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Second-rate masters are those who have developed the ability to protect themselves in the martial arts world. They have cultivated their own internal energy, and their internal energy is not low. They can walk normally in the martial arts world. As long as they don't do anything reckless, they will not have any accidents. For example, Linghu Chong often travels alone in the martial arts world, but Yue Buqun is not worried about him.
However, even among those at the second-rate level, the skill levels of martial arts practitioners vary greatly. Some may be second-rate masters, but their actual combat strength differs greatly, and their battles may end in just a few rounds.
Representative figures: Jiang Ning, Linghu Chong.
Even if a martial artist at the second-rate level has cultivated internal energy, it doesn't mean that their internal energy won't diminish. If they become complacent and lazy after thinking they've cultivated internal energy, neglecting their training, then their internal energy will gradually dissipate, and they will eventually fall to the third-rate level.
First-rate masters are those who have already established themselves in the martial arts world. They are usually masters who have been famous for a long time. For example, the leaders of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, Yue Buqun of the Huashan Sect, Master Mo Da of the Hengshan Sect, the three Ding of the Hengshan Sect (Dingyi, Dingjing, and Dingxian), Tianmen Daoren of the Taishan Sect, Zuo Lengchan and Fei Bin of the Songshan Sect, as well as Yu Canghai, the head of the Qingcheng Temple outside the Five Mountains Sword Sect, Ren Woxing of the Sun Moon Sect, Fang Zheng of the Shaolin Temple, Chongxu of the Wudang Sect, etc. All of the above can be classified as first-rate masters.
However, although there are many top-notch masters in the martial arts world, the differences between them are greater than those between second-rate masters.
For example, compared to Ren Woxing and Fang Zheng, although Yu Canghai is also a first-class master, if Ren Woxing and Fang Zheng were to deal with Yu Canghai, Yu Canghai would be defeated or even killed in just a few moves. This is the difference between them.
Chapter 7: The Innate Realm
Although Yu Canghai was honored to be ranked among the top masters alongside the leaders of the Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Shaolin Temple, a pillar of the martial arts world, Yue Buqun was more than a match for him.
When Yue Buqun was lecturing to the disciples of Mount Hua, he explained the classification of masters in the martial arts world, and at that time he mentioned himself and Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect.
Jiang Ning remembered Yue Buqun's exact words: "What I am about to say is for you to hear, but do not spread it around, otherwise Abbot Yu will cause trouble for my Huashan Sect. Although Abbot Yu is highly skilled in martial arts and is a first-rate master in the martial arts world, if I were to truly fight him, he would surely be defeated within fifty rounds. In a life-or-death battle, Yu Canghai would surely die by my sword within twenty rounds."
When he said this, Yue Buqun had a faint smile on his face, looking very composed.
Despite this, Yue Buqun said that his strength was inferior to Zuo Lengchan, the leader of the Songshan Sect, not to mention Ren Woxing, the former leader of the Sun Moon Sect.
If we use Yu Canghai as a comparison, Yue Buqun is equivalent to about three Yu Canghais, Zuo Lengchan is equivalent to five Yu Canghais, and Ren Woxing is equivalent to at least ten Yu Canghais.
As for Abbot Fangzheng of Shaolin Temple, Yue Buqun was unclear. He only said that Abbot Fangzheng's cultivation was profound, far surpassing Yue Buqun's.
Based on this, it seems that Fang Zheng must have at least fifteen Yu Canghai-level connections.
In fact, according to common sense, Ren Woxing and Fang Zheng can no longer be considered top-tier masters. They should be a level above them. However, there are only four levels in the martial arts world. The highest level is the peerless master of the Innate Realm.
The Innate Realm—what exactly this realm entails is unknown to anyone in the martial arts world, though some may have some knowledge of it.
It is said that masters who reach this level will never age, easily live to be a hundred years old, and still move with incredible speed. Their inner strength is so powerful that it can be released to form a protective aura. Martial arts masters at this level can no longer be described as mortals. In short, they are as mythical as can be, like immortals. But no one knows if this level is really like that. Nowadays, people in the martial arts world also call this level the "Land Immortal Realm".
However, no one in the martial arts world today has reached the Innate Realm. The only known master to have reached the Innate Realm is the founder of the Wudang Sect, who lived two hundred years ago.
Zhang Sanfeng.
The founder of the Wudang School was the last known person to have reached the Innate Realm. Legend has it that this immortal figure lived to be 120 years old and still looked as youthful as ever, with white hair and a baby face.
However, when Zhang Sanfeng was 120 years old, he said he wanted to go down the mountain to travel the world. After that, he never returned to Wudang Mountain. No one knows his whereabouts, whether he is dead or alive, or whether he has attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven as in the legends.
