The world lay in desolation, and the sky was dim.
Apart from the surging waves of the Nu River and the red breakers that rose from time to time, the entire world was fast asleep.
Li Mu Yang still kept the routine he had developed in Jiangnan. He rose early, first circulating the Body-Breaking Technique through the eighteen major and minor celestial circuits according to the outline he had set for himself, then sitting before the desk to copy the calligraphy of the ancients.
He studied and pondered the works of Zhang Xu, Huaisu, Li Si, Zhang Zhi, Zhong You, and the Two Wangs. What he liked best was the running script of Wang Xizhi, the Sage of Calligraphy. He loved the feeling of those beautiful, fluid strokes leaping vividly onto the paper one after another.
Li Mu Yang knew this might have been influenced by that old senior, because the basic dragon-race skill he had learned was Command Clouds and Rain. Both skills emphasized the word "flowing."
Li Mu Yang's handwriting had once been ugly, and he had disliked writing. Ever since he discovered that his script was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye, he had grown increasingly fond of it.
It followed the same principle as ugly people disliking mirrors!
After copying the Treatise on Yue Yi once more, Li Mu Yang began to bathe and change clothes. Then he held the Profound Truth Scripture and read it softly atop a stone in the courtyard.
Sometimes he read aloud, sometimes he remained silent, but more often than not, he wore a dazed, absent-minded expression.
Buddhism emphasized sudden enlightenment through karmic opportunity, while Daoism emphasized letting nature take its course.
In other words, hard work was not necessarily useful. Perhaps even staring blankly could lead one to