A Senior Brother's Guidance

"My master and your mother were both only our grandmaster's inner disciples," Dong Xin said.

Personal disciples? Inner disciples? Fang Yu silently committed the terms to memory.

Because of his mother, his father had guided him in learning about the ancient martial arts traditions from before the Great Burning Heaven era. In those days, disciples were generally divided into nominal disciples, inner disciples, and personal disciples.

Nominal disciples often only held the title and might not even receive personal instruction.

Inner disciples were usually taught in regular lessons and went through a formal ceremony to become a disciple. Observances on the three major festivals and the master's and mistress's birthdays were indispensable, and if a disciple made a mistake, the master had to bear some responsibility as well.

Personal disciples, on the other hand, were the true inheritors of a master's teachings. Master and disciple lived together year-round, with the master teaching the disciple day and night, examining the disciple's bones and correcting his posture, seeking medicinal herbs for cultivation, and preparing what the disciple needed to marry. They were essentially no different from parent and child, and the benefits and responsibilities went hand in hand. If the master grew old and frail and an enemy came knocking, the personal disciple had to shoulder the fight alone.

Precisely because personal disciples were so important and required such a great investment from their masters, most martial arts masters could take only two or three in their lifetime, four or five at most.

Talent, temperament, family background, and other factors all came under scrutiny.

In the age of the Starry Sky Martial Dao, martial arts were taught widely throughout civilization, and things were no longer as strict as they had been in ancient times. Even so, the titles of inner disciple and personal disciple remained hard to come by.

"In terms of strength, Martial Uncle Jiang Wei should have reached level 39 as well. His skill is also extremely high, probably at the level of greater mastery of Inner Landscape."

"A level 31 advanced martial artist like me is still very green among advanced martial artists. Against Martial Uncle Jiang Wei, I'd probably be taken out in a single move," Senior Brother Dong said with a smile. "Martial Uncle Jiang Wei isn't even sixty yet. He has a chance of becoming an earth martial artist."

Fang Yu grew increasingly astonished as he listened.

Greater mastery of Inner Landscape? Martial arts skill at that level was indeed terrifying. Many advanced martial artists hadn't even reached greater mastery of Minute Subtlety in their skills... Though both were advanced martial artists, the difference in their strength really was immense.

"Our grandmaster has many disciples."

"By the time the lineage reached our third generation, its members had long since scattered. Some went to New Moon, some to other provinces, and even some to other countries," Dong Xin said. "So there isn't much contact between us."

Fang Yu nodded.

It was just like relatives: the first generation was close, while the second were cousins... The same was true of martial lineages, especially in this era, when disciples were not personally bound to their masters.

The further down the generations it went, the more distant they naturally became.

He and Senior Brother Dong were close because his mother, Bai Qing, and Martial Uncle Pang Hong were on good terms and both lived in Wuling City... So the two of them had known each other well since childhood.

"However..."

"Junior Brother, now that you've reentered martial artist circles, as you grow stronger and become an advanced martial artist in the future, those martial uncles and your fellow senior and junior brothers and sisters will naturally get in touch with you," Dong Xin said with a smile. "Take me. In the two years since I graduated early, dozens of people from our lineage have contacted me."

"Only when you're strong do those connections count for something."

Fang Yu nodded.

Before now, Senior Brother Dong wouldn't have mentioned matters concerning their martial lineage to him... Not because Senior Brother Dong didn't care about him, but because there was no use in bringing them up.

Without enough strength, there was no point in forcing connections either.

His own strength was what mattered most.

"I've also heard about Xiaolong and Siyue both awakening upper astral aspects-two upper astral aspects in one family. It caused quite a stir in Wuling City's martial arts circles," Dong Xin said with a smile. "Actually, I feel your talent for martial arts skills is even more extraordinary than an upper astral aspect. Your branch of the family is destined to rise."

"Before long, perhaps even Grandmaster will hear about it," Dong Xin said with feeling.

"Grandmaster?" Fang Yu was startled.

Grandmaster Pei Fan.

He was a powerhouse even among earth martial artists.

"Is my talent for martial arts skills really that strong?" Fang Yu asked, slightly hesitant.

"An upper astral aspect absorbs Star Power extremely efficiently, making it easy to become an advanced martial artist. Even with poor talent for martial arts skills, given a few potions and treasures, one can become a level 39 martial artist at around thirty," Dong Xin said, turning instead to upper astral aspects. "That's beyond me. I reckon I'll need another ten years of cultivation to reach level 39."

