“The Martial Guardian, simply put, is the protector of the family. It’s not just our Zhang family that has one; the Long family, the Hua family, the Huyan family—they all have them. The difference is that over a thousand years of lineage, the guardians of those other great families have all been interrupted at some point. Only our Zhang family has never had a break!”

The old man spoke with a faint smile, pride lingering on his face as he mentioned this. Never broken in over one thousand eight hundred years—even the other four great families couldn't boast that.

Zhang Yang nodded slightly. The ancestor of the Long family, whom he had only heard as a voice before, must be their Guardian. These millennium-old families were far from simple, hiding such formidable elders. It was a good thing their own Zhang family had one here with him now; otherwise, he would surely have been in deep trouble this time.

“In our Zhang family, starting from the first generation, the Medical Saint ancestor, we have had a total of nine Guardians. I am the ninth, Zhang Pinglu!”

The old man spoke again. Zhang Yang’s internal energy had reached the fourth level, qualifying him to know his identity.

“Nine?”

Zhang Yang’s eyes widened, filled with confusion. The Zhang family had existed for over one thousand eight hundred years since the Medical Saint, seeing nearly a hundred generations of disciples pass. Yet, there were only nine Guardians. Only nine people across that span without a break? That would mean one person lived for over two hundred years?

The old man smiled slightly, seemingly reading Zhang Yang’s doubt, and spoke again: “Are you suspicious of that number? In fact, everyone who learns my identity for the first time feels the same way. Let me ask you, how old do you think this old man is?”

“You… you must be around ninety?”

Zhang Yang looked at the old man for a moment before murmuring the reply. The old man did look like he was in his late seventies or eighties, but internal energy cultivators generally didn't age visibly. Their actual ages tended to be higher, which was why he guessed ninety. That age was already quite advanced.

“Hahaha!”

The old man threw his head back and laughed. After the laughter subsided, he lowered his gaze to Zhang Yang and shook a finger: “You are wrong. This old man is one hundred and ninety-eight years old. In two more years, I will turn two hundred!”

Zhang Yang’s eyes snapped wide open. He stared blankly at the man before him, his face a mask of disbelief. This elder was telling him he was nearly two hundred years old. If this man hadn’t saved him before and displayed such overwhelming power, Zhang Yang would have thought he was dealing with a lunatic. Even for an internal energy cultivator, living that long was unheard of; reaching over a hundred years was already considered remarkable.

“I know you don't believe me. Do you know of the Bigu Pill?” The old man smiled again and posed another question to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang nodded. The Bigu Pill was a spiritual medicine mentioned in the Zhang family's secret texts. This elder had mentioned it to him with just his voice before, and now he brought it up again.

“The only reason I’ve lived this long is the effect of the Bigu Pill. In fact, after I reached the Great Perfection realm at seventy-eight, I began taking one Bigu Pill every year to maintain my body like this!”

Great Perfection?

That was a term Zhang Yang had never heard before, and it made him feel a bit foggy, but he still nodded. He knew the Bigu Pill was a spiritual medicine, though he had never seen one or known how to concoct it. However, understanding the pill’s effects, the old man’s explanation seemed plausible. One Bigu Pill could maintain the body unchanged for a year and even negate the need for food.

The old man stroked his beard and continued: “The Bigu Pill is rare among spiritual medicines because its effects don't diminish with repeated consumption. It’s thanks to this medicine that old fellows like me can live so long. At one hundred and ninety-eight, I am actually quite young. Old ghost Long is two hundred and eighty; even with the Bigu Pill, his lifespan will likely expire within twenty years. The Bigu Pill is just medicine; no one has ever lived past the three-hundred-year limit, even taking it. If the Long family lacks a master at the late Fourth Level then, their Guardian lineage will inevitably suffer a gap!”

Zhang Yang was still somewhat confused, but at least he understood a few things now. The Bigu Pill’s efficacy didn't diminish, but it couldn't be taken indefinitely; even so, one couldn't live past three hundred years. Three hundred years—that was an almost unimaginable age. Only by consuming the Bigu Pill consistently, maintaining the body's condition, was such longevity possible. There was another crucial point: the so-called Guardian lineage seemed only possible for those at the late Fourth Level or above. Long Yi, the former Great Elder of the Long family, was only at the mid-Fourth Level and hadn't broken through to the late stage.

“Ancestor, I want to know what you meant by Great Perfection just now, and why the Long family’s Guardian line will be severed if they lack a late Fourth Level master?”

After some thought, Zhang Yang decided to voice the doubts consuming him. He felt like he had truly brushed against a new world and desperately wanted to learn everything about this new realm.

“You don’t need to call me Ancestor; it sounds awkward. Just call me Old Man, like Dao Feng and Yun An do!”

The old man shook his head, and only after Zhang Yang agreed did he continue: “Before discussing Great Perfection, let me ask you: do you know how many levels internal energy is divided into?”

