My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 292: Chapter 153: The Third Realm

The Black Armored Soldier suddenly asked the question.

Li Yao snapped back to his senses and replied quickly, ”Yes.”

The dark-faced middle-aged man said no more, simply watching with bright eyes, his surprise growing with every passing moment...

’Truly, heroes emerge from the young... If things continue like this, he’ll likely take one of the twelve seats this year. Just based on this Martial Arts Realm... I am his inferior.’

He sighed in admiration.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Yao asked in a low voice, ”Chief, is... is he really that amazing? From what I see, he’s being completely suppressed, only able to dodge...”

The dark-faced middle-aged man shot Li Yao a speechless, sidelong glance, then shook his head. ”Your Realm is too low. You don’t understand.”

He looked at the two in the arena, his eyes filled with amazement. ”He’s not dodging at all... He’s ’watching.’ He has seen through the initiation, variation, and conclusion of every one of Geng Ye’s Techniques. That’s why he can move with such... leisurely confidence.”

Li Yao was stunned, then asked in confusion, ”But isn’t it said that Huajin has only one Realm, with no distinction between high and low? After Huajin, you can enter the Divine Gate...”

”That is indeed the case, but that Realm refers to the Physique. For example, with Anjin, the Early Stage is ’Yin Needle,’ the Middle Stage is ’Hidden Thunder,’ and the Late Stage is ’Endless Circulation.’ With each advancement, one’s Physique and Anjin see a huge and obvious improvement. That’s why it’s divided into Early, Middle, and Late Stages.”

”But Huajin is different. Upon entering Huajin, everyone’s Physique has basically reached its limit... meaning their strength is around ten thousand jin. The difference between practitioners isn’t that great. Of course, people with special Dao Bodies or Talents are exceptions—there are always special cases.”

”But for the vast majority of people, once they advance to Huajin, their Physique reaches its limit. Unless they break through the Divine Gate, this limit is hard to surpass. There’s no further room for advancement.”

”That’s why there’s the saying that ’Huajin has only one Realm.’”

”But what I’m talking about now... is the Martial Arts Realm. This has nothing to do with the Physique. It’s something on a purely conscious level... and *this* has different Realms.”

The dark-faced middle-aged man said in amazement, ”Upon entering Huajin, everyone practices the Mental Pile. This Mental Pile allows one to achieve ’Observing Oneself as in a Mirror, like Seeing God.’ At this stage, everyone’s Control over their own body can reach an astonishing level. Look at Geng Ye. He is clearly at this Realm. In every move, he is fluid and free, advancing and retreating as he wills, with no worry of exhausting his strength or losing his center of gravity... because he can adjust with a single thought. This is the epitome of achieving ultimate Control over one’s own power.”

”The vast majority of Huajin practitioners are at this Realm, having achieved ultimate Control over themselves.”

”And yet, in terms of the Martial Arts Realm, this is only the first level... because anyone who enters Huajin can achieve it.”

”Taking it a step further, this observation gradually turns from inward to outward. It’s no longer just about observing oneself, but also observing external objects, external people. When facing an enemy, you don’t need to fixate on their Techniques. Instead, by sensing the ebb and flow of their breath, the subtle shifts in their center of gravity, and even the focus of their gaze and will, you can reach the point of predicting their attacks. This is the Second Realm of Huajin, ’Thought Moves, Form Follows, Observing the Enemy as Patterns.’ Think about it. Before you even make a move, your opponent already knows where you’re going to attack. With equal strength and speed, who do you think would win?”

The dark-faced middle-aged man’s words left Li Yao a bit dazed. He subconsciously swallowed.

’Before I even attack, he’s already seen through all my variations, and our strength is equal... Isn’t that as easy as beating up a child?’

”Then... what about the Third Realm?”

”The Third Realm is what that young man is demonstrating right now.”

The dark-faced middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and sighed softly. ”Truly incredible... This Third Realm may seem similar to the Second Realm, but it’s actually completely different. In the Second Realm, you still need to observe and judge for yourself. It’s like seeing ripples in a river; you need to look at them to determine which way the ’ripples’ are going...”

”But in the Third Realm, you no longer need to ’look’ at all. His Heart Realm has already encompassed the entire battlefield; he *is* the ’mirror’ itself! When you fight him, the moment you even have the desire to attack, his Heart Mirror has already reflected it. Unless you have absolutely overwhelming speed, then... no matter how powerful your attack, as long as he has room to dodge, you can’t even touch him. This is the Third Realm: ’Divine Will Reflection, Anticipating the Enemy’!”

”To be honest... many True Essence Martial Artists who have already pushed open the Divine Gate might not even possess this level of Martial Arts Realm!”

”This young man... is just too strong.”

He was endlessly amazed.

The other Black Armored Soldiers nearby, including Li Yao, could only stare at each other in bewilderment.

Seeing their blank expressions, the dark-faced middle-aged man was at a loss for words.

’...Ah well, their Realm is too low. It’s useless to say more.’

’Once they enter Huajin themselves, they’ll naturally understand.’

In the arena, Qin Fang’s expression grew increasingly strange.

’...Wait, aren’t all Huajin Martial Artists as strong as Chen Shanhe?’

Chen Shanhe was just the master of a martial arts hall in True Martial County.

’But this is the Prefecture City... and the people participating in the Martial Arts Examination should be even more...’

Suddenly, Qin Fang froze.

’Wait a minute... the Martial Arts Examination... I think Chen Shanhe already passed the Martial Arts Examination many years ago.’

’Could it be... that Chen Shanhe isn’t as weak as I thought?’

Qin Fang blinked.

’Thinking about it carefully...’

’...It really might not be the case.’

Sure, Chen Shanhe was only an Outer Disciple.

But that was more than forty years ago!

More than forty years ago, Chen Shanhe was already a Huajin Martial Artist.

’After being immersed in Huajin for so many years... how could he not have made any progress at all?’

’Besides... was Chen Shanhe weak?’

Qin Fang almost forgot that when he had first reached Huajin, the man had thrashed him like he was his own son!