Martial Arts World beginner guide: first quests and gates

Report to the constable after the introduction, then follow the main story through M → Journey. When the story asks for a higher level, use side quests or suitable enemies to gain cultivation. If your cultivation bar reaches a stage bottleneck, advance through it before turning in more quests for experience.

Start with the constable and track your quest

1. Finish the report objective. Approach the constable, press E and complete the report dialogue until Quest completed appears.
2. Open Journey. Press M, choose Journey and track the main-story objective. Use its location marker to find your destination. On keyboard, N opens the map.
3. Accept useful side quests. Available quests have a red exclamation mark. Accepting another quest can change the tracked objective, so select the main story again in Journey when you want to resume it.

Keep returning to the main story as you progress. Regions two and three unlock through main-quest progress, so gaining levels is only part of reaching the next region.

Use the petty-thief quest to learn combat and equip loot

Once you have accepted the early petty-thief side quest, track it and follow its marker outside the town walls. You can fight these thieves with your starting fists.

On keyboard and mouse:

Watch enemy attacks, parry and strike during openings; reckless attacks leave you exposed. The combat guide covers fighting in more detail.

Pick up any loot the thieves drop. If you receive clothing, select it in Inventory and press Equip to wear it. Drops are conditional, so a clothing reward is not guaranteed from each enemy.

When the quest shows a check mark, return to its giver and finish the dialogue to complete it.

Clear the right gate when progress stops

When the main story sends you to Pill Master Yao, visit the Pill Pavilion and accept the quest. Walls and Gates asks you to inspect Cultivation, push through your next stage wall and learn what a breakthrough needs. Open M → Cultivation to work through those objectives.

If the story requires a higher level

Switch to a side quest in Journey or fight enemies you can handle to gain cultivation. The petty-thief quest is one early activity you can complete while learning combat. Once you meet the story's displayed level requirement and clear any stage wall you reach, track the main story again and continue.

For the early find the dead ground objective, follow the marker, visit the location and return. You do not need to defeat the higher-level boss there to finish that exploration objective.

If cultivation is at a bottleneck

Clear the stage wall before collecting more quest experience. At a bottleneck, your character cannot keep leveling until you advance, so continuing to turn in quests there wastes experience.

For the first Qi Refining bottleneck:

1. Open M → Cultivation when Advance to Middle Stage is available.
2. Choose that action, then press E or click as the moving ring meets the circle.
3. Complete the timing interaction and check that Cultivation now shows Middle Stage.

You can then continue gaining cultivation toward the next gate. See the cultivation guide for the broader progression system.

Before spending damage attribute points, check the scaling of the weapon and art you intend to use. Different weapons and art moves use different attributes, so choose your allocation around their listed scaling.

Finish the refine-any-pill objective

When the early objective asks you to refine any pill, Golden Wound Salve provides a workable recipe: Mountain Ginseng + Mountain Ginseng.

1. Gather two Mountain Ginseng plants from around the map.
2. Use an alchemy cauldron and select Mountain Ginseng for both ingredients.
3. Press Refine.
4. Press E or click as the moving ring meets the circle to complete the craft.

Crafting the salve completes the pill-refining objective. Return to Journey afterward and select your main story if another accepted quest has taken over tracking. For more combinations, use the pill recipes guide.

Prepare for your first realm breakthrough

As you approach the move from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, the Your first breakthrough panel lists these requirements:

• A full cultivation bar.
• A Foundation Establishment Pill.
• The boss key from Old Scarback, Old Scarback's Broken Tusk.

The panel also lists optional offerings of up to three treasures. Use Open Cultivation to inspect your preparation.

One way to obtain the pill is to speak to Pill Master Yao, choose Browse wares and buy the Foundation Establishment Pill when it is offered and you have enough silver. Old Scarback's Broken Tusk is a drop from Old Scarback; a single kill does not guarantee it.

The breakthrough guide covers that next milestone in more detail.