Lin Chen smiled wryly. He indeed didn’t know much about the Innate Realm. When Innate Martial Artists appeared in the Nine Kingdoms, he was busy taking on challenges at Martial Arts Mountain. Later, soon after the Martial Arts Alliance was established, Steward Gao arrived.
On the way, Gao Zeming did not tell him much about the Innate Realm. It wasn’t that Gao Zeming didn’t want to tell Lin Chen, but rather due to his own careful considerations.
In his view, after Lin Chen entered the sect, he would certainly be taken as a direct disciple by some elder. But Lin Chen wasn’t a disciple trained by the Canglan Sect from a young age. Having an elder as his master and letting the elder inform Lin Chen of some matters regarding the Innate Realm could give the elder the feeling of being a master and also deepen the relationship between the master and disciple.
One could say his intentions were well-meaning.
The excuse was also well-thought-out: he himself was only in the Innate Second Realm and couldn’t guarantee that his understanding and knowledge of the Innate Realm were absolutely correct. To avoid misleading Lin Chen and causing him to have a skewed understanding of the Martial Path, he dared not say much.
"It’s normal for you not to understand the Innate Realm, living on overseas islands. Your master will discuss the Innate Realm with you today."
Du Xiaofeng, being an astute man, could also guess why Gao Zeming didn’t tell Lin Chen much about the Innate Realm on the way here.
"The Innate Realm is divided into six stages. The first stage is the Gang Transformation Realm, where the energy within transforms into Innate Gang Qi. This requires gathering Five Elements Energy; only with the Five Elements can Innate Gang Qi be formed."
Du Xiaofeng gently waved his hand, and Lin Chen could clearly feel the air around them ripple like water.
"But do you know why refining Five Elements Energy can produce Innate Gang Qi?"
"Disciple does not know."
"That’s because gathering Five Elements Energy, when it merges with your own Qi Blood, creates a new energy, known in the Martial Arts Realm as Innate Power."
"This Innate Power flows through your body, and as it increases, it eventually condenses into an Innate Crystal within the acupoints, marking the Innate Second Realm, the Crystal Condensation Realm."
"Forming an Innate Crystal in each of the twenty-four acupoints is considered entering the Second Realm. If you’re able to form Innate Crystals in three hundred sixty-five places, you can attempt to break into the Innate Third Realm."
Du Xiaofeng quickly explained to Lin Chen about the first and second stages of the Innate Realm. After Lin Chen digested most of it, he continued: "Moreover, the Martial Path Will of Innate Martial Artists is also different."
"Master, what exactly is the difference between Martial Path Will and Divine Soul?"
Lin Chen asked a question that concerned him. Until now, he still hadn’t figured out the difference between Divine Soul and Martial Path Will.
In Liang, several adults told him that Martial Path Will is derived from the Divine Soul and is a product of the Divine Soul.
But Senior Brother Pei could make Innate Martial Artists wary with just his Sword Path Will at Second Grade strength, and at that time, Senior Brother Pei’s Divine Soul was at most First Grade.
If Martial Path Will is derived from the Divine Soul, how could it be stronger than the Divine Soul?
Hearing his disciple’s question, Du Xiaofeng smiled slightly, pointed to a tree in the courtyard, and asked, "Does this tree pose any threat to humans?"
"No?"
"Hmm."
Du Xiaofeng nodded, and the next moment, with a grasp through space, he broke a branch, the leaves falling off, leaving only the bare twig which flew into Du Xiaofeng’s hand.
"Now, with this twig in my hand, does it pose a threat to humans?"
"Yes."
Lin Chen nodded; the twig could still hurt someone.
"How about this?"
Du Xiaofeng again made a spatial gesture, causing the tree in the courtyard to snap. Its trunk seemed to be carved by an invisible blade, swiftly forming into a longsword shape and landing in Du Xiaofeng’s hand.
Though made of wood, the tip remained sharp.
"The destructive power has greatly increased."
Lin Chen looked at the wooden sword in his master’s hand, capable of injuring people, especially with its sharp tip.
"The wooden sword comes from this tree but is only a small part of it. Yet, its destructive power is greater than the entire tree. Now, do you understand the difference between Divine Soul and Martial Path Will?"
