For martial artists that have reached the top three grades, they were given the title of grandmaster!

Grandmaster.

As the name implied, in addition to opening up all the eight meridians in their body, their internal strength would have also reached a staggering amount and was extremely powerful. They would also already have their own unique insights into the martial arts!

Regardless of the type of martial arts they practiced, they no longer needed to strictly follow the methods recorded in the books when practicing. They were fully qualified and had the capability to improve the martial arts they were learning!

This allowed them to transform a mediocre martial art into one that was extremely powerful and unique.

Therefore, the threshold between a grade-6 and a grade-7 martial artist was extremely large.

However, the easier ascensions from previous levels did not revert back after one passed the threshold of becoming a grade-7 martial artist.

On the contrary, the gap between each grade in the top-tier would be even greater!

After entering the top-tier grades, the martial artist's eight meridians would have been opened up, and the internal strength would be continuously replenished. Their next step of cultivation was not only to cultivate their own internal strength but also to begin absorbing the "heaven and earth natural qi"!

It could be said that the grandmasters of the top-tier grades were a small world themselves. They would think of various ways to make their world stronger and to be able to communicate with the outside world. It was also crucial for them to learn how to borrow the strength of the heavens and the earth in their surroundings.

Every step forward was a breakthrough in their martial arts cultivation!

If a martial artist was able to arouse the heaven and earth powers when they executed their martial arts one day, they would then reach the ultimate realm that countless practitioners dreamt of — the grade-9 realm!

People addressed a grade-9 no longer as grandmaster, but as great grandmaster!

Every grade-9 great grandmaster possessed unimaginable powers and abilities. Every one of their moves would induce the heaven and earth powers, therefore causing their attacks to possess unpredictable power.

However.

Although it was the dream of every martial artist to become a grade-9 martial artist, 99 out of 100 martial artists could never achieve it in their lifetime even if they started cultivating early.

Even the vast majority of grandmasters who managed to reach the top-tier grades would never reach the grade-9 realm in their remaining lifetime.

To be able to become a grade-9 great grandmaster, being a martial arts genius was insufficient. One needed to be the genius among the geniuses to even have the hope of achieving such a feat!

Not only did it require a peerless talent in martial arts, but it also required decades of diligent practice before there was hope for one to reach that stage!

In today's Grand Xia Dynasty, the exact number of grade-9 great grandmasters was unknown, but it was definitely not a small number.

After all, these great grandmasters usually lived in seclusion. If the emperor and the imperial court were still influential and strong, these great experts would have been more cautious when dealing with those from the imperial palace and given them the necessary respect and face. However, with the internal and external troubles that the imperial court was facing currently, the great grandmasters were hard to influence and could not be called upon to help the imperial court.

Just like this time, in order to deal with the barbarian envoys entering the capital for the second time in six years, the imperial court had vigorously called upon the great grandmasters from all the various parties to enter the capital to represent the Great Xia Dynasty to deal with the menacing barbarian envoys. They had even promised many benefits.

However, the number of those who responded was pitifully small.

This caused the imperial court to start worrying whether or not they would be able to deal with the barbarian envoys in the near future.

Even the Emperor was having a headache facing such a problem.

It was said that he had even flared up many times and punished those responsible for rallying the support of the powerhouses.

…

Lin Ping.

It took six and a half years from the beginning of his martial arts training before he finally entered grade-9!

Looking back on his martial arts "career", Lin Ping sincerely sighed. "It was a difficult journey!"

From when he first started out learning martial arts, he took merely one and a half years to rise from a grade-1 to a grade-7 martial artist!

This speed was fast, and Lin Ping was satisfied with the result.

But after reaching grade-7, his cultivation speed suddenly dropped.

It took a whole year to go from a grade-7 to a grade-8 martial artist!

And the process of becoming a grade-9 martial artist from grade-8 took an even longer time.

It took him a total of two and a half years to raise that one grade!

Lin Ping had been practicing martial arts for nearly eight years now, and it had now been more than a year since he entered grade-9. However, he still had a long way to go to become a peak grade-9 expert.

Needless to say, breaking through grade-9 to reach the realm of the Mythical Pugilist was still far away for now.

It was said that as long as one stepped into the realm of the Mythical Pugilist, one could even find a way to regenerate one's severed limb!

I haven't worked hard enough. I need to work harder!

System, let me check in!

In the darkness, Lin Ping, standing outside Wenyuan Pavilion, had shouted silently in his heart.

[Ding! Congratulations to Host for successfully checking in. You have received the "Return of the Ten Thousand Swords".]

