Three Realms Theory, Subduing the Mind

Old Liang's single room wasn't large, around fifty or sixty square meters, but it was surprisingly neat and clean.

A desk stood by the window, stacked with paper books. Their covers were yellowed and battered, showing their age.

A metal rack behind it had two levels. The top was piled with odds and ends; on the bottom lay a wooden board covered with a mattress, making a bed. Several hefty books sat in a small mountain at the head of it.

Empty liquor bottles were lined up in the corner, alongside a ceramic pot for brewing Chinese medicine, a rice jar nearly as tall as a person, and a crock for pickled vegetables. Overall, the room had a lived-in feel.

Old Liang sat on the edge of the bed and changed into a pair of slippers.

"Help yourself to some hot water. I won't play host."

Qin Shi glanced at the lame leg Old Liang had propped on the edge of the bed. It was painfully thin, having shrunk considerably over the years. The muscles had atrophied badly, and rough, centipede-like scars from crude stitches stood out on the skin.

It looked rather horrifying!

"How could I let you lift a finger, Master Liang?"

Qin Shi swiftly washed a cup and filled it with water, then set it on the coal stove to boil. The staff dormitory was in poor condition, nothing like the renovated family apartment buildings.

"You're too sharp, kid. You're always reading the room and saying what people want to hear."

Old Liang smiled, his expression carrying a hint of satisfaction.

"It's been quite a few days since the freshman stage ended. How much has your Life Force increased?"

Qin Shi answered honestly.

"About fifteen points."

What?

How much?

Old Liang's smile froze. He was stunned on the spot.

He'd told Qin Shi to stay away from school for a while and focus on the transformation of his mortal body.

He'd thought an increase of three or four points would already be impressive.

After all, Nutritional Paste could fill your stomach, but it couldn't replenish the dense vitality hidden within your flesh and blood and help it grow.

"I'll get a night's sleep tonight. By tomorrow, I should be over sixteen points."

Qin Shi sounded confident, with plenty of conviction.

After all, he'd devoured all the high-energy food at Lin Yunqing's place.

Seven or eight enormous tubs of it—enough to leave him with a round belly and needing to lean on the wall just to walk.

After earning the title of "Legendary Training Dummy,"

he'd now scored the title of "Legendary Big Eater"!

You gained points by sleeping?

Could he say something that made sense for once?

As his master, Old Liang felt conflicted.

His disciple progressing so quickly was naturally a good thing.

But seeing how easily his disciple advanced somehow made him grit his teeth.

Wasn't developing Life Force through Old Martial Arts supposed to be a grueling, treacherous process?

Wasn't one supposed to suffer through countless hardships, with every tiny bit of progress requiring a thousand times the effort and sweat?

Thinking back to the years he'd spent learning and training under his grandmaster and master—the beatings he'd taken, the punishments he'd endured, the rain he'd weathered—Old Liang couldn't help feeling a jumble of emotions.

So it turned out that Burning Sinews in Old Martial Arts could be done in your sleep.

So it turned out that breaking the limits of the body and undergoing a rebirth could raise your Life Force by six or seven points at once.

So this was what a genius looked like...

"Xiao Shi."

Old Liang fell silent for a long while, then said in a low voice,

"Next time, keep comments like that to yourself. They're bound to make people jealous.

Even your master can't help wanting to hit you. Imagine how other people feel!"

Huh?

Had he accidentally shown off just now?

Qin Shi scratched his head, only realizing it afterward. He felt like there was a communication gap between a player speedrunning a Soulslike game and one who was being tortured by it.

The first: This is attack, this is defense. Got it. I'll wait for the boss to come at me!

The second: One cup of water, one pack of cigarettes, and one boss fight that takes all day!

With the super-recovery buff from [Deep Sleep], the enhanced training effects of [Muscle Memory], and the ravenous talent of [Overgrowth],

as long as he stayed alive, his rate of development would surely leave his peers far behind.

He might even soon catch up to the Martial Arts prodigies who had once seemed impossibly distant, like stars in the heavens!

"At sixteen points of Life Force, you're still a little short. Once you get there, you can start learning the Hong Sheng True Inheritance and Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum."

Old Liang's eyelids drooped as he glanced around the cramped room.

If they were in a Jingzhou dojo, with his grandmaster personally committed to training Qin Shi, he wouldn't have to worry about securing the resources.

Old Martial Arts techniques, high-energy medicinal liquids, cosmic treasures... They could always find some way to get their hands on them.

But Hengzhou had been cut off from outside trade routes for too long. It had gradually become a remote frontier, and the supply of resources was controlled by the powerful elite above them.