"Disciple understands."
His master explained so thoroughly; if he still didn’t understand, it would have been a waste of his cultivation.
"The Divine Soul is the foundation. All Martial Path Will is evolved from the Divine Soul, but regardless of how formidable the Martial Path Will is, there is always a limit."
Du Xiaofeng flicked his hand, and a longsword from the weapon rack in the courtyard fell into his hand.
The black longsword clashed with the wooden sword, instantly slicing the wooden sword into two pieces.
"If your Divine Soul is just a tree, even if your Martial Path Will can be cultivated to the extreme, it would still just be a wooden sword or spear. Its essence remains wood, and when faced with a weapon made of other materials, it would shatter upon impact."
"A wooden sword might be sharp, but it cannot compare to an iron sword. An iron sword, despite its impressiveness, ultimately is no match for a sword made of more durable materials. This illustrates the relationship between Divine Soul and Martial Path Will; the strength of the Divine Soul determines the upper limit of Martial Path Will."
Du Xiaofeng looked at his disciple: "Your current confusion probably lies in how powerful Martial Path Will can truly be, right? Whether it can transcend realms and defeat opponents."
"Yes."
"Martial Path Will is divided into four levels: ordinary, refined, flawless, and perfect flawless... Most Martial Artists’ Martial Path Will are of ordinary level, a few are refined, and very few have flawless Martial Path Will. As for the perfect flawless level... it’s as difficult as climbing to the heavens."
"Below the Innate, leveraging the power of Martial Path Will allows one to defeat opponents of higher tiers. However, each realm of the Innate Sixth Realm has a vast gap. Unless it’s the perfect flawless level of Martial Path Will, crossing realms to defeat opponents is impossible."
"Apart from levels, the comprehension of Martial Path Will also varies in difficulty, categorized by the characteristics of Martial Path Will. Do you know any musical instruments?"
"Musical instruments?"
Lin Chen didn’t know why his master suddenly brought up musical instruments.
"The disciple knows a bit."
"Flute, guqin, pipa, guzheng, huqin, and drumsticks. Which of these do you think are difficult to master?"
"Ten years mastering the flute, a hundred years the flute, a thousand years the pipa, ten thousand years the zheng, and a lifetime the huqin."
Lin Chen remembered a jingle he heard in his past life and blurted it out.
"It may be exaggerated, but the reasoning is just about right."
Du Xiaofeng chuckled at Lin Chen’s response: "Instruments are like this, and Martial Path Will is the same. Some Martial Path Will is harder to comprehend, so even at the same ordinary level, it would be stronger than others. The Sword Path Will that your Brother Pei comprehended is considered difficult to grasp, and flawless Sword Path Will is even rarer. That’s why he could make Innate Martial Artists wary of him with just his Sword Path Will before even entering the Innate Realm."
"Disciple understands."
The principle, once understood, becomes clear.
"Master, what is the most difficult Martial Path Will to comprehend?"
Lin Chen asked this purely out of curiosity, not because he harbored such ambitions.
"There’s no answer to that question."
Du Xiaofeng shook his head, seeing the puzzled look in Lin Chen’s eyes, he explained: "Difficulty varies from person to person. The Sword Path Will is difficult, but your Brother Pei, without guidance, could comprehend flawless Sword Path Will by himself. To him, the Sword Path Will might not seem difficult at all."
"Don’t pursue powerful Martial Path Will too much. What suits you best is most fitting."
"Disciple has been taught."
Lin Chen nodded, understanding his master’s concern that he might aim too high, pursuing overwhelmingly powerful Martial Path Will.
"The level of Martial Path Will can be increased. Even if you comprehend a formidable Martial Path Will, but it’s stuck at ordinary or refined level, others, even if their Martial Path Will’s initial power is weaker than yours, will surpass you once their level increases to flawless."
With that, Du Xiaofeng, with a twinkle in his old eyes: "Now you should know what the Canglan Secret Realm contains, right?"
"Upgrading Martial Path Will."
Lin Chen’s eyes lit up, understanding why his master wanted him to choose the Canglan Secret Realm.