Grass as a Ruler

The Punish Evil System's Merit Points currently had only one use: exchanging them for Enlightenment Time.

Enlightenment Time was divided into several levels.

The first level was Enlightenment Time: 100 Merit Points per second. It allowed one to see through one's actions and understanding, quickly discover one's former shortcomings, and improve upon them.

Once the accumulated duration of Enlightenment Time reached a certain amount, Merit Points could be exchanged for the second level.

The second level was Awakening Time, at 1,000 Merit Points per second.

The Manifestation of All Laws—this was awakening!

If using Enlightenment Time was like receiving the correct answers for comparison,

then using Awakening Time was equivalent to having a teacher break those correct answers down, explain and deepen them, and point out a bright path forward, allowing a cultivator to swiftly cross the process from nothing to something.

The effects of Awakening Time were astonishing!

Shen Zhui had cultivated the "Nine Layers of Iron Ruler" for two years. Even with the help of his experiences during Enlightenment Time, he still had been unable to reach Major Accomplishment Realm.

Yet after exchanging for and using twenty seconds of Awakening Time, he had reached the realm of Unity of Man and Weapon.

Of course, when a person ate seven buns to fill his stomach, the credit could not all be attributed to the seventh bun.

The accumulation of his insights into the Ruler Technique during Enlightenment Time had also played an indispensable role.

"With 38,500 Merit Points, I can exchange them for 385 seconds of Enlightenment Time.

"I can also exchange them for 38.5 seconds of Awakening Time. That isn't a small amount." Shen Zhui thought to himself.

Shen Zhui had originally planned to exchange for Awakening Time in order to pierce through the final layer of paper separating Flowing Cloud Steps from Major Accomplishment Realm.

But he had not expected that the ambush outside the city earlier would have forced his movement technique to break through to Major Accomplishment Realm between life and death, allowing him to save so many Merit Points.

"Now that I've broken through to the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm, and I've finished eating the Great Return Pill, there's no way for my cultivation to improve in the short term."

Shen Zhui rose from the bed and pulled out handfuls of straw from beneath the mattress, idly playing with them in his palm.

"My Ruler Technique and movement technique have both reached Major Accomplishment Realm. But with so many Merit Points in hand, I can still try to raise them a little further. I'll have to consider carefully how to use these Merit Points."

With a few twists and turns of his hands, he twisted a bundle of straw into the shape of a wooden stick.

He swung it twice, then nodded. At his level of Unity of Man and Weapon, the difference between a tree branch and a weapon was negligible when it came to cultivation and comprehension.

"My movement technique has only just broken through to Great Accomplishment Realm. Even if I exchanged all my Merit Points for Awakening Time now, I'm afraid I still wouldn't be able to break through to Perfection Realm. The Ruler Technique is the only one that still has a sliver of hope."

Shen Zhui pondered silently and soon made a decision.

First, he would divide the Merit Points into two portions. He would save 20,000 Merit Points to exchange for Awakening Time.

He would exchange the rest for Enlightenment Time and accumulate it slowly.

"I'll exchange for forty seconds of Enlightenment Time first and see how it goes."

With a thought, the Merit Points were deducted.

"Exchange successful. Enlightenment Time countdown begins: 39, 38, 37..."

Buzz~

A wondrous sensation descended.

It was as though a drowning person had suddenly surfaced and could finally breathe.

Even though he had experienced this sensation many times, Shen Zhui still found it incomparably wonderful.

Swish, swish, swish~

Shen Zhui sank into Enlightenment Time. Taking the straw stick as a ruler, he began cultivating the "Nine Layers of Iron Ruler."

The "Nine Layers of Iron Ruler" had a set of illustrations recording eighteen forms of Ruler Technique. They were methods meant to help cultivators comprehend the art.

Shen Zhui had long since committed these moves to memory. Now that he was using a straw stick as his weapon, they gave him an entirely different feeling.

"Whoosh~"

The straw stick dragged out layers of afterimages as it swept continuously with Shen Zhui's movements. Before long, its actual form could no longer be seen, as if Shen Zhui were holding nothing at all.

Sunlight streamed in through the window. The shadows of the stick and the man overlapped, blending into one seamless whole.

Shen Zhui naturally achieved the Major Accomplishment Realm of Unity of Man and Weapon.

Countless insights arose in his heart. Some of his former doubts were resolved with ease, but new doubts immediately emerged, prompting him to adjust...

"Enlightenment Time has ended."

The system notification rang out, but Shen Zhui did not stop. Instead, he continued practicing for a while before finally coming to a halt.

"Unity of Heaven and Man... What exactly counts as reaching the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man...?"

He glanced at the already battered straw stick in his hand, tossed it aside, and frowned as he closed his eyes to recall the sensation from earlier.

The feeling of leaving Enlightenment Time was unpleasant. It was as if someone who had just been rescued ashore had been thrown back into the water, leaving him with the sensation of drowning.

