The distinction between the Lesser Heavenly Cycle and the Greater Heavenly Cycle began to emerge.
The concept of an incorruptible body, and the division between internal and external manifestations, also started to appear.
By the current era, martial arts had reached a state of extreme perfection, leading to the development of the realm of Immortal-Demon level martial artists, a state of achieving immortality in the mortal world, with perfect essence, energy, and spirit.
As the saying goes, to understand a world, one must first understand its history.
Fang Ming couldn't recall who first uttered this saying, but it was clear that it held profound truth.
In previous worlds, whenever conditions permitted, Fang Ming would seek out reading materials to learn about their histories.
In this martial artist world, finding a bookstore was not difficult. Fang Ming found it even easier than in other worlds to browse historical texts in bookstores and learn about this world's past.
Through the history of this world, Fang Ming learned that its civilization was not one where antiquity equated to power, nor where modernity meant decline. Instead, it was a civilization that, on the whole, had been progressing upwards.
In ancient times, this world was not powerful. The "Origin True Scripture" of the ancient period was revered as the ancestor of all scriptures, but this was due to its historical significance, not because it held great power in the current era.
Despite being the ancestor of all scriptures, this true scripture had long become outdated. In the present day, its practical value might not even surpass that of some mid-to-low-tier cultivation methods.
Fang Ming not only read the history books of this world but also found a ranking list in a bookstore.
While the history books presented the past of this world, the ranking list showcased the distribution of power among its martial artists at the current moment.
Much like in typical wuxia novels, where characters like Bai Xiaosheng would create Heaven, Earth, and Human rankings, this martial artist world, though lacking Bai Xiaosheng, still had official forces that established ranking lists, categorizing the strength of various prominent families and major factions.
The Human Ranking listed talented youths under thirty years of age who possessed formidable martial arts skills.
This Human Ranking was also known as the Talented Youth Ranking or the Dragon-Phoenix Ranking, featuring prodigies of the younger generation. If an independent cultivator managed to get on this list, they would likely be scouted and recruited by major families.
Fame and fortune would then be within reach.
Consequently, countless young men and women in this world aspired to be on the Human Ranking.
The Earth Ranking, on the other hand, listed older generation powerhouses.
Unlike the Human Ranking, which had an age limit and showcased the younger generation, the Earth Ranking featured elder figures, the true ruling class of the martial artist world.
Those listed on the Earth Ranking often held titles such as Grandmaster or Great Grandmaster, were renowned in their regions, and wielded considerable influence.
The Heaven Ranking listed martial arts powerhouses who had transcended the mortal realm, reaching the Immortal-Demon level.
Due to the immense power of Immortal-Demon level martial artists, far surpassing ordinary mortals, even the Heaven Ranking did not assign specific rankings to these individuals.
Thus, the Heaven Ranking only listed their names without any order.
"Eight Immortals and Demons of the Eight Severities..."
Fang Ming murmured.
This martial artist world had eight Immortal-Demon level martial artists, hence they were known as the Eight Immortals and Demons of the Eight Severities.
There were differences in strength among Immortal-Demon level martial artists. It was known that the Martial Emperor's power far surpassed the other seven. As for the other Immortal-Demon level martial artists besides the Martial Emperor, it was difficult to distinguish their relative strengths.
In this world, Immortal-Demon level martial artists were considered mortals who cultivated martial arts to reach a level comparable to immortals and demons.
However, from Fang Ming's perspective, these so-called Immortal-Demon level martial artists were merely an achievement in martial arts, not true immortals or demons. In the cultivation world, even the sect leader of Baiyun Sect dared to call themselves a cultivator, not a true immortal.
With the cultivation techniques he practiced as a mere handyman disciple, Fang Ming was capable of dominating many worlds. In the zombie world, with his current strength, even a thrice-mutated Tyrant would be no match for him.
In the world akin to medieval Europe, if Fang Ming wished, he could have been hailed as a deity and worshipped by countless people.
Therefore, Fang Ming was well aware of the power of the cultivation world and understood the true caliber of immortals, which was far beyond these martial artists who were called Immortal-Demon level in this plane.
Of course, Immortal-Demon level martial artists were not the same as the immortals who surpassed the Baiyun Sect leader. However, whether the "One Qi Technique" practiced by handyman disciples, when reaching the third level, could be comparable to them was another matter entirely.
Ultimately, the true strength of the martial artists in this world depended on comparison.
Fang Ming calmed his mind, formed a hand seal, and channeled the spiritual energy within him.
The meager spiritual energy surged forth, converging in his eyes to form a spell.
Spiritual Eye Technique.
In the cultivation world, this technique was specifically used to assess the cultivation level of others.
Since the cultivation world lacked a unified realm system, with individuals cultivating according to their own techniques, the principle behind the Spiritual Eye Technique was not to focus on the external manifestations of specific cultivation methods but rather on the internal energy of the target.
It was precisely because of this characteristic.
The Spiritual Eye Technique could not only be used in the cultivation world to observe the spiritual energy possessed by others but also in other worlds to observe the internal energy of others, and even non-human beings.
In the zombie world, Fang Ming had also used this spell to assess the strength of many mutated zombies.
Today, he was assessing the strength of the martial artists near the bookstore.
He discovered that even those who had opened thirty-two spiritual apertures and unblocked their Lesser Heavenly Cycle were far inferior to himself, who had just stepped onto the threshold of cultivation and mastered the first level of the "One Qi Technique."
As Fang Ming shook his head, he lowered his estimation of the martial artists' strength in this world.
Unblocking the Lesser Heavenly Cycle and opening thirty-two spiritual apertures was considered a certain achievement in this world, but it was far inferior to just entering the threshold of cultivation, indicating the low level of strength in this world.
If it weren't for the existence of so-called Immortal-Demon level martial artists, this world would merely be a wuxia world.
"Hmm?"
Fang Ming, using his divine sense from the cultivation world, detected someone stealthily behind him. The person was reaching towards his wallet.
His divine sense perceived this. Although the person had not yet committed the act and failed, Fang Ming already knew their intention and what they were trying to do.
It was nothing more than a thief.
For Fang Ming, whether in the cultivation world, the zombie world, or the European medieval world, the profession of a thief existed. Therefore, discovering a thief in this martial arts world did not surprise him much. He was only taken aback by the audacity of the thief reaching towards him.
Fang Ming turned around and faced the thief, asking, "What do you want?"