"Martial Arts Nine Grades, each grade is a realm unto itself."

"This is the grading system established by the Martial Arts Administration Bureau. It uses various instruments to convert a martial artist's strength into tangible data for comparison, thereby determining their grade."

"This method is very straightforward. Rather than grading the martial artist, it's more about dividing the numerical values into intervals, which is the standard followed by the New Martial."

"However, the Old Martial Arts has another set of standards, dividing realms through changing skin, refining flesh, transforming bones, exchanging blood, and refining marrow."

"And our [Ronggui Sect] follows the standard of the Old Martial Arts. However, as your master, I offer you two paths: one is the righteous path, the other the path of evil. Which one do you wish to choose?"

In the inner courtyard, one seated and one standing, Li Guishen's voice clearly reached Feng Mu's ears.

Feng Mu asked puzzledly, "May I ask Master, what is the righteous path, and what is the path of evil?"

Li Guishen did not keep him in suspense, speaking bluntly: "The righteous path is the grand and open path, slow in progress but with solid foundations, pursuing strength within oneself, without reliance on external sources."

"However, this path greatly values root bone, emphasizing innate talent. Among my disciples, only your senior brother is following this righteous path."

Li Guishen paused, then continued: "As the name suggests, the path of evil involves leveraging all external forces, accelerating growth prematurely. This method is the quickest to learn, yet the most perilous."

"For those on the path of evil, root bone is not of primary importance. The key is whether there is enough ferocity to gamble one's life for a slim chance of survival. It can be said there are eighty-one difficulties, with the slightest misstep leading to one's own demise."

Feng Mu showed no fear, fully aware of his own root bone. With almost no hesitation, he replied: "I ask Master to impart the path of evil to me."

Li Guishen seemed unsurprised by Feng Mu's answer. He took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket and carefully poured out a single pill.

The pill was pitch black, about the size of a pinky fingernail, and as soon as it came out, it emitted a strange, foul odor, as if laced with poison.

Li Guishen flicked it lightly, and Feng Mu promptly caught it with his palm.

He roughly understood that this pill was meant for him to consume. After meeting Li Guishen's ambiguous gaze, he made no further hesitation and swallowed it.

He had eaten iron, he had eaten calamity iron, and had even consumed [Resentful Energy], so a mere pill didn't faze him.

After swallowing the pill, Feng Mu asked, "Master, what is this pill?"

Li Guishen did not answer directly but instead asked, "Do you know why martial arts greatly value root bone aptitude?"

Feng Mu replied, "Because root bone influences a person's progress in practicing martial arts. Those with good root bone learn quickly and train rapidly, achieving in one day what those with poor root bone might take ten or a hundred days of hard work to achieve."

Li Guishen nodded, "And why is that?"

Feng Mu was momentarily stunned, as this question he had not deeply contemplated before. It wasn't taught in class; at least he hadn't heard of it in the free classes he attended at school. Perhaps it was taught in the paid classes.

Feng Mu shook his head, "Disciple does not know. Disciple only knows that his root bone is extremely poor and asks Master for enlightenment."

Li Guishen: "The origin of martial arts initially came from humans imitating animals. Although martial arts have evolved and advanced several times, essentially, they've simply moved to imitating higher, or rather more abstract, objects. But at its core, it's still humans mimicking all things in nature."

"The ultimate goal of any martial art is to continuously train oneself to become like the subject of imitation; the more similar, the more effectively one can unleash the power of that martial art."

"And this imitation, at its root, is an imitation of bone shape, or rather, transforming the skeletal structure within the flesh from human to non-human."

"So those highly skilled in martial arts, while still wrapped in human skin, have bones that are fundamentally different from ordinary humans."

"And the reason they maintain a human shape is due to genetic constraints, because of the heavy binds of flesh and skin. Were these limitations removed, instantaneously, they would metamorphose into grotesque monsters."

"As for what kind of monster they transform into, it depends on the martial arts they've practiced."

"This is also why Old Martial Arts insist on starting training from the skin and flesh, to pre-emptively bind the bones with chains."

