Qing Wen pressed, “What level?”
Xiang Ling laughed, “According to the young master, it’s actually ranking everyone in the world.”
“Based on the nine ranks and eighteen levels of court officials, nine levels of strength have been ranked.”
“The lowest is the ninth rank, capable of fighting a fully equipped soldier, meaning one fully armed, wearing armor, carrying weapons, and remaining undefeated. This is equivalent to a third-rate person in the martial world, with a casual strike reaching a hundred jin (about 133 pounds).”
“Eighth rank, capable of defeating, or to put it another way, killing a fully equipped soldier. Equivalent to a second-rate master in the martial world, with strength starting at five hundred jin (about 665 pounds).”
“Seventh rank, capable of defeating ten fully equipped soldiers. A first-rate master in the martial world, capable of lifting a thousand jin (about 1,333 pounds).”
“Sixth rank, capable of defeating a hundred. A Grandmaster, with at least ten thousand jin (about 13,333 pounds) of strength.”
“Fifth rank, capable of defeating a thousand. A Great Grandmaster, only existing in legends, possessing eight elephants, or ten thousand jin (about 13,333 pounds) of divine strength.”
“Fourth rank, capable of defeating ten thousand. As for the martial world, young master says there are no such figures. They have eighty elephants, meaning close to the strength of a dragon (a hundred elephants).”
“Above that, it’s beyond human capabilities. Only in mythology can such beings exist.”
“That’s right.”
It was unknown when, but Li Xuan walked over.
Taking the towel, he wiped his sweat and said,
“Actually, don’t even mention defeating ten thousand, there are no capable of defeating a thousand now. The closest to capable of defeating a hundred was during the founding of the country.”
“Nearly a hundred years since the founding, the nobles are mostly decadent. How many can endure the hardship of body tempering and refinement?”
“Thankfully, in this Great Qian Empire, the strongest still belongs to the court.”
“The martial world? It’s nothing!”
“Fifth-rank Great Grandmasters have not appeared for a long time.”
“Sixth-rank Grandmasters, the entire martial world doesn’t even have a handful.”
“Seventh-rank First-rate masters, their numbers are gradually increasing, but who knows if they even reach a hundred?”
“If you really anger a court official of the same rank, they will always find a way to mobilize troops and destroy you.”
“Furthermore, look at how many sixth-rank and fifth-rank officials the court has, and even higher, second-rank and first-rank. So, no matter how brave your martial prowess, it cannot rival the power of the heavens.”
“That’s why they say ‘Learn the skills of the martial arts and the literary arts, and offer them to the Emperor.’ ”
Power only brings additional abilities.
If a martial arts expert really wants to kill you, no matter what rank you are, wouldn’t you be terrified?
But the court has linked the ranks of strength to the ranks of court officials.
In Li Xuan’s heart, these so-called ranks might be deliberately created by the court to intimidate those in the martial world.
Yes, the court is powerful, capable of destroying the entire martial world.
But for an individual from the martial world, they can’t send out an army to encircle and suppress them.
By establishing a ranking system and deliberately using the ranks of court officials, isn’t it trying to blur the concepts and elevate the authority of the court?
For example, if a Grandmaster has a conflict with a Prefect.
Thinking to himself that he is sixth-rank and the other is fourth-rank, he immediately restrains his thoughts.
I can’t afford to provoke him, I’ll just forget about it!
Li Xuan pondered for a moment, then added two sentences.
“A fully equipped soldier, only needs eight liang (about 0.4 pounds) of silver for armor and weapons, plus several months of sufficient food and training, totaling less than twenty liang.”
“As for practicing martial arts, not to mention a sixth-rank capable of defeating a hundred, even to become a lowly ninth-rank, you either need a huge investment of several thousand liang of silver and several years of time, or ten years of hard training.”
“As for encountering a miraculous opportunity, finding a great medicine, just think about it, it’s difficult!”
Of course, we with exceptional talent, even without a cheat, are still among the best of the best.
（Lin Daiyu: Who isn’t?）
He still didn’t tell Qing Wen what level Li Xuan was.
Qing Wen curiously asked, “Fourth Master Li, there were Grandmasters in the martial world before, but not anymore. Does that mean the martial world is declining and falling behind?”
“You can’t say that.”
Li Xuan shook his head and explained,
“Body-refining secret manuals all follow a similar pattern, it’s just exercise plus supplementing with medicine and food. There’s no real gap in level. It’s not like my secret manual is more powerful than yours, so I become stronger several times faster than you.”
“The best and worst secret manuals only differ in speed by a factor of two.”
“What really matters is a person’s talent.”
“Even if someone is a sickly weakling, given enough resources and time, they can reach the ninth rank. But the ninth rank is their limit.”
“The human body has its limits.”
“Some people are simply not suited for martial arts. Their limit is low, and they will consume more resources and time. The ninth rank is their peak.”
“Some people are suited for martial arts. Their limit is high, and even without resources, they can slowly cultivate to the ninth rank, eighth rank, seventh rank, or even higher.”
Simply put, the current martial world is only about enhancing one’s physical strength, without methods to integrate one’s internal force.
As for martial arts like fists, kicks, swords, and weapons, those are external methods of protection, not fundamental laws.
They have little to do with one’s own level improvement, at least not until the appearance of great weapons like sword qi and sword intent.
After opening Qing Wen’s eyes, Li Xuan clapped his hands and ordered,
“Alright, that’s all.”
“Ru Yan, Yang Liu, bring in the hot water.”
“Qing Wen, Xiang Ling, you don’t need to stay and serve me while I wash up. Go and deliver the local products to everyone’s rooms. I’ve already divided them and written down who gets what.”
Thinking that he had placed a jade piece in each gift, Li Xuan couldn’t help but smile mischievously, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Big Face Treasure, see which sister doesn’t have jade?