Since him, no one in the martial arts world has reached the Innate Realm, and even now, the overall strength of the entire martial arts world has declined.
Even Fang Zheng of Shaolin Temple, a leading figure in the righteous path, still laments the difficulty of breaking through to higher realms in the martial arts world today.
Perhaps only one person has a sliver of hope.
Dongfang Bubai.
The current leader of the Sun Moon Cult is the greatest in the world.
No one knows what level he has reached. Ever since the rumors spread that Dongfang Bubai had mastered the Sunflower Manual, he had been staying at Blackwood Cliff to cultivate diligently and had not shown his face in the martial world since. No one in the martial world knew what level he had reached or whether he had entered the Innate Realm. The Sun Moon Sect also did not reveal anything about it, and this matter became a legend in the martial world.
Although it is unknown whether Dongfang Bubai has broken through to the Innate Realm, people in the martial arts world tacitly do not include him in the list of first-class masters, but instead single him out as a unique existence.
This is the current situation among top masters: Dongfang Bubai is the undisputed leader, while other top masters are flourishing in their own way.
Although there are fewer masters in the martial arts world now than before, there are still many first-class and second-class masters. Even though Jiang Ning's strength has now reached the level of a second-class master, he has not relaxed at all, but has worked even harder.
But it wouldn't be enough for Jiang Ning to become stronger on his own. Yue Buqun's idea was to revitalize the Huashan Sect and give it a second spring, so the strength of the sect's disciples had to catch up.
This is not a fantasy world where one's personal power can pluck stars from the sky and seize the moon, or turn the world upside down with a flick of the wrist.
A sect is a collective; individual strength is secondary. For a sect to become powerful, it must first have a deep foundation.
The foundation of a sect lies in its disciples, its leader, and its martial arts techniques.
Disciples represent the backbone and core strength of the sect, while the sect leader represents the top strength and pillar of the sect. Martial arts techniques are the most important thing for a sect. Without a good martial arts technique, there will never be a chance to reach the top of the sect.
Just like the Huashan Sect in Jiangning now, although Yue Buqun is a first-class master and ranks quite high in strength among the Five Mountains Sword Sects, the overall strength of the sect is too weak, which seriously drags down Yue Buqun. Yue Buqun is now carrying a heavy burden.
Currently, the Huashan Sect has virtually no good martial arts techniques or swordplay. The only decent one is the Zixia Skill, which, although not as good as the Shaolin Temple's Yijinjing, is still the Huashan Sect's most prized possession. No one except the sect leader can practice it, and Yue Buqun cherishes it dearly.
Apart from the Zixia Divine Skill, the other Huashan martial arts techniques are much worse and scarce. The sect lacks sufficient foundation, which is why second-generation disciples such as Lu Dayou and Gao Genming are not very strong.
If Jiangning wants to rebuild the Huashan Sect, the first thing to solve is the issue of the sect's foundation.
Jiang Ning pondered this question for a long time. Although he didn't remember much about the world he knew was the Smiling Proud Wanderer, he did know that there was a cave on the Cliff of Contemplation on Jade Maiden Peak of the Huashan Sect, which contained many sword techniques that the Huashan Sect had lost. If he could bring out those sword techniques to enhance the Huashan Sect's foundation, it wouldn't be able to rival Wudang and Shaolin, but it wouldn't be like it is now, with only Yue Buqun and his wife, Linghu Chong, and himself, and no one else in the sect being presentable.
Jiang Ning had considered telling Yue Buqun directly about the sword technique in the cave, but he didn't have a suitable excuse. If Yue Buqun asked him how he knew, he wouldn't be able to answer. Making up an excuse to deceive Yue Buqun was also impossible, as Yue Buqun was a meticulous person who could detect even the slightest flaw in what he said, which would only make things more troublesome.
Besides this, Jiang Ning also knew that there was another person living on the Cliff of Contemplation.
Feng Qingyang of the Sword Sect.
Jiang Ning didn't have a deep impression of this person. He only knew that he was the one who taught Linghu Chong the Dugu Nine Swords, and that Yue Buqun mentioned his name when he talked to them about the battle between the Sword and Qi sects decades ago.
Although this person disappeared after the Sword Sect's defeat, Jiang Ning knew that he had been living on the Cliff of Contemplation. His existence was one of the reasons why Jiang Ning did not choose to make up an excuse to tell Yue Buqun about the sword technique in the cave.
Knowing a secret is not difficult, nor is revealing a secret. The real challenge lies in crafting a flawless excuse to convince a meticulous person without arousing their suspicion, especially when that person knows you very well.
