Nightmare Despair

Chapter 111 The 4rd Road

Chapter 111 The Fourth Path
As soon as Zhou Kai finished speaking, the atmosphere between the two became strange and silent.

Chen Ping's eyes twitched violently, and he thought to himself, "You might as well just start cultivating your Qi directly."

"Are you serious?"

Chen Ping stared intently at Zhou Kai's expression, trying to detect any sign of a lie.

But Zhou Kai still nodded with a sincere expression that said, "Is this really that difficult?"

Ugh……

Chen Ping sighed deeply and dejectedly accepted this reality.

"It took me two years and seven months to finally bring Dacheng to its full potential... Zhou Kai, you..."

Hearing Chen Ping's感慨 (sentiments/reflections), Zhou Kai's expression shifted slightly. No wonder Chen Ping had remained at the True Strength stage; he was refining his fundamental technique to perfection? Could there be other benefits to perfecting the fundamental technique? But if so, why did Chen Ping initially tell him not to waste too much effort on the fundamental technique?
Chen Ping seemed to sense Zhou Kai's doubt, his expression turned serious, and he said, "Originally, these things had nothing to do with you."

"But now that you have mastered the fundamental method, it would seem as if I treat you like an outsider if I didn't tell you."

He shook his head and said, "Let's go to the ancestral hall and talk about it in detail there."

……

“Your talent for techniques is exceptional, but Uncle Wu said your physical aptitude is insufficient… Therefore, I originally planned to secure double or even triple the resources for you to nurture you until you reach the second stage of Qi Refining.”

"But you actually managed to master the fundamental technique to perfection in just over half a month."

Chen Ping raised his hand to his forehead and said with a wry smile, "It seems that even Uncle Wu can misjudge people sometimes."

"I don't want you to work for the gym without knowing the truth. There are some inside secrets that I will tell you when the time is right."

"And what I'm going to tell you today is—"

Chen Ping's tone became serious: "Regarding the Crimson Star Martial Arts, the fourth path."

"A fourth way?"

Zhou Kai moved his lips and repeated the four words: "The fourth way?"

"That's right, the fourth path. Whether you choose it or not is entirely up to you."

Chen Ping looked up at the ancestral tablet in the ancestral hall and slowly told Zhou Kai everything he knew.

"Ever since the founders of various schools created the four realms of martial arts, the once vibrant Crimson Star Ancient Martial Arts has been reduced to only one outstanding style: Imitation Martial Arts."

"Ultimately, it's because the Pictographic Martial Arts are too powerful, almost inhumanly powerful... powerful enough to allow martial artists to resist the malice from this world."

"But at what cost?"

"The price is that we gradually become inhuman."

Chen Ping took out a small electronic device from his pocket, searched for a moment, and then showed the screen to Zhou Kai.

“I haven’t practiced Qi cultivation, so I can’t demonstrate it myself. Take a look first… these are some video materials from inside the Broken Wing Gate.”

The video covers the seven advanced martial arts of the Broken Wing Style: White Crane, Water Bird, Night Wing, Golden Wing, Buzzard Claw, etc.

The most prominent characteristic of these martial arts practitioners is the mutation of certain parts of their bodies.

Once the true energy is activated.

In the video, a man channeled his inner energy, causing the skin on his forearm to instantly keratinize and spew out hollow bone spurs that shot out and pierced through steel plates!
In another scene, a pair of large hands reach out, with fingernails growing three inches long and bluish-black scales flipping up. It's no longer a human hand; it's practically a pair of eagle claws!
These physical abnormalities could initially be barely controlled and concealed by regulating one's true energy, but in the later stages, the scales and bone spurs could no longer retract, making one look exactly like a humanoid monster... until finally, the form was successfully cultivated.

"In order to resist the malice of this world, for the past hundred years, at least on our Red Star, there is only one path to follow: the Martial Arts of Imitation."

"Because traditional martial arts simply cannot cultivate any internal strength or true qi..."

Chen Ping handed the display screen to Zhou Kai, letting him look at it himself, while he paced back and forth, continuing his narration.

"However, nothing is absolute. For some reason, the genes of people born after 1994 or 95 have changed." "Martial arts, which originally could not produce any true qi without taking secret medicine, have suddenly become able to produce something again."

"The prerequisite is that one's martial arts skills are perfected."

Chen Ping clenched his fist, and his palm suddenly swelled up.

"Since it doesn't require ingesting high concentrations of the secret medicine, this power originates within the body... We've given it a name—"

"True martial arts!"

"Unfortunately, compared to the Martial Arts of Imitation, this path is extremely difficult to cultivate."

"Life is but a hundred years. How much time and energy do we have to master one martial art after another to perfection?"

Chen Ping sighed; he sighed more often than usual today.

"I don't want to give up my human form, but I also want to become stronger... I've endured three years of hardship and only managed to master a falcon-flying technique and a sword technique."

"Although I am invincible at the True Strength level, I can't even beat the weakest Qi Induction martial artist."

As he said this, he glanced at Zhou Kai with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Now, not only can he not defeat a Qi Refining cultivator, but he also has a junior who walks the True Martial Path by his side.

"Is this fourth path a viable path? Should I continue down this path...? I often think about this."

“But you are different. Achieving perfection in half a month is something I have never heard of. If you can maintain this speed, you may be more suited to the path of true martial arts than I am.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pressed down on Zhou Kai's shoulder, solemnly saying, "Whether you choose to walk the same path as me or pursue the path of mutated martial arts... it's all up to you."

His gaze towards Zhou Kai revealed eagerness and anticipation.

1994.

This is an ordinary year, and although it sounds strangely familiar, it has been more than ten years since Zhou Kai was born.

But in this seemingly insignificant year, a major change occurred, just as Chen Ping described.

Human genes...have changed?

Just as Chen Ping found Zhou Kai's perfect hawk strike absurd, Zhou Kai now also felt that what Chen Ping said was quite mysterious.

But neither of them needed to joke about such things.

Zhou Kai took a deep breath. Nightmares exist, mirages exist, mutated martial arts exist... Compared to that, the fact that human genes have undergone a complete transformation since a certain year doesn't seem so unacceptable.

“I will consider it, but I have a question.”

How are the realms of True Martial Arts divided? And what are their upper limits?

Zhou Kai had already accepted the concepts of "True Martial Arts" and "1994 Genetic Alterations," and then asked questions.

Chen Ping's breath hitched slightly, and he shook his head, saying, "If you embark on the path of true martial arts, you will be one of the pioneers."

"As far as I know, there is currently no clear division of realms in the True Martial Path. And its upper limit of strength can only reach the average level of the Qi Refining Realm for the time being."

"As for the cultivation method, it is actually very simple. It is to endlessly accumulate various martial arts to perfection, and the higher the quality of the martial arts, the better... such as the three fundamental methods, and various Qi-inducing martial arts."

"As long as you don't touch those high-concentration secret medicines, you can practice these martial arts just like ordinary kung fu."

A road clearer?
A glint flashed in Zhou Kai's eyes. He worked a million times harder than the average person, and perhaps he was indeed particularly suited to be a trailblazer.

After all, what ordinary people take three to five years, or even half a lifetime, to achieve, Zhou Kai accomplished in one fell swoop with his extraordinary wisdom and talent.

So... having long planned to obtain the Qi-inducing method and enter the second realm of martial arts, should I take the fourth path at this crucial juncture?
There's one last question to answer before Zhou Kai can make a decision.

 Ninth update!
 
(End of this chapter)

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