Lin Sheng sat quietly on the chair beneath the old tree, his gaze resting on Su Yang.
The young man was spending the night in the branches of the tree.
There wasn't enough room for him to move freely, and the branches were too narrow for him to practice the Dragon Stance properly, so he had chosen another method.
He was practicing a stake method.
The Quiet Stance.
Among external martial arts, there were generally two broad approaches to cultivation: movement and stillness.
The Dragon Stance belonged to the former.
The Quiet Stance belonged to the latter.
At first glance, the posture looked almost identical to meditation or a simple horse stance.
Su Yang's feet were firmly planted against the branch while his knees remained slightly bent. His spine was straight, his shoulders relaxed, and his arms rested naturally beside his body.
Yet beneath that still exterior, his Qi-Blood was constantly circulating.
Every breath followed a specific rhythm.
Every muscle remained subtly active.
The circulation of Qi-Blood moved according to the posture, repeatedly nourishing his muscles, tendons and bones.
This was the purpose of the Quiet Stance.
To strengthen the body without requiring continuous movement.
Unlike the savage and brutal Dragon Stance, which relied upon powerful movements and intense stimulation to force the Qi-Blood into greater circulation, the Quiet Stance emphasized control.
Stillness.
Endurance.
And gradual refinement.
A martial artist couldn't always find a safe place to train.
They couldn't always have enough room to perform complicated movements.
Sometimes they would be travelling.
Sometimes hiding.
Sometimes waiting for an enemy.
Sometimes they might even be sleeping in a tree like Su Yang was now.
If cultivation depended entirely upon movement, there would inevitably be countless situations where training became impossible.
The Quiet Stance solved that problem.
Once mastered, a martial artist could gradually make the circulation of Qi-Blood almost automatic.
Even while standing still...
The body continued to refine itself.
Lin Sheng watched silently for several breaths.
Su Yang's posture wasn't perfect.
There were several minor flaws.
But his foundation was considerably better than Lin Sheng had initially expected.
His root bone wasn't bad.
His bone structure was also quite sturdy.
Most importantly, his body possessed a natural adaptability toward external martial cultivation.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
"As expected..."
"Perhaps this really is the fate of a Child of Luck."
Of course, root bone was only one aspect of aptitude.
The Martial Continent had its own classification system for judging martial talent.
Jia, Yi, Bing and Ding.
These four classifications represented a person's broad martial aptitude.
Each classification was further divided into Upper, Middle and Lower grades.
Jia Upper.
Jia Middle.
Jia Lower.
Then Yi, Bing and Ding.
The system was simple enough for ordinary people to understand.
The higher one's aptitude, the greater one's compatibility with a broad range of martial arts.
Those possessing Jia aptitude were naturally highly sought after.
A Jia-grade martial artist would generally possess excellent compatibility with most conventional martial arts.
They might learn techniques faster.
Their bodies might adapt more naturally to different cultivation methods.
Their comprehension of martial concepts would often proceed more smoothly.
But this didn't mean aptitude determined everything.
There were always exceptions.
A person with Ding Lower aptitude could theoretically possess nearly ninety-nine percent compatibility with a particular martial art.
It was simply extraordinarily rare.
Such situations generally occurred when someone encountered a cultivation method perfectly suited to their unique constitution.
Or...
When a martial artist created a method specifically for themselves.
At that point, the conventional aptitude classification became considerably less meaningful.
After all, how could a method created specifically for one's own body be incompatible with that body?
Lin Sheng silently watched Su Yang.
The young man's current aptitude wasn't bad.
But it wasn't his greatest advantage either.
His true value lay in his mysterious physique.
That was what Lin Sheng had discovered when examining his nine Innate Acupoints.
His body possessed an unusual arrangement.
The nine acupoints weren't individually blocked.
Instead, they were connected together in a manner resembling a formation.
Spiritual energy entering one acupoint would naturally spread throughout all nine.
To anyone attempting to cultivate him through conventional methods...
His acupoints would appear almost completely blocked.
But the truth was entirely different.
His body simply required a completely different method of cultivation.
Lin Sheng's gaze became thoughtful.
This was also why martial aptitude couldn't be judged from root bone alone.
The four classifications were especially useful for the martial halls because their primary cultivation systems consisted of external martial arts.
External martial arts placed enormous importance on the body's natural compatibility with techniques.
Internal martial arts were different.
For internal cultivation, a strong and well-nourished physique was important, but comprehension was equally significant.
A person could possess an excellent root bone and still fail to progress if their comprehension was poor.
Likewise, someone with mediocre aptitude could sometimes progress rapidly if their physique and comprehension were extraordinary.
The two cultivation paths had different requirements.