"Another ten years?" Fang Yu was astonished.

Senior Brother Dong was already level 31.

"In the martial arts level system, every ten levels marks a major threshold," Dong Xin said with a smile. "Take this past month or so. You went from level 15 to level 20, and your punching force increased by nearly a thousand kilograms, right?"

"It wasn't just your skills. You probably spent quite a bit on potions and treasures too."

Fang Yu nodded.

"But from level 20 to level 30, the difference in basic punching force between each level is 800 kilograms, comparable to the difference between level 16 and level 20," Dong Xin said.

"At level 30, basic punching force is 10,000 kilograms."

"At level 39, the standard punching force is 55,000 kilograms. So, under civilization's level system, the difference between each level from 30 to 39 is 5,000 kilograms."

"You think that since I've cultivated to level 31, I've already covered more than half the distance to level 39," Dong Xin said with a smile. "In fact, my basic punching force is only a little over 17,000 kilograms right now."

"I haven't even covered a third of the distance to level 39."

Fang Yu was stunned.

School textbooks had only explained the differences below level 20 in detail, and he had only a rough idea of how intermediate martial artists were classified... As it turned out, from level 30 to level 39, there was a 5,000-kilogram difference in punching force between each level.

And that was only basic punching force.

A level 39 martial artist with exceptional skills like Martial Uncle Jiang Wei... could probably unleash several hundred thousand kilograms of punching force at his limit. He was practically a monster in human form.

Was he still human?

And someone who awakened an upper astral aspect could reach that level of life before turning thirty?

"Now you understand the gap between an upper astral aspect and a mid-rank star aspect like mine, right?" Dong Xin said with a smile. "Let alone a lower astral aspect."

"Before becoming an earth martial artist, an astral aspect's greatest advantage is the time it saves."

"Time is very precious to a martial artist."

"But an astral aspect alone, even an upper astral aspect, can't make someone an earth martial artist."

"Many advanced martial artists have inferior astral aspects, but through decades of arduous cultivation, they still have a chance of reaching level 39. My master, Pang Hong, is one example, but they can't become earth martial artists," Dong Xin continued. "That's because earth martial artists have extremely high requirements for martial arts skills... To become an earth martial artist, one's skills must reach perfection of Inner Landscape."

Perfection of Inner Landscape? One of the necessary conditions for becoming an earth martial artist?

Fang Yu understood at once.

That was why Senior Brother Dong had said Martial Uncle Jiang Wei had a chance... His skills were at greater mastery of Inner Landscape, only one step away from becoming an earth martial artist. Of course, that step was difficult to take.

Otherwise, earth martial artists wouldn't be so rare.

Take Wuling City, for example.

There were many advanced martial artists: teachers at key secondary schools, advanced instructors at martial arts clubs, martial arts teachers at colleges, people in charge of various departments in the major martial artist corporations... All of them were advanced martial artists.

But earth martial artists?

So far, Fang Yu had only ever seen one in person: Associate Professor Tang... Even at Wuling City Martial Arts College, Fang Yu had heard that the principal was an earth martial artist, but he had never seen the principal once in his three years at the school.

Several vice principals handled school affairs.

"Raising one's life level is difficult, but even without an awakened astral aspect, there's still hope of pushing it up with various potions and treasures."

"Cultivating martial arts skills is different."

"The further you progress, the more profound it becomes. Some treasures that nourish the spirit and the instruments at Starry Sky Base are only aids. Take me: I still haven't fully grasped the threshold of Inner Landscape, so my chances of becoming an earth martial artist in the future aren't high." Senior Brother Dong looked at Fang Yu. "But you're different, Junior Brother."

"Your life level isn't high."

"Your spiritual power can't be very strong."

"You're at a college and haven't received very good guidance. You haven't even been to Primordial Star yet... But you've only just turned twenty-one, and your saber skills have already reached Subtlety."

"Even compared with students at the ten key martial arts universities on New Moon, who have better physical attributes and external conditions, your skill level may still be higher than theirs."

"What does that tell you?"

"You have astonishing talent for martial arts skills." Senior Brother Dong's eyes brightened slightly. "In the future, you have every chance of becoming an earth martial artist."