"Like my master and your mother, both were only inner disciples under Grandmaster," Dong Xin said.
Direct disciples? Inner disciples? Fang Yu made a silent mental note.
Because of his mother and guided by his father, he had learned a bit about ancient martial traditions from before the Great Sky-Burning Era. In that era, disciples were generally divided into nominal disciples, inner disciples, and direct disciples.
Nominal disciples often only carried the name, and the master might not have even guided them in person.
Inner disciples typically received regular instruction and underwent a formal apprenticeship ceremony. Honoring the three major festivals and two birthdays was indispensable, and if a disciple erred, the master had to take responsibility as well.
Direct disciples, however, were true "lineage disciples." Living together year-round, receiving guidance day and night, being helped with medicinal herbs for healing, having marriage preparations arranged by their master—they were essentially treated no differently than blood children. The benefits and responsibilities were equally balanced; if a master grew old and frail and enemies came knocking, the direct disciples had to bear the brunt alone.
Precisely because direct disciples were so important and the price paid by the master was so steep, a martial teacher would typically take only two or three direct disciples in their entire lifetime, at most four or five.
Talent, character, family background, and more were all scrutinized.
In the Starry Sky Martial Arts Era, entire civilizations conducted wide-scale instruction, no longer as strict as in ancient times, yet the titles of inner disciple and direct disciple remained rare and precious.
"In terms of strength, Martial Uncle Jiang Wei has likely reached Level 39 as well. His technique is exceptionally advanced—probably already at the level of Great Accomplishment of Inner Vista."
"An Advanced Martial Artist like me at Level 31 is still considered quite green among Advanced Martial Artists. Facing Martial Uncle Jiang Wei, I'd probably be struck down in a single blow." Senior Brother Dong chuckled. "Martial Uncle Jiang Wei isn't even sixty yet, so he has a real shot at becoming an Earth Martial Artist."
Fang Yu was even more astonished upon hearing this.
Great Accomplishment of Inner Vista? Such martial technique was indeed terrifying; many Advanced Martial Artists hadn't even reached the Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute... Though both were Advanced Martial Artists, the gap in strength was truly worlds apart.
"Grandmaster had many disciples."
"By our third generation, we've long scattered all over—some went to New Moon, some to other provinces or even other nations," Dong Xin said. "So there's far less contact between us now."
Fang Yu couldn't help but nod.
Just like relatives—close in the first generation, distant by the second... Martial lineages were the same, especially in this era, where disciples and masters no longer had a relationship of personal subservience.
The further down the generations went, the more distant they naturally became.
Fang Yu and Senior Brother Dong were close only because his mother, Bai Qing, had been on good terms with Martial Uncle Pang Hong... so the two of them had known each other since childhood.
"However,"
"Junior Brother, now that you've reentered martial artist circles, as your strength grows and you eventually become an Advanced Martial Artist, those martial uncles, aunts, and peers from the same sect will naturally reach out to you," Dong Xin said with a smile. "Take me, for example—in the few years since I graduated, dozens of fellow sect members have contacted me."
"Only when you're strong do these connections count as connections."
Fang Yu nodded in agreement.
Previously, Senior Brother Dong had never brought up matters of their sect... It wasn't that Dong Xin didn't care about him, but that mentioning it would have been meaningless.
Without sufficient strength, trying to latch onto connections was pointless.
One's own strength was the root of everything.
"Xiaolong and Siyue awakening Upper-Rank Star Aspects at the same time—two Upper Ranks from a single household—I've heard about that too. It caused quite a stir in Wuling City's martial arts circles," Dong Xin smiled. "Honestly, I feel your technical talent is even more exaggerated than an Upper-Rank Star Aspect. Your branch of the family is destined to rise."
"Before long, perhaps even Grandmaster will hear of it," Dong Xin remarked with feeling.
"Grandmaster?" Fang Yu was startled.
Grandmaster Pei Fan.
Even among Earth Martial Artists, he was a powerhouse.
"Is my technical talent really that strong?" Fang Yu asked, somewhat hesitant.
"An Upper-Rank Star Aspect absorbs star force with extreme efficiency, making it easy to become an Advanced Martial Artist. Even if one's technical talent is poor, with the support of certain potions and treasures, they can basically reach Level 39 around age thirty," Dong Xin explained, shifting the topic to Upper-Rank Star Aspects. "That's something beyond my reach. By my estimate, I'll need to cultivate for another ten years to hit Level 39."
"Another ten years?" Fang Yu was shocked.
