Chapter 377: Chapter 379: The Path of Martial Arts, Whose Will? Chapter 377: Chapter 379: The Path of Martial Arts, Whose Will? “It’s an interesting differentiation, the martial sects are divided by animals, while the Secret Spirit Master organizations express themselves through plants.”

Seated within the Endless Abyss, Qin Muye browsed through massive amounts of information. Of course, this was no longer his own body, but the manifestation of the Abyss, the Shadow Equipment, the Book of the Sage.

“At first, I thought it was merely Secret Martial imitating, but it turned out there really is such a distinction.”

“Both have extremely similar cultivation methods, like Secret Martial requires training from a young age to perfectly exhibit the characteristics of the sect, while the Secret Spirit also needs to be implanted from a young age for better symbiosis.”

Qin Muye, looking at the information compiled from the mass of intelligence, was also a bit surprised.

“The best age is around five years old, not only for laying the foundation but also for cultivating loyalty.”

“As for those who start halfway through life, their achievements have always been low, which is an innate difference.”

Talent needs to be guided and nurtured from a young age. Did you really think everyone could be the protagonist? After the bones have already been set, to casually practice and, in a short time, surpass those carefully cultivated geniuses? That’s cheating; ordinary people simply don’t have that chance. Once missed, it’s missed; there’s absolutely no opportunity for remedy.

Even Qin Muye had to rely on transformation to overcome these deficiencies, otherwise, it would have been impossible to achieve these tasks.

“Martial Arts Will and Secret Spirit are key, I must study them further first.” Qin Muye ordered Tian Qi to bring up a martial artist.

Soon, a martial artist with a huge, muscular physique was brought up by a Spirit Monster; he had been captured and tied up, looking like he’d been injected with plenty of anesthetic agents and spell-induced anesthesia.

“A Nourishing Soul Stage martial artist, he’s the lowest class. His resources or talent must not be very good. Otherwise, at this age, he should be in the Quenching Divine Stage,” Qin Muye commented as he felt the other’s bones. The bone age was around thirty-five, which should have meant surpassing this stage.

Martial artists are divided into five stages: Body Refining, Mind Training, Nourishing Soul, Quenching Divine, and True Martial.

If one is cultivated from a young age with ample resources, most of the Secret Martial inheritances can reach the Quenching Divine Stage. This martial artist, being only at the Nourishing Soul stage, was proof enough of his lackluster strength.

Like the previously deceased Wu Dao and the escaped Li Xiang of the Wild Lion Sect, both were at the Quenching Divine Realm.

As for the final level, True Martial, that was not so easily attained; after all, it’s the highest rank and not so simple to reach.

The system is actually quite peculiar. Body Refining and Mind Training are both considered within the Second Rank. Mind Training is the key, referring to the time spent cultivating and condensing Martial Arts Will. The length of this period depends on the individual’s Talent, investment, and dedication. If all three conditions are met, it might only take a day.

While Nourishing Soul corresponds to the Third Rank, Quenching Divine to the Fourth Rank, and True Martial, naturally, to the Fifth Rank. And it’s like a staircase, with fewer individuals at the higher ranks. For example, in the larger sects, there might be about a dozen at the True Martial Stage, and in smaller ones, only one as the sect leader. If there is no True Martial Stage martial artist, the entire sect would be abolished, unless at some point another one emerges.

There’s even a stage known as Divine Rank, the Sixth Rank, but so far no Sixth Rank beings have been found by the Spirit Monsters; perhaps those old monsters are all in hiding.

But both the Secret Spirit Masters and the martial artists have intelligence systems that record the existence of people at the Divine Rank.

You should know that for both professions, reaching the corresponding rank extends lifespan to a certain extent. For the currently highest public Rank, the Fifth Rank, one can live around 500 years, of course, provided they aren’t killed. If they’re killed, it’s all over.

“Where exactly does Martial Arts Will reside? Based on what we see, it should not be at the physical level; it’s more likely on the mental plane.”

When it comes to the mental plane, the brain is the first choice. Where else could it be?

The dissection goes smoothly. The man’s skull is hard, but definitely not as hard as the equipment in Qin Muye’s laboratory.

As for Qin Muye still using dissection, a wasteful method in the Interstellar Era, he states there’s an abundance of test subjects; dissection allows the most direct observation of the subject’s inner structure. If there’s a problem, just switch to another test subject–why not?

