Chapter 93: Heresy of Bone Quality, This World's Martial Dao Is a Bit Sinister

"The Martial Dao has nine grades, each grade a separate heaven."

"This is the rating system set by the Martial Arts Administration, using various instruments to convert a martial artist's strength into intuitive data for comparison, thereby assigning a grade."

"This method is very intuitive; rather than saying it rates martial artists, it is better to say it divides numerical values into intervals, which is the standard followed by New Martial Arts."

"But Old Martial Arts has another set of standards, dividing realms by Shedding Skin, Forging Flesh, Changing Bones, Changing Blood, and Refining Marrow."

"And the 【Poisonous Gu Sect】 I belong to follows the Old Martial Arts standard; however, I have two paths here for you to choose: one is the Righteous Path, one is the Evil Path—which do you choose?"

Inside the Inner Courtyard, whether sitting or standing, Li Guishe's voice clearly reached Feng Mu's ears.

Feng Mu asked doubtfully, "May I ask Master, what is the Righteous Path, and what is the Evil Path?"

Li Guishe did not beat around the bush, speaking plainly: "The Righteous Path is the grand and upright way; progress is slow, but the foundation is solid, seeking from oneself, not from external things."

"But this Righteous Path places great importance on Bone Quality, valuing innate endowment; among my disciples, only your Senior Brother walks the Righteous Path."

Li Guishe paused, then said: "As the name suggests, the Evil Path relies on all external forces to force growth; this method is the fastest, but also the most dangerous."

"For the Evil Path, what matters most is not Bone Quality; the key is whether one has the ferocity to discard a ruined life and gamble for a sliver of vitality—it can be said to be eighty-one trials, and a slight carelessness will cause one to practice oneself to death."

Feng Mu showed no fear; he had a clear understanding of his own Bone Quality, and almost without hesitation, he replied, "Please teach me the Evil Path, Master."

Li Guishe seemed not surprised by Feng Mu's answer; he took a Porcelain Bottle from his Pocket and carefully poured out a Black Pill.

The Black Pill was pitch black all over, the size of a pinky fingernail, and as soon as it was poured out, it emitted a strange fishy stench, as if contaminated with deadly poison.

Li Guishe tossed it lightly, and Feng Mu hurriedly caught it with his Palm.

He roughly understood the Black Pill was for him to eat; he glanced at Li Guishe's half-smile eyes, did not dwell on it, and swallowed it down.

He had eaten Pig Iron, he had eaten E Corpse Iron, he had eaten Resentment; a mere Black Pill, he was not afraid at all.

After swallowing the Black Pill, Feng Mu asked, "Master, what is this Black Pill?"

Li Guishe did not answer directly, but first asked, "Do you know why the Martial Dao is so demanding of Bone Quality?"

Feng Mu answered: "Because Bone Quality affects a person's progress in Cultivating Martial Arts; those with good Bone Quality enter quickly and cultivate at godly speed, one day's effort surpassing ten or a hundred days of hard training by those with poor Bone Quality."

Li Guishe nodded: "So, why is that?"

Feng Mu was stunned; he had not thought deeply about this question, nor had it been taught in class—at least not in the free classes he learned at School; perhaps it was taught in the paid classes.

Feng Mu shook his head: "Disciple does not know; disciple only knows his own Bone Quality is extremely poor, please resolve my confusion, Master."

Li Guishe: "Martial arts originally came from humans imitating animals; although the Martial Dao has undergone several reforms and ascensions, it is actually just that the objects of imitation have become more advanced, or more abstract, but its essence remains humans imitating all things in heaven and earth."

"The ultimate purpose of a martial art is actually to constantly cultivate oneself into the object of imitation; the more like the imitation, the more one can exert the power of that martial art."

"And this imitation, fundamentally, is the imitation of bone shape, or rather, refining the skeleton within the skin and flesh from human form into non-human form."

"So those profound in martial arts, although still wearing that human skin, their bones inside are already vastly different from humans."

"And the reason they can still maintain human form is because of the shackles of genes, because of the heavy constraints of flesh and skin; otherwise, the moment this restriction is removed, they will mutate into unrecognizable monsters."

"As for what kind of monster they mutate into, that depends on which martial arts they have practiced."

"This is why Old Martial Arts must start practicing from the skin and flesh—to put heavy chains on the bones in advance."

