Chapter 046 – Shadow Blood, Shadow Bones, and Life Chronicle
“Any cultivation technique, if you want to gain entry, comes down to two approaches. The first is to comprehend it on your own—enlightenment, as you would call it. The second is to practice relentlessly—training.
“Enlightenment means discovering it within yourself. All these arts were created by people. If others could devise them, why can’t you? Keep that mindset. Don’t become a puppet of a technique; become its master. Even common folk, if they do something long enough, can attain their own enlightenment.
“I once saw an old man selling oil in a busy market. He poured oil through a coin’s center hole, yet not a drop touched the coin. I also witnessed a butcher who could carve up an ox with a swish and a swipe as though playing a tune; the blade never dulled, yet the ox fell apart on its own. These people discovered their own enlightenment simply by refining their everyday tasks.
“Of course, most folks never get that chance. They never encounter that spark that leads to their own art. Or if they do catch a glimpse, they can’t see the path beyond the basics, let alone reach the pinnacle. That’s why we need lineage—the knowledge once conceived by individuals of astonishing talent.
“This inherited knowledge is divided into cultivation technique and skills. The cultivation technique is the foundational art. Break through in cultivation, and you rise to a higher realm. Skills are the applied art. Strengthen your skills, and you’ll learn to fully draw out your power.
“And there’s yet a third factor, which is the weapon. A good weapon supports the strength you’ve cultivated and may even help you unleash power beyond your limits. Rumor has it there exist mystical and divine weapons—nothing like the ordinary blades we know. But if your own level isn’t high enough, those weapons will be useless in your hands. Worse yet, they could turn on you.”
Senior Li lounged on his recliner, speaking passionately as if lecturing before a class. All around their little pavilion, the black market swelled with foot traffic, people surging to and fro. The pavilion felt like an island unto itself.
Here, Senior Li paid no heed to the respectful greetings of passersby calling him. He was fully absorbed in instructing his new direct disciple on these fundamental truths.
From the focus in Li Yuan’s eyes, Senior Li could tell this country-bred youth had never learned proper martial theory. No one had ever explained such things to him.
Senior Li’s heart warmed. Though his eyes remained half-closed, an added sense of closeness blossomed between them. The relationship between master and disciple could sometimes mirror that of lovers. There was something uniquely precious about the first time.
Their conversation continued in a question-and-answer style.
“Master,” Li Yuan asked softly, “I’d like to know more about the realms of cultivation.”