My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 418: Chapter 196: Secret Realm

”The Heavenly Gang Secret Realm...”

In response to Qin Fang’s question, his Master paused for a rare moment. After pondering for a good while, he shook his head with a wry smile. ”To be honest, I... don’t actually know much about the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm.”

Qin Fang looked surprised...

’...Even Master doesn’t know much about it?’

Seeing Qin Fang’s gaze, his Master naturally knew what he was thinking and could only shake his head. ”The world is full of mystical places, and the Divine Domain is vast beyond measure... I’ve only taken a few more steps down this path than you. How could I dare claim to be omniscient?”

”The Heavenly Gang Secret Realm... even I do not know its origins.”

”Let me tell you what I can, based on my own experiences and the limited records and oral traditions of past generations. Its true mysteries... can only be understood by experiencing them firsthand.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Fang immediately began to listen intently.

After a slight pause, his Master continued, ”One thing is certain: the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm is no ordinary mountain grotto or cave residence.”

”The notes of a senior from within the Sect mention that inside, ’The Laws are anomalous, and space-time is in flux...’ It is a Grotto Heaven World, independent of the outside world.”

”But as for how it was formed, its scale, or what it’s truly like inside... all records are vague and contradictory.”

”The descriptions from disciples who have entered it throughout the generations vary wildly upon their return.”

”Some say the pressure inside is like a mountain, making every step a struggle; others feel as light as a feather, their thoughts flowing freely. Some have seen inverted rivers of stars and forests of strange peaks; others have only perceived a primordial chaos, with a frosty energy filling their bodies. The only point of relative consensus is—”

”This Secret Realm is of immense benefit to the process of Condensing Gang.”

Hearing this, Qin Fang blinked.

”Con...densing Gang?”

In an instant, he recalled what Master Gu had once said about the True Essence Five Realms...

And the Fourth Realm of True Essence was called the Divine Illumination Realm.

And Master Gu’s summary of this realm had been... Divine in the Qi, Condensing True into Gang!

’Could it be...’

Qin Fang blinked.

But Yue Guiyuan, as if reading his mind, nodded. ”You’re not wrong... it is exactly the ’Condensing Gang’ you’re thinking of.”

”Since you’ve already entered the Primordial Stream Realm, you should understand its nature. Although you can perform True Essence Emission and control it at will, its substance is still like ’qi’—its form tends to be ’scattered.’ It has power, yes, but it lacks true ’Sharpness’ and resilience. Furthermore, it cannot sustain itself for long outside your body.”

”Gang, on the other hand, is the qualitative transformation that occurs after True Essence has been forged and refined a thousand times over.”

As he spoke, he thought for a moment, then simply extended a finger. A wisp of pure True Essence rose languidly from his fingertip, like smoke or mist.

Qin Fang watched instinctively.

”This is ordinary True Essence.”

As his voice fell, the wisp of True Essence suddenly contracted, as if extremely compressed by an invisible force. Its color changed to a subtle, pale silver, and its form transformed from ethereal mist into a strand of ’Qi Force,’ solid as a fine thread yet faintly radiating a sharp, cold light. Though tiny, it projected an incredible resilience—a sense that it could pierce through Gold Stone.

Qin Fang’s brow tightened instantly, and a powerful sense of threat washed over him!

”This is ’Gang’... but only in its nascent form.”

Yue Guiyuan said, ”’Condensing Gang’ is the process of taking the vast ocean of True Essence in your Dantian Qi Sea and continuously purifying it, compressing it, and imprinting it with your unique ’Divine Intent Seal,’ ultimately causing it to undergo a fundamental transformation...”

”It is transforming ’Qi’ into ’True,’ and Condensing ’True’ into ’Gang’.”

”This process is like forging steel, separating the dross from the essence. The resulting density, strength, Sharpness, and capacity for bearing Martial Dao True Intent... are all far beyond that of ordinary True Essence.”

”And ’Gang’ has three primary uses.”

The Master enumerated, ”First, it shatters the hard and destroys the solid. Nothing can stand in its way.”

”Wherever Gang Qi goes, whether it’s an opponent’s Body Protection True Essence or Golden Stone Armor, their defensive power will be greatly diminished. Because its essence is more condensed and of a higher level, it has a natural suppressive and penetrating effect on lower-level powers.”

”Second: It can be shaped outside the body, transforming according to your will.”

”After leaving the body, Gang Qi can maintain its form and power for a considerable time. You can shape it with a thought into weapons like sabers, spears, swords, and halberds; into the forms of fists, palms, or finger seals; or even into a protective shield. You can control it as if it were an extension of your own body... In fact, the ’True Gang Avatar’ you saw before is created by cultivating the corresponding Leaf Skill after one has condensed True Gang.”

”It is an expression of this characteristic taken to a very profound level.”

”Broadly speaking, it involves using Gang Qi as a core, combined with Divine Will, to temporarily condense an avatar that possesses a portion of the original’s strength...”

”And the third use, which is also the most crucial—”

”Gang is the... seed from which future ’Divine Techniques’ will sprout.”

Qin Fang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

After the True Essence Five Realms, came Divine Techniques!

”Above True Essence, there are ’Divine Techniques’.”

”But ’Divine Techniques’ are not acquired out of thin air. They are a unique ’creation,’ birthed when a Martial Artist perfectly fuses their True Essence Nature and the supreme principles of the Martial Dao with their very life essence and energy Origin.”

”The higher the quality of your Gang, and the more tightly it is integrated with your Divine Will, the more compatible and powerful the ’Divine Techniques’ you can bear and nurture will naturally be...”

”The Heavenly Gang Secret Realm, because of its special environment, can greatly accelerate the ’Condensing Gang’ process... Within that Secret Realm, there is also a special, unknown power that can further deepen one’s Nature, or even cause it to mutate... allowing you to ultimately condense a ’Divine Power Seed’ that is uniquely your own.”

”...You could say that as long as you set foot in the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm and gain something from it... it’s as if you’ve already taken a half-step into the ’Divine Realm’.”

”Once you successfully achieve a Breaking Realm, the Divine Techniques you nurture... will often be more powerful and more compatible than those of someone who has never entered the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm.”

His Master explained the purpose of the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm in detail.

Qin Fang was shaken to the core as he listened.

After a long while, he asked in confusion, ”If that’s the case... Master, I am currently only in the Primordial Stream Realm. Since the Heavenly Gang Secret Realm’s greatest effect is during Condensing Gang... there doesn’t seem to be a rush to go in, right?”