25: Chapter 25 Senior Brother's Guidance

"Like my Master and your mother, they were both merely Grandmaster's Inner Sect Disciples," Dong Xin said.

Personal Disciples? Inner Sect Disciples? Fang Yu made a mental note.

Because of his mother and under his father's guidance, he had learned about the ancient martial arts legacies prior to the Great Burning Heaven Era. In that age, Disciples were generally categorized as Named Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples, and Personal Disciples.

Named Disciples often just had their names registered, and the Master might not even personally instruct them.

Inner Sect Disciples usually attended regular lessons, went through a formal apprenticeship ceremony, and were required to pay respects during major festivals and birthdays; if a Disciple made a mistake, the Master also bore a certain amount of responsibility.

Personal Disciples, on the other hand, were true 'Legacy Disciples'. Master and Disciple lived together year-round, with daily personal instruction, physical alignment, foraging for cultivation herbs, preparing marriage necessities, and so on. They were virtually no different from biological children. The benefits and responsibilities were equal; if the Master grew old and frail and enemies came seeking revenge, it was up to the Personal Disciple to handle them alone.

Precisely because Personal Disciples were so important and required a huge investment from the Master, a Martial Master could usually only accept two or three Personal Disciples in a lifetime, or four to five at most.

Talent, temperament, family background, and other factors were all subject to evaluation.

In the Starry Sky Martial Arts Era, the entire civilization taught martial arts on a broad scale, no longer as strict as in ancient times. However, the titles of Inner Sect Disciple and Personal Disciple remained hard to come by.

"In terms of strength, Junior Martial Uncle Jiang Wei should have reached level 39, and his technique is extremely high, likely at the Inner Scenery Major Achievement level."

"A level 31 Senior Martial Artist like me is very green among Senior Martial Artists. Facing Junior Martial Uncle Jiang Wei, I'd probably be killed in one move," Senior Brother Dong chuckled. "Junior Martial Uncle Jiang Wei is not even sixty yet, so he has a chance of becoming an Earth Martial Artist."

Fang Yu was even more shocked upon hearing this.

Inner Scenery Major Achievement? Such martial arts technique was indeed terrifying. Many Senior Martial Artists' techniques hadn't even reached Micro-consummation... Even among Senior Martial Artists, the difference in strength was like night and day.

"Grandmaster has many Disciples."

"By our third generation, we've actually long scattered everywhere—some went to New Moon, others to different provinces or even other nations," Dong Xin said. "So, there isn't much interaction between us."

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Fang Yu couldn't help but nod.

Just like relatives—close in the first generation, distant in the second... Martial inheritances were much the same, especially in this era, where Disciples had no personal dependency on their Masters.

The further down the line, the more distant they naturally became.

The reason he and Senior Brother Dong were close was also that his mother, Bai Qing, had a good relationship with Senior Martial Uncle Pang Hong, and both lived in Wuling City... Thus, the two had known each other since childhood.

"However."

"Junior Brother, now that you've re-entered the martial arts circle, as your strength grows and you become a Senior Martial Artist in the future, those Senior Martial Uncles and aunts, as well as fellow martial brothers and sisters of your generation, will naturally contact you," Dong Xin smiled. "Take me, for instance. In the two years since I graduated early, dozens of fellow Disciples have contacted me."

"Only when you are strong do these connections actually matter."

Fang Yu couldn't help but nod.

Before, Senior Brother Dong would never mention matters of their martial lineage to him... It wasn't that Senior Brother Dong didn't care about him, but that bringing it up would have been useless.

Without enough strength, trying to force connections was meaningless.

One's own strength was the foundation.

"I've also heard about Xiao Long and Siyue both Awakening Upper Astral Constellations—two Upper Astral Constellations in one family. It caused quite a stir in Wuling City's martial arts circle," Dong Xin smiled. "In fact, I feel your talent in martial technique is even more insane than an Upper Astral Constellation. Your lineage is destined to rise."

"Before long, even Grandmaster might hear about it," Dong Xin remarked with emotion.

"Grandmaster?" Fang Yu was startled.

Grandmaster Pei Fan.

He was considered a powerhouse even among Earth Martial Artists.

"Is my talent in technique really that strong?" Fang Yu hesitated slightly.

