Chapter 15

Chen Fan left the sanatorium on Cloudy Mist Mountain with a sense of satisfaction.

Wei Lao, in fact, did not know much about the martial arts world. After all, he was a person within the system, and practicing martial arts was just a family tradition and a hobby.

In his words, the tradition of martial arts had a long history, dating back a thousand years. It was said that the cultivation methods originated from Taoism or other secret sects, and were later simplified and innovated by martial arts masters to create various internal strength techniques and combat skills.

The last flourishing period of the martial arts world was during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

At that time, masters emerged one after another, and experts were abundant. Later, with the rise of firearms, martial arts began to gradually decline, and now even masters are few and far between.

Martial artists are divided into three levels:

External Strength, Internal Strength, and Transcendent Realm.

Most martial artists in the world are at the External Strength level. Techniques like Eagle Claw, Hung Gar, and Tan Leg mostly belong to External Strength, which only involves the use of muscles and bones, not much different from ordinary people.

Reaching the Internal Strength level is very rare. Only a few top internal martial arts schools and family traditions still retain Internal Strength techniques.

Internal Strength is further divided into four stages: Beginner, Minor Success, Major Success, and Perfection. Wei Lao has reached the Major Success stage of Internal Strength.

Internal Strength is very difficult to cultivate. Taking Wei Ziqing as an example, she has been practicing the Wei family's techniques since childhood, and it took her more than twenty years to just reach the Beginner stage, not even Minor Success.

Even in the entire Huaxia, there are only a few families with Internal Strength martial artists.

In Chuzhou, besides Wei Lao and his grandson, the owner of the Weisheng Martial Arts Hall in the city center is said to have also cultivated Internal Strength, but his level is too low, and Wei Lao doesn't think much of his skills.

After all, even if you cultivate Internal Strength, you can't stop a bullet from an ordinary person. Ten years of hard practice are not as effective as three days of gun training. How can martial arts not decline?

But Wei Lao said that if one reaches the peak of Internal Strength or the Transcendent Realm, it's a completely different story.

Masters in the Transcendent Realm have a protective aura that can even withstand firearms.

However, there are very few such masters. Chen Fan is the second master he has personally seen in the past eighty to ninety years.

"Besides the Transcendent Realm, Wei Lao also mentioned that there is supposedly another level above it, called the Divine Realm, with various incredible powers. However, that realm is elusive and just a legend; no one has ever seen it with their own eyes," Chen Fan thought to himself.

If Internal Strength corresponds to the Foundation Establishment stage, and the Transcendent Realm corresponds to the Profound Understanding stage, then the Divine Realm should be the Divine Sea stage.

At the Divine Sea stage, even without corresponding cultivation methods, various supernatural abilities will naturally arise. One can walk through fire unscathed, walk on water, and read minds. These abilities seem incredible, but they are just some characteristics of cultivators.

However, the Transcendent Realm is already so rare, with only a few people in all of Huaxia. How much rarer is the Divine Realm?

Chen Fan shook his head, deciding not to think about such illusory matters. Someone might have reached it, but whether they are still alive is another question.

Besides the information about the martial arts world that Wei Lao knew, Chen Fan also left with a gift from Wei Lao.

A key to a villa on the halfway point of Cloudy Mist Mountain.

According to Wei Lao, this was a gift from his third son, who was not very successful. But since he was already in his seventies, he had no interest in enjoying a villa on the mountain. Moreover, his third son's subordinates had offended Chen Fan, so this key was given as an apology and to cover the cost of the medicine for his injuries.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have refused it a thousand times. But Chen Fan, who was once a great cultivator at the Tribulation Transcending stage, could generously accept even a planet.

In his view, the modified Wei family technique and ten small Essence Cultivation Pills he provided were enough to heal Wei Lao's injuries and even push his cultivation to a higher level, giving him a chance to reach the Transcendent Realm. These two things alone were worth a villa.

Moreover, he would return the favor in the future.

This was the confidence of a Tribulation Transcending Immortal.

...

Sitting in the pavilion, Wei Ziqing frowned as she watched Chen Fan's departing figure.

"Grandpa, didn't you give him something too valuable? That key is to the best villa in 'Cloudy Mist Manor,' worth over thirty million. The richest man in Chuzhou gave it to Uncle Three, who then gave it to you. Ziping and Auntie have been eyeing it for a long time, but you never gave it to them."

"He healed your injuries, but even if he were the best doctor in the country, a million would be enough. The imperial doctor from Yanjing who saw you last time couldn't help and only charged a hundred thousand. A villa worth tens of millions?"

