Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 485: Chapter 264: The Theory of Roots and Bones

Seeing Lady Qin start to discuss the topic he was most eager to hear about, Cheng Zongyang put all thoughts of the house aside and began to listen intently.

He committed everything Lady Qin said to memory, planning to relay it to Ding Xing to be recorded later. He couldn’t afford to mishear or miss a single detail.

Lady Qin found it rather amusing that Cheng Zongyang was already listening with the intense focus of a student, though she had only just begun. Feeling less bothered, she continued to explain patiently:

"Let’s start with Mortal Bones and Spirit Bones. The greatest difference between them is the speed at which one can comprehend Martial Arts.

With Martial Arts, you could say that anyone can become a Beginner as long as they’re diligent. But the time it takes to progress varies.

Some people train relentlessly through the heat of summer and the cold of winter, yet they barely reach the Beginner stage, struggling to even break through a single level.

Others can reach the stage of Entering the Hall and Chamber in just a month or two, or even as little as ten to fifteen days. That is the difference between having Mortal Bones and Spirit Bones."

Cheng Zongyang nodded in agreement. That was certainly true. Many people he knew were just like that. Take Li Lu, for instance. He had been practicing Body Forging for several years, and while his insufficient qi and blood was a factor, his Talent was truly poor.

Currently, Li Lu was only at the Seventh Grade. Despite taking a great deal of the medicine Zongyang had given him, he still struggled to reach the Sixth Grade. It would likely take a long time yet. Even at his best in the future, he would probably never get past the Middle Third Grades Realm.

His cousin, Zhou Zhendong, had already entered the Sixth Grade by the time Zongyang left the County Town, proving that his aptitude was quite good.

Zongyang had arranged for him to go register at the Li Courtyard. They would deal with the rest when he returned.

"Those with Mortal Bones, regardless of any fortunate encounters they may have, are still limited by their own hard work. Their achievements will be finite. In their entire lives, they can’t even reach the Innate Realm, the threshold for Entering the Dao through Martial Arts. Some can’t even reach Entry Grade or the Middle Third Grades. A person with Mortal Bones is destined to be ordinary, with no natural talent for Martial Arts."

"Those with Spirit Bones, even without any lucky breaks, will progress rapidly just by practicing Martial Arts normally. A person with Spirit Bones is someone who possesses the foundation to step onto the Immortal Dao."

"Furthermore, the more Spirit Bones one has, the faster their Martial Arts training will be! Conversely, the fewer Spirit Bones, the slower the training. Someone with Five Spirit Bones will train in Martial Arts five times faster than someone with a single Spirit Bone!"

Cheng Zongyang suddenly raised his hand. Seeing this, Lady Qin couldn’t help but crack a smile. "Go ahead and ask."

Zongyang looked down at his own body and asked, "Where in the body are the Spirit Bones located?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Qin rolled her eyes, momentarily speechless.

If it weren’t for the serious look on his face, she would have been tempted to tell him to get lost.

In the end, she sighed and said, "The information on Spirit Bones is currently just a theory passed down by the Sects. And Spirit Bone doesn’t refer to specific, individual bones, but rather to five general regions: the spinal column, which governs the back and head; the sternum and ribs, which govern the chest; the pelvis, which governs the waist; the hip bones, which govern the lower limbs; and finally, the scapulae, which govern the arms.

These five areas are collectively what we call Spirit Bones. To have a Spirit Bone simply means that one of these regions possesses a unique, innate power.

Examples include Innate Divine Power, being a fast runner, or having powerful and dexterous hands. These are all manifestations of Spirit Bones. Once you begin Martial Arts Training, these related innate advantages will gradually become apparent. For example, you might master Body Techniques or Leg Techniques faster than other Martial Arts, or excel at things like Fist Techniques or the Iron Head Skill.

Young man, possessing all Five Spirit Bones means your Martial Arts Training will enhance your entire body. Wouldn’t you say your progress would be fast?"

Cheng Zongyang nodded. He was finally starting to understand. ’I have Innate Divine Power, my Body Technique training is fast, and my Palm Technique is fast too. Does that mean I have Three Spirit Bones?’

He asked, "How can you test for that?"

Lady Qin replied, "The Commerce Associations in the three regions have Spirit Testing Paper that can be used to test the aptitude of children over the age of seven."

"Thank you. Please, continue and tell me about Spirit Roots," Zongyang said, clasping his hands in a respectful gesture of thanks.

Lady Qin felt a sense of resignation. ’I have no idea why I’m being so patient, explaining all this to a boy I just met. It’s far less interesting than napping in my room and counting my Spirit Stones.’

But then she recalled the words Zongyang had muttered at the door, and she patiently continued:

"As for those with Spirit Roots, they don’t need to practice Martial Arts at all. They can directly use an Immortal Dao Cultivation Method to enter the realm of the Extraordinary. Their Cultivation speed depends on the quality of their individual Spirit Root.

A Single Spirit Root, which corresponds to one element, is the purest and allows for the fastest Cultivation. Two Spirit Roots are the next best. Five Spirit Roots is the maximum number one can have; it’s also the most difficult and slowest path, but it holds the greatest potential."

"And while both those with Spirit Bones and those with Spirit Roots can become Extraordinary and begin Qi Cultivation, there’s another difference that emerges at this stage.

Upon entering the Qi Cultivation Realm, the paths for those with Spirit Bones and Spirit Roots are essentially the same.

When someone with Spirit Bones Enters the Dao through Martial Arts and becomes an Extraordinary who can practice Qi Cultivation, their Spirit Bones become equivalent to Spirit Roots. And the more Spirit Bones they have, the slower their Cultivation speed will be!

Only after such people embark on the Immortal Dao will they face the same cultivation difficulties as those with multiple Spirit Roots. However, once their foundation is firmly established, their combat prowess will be immense.

If Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivators of the same realm—one who started with Spirit Bones and one who started with Spirit Roots—were to fight to the death, nine times out of ten, the one with Spirit Roots would be the one to die. I don’t need to explain why; you should understand the reason."

"For those born with Spirit Roots, the fewer roots they have, the faster their Cultivation speed!"

"For someone without Spirit Roots, the only way to embark on the Immortal Dao is to rely on their Spirit Bones, if they have any. The number of Spirit Bones determines the speed of their Martial Arts Training. But it also determines their future Cultivation speed after they step onto the Immortal Dao."

Zongyang was beginning to grasp it. "So the number of Spirit Bones and Spirit Roots have opposite effects on training speed in the early stages," he said.

Lady Qin considered this for a moment, then nodded. "You could put it that way."