“Four levels!” Zhang Yang replied immediately after a slight pause. Four levels of internal energy—this was common knowledge for most cultivators. Zhang Yang couldn't see why the old man asked such a basic question. The old man smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, Zhang Yang recalled a legend, the legend of a Fifth Level. There were indeed rumors of a Fifth Level appearing in some records, but without any proof, these rumors gradually faded into myth, no longer believed by anyone.

“Could it be that the legendary Fifth Level truly exists?”

Zhang Yang asked quietly, his eyes fixed on the old man, burning with intensity. If the Fifth Level truly existed, then this elder ancestor of the Zhang family should be a master of that tier. The Fifth Level—just how terrifyingly powerful would someone at that stage be?

The old man shook his head again. “You are mistaken. The Fifth Level is not a legend; it truly exists, and someone has reached it!”

“Someone has reached it? Old Man, are you perhaps not at the Fifth Level?”

Hearing the elder say that, Zhang Yang immediately asked anxiously. The tone of the old man suggested he hadn't attained that realm.

“Of course not. If I were at the Fifth Level, I would tear down this entire Long family plain today for daring to treat a disciple of our Zhang family this way!”

The old man stroked his beard and grumbled, clearly showing his lingering anger over the matter. Looking back at Zhang Yang, the elder smiled gently and continued: “Though I am not Fifth Level, I have one foot already crossed into it. My current strength is slightly greater than the late Fourth Level, but I haven't truly reached the Fifth Level. The realm between the late Fourth Level and the Fifth Level, we name Great Perfection. I am in the Great Perfection realm of the Fourth Level!”

“There is a Great Perfection realm within the Fourth Level?”

Zhang Yang stuck his tongue out slightly. He had always assumed the late Fourth Level was the absolute endpoint, especially since reaching it was already so difficult. Now he learned that the Fifth Level really existed, and before it, there was an intermediate stage: the Fourth Level Great Perfection. The Martial Guardian of the Zhang family was at Fourth Level Great Perfection. Thinking of the terrifying power he had already displayed, Zhang Yang could barely imagine how powerful a Fifth Level internal energy cultivator would be.

“That’s right. Although the Great Perfection realm is still technically the Fourth Level, those who reach it are vastly more powerful than ordinary late Fourth Level experts. The most crucial reason is that those in the Great Perfection realm have comprehended the Dao of Nature!”

The old man spoke again. Zhang Yang’s brow twitched slightly. Dao of Nature—he suddenly recalled the enlightenment he had before the Great Buddha statue that day.

Looking at Zhang Yang, the old man smiled again and said softly: “There are only two ways to comprehend the Dao of Nature. One is through inheritance: a late Fourth Level master, after cultivating to a certain extent, can accept this inheritance. However, the person who passes on the Dao of Nature will then naturally die. The other way is to comprehend it yourself!”

Tapping the table, the old man added: “Inheritance is difficult; not only must the successor die, but the recipient also has a chance of failure. If the attempt fails, both perish, and the inheritance is naturally severed. Someone else must comprehend the Dao of Nature before it can be passed on again. Over the past thousand years, the Long family has had two broken successions, the Huyan family twice, and the Li and Hua families once each. Every time their inheritance was broken, it was the most dangerous period for their families. The last interruption of inheritance was the Hua family over two hundred years ago, which forced them to relocate from Mount Taihang to Changbai Mountain, and they have only just now recovered their strength!”

“So that’s why the Hua family relocated!”

Zhang Yang nodded slightly. He had never heard these secret matters before; he hadn't realized there were such underlying events. The secret lore among the millennium families was clearly vast; these things were likely things many disciples, even direct descendants, would never know.

“Our Zhang family has been relatively smooth. Among our nine Guardians, three achieved comprehension naturally, and during one unique period, our Zhang family had two Guardians existing simultaneously—that was also when our Zhang family reached its peak prosperity!”

Speaking of this, a flicker of pride crossed the old man’s eyes again.

“The peak prosperity, was that perhaps during the Song Dynasty?”

Zhang Yang asked again. The Zhang family genealogy recorded that during a period in the Song Dynasty, the Zhang family descendants held extremely high prestige throughout the entire cultivation world. Not just the four great families, but even powerful internal energy sects treated Zhang family members with respect. During that time, Zhang family ancestors earned considerable wealth just by compounding medicines for others. That era was when the Zhang family had its deepest foundation and the largest number of active descendants. It was said that the number of Zhang family inheritors broke past single digits, reaching over a dozen. Many people thought the Zhang family would truly develop into a great clan, but the wandering nature of the Medical Saint lineage meant they had no stable ground. Trying to fully develop a family without stability was pure fantasy.

“Yes, that was the time. But I believe our Zhang family will soon restore that kind of glory!”

The old man nodded heavily, his eyes burning with intensity as he looked at Zhang Yang. To reach the Fourth Level Great Perfection realm required two conditions: first, being late Fourth Level; second, comprehending the Dao of Nature. Of these two, the most difficult was comprehending the Dao of Nature. For the late Fourth Level, provided one had good talent and trained diligently, the chance was quite high. But enlightenment—that was something intangible and undefinable; even if one sought it, they might never grasp it. (To be continued) RQ

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