Before long, Shen Zhui opened his eyes and sat down again.

"Although I feel that I've made some progress, I'm completely clueless about how to cultivate that trace of Momentum within the Ruler Technique to the point where it can draw upon the Power of Heaven and Earth..."

There had been progress.

But this progress did not run vertically straight toward Perfection Realm. It spread horizontally instead.

"Whether in the books or according to Captain Wang, reaching the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man requires satisfying two conditions: complete control of one's strength and the ability to draw upon the Power of Heaven and Earth."

"But how are those two conditions achieved?"

Neither the books nor the Xiantian Master Wang Long, whom he had once consulted, had mentioned it.

It was not that they were unwilling to teach him. They simply had no way to teach him.

The Unity of Man and Weapon of Major Accomplishment Realm contained a trace of Momentum, such as Sword Momentum, Blade Momentum, and so on.

The feeling each person cultivated was vastly different.

With the same set of techniques, one person's Blade Momentum might be overbearing, while another's might be gentle... a thousand forms, ten thousand manifestations!

That made it impossible to offer direct guidance!

The Unity of Heaven and Man of Perfection Realm required one to harmonize this Momentum with Heaven and Earth and draw upon the Power of Heaven and Earth.

It was even more mysterious and obscure than Major Accomplishment Realm, so there was even less to say about it.

"Your master leads you through the door; cultivation depends on the individual..." Shen Zhui sighed. No matter what Martial Skills one cultivated, even the most powerful master could only guide one to Minor Accomplishment, infinitely close to Major Accomplishment Realm.

Beyond that, guidance still had some use, but one's aptitude became the main factor.

As for Perfection Realm, one could only rely on oneself.

It was like learning to swim. Even if someone explained every posture and key point perfectly, many people still could not learn.

Not to mention such an abstruse martial realm that was difficult to convey in words.

"Could it be because I've only just broken through, and my control over my strength is no longer complete? Is that why I don't even have the slightest clue?"

Shen Zhui felt that this was very likely.

So-called complete control of strength required a martial artist to control every trace of strength with extreme precision. Only then could one be considered to have achieved complete control.

Shen Zhui had actually been able to achieve complete control of his strength long ago.

Reaching Major Accomplishment in the Ruler Technique itself demanded extremely high control over force.

However, after breaking through to the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm, his strength had explosively increased by a small margin. He might need a period of adjustment to regain complete control.

After thinking for a while, Shen Zhui picked up a small fragment of stone from the ground and tossed it through the gap in the iron door.

"Clang~"

The stone did not pass through the gap. Instead, it veered slightly and struck the door panel above.

"So that's how it is." Seeing this, Shen Zhui shook his head with a smile.

His control over his strength was not precise enough. He could not even aim properly, let alone speak of anything else.

Earlier, he had thought the problem was that the weapon in his hand was too light. He had not expected to overlook this point.

"Looks like I still have to get used to the increase in my physical strength first."

Fortunately, the cell assigned to him was not small. It was more than large enough for Shen Zhui to practice his punches and kicks.

Without using Enlightenment Time again, Shen Zhui began training his control over force in the cell...

Days passed one after another. On the tenth day, Shen Zhui's control over his strength reached perfection.

Afterward, he folded straw into a ruler and continued practicing.

With the aid of Enlightenment Time, he summarized and improved the shortcomings in the "Nine Layers of Iron Ruler."

Before long, the Ruler Technique in Shen Zhui's hands gradually came to contain a profound meaning.

Although it was still far from reaching the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man... at least Shen Zhui felt that he was heading in the right direction.

Practicing with such single-minded dedication every day, without carrying out missions or thinking about anything else, made him feel that his progress was immense.

He drew closer to the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man bit by bit.

Even his movement technique, Flowing Cloud Steps, improved along with it.

Shen Zhui estimated that, as long as he did not face opponents more than two minor realms above him, he should have reached an eighty percent evasion rate.

On the twentieth day, as Shen Zhui continued exchanging for Enlightenment Time, his remaining Merit Points had fallen to just over 20,000.

The room was also filled with weeds that had been ruined through practice. The room, originally neat, clean, and spacious, had become a complete mess.

However, Shen Zhui still restrained his impulse and did not exchange for Awakening Time. He continued digesting what he had gained earlier.

These twenty days had been the period in his life when he had exchanged for Enlightenment Time most intensively. They had also been the period during which he had devoted himself most wholeheartedly to cultivating the Ruler Technique.

Since he could not go anywhere anyway, this had instead made his state of mind steadier.

After pondering with such wholehearted concentration for another five days, evening arrived on the twenty-fifth day.

Shen Zhui was practicing when his heart suddenly stirred.

He had finally decided to begin exchanging for Awakening Time.

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P.S.: The Iron Ruler is not a modern ruler. It is more like a sword, except that two cylinders extend upward from both sides of the hilt, giving it a shape similar to a fork.