Jiang Yi did not know anything about zen. This time, he was forced to talk about it by the people around him. There was no way he could escape saying whatever came to his mind.
He had just been spouting nonsense, but he had gone through a lot after all. He had started out as a collateral disciple of a small clan. Then, he rose up to the peak of the Stellarsky Continent. From there, he traveled a long way to the East Imperial Continent. Throughout all the highs and lows, he saw the glory and the depths of hell.
He laughed and he cried. He was trampled upon like a dog by others. He cried his heart out from loneliness, conquered a million-strong army, drank the strongest of wines, played with the Butterfly Lady Race from the top ten divine furnaces… went to the Snow Region on his own and turned it upside down.
He had gone through what others might not even go through in ten lifetimes. Even he felt like he was getting old. This was all because his heart was thoroughly exhausted. He had a unique aura about him. This was because he had seen and experienced so much. It was natural for him to look like he was floating. He was no longer shocked by anything. Instead, he faced everything calmly. He smiled as he saw flowers bloom and fade, and he sat down as he watched the clouds roll up and loosen.
This was why he recalled the Heaven Paintings in the Painting Cliffs and the mysterious elder fishing. These memories caused him to realize something. He was spouting nonsense, but he ended up realizing true zen.
Yet!
What he did not know was that this realization of zen would be so moving for Yi Chan.
Yi Chan’s name had the word ‘zen’ in it[1]. Ever since she was young, she followed the Buddha Thearch around to learn about zen. She was so attractive precisely because she had an aura of zen about her. Her dharmic dao came naturally to her. Her heart had no desires. Instead, she floated around the earth like a divinity.
She looked down on everything under the heavens. Those people who learned zen were all somewhat related to her already. She always thought that all the men under heaven were commoners. To her, there was no such thing as a unique man who rose above the mortal world.
Yi Chan had deep realizations about zen. What She Fei said was absolute nonsense to her. In fact, she thought that it was an insult to what zen really was about. However, what Jiang Yi said cut right through to her heart. It came from his inner being and moved her greatly. What he said coincided with what she realized about zen as well. In fact, it seemed like there was… even more!
One could only imagine!
A self-sufficient woman who looked down on everything under the heavens and who thought that she knew everything there was to know about this dao… was outdone by a man. This man was also the only man she had ever taken a liking to. Of course, she would feel shaken to the core.
This was just like Feng Luan in the past. Feng Luan had always liked painting when she was young. She practiced her painting day and night and throughout the seasons. For decades, she trained hard. At last, Jiang Yi still came and outdid her. He even became the Art Thearch. To Feng Luan, this was a huge blow. She felt like she had been completely won over.
That was exactly how Yi Chan felt at that moment!
If Jiang Yi had outdone Yi Chan in other areas, perhaps she would not think too much of it. However, zen was the one area that Yi Chan was confident in. Jiang Yi had never learned about zen from anyone. He just stood up and came up with things as he went along, and yet he managed to realize more than she did over twenty years.
Every girl was soft inside. No matter how strong they were on the outside—in the deepest recesses of their hearts, they wanted a unique man who could completely win them over.
Finding this man brought Yi Chan to tears!
She was crying for herself, for Jiang Yi, and for their lives. A man who was worthy of Yi Chan had finally arrived, but it was impossible for them to ever be together. This was the most sorrowful story in the world. Yi Chan felt like her heart had been completely broken.
The moment Yi Chan began crying, She Fei became angry. The entire central hall broke into a flurry of movement once again.
None of them understood what Jiang Yi had said, but even Yi Chan was crying. This meant that Jiang Yi truly had a deep understanding of zen. Why else would there be streaks of tears flowing down the cheeks of the proudest woman in the world?
What’s more, all of them felt inner peace as they were listening to Jiang Yi. It felt like everything was right in the world. It was extremely rare for all of them to feel this immortal aura. Only a highly-skilled monk would have such extraordinary powers.
Just like that, everybody’s impression of Jiang Yi changed. They all looked at him with newfound respect. Even Zhan Tianlei, Ling Qijian, and the others looked at him in awe. She Fei was the only one whose gaze hardened. He glanced at Yi Chan and then turned back to look at Jiang Yi who was still sitting cross-legged. The color of his face alternated between green and white.