After eliminating the option of making up an excuse to appease Yue Buqun, Jiang Ning also considered going to the Cliff of Repentance on Jade Maiden Peak himself, entering the cave, and then returning to tell Yue Buqun.
But the Jade Maiden Peak is extremely steep, and there is no difference between having a path and not having one. If you are not careful, you will fall down the mountain and be smashed to pieces.
In addition, Yue Buqun had instructed that the Cliff of Contemplation was a place where disciples of the Huashan Sect were imprisoned and punished for violating the sect's rules, and that disciples were not allowed to go there under normal circumstances.
These two reasons led Jiang Ning to delay telling Yue Buqun the secret of the Cliff of Contemplation, intending to wait until his martial arts skills improved and he was no longer afraid of the steep mountain path before going up.
Although he was taken up the mountain by Yue Buqun when he was three years old, he did not start practicing martial arts with Yue Buqun until he was seven years old. Four years ago, his strength reached the level of a third-rate master. With caution, he was able to safely climb Jade Maiden Peak. At that time, he thought of a way to deliberately commit a crime and make Yue Buqun punish him by making him face the wall at the Cliff of Repentance.
Chapter 8: The Back Room
However, Yue Buqun never punished him. Sometimes he would just say a few words to him and then there would be no more severe punishment. Sometimes, when Jiang Ning deliberately had some friction with other disciples, Yue Buqun would think that he was being bullied and would scold and punish the other disciples, but he would speak gently to Jiang Ning.
Perhaps it was Jiang Ning's diligent practice and well-behaved behavior that made Yue Buqun think he wasn't someone who would deliberately cause trouble, which is why he didn't punish him as severely as he did Linghu Chong.
This left Jiang Ning speechless.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Jiang Ning decided to take a roundabout approach.
Although Yue Buqun did not punish him, he was extremely harsh on Linghu Chong, to the point that even a dog would shake its head in disapproval.
Since Linghu Chong grew up, his unruly personality has often led to reprimands from Yue Buqun. He would be reprimanded every three days, and every five days he would be reprimanded severely. In some serious cases, Yue Buqun even made Linghu Chong face the wall in contemplation.
Therefore, Jiang Ning decided to start with Linghu Chong.
Initially, he planned to go to the Cliff of Contemplation under the pretense of delivering food to Linghu Chong, then pretend to be curious and accidentally discover the secret of the stone cave while exploring, and then report it to Yue Buqun, thus solving the problem.
But just as Jiang Ning was about to take action, he discovered that he couldn't compete with Lu Dayou and Yue Lingshan.
Lu Dayou greatly admired and respected Linghu Chong, wishing he could stick to Linghu Chong every day, even more so than a sycophant.
Yue Lingshan and Linghu Chong were childhood sweethearts and had an extraordinary relationship.
The two of them were vying to bring food to Linghu Chong, and they even started arguing, leaving him no chance to get a word in edgewise.
Sometimes, after arguing with him several times, Linghu Chong would misunderstand that although his junior brother was cold-hearted, he was actually kind-hearted and cared about his senior brother, which moved Linghu Chong to tears.
Unable to compete with Lu Dayou, the sycophant, and Yue Lingshan, the childhood sweetheart, Jiang Ning changed tactics, subtly suggesting to Linghu Chong that he actively seek out the cave entrance.
To Jiang Ning's surprise, Linghu Chong, that simpleton, simply couldn't understand his hints. No matter how Jiang Ning hinted, Linghu Chong acted like an idiot.
On one occasion, he gave the most obvious hint, almost asking Linghu Chong to find the cave in the broken wall. But Linghu Chong, that idiot, said that he had already been punished by his master to face the wall on the Cliff of Contemplation, so he dared not damage the place and anger his master. He was such a coward that no matter how Jiang Ning tried to persuade or provoke him, it was useless. This left Jiang Ning at a loss.
Jiang Ning was determined to make the Huashan Sect stronger, but the foolishness of his fellow disciples made him feel like he wanted to lead everyone to greater heights, but he was surrounded by useless teammates and couldn't carry them.
Seeing that he harbored a secret that could make the sect stronger again, yet couldn't bring himself to speak it, Jiang Ning really didn't know what to do, so he kept putting it off until now.
He didn't know when the official plot of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer would begin, but he also knew that as time went by, it would be even more disadvantageous for the Huashan Sect. Now he decided to stop thinking about it and that he would personally go to the Cliff of Contemplation in a couple of days.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning stopped thinking, stood up, opened the wardrobe, took out a change of clothes, and prepared to take a shower.
The Huashan School requires its members to bathe and change clothes before worshipping the spirit tablets of their past patriarchs.
……
After washing his clothes, Jiang Ning put them back in the house. Just as he was about to go to the cafeteria, he saw Laudenuo coming from afar.
