Meanwhile, the top-tier meditation technique, ’Crystal Meditation Technique,’ granted him a growth of nearly five points in Mental Power each year.
In the blink of an eye, more than three years flew by.
On this day, inside a private Gravity Cultivation Chamber for teachers at Qiming First High School.
Qin Feng stood bare-chested. Beneath his bronze skin, his muscles were sleek and rippling with explosive power.
He stood silently in the center of the Cultivation Room, his eyes closed and his breathing long and steady.
The perfect Top-grade Primordial Acupoint within him erupted with a dazzling light!
A tide of life energy, several times more immense than before, burst forth from the Primordial Acupoint like a collapsing star river, surging through every corner of his body, down to every last cell!
"BOOM—!"
An invisible shackle within his body instantly shattered.
It was the second great chasm that confronted all Martial Artists—the ’Second Great Limit’ of a 36,000-point life force index!
In that instant, Qin Feng had crossed it with ease, as if taking a single step.
His life force index had officially broken through 36,000.0, and he had stepped into a whole new realm.
In the meeting room, Master Gu Yue and Master Lin Yue quietly observed the scene on a monitoring screen.
"He... He broke through?"
Disbelief flooded Lin Yue’s beautiful eyes. "How long has he been back? Three years and seven months. And he... he just crossed the Second Great Limit from eighteen thousand points, just like that?"
"It was unexpected, yet it makes perfect sense."
Master Gu Yue stroked his goatee, a look of marvel and profound emotion on his face. "The wonders of the legendary Top-grade Primordial Acupoint are far beyond our imagination.
For an ordinary Martial Artist in the Seventh Level of the Mountain and Sea Realm, breaking through a single stage requires years, even decades, of painstaking effort.
But for him, it’s as easy as eating or drinking. This... this is the speed of a Top-grade Primordial Acupoint."
As Qin Feng retracted his aura and stepped out of the Cultivation Room, Master Gu Yue stopped him.
"Qin Feng, come over here for a moment."
The three of them sat down once again in the familiar meeting room.
"Master."
Qin Feng was the first to speak, voicing a question that had long been on his mind. "I’ve always been a bit confused. What is the fundamental basis for the Empire’s division of Martial Artist ranks into these four major realms, from Sixth-Level Soaring to Ninth-level Extreme Martial Artist?"
A hint of approval appeared in Master Gu Yue’s eyes upon hearing the question.
’Understanding the need to ponder the fundamentals, rather than just blindly burying oneself in harsh cultivation—that is the true mark of a powerful individual.’
He mulled it over for a moment, gathering his thoughts before slowly explaining, "That’s a good question. The truth is, the Empire’s ranking system for High-level Martial Artists was quite chaotic in its earliest days.
It wasn’t until after the first major War of rebellion, when the Empire reformed its military, that an entirely new standard was introduced. This is the same one we use now."
"This standard discards all complex variables like Cultivation Techniques, killing techniques, equipment, and so on. It relies on a single, core, and most intuitive metric: pure destructive power."
"In other words, these four levels—Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine—are classified entirely based on the maximum destructive area a Martial Artist can achieve. This is measured using only the brute force they can muster from their life force index, without the use of any High-level Killing Techniques."
"And as it happens, these four levels correspond to four great limits that exist under the laws of the Cosmos."
Gu Yue held up one finger.
"Take the Seventh-Level Mountain and Sea Martial Artist, for example.
The words ’Mountain and Sea’ are not just a name.
It means that a Martial Artist at this level can unleash enough pure power to level mountains and boil rivers dry in a short period.
If they were to unleash their full power on a typical Life Planet, the aftershocks of their battle could trigger tsunamis, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. They could instantly destroy a city of a million people.
We call this ’Mountain and Sea’ level."
He then held up a second finger.
"As for an Eighth-Level Sun and Moon Martial Artist, their destructive power is ’Meteor Level.’
Once your life force index surpasses the Second Great Limit—thirty-six thousand points—every single one of your brute force attacks becomes comparable to the cataclysm caused by a small, hundred-meter-diameter meteorite striking the ground at supersonic speed."
"As for the Ninth-level Extreme Martial Artist,"
Gu Yue continued, "That is the absolute limit of Combat Power a Martial Artist can achieve before becoming a ’Planet-level Life Form.’ That’s why we call it ’Extreme.’"
"Of course,"
He added a final emphasis, "This Combat Power classification doesn’t factor in any bonuses from High-level Killing Techniques.
Take you, for example. Even though you’ve just become an Eighth-Level Sun and Moon Martial Artist, your killing techniques have already reached the Control Realm. Because of that, your true destructive power is likely on par with that of a veteran Level 8 Martial Artist."
"I see."
Qin Feng had a moment of epiphany, finally understanding the logic behind the ranking system.
The eighteen-thousand-point "First Great Limit" was the threshold for destroying a city—a minor cataclysm.
The thirty-six-thousand-point "Second Great Limit" was a major cataclysm.
However, the benchmark for this was a normal Life Planet. Against a gas giant with immense gravity, this destructive power would be significantly diminished.
...
The river of time flowed onward.
The fifth year.
In a private Martial Arts Room at Qiming First High School, Qin Feng’s figure flashed about like a phantom.
In his hands, the Level 6 Alloy Long Spear, Raging Tide, had become a blur impossible to follow with the naked eye.
He had achieved Control of the Triple Spear.
Meanwhile, his Spiritual Power Index had also quietly surpassed 35 points.
This meant he had reached the minimum threshold required to practice Fifth Level Killing Techniques.
Without the slightest hesitation, he spent years of accumulated Contribution Points on a new and incredibly difficult Fifth-level Boxing Skill: ’Hundred Barge Struggle Stream’.