The extraordinary journey begins with the Ouroboros Stele.

Chapter 48 Secret Martial Arts Sect

Looking at the words in front of him, Lin Ye's sense of horror subsided somewhat.

"no."

He didn't know what spiritual transformation was, but it was irreversible, which meant there was no way to undo it.

He couldn't accept this, which was tantamount to entrusting his own safety to someone else.

Furthermore, the mere fact that his luck increased by 10 made him wary.

If this +10 fortune bonus is similar to a "you gain something, you lose something else" kind of bonus, then something he doesn't want to see and can't prevent will inevitably happen.

The red moon before us is clearly abnormal.

He couldn't be sure if he would lose anything as a result.

"Thump~~~"

As the bronze bell rang, the fear in my heart gradually subsided. Looking at the night sky again, the bright moon had returned to its pure white state and no longer displayed any information about the ingredients.

"Senior brother?"

Yan Yi looked over, her expression questioning, as if she sensed that something had happened to her senior brother.

Lin Ye shook his head. "I'm fine."

After descending from the altar, the sacrificial ceremony began.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 202ᴋᴋs.ᴄᴏᴍ]

Nothing unexpected happened, or rather, apart from Lin Ye, no one thought anything unexpected had happened during the 'festival'.

It was late at night when the ceremony ended. After saying goodbye, Lin Ye went to his teacher's house.

"Smack."

The lights were turned on, and Zhuang Huaizhang poured two glasses of hangover soup.

"Have a seat," he gestured.

After sitting down, he looked at Lin Ye and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Lin Ye was silent for a few seconds, recalling everything that had happened tonight, "There's an indescribable eeriness to it."

Zhuang Huaizhang immediately burst into laughter.

"After all, it's a ritual passed down from that period. Back then, it required human sacrifice, so it's normal for it to be a bit strange."

As he spoke, he took a sip of the hangover soup. "You went to Whale Kill Boxing Gym to learn boxing?"

Lin Ye was taken aback and looked at Zhuang Huaizhang, "Does the teacher know?"

Zhuang Huaizhang put down the soup bowl and smiled.

"It's no secret that Yan Xiangzhen was seriously injured by a mysterious person while investigating a missing persons case, and everyone knows that the eldest daughter of the Yan family has entered the Whale Killing Boxing Gym."

"He calls you senior brother, presumably for this reason."

"I just didn't expect you to have been to her house?"

Lin Ye understood; no wonder he knew Lin Ye had signed up for Whale Kill Boxing Gym.

"I only asked her about her family's martial arts techniques. Her father was recuperating in the hospital and wasn't home."

Zhuang Huaizhang looked at Lin Ye in surprise, "You've even passed on the Spirit Thread Fist to you?"

Lin Ye looked confused. "Is there a problem?"

Zhuang Huaizhang shook his head. "How are your aptitudes? How do they compare to Miss Yan's?"

Lin Ye was silent for a few seconds, then said, "A little better than her."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Huaizhang was slightly moved, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

Lin Ye's gaze shifted slightly; he rarely saw his teacher smoking.

"teacher?"

Zhuang Huaizhang slightly raised his hand and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"The eldest daughter of the Yan family has remarkable talent in martial arts. Since you have the talent to practice martial arts, then focus on that."

"If there's anything the lab can use in the future, don't hesitate to ask."

"Compared to the secret apothecary, the secret martial artist is the true and righteous path."

Lin Ye hesitated, about to say something, when Zhuang Huaizhang raised his hand to stop him.

Seeing this, Lin Ye stopped talking.

Silence fell over the living room, broken only by Zhuang Huaizhang's incessant sobbing.

"Teacher, what exactly is a secret medicine master?"

Lin Ye asked, originally assuming that the herbalist was someone who provided secret medicines to the boxing gym.

Judging from that crimson moon, the origins of the secret apothecary clearly conceal a great secret.

Zhuang Huaizhang smiled and said, "The secret medicine master is an ancient profession that has been passed down since the Yin Ruins period."

