"I've heard they are a very mysterious, yet incredibly powerful force."
"Still, I never expected that the little young master would actually know them."
Lord Yuwei said.
"Lord Yuwei, do you happen to know where the Ancient Battle Clan resides now? What kind of strength do they truly possess?"
Chu Feng asked out of curiosity.
"I'm afraid I don't know. However, an elder of our Golden Dragon Flame Sect once encountered a member of the Ancient Battle Clan."
"According to that elder, the clan member he met was not only formidable in strength but also remarkably generous in spirit. Beyond that, there was nothing else known."
"Little young master, since you've already obtained a secret technique from the Ancient Battle Clan, wouldn't you be familiar with them?"
Lord Yuwei asked in return.
Chu Feng then explained to Lord Yuwei how he had come to obtain the Ancient Battle Clan's secret technique.
"By all accounts, the Ancient Battle Clan's guardian secret technique should not be this weak."
"Unless the secret technique you obtained is not genuine."
Lord Yuwei said.
"Not genuine?"
Chu Feng was somewhat puzzled.
"It may have had its power stripped away, or it could be a counterfeit technique altogether — a replica rather than the original." Lord Yuwei said.
"Secret techniques can be counterfeited?"
Chu Feng was surprised. If someone had stripped away its power, he could believe that, but counterfeiting a secret technique — this was the first time he had ever heard such a thing.
"I've heard that certain powerful secret techniques can indeed be replicated through specific means."
Lord Yuwei said.
"Is that so?"
"It's a shame I can no longer communicate with the Ancient Battle Sword. Otherwise, it might have known."
Chu Feng sighed.
Secret techniques possessed their own consciousness. Before fusion, they not only wielded tremendous power but could also take on a living form to communicate with people.
However, once they submitted to a master, most ceased communication. Some were restricted and could no longer speak, while others simply chose not to.
Chu Feng wasn't sure which category the Ancient Battle Sword fell into, but regardless, after it had submitted to him, he had been unable to communicate with it ever again. It was as though it had lost all awareness, becoming nothing more than a pure offensive tool in his hands.
"If it is a counterfeit, even if it could communicate with you, it would be useless. It would possess the same awareness as the original — it would even consider itself to be the original."
"However, since it cannot merge with that talisman, the secret technique is most likely too weak. In my estimation, its rank has not reached the Sovereign level."
Lord Yuwei said.
"The Sovereign level?"
"Lord Yuwei, secret techniques have ranks?"
Chu Feng was taken aback, because from what he knew, secret techniques were not like martial skills — while they varied in strength, they did not possess a ranking system.
"Did the little young master not know that secret techniques do in fact have ranks?" Lord Yuwei asked.
"I've… never heard anyone say that secret techniques have ranks. Is that really true?" Chu Feng asked.
"If there is a difference in strength, then naturally there must be a ranking system."
"Secret techniques are simply a bit special, making it difficult to determine their exact level."
"But in reality, they do have ranks."
"From what this old servant knows, secret techniques are classified into five ranks from weakest to strongest: Emperor, Ancestor, Immortal, Sovereign, and God."
"My Phoenix Dance Heavenly Technique is a Sovereign-rank secret technique."
"The little young master's secret technique, since it cannot merge with that talisman, is most likely below the Sovereign rank."
Lord Yuwei said.
"Lord Yuwei, do you know how one determines the exact rank of a secret technique?"
Chu Feng asked curiously — he genuinely wanted to know what rank the secret techniques he possessed held.
"The Seven Realms Sacred Ground has a method of determination, and apart from them, there are also some Spirit World Masters who possess methods to assess the rank of secret techniques."
"But I've heard that each person's method of assessment differs, and sometimes the results vary as well. That is why the most authoritative determination recognized by the world at large comes from the Seven Realms Sacred Ground."
Lord Yuwei said.