Senior Brother Dong was already at Level 31!
"In the martial arts rank system, every ten levels is a major hurdle," Dong Xin smiled. "Over this past month or so, as you went from Level 15 to Level 20, your punch force increased by nearly a thousand kilograms, right?"
"Not just technique—I imagine you spent quite a lot on various potions and treasures as well."
Fang Yu nodded.
"Yet from Level 20 to Level 30, the difference in base punch force for each single level is 800 kilograms, comparable to the entire gap from Level 16 to Level 20," Dong Xin said.
"At Level 30, the base punch force is 10,000 kilograms."
"Whereas at Level 39, the standard punch force is 55,000 kilograms. Therefore, in the civilization rank system, between Level 30 and Level 39, each level represents a gap of 5,000 kilograms."
"You might think that having reached Level 31 means I've completed most of the journey to Level 39," Dong Xin said with a chuckle. "In reality, my base punch force is only a bit over 17,000 kilograms right now."
"I haven't even finished a third of the way."
Fang Yu was stunned.
The school textbooks had only covered the differences below Level 20 in detail, and he had only possessed a rough idea of the Level 20 benchmarks... It turned out that starting from Level 30, each level brought a difference of 5,000 kilograms in punch force.
And that was only base punch force.
For someone like Martial Uncle Jiang Wei—a Level 39 martial artist of supreme technique—an explosive burst of maximum punch force would probably reach several hundred thousand kilograms, a literal humanoid monster.
Was that even human?
And awakening an Upper-Rank Star Aspect could allow one's Life Level to reach such heights before thirty?
"Now do you understand the difference between an Upper-Rank Star Aspect and a Middle-Rank Star Aspect like mine?" Dong Xin said with a smile. "Not to mention Lower-Rank Star Aspects."
"Before becoming an Earth Martial Artist, the greatest advantage of a Star Aspect lies in saving time."
"For a martial artist, time is extraordinarily precious."
"Yet relying solely on a Star Aspect—even an Upper-Rank Star Aspect—won't make you an Earth Martial Artist."
"Many Advanced Martial Artists have lesser Star Aspects, but through decades of bitter cultivation, they can eventually reach Level 39, like my master Pang Hong. But they still can't become Earth Martial Artists," Dong Xin continued. "Because Earth Martial Artists face extremely high requirements for martial technique... To become an Earth Martial Artist, one's technique must reach the Perfection of Inner Vista."
Perfection of Inner Vista? One of the prerequisites for becoming an Earth Martial Artist?
Fang Yu understood immediately.
Why Senior Brother Dong had said Martial Uncle Jiang Wei had a chance... With his technique at the Great Accomplishment of Inner Vista, Jiang Wei was only one step away from becoming an Earth Martial Artist. Of course, that step was tremendously difficult to bridge.
Otherwise, Earth Martial Artists would not be so rare.
Take Wuling City, for instance.
The number of Advanced Martial Artists was actually quite large: teachers at key secondary schools, senior instructors at martial arts clubs, martial arts instructors at junior colleges, heads of various divisions in major martial corporations... all of them were Advanced Martial Artists.
Yet Earth Martial Artists?
So far, the only one Fang Yu had truly seen in person was Associate Professor Tang... Even at Wuling Martial Junior College, though Fang Yu had heard the principal was an Earth Martial Artist, he had never laid eyes on him once in his three years at the school.
Campus affairs were all handled by the vice principals.
"Though raising one's Life Level is difficult, even without awakening a Star Aspect, one can eventually pile on levels with various potions and treasures."
"Technique cultivation, however..."
"The further you go, the more profound and elusive it becomes. Mind-nourishing treasures and the equipment at space bases are merely aids. Someone like me hasn't even completely touched the threshold of Inner Vista yet, so my hopes of becoming an Earth Martial Artist in the future aren't very high." Senior Brother Dong looked at Fang Yu. "But Junior Brother, you are different."
"Your Life Level isn't high."
"Your spiritual force can't be very strong."
"You're at a junior college, without high-level instruction, and you haven't even been to the Primordial Star... Yet having just turned twenty-one, you've already achieved saber Entering the Minute. Never mind comparing you to students at Huguang Martial University."
"Even compared to students at the ten key martial universities on New Moon, who have superior physical fitness and far better external resources, their technical proficiency might not match yours."
"What does that show?"
"You have astonishing talent in martial technique." Senior Brother Dong's eyes gleamed slightly. "In the future, you have every hope of becoming an Earth Martial Artist."
Chapter 25