Li Guishe finished in one breath, took two puffs of Cigarette, and continued with a rather strange expression:

"The quality of Bone Quality usually refers to bone shape—assessing the ease or difficulty of Changing Bones through instruments or bone-reading techniques."

"The higher the score, the easier the bones are to Change Shape, like modeling clay, easily molded into a form suitable for that martial art; thus, Cultivating Martial Arts naturally progresses by leaps and bounds."

"Conversely, it is inferior bone, difficult to Change Shape like iron and stone, with no malleability."

"For such bones, unless one finds a martial art that suits them from birth, otherwise, practicing anything is twice the work for half the gain, and may not advance an inch."

Feng Mu listened, dumbfounded; he thought of the E Corpses he had burned—perhaps they were because they lost the constraints of flesh and skin, their bones completely Changed Shape into their true forms?

Feng Mu took a deep breath and asked doubtfully: "Then according to what Master said, isn't it that the better the Bone Quality, the easier to Change Shape, and the easier to mutate?"

Li Guishe said lightly: "Sounds contradictory, right? But the path of martial arts is inherently humans being dissatisfied with themselves, a way to change fate; since it is change, one must naturally bear the matching risks—otherwise, why practice martial arts at all?"

"Practicing martial arts can kill people, and the higher one cultivates, the more it is like walking on thin ice; it is not just the ancients joking."

Li Guishe did not tell the whole truth, because behind this also involved Bone Instability, "Safety Measures" of increasingly perfected martial arts, or perhaps some targeted Matching Secret Medicines.

But those are knowledge points for those walking the Righteous Path; those walking the Evil Path have no use for them.

The Evil Path is about completely letting oneself go, unrestrained, valuing courageous advancement—either succeed or die, with no way back.

From the moment Feng Mu transmigrated, he felt that the Martial Dao of this world was not quite like the Martial Dao he imagined in movies and TV shows from his Previous Life.

After hearing Li Guishe's words today, he finally felt as if clouds parted to reveal the sun, suddenly realizing: "So it is; the Martial Dao here is actually such a dangerous path."

Feng Mu could not help but sigh inwardly: "Every time I understand this world a bit more, I feel this world is increasingly strange."

"Just as if this steel-and-concrete City, all seemingly technological appearances, are just the outer robe it exposes; but if I poke a hole in that outer robe and peer inside, I would discover another strange and terrifying world hidden within."

Suddenly, a sharp pain surged from within Feng Mu's body; this pain was exactly like when the Iron Eater advanced, with all his bones wanting to drill out from his flesh.

Only this time, what tried to drill out was not bones, but the flesh beneath his skin.

They seemed to suddenly all come alive, moving and growing wildly; countless new flesh buds grew tentacles from the flesh, spreading aimlessly.

These tentacles tried to surge out from his skin, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, as if about to bloom into a strange flower of flesh.

At the same time, they permeated into the interior of his body, intending to drill into his heart, spleen, lungs, stomach and intestines, even Marrow—omnipresent, as if about to contract into a terrifying bloody tumor.

"It has begun!"

Li Guishe's Pupils Shrunk; he leapt up from the spot, his withered ten fingers tapping continuously, Silver Needles piercing into Feng Mu's body, each needle connected by Silver Thread, all these Silver Threads gathering in his hand, plucked by him with a special Rhythm.

In the blink of an eye, Feng Mu's whole body was pierced by over a hundred needles; all the needles pierced deep through skin and flesh, nearly to the Bone, trembling together.

Feng Mu felt he had been turned into a Blood Flesh Puppet; every piece of flesh and bone was trembling at a strange Frequency.

"Carefully feel the roar of the flesh wanting to devour everything!"

"That is the anger of your flesh unwilling to be dominated by the skeleton."

"It is not only bones that can be the master of the body; flesh can likewise dominate bones—who is master and who is subordinate is one Righteous and one Evil!"

"If bones won't do, use flesh to make up for it; what use are constraints? Better to completely liberate!"

"Good disciple, well feel the roar of the flesh, feel the anger of the flesh, feel the breath of the flesh."

"Do not use your Five Senses, but use your spirit to feel, to tame, to control; make the power of blood and flesh your own, and gestate a new Blood Flesh Organ within your body."

"This is the evil-path holy canon created by the Ancestral Masters of the 【Rogue Fusion Sect】—Blood Flesh Initial Solution True Art. Today, as your master, I shall impart it to you. Heh heh heh—"

End of Chapter