Urban Divine Doctor Descends the Mountain

Chapter 655: Chapter 655: The Secrets of Martial Way

After Daoist Master Qing Shan finished speaking to Lin Dong, he walked towards the room inside.

Lin Dong followed.

Soon, they arrived in the room, and when it was just the two of them, Master to disciple, Daoist Qing Shan smiled and asked:

”Good job, disciple. This time your venture into the world has yielded a great harvest. You have made a breakthrough in the Nine Shifts Longeity Scripture to the ’Golden Core Realm’ of the fourth stage.”

Daoist Qing Shan praised him.

He was a strict master and rarely praised Lin Dong before, even though Lin Dong had always performed excellently and was highly gifted. But he had never directly praised him like this.

Lin Dong was also somewhat joyful and said with a smile, ”Master, indeed, cultivating in the world really speeds up one’s progress. But Master, there are still some things that I do not understand.”

”What don’t you understand?” asked Daoist Qing Shan.

Lin Dong said, ”Master, in the outer world, the classification of martial artist levels is divided into Gold Realm Martial Artists, Mystic Realm Martial Artists, Earth Realm Martial Artists, and Heavenly Realm Martial Artists!”

”They have also established a Dragon Rankings, and atop the Dragon Rankings, only King Kunlun, an Earth Realm martial artist, is ranked first. However, as I ventured into the world and came into contact with more and more experts, I realized that though Earth Realm martial artists are few, there surely isn’t only one of them.”

”A few days ago, when I slaughtered Dead Unlucky, the son of the Corpse King, I learned from his mouth about something called the ’Hidden Clan.’ He asked me if I was a young master from a Hidden Clan who had ventured into the world. Master, what is this Hidden Clan? Do you know?”

Upon hearing these doubts raised by Lin Dong, Daoist Qing Shan stroked his beard and laughingly said:

”Previously, your strength was too weak. I felt there was no need to tell you all these things so soon, so I didn’t mention them to you.”

”Now that you’ve broken through to the ’Golden Core Realm’ of the Fourth Stage of the Nine Shifts Longevity Scripture, and your strength is equivalent to the ’early phase of the Earth Realm’ in the outer world’s martial artist rankings, it’s indeed necessary to tell you some of the Martial Arts World secrets!”

”Secrets of the Martial Arts World?” Lin Dong’s pupils contracted, his interest piqued.

Daoist Qing Shan paused briefly, then continued:

”Regarding the Hidden Clans, they are a collective of concealed powerful forces within Dragon Country. They are all martial arts families and ancient powers that have existed for at least a thousand years.”

”For instance, the Buddhist Group of the Western Regions, The Tianshi School of Dragon and Tiger, the Kunlun Mountain School of Kunlun, and the three ancient martial arts families of the Martial Arts World that have been around for a millennium—Ye Family, Xiao Family, and Wang Family...”

”Each of these secretive strengths is unfathomably deep. At the very least, each has an Earth Realm powerhouse in their later phases, and even more, some have Heavenly Realm powerhouses as their anchor!”

”What?” Lin Dong was astounded. He knew well how terrifying and rare Earth Realm powerhouses were.

As for those Heavenly Realm Martial Artists, earlier even many experts in the Martial Arts World said they didn’t exist and were only part of legends.

Who could have thought that these Hidden Clans would at least have Earth Realm powerhouses at their helm, and even might possess Heavenly Realm Martial Artists.

Daoist Qing Shan continued to stroke his beard and said, ”Disciple, do you now know the specific divisions of Earth Realm martial artists?”

Lin Dong shook his head.

Daoist Qing Shan explained, ”Earth Realm martial artists, also called Grandmasters, must form pills in the center of their Dantian, a total of nine pills are needed. Among them, forming up to four Golden Pills is considered the early phase of the Earth Realm; those who form four to six Golden Pills belong to the intermediate rank of the Earth Realm. If they form seven to nine Golden Pills, then they are in the later phases of the Earth Realm!”

”Among these, those who form one Golden Pill are also called First Stage Grandmasters. Their lifespan is at least one hundred years!”

”Those who form two Golden Pills are called Second Stage Grandmasters. Their lifespan is at least two hundred years!”

”So on and so forth, forming nine pills is known as a Ninth Level Grandmaster. The founder of Tai Chi, Zhang Zhenren, was a Second Stage Grandmaster, and he lived for over two hundred years!”

After hearing all this, Lin Dong asked curiously, ”Master, what realm do I belong to now?”

Daoist Qing Shan laughed and said, ”You are different from others. Others cultivate martial cultivation methods, while you cultivate the Nine Shifts Longevity Scripture, a cultivation technique for immortality. So, you may appear to have only the strength of a Peak Energy Conversion Grandmaster. But the strength you can actually exert is that of a Second Stage Grandmaster. Plus, your current lifespan is two hundred years. You can live for at least two hundred years, on par with the legendary Zhang Sanfeng.”

”I see,” Lin Dong understood.

Currently, at the Golden Core Realm of the Fourth Stage of the Nine Shifts Longevity Scripture, he had formed over two and a half Golden Pills. Therefore, his strength, compared to ordinary martial artists, was equivalent to the early phase of the Earth Realm, Second Stage Grandmaster strength.

”About the secrets of Earth Realm powerhouses, there is a rumor,” suddenly Daoist Qing Shan spoke again.

Lin Dong subconsciously asked, ”What secret?”

”It is said that some divine beings, Earth Realm powerhouses, can break through the ninth level and reach the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, or even higher levels.”

”Many of them can live a thousand years just at the Earth Realm level. It’s rumored that figures such as Sakyamuni, the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, the Holy Mother of Kunlun, and others were such individuals. However, these are all but rumors, and even I cannot confirm them.”

”So, disciple, if you ever have the opportunity, do not be too quick to pursue a breakthrough to Heavenly Realm Martial Artist after reaching the ninth level. Instead, in the Earth Realm, you should pursue higher levels.”

”If you can break the shackles of the Earth Realm after reaching the ninth level and advance beyond, you might be able to touch the path to Heaven,” Daoist Qing Shan said.

After hearing all the Martial Arts secrets recounted by his master Daoist Qing Shan, Lin Dong couldn’t calm his heart for a long time.

He nodded earnestly, ”Master, I shall remember your teachings.”