Chapter 131: Ancient Martial Arts

Jiang City. Qixia Ridge.

Lin Jian and Xu Fengbin followed the mountain steps, bathing in the early morning sun as they chatted on their way up.

"How much do you know about the martial world, or the Ancient Martial Circle?"

"The Ancient Martial Circle?" Lin Jian asked in surprise. "I only knew about External Boxing and Inner Boxing before. I actually know very little about Ancient Martial Arts."

Xu Fengbin nodded. "To be precise, Inner Boxing is the Ancient Martial Circle!

"Boxing is divided into external and inner. What the general public knows is mostly External Boxing, but once it involves Inner Boxing, it becomes Ancient Martial Arts.

"And the realm above Ancient Martial Arts is the Dao Realm.

"Of course, these realms and circles are just terms used by modern Martial Artists."

Xu Fengbin seemed to know what Lin Jian wanted to ask, so he continued, "There are still quite a few Ancient Martial Arts schools in Huaxia today. Young Master Chu from before is the Young Master of the Xiangnan Dao Danxia Sect.

"And Xu Yunzong also comes from the Kongdong Sect."

"Do these Sects actually exist?" Lin Jian asked, greatly surprised.

"Of course they do." Xu Fengbin smiled. "They’re just very low-key.

"For example, some Sects are actually just a few villagers in a certain village. They either farm or go out to work as laborers, but in reality, they are inheritors of Ancient Martial Arts schools.

"Naturally, in this day and age, money is king. Those with quick wits can make money, but those without, even if they are Ancient Martial Arts inheritors, still end up farming at home!"

"Then how are the Ancient Martial Arts realms divided?"

This was what Lin Jian was most curious about, because he could see the strength of others’ Dantians, but he couldn’t distinguish their levels.

Xu Fengbin smiled and said, "The realms of Ancient Martial Arts are generally divided into the Postnatal Realm and the Innate Realm. Crossing beyond the Innate Realm leads to the Dao Realm."

"Then what counts as the Postnatal Realm?" Lin Jian pressed.

"Qi is in the Postnatal Realm!" Xu Fengbin said. "When a Martial Artist trains their skills to the absolute limit, that is the Postnatal Realm.

"Martial Artists in the Postnatal Realm are also divided into grades, and these grades are measured by the impact force of their punches.

"However, no one goes out of their way to measure it intentionally, so the grades of Postnatal Realm Martial Artists aren’t divided that strictly!"

"The impact force of a punch? What’s Qi’s impact force?" Lin Jian asked curiously.

"Someone like Qi is at the absolute peak of the Postnatal Realm. His impact force is 220 kilograms, and that’s an average number, not the explosive power of a single punch!"

"An average of 220 kilograms." Lin Jian nodded thoughtfully. This was a very heavy force; an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to withstand a single punch.

"Yet the vast majority—or rather, ninety-nine percent—of those in the Postnatal Realm are unable to enter the Innate Realm!

"Entering the Innate Realm requires the guidance of Qi, specifically the flow of Qi through the meridians!

"The Innate Realm is divided into nine grades in total. That Xu Yunzong is in the Innate Seventh Grade!

"And Young Master Chu should also be around the Sixth and Seventh Grades.

"After reaching the Innate Ninth Grade, there is a qualitative leap. If you make that jump, you become a Grandmaster. There’s a saying in the martial world: ’Entering the Grandmaster Realm is Entering the Dao!’

"It refers to the legendary ’Entering the Dao’ and such, but in reality, it’s still far from truly Entering the Dao. However, the Grandmaster Realm is indeed a major hurdle. In Huaxia, there are countless Innate experts, but those in the Grandmaster Realm only number in the double digits."

"The Grandmaster Realm has grades too, right? How are they divided?" Lin Jian asked again.

Xu Fengbin smiled. "I knew you would ask." He nodded. "The Grandmaster Realm only has two grades: one is simply called Grandmaster, and the other is Great Grandmaster.

"Achieving Dantian Perfection makes one a Grandmaster. Jin Er from the Capital City is not a Grandmaster, but you still need to be careful if you go up against him. This person is notorious for his ruthlessness and is extremely cautious. He has clouds of experts around him, so if you let him know about your Object Control ability in advance, you might not even be able to get close to him!"

