Disaster Strikes - Chapter 50:

One hour later.

“Are you sure you want to follow me to the Eastern Continent’s Ancient Xuan Country?”

When Xuan Zong learned of Chen Mo’s intentions, he stood at the edge of the deck, looking out at the sea, his brows furrowed slightly. It was obvious that he had not expected Chen Mo to come looking for him.

“Yes, Master Xuan Zong.”

Chen Mo said firmly, “The reason I have been practising psychic power since I was young is entirely because I was born in the Western Continent. But deep down, I have long been fascinated by the martial arts of the eastern continent, especially after this deep interaction with you martial artists, it has strengthened my belief. Compared to the path of an esper I believe that one day I can achieve higher achievements in the path of martial arts. Please accept me as your disciple!”

Then in front of Xuan Zong Chen Mo demonstrated his basic boxing skills. Seeing that Chen Mo indeed had a certain foundation in martial arts, coupled with the fact that he was also saved by him, Xuan Zong reluctantly nodded.

“It’s a pity that Zhang Qiang is no longer here, otherwise his Tangbi Fist and Rising Dragon Fist would be more suitable for you.”

Hearing this Chen Mo hurriedly said “Master Xuan Zong, what I pursue is not just techniques and moves.”

“Hmm?” Xuan Zong turned his head to look at Chen Mo in confusion.

Chen Mo continued “As the saying goes, practicing martial arts without cultivating the inner self is ultimately futile. What I seek is not just ordinary martial arts techniques but basic skills and internal energy methods. Any martial arts technique without the support of basic skills and internal energy methods will ultimately be like a castle in the clouds, like a rootless floating weed.”

The so-called martial arts techniques can be compared to combat skills in Disaster world, considered the art of killing by martial artists.

Basic skills and internal energy methods, on one hand are things that most martial artists disdain when they are young, but they will pursue them when they reach a certain age and experience. It not only requires long periods of meditation with minimal effect, but often requires corresponding martial art concepts as support. This is similar to the first-level predator stage of natural disasters, starting from pursuing combat skills religiously to pursuing professional strengthening training later.

“You actually have such insight.” Xuan Zong stared at Chen Mo for a long time, with a hint of sadness in his expression.

“Embarrassingly, I didn’t understand these things until I was thirty years old. I was even regarded as a talent for the revival of the Hua Yi Sect, and you at such a young age have such insight. If it weren’t for the fact that I am now a useless person, and the revival of the Hua Yi Sect is hopeless…”, he stopped himself with a resigned sigh.

The side effects of the body repair agent seem to have begun to manifest in Xuan Zong’s body. He can clearly feel that his body is undergoing uncontrollable mutations, as his meridians became misaligned and his acupoints closed, his martial arts foundation was slowly disappearing.

For someone who practices martial arts, this is undoubtedly a huge blow.

“I am already a useless person, are you sure you still want to follow me?”

“I am sure.”

Chen Mo said firmly “I know my basic skills are very poor. If you hadn’t encountered such a change, you wouldn’t have even looked at me. In some ways, this is also my opportunity. So no matter what, I will practice hard with you and will never give up halfway.”

“Good.” Xuan Zong couldn’t help but feel spirited, “If it weren’t for you, I might have died here already. There is a saying in Ancient Xuan Country, ‘Teach according to the student’s ability.’ When we return, I will conduct a comprehensive assessment of you and then provide targeted guidance based on your martial arts talent, training you into a talented individual.”

In the Disaster World, professionalization can be divided into two stages.

In the initial stage, it is the honing of basic skills, which is mostly the refining stage and also the most arduous and boring stage.

Taking the example of natural disasters, if they only want to meet the requirements of wearing equipment and learning advanced skills, if it is dark gold-level equipment or S-level skills, it requires a proficiency level of around Lv35.

However, powerful natural disasters often elevate their basic skills to higher levels. For example, the masters among the level three disaster destroyers in major gathering places often raise their specialized basic skills to levels above Lv40, and some even reach Lv50 surpassing the vast majority of disaster lords.

It is precisely because of this that the masters in major gathering places are often regarded as peak natural disasters in the general sense. The post-doomsday master competitions after each doomsday mission are often the most lively times in major gathering places.

The second stage is the formal professionalization stage.

On the premise of meeting the corresponding basic skill level requirements, some advanced professional systems often have extremely high requirements for basic skills, which leads to fewer and fewer successors and eventually it is almost reaching the point of being cut off. This is not because the strength of the professionalization is insufficient, but because there are too few talents who can meet the relevant requirements.

The characteristic of professionalization is that one can continuously become stronger through learning and cultivation.

This not only allows one to obtain combat skills that do not occupy skill slots but also allows for the stable improvement of one’s own attributes, reaching higher stages.

Otherwise, if natural disasters want to improve by plundering treasures, elixirs, and completing tasks to obtain free attribute points, although it is not impossible it is equivalent to becoming a rootless floating weed. As the level of natural disasters increase, the process of improvement will become increasingly difficult until they are completely left behind by other professionalized natural disasters.

After all, when natural disasters reach higher levels, their attribute points easily exceed a hundred, or even a thousand. The related amplification treasures will also become extremely precious and the difficulty of obtaining them is far beyond what low-level treasures can compare with.

*******

Half a month later.

Chen Mo followed Xuan Zong and took a ferry to arrive at a port city in Ancient Xuan Country called “Nightless City.”