She really couldn't understand why he gave so much.

"You don't understand. Just his modified Wei family technique is priceless," Wei Lao said, his eyes narrowing, sitting in the pavilion with a satisfied look.

"In ancient times, an Internal Strength technique was worth ten thousand taels of gold and could be passed down for generations, creating a family that would last a hundred years."

"Moreover, you don't know what a martial arts master represents," he said, his tone filled with infinite longing.

"Martial arts master?" Wei Ziqing was slightly puzzled. "Didn't you tell him that Transcendent Realm masters are very rare in the martial arts world and can withstand bullets with their physical bodies, but that's just a legend? Even if it's true, what's the point? With modern technology, they can withstand bullets, but can they withstand rifles, sniper rifles, tanks, artillery, or even missiles?"

"We have also investigated Chen Fan. He comes from an ordinary family, and his father is just a minor official in Sishui County with no background. Just because he is a master, should we be so friendly with him?"

At Wei Lao's level, he had already thoroughly investigated Chen Fan's background, but the Wang family was too high for them to investigate.

"It's not as simple as you think," Wei Lao shook his head.

He turned to look at his beautiful granddaughter.

Among all the younger generations, she had been with him the longest and was the only one willing to inherit his family's martial arts. The others were busy making money, being officials, or enjoying life, and none of them were willing to practice martial arts diligently.

Wei Lao thought for a moment and decided to reveal some information to her so she could understand his intentions.

"Have you heard of Ye Nantian?" Wei Lao asked, his expression serious.

"Ye Nantian? The one from the Yanjing Military District?" Wei Ziqing tilted her head, thinking.

"Exactly, him. You may not know, but he is also a peak martial arts master," Wei Lao nodded.

"How is that possible?" Wei Ziqing's mouth opened wide, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.

Although she was not a soldier, her father was in the military, and many of her relatives and friends were related to the military, so she had naturally heard of Ye Nantian's reputation.

Ye Nantian!

A major general in the Yanjing Military District, the chief instructor of the special forces, a true legendary figure.

She had grown up listening to stories about Ye Nantian.

In the stories, Ye Nantian was almost invincible.

It was said that he killed an entire Vietnamese mountain special forces company in the Southeast Asian rainforest with just a dagger.

It was said that he once infiltrated the border and destroyed the base of a separatist organization.

It was said that the special forces he trained were invincible in all competitions, even when facing the best special forces from other countries.

It was said...

He was like a god of war, a single person overshadowing the six major military regions.

In ancient times, such a person would be a mighty general like Lü Bu or Zhang Fei, invincible against thousands!

"Are Ye Nantian's stories true?" Wei Ziqing looked at her grandfather in disbelief.

She had thought it was just the military's habit of exaggerating. How could a normal person kill dozens of fully armed soldiers with just a knife, and they were the elite of the Vietnamese mountain special forces?

Wei Lao nodded heavily, "Not only are they true, but he is even more powerful than you think. The stories you know are just a small part; he has done many more incredible things."

"Otherwise, how could he be called a 'pillar of the nation' and overshadow the other military regions?"

Mentioning Ye Nantian, even a hero like Wei Lao couldn't help but sigh.

"Are martial arts masters really that terrifying?" Wei Ziqing didn't want to believe it, but with her grandfather's confirmation, she couldn't help but believe it.

Before, she thought practicing martial arts was just her grandfather's wish, and she followed along for fun. She disapproved of the other younger generations' indulgence in pleasure, so she preferred to practice martial arts with her grandfather every day, which was interesting and allowed her to feel her own progress.

But now her grandfather was telling her that there were martial artists who could fight a hundred enemies and even resist fully armed special forces.

"Individually, martial arts masters are not that terrifying, but a martial arts master fully equipped by the state is extremely terrifying," Wei Lao said somberly.

Reminded by him, Wei Ziqing suddenly thought of something, and a chill ran through her.

If a Transcendent Realm master can withstand bullets with their internal strength, then with a few layers of special bulletproof vests, could they withstand rifles or even machine guns? Such a person, swift on the battlefield like a galloping horse, unafraid of bullets, could be as powerful as a small special forces unit.

If that's the case, then Ye Nantian's various incredible feats make sense.

Such an existence on the battlefield is a pure killing machine.

"Not only Ye Nantian, do you remember your cousin Xiao's Uncle Wu?" Wei Lao seemed to want to shatter all of Wei Ziqing's illusions.

"Yes," Wei Ziqing nodded slightly, a bit shy.

"He is also a martial arts master," Wei Lao dropped another bomb.

This time, Wei Ziqing's expression finally changed completely.