"They take the red moon as their source of faith and power. It is said that they were not called 'secret medicine masters' during the Yin Ruins period, but no one knows exactly what they were called."

"During the dynastic period, they mostly played roles similar to priests or astronomers."

"However, in modern times, the group of pharmacists has grown much larger, and most of them are engaged in the medical field."

"The secret medicine laboratories in each city often represent the most advanced medical technology in the city, and the vast majority of new drug research in the Federation also has the shadow of secret medicine masters behind it."

"The Secret Medicine Association, composed of numerous secret medicine practitioners, has a tremendous influence in the medical field, and can almost control the Liya and even influence the international pharmaceutical market."

"In addition to this, the secret medicine master has another important function, which is to refine secret medicines for the secret martial arts forces."

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow. "Secret martial arts forces?"

Zhuang Huaizhang fell silent, took a deep drag of his cigarette into his lungs, and exhaled forcefully.

"As you know, the teacher married into the Qin family, and the Qin family has been a great help in his career."

"Knowing order, Qin knows order."

"After the test revealed that your senior brother had not inherited the Qin family's secret martial arts bloodline, I gave him this name."

"Besides warning your senior brother not to have any unrealistic expectations, I am also telling the Qin family that I don't care about the surname."

"Of course, they might not even care about my opinion."

At this point, Zhuang Huaizhang smiled with relief, "We've gone off on a tangent."

"The reason I mentioned the Qin family is to say that behind this world on the surface, there are beings that are beyond the imagination of ordinary people; they are called extraordinary beings."

"As far as I know, the Qin family of the Qin Group and the Lin family of the Lin Group belong to the secret martial arts practitioners among the extraordinary individuals."

Lin Ye looked up. "A secret martial artist?"

He wanted to ask earlier, but didn't get the chance.

Zhuang Huaizhang nodded. "The so-called secret martial arts are martial arts that are kept secret and not passed on, and the requirements are extremely strict."

"Besides the Qin and Lin families, which are secret martial arts practitioners who mainly rely on bloodline inheritance, there is another type of secret martial arts force that is not bound by bloodline."

"That is, the Secret Martial Arts Sect."

"The Crimson Whale Clan behind the Whale Killing Boxing Gym is one of the three major secret martial arts sects in Coastal City."

"The secret medicines from our laboratory have also mostly flowed to these secret martial arts forces."

Lin Ye took a deep breath, processing this information.

The head coach's ability to turn iron into mud is completely beyond human capabilities. Is it because he has cultivated some kind of secret martial art that he is so powerful?

Suddenly, he thought of Yan Yi again, "Is Yan Yi's family of martial artists with a secret bloodline?"

Zhuang Huaizhang shook his head. "The Yan family should have had secret martial artists in their ancestors, but they are no longer around."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to invite Miss Yan to this sacrificial ceremony."

At this point, he stubbed out his cigarette. "I know what you want to ask. You just wonder why the Yan family, with its vast wealth, hasn't attracted the attention of any secret martial artists."

Lin Ye looked at Zhuang Huaizhang, "Teacher, teach me."

Zhuang Huaizhang smiled and said, "After all, we are on Liya's soil, so at least on the surface, we must abide by the law."

"If martial artists can take whatever they want, how will ordinary people survive?"

"You must remember that we have now entered the 21st century."

"With the development of technology, especially modern weapons technology, even though secret warriors are powerful, they can still be killed by ordinary people."

"Compared to the vast number of ordinary people, there are far too few secret martial artists."

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat. "What about the secret alchemists? Why didn't the martial artists control them? Or rather, why didn't they refine the secret medicines themselves?"

Why would a martial artist entrust something so fundamental to themselves to someone else?

Zhuang Huaizhang smiled and said, "Strictly speaking, refining secret medicines is only one of the functions of a secret medicine master."

"In fact, we pharmacists have a special lineage."

"The title of 'secret medicine master' is based on ability; it's not simply a matter of being able to concoct secret medicines."

