"Blade work at Subtlety?" Yan Fu found it just as incredible.
Ordinarily, when they said skill at Subtlety they meant the degree of control over the body, the joining of mind and body — put simply, how far the consciousness could mobilise the flesh... The deeper the Subtlety, the greater the control, the more of the body's potential could be mined, and the greater the force that came out.
Lesser Completion of Subtlety meant controlling every sinew and bone so that ordinary strength came out in full: basic punch force.
Great Completion of Subtlety went a step further, controlling the flow of blood and qi through the whole body so that at the crucial moment the arms and thighs could suddenly put out nearly double the force... and that was hidden force. But it was an output beyond the body's normal limit, and it could not be sustained.
Fight with hidden force for long and the body sank into weakness afterwards.
Once the body was at Subtlety, body technique at Subtlety came relatively easily.
But blade work at Subtlety? That was another concept entirely.
A weapon is an extension of the body, yet it is not joined to the body's consciousness... It demands the perfect union of mind, body and instrument, and even they, teachers at a junior college, had needed years of bitter training before they could all manage weapon control at Subtlety.
To teach at a martial junior college, weapon Subtlety was the baseline.
"A genius of skill."
"This student of mine has a genuinely uncommon talent for skill — and it seems the further he goes, the stronger his finish. In first year his skill was only about fifth in the class; by second year he'd surged into the top hundred of the whole intake; by third year, the top ten."
"And now he is the absolute first. Even Wu Ya, in all probability, hasn't reached weapon Subtlety." Yan Fu marvelled privately. "It makes sense. Three years of junior college without ever awakening a Void Star Aspect — his mind must have been through no small amount of grinding."
"Very steady. He might achieve something great one day."
Bodily talent and talent for skill are two different concepts.
Bodily talent can be judged largely from the grade of Aspect awakened; the higher the grade, the more efficiently Star Force is absorbed, and the faster the Life Tier naturally rises.
But talent for skill comes partly from the strength of the spirit — the stronger the spirit, the faster thought turns.
And partly it is a matter of insight, and some strong men whose insight was ordinary in youth undergo an astonishing transformation once they have been through enough and the heart has been ground down.
Conversely, some peerless prodigies burn brightly early and advance in triumph, and then meet one great setback and stand a real chance of never rising again.
Jade unworked becomes no vessel.
But work it too hard, and the jade may be destroyed outright.
"He isn't like the legendary prodigies who reach Outer Vista perception and the union of heaven and man at twenty."
"But this is already excellent."
"Set against some of the elite students at Huguang Martial Arts University, he gives away nothing on skill." Yan Fu thought about it. "A pity I never got closer to him. There isn't much accumulated goodwill between us."
Until now he had treated Fang Yu simply as a good student is treated, and had thought he had only a slight hope of becoming a High-Rank Warrior.
But now.
He felt that even if Fang Yu never awakened a Void Star Aspect, his becoming a High-Rank Warrior was a settled thing.
"Weapon Subtlety this young, then two more years of study at university, and with the starry-sky bases on the Primordial Star, the odds of his skill reaching Inner Vista are high." Yan Fu turned it over. "And once he crosses into Inner Vista."
"One Star Coin does the work of five."
"Spend a few tens of millions and there's hope of a High-Rank Warrior."
The higher the skill, the more of the body's potential is mined, and the more the same drugs and treasures accomplish.
"And if he awakened an Aspect — an Earth Warrior... might not be out of reach." Something stirred in Yan Fu.
A lifetime of teaching, and if a student of his produced an Earth Warrior, he would have something to boast of into his old age.
Bear in mind that an Earth Warrior was guaranteed a place on Wuling Martial Arts Junior College's Wall of Honoured Alumni... and since the school's founding, the students who had passed through it had produced only a dozen or so Earth Warriors.
"Congratulations, Old Yan."
"Teacher Yan, you're buying dinner tonight."
"Old Yan, keeping a trump card like that hidden. Fine teaching."
"This Fang Yu never showed a hill or a valley of himself, and today he's startled everyone with one cry!" The other teachers congratulated Yan Fu again, all of them a little rueful.
Nobody mentioned the Void Star Aspect any more.
His level of skill led by a cliff's edge.
His Life Tier could be called first as well, and whether Fang Yu had awakened an Aspect no longer mattered so much.
This was only the transfer assessment, after all, not the university-to-postgraduate recommendation assessment; the requirements were not so high... These teachers had essentially settled it: Fang Yu was first.
"Ha."
"That's his own hard work," Yan Fu said cheerfully, while privately calculating how to draw a little closer to Fang Yu.
***
In the ninth-floor office.
The six Huguang Martial Arts University teachers, so composed a moment ago, all showed open surprise when they saw Fang Yu's combat assessment graded Junior-College Consummate.
