22 Core 2 (1/2)
Garen walked to the side helplessly; he knew that his performance definitely did not qualify. There was a huge difference between half a minute and ten seconds. Previously, he was confident that he would become a high-class disciple after he learned the Explosive Fist Arts, but he didn’t expect that an examiner would be this strong. He thought to himself,
[Even if I fully unleash my power and fought without holding anything back, I still wouldn’t be able to defeat him.]
The opponent’s attacking speed was too fast, his strength was high, and the attack carried some kind of paralyzing effect. If someone was struck twice in the same location like Garen, then the result would already be determined at that point.
Bam! Bam!
Like Garen expected, the brawny man who went up next did not make it past the thirty second mark either. The man clutched his shoulder and got off of the stage.
The man with the mustache was at ease; he didn’t even sweat. He relaxed his fists and lightly said to the three people, ”Ok, the test is over. Your scores are far from qualifying. You guys still need to work hard. You are now dismissed.”
At this point, Garen realized that the examiner didn’t even use his full strength; fighting the three applicants was like a walk in the park for him. Garen tried to estimate the man with the mustache’s level and strength.
[He’s probably reached the maximum adult physical strength limit just like me, but he is way faster. His Explosive Fist Arts can’t be at the elementary level, it must be at the intermediate level or above. From his status, it seems like his White Cloud Secret Arts is also at the intermediate level or above. He is also very, very skillful in terms of fighting techniques.]
After comparing himself with the mustache man, Garen felt a little bit better.
The black-haired girl on the side stepped up when she saw the test was over.
”Teacher, can you tell us what level of fighter you are right now?”
”What level?” The man with the mustache smiled as he smoothed his wrinkled clothes. ”Do you know how fighters are ranked?” he asked.
The black-haired girl nodded and said, ”I only know the Grandmaster of Combat rankings that the Confederation uses.”
”That doesn’t count. That’s only the ranking for fake exhibition matches,” the examiner said. He became a bit excited and continued, ”I will tell you guys the ranking system that we have in our circle.”
He pointed out three fingers.
”The first level are ordinary people who know a little fighting technique, or people who are interested in learning. This level also includes special forces from the military who are able to easily take care of one or two hooligans. We call this level Amateur.
”These amateurs are probably our dojo’s primary source of income, right?” The brawny applicant continued where the man with the mustache left off.
”That’s right. Because these hobbyists are excited to train, they are willing to spend money, just like how you guys got started. Also, the masters in our industry would sometimes be invited to teach at an influential or powerful amateur’s home, which is how the network in the industry originated. When a master is looking for a disciple, potential and physical requirements are only part of the equation; family background is also very important.
”That makes sense,” Garen nodded. ”It’s impossible for a master to teach people for free and also offer free food and accommodations. After all, masters are people too and still need money to live.”
”I know some of it.” The black-haired girl continued, ”Our White Cloud Dojo operates like this and our Dojo Master is a wealthy merchant who runs a huge corporation.
”You are all formal disciples and you guys might teach other people martial arts in the future. Therefore, I’ll give you guys some hints.” The man with mustache nodded as he said, ”There are two types of disciples you should look for.”
He pointed out his index finger.
”One is the disciple who has a robust background with either money or influence. These type of disciples are there for the purpose of coverage and increased influence in the industry. They don’t have to be strong, but they have to be beneficial for the master’s brand.”
Then he pointed out the second finger.
”Next, there are the real inheriting disciples. The key traits to look for are potential and the fundamentals. They should be taught with all care since they would need to step up in the future when the master gets old and weak and can’t fight anymore. They need to be strong to maintain the reputation and the status of the dojo brand in the industry, so the brand doesn’t become a stepping stone for other people.
”The selection process for heritage disciples is very rigorous; it's very different from teaching other disciples. Many heritage disciples came from bad family backgrounds, so the master needed to be there to cultivate them. This kind of master-disciple relationship would be the most solid; it would be very close to a parent-child relationship. Eventually, the strongest heritage disciple would inherit everything that the master had. The other disciples would become the backbone of the brand.
”Therefore, you guys have to pay attention to these criteria when you’re looking for a disciple. If you want to cultivate disciples properly, you have to have money and resources.”
After he said that, the man with mustache fell silent for a moment and seemed like he was recalling something.
”Right. We were talking about the ranking for the fighters, how did we end up here?” He quickly snapped out of it. He smiled and said, ”Let’s focus on the rankings. Amateurs can be considered at the bottom. One level higher would be the professionals; the professional fighters who were trained from a young age. This becomes more complicated and ranges from people who are able to fight off three to five hooligans to people who are not afraid when faced with a dozen people to a few dozen people. As long as firearms are not involved, fighters in this rank can handle it. No one knows how strong someone is in this rank unless they fight them first hand. Most people can only estimate someone’s strength by using their fame and influence. Oh, the Confederation’s five ranks from A to E also applies here. For example, I’m considered an E rank. The letter ranks represent the degree of ability.”
”The smaller ranks within the amateur level are ranked from 1 to 9. Letter ranks are only used when someone is at a higher rank than amateur.
”Above the professionals, there are the Dojo Masters. People rarely achieve this rank in the industry. You are not a Dojo Master if you simply open up a Dojo; it’s more complicated than that. Dojo Master represents a completely different level.
”Are people in this rank the same people who are able to break a gigantic green boulder with one punch?” The brawny man’s eyes shined.