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It would make sense for the Green Lotus Technique to reach the leading man and leading lady of this world. But Ren didn’t think much of that. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have cared too much; it has been made public after all, and with the world system’s heavy endorsement, it’s normal.

Whether his creation helps or ruins the leading man, Ren couldn’t bring himself to care right now. He’s more focused on advancing his training and making the most out of his gifts.

The Nine Echoes Technique, the Golden Fleece Technique, and the Calm Spirit Technique had served him well. They bolstered his foundation and allowed him to learn more about how to use his raw power more efficiently.

But moving forward, these three wouldn’t be enough.

After all, they are just a cut above the basics, just slightly more complex but still pretty easy to learn.

As for the original version of the Pain Demon Art, forget about it. He already made something better. Nobody in the Banished Arms Clan would pick the old one over the new version.

But even with this, it’s still not enough for Ren’s arsenal of combat techniques. So, he turned his attention to the clan’s martial hall. With the clan leader’s badge on hand, he had no resistance viewing mortal-grade martial arts techniques on the 4th floor.

There were quite a few here. The clan collected some throughout history. Some were old and very outdated; others were fairly new but weak and shallow.

Ren spent a whole afternoon here just flipping through techniques and ended up becoming dissatisfied.

The ones he found weren’t bad. They’re really not. But there’s nothing there that really called out to him, you see.

Most of the mortal-grade martial arts he saw were a set of punches and kicks. If not, they’re heavily reliant on chakra cost to simply overwhelm enemies.

The concept was too simple for Ren’s liking. He wanted something that had more finesse. Something that would allow him to make better use of immense and still-growing raw power, not just because he wanted to, but because he needs to.

With the stacked bonuses of his martial physiques, Ren was pretty much guaranteed to never have to worry about having enough raw power to match his peers.

But as experts usually say, power without control and control without power are equally dangerous.

Ren needed something more, but it’s obvious that the 4th floor doesn’t have what he needs.

Therefore, he went to the fifth floor.

Although he did say that he wouldn’t bite off more than he could chew, Ren had his needs. If that couldn’t be met in the lower floors of the martial hall, then to the upper floors he goes.

The 5th floor contains stronger mortal-grade martial arts techniques and three earth-grade martial arts techniques.

Seeing this, Ren was initially excited. He thought that surely, the Earth Grade martial arts would be more complex and would fit his demands, right?

Well, they turned out to be a disappointment too.

Don’t get this wrong. Although the strength amplification of those three earth-grade martial techniques was indeed high, and they’re certainly more complex compared to the mortal-grade martial arts, they’re still too ’simple’ and ’primitive’ to Ren.

He even went to the 6th floor of the martial hall just to confirm his guesses, and well...

’No, this won’t do at all.’ Ren shook his head. ’They’re too bad.’

This made him sigh. Reading through all the manuals he came across, he understood something that made him feel slightly depressed.

It’s not that the accumulation of the clan was weak; it’s because they’re being held back by their aberrant martial physique. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Yes, it all goes around to this eventually.

The Banished Arsenal Martial Physique was truly holding back and limiting the growth of the clan.

Why is this, you may ask? It’s because unarmed combat arts—really strong, complex, and very rewarding ones at that—are extremely rare. And Ren could already tell that the clan doesn’t have something like that.

It’s the reason why, despite qualifying as an ancient martial arts clan, the Banished Arms Clan were disdained and barely holding on to their land at the edges of the Central City. The only reason why they’re still here was because the clan offered valuable services, not because they’re strong.

Their ancient lineage isn’t respected, unlike those who were younger than them. And it’s all because there are barely strong folks that held up the helm of the clan. And strong people have strong martial arts, but with the Banished Arsenal Martial Physique holding the clansman back, they could only rely on luck to come across high-grade martial techniques that can be used unarmed or rely on the accumulation of generational knowledge to make one themselves.

And with what Ren saw just now, he could almost say that the clan had been unlucky to not have both.

Ren didn’t even go to the 7th floor and beyond. He didn’t have the heart to endure the ’poverty’ of his martial clan.

Instead, he returned to his house, sat down, and pondered.

After about 15 minutes of silence, Ren let out a heavy sigh. And when he opened his eyes again, his pupils gleamed with a fierce and determined light.

’If the clan doesn’t have what I need, then I’d rely on myself instead.’

’I have the foundations to do it. I am gifted with this incredible talent to do so. And I have already done it, twice, even! Who can say that I can’t make more? ’

Nobody. That’s who.

That’s right. Ren decided that if the clan doesn’t have what he needs, he’d make it himself. With his unparalleled comprehension geared and ready to go, Ren wasn’t afraid of trying.

He already had an experience, and his work was being praised by the entire human civilization. Of course they don’t know that it’s him, but that’s not important.

The point is, Ren made something incredible from the morsels provided to him: he turned the Pain Demon Art from trash to treasure solely by relying on information left by the founder. He made the Green Lotus Core Technique by relying on his knowledge about yoga and Pilates while adding his world’s core and valuable concepts.

Ren used tidbits of information as a base to make two incredible martial arts. One was being praised by his clan, and the other, by the entire human race.

He refused to believe that he couldn’t replicate this success.

And you know what’s even better? Ren’s merit points.

He received 5 million merit points as one of his rewards for creating the Green Lotus Core Technique.

Merit points had more spending power than Grand Martial Credits. Ren could potentially buy anything with enough merit points, but the same couldn’t be said for credits.

Ren could buy information, martial theories, incomplete techniques of unarmed martial arts, video lessons from experts themselves, or anything that he thinks would be valuable to create better martial arts. So long as he had enough merit points and the cost was reasonable, he could and would probably buy them.

If Ren could make martial arts that could be praised by the entire world with just morsels and tidbits of information, imagine what he could do with more profound and deeper knowledge.

Others would probably say that Ren was wasting precious merit points by buying these things, especially the martial arts theories, but for Ren, this is not a waste.

Sadly, his unparalleled comprehension was of the reasonable kind. He can’t just create martial techniques out of nothing or simply pure imagination, like the ones that other isekai’d MCs of the trashy cultivation novels he read in his previous life.

Ren had to have a knowledge base first, something closely related to what he’s trying to comprehend or create. It doesn’t have to be complete or profound, though. Just enough for a foundational base and direction. Once he has that, his talent will fill in the blanks.

Of course, the results will vary depending on how deep and profound his knowledge pool was. The deeper it was, the better the results would be, obviously.

That’s why he planned to buy all sorts of knowledge about martial theories, incomplete techniques, video lessons...Hell, he might even include martial arts that have severe side effects along too, just to broaden his horizons and prevent him from making something damaging to himself.

Fortunately, many martial artists look down on theories and all the other things he’s got his eyes on. For most people, martial arts is all about fighting. You learn what you’d need to learn in the heat of the fight.

If you live, you’re right. If you died, you’re wrong. It’s as simple as that.

That’s not really wrong, either. In a way, that’s how most of the martial arts theories are formed—by martial artists surviving a difficult fight, experiencing some kind of enlightenment while their lives are on the line.

But because martial arts flourished in this new era, and with the Martial Gods guarding the fate and destiny of the human race, creativity had slowed down.

To Ren’s advantage, that made the theories cheap. He practically bought anything that caught his eye, and he hadn’t even spent over 1000 merit points for it.