Chapter 107: The Martial Arts of Tripitaka, The Four Sect Legacies

“All martial arts under the heavens, those attainable by grandmasters and below that the imperial court can acquire, are all compiled into the Martial Archives!”

“The First Archive was personally compiled and reviewed by the First Emperor after unifying the realm.”

“It contains nearly all martial arts from before the establishment of the Great Qin, including those from the Pre-Qin period.”

“This marks the origin of the Martial Archives!”

Upon mentioning this, Lu Chun Yuan first recounted the origins of the Martial Archives and its purpose:

“Within it, the First Emperor categorized martial arts below the grandmaster level into three tiers: Heaven, Earth, and Human.”

“Each tier is further divided into four grades: lower, middle, upper, and supreme, totaling twelve grades to accommodate officials of various ranks.”

“For those holding a ninth-rank position, upon meeting certain criteria, they are permitted to study the ‘Human Tier - Lower Grade’ martial arts.”

“Once promoted to a full ninth-rank, they may study the ‘Human Tier - Middle Grade’ martial arts.”

“Following this progression, upon reaching the junior eighth-rank and then the full eighth-rank, they are allowed to study the ‘Human Tier - Upper Grade’ and ‘Human Tier - Supreme Grade’ martial arts respectively.”

“Higher ranks, regardless of whether junior or full ranks of seventh, sixth, fifth, or fourth, are permitted to study the ‘Earth Tier’ martial arts from lower to supreme grades respectively.”

“The top three ranks—third, second, and first—can access the ‘Heaven Tier’ martial arts from lower to upper grades.”

“This is the privilege granted by official rank!”

“Now, you should grasp just how immense a favor it is that the Ancestor of the Ten Thousand Mountains has granted you access to all martial knowledge below grandmaster level within the Martial Garden!”

Reminded by Lu Chun Yuan, Lu Sheng suddenly recalled that he had indeed been given such a right. He grinned and asked with curiosity:

“Does that include those currently being compiled within the Martial Garden?”

Inwardly, he finally understood why official rank still held significant allure for martial practitioners—

For anyone passionate about martial arts, the countless techniques within the Martial Archives would be nearly irresistible.

At least, upon hearing Lu Chun Yuan mention the Martial Archives, Lu Sheng’s heart was already filled with curiosity.

“Of course it does!”

Hearing Lu Sheng's question, Lu Chun Yuan answered resolutely:

“Not only those being compiled, but also those already completed within the Martial Garden!”

“Moreover, even those stored within the Martial Garden’s collections—”

“All three archives of martial knowledge, as long as they are below the grandmaster level, you may study—”

“Including the supreme-grade martial arts of the Heaven Tier!”

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“Including the supreme-grade Heaven Tier?”

Upon hearing Lu Chun Yuan specifically mention this grade, Lu Sheng asked with intrigue:

“What distinguishes the supreme-grade Heaven Tier techniques from others?”

Knowing Lu Sheng’s lack of familiarity with such basics, Lu Chun Yuan explained:

“Supreme-grade techniques usually signify not only the ability to cultivate to the pinnacle of that realm but also the existence of advanced methods for further ascension.”

“For example, the First Archive contains thirty-two supreme-grade Heaven Tier techniques. Each technique was created by a grandmaster and possesses a path for promotion to grandmaster status!”

“Each of these thirty-two supreme-grade Heaven Tier techniques has its own method to ascend to grandmaster!”

Murmuring this, Lu Sheng’s heart surged with excitement and he asked curiously:

“Are these advanced methods also included?”

Though grandmaster-level legacies are guarded with utmost strictness, and without a legacy treasure, inheritance is difficult,

Given the might of the Qin dynasty in unifying the realm and the destruction of opposing powers in the process, the First Emperor surely collected grandmaster-level methods—more than one, in fact.

“Certainly!”

Confirming Lu Sheng’s speculation, Lu Chun Yuan chuckled and said:

“Twelve of these techniques have cultivation methods for the grandmaster stage.”

“However, those methods are not included in the Heaven, Earth, and Human divisions but are contained in another volume.”

“This volume not only gathers the essentials but also many parts not included in the three main divisions.”

“The grandmaster-level martial arts are all stored there.”

Although martial arts are categorized according to rank into the three divisions, each with different levels of secrecy,

the Martial Archives were compiled primarily for publication purposes.

Some top-secret methods or those unsuitable for governance naturally could not be included.

Thus, when the First Emperor reviewed the archives, those methods were placed in a secret volume and compiled alongside the grandmaster techniques of the Void Realm.

This volume, along with the complete archives and those later selected for publication by the Great Qin court and compiled during its reign—

were all presented by the Qin clan of Yongzhou when Emperor Jing unified the realm.

Therefore, the current Great Jing court possesses these complete texts.

Within the Martial Garden, copies of them are stored.

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“The Qin clan of Yongzhou presented them, and after compilation, Emperor Jing, like the First Emperor, reviewed and corrected these texts.”

“Furthermore, because inheritance stones were discovered in the Divine Ruins, some distinctive martial arts and those of grandmaster level were recorded as holographic imprints within these stones.”

“These four inheritance stones are collectively called the Four-Part Inheritance.”

“These are, aside from the Archives, the most important legacies left by Emperor Jing.”

“One of the reasons Duan Tianhe and Duan Zhengfei pledged allegiance to the Great Jing was to study these legacies.”

Speaking of this, Lu Chun Yuan continued:

Duan Tianhe’s sect, the Mountain and River Sect, traditionally allows ascended grandmasters to join the Great Jing Lu clan to study.

Although over generations, grandmasters left legacy treasures and cultivation knowledge within the sect,

what they left behind cannot be compared to the inheritance of Emperor Jing.

Thus, when Duan Tianhe learned of the potential danger to his descendants, he harbored no resistance to joining the Great Jing Lu clan.

Moreover, given their status, they had the opportunity to study the Four-Part Inheritance left by Emperor Jing—

This alone is the reason many masters and grandmasters pledge allegiance to the imperial court!

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“The First Emperor’s compilation is the First Archive of martial arts in this world.”

“Emperor Jing’s compilation is the Second Archive.”

“As for the one I will be involved in compiling, it is the Third Archive, which has yet to be reviewed by a supreme grandmaster.”

Listening to Lu Chun Yuan’s narration, Lu Sheng gradually formed a clear understanding of the Three Archives.

These three archives encompass the majority of martial knowledge from the Pre-Qin era, Great Qin, and Great Jing dynasties—

One could say the essence of martial arts in this world lies almost entirely within them!

This foundation is truly astounding.

Therefore, after learning all this, Lu Sheng resolved to enhance his Insight of the Partitioned Barrier technique and combine it with his newly comprehended Illuminating Clarity technique to speed up his reading of the archives.

With a powerful memory and his newly attained lucid reflection, he could memorize quickly.

Now, he was eager to strengthen his abilities and delve into the Three Archives of martial arts!