"An Upper Astral Constellation has an extremely high efficiency in absorbing Star Power, making it easy to become a Senior Martial Artist. Even if one's talent in technique is poor, with a little support from potions and treasures, one can still become a level 39 Martial Artist around thirty years old," Dong Xin turned the topic to Upper Astral Constellations. "That's something beyond my reach. I estimate 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 right now.

"Martial arts Ranks are divided into major hurdles every 10 levels," Dong Xin smiled. "Take you, for example. In over a month, going from level 15 to level 20, your punching force increased by nearly a thousand kilograms, right?"

"It's not just your technique; you've probably spent quite a lot on various potions and treasures as well."

Fang Yu couldn't help but nod.

"But from level 20 to level 30, the gap in base punching force for each level is 800 kilograms, which is comparable to the entire gap from level 16 to level 20," Dong Xin said.

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

"And at level 39, the standard punching force is 55,000 kilograms. Therefore, in the civilization Rank division, from level 30 to level 39, the difference for each level is 5,000 kilograms."

"You might think that by reaching level 31, I've covered more than half the journey to level 39," Dong Xin smiled. "In reality, my base punching force right now is only seventeen thousand-plus kilograms."

"I haven't even completed one-third of the path to level 39."

Fang Yu was taken aback.

The school textbooks only detailed the distinctions below level 20, and he only knew the rough division of Intermediate Martial Artists... It turned out that from level 30 to level 39, every single level had a gap of 5,000 kilograms in punching force.

And that was just base punching force.

A level 39 Martial Artist with supreme technique like Uncle-Master Jiang Wei... with an explosive peak punching force, might reach hundreds of thousands of kilograms, practically a human-shaped monster.

Was that even still human?

And those who awakened Upper Astral Constellations could reach such a life level before age thirty?

"Now do you understand the difference between an Upper Astral Constellation and an Intermediate Astral Constellation like mine?" Dong Xin smiled. "Not to mention Lower Astral Constellations."

"Before becoming an Earth Martial Artist, the greatest advantage of an Astral Constellation is saving time."

"For a Martial Artist, time is extremely precious."

"However, relying solely on an Astral Constellation—even an Upper Astral Constellation—won't make you an Earth Martial Artist."

"Many Senior Martial Artists have weaker Astral Constellations, but after decades of bitter cultivation, they eventually have hope of reaching level 39, like my Master Pang Hong. Yet none of them can become Earth Martial Artists," Dong Xin continued. "Because Earth Martial Artists have extremely high requirements for martial technique... to become an Earth Martial Artist, one's technique must reach Inner Scenery Perfection."

Inner Scenery Perfection? One of the necessary conditions to become an Earth Martial Artist?

Fang Yu instantly understood.

This was why Senior Brother Dong said Uncle-Master Jiang Wei had a chance... His technique was at Inner Scenery Major Achievement, only one step away from becoming an Earth Martial Artist, though that step was indeed difficult to cross.

Otherwise, Earth Martial Artists wouldn't be so rare.

Taking Wuling City as an example.

There were many Senior Martial Artists: teachers at key high schools, senior instructors at martial clubs, martial arts teachers at the college, department heads of major martial arts corporations... all were Senior Martial Artists.

But Earth Martial Artists?

So far, the only one Fang Yu had truly seen in person was Associate Professor Tang... Even at Wuling City Martial Arts College, although Fang Yu heard the principal was an Earth Martial Artist, he had never seen him once in his three years at school.

Internal school affairs were all handled by several vice principals.

"Though raising one's life level is hard, even if you haven't awakened an Astral Constellation, relying on various potions and treasures gives you a chance to stack it up eventually."

"Cultivating technique, however, is different."

"The further you go, the more profound it becomes. Mind-nourishing treasures and instruments at Starry Sky Base are merely auxiliary. Someone like me hasn't even fully touched the edge of Inner Scenery yet, so my hope of becoming an Earth Martial Artist in the future isn't high," Senior Brother Dong looked at Fang Yu. "But Junior Brother, you are different."

"Your life level isn't high."

"Your Mental Energy shouldn't be too strong."

"Being in a junior college, you haven't received great guidance, nor have you even been to Primal Star... yet at barely twenty-one years old, you have already achieved Micro-level Blade Technique."

"Even compared to students at the top ten key martial arts universities on New Moon, who have higher physical stats and better external conditions, their level of technique might not necessarily catch up to yours."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you possess astonishing talent in martial arts technique," Senior Brother Dong's eyes gleamed slightly. "In the future, you have every hope of becoming an Earth Martial Artist."