Lin Jian smiled and nodded.

What Xu Fengbin actually didn’t know was that within ninety meters, Lin Jian could take anyone’s head!

"Right, you mentioned something about challenging Mr. Ji earlier? Is this person very strong?" Lin Jian asked curiously.

Xu Fengbin smiled and waved his hand. "Let’s not talk about it, let’s not talk about it. It was just me not knowing my own limits. I just stepped into the Grandmaster Realm, so my ego got a little inflated."

Seeing that Xu Fengbin didn’t want to say more, Lin Jian didn’t press further. However, he remembered something else at this moment, so he asked, "Do you know about a Qin Family in the Capital City? Are they an Ancient Martial Clan?"

"The Qin Family in the Capital City?" Xu Fengbin raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about the Qin Family?"

Lin Jian thought about it. "I dealt with a junior from the Qin Family!"

Xu Fengbin nodded. "Stay far away from this Qin Family. The Qin Family is indeed an Ancient Martial Family, and the Qin Family has a Grandmaster, but..."

Pausing there, Xu Fengbin added, "Anyway, it does you no harm to stay away from the Qin Family!"

"I understand," Lin Jian said with a nod.

"Mhm. What are your plans for the future?" Xu Fengbin asked.

"The future?" Lin Jian was stunned for a moment. "Make money and marry a wife."

Xu Fengbin was also taken aback, then laughed heartily. "That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking if you’ve ever thought about cultivating Ancient Martial Arts?"

"I have. Otherwise, why would I ask you so many things about Ancient Martial Arts?"

"Then how much money do you have right now?" Xu Fengbin asked playfully.

"Three hundred million... three hundred and fifty million!" Lin Jian answered.

"Whoa, that’s quite a lot." Xu Fengbin said exaggeratedly. "You’re a capable young man, and you know how to make money. You really are extraordinary!

"However, if you want to cultivate Ancient Martial Arts, that’s still not enough. Call me when you’ve earned a billion in cash."

"Earn a billion? Call you? For what?" Lin Jian asked, puzzled.

Xu Fengbin thought for a moment and said, "Call me, and I’ll teach you a Cultivation Technique suitable for you. As for earning a billion, that’s naturally for cultivating Ancient Martial Arts.

"I can tell you responsibly that cultivating Ancient Martial Arts is a money-burning exercise, and this exercise is a bottomless pit!

"Without money, you want to enter the Innate Realm? Impossible!

"Without money, you want to become a Grandmaster? Even more impossible!

"So, for a billion, I’ll help you get started!"

Lin Jian said with an odd expression, "I’ve realized you’re even shadier than me. What kind of martial arts costs a billion to practice? Are you joking?"

Xu Fengbin smiled playfully. "Then let me ask you: if you want to practice Ancient Martial Arts—that is, Inner Boxing—and condense Inner True Qi, where does this Qi come from?"

"Qi comes from... from..."

Lin Jian was left speechless.

That was right. Where did the Qi that Xu and the others gathered come from? It couldn’t be the Qi from the air, could it? It couldn’t be the gas from an oxygen tank either. So how did they get it?

However, at this moment, a flash of inspiration struck Lin Jian. He suddenly thought of the Ancient Jade and antiques that contained Spiritual Qi!

"Spirit Jade!" Lin Jian’s eyes lit up brightly.

"Exactly!" Xu Fengbin nodded. "Spirit Jade is only one of them. There are also some other items or medicinal herbs that contain Spiritual Qi. And whether it’s Spirit Jade or those herbs, they all come at astronomical prices!

"Therefore, for someone like you—with no inheritance, no Sect, and no foundation—a billion is merely the entry fee."

Lin Jian took a deep breath. "Are you saying that as long as I have a Cultivation Technique, and I use things like Spirit Jade and medicinal herbs, I can cultivate Ancient Martial Arts?"

"Correct, but even if you have a Cultivation Technique, you still need someone to guide and instruct you. If you only rely on a manual for the Cultivation Technique, you won’t be able to master it."

"Understood. Then I’ll just work hard to make money, right? Or how about we spar again and place a little wager?"

Hearing Lin Jian’s words, Xu Fengbin turned around and left.

Lin Jian was far too shameless. He still wanted to scam him out of his money? How could he even think of that!