Li Guishen said in one breath, took two puffs of a cigarette, and then, with a rather enigmatic expression, continued:

"The quality of root bone, generally speaking, refers to the form of the bone. It's assessed by certain instruments or the Bone Touching Skill, to evaluate how easily the bones can change shape."

"The higher the score, the easier it is for bones to transform, like clay that's easily molded into the shape conducive to the martial art, thus advancing training rapidly."

"Conversely, poor root bone is difficult to reshape, as immalleable as iron or stone."

"Such bones, unless a martial art naturally compatible with them is found, render training inefficient or even stagnant."

Feng Mu was speechless, thinking of those Calamity Corpses he had burned, wondering if perhaps they had lost the constraints of flesh, allowing their bones to fully transform into their true shapes?

Feng Mu took a deep breath and suspiciously asked, "According to what Master said, doesn't it mean the better the root bone, the easier it is to shape-shift, and thus, easier to mutate?"

Li Guishen replied lightly, "Sounds contradictory, doesn't it? But the way of martial arts has always been about humans' refusal to accept their nature, a way to transform their lives. With change comes matching risks; otherwise, why practice martial arts?"

"Practicing martial arts can be fatal, and the more advanced it becomes, the more like walking on thin ice it feels, not just idle talk of the ancients."

Li Guishen did not disclose everything because this topic involved bone structure instability, some perfected "safety measures" of martial arts, or certain supplementary secret remedies, and so on.

However, these are knowledge points for those who follow the righteous path, not for those who pursue the evil path.

The path of evil emphasizes total liberation, being unhindered, stressing an aggressive and diligent spirit. Either succeed or perish, with no path to retreat.

When Feng Mu first crossed dimensions, he felt that this world's martial arts seemed different from what he imagined in the martial arts of his previous life's films and shows.

After hearing Li Guishen's speech today, he was finally enlightened, "So, martial arts in this world is such a treacherous path."

Feng Mu couldn't help but reflect inwardly, "With each bit more I understand about this world, the more I feel this world exudes an air of evil."

"It's as if this city of concrete and steel, everything that seems scientific on the surface, is just its outer clothing, but if I were to pierce a hole in this attire and peek inside, I would find another bizarre and terrifying world hidden within."

Suddenly, a severe pain surged within Feng Mu's body, a sensation identical to that when [Iron Eater] ascended, as if all his bones wanted to drill out from within his flesh.

However, this time, it was not the bones trying to emerge, but the flesh beneath the skin.

They seemed to have suddenly come alive, frantically moving and growing, with countless new growths of flesh sprouting tendrils, spreading out indiscriminately.

These tendrils attempted to burst out through his skin, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, as if to bloom into a grotesque flower of flesh and blood.

Meanwhile, they permeated internally, trying to penetrate the heart, spleen, lungs, stomach, intestines, even marrow, all-pervasive, seemingly trying to contract into a horrifying bloody tumor.

"It begins!"

Li Guishen's pupils contracted slightly as he leaped into the air, his withered fingers rapidly tapping, inserting slender needles into Feng Mu's body, each needle connected to silver threads, all converging in his hand, manipulated by a special rhythm.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of needles had pierced deeply into Feng Mu's body, almost to the bone, vibrating together.

Feng Mu felt as if he had become a puppet of flesh and blood, every piece of flesh and bone trembling at an eerie frequency.

"Carefully feel the moment when the flesh wants to devour everything, and its roar!"

"That is the anger of your flesh unwilling to be dominated by the skeleton."

"It's not only the bones that can be the masters of the body; flesh can also dominate bones. Who rules who, is a matter of righteousness or evil!"

"If the bones can't do it, then use flesh to make up for it, why bind it? Better to completely liberate!"

"Good disciple, truly feel the roar of the flesh, the anger of the flesh, the breath of the flesh."

"Do not use your five senses, but sense them with your spirit, tame and control, make the power of the flesh your own, nurture a new organ of flesh and blood within."

"This is the Evil Scripture—'Blood and Flesh Initial Solution' created by the founder of the [Ronggui Sect], today taught to you by your master, hahaha—"

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