“The brain does show some signs of mutation, but it’s not the Martial Arts Will I imagined. Instead, it has more to do with reaction and intuition. Does that mean that though Martial Arts Will is comprehended with the brain, it doesn’t reside in the brain?” Qin Muye narrowed his eyes, then turned his attention to this martial artist’s arms.

This martial artist is from the Sky Eagle Sect, his primary Secret Martial being the Fierce Eagle Claw, a very complete inheritance. It’s considered high-quality among all Secret Martial inheritances, with everything from Secret Medicine and Breathing Skills to Hammering Methods and Martial Arts Skills all included.

The assessment of Secret Martial inheritance isn’t based on power, but rather depends on whether the inheritance is complete and whether the cultivation can proceed smoothly. An inheritance is considered superior if it’s complete and allows for unobstructed progression, including various methods of improvement such as foundation building and advancement.

“From the foundation-level Eagle Claw Technique to the current Fierce Eagle Claw, if he could cultivate this Secret Martial to the extreme and reach the Quenching Divine Stage, he would then be able to practice the advanced Divine Eagle Claw, which would make him a pillar of the Sky Eagle Sect’s claw lineage.”

Every Secret Martial has a vast heritage, and if that lineage is broken or damaged, it will definitely lead to the weakening of the entire sect.

The Sky Eagle Sect isn’t a small faction anymore, it can be considered to be above average, with influence spread across several cities.

As a martial artist who primarily practices claw techniques, Qin Muye naturally targets his entire arm.

However, this doesn’t mean he only trains his hands; the tempering of his body and the enhancement of his reflexes also have corresponding exercises. It’s just that the claw techniques stand out, and others such as movement and leg techniques are also practiced, but they are more of a support so that he doesn’t end up all arms and no legs.

When Qin Muye got to work, he distinctly felt a bit of resistance, but in his hands, this slight resistance was nothing. It was only noticeably different from when he dissected a skull, which made Qin Muye realize something was wrong.

He has data on his control over strength, so naturally, he applied more force when he encountered resistance.

The muscles in his hands burst open, looking somewhat strange.

“Interesting, it seems like a kind of passive counterattack, a bodily instinct?” Qin Muye had felt that every piece of flesh and bone was resisting.

It was as if they were defenders resisting an invasion.

“Too bad they are just a bunch of scattered guerrillas, still lacking quite a bit.”

“According to martial artists, he’s full of vigor but lacks spirit; his Martial Arts Will is not quite there.”

The system of martial artists is very special. Though it is founded on the physical body, since the Body Refining phase, what has been constantly strengthened is the Martial Arts Will, which is more of an aid; the Martial Arts Will continuously enhances their strength.

A martial artist at the Quenching Divine Stage can even sense the killing intent of enemies in their sleep and manifest their Martial Arts Will at will, as if it were a living creature.

When Wu Dao and Li Xiang clashed, the vivid Yin Snake and Wild Lion were proofs of that.

“Tch, I always feel there’s a bit of conspiracy theory here.”

Soon, Qin Muye extracted some sort of ethereal thing from the body of this experimental subject martial artist codenamed Sky Eagle.

A golden eagle, soaring high with a body verging on ethereal, ready to disperse at any moment, and with dull, lifeless eyes, much like a puppet.

If there was something different, it certainly was the eagle’s claws that were particularly realistic, with very clear details, displaying sharpness.

The core of the entire eagle is right here.

“I wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t a conspiracy theory!” Qin Muye looked at the dissipating golden eagle, as it was only extracted and naturally did not last long since it was detached from the martial artist’s body.

“This should be his Martial Arts Will, only incomplete and seemingly fragmented by human hands, hm~ what a good idea!”

Incomplete means that the opponent probably needs to reach the Quenching Divine Stage to make this golden eagle come alive rather than be just a shell like now, and the good idea refers to these sects splitting a complete Martial Arts Will into parts to aid the cultivation of other subordinate techniques.

So even if a martial artist reaches the True Martial Rank, they won’t be killed by their Martial Arts Will unless they cultivate all the secret techniques of the entire sect to completion, and then, well, no need to imagine the pitfall.

“Could Secret Spirit Masters also have this kind of drawback?” Qin Muye pondered this matter. If the Martial Arts Will born from martial artists cultivating Secret Martials has issues, then the Secret Spirit Masters, being part of the same Extraordinary System, couldn’t possibly be flaw-free, could they? Otherwise, how could the fight be evenly matched instead of one side completely overwhelming the other?