Compared to the advanced technology of the western Continent, the eastern Continent is somewhat less developed and the Ancient Xuan Country is one of the most inconspicuous among the dozens of large and small countries in the eastern continent.

Walking on the cobblestone streets, Chen Mo looked around. He saw many people here wearing ragged clothes, some even wearing grass shoes.

This place is like a bustling city in the Republic of China era. Under the extravagant appearance of a few wealthy people, there are tens of thousands of people living at the bottom of society, struggling with poverty every day.

No matter how wonderful the neon lights on the street are, they cannot hide the beggars in the dark corners, labourers pulling yellow carts, walking through the streets and alleys.

Trams shuttle back and forth and old-fashioned cars occasionally stop under the neon lights with the laughter of heavily make-up women coming from inside.

“Let’s stay here for today.”

Xuan Zong took Chen Mo to a dilapidated inn. A huge cockroach like a cicada quickly crawled across the counter in front of them. The thin and dry boss who was holding a cigarette, seemed to not see it at all. He casually took out a room key and handed it to them.

“Check out at twelve noon, deposit is non-refundable if overdue.”

“Understood.”

After the two arrived in the small room, the stuffy and humid environment made them frown. Chen Mo looked at the tall buildings and neon lights outside the window and asked “Is Ancient Xuan Country so much behind compared to countries in the Western Continent?”

“The country is weak and it’s not something we martial artists can influence. I heard that all of this stems from a sect turmoil a hundred years ago. Countless powerful Xuan Wu martial artists fell, which led to the turmoil in Ancient Xuan Country a hundred years later. Since then, it has been declining in the eastern continent, sigh.”

Xuan Zong’s voice sounded somewhat desolate. Especially after witnessing the Hive organization and life in countries of the western continent, he deeply felt the backwardness of Ancient Xuan Country, but he was powerless to change it.

The next day.

The Hua Yi Sect was located on a small mountain several tens of miles away from Nightless City.

Green mountains and trees, a small stream in the mountains, a quaint and elegant courtyard, nestled between two mountains. However due to the lack of regular visitors and maintenance, the ancient courtyard had a touch of desolation, like an elderly person in their twilight years.

“Master?”

“Master!”

Facing his only two disciples left in the Hua Yi Sect and feeling his body growing weaker after the catastrophe, Xuan Zong led them to the ancestral hall and respectfully offered incense.

He recalled the past, he had promised his master that he would revitalize the Hua Yi Sect. However, the sect was still just a third-rate peripheral sect in Ancient Xuan Country and there seemed to be no hope left.

If they continued to hold on, once those driven by self-interest came knocking, it would only lead to more humiliation and eventual forced dissolution. It would be better to dissolve the Hua Yi Sect himself while he still had some dignity left, rather than let his master’s legacy be tarnished.

With these thoughts, Xuan Zong couldn’t help but shed tears.

“I declare that from today onwards, the Hua Yi Sect is officially dissolved. You two come to me later to collect some travel expenses. From now on, go your separate ways.”

Upon hearing this, the two disciples immediately tried to dissuade him. However, since both of them had no martial arts talent, it would be difficult for them to achieve anything even if they persisted. They simply couldn’t fulfill their master’s ambitions.

Seeing that their persuasion was in vain and unable to go against Xuan Zong’s will they could only leave despondently.

“Are you really planning to dissolve the sect and retire like this?”

Chen Mo still found it somewhat unbelievable.

Xuan Zong said with a sense of loneliness “If it weren’t for being forced, how could I give up? But that’s how it is in Ancient Xuan Country. It’s a dog-eat-dog world among sects, it’s only natural. With the current strength of the Hua Yi Sect, it’s simply not enough to hold this mountain gate anymore. Instead of waiting to be humiliated by those who come later, it’s better to dissolve it ourselves. Perhaps future generations will remember the history here and choose to leave one or two of our martial arts as an inheritance. That way, I can be considered to have done right by our ancestors.”

From Xuan Zong’s words it seemed that he wanted to leave all the sect’s assets, including martial arts techniques, internal energy methods and so on to those who would occupy this place in the future.

“Come, let me see your basic skills.”

Taking this step seemed to have finally brought Xuan Zong some relief and his mood improved.

He smiled and said “While I’m still the master here, before I leave let me find a suitable internal energy method for you.”

After saying this, Chen Mo began to demonstrate himself in various ways under Xuan Zong’s guidance.

Of course, Xuan Zong couldn’t directly examine him like a natural disaster through light brain data chip but he could judge Chen Mo’s basic attributes and skill levels through the eyes of anexperienced martial artist.

The more Xuan Zong looked the more he frowned and his expression became more serious.

Chen Mo, of course, knew that his basic attributes were far from excellent in the eyes of the other party.

“How long can you stay here?”

“About half a year.”

Chen Mo’s answer made Xuan Zong’s expression even more serious.

“If you give me three years and you cooperate wholeheartedly, I have some confidence in cultivating you into a talent suitable for practising the Hua Yi Sect’s internal energy method. But with only half a year…” Xuan Zong shook his head slowly.

Chen Mo also knew that his basic skills were probably not up to par in the other party’s eyes. Even if he joined another sect, he would only be at the level of an outer disciple. If it weren’t for the fact that he had saved Xuan Zong, he probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance.

In his current state in terms of basic skill, he might not even be as good as those two useless disciples in Xuan Zong’s eyes.

(End of chapter 50)