit of strength, you probably aren't even my match, yet you talk about defeating that kid!"

"Hmph! Losing in less than a quarter of an hour is still losing. There's nothing more to say. It only proves that you really are trash!"

"Fine, fine, fine! Since you're so damn arrogant, wait until your injuries heal. I'll fight you one-on-one! Just you wait!"

Hearing the commotion, the Prajna Hall Chief's face immediately darkened. "What are you arguing about? You lost, and you still have the face to yap over there? And every one of you, don't underestimate your opponents. If you capsize in a gutter when the time comes, don't blame me for being ruthless and tormenting you!"

Upon hearing this, the Prajna Hall disciples instantly turned solemn. "Rest assured, Hall Chief! We definitely will not let our guard down!"

"Hmph! Remember your words!"

"Tianbao! Do not underestimate that kid. He has hidden himself deeply. This is likely not even his full strength. Are you confident?"

"Reporting to Hall Chief! I have some confidence. In Arhat Hall, only Golden Arhat and that kid are somewhat troublesome to me. I can still defeat them. As for the others, I do not regard them at all. Rest assured!"

"Good! It is good that you are confident!"

Li Changfeng said helplessly, "For a chief disciple of Arhat Hall to end up like this against an ordinary disciple of Prajna Hall... it is truly hard for him to accept!"

Golden Arhat patted Li Changfeng on the shoulder and said, "My condolences. There is nothing to be done about it. Over the years, Prajna Hall picked out the outstanding disciples first, and only the leftovers were assigned to Arhat Hall. How could our strength possibly be all that great?"

"Still, only the First Branch Academy and Second Branch Academy have somewhat better disciple quality. The other branch academies are not much stronger."

"So that's how it is! No wonder the disciples of Arhat Hall differ so greatly from those of Prajna Hall!"

"However, with an expert like Junior Brother Li here, I feel much more at ease. We will not lose too badly!"

"Senior Brother Jin, with your talent, you should not have remained in Arhat Hall, right? How could those idiots in Prajna Hall have simply watched you go to Arhat Hall?"

"Hehe! The Arhat Hall Leader brought me into Arhat Hall when I was young. I grew up in Arhat Hall, so naturally I belong to Arhat Hall. Even if you asked me to go to Prajna Hall, I would not go."

"So that's how it is. Now I understand!"

The power of martial techniques depended primarily on True Qi. The stronger one's True Qi, the greater the enhancement provided by martial techniques. This did not mean physical strength was useless; when a person's strength reached its peak—

Every punch and move they made would be equivalent to a martial technique. However, those capable of cultivating physical strength to such a level were exceedingly rare, no more than a handful.

In the early stages of martial cultivation, one cultivated True Qi, primarily by opening the Twelve Principal Meridians. The first step was to open the first meridian and condense a True Qi Seed. The more meridians one opened afterward, the larger and stronger the True Qi Seed became!

The first three meridians corresponded to third-rate experts. Opening the first three made one a Peak Third-Rate Expert. Generally, such experts possessed twenty years of True Qi Inner Force. Twenty years of True Qi Inner Force was merely the standard used to define a Peak Third-Rate Expert. Some experts cultivated powerful techniques, so their True Qi Inner Force was naturally much stronger, and their Inner Force far exceeded that of ordinary Peak Third-Rate Experts.

The middle three meridians corresponded to second-rate experts. Opening the middle three made one a peak second-rate expert, with Inner Force generally equivalent to fifty years. Their strength was calculated according to the power of their cultivation techniques, just as described above.

The latter three meridians corresponded to first-rate experts. Opening the latter three made one a peak first-rate expert, with Inner Force generally equivalent to one hundred years.

The final three meridians corresponded to top-rate experts. Opening the final three made one a peak top-rate expert, with Inner Force generally equivalent to one hundred and fifty years. Such people were capable of founding sects and becoming their masters. They were grandmasters of a generation, immensely powerful, deeply respected throughout the martial world, and renowned far and wide!