Rebirth – City Cultivation Chapter 15

Chen Fan left the wellness center satisfied.

Mr. Wei had told him everything he wanted to know. He had learned that Martial Arts had a long history. It was likely an offshoot branch of some secret cultivation sect thousands of years ago. The cultivation techniques were generalized and simplified by the martial artists, so much so that they had come up with a system of their own.

The last heyday of the martial arts was during the chaotic time of the early 20th century, right after the collapse of the mighty Qin dynasty.

There had been many grandmasters during that time. However, the ensuing war with Japan had halted the development of martial arts ever since. By then, there was only a handful of martial arts grandmasters left in China.

The power of martial artists was divided into three levels.

External Strength, Internal Force, Transcendent State.

Majority of the martial artists in the world were of the first level: the External Strength. Let it be the Eagle Claw, Hong's Fists or Tan's kicks, all of those famous martial arts focused on the power and resilience of human flesh.

Only a very few schools of martial arts advanced into the second level: internal force — schools such as the Neijia, and other secret family arts.

The Internal Force level was also divided into four sub-levels: Entry, Initial Success, Phenomenal Success, and Perfected. Chen Fan wagered that Mr. Wei was of the Phenomenal Success level.

The cultivation of the Internal Force was difficult. Wei Ziqin, for example, had started practicing under her grandpa ever since she was a child, and she didn't reach the Entry Level until she was twenty, still being far away from achieving Initial Success.

There were only a very few martial artists left in China who still possessed the Internal Force; the number was even smaller in the Hu Dong Province.

Besides the grandpa-granddaughter pair, the only other person who claimed to have learned the art of Internal Force in the Chu Zhou City was the owner of the Wei Sheng Martial Arts Club. However, Mr. Wei never considered the owner of the club an Internal Force Cultivator due to his meager power.

Even after one had achieved the Perfected state, a martial artist with internal force could not dodge a bullet. Since decades of martial arts training could be easily undermined by the use of guns, the martial arts had become obsolete, and fewer and fewer people practiced it.

However, Mr. Wei believed that a martial artist would be practically invincible once he or she reached the transcendent state.

The transcendent master was protected by the Qi of Righteousness from any physical harms.

That being said, Mr. Wei conceded that it had become very rare to find a transcendent master during this day and age. Chen Fan was the first transcendent master he had seen in the eighty years of his life.

"Mr. Wei also mentioned that there was another level of martial arts beyond even the Transcendent State, and it was called the Immortal State, in which the martial artist could wield unimaginable power. However, Mr. Wei seemed to believe that this was just a legend since no one had ever seen a martial artist in such a level before." Chen Fan reminded himself.

If the Internal Force corresponded to Foundation Establishment and Transcendent

State corresponded to the ethereal enlightenment, then the Immortal State's cultivation counterpart should be the Ethereal Enlightenment.

Once a martial artist reached the Divine Sea level, he could perform various miracles even without having learned any Dharmic formulation.

However, since the martial artist in the transcendent state were considered rare, Chen Fan doubted that he would find someone who was in the immortal state.

Chen Fan shook his head and decided to let the matter rest for now. There were too many unknowns in history and even more in the future, and therefore, it was impossible for Chen Fan to be sure if there was an immortal level martial artist.

Chen Fan left the wellness center not only with the answers he had been seeking but also a personal gift from Mr. Wei.

It was a key to a mansion in the Yunwu mountain.

Mr. Wei told him that this mansion was a gift from his delinquent youngest son. Since he was already too old to stay in a mansion by himself, he decided to regift the mansion to Chen Fan. It also served as an apology for the trouble that Zhou Tianhao had caused for him.

Chen Fan didn't refuse the expensive gift as a normal person would. Instead, he accepted the gift as if it was just a pat on the shoulder. As a former Celestial Lord, the mansion was not a big deal.

Chen Fan knew that what he had done for the old man was worth much more than a mansion. He not only helped Mr. Wei with his deteriorating symptom but also found and corrected the root-cause in his family art. The new art was not only much safer than its previous version but was also much more powerful. With the new art, Mr. Wei could finally have a chance in ascending to the Transcendent State.

Plus, Chen Fan was certain that it was not the last time he would have to help Mr. Wei.

With the brimming confidence of a Celestial Lord, Chen Fan accepted the gift.

