I created the Anomaly Control Bureau

Chapter 894, 889. Secret Teachings of Masters
"Phew." Maren let out a long sigh and placed the book beside him.

This thing is just as illogical as martial arts itself, and may even be more illogical. Ma En strongly suspects that this is the work of that divine fist, or if it isn't, it is the work of a very powerful martial artist.

For example, a disciple of the Divine Fist.

Before he could even react, Ma En felt a tremendous change happening in his mind—at least his perception of martial arts had undergone such a dramatic transformation.

Before reading this book, he was a confused "future" person, but after reading it, he even had the basic common sense about martial arts that was no less than that of martial artists in the past.

In the realm of martial arts, he has already stepped into this world with one foot in.

This made him immediately realize the true value of the book.

That's right, the real value of this book isn't that it will make his future martial arts training smoother, since he probably won't have time to master any unparalleled martial arts skills anyway.

However, as something that can transcend the boundaries between past and present martial arts, this book should make Li Hongyu realize the differences between her martial arts and those of the past, and there must be many wonderful aspects in it that she can absorb.

If Maren's speculation is correct, the author of this book should be a Rank VI martial artist.

This thing can be used as a stepping stone to Li Hongyu and gain her trust. Even if he fails to take the secret manual of the Heaven-Shifting Hand this time, he won't really leave empty-handed.

After finishing this book, Marx and Engels immediately started reading several other books.

"Stepping on Clouds," "Sand Hands," and "The Righteous Mind Method"

These books all had the same cover and none of them had a publisher or author. They were probably "illegal publications" privately printed by the martial arts school. Ma En flipped through them and found that this was indeed the case.

Although it is not explicitly stated, these books all mention that these martial arts belong to the Liu Family Martial Arts School. Some are completely original martial arts created by the school, while others are improvements on other martial arts. Moreover, all the books mention that these martial arts should not be passed on to outsiders.

However, none of these books mentioned who the authors were, and after a quick glance, Ma En lost interest in them, as they were clearly not particularly advanced martial arts techniques.

These are truly basic martial arts techniques, clearly intended for those who have never practiced martial arts. Ma En suspected that even if one mastered these techniques, it might not be possible to smoothly advance to the second rank.

Furthermore, Ma En could also see that the authors who wrote these manuals were not very skilled, far below the author who wrote the introductory book on martial arts, and not as sophisticated as the Longevity Fist.

However, these books are not without value, as they are divided into two categories.

The first two martial arts books are about certain techniques, but the last one, the Right Mind Method, is about the mind. The difference between the two martial arts is also explained in the introduction to martial arts.

That's what the writer said:
"There is no difference between techniques and mental cultivation methods. Many powerful techniques are mental cultivation methods, and vice versa. Moreover, even independent mental cultivation methods and techniques are actually no different, but most martial artists find it difficult to realize this before they enter the Acquired Realm."

"The concepts of mental techniques and physical forms in martial arts are easy to understand. What's truly difficult to understand is that independent mental techniques and physical forms are completely indistinguishable martial arts, because there are no mental techniques or physical forms in the world, only martial arts itself. The so-called mental techniques and physical forms are just ways of referring to certain martial arts, just as physical forms can be subdivided into sword techniques, footwork, fist techniques, and palm techniques."

"Many martial artists may have questions. They often learn martial arts that have corresponding mental techniques and moves. This can lead them to mistakenly believe that moves are moves and mental techniques are mental techniques, because they have become two separate parts of a certain 'martial arts'. But the reality is not what they think."

"Those are not matching mental techniques and moves, but two different martial arts that just happen to be suitable for learning and practicing at the same time. Often, they are created for this purpose."

"But the martial artists who create this kind of martial art are precisely those who don't understand the mental techniques and moves. A martial artist who truly understands the essence can achieve both effects with a single martial art. Of course, many martial artists are not really unable to understand this, but simply lack the talent to combine them into one."

"But as a martial artist, you must first understand what is right. That way, even if you embark on the wrong path later, it will be alright. That is your choice as a martial artist. But you must never walk down this path in a daze."

"Getting back to the main topic, it's time for us to talk about the common misunderstandings people have. Those martial artists who can't see the essence of martial arts often divide it into two types. The moves are easy to understand, so I won't go into detail."

"The so-called martial arts called mental techniques have several characteristics. First of all, they are often not martial arts used to fight and kill others. In other words, they are a coward's martial arts. The effect of this coward's martial arts is that it can allow these martial artists to modify and strengthen their own bodies."

"Let me add a couple more words. If you really want to learn the mental techniques, you should also learn the kind of martial arts that combines techniques with mental techniques, because most mental techniques that exist independently are often putting the cart before the horse."

"The mental techniques should be formed naturally in the moves. A martial artist should only think about how to kill the opponent with a sword, not about how to strengthen his body through breathing. But I digress. Let's get back to the main point."

"Besides being a martial art used solely to enhance one's own abilities, mental techniques have another characteristic: unlike techniques, they cannot be learned indefinitely. Although techniques may conflict with each other, such situations are rare. However, mental techniques are martial arts practiced continuously over a long period of time, so it is easy to run into problems if you practice multiple mental techniques simultaneously."

"Moreover, even if you practice different mental techniques, problems may still arise, because mental techniques are specifically designed to change a nearly blank body, but since you have already practiced a mental technique, your body is no longer blank."

"Therefore, if you want to learn different mental techniques, you must study them carefully and have other fools help you test which mental techniques are suitable for replacement before you can learn different mental techniques one after another, or use different mental techniques at the same time."

"Ultimately, the difference between mental techniques and other martial arts is that other martial arts are all about fighting against opponents, often different opponents."

"Moreover, even if you are dealing with the same opponent, you don't need to worry about different martial arts having any special or wonderful reactions on him, because that is often a good thing for you."

"But mental techniques are martial arts used on one's own body, and they are always used on the same body. So naturally, the body affected by different mental techniques will have problems. So in the end, you still have to understand that learning mental techniques in martial arts is like taking shortcuts that you are destined to pay a price for."

"Except for geniuses who have their own judgment, I don't recommend anyone else learn the mental cultivation method..."

This is the writing style of authors who write about martial arts for beginners.

He was supposed to be explaining the difference between mental techniques and physical moves, but instead he made a lot of criticisms of this classification. He didn't explain the real principles behind it in detail, and in the end he still explained the difference between mental techniques and physical moves.

But this already reveals many things that Maren should think about. He believes that there are some genius martial artists who already know a lot about martial arts, and they will definitely be greatly inspired after seeing the contents of the book.

It was this period that made Ma En give up his idea of ​​practicing the mental techniques.