Pure Martial Artist

Overview

The Pure Martial Artist (纯粹武夫) is one of the two primary avenues of supernatural progression in the world, standing in stark contrast to the path of the Qi Refiner (练气士). Rather than absorbing the world's spiritual energy to manipulate the laws of heaven and earth, a Pure Martial Artist looks entirely inward. They rely on grueling physical tempering, life-and-death combat, and the cultivation of an unyielding martial will to force their mortal bodies to rival, and sometimes surpass, the might of gods and immortals.

Mechanisms & Principles

The core mechanism of a Pure Martial Artist is the cultivation of a single breath of "Pure True Qi" (纯粹真气). Unlike Qi Refiners who treat their bodies as vessels for external Spirit Qi (天地灵气), a true martial artist must completely purge their body of worldly spiritual energy, viewing it as an impure contaminant that dilutes their martial intent.

• The Body as a Temple: The martial artist's body is conceptually treated as an incense-burning temple. The physical form is the shrine, and the pure true qi flowing within it acts as the incense, communicating directly with the martial artist's own inner divinity rather than praying to external gods.
• Meridians as Roads: The circulation of true qi requires the forceful expansion of the body's meridians. Beginning martial artists must endure immense pain to "open the mountain" and widen their narrow meridians into broad avenues so that their true qi can charge through them like heavy cavalry without destroying their own bodies.
• Martial Will & Invincibility: The true strength of a high-level martial artist lies in their "intent" (拳意). The ultimate mental state for a Pure Martial Artist is "before me there is no one" (身前无人)—an absolute, invincible self-belief that regardless of the opponent's realm, status, or magical artifacts, the martial artist dares to throw a punch.

Origin / History

In the ancient era, before the rise of Qi Refiners and complex spells, martial arts were bestowed upon humanity by the ancient gods as a way for humans to strengthen their frail physiques and survive against monsters. However, the gods intentionally installed a ceiling on this power, intending for humanity to never progress past the 7th Realm (Golden Body).

This limitation was shattered by the Military First Patriarch (兵家初祖), Jiang She (姜赦), who became the first human to break the Golden Body bottleneck, forging a path all the way to the 11th Realm. He proved that humanity could achieve "flesh becoming god" (肉身成神) without relying on the spiritual energy governed by the heavens.

Progression & Realms

The path of the Pure Martial Artist consists of eleven realms, broken down into major tempering phases:

Body Tempering (炼体):

• 1st Realm - Mud (泥胚境): The practitioner finds their first breath of true qi and settles it in their dantian, remaining as immovable as a mud bodhisattva. The goal is to thoroughly expel all acquired impurities and worldly spirit qi.
• 2nd Realm - Wood / Opening the Mountain (木胎境 / 开山境): True qi begins to nourish the flesh and expand the meridians. This realm relies purely on the ability to endure agonizing physical hardship.
• 3rd Realm - Quicksilver (水银境): The martial artist's blood becomes thick and heavy like mercury, while their bones become resilient and their body feels feather-light. The peak of this realm requires overcoming a dangerous trial known as "Mud Bodhisattva Crossing the River" (泥菩萨过江).

Qi Refining (炼气):

• 4th Realm - Hero Soul (英魂境): Focuses on tempering the soul.
• 5th Realm - Hero Spirit (雄魄境): Focuses on tempering the spirit.
• 6th Realm - Martial Gall (武胆境): The martial artist forms a "Hero Gall" (英雄胆), an intangible crucible that houses their pure true qi and martial soul. Successfully forming this gall marks the martial artist as a true grandmaster-in-training.

Spirit Refining (炼神):

• 7th Realm - Golden Body (金身境): Also known as Vajra (金刚). The body becomes incredibly tough, rivaling the uncorrupted physiques of Buddhism and Daoism. This realm is a massive dividing line where talent begins to vastly outweigh mere hard work.
• 8th Realm - Far Wandering (远游境): Also known as Earth-Covering (覆地). The martial artist is now capable of hovering and traveling on the wind, much like a flying immortal.
• 9th Realm - Mountain Peak (山巅境): The martial artist reaches what the secular world considers the absolute summit of human capability, looking down upon the world's mountains.

