Chu Chen's martial arts foundation had reached the first rank.
However, his muscles, bones, skin, and membranes were not yet perfectly full and rounded.
"First, I'll train the skin and membranes, then refine the muscles and bones, and finally condense the inner energy," Chu Chen recited silently in his heart.
He sat cross-legged, his legs bent into a bow stance, his hands placed on his dantian.
A torrent of martial arts primal energy surged from his dantian into his entire body.
Whoosh~~~
A fierce wind swept through.
The surrounding vegetation swayed incessantly, branches and leaves rustling, emitting faint "shasha" sounds.
"This martial art is truly profound," Chu Chen's eyes lit up with a brilliant golden glow.
As time passed.
He felt wisps of filth seeping from the surface of his skin; these were impurities.
These impurities were the excess waste and dross expelled by his physical body.
"My physical body can finally step onto the threshold of the ninth stage of the Martial Apprentice realm."
The Martial Apprentice realm was divided into three stages: early, middle, and late.
And the pinnacle of the Martial Apprentice realm was the ninth stage!
This realm was known as the 'Innate Realm'!
The Innate Realm was the beginning of the Martial Apprentice, and also its peak state.
One could gather all their strength into a single point, unleashing terrifying power.
Like a colossal tank, it would charge and crush everything in its path!
Before the Innate Realm, all Martial Apprentices were like ants!
Above the Innate Realm were the Martial Masters!
Above Martial Apprentices were Martial Lords!
These two realms were separated by an even longer distance.
But without a doubt.
Any Martial Master was a universally revered and peerless powerhouse!
Upon breaking through to Martial Master, one could fly through the air and traverse rooftops!
Even a mere Martial Apprentice was enough to dominate a region and sweep through the forests.
Hunting fierce birds, gathering medicinal herbs, or even hunting powerful beasts.
Consuming their beast cores to strengthen their own bloodline power!
"Innate is the limit of the Martial Apprentice."
"And my physical body, after these few days of tempering, has completely stabilized!"
"I am only a breath away from the Innate Realm!"
Chu Chen's eyes showed joy.
He slowly stood up and stretched his limbs.
Rumble!!!
His foot stomped on the ground, and he shot out like a cannonball.
He smashed through the house wall and sped into the distance.
"Hahaha!!"
Half an hour later.
Chu Chen returned, laughing heartily.
"This ninth-stage Martial Apprentice physical body realm is even easier to cross than I imagined!"
Originally.
He thought that above Martial Apprentice, there was still Martial Master.
But in reality, the limit of the Martial Apprentice realm was Martial Master.
In the Martial Apprentice realm, the human body was used as a furnace.
The human form was used to temper flesh, blood, muscles, and bones.
The Martial Master realm, however, was different.
The Martial Master realm involved using external forces to temper oneself, cleanse the marrow, and undergo a complete transformation!
In the Martial Master realm, flesh and blood were the fire.
Bloodline martial artists used bloodline power to temper their bodies.
Under normal circumstances, a Martial Master's lifespan exceeded thirty years.
Martial Apprentices lived only twenty years.
When their lifespan reached its limit, Martial Masters could consume rare elixirs to extend their vitality, thus increasing their lifespan!
And Martial Masters had even longer lifespans!
A full hundred years, and their physical bodies were indestructible!
As for the highest realm, Martial Lords, they were like immortals, with nearly infinite lifespans.
With a mere gesture, they could move stars and turn the cosmos, destroying heaven and earth!
"Now that I have just stepped into the Martial Apprentice realm, the innate true energy hidden in my martial veins.
Is not yet too abundant, I need to accumulate more."
Chu Chen pondered, and after a moment of thought, decided to go into seclusion to cultivate!
The Martial Apprentice realm corresponded to the Body Tempering realm!
And the Body Tempering realm was further divided into nine minor stages!
Each minor stage had a bottleneck!
