CHAPTER 665: CHAPTER 413: INNATE 20TH LAYER! DIVINE GENERAL 10TH RANK!

"His body is like an ocean, his heart like the void, reason encompasses beyond, this is the hidden wisdom."

"Fully comprehend the profound realm, maintain a tranquil mind and deep thought, remain mentally clear, and all evils shall not enter."

For example, in large sects like the Lishan Sect, to prevent their Martial Arts from leaking, they employ all possible methods—

Some use strict sect rules, and if private transmissions are discovered, the lightest penalty is having one’s skills abolished, and the harshest is execution.

Some sects use a layered teaching approach, progressively restricting access to cultivation techniques to limit leakage to the maximum extent. To prevent lower-level disciples from accessing higher-level Martial Arts, they often divide a single Martial Arts into several parts, such as the "Four Seas Unification Skill," which is divided into five layers, with each layer having five levels, totaling twenty-five levels.

Even with Zhou Shun’s endorsement, Cheng Fengxiao only obtained the first five levels of the "Four Seas Unification Skill," which is just the First Layer. So even if it gets out, only a small portion would leak, causing no significant harm.

Moreover, the top members and experts of each sect would sometimes insert a couple of secret phrases into each disciple’s secret manual, serving as a special ’anti-counterfeiting marker’ without affecting their cultivation. If leaked, a careful comparison against the archives would reveal who leaked it.

But even that is not enough!

What if.

For instance, if Yan Chuan’s scenario happens, Cheng Fengxiao privately teaches the "Four Seas Unification Skill" to Yan Chuan, who then escapes, leaving the Hunxi Royal City far behind. Furthermore, if there’s a ’Heavenly Ladder City’ in the Mountain and Sea Realm, where people could exchange their Absolute Skills privately, how would one guard against that?

It’s still challenging to prevent.

Thus—

"Like the Lishan Sect, they even have a more stringent layer of defense, using at least Sixth Rank Innate Divine Generals from within the sect to inscribe the manual, infusing it with true meaning through their own realized impressions. Those who study this manual must adhere to its constraints until they comprehend the impression, rendering them unable to transmit the manual at all."

"Although this does not guarantee absolute security, it at least prevents middle and lower-tier disciples within the sect from spreading the sect’s Martial Arts."

"For example, the volume of the ’Four Seas Unification Skill’ I read was personally written by Li Huai, the Dean of Jiujiang Institute, Lishan Sect. If I were to spread it, the impression buried in my mind while reading would erupt, leading to instant catastrophe!"

Cheng Fengxiao wanted to pass the "Four Seas Unification Skill" to Yan Chuan but couldn’t.

The Lishan Sect’s final measure against leakage, their ’anti-piracy’ measure, was too powerful, fundamentally preventing the risk of unauthorized transmission.

This is not unique to the Lishan Sect. In fact, every Sixth Rank Divine General naturally masters this technique. Thus, theoretically, only sects with a Sixth Rank Divine General stationed can ensure their Absolute Skills do not leak out.

Small sects cannot!

"Dean of Jiujiang Institute, Li Huai, Sixth Rank Innate!"

Yan Chuan silently acknowledged the prowess.

’Sixth Rank Innate’ and ’Innate Sixth Layer’ are not the same.

Innate Twenty Layers is a division of cultivation, with all ’Eight Extraordinary Meridians’ and three rounds of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’ completely transformed, marking the twenty layers.

On this basis, the Mountain and Sea Realm divides it into ten ranks based on the significant strength disparity at each stage of Innate—

For instance, a First Rank Divine General ranges from initial entry to Fourth Layer, covering the ’Eight Extraordinary Meridians’ First Meridian, and the first round of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’—

Initial cultivation of the First Meridian.

The completion of the First Meridian is Innate First Layer.

Then, the first round of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’ nurturing, without sequence restriction, assuming—

Innate First Layer ’Bone Tempering’.

Innate Second Layer ’Quenching Tendons’.

Innate Third Layer ’Quenching Meat’.

Innate Fourth Layer ’Quenching Skin’.

After the fourth layer, the first round of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’ completes, stepping into the Innate Fifth Layer, like Xiong Da—Mother Bear King, which is Innate Fifth Layer, initially entered the second rank.

While Shen Gongtu is only Innate Fourth Layer, still a First Rank.

The Second-Rank Divine General spans Fifth to Ninth Layers, covering the ’Eight Extraordinary Meridians’ Second Meridian, and the second round of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’—

Innate Fifth Layer, cultivate the Second Meridian.

Innate Sixth Layer, second round ’Bone Tempering’.

Innate Seventh Layer, second round ’Quenching Tendons’.

Innate Eighth Layer, second round ’Quenching Meat’.

Innate Ninth Layer, second round ’Quenching Skin’.

After completing the ninth layer, the second round of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’ finishes, stepping into the tenth layer, marking a new level and new stage, classified as Third-Rank Innate, also termed as ’Third-Rank Divine General’—

Innate Tenth Layer, cultivate the Third Meridian.

Innate Eleventh Layer, third round ’Bone Tempering’.

Innate Twelfth Layer, third round ’Quenching Tendons’.

Innate Thirteenth Layer, third round ’Quenching Meat’.

Innate Fourteenth Layer, third round ’Quenching Skin’.

After the fourteenth layer, the third round of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’ reaches perfection, stepping into the Innate Fifteenth Layer, becoming a ’Fourth-Rank Divine General’.

Now, with three meridians and three rounds complete, the subsequent cultivation difficulty increases tremendously.

Zhou Shun, the last of the Ten Elders of the Jiujiang Institute, is precisely at the Fourth Rank—

Innate Fifteenth Layer, cultivate the Fourth Meridian.

Innate Sixteenth Layer, cultivate the Fifth Meridian.

Innate Seventeenth Layer, cultivate the Sixth Meridian.

It is unclear whether Zhou Shun specifically stays in the fifteenth, sixteenth, or seventeenth layer.

But certainly not reaching the eighteenth layer—

Innate Eighteenth Layer, cultivate the Ren Meridian.

Innate Nineteenth Layer, cultivate the Du Meridian.

Cultivating the Ren and Du Meridians already marks the ’Fifth-Rank Divine General’.

After the fifth rank, breaking through the ’Ren and Du Meridians’, the ’Eight Extraordinary Meridians’ fully complete, the three rounds of ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’ tempering concludes, thus stepping into the Innate Twentieth Layer.

All eight meridians are open.

Body Tempering reaches perfection.

The Innate Twentieth Layer, internal and external transformation.

The foundation has already achieved Great Success.

Based on this, after completing the transformation of ’Eight Extraordinary Meridians’ and ’Sinew, Bone, Skin, and Membrane’, upon the Innate Twentieth Layer foundation, one begins to comprehend the profound ’Martial Arts Realm’, thus stepping into the Innate Peak, known as the ’Sixth Rank Divine General’, having the qualification to challenge the ’War God Realm’.

In conventional terms, the Sixth Rank Divine General is already at the Innate limit.

As for the ’Seventh-Rank Divine General’, ’Eighth-Rank Divine General’, ’Ninth-Rank Divine General’, ’Tenth-Rank Divine General’ beyond it, they are all actually ’Innate Peak’. In theory, they are still in the same realm, but because the journey from Innate Peak to the War God Realm is too long, and the power gap between peaks is too large, so they added ’seven, eight, nine, ten’, merely for combat power categorization.