The Stop Realm (止境):

• 10th Realm: Originally considered the end of the road. It is uniquely divided into three distinct sub-layers, named by Jiang She:
  • Qi Thriving (气盛)
  • Return to Truth (归真)
  • Spirit Arrival (神到)

The Pinnacle:

• 11th Realm - Martial God (武神): A legendary realm that stands at the absolute zenith of the martial path, placing the martial artist on equal footing with 14th-realm cultivators.

Relationship to Other Paths

Pure Martial Artists generally hold a mutual disdain for Qi Refiners. While Qi Refiners look down on martial artists as crude, short-lived mortals playing in the mud, martial artists view Qi Refiners as overly reliant on external tools, dodging direct confrontation, and acting as "guard dogs" for the heavens' spiritual energy.

Attempting to dual-cultivate as both a Pure Martial Artist and a Qi Refiner is considered a perilous, often fatal, endeavor. The pure true qi required for martial arts fundamentally conflicts with the external spirit qi absorbed by a Qi Refiner. Those who attempt it usually suffer from internal clashes that destroy their meridians, permanently crippling their advancement on both paths. Chen Ping'an is one of the exceptionally rare individuals to successfully navigate this deadly contradiction.

Notable Practitioners

• Jiang She (姜赦): The Military First Patriarch and the first human to reach the 11th Realm.
• Cao Ci (曹慈): An unparalleled martial genius from the Great Duan Dynasty. He holds the record for being the absolute "Strongest" in almost every realm he enters.
• Chen Ping'an (陈平安): Originally forced to practice martial arts just to survive a broken "Longevity Bridge," he eventually reached the 10th and 11th realms, engaging in legendary fist-fights with Cao Ci across multiple realms.
• Pei Bei (裴杯): The Female Martial God of the Great Duan Dynasty and Cao Ci's master.
• Cui Cheng (崔诚): Chen Ping'an's martial arts teacher, who brutally guided him through the foundational realms.
• Pei Qian (裴钱): Chen Ping'an's eldest disciple, a martial arts prodigy who rapidly ascended to the Stop Realm.
• Lin Jiangxian (林江仙): The undisputed number one martial artist of the Qingming Heaven, who has lived an astonishingly long life for a pure martial artist.

Notes

• Whenever a martial artist reaches the absolute pinnacle of combat strength within a specific realm across the entire world, they receive a localized blessing of "Martial Luck" (武运) from the heavens, officially recognizing them as the "Strongest" (最强) of that realm.
• Unlike Qi Refiners, who can live for thousands of years, Pure Martial Artists suffer from inherently short lifespans. Even a 10th Realm Stop Realm grandmaster rarely lives past two or three hundred years unless they utilize rare life-extending pills or break into the 11th Realm.

References

• 剑来1：少年骑微马, 第七章 — 拳谱: Supports Ning Yao's explanation of the first three physical realms: Mud, Wood, and Quicksilver.
• 剑来26：人间最得意, 第六章 — 一洲涸泽而渔: Supports the historical origin of the Military First Patriarch breaking the Golden Body bottleneck and naming the three layers of the 10th realm.
• 剑来46：人间半步书, 第六章 — 早知会被仙字误: Supports Chen Ping'an's comprehensive breakdown of the first 10 martial arts realms, including the Hero Soul, Hero Spirit, Martial Gall, Golden Body, Far Wandering, and Mountain Peak realms.
• 剑来51：手书照天, 第九章 — 手书于青天: Supports Jiang She's philosophy regarding the human body as a divine temple and pure true qi functioning as incense, bypassing external gods.
• 剑来52：无忧此乡甲, 第一章 — 于混沌一片中: Supports the existence and unique mechanics of the 11th Realm, including the gathering of the world's peak martial artists' manifestations when someone breaks through.