Chu Chen's first body tempering bottleneck was stuck at this point, preventing him from advancing.
Therefore, he chose to cultivate martial arts to strengthen his martial veins!
These martial arts were valuable, but Chu Chen was not stingy.
After all, he was the son of the family head, and money was not something he lacked.
...
On the martial arts training ground of the martial mansion, the cultivation of martial arts continued.
However.
The Chu family's ancestral school had strict rules.
Anyone who violated the rules of the ancestral school would be punished!
This time, it was no different.
Chu Feng was cultivating martial arts on the training ground when he was caught and severely punished!
"I didn't mean to be lazy..."
Chu Chen explained in a low voice.
But his words were directly rebuked.
"If you are lazy, you deserve to be punished!"
"I warn you, don't take advantage of being a direct descendant of the Chu family to act recklessly!
Within the Chu family's ancestral school, anyone who causes trouble will definitely not escape punishment!"
After speaking.
The young man in charge of managing the training ground left.
Chu Chen, however, looked wronged and disappointed.
In this world.
The Chu family represented power, and Chu Chen, as a direct descendant of the Chu family.
He enjoyed preferential treatment in the Chu ancestral school, able to choose any martial art to cultivate at will, which others envied immensely!
"Alas."
Chu Chen sighed.
Although he was a direct descendant of the Chu family, he was not favored.
He was neglected in the ancestral school, treated worse than ordinary disciples.
...
Night fell, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
The martial mansion was quiet and peaceful.
Chu Chen sat cross-legged on his bed, and in his mind, the martial arts experience map appeared.
He was contemplating how to break through the Martial Apprentice realm and advance to the Innate Realm.
Above Martial Apprentice, there was still Martial Master.
Each level within the Martial Apprentice realm was a major realm, a significant hurdle!
Chu Chen cultivated the "Bronze Ancient Mirror."
On the basis of this ancient cultivation technique, he integrated many memories from his previous life.
This allowed him to see through many common sense errors and flaws.
He had known about the special nature of the Martial Apprentice realm long ago!
Generally, only after breaking through the Martial Apprentice realm could one touch the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and activate the innate true energy.
And innate true energy was completely different from martial arts true energy.
The so-called martial arts true energy was merely the martial arts aura that Martial Apprentices gradually refined and purified by absorbing the spiritual energy from spirit stones. Its power was limited.
The innate true energy, however, contained innate power.
This innate power was superior to the power of a Martial Apprentice!
Only by transforming the martial arts true energy to the Martial Master realm could one activate the innate true energy within their body and possess power comparable to a Martial Master-level expert.
"So, if I can, within the Martial Apprentice realm.
Transform the martial arts true energy into innate true energy, and I will immediately possess Martial Master-level combat power?"
Chu Chen's eyes flickered with light.
The path of martial arts became increasingly difficult as one progressed.
In the Martial Apprentice realm, it took at least three to five months to break through to the ninth stage!
This was exactly the time he needed.
"Temper the physical body, refine the martial veins!"
Chu Chen took a deep breath, cleared his mind, circulated the "Bronze Ancient Mirror" cultivation technique, and began to attack the bottleneck!
...
The next day.
The sun shone brightly.
Chu Chen opened his eyes.
"I have broken through the Body Tempering realm."
He murmured to himself, a smile blooming on his face.
Ninth stage of Martial Apprentice!
Before reaching the Innate realm, Chu Chen had never encountered any obstacles!
This also filled him with confidence.
He firmly believed that with his talent and aptitude, he would definitely reach the Martial Master realm before the age of twenty!
"Hoo!"
Chu Chen exhaled a long breath of stale air.
He slowly walked towards the training ground, which was the practice field of the Chu ancestral school.
Usually, he would come here to practice martial arts. However.
When he arrived at the training ground.
A group of martial servants were gathered around a stone tablet, whispering and seemingly arguing about something.
"What's going on?"
Chu Chen frowned slightly.