Lin Sheng's gaze shifted slightly toward the distant courtyard.
This difference was also one reason why the great noble families of the Martial Continent placed strict restrictions upon internal cultivation methods.
Internal cultivation possessed a significant advantage.
Longevity.
A sufficiently powerful internal martial artist could continuously strengthen their body through the circulation of Internal Energy, allowing their lifespan to increase alongside their cultivation.
External martial arts were different.
During the early stages, they placed enormous pressure upon the physical body.
Repeatedly forcing Qi-Blood to circulate.
Repeatedly tempering the muscles.
Repeatedly strengthening the skin, tendons and bones.
Without proper methods, injuries accumulated quickly.
Many external martial artists eventually damaged their bodies before reaching the higher realms.
Only after reaching the Marrow Cleansing Realm would the situation change significantly.
Once the marrow had undergone sufficient transformation, the body would become capable of producing and circulating True Force through its deeper pathways.
At that point, the martial artist's lifespan could reach approximately two hundred years.
Before that...
External cultivation remained considerably more demanding upon the body.
This was also why complete external martial arts were difficult to obtain outside the martial halls.
The martial halls didn't merely teach fighting techniques.
They possessed complete cultivation systems.
A proper external martial method generally consisted of several interconnected components.
Breathing methods.
Pile stances.
Body-tempering techniques.
Movement techniques.
Combat techniques.
The breathing method nourished the body while refining Qi-Blood and helped repair internal injuries caused by cultivation.
The pile stances provided the foundation for physical refinement.
The body-tempering methods strengthened the muscles, skin, tendons and bones.
The combat techniques allowed the martial artist to transform their physical foundation into actual fighting power.
But ordinary people outside the martial halls usually couldn't obtain such complete inheritances.
Most only possessed fragments.
A stance.
Perhaps a breathing rhythm.
Maybe a few combat movements passed down through generations.
Such methods could allow someone to become stronger than an ordinary person.
But they were incomplete.
Bootleg methods.
Lin Sheng had encountered countless such incomplete techniques during his travels.
They could produce Acquired martial artists.
Some could even help someone reach a higher level.
But without the complete system...
Their potential was limited.
The martial halls were different.
Their inheritances had been accumulated over centuries.
They knew how to cultivate the body without destroying it.
They understood how Qi-Blood should circulate.
They knew which muscles, bones and internal organs needed to be strengthened at each stage.
More importantly...
They possessed the methods required for progressing toward the higher realms.
Lin Sheng looked back at Su Yang.
The young man was still standing quietly upon the tree branch.
His body trembled slightly.
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
But he didn't stop.
Lin Sheng didn't interrupt him.
Instead, he quietly observed.
After another dozen breaths, Su Yang's Qi-Blood suddenly became smoother.
The trembling of his muscles gradually disappeared.
His breathing became longer.
His posture became more natural.
Lin Sheng's eyes flashed with approval.
He had finally grasped the essence of the Quiet Stance.
Not through force.
But through adaptation.
The body was beginning to learn the circulation on its own.
Su Yang remained completely unaware that Lin Sheng was evaluating him.
His entire concentration was focused upon the Qi-Blood flowing through his body.
A few more minutes passed.
Finally, his legs began trembling again.
Lin Sheng spoke.
"Enough."
Su Yang immediately opened his eyes.
He exhaled slowly.
The breath was long enough to disturb the leaves surrounding him.
Then he carefully jumped down from the tree.
His feet landed softly upon the ground.
"Master."
Lin Sheng nodded.
"Your Quiet Stance has improved."
Su Yang smiled.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You've begun allowing your body to control the circulation instead of consciously forcing every movement."
Su Yang's eyes brightened.
"That means I can practice it while travelling?"
"Exactly."
Lin Sheng stood.
"Remember."
"External martial arts aren't simply about becoming stronger."
"They're about transforming the body."
"The stronger your foundation becomes, the greater the strength you can unleash later."
Su Yang nodded solemnly.
Lin Sheng looked toward the dark sky.
The night remained peaceful.
Yet his thoughts had already returned to the wider situation.
The sudden recruitment of the three martial halls.
The growing influence of the Incense Fire Cult.
The strange events surrounding Qingshan County.
The pressure surrounding the Su Family.
There were too many unknowns.
But none of them had anything to do with Su Yang's current training.
For now...
This young man needed to build his foundation.
As for the future...
Lin Sheng would decide when the time came.
He glanced at Su Yang once more.
"Go rest."
"Tomorrow..."
"We'll begin something new."
Su Yang's eyes immediately brightened.
"What?"
Lin Sheng smiled faintly.
"You'll find out tomorrow."
Su Yang could only nod.