Wei Ziqing and her grandpa sat inside of a pavilion and watched as Chen Fan left the wellness center. Wei Ziqing furrowed her brows and complained, "Grandpa, don't you think that the last gift was a little over-the-top? It was the best mansion on the entire mountain, and it was worth over thirty million yuan. It was a gift from the developer to uncle, and then he had given it to you. You knew that Ziping and Auntie wanted it for themselves, so why didn't you give it to members of our family but a stranger?

"Even if he had cured your lungs, a mansion was still too much for what he had done, don't you think? A few million yuan would be more than enough, in my honest opinion." Ziqin asked; she was at a loss by her grandfather's extravagant gift.

"Just the booklet he had given me alone was worth more than ten of those mansions." Mr. Wei narrowed his eyes and replied. The shrewd expression on his face was typical of him when he had made a great business deal.

"The revised art would allow our family clan to prosper for another hundred years at least.

"You still have no idea what a Transcendent Master means." Mr. Wei said in a respectful tone.

"Transcendent Master?" Wei Ziqing murmured. "Haven't you just told us what it was? You said that although the Transcendent Master was able to withstand physical harm using the Qi of Righteousness, they were incredibly rare. I mean, even if he was a Transcendent Master, so what?

"I have investigated into the boy's background, and he seemed to be from a very ordinary family. Grandpa, do you want to be friends with him only because he was a Transcendent Master?"

Using the Wei family's resources, Ziqing had to find out everything about Chen Fan's dad's side of the family. However, the Wang family was too powerful for Ziqin to poke her nose into.

"It's not as easy as you think." Mr. Wei shook his head and then turned to face his lovely granddaughter.

Of all the youngest generations of his household, Ziqin was the only one who remained by his side. While her cousins were busy making money and enjoying their lives, she stayed beside grandpa and studied martial arts.

Touched by her granddaughter's devotion to the family art, Mr. Wei decided to reveal more to her.

"Do you remember Ye Nantian?" Mr. Wei asked.

"Ye Nantian from the Yanjin City?" Wei Ziqin asked curiously.

"Yes. You might not be aware that he was also a grandmaster of martial arts." Mr. Wei nodded and said

"How-how, is that possible?" Ziqin's mouth was wide open in sheer surprise.

Although Ziqin was not a full-time martial artist, she had trained under her grandfather ever since she was a child, and therefore she had heard a lot about Ye Nantian from her grandfather.

To Ziqin, Ye Nantian was a legend, and she practically grew up listening to stories about him.

In all of those stories, Ye Nantian was invincible.

Some stories said that he had made it out of the jungle in Southeast Asia with only one small dagger.

Another story claimed that he went deep into a desolate borderland area and had survived over six months without any provision.

He was the paragon of strength and mettle; a reincarnation of the War God, just like Lu Bu or Zhang Fei during the ancient time.

"So the stories about Ye Nantian are real?" Wei Ziqin asked her grandfather, incredulously.

She was convinced that those stories were nothing but high tales, if not nationalist propaganda. However, Wi Fu nodded with a hard face and then said: "Not only were those stories real, but there were many more that I haven't told you yet.

"Otherwise, why would everyone call him the War God?"

The thought of Ye Nantian made Wui Fu release a poignant sigh.

"Is a Transcendent Master rally that powerful?" Wei Ziqing still found it hard to believe. However, since her grandpa was already convinced of its power, she conceded that she didn't have much choice.

It was her curiosity that had led her to follow her grandfather's footsteps; but later, it was the sense of fulfillment that had kept her going. Never had she thought that practicing martial arts could make her an invincible warrior.

"A Transcendent Master alone was not the most deadly power in the world, a fully armored one was." Wei Fu murmured.

Hearing her grandfather's words, an image came to We Ziqing's mind: a Transcendent Master wearing bulletproof vests and was wielding powerful guns in both hands. The image had sent a chill down her spine.

If what her grandfather said about the power of the Transcendent Masters were true, then so should be the stories about Ye Nantian.

It was hard for her to imagine what would happen when such a mighty warrior fought in a real war,

"Ye Nantian was not the only one. Do you remember Uncle Wu from your brother Xiao's family?" Mr. Wei added

"Yes." We Ziqin nodded, face blushing.

"He is also a transcendent master." Mr. Wei Said quietly.

The redness on the girl's face suddenly disappeared after the shocking revelation.