Some light began to appear near the horizon as the night gave way to day. Under the birdsongs, Li Nianfang walked out of his room. Xiao Bai offered him the accoutrements for washing up in a professional manner while greeting him. Li Nianfang thanked him with a smile.
“By the way, didn’t Dragin and others say they want to do the morning exercises with me? Go wake them up now,” instructed Li Nianfang.
“Yes, dear master.”
Soon after, under Li Nianfang’s lead, they began to practice tai-chi in the four-part architecture. Their movements were gentle, graceful and pleasing to the eyes. Doing so can strengthen their bodies, stabilize their emotions, and sharpen the mind. It was guaranteed to make them feel better after a round of tai-chi.
Daji and the others stood behind Li Nianfang and followed his every move. They felt each of the moves to be imbued with the rhythm of Wisdom as if they were holding the whole world in their hands. Each of their gestures were so harmonious that they felt like the wind blowing through the sky with a hand movement and the water flowing down the ground with a lift of their foot. Their tai-chi practice was more like a dance than an exercise.
Exercise never felt more comfortable than this. Actually, they never ever felt more comfortable than they were now. They had no doubt that they would be able to give out a more powerful attack than the usual in this state. They were all in harmony with the universe’s flow and knew that everything they do now would be easier than ever. Daji and Fire Phoenix’s eyes were glazed over with a shred of clarity. They were totally immersed in the drunkenness of it all.
“Is this what Wisdom feels like?” Although the concept of Wisdom was intangible, they felt as if it was flowing through their fingertips. However, when they tried to grab hold of the feeling, it disappeared like the wind. So close and yet so far. They started to become frustrated but not for long because they were still practicing tai-chi which had the ability to calm one’s heart.
One would surely come face-to-face with many perils during the path of cultivation. Therefore, one should always be on their toes for there existed a fine line between heaven and hell. Since the beginning of time, there had been many talented fighters who fell like a meteor. Only a handful ever lived out the rest of their natural lives. This was because Wisdom could be found everywhere but it was also easy to lose oneself in the search for it.
Just then, Daji and Fire Phoenix nearly lost themselves and gave in to madness. They were that close to becoming a slave in the search of Wisdom. It was no wonder there were not many Wisdom Elite in the world. It was a good thing Li Nianfang was willing to teach them this Wisdom Sacred Fist to better help us comprehend Wisdom.
As for Dragin and the others, they did not have the same worry as Daji and Fire Phoenix for their cultivation was still shallow. They were still a long way away from Daji and Fire Phoenix. But even also, they could feel Wisdom nourishing them which deepened their enlightenment as their mana flowed around them in a harmonious manner. They, too, felt one with the universe.
They had a sudden impulse in their heart — the impulse to create a new world! This meant that they were infinitely closer to becoming a Wisdom Elite. Shi Tuqin and Qin Manyun glanced at each other. Even though they had been with the expert for quite some time, there were still times when they would be totally awed by him. Never in a million years would they think they would be able to grow to such a cultivation level and in a few months to boot! They were deeply honored to be chosen as the expert’s music apprentice and calligraphy apprentice and were willing to serve him anyhow in order to not disappoint him.
Li Nianfang finished the last set of movements and smiled. “That’s the last of the move. Let’s prepare breakfast now.” He turned around and saw Fire Phoenix and Daji standing unmoving at where they were with a dumbfounded expression on their faces. “Little Daji, what are you thinking about?”
Daji sighed and replied, “Master, I was wondering how can we confirm the existence of Wisdom if we cannot see it?” She was deeply troubled and close to giving up. She suddenly felt that Wisdom was very far from her and did not know if she would be able to grasp it.
Li Nianfang was surprised by her philosophical question. He went silent, thinking about how to answer her. However, his thinking was interrupted by a knock from outside.
“It is I, Xiao Chengfeng, requesting an audience with Lord Saint.”
Li Nianfang ordered Xiao Bai to open the door. Immediately, in walked Xiao Chengfeng, Yang Jian and Jiang Liu. Jiang Liu was there to deliver some firewood while Xiao Chengfeng and Yang Jian were there to deliver some game meat. They bowed respectfully to him once inside. “Greetings Lord Saint.”
“And greetings to you all too,” said Li Nianfang. “Please take a seat and excuse me for a while. I need to answer Little Daji’s questions first.”
Xiao Chengfeng and the other two asked him to go ahead but they did not sit down. Soon after, they heard Li Nianfang’s voice. “You were asking how we can prove the existence of Wisdom?” When they heard that, their hearts began to thump violently against their chest and they felt a numbing sensation on their scalp. They cheered at their good timing for they were excited to listen to the expert’s preaching as well. They were confident they would benefit greatly from it as well. Immediately, they focused all their attention on Li Nianfang with their ears sharpened.
Li Nianfang picked up a leaf, held it high above his head, and let go of it. “Little Daji, catch this leaf.”
Daji opened her hand and the leaf floated down her palm.
“Little Daji, can you predict the future?”
She shook her head.
“Then how did you know where to put your hand so the leaf will land in your palm?”
Everyone present went into shock. Their pupils shrank rapidly and they were instantly covered in goosebumps. It was a very simple matter, easily overlooked by anyone in their daily lives. So insignificant that no one would spend their time thinking about it and yet, it became an extraordinary matter when it was pointed out by Li Nianfang.
It was true, none of them had the ability to predict the future, and yet how did they know where the leaf was going to fall in the next moment? Both Daji and Fire Phoenix were filled with the sound of crashing waves, as if they were about to grasp something big.
“The falling leaf is like Dao and its trajectory is the path of Dao. Each and every thing under the universe has its own path. The ability to predict the future based on current events is called Wisdom,” explained Li Nianfang slowly. Then, he picked up the leaf again and said, “Little Daji, try catching the leaf again.”