"Junior Brother Jiang Ning, the food is ready. Master asked me to come and call you."
Laudenau, his back hunched and his hair already gray, looked at Jiang Ning with a smile and said.
"I understand, thank you, Second Senior Brother."
Jiang Ning nodded calmly, then stepped through the door and walked with Laudenuo toward the cafeteria, without exchanging a word along the way.
Laudenau was not surprised; Jiang Ning was just that quiet person.
Walking towards the cafeteria, Jiang Ning kept his eyes straight ahead, his upper body remaining perfectly still. The most noticeable change was when a leaf landed on his shoulder as he passed under a tree. It followed Jiang Ning for a while without falling or even swaying, as if it were still, until a gentle breeze blew it off his shoulder.
Upon witnessing this scene, Laudenau couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Jiang Ning's martial arts skills have become even more profound.
Previously, Laudenuo felt that although Jiang Ning had reached the level of a second-rate master, his true strength was also at the same level, and if the two really fought, he would definitely win in the end.
But at this moment, Laudenau felt that if he were to fight Jiang Ning again now, the outcome would be uncertain.
Jiang Ning walked with a square gait, his steps large and slow, looking leisurely but not slow at all, and his demeanor was impeccable. If it weren't for the faded blue-white undergarment he was wearing, and if he were dressed in fine silk, Lao Denuo would have thought he was some noble young master.
Looking at Jiang Ning, who was walking beside him with impeccable manners, Lao Denuo looked at his own aged appearance, and a flood of emotions welled up in his heart, but he concealed them, and no one else knew them except him.
Jiang Ning was unaware of what Laudenuo was thinking at that moment; he began to ponder Laudenuo's character.
He remembered that this person seemed to be an inside man.
Let's find an opportunity to kill him later.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning continued to look straight ahead, but when Laudenuo wasn't paying attention, his eyes turned towards him and then turned back, as if nothing had happened.
When Jiang Ning and Lao Denuo arrived at the canteen, Lu Dayou, Gao Genming, and more than 30 other disciples were already there waiting for them. Inside the canteen, several children were already eating.
These children must be the ones the master brought back to take as his apprentices.
Jiang Ning glanced over there briefly, then stopped paying attention and sat down in his usual spot.
"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."
The Huashan Sect currently has over thirty disciples, including six female disciples. Including Yue Lingshan, there are seven in total. She is Ning Zhongze's disciple. The remaining male disciples are Yue Buqun's disciples.
"It's alright, it's alright. We haven't been waiting long anyway. We wouldn't dare to start eating if our second senior brother hadn't arrived."
Lu Dayou said with a smile.
The Huashan Sect has very strict rules, with a clear hierarchy of seniority. Other junior disciples cannot start eating before their senior brothers have even picked up their chopsticks.
Aside from that, everything else was fine. As long as they didn't break the rules, they could make their own decisions about the rest of the time after their master, Yue Buqun, finished teaching them their daily lessons.
Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze were not seen in the canteen. They usually did not eat in the canteen. The dishes were brought to the Suoyoubuwei Pavilion by the disciples. Only the disciples and Yue Lingshan would eat there.
Eat without talking and sleep without talking.
These were the words Yue Buqun taught them, but Lu Dayou and the others always couldn't help but chat while eating. However, this time was different. They had just been severely reprimanded by Yue Buqun, so they were not in the mood. In addition, there were several young children eating in the cafeteria, so it was not convenient for them to chat. The meal was quite quiet.
After finishing the meal in silence, Laudenau led everyone to the back room.
The words "Controlling Swords with Qi" are written on the beam in the back hall. Long swords hang on both sides, and an incense table is placed in the middle, filled with rows of memorial tablets.
Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze were already waiting for them in the back hall.
Chapter 9: Our ancestors were once wealthy too.
"Disciple Yue Buqun has accepted seven children as disciples today. May the spirits of our ancestors in heaven bless our Huashan disciples to study diligently, maintain their integrity, uphold the righteous path, abide by the rules of our sect, and not tarnish the reputation of our Huashan sect."
Holding incense and candles, Yue Buqun respectfully kowtowed four times to the incense table. Jiang Ning and the other Huashan disciples also knelt down and kowtowed to the memorial tablets of the Huashan sect leaders of the past. The few children standing in front looked at the kneeling crowd with a somewhat bewildered expression, but they also knelt down.
Yue Buqun stood up and looked at his disciples, then sat down with Ning Zhongze in the main seat and looked at the children in front of them.
After thinking for a while, he slowly spoke.
"Now that you have joined my Huashan Sect, you must abide by the sect rules. Any violation will be severely punished, and serious offenses will result in immediate execution!"