ALL NOVEL Chapter 392: I Will Practice Martial Arts!
The supernatural way of each world is different; ranks 0-9 exist according to the laws of both the world and the universe. However, the universal laws allow for an extremely wide range of possibilities; in practice, a world's specific laws determine the overwhelming majority of its supernatural rules.
The supernatural system in Lana's world is quite complicated, with three broad avenues and one narrow avenue.
The three broad avenues are:
First, Emotional Masters: They are feared and possess the fastest cultivation speed. They grow stronger by manipulating the masses and absorbing the emotional energy generated. Emotional Masters usually choose jobs with high public exposure, such as politicians, actors, singers, or social media influencers. Although Emotional Masters can become terrifying if left unchecked, the government has imposed strict regulations on them. They are forbidden from causing disturbances to absorb emotional energy and cannot have an audience of over 1 billion people. Despite these regulations, Emotional Masters still have a bad reputation among the public. They usually remain hidden and rarely reveal their identity.
Second, Spiritual Masters: In contrast to Emotional Masters, Spiritual Masters are highly respected and revered. They draw power from faith, growing stronger as long as people believe in them. This provides Spiritual Masters with the most stable source of power. Although their progress is slower due to the milder nature of faith energy, they tend to reach a greater height than emotional masters. Spiritual Masters often present themselves as saints, helping others, delivering philosophical speeches, or working in hospitals for free. Unlike Emotional Masters, they do not hide their supernatural identity.
Government regulations also limit Spiritual Masters; they are restricted to no more than one billion believers. This prevents any one Spiritual Master from consolidating too much power. Today, there are millions of Spiritual Masters, with the largest and most powerful having up to a billion followers. However, this cap makes it difficult for them to progress beyond rank 6, as one billion believers are not enough to support rank 7.
Third, Queen Believers: Unlike Spiritual Masters, who rely on people’s belief for power, Queen Believers devote themselves entirely to serving the queen. In return, the queen grants them a portion of her power. The rate at which Queen Believers progress is not fixed—it depends on how well they serve and the queen’s mood. There are only about 100 million Queen Believers in the entire world, as the queen is selective and does not accept everyone. However, Queen Believers have an easier path compared to the other avenues; they grow stronger simply by performing everyday tasks under the queen’s rule. After all, the queen is the absolute ruler, and it’s very unlikely she would send them off to war.
The levels of supernatural training for Emotional and Spiritual Masters, as well as Queen Believers, are divided into five realms:
Nacant Soul: Practitioners at this level gain immense power, including the ability to move their soul outside their body, teleport, and cast powerful spells. They can live up to 20,000 years and possess the power to destroy a medium-sized city with just a few spells.
Soul Body: At this level, practitioners shed their physical body and exist as souls. They can live up to 100,000 years and have powers far beyond Nacant Soul practitioners. Destroying a country would be effortless for them, although this great power is never used; after all, who dares to run wild when the queen is watching from high above?
Soul Nucleus: Practitioners at this stage have significantly more energy in their soul body than those in the previous realms. The difference in power between a peak Soul Body practitioner and an early-stage Soul Nucleus practitioner is minimal, but as Soul Nucleus practitioners gather energy, they surpass Soul Body practitioners over time. A peak Soul Nucleus cultivator can easily defeat a peak Soul Body practitioner. The Soul Nucleus doesn’t generate energy but stores it, and if a peak Soul Nucleus cultivator expends too much energy, they may drop to a lower realm. The lifespan for Soul Nucleus cultivators is the same as that of Soul Body practitioners, up to 100,000 years.