"What you really want to ask is why martial artists don't control the source of their secret medicines themselves, but instead leave this task to alchemists, right?"

Lin Ye nodded. "They could have come by themselves."

Zhuang Huaizhang did not deny it. "That's right. Every martial artist has a deep understanding of secret medicines, even more so than us nominal alchemists."

"However, due to the existence of the Secret Medicine Masters Association, they are not allowed to concoct secret medicines on a large scale on their own."

"It's easy to secretly produce some that's hard to detect, but large-scale production definitely requires a supply chain."

"Even the medicinal herb bases they control are actually under the supervision of the Secret Pharmacist Association."

Lin Ye was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, "The Secret Pharmacist Association has such great power?"

This isn't just a problem in one coastal city; it affects the whole of Lebanon.

All the secret warriors in the entire Lia region are unable to contend with the Secret Medicine Master Association?

Suddenly, he remembered the strange thing he found when he searched for ancient boxing techniques online. Could it be that someone was deliberately suppressing martial arts practitioners?

Zhuang Huaizhang smiled, lit another cigarette, and said, "I won't talk about it, I won't talk about it."

"This is all a power struggle between big shots. Strictly speaking, we pharmacists are actually the beneficiaries."

"Otherwise, they would have been controlled by the secret martial arts forces long ago, or the profession of secret medicine master would simply not exist."

Lin Ye nodded. No wonder his teacher told him to focus on secret martial arts.

This is the upper and lower position of the ecological niche. As a secret medicine master, it is inevitable that he has some longing for secret martial arts practitioners.

"What is the special lineage of the secret apothecary that the teacher just mentioned?"

Zhuang Huaizhang shook his head. "No rush. I'm still preparing the relevant materials. Becoming a secret medicine master is not much easier than becoming a secret martial artist."

"However, even if you become a master pharmacist, you will still need to focus on the Soul Whale Fist of the Crimson Whale Sect."

"Although this fist technique is not a secret martial art, it is closely related to the secret martial arts of the Crimson Whale Sect and can be considered a prerequisite martial art."

Lin Ye nodded. Compared to refining secret medicines for others, the powerful way of martial arts, where one's own great power resides within oneself, was far more appealing to him.

Moreover, now that we know about the existence of Secret Warriors, this is the true meaning of "fist is power"!

"Your talent surpasses that of the eldest daughter of the Yan family; you have the potential to master secret martial arts."

"If you ever have the opportunity to become an apprentice at the Crimson Whale Sect in the future... don't miss it."

Zhuang Huaizhang exhaled a puff of smoke, which obscured his face, making it impossible to discern his expression.

Lin Ye's pupils trembled slightly. Since he came here, his teacher had treated him well and truly regarded him as his successor.

Judging from the lineage of the secret medicine master, they clearly still adhere to some ancient rituals.

A teacher is almost equivalent to a father.

But the teacher told him not to miss the opportunity to become an apprentice at the Red Whale Sect, which was equivalent to sending his own child away.

"teacher......"

Zhuang Huaizhang slightly raised his hand, indicating that Lin Ye did not need to say anything more.

"The secret medicine master and the secret martial artist are two different fields, and the apprenticeship does not affect this."

At this point, he reached out and patted Lin Ye on the shoulder, a relieved smile on his face.

"Practicing martial arts is difficult, and practicing secret martial arts is even more difficult. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"Even if that doesn't work, you can still join the Secret Medicine Master Association by following my old path. At least your official status won't be much lower than that of a Secret Warrior."

"But the teacher has already walked this path, and the hardships and obstacles along the way are too numerous to describe."

"Since you are capable of taking a better path, your teacher is willing to support you, just like your senior brother did back then."

"Unfortunately, he didn't have the talent or the luck."

Lin Ye opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, "Teacher, I..."

Zhuang Huaizhang looked at him with a gentle smile.

"Silly child, you have a long road ahead of you. You will always meet new people to walk with you, and old people will always leave you."

"The road ahead is long, and it's only natural to pause occasionally."

"But... we still have to keep going, there's no need to worry about it."