"Hunyuan Shengmie…" Just hearing the name, it sounded extraordinary.[That is, until the five words 'Children's Martial Academy' followed right after it.]
Yun Shou: "…"
Ah, simulation face-slap time again.
Wait—why did I say again?
[It's like hearing names like 'Zhuge the Mighty' or 'Murong the Elegant'—a grand opening ruined in an instant.]
You step into the academy. A dozen children are huffing and puffing through body-training movements—none of them standard, because each one is doing something completely different.
A grinning old man ambles over. "Here to learn martial arts, are you? Sorry, we don't take anyone over ten." Suddenly his face hardens, and he raps on the plaque with the characters for "Children's Academy."
This is Zhu Baowen, an ordinary old man who's lived in Qingcheng for twenty years. Rumor says he used to be a Martial Master running a school, but was crippled by enemies and reduced to this.
[Yeah right. If he's just some washed-up, ordinary Martial Master, you can eat your shoes standing on your head.]
You spin a tale: as a child you loved martial arts, once received a mysterious elder's transmission of power, and now feel a deep fate with "Hunyuan Shengmie." You beg Zhu Baowen to accept you as his personal disciple.
"Mm." Yun Shou nods. In the simulation, he is already a second-rate martial artist with Iron Body perfected—this counts as "bringing skill to the master," so he has to explain it carefully.
For the Qinghe Gang, the excuse for his sudden strength was "a mysterious elder's transmission." So when facing Zhu Baowen, he can't contradict that. Otherwise, if this hidden master really checked into his story, it'd be bad.
As for whether Zhu Baowen would see holes in the "transmission" story… Yun Shou knows he's gambling.
He gambles that mighty martial artists can truly pass on their strength.
If Zhu Baowen doubts it, then maybe he simply isn't strong enough to understand. Surely there are beings out there stronger than one slap destroying armies—such a one could definitely transmit power!
And if not, he gambles again—that Zhu Baowen doesn't have any "soul-searching" ability.
If he does, well, then the danger lies in a future yet to come. Yun Shou can always just avoid him later.
[Despite your pleading, Zhu Baowen remains unmoved, telling you to get lost.]
Of course you refuse to give up. After all, the Martial State's armies won't arrive for nearly twenty years. You'll pester him until you break through!
Whenever you have time, you visit Zhu Baowen, always bringing a small gift—maybe a roast duck, maybe a jug of old wine.
Year 273 of the Great Qing. Zhu Baowen seems moved at last. Occasionally he lets you demonstrate a few moves before him, then guides you with the insight of a former Martial Master.
Year 274. You feel yourself on the verge of merging strength and breath. The next step is to refine blood and flesh— the very limit of a second-rate martial artist. That was the stage of the woman-stealer Song Yulang, whom you once fought.
You succeed, merging strength and breath, gaining deeper control over your body. You begin gathering rare herbs to refine your flesh.
Year 275. Within the Qinghe Gang, you rise to a small leader's rank—one of the gang's "thirteen hands" among its two hundred members.
Year 276. Another "Young Geniuses' Tournament" is held in the Martial State. You hear the top ten are all first-rate martial artists under the age of twenty-five. The champion has already become a Martial Master, dazzling an entire generation.
Year 277. Age 22. Foundation: 136%. Your inner strength has tripled since entering second-rate, with four times the endurance. Under Zhu Baowen's occasional guidance, your martial skill improves greatly.
Year 279. You sigh at how difficult the last step of a second-rate—refining blood and flesh—truly is. You can't imagine what kind of monsters those first-rate prodigies under twenty-five must be.
That same year, your Iron Body Technique reaches perfection, giving your body an excellent boost. You're confident your current strength surpasses your last life, and you could even test yourself against a shaky first-rate fighter with an unstable foundation.
You suspect your gang leader, Xu Ruohai, is at this very level.
Year 280. Zhu Baowen asks you: "Would you dare to disperse your perfected Iron Body Technique?"
Having trained so long, your first reaction is that he must be joking. Dispelling one's own cultivation is like cutting off an arm!
First, the loss of augmentation: martial skills give huge bonuses. Dispelling them slashes your power. Even a perfected technique adds to a first-rate master's strength—let alone for you, still second-rate!
It would drop you from "barely able to fight weak first-rate" down to "mid-second-rate."
Second—and more critical—foundation pollution. Training multiple techniques boosts power slightly, but the flaws are deadly. Conflicting techniques cripple your breakthroughs. Those who practice more than one never become Grandmasters!
Multiple techniques cause conflict, while dispersing one leaves behind polluted foundations. In your case, the Iron Body leaves behind tissues permanently molded by the art, incompatible with new cultivation.
In short, dispersing the technique lowers your foundation, because part of it is forever tainted and unusable.
(Some say this section of setting is filler—it was later moved to the "Author's Notes.")
You begin dispersing the art anyway. During this period you can't train, your strength declines, your foundation is damaged. Only one with enormous resolve could attempt it.
"But I've got a whole lifetime to waste with you," Yun Shou smiles faintly. "Call it a trial or not, I'll accept it with my entire life."
"See for yourself the terrifying patience of a simulator's self, old man Zhu!"