Daji turned her palm upward again. Li Nianfang then gently blew the leaf when it was falling to change its path. This time, the leaf did not land in Daji’s palm but brushed against it before falling to the ground.
“Wisdom might be intangible but its path is tangible. We can even try to change its course to get the result we want,” said Li Nianfang. A shock went through everyone present as if they were struck by lightning.
“I understand what Wisdom is now! It has always been with us all along!”
“The expert managed to explain what Wisdom is in the simplest manner! Only a genius out of a genius would be able to do that.”
“Wisdom contains everything in the universe. We’ll be able to see into the past, present, and future once we’ve become enlightened!”
Daji and Fire Phoenix’ moods changed for the better. Previously, they felt very vulnerable when they could not grasp the concept of Wisdom. However, this did not seem to be the case anymore for they had broken through their bottlenecks. Their aura transformed wildly and their Qi vibrated through the Chaos. They were halfway to being a Wisdom Elite.
The others aura were transforming as well as their mana were crashing around like roaring tidal waves. Dragin, Nanan, Shi Tuqin, Qin Manyun, Xiao Chengfeng, Jiang Liu and Yang Jian all entered the Heavenly Realm. If word got out that something of this magnitude occurred in the four-part architecture in such a short span of time, it would surely shock the whole universe and be the talk of the town for days to come.
If Xiao Chengfeng and the other two were the one who told the story, it would surely end with — “And just like that we became fighters of the Heavenly Realm. You might not believe me but that was what really happened when by pure luck I was able to listen to the expert’s preaching.”
How could anyone believe when so many cultivators had been stuck at the level before the Heavenly Realm? After the shock came the jubilation. Although Xiao Chengfeng tried to restrain himself, he could not hide the huge grin on his face. Both he and Yang Jian had to work hard for this opportunity to deliver the game meat to the expert and it seemed like their hard work paid off.
After all, with all the recent happenings, they had realized their power was insufficient, which was a huge blow to the egotistical Xiao Chengfeng. ‘I did it! I broke through! Good job me. I bet now that I’ve entered the Heavenly Realm, only a handful of people in the whole of Chaos would be able to deflect my attack.’
“Mind sharing your happiness?” Li Nianfang asked Xiao Chengfeng.
Xiao Chengfeng stopped grinning and replied in an embarrassed tone, “I benefited a lot from your preaching just now and couldn’t help being so happy…”
“Lord Saint, we’re here to deliver some game meat to you,” Yang Jian said.
“There’s more?” Li Nianfang said with surprise.
Yang Jian and Xiao Chengfeng brought the Dragons inside and said, “Please take a look.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of Dragons. I never knew there were so many different types,” said a shocked Li Nianfang.
Apart from the silver dragons from last time, there was a dragon with a horse body, a dragon with double wings, a dragon with two heads… There were as many different types of Dragons as there were fishes in the ocean. He wondered whether they would taste different — would the Dragon Horse taste like Dragon meat or horse meat? He was drooling and could not wait to dig into their flesh.
“Where did you two get so many Dragons?” He asked. It was only a few days ago the first batch of Dragon meat arrived which he turned into cured meat. He never expected another batch to arrive so quickly.
“Truth to be told, last night all the Dragons in the Chaos joined forces to seek revenge for the previous batch of Dragons. It was a good thing all the sects in the Area of the Gods banded together and fought them off.”
“And you said this happened last night?” Li Nianfang asked with wide eyes. “How terrifying.” The Dragons must be here for Dragin and since he was the one who made their fallen comrades into cured meat, they were surely there for him too. It was a good thing he had a good relationship with everyone for them to be willing to protect him.
“Do you think they will come back for revenge again?” Li Nianfang asked in a concerned tone.
“There’s nothing to be worried about, Lord Saint. The Dragons had completely been subdued,” answered Yang Jian.
Li Nianfang breathed out a sigh of relief, “Thank you all for your hard work. Let’s get to cooking then! We’ll make these into cured meat and pass it out to the sects just like before. Especially the sects who helped fight off the Dragons. We need to show them our gratitude.”
Last night’s events just proved the importance of having friends. Li Nianfang was sure he would not have gotten a good night’s sleep if it were not for them. He decided then and there to spend more effort in building relationships so that he could depend on their help in the future.
Yang Jian nodded his head. “Yes, Lord Saint.”
Li Nianfang asked them to stay for breakfast before leaving. Once Yang Jiang and Xiao Chengfeng had left the four-part architecture, they could not hold back their smiles anymore. They quickly left the Fallen Immortal Mountain and flew straight back to the Heavenly Palace. Their strong aura and majestic mana created apparitions in the sky, catching the attention of everyone in the Heavenly Palace.
“No sh*t! Yang Jian and Xiao Chengfeng had broken through to the Heavenly Realm!” Shouted Juling Shen. His jaws nearly hit the floor.
Jade Emperor flew quickly over to him and said in wide-opened eyes, “How did the two of you do it? Did you receive some sort of guidance from the expert?” His voice was shaky with regret and envy.
“Your Majesty, need you ask? Isn’t it obvious?” Xiao Chengfeng said proudly. “The expert was preaching to Goddess Daji when we arrived and we were lucky to be able to listen to it too. And just like that we became fighters of the Heavenly Realm.”
“Yeah, it’s true. We didn’t feel anything and yet we really did break through!” Yang Jian echoed with a nod of his head. “Actually, I kinda envy the rest of you for we’ll never get to experience the pain going through a bottleneck.”
The Jade Emperor’s and the rest of the people’s faces puckered up as if he had eaten lemon.
“Please no more. I’ll start crying if you continue.”
“Hey, have some heart eh?”
“I should have gone too! I can’t believe I missed this chance. I’m so stupid!”