“Well said. Bring the wine over. I will keep my word and drink three bottles!”
She Fei suddenly burst, causing everybody’s ears to hurt. Jiang Yi who was still realizing zen, Yi Chan who had been crying, and Yin Ruobing who had been silent, were all jolted back to reality by him.
She Fei grabbed the wine from the golden table and lifted it high with one hand. He drank straight from the bottle. His movements were elegant, and he looked graceful even as he drank wine from the bottle. Bottle by bottle, She Fei downed the wine. It seemed like he did not even need to pause to take a breather before he finished three bottles of wine and opened his eyes to scan the crowd.
What surprised him was…
These people were not cheering for him. In fact, none of them looked in the least bit respectful or in awe as they normally did. Instead, they looked like they were mocking him. Yi Chan and Yin Ruobing’s eyes contained unmistakable hatred.
Sigh…
Zhan Tianlei and Ling Qijian exchanged a meaningful glance. Both of them sighed softly. She Fei had made himself look extremely bad this time. He was giving off the impression that he was afraid to lose out to Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi had been sitting cross-legged, deep in meditation. It was obvious that he had been realizing something. Yet, She Fei so shamelessly interrupted him. That Yi Chan would hate him was only natural…
As expected!
Yi Chan suddenly got to her feet and cupped her hands toward Yin Feihuang. Without saying another word, she left, leaving behind a lonely figure.
“Cousin, let’s return as well.”
Yin Ruobing obviously thought less of She Fei as well. She slowly got to her feet and cupped her hands toward Yin Feihuang before walking toward Jiang Yi. Zhan Tianlei quickly got up, but Yin Ruobing did not turn back. Instead, she said, “Young Master Tianlei, carry on drinking your wine. Ruobing is tired. I am going back to take a rest.”
Goddammit!
Anger welled up in Jiang Yi’s chest. He had faintly felt the presence of a dao pattern earlier, and he sat down cross-legged immediately in the hopes of grasping it. Yet, She Fei chased it away by force.
It was extremely hard for one to realize dao patterns. The stronger one got, the harder it became. Jiang Yi could feel that it was getting more and more difficult for him to realize dao patterns now. In the six months he took to travel from the Black Flag City to the Divine Sonar City, he did not even realize one low-grade dao pattern.
After so much effort, he was finally about to realize another dao pattern. If he had just a little bit more time, he was sure that he would have been able to realize the dao pattern. At least he would have been able to get started on it. In the future, he would be able to build upon that foundation and improve the realization. What was most important was that he faintly felt that the dao pattern presence was a huge one. It was at least a three-star dao pattern. Yet, the chance slipped out of his hands just like that.
He opened his eyes and got to his feet. He glared at She Fei, but She Fei was snarling back at him. Yi Chan was already gone by then. Naturally, there was no need for She Fei to act like a saint anymore.
“Forget it, Cousin. Let’s go!”
Yin Ruobing reached out and grabbed Jiang Yi’s hand. Jiang Yi’s heart jumped. Yin Ruobing’s hand felt like warm jade—it was way too comfortable. He calmed down immediately. There was no point in saying anything more now. All he could do was make a mental note of what happened today. He would settle the score in the future.
If I have the chance in the future, I will kill She Fei. He won’t even have the chance to turn the tables!
Jiang Yi made up his mind. He turned and grabbed Yin Ruobing’s hand before walking out. Zhan Tianlei felt uncomfortable upon seeing this. However, Jiang Yi was Yin Ruobing’s cousin now. He had no reason to feel jealous. He only felt uncomfortable because he had not even gotten the chance to hold that little hand, and yet some other man was doing so before him.
“Rascal, you better stay away from Yi Chan. Some women are not meant for rubbish like you.”
Just before Jiang Yi walked out of the central hall, he heard a cool voice in his ears. It was a voice transmission from She Fei. Jiang Yi paused and grinned. He turned around and made eye contact with She Fei, who was at the opposite end of the central hall. He shouted, “Young Master She Fei, before you mentioned it, I had no intention to chase Yi Chan. Now that you did, I’ve decided to go to her pavilion to discuss zen with her…”
[1] Chan is Mandarin for zen.
