"Improving one's martial arts is undoubtedly the simplest path! But how should I train? Rely on Matthew Reed?"

After thinking it over and over, it seemed that the most reliable thing was not Matthew Reed, but rather the iron token hanging at his waist—the so-called secret that, once comprehended, would allow one to become a top expert, was clearly referring to this expert cultivation system.

With this system, it seemed he no longer needed to worry about lacking a master’s guidance. But what exactly was the deal with this permission?

After returning home and closing the door, William Foster, in order to confirm something, deliberately searched for a dry blade of grass, lit it, and only then took out the iron token.

Holding the token in his hand, almost as soon as the thought arose, his vision blurred, and when he looked again, he was already inside that space.

"Looks like entering the space is really quite convenient!"

Looking ahead, that screen seemingly suspended in midair appeared before him once again. However, this time, there was no welcome message; instead, a selection screen appeared.

Names of various sects such as Haisha Gang, Five Phoenix Blades, and Divine Fist Sect were listed, and at the very top of the screen was a line: The options available for the user's permission level are as follows.

The message was brief, but the information was very clear: with William Foster's current user permissions, the only sects he could choose from were this bunch of miscellaneous, minor sects.

"Isn't there a more reliable sect?"

He searched back and forth for a long time, but still couldn't find anything familiar. The only one that rang a bell was "Divine Fist Sect."

Come to think of it, it was a surprise that William Foster even remembered Divine Fist Sect. In the original work, Divine Fist Sect was hardly worth mentioning. Although their sect leader at least announced his name, that was all—he was instantly killed by the Golden-Haired Lion King Xie Xun in just a few moves, gloriously meeting his end.

Logically, such a minor character shouldn't be remembered by anyone, but when this guy appeared, he boasted so arrogantly that, in that era of information overload, a bunch of bored people started all kinds of wild speculation, forcibly elevating this sect leader to a ridiculous level.

That's why William Foster had some impression of this sect leader. After looking around, he found that Divine Fist Sect was the only somewhat reliable option.

The fact that the Divine Fist Sect leader could withstand three punches was one factor—at least he had a name and some reputation.

Moreover, all of this leader's skills were in his fists, and since William Foster already had the Wild Ball Fist technique, he had laid a foundation in fist and palm techniques. At this point, it was best to continue focusing on fists and palms, rather than being greedy for other things.

William Foster knew his own aptitude wasn't top-tier, and he was well aware that being greedy leads to biting off more than one can chew, so focusing on one category was more suitable.

"Choose Divine Fist Sect!"

After a few tries, he finally confirmed that this system was "voice-activated." William Foster was certain of one thing: the system couldn't directly read his thoughts.

"Confirming selection of Divine Fist Sect. Please pay points to exchange for a mentor. Before graduation, you cannot choose a mentor outside of Divine Fist Sect!"

Hearing this, William Foster was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the screen: "What does this mean?"

Although it was unexpected that exchanging for a mentor would require points, it wasn't entirely unforeseen. William Foster still remembered that his first mentor, Charles Bennett, was given to him for free.

If simply upgrading permissions allowed for exchanges, then there would be no need for free gifts. Since there are freebies, there must also be paid options. Now it seemed the system's currency was points.

But he hadn't expected there to be such a ridiculous "graduation" requirement.

"Does this mean that if I haven't mastered the skills of the Divine Fist Sect leader, I can't change mentors?"

This time, the system finally responded. A message appeared on the screen: After the user selects a sect, before meeting the graduation criteria, the user can only choose mentors from within that sect. Only after graduation can the user switch to a different sect!

Now it was clear: once you choose a sect, you can't change it until you graduate—in other words, only when your current sect's mentors have nothing left to teach you are you allowed to seek a new master.

"This system even follows the rules of the martial world?"

Having read many wuxia novels, William Foster naturally understood that this was a common saying in the martial world—once you take a master, even if there’s a better one, you can’t just switch at will, because a master is to be respected like a father.

Only with your current master's approval can you take a new master—or, in other words, when your master says: I have nothing more to teach you, go seek a greater expert!

This latter situation is what's called "graduation"! Of course, some famous sects in the martial world have different definitions of graduation. For example, the renowned Shaolin Temple—want to graduate? First, fight your way through the Wooden Men Alley!

As for sects like Wudang and Kunlun, although they don't have a graduation system, their martial arts are enough to keep people training for a lifetime, so naturally, there's no talk of graduation.