Perfection: At this stage, the energy stored in the Soul Nucleus is used for a thorough transformation of the soul into its perfect state. This transformation can affect the practitioner’s personality, and many fear this change, seeking ways to prevent it. In general, practitioners in the Perfection realm adopt an immortal-like demeanor, often withdrawing from the world to cultivate in seclusion for millions of years. They can live as long as the queen permits; although the queen may occasionally “weed out” some practitioners or send them to other worlds, she usually leaves them alone. The power increase from Soul Nucleus to Perfection is qualitative, making Perfection practitioners vastly superior to Nucleus practitioners in combat; a peak soul nucleus realm practitioner cannot even scratch the surface of the skin of a perfection realm master. The perfect soul of practitioners in this realm is considered the key to their existence; in case of injury, perfection practitioners must quickly treat their wounds and return to their perfect state. Otherwise, they may fall into a coma or, in case of serious injury, even die.
Eruption: In the Eruption realm, practitioners are as strong as quasi rank 10 beings. The soul remains unchanged, but the Soul Nucleus begins to spew vast amounts of pure energy. This endless energy allows Eruption practitioners to easily overwhelm Perfection practitioners. Given enough time and no interference from the world’s will, a single Eruption practitioner could destroy an entire world.
In terms of strength, a peak Nacant Soul cultivator is equivalent to a peak 5th-rank magician in a standard magical setting, a peak Soul Body cultivator is equivalent to a mid-7th-rank magician, a peak Soul Nucleus cultivator is equivalent to a quasi-rank 8 magician, a peak Perfection practitioner is as strong as a peak rank 9 magician, and an Eruption practitioner is comparable to a quasi-rank 10 being. The realms don’t align perfectly with those of standard magical worlds, as the laws differ. Universal laws only set broad guidelines, such as preventing worlds from promoting all mortals to peak rank 9 without a proper process.
The Narrow Path: The final path is martial arts, a difficult and resource-intensive method for gaining strength. Very few reach high levels through this path, which is one reason it is called the “narrow path.” Despite its name, 99% of all supernatural masters are martial artists. Ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to pursue the path of Emotion or Faith Masters, nor do they have the chance to serve as Queen Believers. Martial arts is their only avenue. Although most lack the talent needed, the world's population is vast, so even a small percentage of talented individuals results in a large number of martial artists.
The initial levels of martial arts are relatively easy, but it becomes increasingly difficult to progress as one advances. The difficulty is particularly high after the 4th realm.
Martial arts have their own realms:
Body Transformation: This realm is divided into five stages: skin training, flesh training, bone training, internal organ training, and blood transformation. Upon completing blood transformation, a martial artist may attempt to reach the Innate Realm. Martial arts are extremely difficult, and most mortals can’t complete even the skin-refining stage in their lifetime; a peak Body Transformation martial artist is as strong as a low-ranking rank 0 magic apprentice.
Innate Realm: At this stage, martial artists stand out among mortals, gaining strength and an extended lifespan of up to 100 additional years, though often less; a peak Innate realm martial artist is as strong as a strong rank 0 magic apprentice.
Radiation Realm: Martial artists in this realm can extend their internal energy outside their body, allowing them to match the strength of 1st-rank magicians. They can also fly long distances, something Innate Masters struggle to do. Lifespan at this stage ranges from 200 to 600 years.
Martial Domain Realm: Martial artists here can passively extend their martial will over a radius of hundreds of meters, sensing everything within. They are comparable to quasi-rank 3 mages and usually live no longer than 2,000 years.
Martial Saint: Martial Saints can spread their domain over a five-kilometer radius, sensing and crushing weaker practitioners. A newly promoted Martial Saint is as strong as a peak rank 4 magician, and a peak Martial Saint can faintly display the power of a weak rank 5 magician. They can live for up to 10,000 years.
Martial God: Martial Gods can extend their domain over a hundred kilometers, sensing and attacking anything within that range. They lead major martial arts sects and wield immense influence. Even a newly promoted Martial God is as strong as a quasi-rank 6 magician, while a peak Martial God matches a peak rank 6 wizard in strength. Their lifespan can reach up to 40,000 years.
There is no realm beyond rank 6 in martial arts, which is the main reason why it’s considered a narrow path. Martial God is the highest attainable level, and despite countless years of efforts by many generations of martial artists, no one has ever broken through to a higher realm.
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Mike listened to the explanation and said, “I will practice martial arts!”