My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 353: Chapter 174: Guiyuan

He let out a long breath and finally entered his room.

...

「The next day.」

Qin Fang rose early, left his room, and headed north.

He hadn’t come out again after entering his room the day before, instead spending the time sorting through his thoughts. After all, the news he’d received had left him deeply unsettled.

But now, he had completely calmed his mind.

’It’s time to start my life in the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect.’

By now, Qin Fang had already changed into his newly received robes.

The moon-white long robe, embroidered with green patterns, was perfectly tailored, accentuating his tall and straight posture, as upright as a pine tree.

In the morning light, the robe’s subtle cloud-and-water patterns shimmered with a faint silver luster. Far from looking plain, it lent him an air of refined nobility.

The Jade Token at his waist hung down, swaying gently with his steps.

Qin Fang was handsome to begin with, but dressed in the unique moon-white and green-patterned robes of an Inner Sect Disciple of the Guiyuan Lineage, he looked exceptionally handsome.

’...Clothes really do make the man.’

On the path out of the valley, he encountered quite a few disciples. They all did a double-take upon seeing Qin Fang, their gazes filled with surprise and curiosity.

But soon, one of them bowed and called out, ”Greetings, Senior Brother Qin.”

Qin Fang subconsciously looked over, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, and nodded. ”Junior Brother Zhang.”

This ’Junior Brother Zhang’ was one of the three disciples who had been on duty at the Council Pavilion the day before and had met Qin Fang.

Seeing Qin Fang return the greeting, Junior Brother Zhang’s smile widened. ”Senior Brother, you actually remember me?”

Qin Fang chuckled. ”I’m not an idiot. We just met yesterday, how could I forget?”

At that, Junior Brother Zhang broke into a goofy grin.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qin Fang continued on his way.

He hadn’t gone far before he heard the hushed discussion behind him.

”Senior Brother Zhang, this senior brother... he seems unfamiliar... You know him?”

”Yeah, Senior Sister Wen just brought Senior Brother Qin into the sect yesterday, so it’s normal you don’t know him... This Senior Brother Qin is incredible... He’s this year’s top scorer in the Martial Arts Examination! A genius who has already pushed open the Divine Gate and entered the True Essence Realm!”

”HISS, the top scorer of the Martial Arts Examination? I’ve heard of him! That’s him?! I can’t believe he joined our Guiyuan Lineage.”

”I’ve heard about him too! They said a prodigy appeared this year, only twenty years old, and already in the True Essence Realm...”

”Twenty years old... and in the True Essence Realm?!”

Someone gasped in a low voice.

”I’m already fifty, and I’ve failed to break the gate three times... This Senior Brother... Qin, he broke open the Divine Gate at twenty?”

”This...”

They were clearly stunned.

”If you can’t break the gate by sixty, you’ll be stripped of your Inner Sect Disciple status and sent to the Outer Sect...”

”True Essence at twenty...”

Their voices, full of amazement, gradually trailed off.

As Qin Fang listened, his mind stirred.

’...That hurdle, the Divine Gate, really is a tough one to clear.’

Even with his solid foundation, it had taken him three consecutive attempts to break open the Divine Gate. The shockwaves rebounding from the gate during the process had nearly scattered his Qi Blood.

’...It just goes to show how hard it is to break through the gate!’

’I just wonder if my Golden Finger activated when I was Breaking Through...’

Qin Fang pondered this, but soon shook his head gently, let out a breath, and quickened his pace.

He was going to the Scripture Pavilion today to collect a Cultivation Technique.

...He had been in the True Essence Realm for over a month, but in that time, his Cultivation had not progressed in the slightest.

His path forward was still severed.

He needed to mend his path forward as soon as possible.

Just as he was thinking this...

”Junior Brother Qin.”

A voice suddenly called out from behind him. Qin Fang snapped out of his reverie and turned to see Wen Suxin.

”Senior Sister Wen?”

Wen Suxin let out a long breath and hurried over, her expression apologetic. ”Yesterday was too rushed, and I forgot the most important thing. You’ve already reached the True Essence Realm, which means you now have to select a Root Skill... Do you know anything about True Essence Nature?”

Qin Fang froze for a moment at her words, then candidly shook his head.

”Thank goodness I remembered today... Don’t be in a hurry to go to the Scripture Pavilion to pick a Cultivation Technique. Read this book first.”

Wen Suxin took a thin, thread-bound book from her robes. Qin Fang looked and saw four large characters on the cover: *Initial Understanding of Xingxiang*.

”I apologize. When I was guiding you through your induction yesterday, I completely overlooked the fact that you’ve already reached the True Essence Realm...” Senior Sister Wen apologized again.

Qin Fang quickly shook his head. ”Senior Sister Wen, you’re being too serious.”

”Well, at least no great harm was done... This book roughly explains what True Essence Nature is. All disciples who have entered the True Essence Realm must read it... Read it first. After you have a general understanding of True Essence Nature, then go to the Scripture Pavilion.”

Senior Sister Wen handed the book to Qin Fang.

Qin Fang took it.

He thought for a moment before saying, ”Alright. It doesn’t look very thick, so I’ll read it as I walk... Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Senior Sister Wen considered this for a moment, then nodded.

They exchanged a few more words before someone called for Senior Sister Wen, and she excused herself.

Qin Fang watched her walk into the distance before looking down at the *Initial Understanding of Xingxiang* in his hands. He continued on his way out of the valley, opening the book as he went...

”What, then, is True Essence Nature?”

The very first sentence made Qin Fang raise his eyebrows. His interest piqued, he read on.

”A Martial Artist breaks through the Celestial Gate, condenses True Essence, and Transcends Mortality to Sainthood. Yet True Essence is no inert, lifeless thing; it truly possesses an innate disposition. This is what is called ’Nature’.”

”It is the very essence of a Martial Artist’s constitution, Qi Blood, and Divine Will, which resonates with the Spiritual Mechanism of Heaven and Earth and manifests naturally. Just as humans differ in temperament, so too does True Essence have various aspects. This is the beginning of one’s Dao Foundation.”

”This Nature is not created from nothing; it is the culmination of all one’s past cultivation. The former efforts of tempering the body, refining Qi Blood, and sharpening the will; the past essences consumed from the world’s Treasure Plants and the flesh of Exotic Species—all are fused and forged within it.”

”Breaking a realm to condense True Essence is like the unsealing of a great furnace: all that has been accumulated over the years is given its final form in a single moment.”

”Therefore, the form your Nature will take has long been inscribed within the very fabric of your being.”

”Once this Nature is determined, it dictates the choice of future Root Skills, the application of Leaf Skills, and the direction of one’s path on the Dao. If a Root Skill aligns with this Nature, progress is like a boat floating downstream—twice the results with half the effort. If a Leaf Skill clashes with it, it is like holding a torch in a headwind—half the results for twice the effort. In the worst cases, one’s foundation may be destroyed and their path on the Dao cut short...”

Qin Fang gradually became engrossed in his reading.