"That's just terrible luck!" Muria clicked his tongue in sympathy.
"So, if possible, you should use your position to help your father. Collect as many martial arts manuals as you can for him," the dragon lady sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead in frustration. Even she was speechless at her husband's abysmal luck.
"I'll try," Muria nodded, though he didn't make any promises. The martial artist path, this faded form of power, was something he'd only heard about through her.
The government had suppressed information about these ancient practices, promoting the idea that star-armored warriors were the world's true protectors.
"No 'trying' here—you're in a much better position than us to access martial arts manuals." The dragon lady's expression turned serious. "Your Douglas family must have a significant collection of these manuals."
"Alright, I get it," Muria nodded. "So, my father ended up poor and talentless. What about you? Your position doesn't seem too bad, considering you managed to open a high-end restaurant right by my house after hearing about me."
"Not as good as yours. My father in this life is a brilliant businessman with growing assets. In short, I'm the daughter of a nouveau riche family. If you ever need money, just let me know."
"That's way better than my father's situation," Muria laughed, "a wealthy young lady. So, what's your star affinity?"
"Not particularly high, only 88.95%." She looked at Muria with a hint of dissatisfaction. "And yours?"
"64.68%." Muria's mouth twitched. It seemed that she'd gotten a slightly better start than him.
"That low?"
"Yeah." Muria nodded, silently rolling his eyes. Not like he had a say in it; affinity was pure luck.
"Forget becoming a star-armored warrior. You're not cut out for it. Just take up martial arts like your father!" With that, the dragon lady took out a glowing black metal block and placed it in front of him.
"What's this?" Muria wasn't bothered by her dismissive tone, since their affinity levels really weren't comparable.
"This is the martial arts manual your father found in his family's basement." She pointed at the block. "I only brought it in case of emergency, but with your low affinity, it's yours."
Intrigued by this family heirloom, Muria picked up the black metal block. He noticed its weight, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "Void Star Metal!" He recognized it immediately. It was a legendary strategic resource back in Erathia, the kind legends fought over.
"Correct. This Void Star Metal has a martial arts manual engraved on it!"
"It must be a high-level manual if it's inscribed on legendary metal," Muria mused, intrigued. Clearly, this world had legendary-level powers even before the meteors.
"How do I access the manual?" Muria examined it but couldn't detect anything.
"Channel your blood energy and mental strength into it. This manual has high entry requirements. Without a well-trained body, you can't even access the manual," she replied.
Following her instructions, Muria guided his blood energy along with his mental strength into the block. In an instant, a torrent of cryptic symbols and images flooded his mind. Muria closed his eyes, absorbing and processing the information.
A few moments later, he opened his eyes and exhaled deeply. Now understanding the martial artist path, he commented, "No wonder it faded into obscurity. The basic training requirements are way too high for ordinary people."
"That's just one martial arts path," she responded. "Different methods have different requirements and resource needs."
Muria shook his head. "In the end, the rise of star-armored warriors made this decline inevitable."
"Governments favor star-armored warriors because they rely on equipment that keeps them controllable," Muria realized why martial arts faded into obscurity.
Powerful martial artists embodied "power within oneself"—individuals who were difficult to control and posed a challenge to authority. Star-armored warriors, on the other hand, depended heavily on their armor. Fully equipped, they were formidable; without armor, they were like ordinary people.
This dependence on external resources made star-armored warriors preferable to governments. They couldn't exist independently of society, unlike martial artists.
"Also, when it comes to accessibility, star-armored warriors are far more feasible. Almost anyone can become a star-armored warrior, while only an incredibly rare few qualify as martial artists."
The martial arts manual Muria received, "Celestial Star Way," required a natural aptitude that might only appear in one person out of a hundred thousand.
Additionally, martial artists needed rare resources for training, and even with them, not everyone became powerful.
In contrast, star-armored warriors didn't require such resources. For them, armor was everything. Their combat strength depended on their armor, and even training relied on it. Star Metal, while a government-controlled resource, was abundant compared to what martial artists needed.
With such obstacles, it was no wonder that martial arts had faded into near-oblivion.
"Well, I should get going. If I stay too long, my 'mother' in this life will start asking questions," Muria stood up, satisfied with the night's discoveries. He'd learned about his parents and gained a forgotten power.
"So, that woman's keeping a close watch on you, huh?" The dragon lady raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Miss the good old days when I was the one raising you?"
"Heh," Muria chuckled. His two "mothers" were as different as could be.
"Muria, once you reach a certain level with the martial arts manual, you can apply to your family for resources. No need to waste time running around gathering them yourself," the dragon lady advised as he was about to leave.
"I'll keep that in mind," Muria nodded. While martial arts were high-cost and resource-heavy, he wasn't hindered by the typical barriers. And his family likely wouldn't mind having a powerful martial artist on their side; it wasn't without its advantages.
…
"Martial arts and qi!" After parting ways, Muria returned home and began studying the manual he'd received, realizing that the martial artist "qi" closely resembled the "battle aura" used by Erathia's close-combat warriors.
Both derived from the body, strengthening the user, raising their life force, and enabling them to affect the world around them.
The main difference was that martial artists in the star armor world needed more external resources—a result of the world's lower energy levels.
"First step: sense qi!"
Muria guided the strong blood energy within his body, easily achieving the initial step of the "Celestial Star Way."
Because he had already developed qi, all he needed was to adjust it to the flow described in the "Celestial Star Way."
Over the years, he had devised a training method tailored to the star armor world's rules, though it was cruder than the refined method he now possessed.
While his self-devised technique was rough, it would have caused a sensation if others knew of it, putting him on par with the founders of martial arts. After all, creating something from nothing was the hardest feat.
"Next, accumulate enough qi to form a qi wheel, which will govern and unify all the power in the body."
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