Junior-College Consummate.
It meant that, in the Blue Moon Alliance's martial education system, Fang Yu's combat technique was judged to have reached a limit for a junior-college student... The martial teachers of a junior college were no longer qualified to teach him.
"Junior-College Consummate."
"This is my third time in Wuling, and it's the first time I've seen that grade."
"Weapon Subtlety really is impressive. Combat technique like that would rank very high even at our school." The teachers could not help discussing it.
A Life Tier of Level 20 did not move them, because anyone with money could reach it easily enough.
But in training martial skill, Star Coins could only ever assist.
"Associate Professor Tang, what do you say?" The middle-aged male teacher looked at the young woman in grey. "Do we offer a contract?"
The others looked at her too.
Associate Professor... The title alone marked the young woman's standing; she ranked among the senior staff at Huguang Martial Arts University, and she led this expedition.
Under normal circumstances a transfer recommendation assessment like this — monitored throughout, jointly supervised by the Education Bureau, the Martial Path Bureau and the Martial Path Supervision Bureau — needed no personnel from Huguang Martial Arts University at all.
So why send people? And six teachers at once?
To see whether any genuinely good seedlings turned up.
Offering a contract meant an Exclusive Development Contract: on top of the state's development funding, Huguang Martial Arts University would put additional resources into a very small number of outstanding students, in the hope of producing top-tier warriors.
"Not enough."
"His talent for skill is good, and if he's willing to grind, then stacking up a Life Tier on treasures gives him a slight hope of becoming an Earth Warrior in the future." The woman's voice was cold. "But he has awakened no Aspect."
"Even if he becomes an Earth Warrior he'll be the weakest kind. He won't go far. The money for these contracts comes from the state, and there has to be a clear value in it."
The others turned that over.
Before one becomes an Earth Warrior, an Aspect's greatest use is raising training efficiency, and money can make that up; the Primordial Star holds no end of treasures that raise the Life Tier... but after Earth Warrior, and after Sky-Patrol Warrior, the Aspect matters enormously.
The stronger the Aspect, the greater the help.
Lacking one... the effect on his future was too great.
"Every exclusive contract is worth a staggering amount."
"And we still have six more junior colleges to assess. The contract places are limited." The woman shook her head. "This Fang Yu is qualified to enter Huguang Martial Arts University... but for a contract, he isn't enough."
"His future is far too unstable."
The other teachers exchanged glances and stopped arguing.
If Fang Yu had awakened an Aspect, even a Lower one, they would certainly have made a case for him... but with no Aspect awakened, the unknowns really were too many.
However.
"Associate Professor Tang." The middle-aged male teacher was still smiling. "Talent is hard to come by. For a junior-college student to get this far, he must have given up a great deal... Give him a chance anyway."
"Ten contract places. One more doesn't crowd them, one fewer doesn't fill them."
"As you say, if he never awakens an Aspect his ceiling isn't high."
"But what if he does awaken one?" The middle-aged teacher smiled and held his ground. "He might achieve something great."
"Better an empty place than a wasted one. At his age, the hope of awakening an Aspect..." Associate Professor Tang frowned, then caught the look in the middle-aged teacher's eyes and changed tack. "Teacher Jiang."
"An exclusive contract I cannot possibly agree to. If you genuinely rate him, then apply for a special approval out of your own allocation. I'll approve it — call it giving him a chance."
"Good." The middle-aged teacher nodded at once.
He had never expected her to agree to an exclusive contract in the first place... Getting her to permit him to use his own special-approval slot had been the object all along.
Each of the six teachers held one special-approval slot... and while a special approval was worth less than an exclusive contract, it was still worth more than an ordinary recommendation.
***
On the ground floor, Fang Yu walked out of the assessment area.
"Bodily skill, Great Completion in Subtlety."
"Blade work at Subtlety."
"Life Tier Level 20... Never mind first — a recommendation place should be no problem." Fang Yu thought. "The rise in soul and spirit really does do a great deal."
He closed his eyes gently.
His consciousness arrived once more in that vast, unfathomable place, and at its centre the immense sleeping Aspect was far clearer than before.
Even its face had come clear.
"Life Tier at Level 20."
"It feels as though it isn't far now from truly waking." Fang Yu sensed it dimly, and at the same time, through the vast sleeping Aspect, he felt several strands of information pass to him:
Aspect Observer
Life Tier: Level 20.1 (Mid-Rank Warrior)
Martial Skill: Subtlety, High Stage (Blood-Qi; weapon at Subtlety)
Soul Level: Level 23.4
Void Star Aspect: Unknown (please strive to attain a higher Life Tier)
Innate Divine Ability One: Devour (after swallowing rare treasures of any kind, digestion is faster and its effect is greater)
Innate Divine Ability Two: Unknown (please strive to attain a higher order of life)