Lin Ping's spirit was lifted upon hearing the System's prompt.

Although he had now mastered hundreds of top martial arts, it was really rare for a martial art of this level to pop up.

This martial art would be of great help to his attainments in the sword dao.

This was because as a grade-9 martial artist, what he focused on cultivating was his ability to mobilize and control the heaven and earth powers. The Return of the Ten Thousand Swords was a martial art that integrated the heaven and earth powers into his sword dao.

Just after Lin Ping checked in and was about to go back, he suddenly raised his eyebrows as he had sensed something.

Immediately after, his body flashed, and he hid in the darkness of the tree shadow.

Soon after, two figures appeared outside of Wenyuan Pavilion silently like ghosts, with one being tall and the other being short. They were not wearing clothes that camouflaged them in the night but were instead wearing white and black robes respectively.

Both of them looked ugly. It was not an ordinary ugliness, but the kind of ugly that would make one feel uncomfortable after seeing it. Coupled with their gloomy temperaments, they emerged from the night like ghosts.

Those who were in the Jianghu and were knowledgeable about the affairs would easily know their identities.

They were the Black and White Impermanence!

They were famous in the Jianghu and were brothers from the same sect. They both had a grade-8 cultivation base.

In addition, as the two practiced techniques that complemented each other, they had been inseparable for decades and were like blood brothers. They practiced a set of combined attack techniques whose effect was far greater than the common combination attack of two grade-8 grandmasters.

According to the rumors, as long as the Black and White Impermanence joined forces, they were invincible among the grade-8s!

Even when faced with a grade-9 whom they couldn't defeat, they would still be able to retreat safely.

"This is the Wenyuan Pavilion, where the martial arts masterpieces collected by the imperial family for hundreds of years are hidden. They are definitely better than those of the first-class sects! The Emperor invited us to the capital to help support him and resist the northern barbarians. It's not too much for us to come to his library to have a look." Black Impermanence said hoarsely.

White Impermanence was not very interested in this and said, "Brother, our Heavenly Canal Divine Art is already the top martial art in this world, so why bother looking at other martial arts?"

Black Impermanence shook his head and said, "Although the Heavenly Canal Divine Art is a top-notch martial art, the subtleties of other martial arts can also be used as references, especially if we want our cultivation base to go to the next level. To break through to become grade-9s, we must be proficient in more martial arts."

White Impermanence didn't object, he just smiled and said. "Then, Brother, take your time in this Wenyuan Pavilion while I will walk around in the imperial compound first. Three thousand beauties in the palaces… Hehe, with so many beauties, can the emperor take care of them alone? I'm going to help him share his labor!"

Black Impermanence flatly refused. "No way. Although the Grand Xia Dynasty is not as good as before, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. The imperial family's hidden strength cannot be underestimated. Six years ago, the imperial family had a grade-9 guest elder. We two must be together to make sure nothing goes wrong."

As long as the Black and White Impermanence were together, they were invincible among the grade-8s and could safely retreat in the face of a grade-9 great grandmaster.

At least this was what they thought.

But if the Black and White Impermanence were separated, they would become two ordinary grade-8 grandmasters, and their threat would be greatly reduced.

"Are you referring to that old fogey Yan Bugui? Humph, this old man has grown rusty, and his strength has long been inferior to when he was in his heyday. Six years ago, he was barely able to deal with that barbarian powerhouse. Why are you afraid of him? Also, I heard that although he managed to defeat the barbarian powerhouse at that time, he suffered even more injuries. He might have even died long ago! Otherwise, why would the Emperor bother to try so hard to rally the great grandmasters in the underworld to enter the capital? In the imperial compound, no one is able to beat the combined forces of us two!" White Impermanence said nonchalantly.

"If I said no, it means no!"

Seeing that White Impermanence was still unwilling, Black Impermanence was helpless. Knowing his lustful temperament, he said. "If you accompany me to browse through this Wenyuan Pavilion, I will promise to kidnap two girls from the imperial compound for you."

"No way!"

White Impermanence shook his head and licked his lips. He then smirked and said, "I want to take four! And there must be one who is a concubine of the Emperor! I have tried all the beautiful wives in this world, but I have never tried the wife of the Emperor."

Black Impermanence made a frown but still agreed. "Up to you."

Anyway, when the time came, as long as they took the people away quietly, the palace guards would not be alarmed.

Even if they were discovered, with both of them joining forces, there was no one who could stop them in this imperial compound. There was nothing much to be scared of.