[The Chu family's guard captain, Chu San, was a second-rate martial artist. When training the latest batch of recruits, he revealed secrets only warriors could know!]
[There are two branches of martial training. The first is martial arts—orthodox techniques. For example, the Iron Body Technique you chose at the start. Only by mastering such a martial art can one rise to the ranks of third-rate, second-rate, or even higher-level warriors!]
[The second is martial skills—combat techniques. These sharpen fighting ability but do little to strengthen the body. At best, they can push someone to the level of an "unranked fighter," never into the true ranks of martial artists.]
[Some high-level martial arts come with corresponding martial skills. When practiced together, their power far exceeds any random mix-and-match. Unfortunately, Iron Body Technique has no such companion skill, so you'll have to pair it with whatever martial skills you can find.]
[And that other option you didn't pick—Heaven-Piercing Arm—also has no matching martial skill.]
[Under Captain Chu San's guidance, you and the other new guards begin your training. He explains that to become a third-rate martial artist you must train muscle, blood, and skin. Only when all three reach a certain level can true inner energy be born, elevating you to second-rate!]
[You begin your training while also taking on patrol duty around the Chu estate.]
[In the 283rd year of the Great Qing, you reach the entry stage of the Iron Body Technique. You feel your body grow tougher and stronger.]
(Stages of mastery: Entry → Minor Achievement → Major Achievement → Perfection.)
[The depth of mastery doesn't just affect training speed. More importantly, each stage grants tangible bonuses. With Iron Body, the stronger your mastery, the tougher your physique.]
[Chu San praises your talent. If the master of the house takes notice, becoming a second-rate martial artist is almost certain—and maybe even first-rate someday.]
[By now, your Foundation Amplification has reached 144%. And thanks to the Chu family's wealth and generosity—meat at every meal and special tonics for promising guards—the vitality you lost in childhood is finally restored.]
[In other words, today's 144% is even stronger than the 150% you once had!]
[You are now truly gifted in the martial path.]
[In the 284th year, you hear rumors that the Daoist grandmasters are organizing a "Grand Assembly." But for you, still just a third-rate fighter training your muscles, such matters are far beyond reach.]
[In the 285th year, your training deepens. Your muscles have been tempered to a solid level, and faintly, you begin to sense the flow of blood-energy within. With this, you've stepped into the mid-tier of third-rate warriors.]
[Captain Chu San remarks that your natural physique makes your strength exceptional—already rivaling some who've begun cultivating blood-energy.]
[That same year, Wuguo's forces raided villages along the border. A month later, Qing declared war.]
[You thought to yourself: What's that got to do with me?]
[Three months later, conscription sweeps the land—but as a guard of the Chu family, you are exempt.]
[Your Iron Body Technique reaches Minor Achievement.]
[In the 286th year, you hear of a disastrous defeat at the front lines. The cause? Wuguo had produced an "Innate Dragon-Elephant Strength," a warrior whose casual strikes carried ten thousand pounds of force. Even grandmasters dared not face him directly. On the battlefield, he cut through soldiers like grass, a one-man army.]
[At the Chu estate, people whisper that within two years, Wuguo's army will reach Qing City.]
[That same year, Uncle Ji entrusts his daughter to you, begging that you care for her and let her stay by your side. He even hints that you may take her as a concubine.]
[After all, you have the Chu family behind you. When war comes, families like theirs will either surrender or relocate, far safer than clinging to a fisherman's fate.]
[In the 287th year, the Grand Assembly convenes as planned—only for shocking news to spread like wildfire!]
[It was a trap. Daoist sects and Qing forces struck together. Six of Wuguo's grandmasters fell in a single blow! The tides of war might yet be reversed.]