It Shouldn't Be Like This

Shi Feizhe had finished his lessons for the day and was about to go to sleep when he suddenly heard someone knocking.

"Junior Brother Shi, are you asleep?" Yin Tieyan asked.

"Not yet."

"Elder Hua just returned from outside. He heard you've mastered the Sun Moon United Heart Art and was very pleased. He'd like to test you. Is this a convenient time?" Yin Tieyan asked.

"Of course! It's absolutely convenient!" Shi Feizhe said. "Once I pass the test and get my reward, I can pay Senior Brother Yin back!"

Yin Tieyan's mouth twitched outside the door. Whoever had claimed that Shi Feizhe was crafty and harbored ill intentions toward their sect, Yin Tieyan would be the first to stand up and disagree. After these past few days of interacting with him, Yin Tieyan felt that, aside from being a little unpredictable, Shi Feizhe spoke with a maturity beyond his years.

In every other respect, he treated everyone equally, with genuine warmth and sincerity.

When Shi Feizhe opened the door, Yin Tieyan thought it was just as well. At least he wouldn't have to come up with some other way to coax Shi Feizhe along.

"After you, Junior Brother!" Yin Tieyan said when they reached his room. He picked up a lantern.

The two of them made their way through the night to the Martial Transmission Hall.

Inside, several candles as thick as teacups and white as jade had been lit, illuminating the hall as brightly as day.

"We meet again, Shi Feizhe!" Hua Wushuang said with a warm smile. He gestured for Shi Feizhe to sit and not stand on ceremony.

Following the etiquette Yin Tieyan had taught him on the way, Shi Feizhe bowed. "Greetings, Elder Hua."

After bowing, he perched on the edge of the chair.

Before, Shi Feizhe had been a mere tool, so there'd been no need for anyone to teach him etiquette. Now that he was somewhere between a tool and one of their own, Yin Tieyan had naturally taught him the proper manners.

"I had some matters to attend to a few days ago. Today, Yin Tieyan told me you'd mastered the Sun Moon United Heart Art, and I was delighted to hear it." Hua Wushuang began with a few polite words, then continued, "I'll give you a brief test on your progress with the art and see how well you've cultivated it. Then we can choose an auspicious day to burn incense and formally take you as my disciple!"

"Please test me, Elder Hua!" Shi Feizhe said.

"Then recite the Sun Moon United Heart Art."

Shi Feizhe recited it, and Hua Wushuang nodded with satisfaction. "Now tell me what you've experienced in your cultivation."

"After I entered meditation, I visualized the Sun Moon Mirror..." Shi Feizhe recounted his cultivation experience.

"Mm, very good!" Hua Wushuang praised him. "The spirit has no self, and the self has no spirit. What does that mean?"

Shi Feizhe answered, "It doesn't mean the spirit has no self. Rather, I am within the body, and the spirit is like something arising from nothing, giving birth to me. That is why the self has no spirit."

"What does 'the spirit's awakening through division' mean?"

"What does 'illuminating the spirit to see the person' mean?"

"To absorb..."

Hua Wushuang fired off seven or eight questions in a row, and Shi Feizhe answered every one fluently. Hua Wushuang kept going until he'd asked everything he wanted to know, leaving Shi Feizhe parched from answering.

What the hell kind of test was this? It was way too thorough!

Was the Sun Moon Radiance Sect always this meticulous?

This was more of a pain in the ass than a state-owned enterprise's second-round interview!

"Excellent, excellent!" Hua Wushuang said with a smile. "Shi Feizhe, your answers were excellent! From the perspective of a Teaching Elder, I'd say you've cultivated the art very well. However, I'll still need to consult the sect leader. After all, everything in the sect has to be decided by the sect leader!"

Your damn sect has barely a hundred people. Why is it so bureaucratic?

Shi Feizhe grumbled inwardly, but said aloud, "Then I'll go back and wait for the news!"

"Soonest tomorrow, latest in two or three days!" Hua Wushuang turned to Yin Tieyan. "It's late. You two should head back."

"Yes, Martial Uncle Hua!" Yin Tieyan and Shi Feizhe bowed together, then left the Martial Transmission Hall.

After watching them leave, Leng Qingqiu came out from the adjoining room and asked, "What do you think?"

Hua Wushuang thought for a moment before answering, "In my view, Shi Feizhe doesn't seem to be lying."

"Agreed." Leng Qingqiu sat in the chair Hua Wushuang had vacated, turning a Field Yellow Paperweight over in his hands. "I listened closely from the side. When Shi Feizhe spoke, his heartbeat, breathing, and speaking pace were all normal."

"His answers were logically sound, and he clearly explained many of the points that had puzzled us."

"Such talent in a junior is truly enviable!" Leng Qingqiu said.

"Then we can't let him live! Should we..." Hua Wushuang said.

"There's no need to rush. Let's watch him for now. If he really is a genius disciple, bringing him into the sect wouldn't hurt. The sect needs to carry on its legacy, and having a few more genius disciples isn't a bad thing!" Leng Qingqiu sighed. "Leng Qianye only has eyes for the sect leader's seat. How could he understand the responsibilities that come with it?"

"With Leng Qianye acting like this, should we notify the city lord?"

"The city lord is more on my side. Leng Qianye has already crossed a line the city lord won't tolerate. We're just dogs; unless we break through by force and become experts in the True Person Realm, we can't stand as equals with the city lord! The martial world is a place where strength is everything, after all!" Leng Qingqiu said with a cold laugh.

"After Shi Feizhe stumbled his way into cultivating the No Thought Divine Separation Art and explained it again, I found that I'd gained new insight," he added.

"I'll prepare a quiet chamber for the sect leader and stand guard while he meditates!"

"Then I'll trouble you."

"You're too kind, sect leader!"

Leng Qingqiu entered the quiet chamber Hua Wushuang had prepared for him and sat cross-legged. He thought back to the joy he'd felt when he obtained the No Thought Divine Separation Art years ago, and all the twists and turns of trying to decipher it over the years. Only today, after hearing Shi Feizhe explain the art, had he finally felt something click.

He closed his eyes and entered meditation in an instant. In his Sea of Consciousness, a sun shone with brilliant light, while a moon glowed with a cool, clear radiance.

They were the embodiments of the yin and yang of heaven and earth!

But now, both the great sun and the bright moon were badly damaged and spiritless.

Years ago, he had forced his way into the Zhoutian Realm and injured his spirit. His essence had been depleted, his spirit damaged, and his true qi weakened, leaving him unable to break through to the True Person Realm.

His path ahead was severed. All he could do was wait for death!

Fortunately, he still had the No Thought Divine Separation Art. He visualized a mirror and looked through it to see himself clearly.

Slowly, the figure in the mirror grew younger. It was his younger self, the way he'd looked in the most spirited, confident years of his life.

Following the No Thought Divine Separation Art and Shi Feizhe's explanation, he prepared to divide his "spirit" in two: one part would visualize the great sun, the other the bright moon. In this way, he could gradually repair the damage he'd suffered.

But... he couldn't do it!

???

He was confused. Everything had gone smoothly up to this point, yet now he was stuck.

He simply couldn't split his spirit and focus on two things at once!

Thinking over Shi Feizhe's explanation, it seemed this step required him to face the self in the mirror and recognize himself. Only when the self in the mirror and the self outside it were both himself—both his mind and spirit—would he have succeeded.

Leng Qingqiu visualized until midnight, but he neither became the self in the mirror nor split his spirit in two!

Shi Feizhe could cultivate it, so why couldn't he?

It shouldn't be like this!

At this point, he could still back out!