The Chen, Lin, Qin, and Zheng clans in particular had sunk deep roots into every city since the Great Development of the New Stars, their influence tangled throughout society.

In recent years, they'd already extended their reach into administrative bodies such as the Martial Arts Association and the Education Department. Their influence was unrivaled, almost enough to cover the sky!

Trying to wrest resources from them was next to impossible!

"By the way, Master Liang. At Teacher Lin's house in the Youth Palace, I had a full Life Force checkup and found that my Mental Strength was also fifteen points."

Qin Shi filled him in. Old Liang had been to Jingzhou and seen the vastness of the starry sea. He was a far more reliable old hand than that bitch Lin Yunqing.

"I heard from Teacher Lin that the 'spirituality' and 'vitality' of the mortal body obey the law of conservation: the more you have of one, the less you have of the other.

Master Liang, do you think my Mental Strength being so high will affect my advancement along the Martial Artist path?"

Mental Strength?

How much?

Fifteen points!

Old Liang's head spun, as if he'd taken a solid punch.

He tried to stand, but felt dizzy and sat back down.

Bracing himself against the edge of the bed with both hands, he began to breathe faster.

"Give me a moment. I need to collect myself."

Just then, the water came to a boil, and white steam billowed upward.

Qin Shi obediently picked up the cup, sprinkled in a few tea leaves, brewed a simple cup, and handed it to Old Liang.

The latter looked like a poor farmer who'd struggled through most of his life and suddenly won the lottery jackpot.

The shock of such immense joy left him bewildered and disoriented, with an unreal sense that made him question his own life.

"My disciple is... the second He Lanchán? Fifteen points of Life Force, fifteen points of Mental Strength. So balanced."

Old Liang couldn't believe it. His emotions surged, and it took him a long while to settle down.

"That's right. The total amount of spirituality and vitality in a mortal body is fixed.

"So if you want to reach the highest point of one path, you usually have to give up the others.

"Martial Artists increase their 'fleshly vitality,' constantly regenerating and transforming.

"Other career paths, such as Mechanist and Psionicist, emphasize 'true nature of the mind.' They seek transcendence, hoping to rise above the ordinary."

Qin Shi took a sip of the bitter tea. Cultivating both body and mind didn't sound like a good deal.

Since ancient times, if you wanted to make a well-rounded character in a game and become a jack-of-all-trades,

you either had to grind like crazy or pay through the nose!

Neither was easy.

"Becoming both a Martial God and a Mind Grandmaster is considered all but impossible.

"But seedlings with the talent for Spirit-Flesh Union are still highly sought after. Even the Four Great National Universities keep an eye on them.

"Do you know why?"

Looking at Qin Shi, who had no idea he was approaching the standard of Eastern Xia's top Heavenly Prodigies, Old Liang asked and answered his own question.

"Once your Life Force breaks through a hundred points, you can become a Professional Level Martial Artist.

"If your Mental Strength meets the same standard, your mind and body resonate, and there's a good chance you'll undergo some kind of 'refinement.' That broadens the limits of your mortal body and increases how much spirituality and vitality it can bear.

"In short, you'll be able to go further, with a chance to glimpse the two highest ranks: Martial God and Grandmaster."

Qin Shi frowned slightly. It sounded like one of those "late-game specialist" augments in Teamfight Tactics.

Save up your economy, rush to level nine, and get cash to chase three-star five-cost units!

All to gamble on a dream!

"And there's another hidden benefit. As far as we know, everyone who's achieved Spirit-Flesh Union and successfully accommodated two career paths has also reached perfection in all seven limits."

Old Liang added,

"Many people reasonably suspect that this unknown 'refinement' greatly boosts the transformation of the mortal body."

Qin Shi considered it for a moment, then asked humbly,

"Master Liang, do you have any advice?"

Career paths like Mechanist and Psionicist weren't something he could just choose to pursue at will.

As far as he knew, in all of Hengzhou's New Stars, only Qiguang Hengda University and Jiakai Keda University offered relevant courses.

Beyond them stood the Four Great National Universities, rooted on the ancient stars.

Old Liang pondered before replying.

"Actually, the Martial Artist path also has inheritances that strengthen Mental Strength."

Qin Shi caught on quickly.

"Are you talking about Spirit Cultivation Technique, one of the training methods?"

Old Liang nodded.

"Mm. The basic requirements for the Hong Sheng True Inheritance and Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum are twenty points of Life Force. On the path of Old Martial Arts, 'body' and 'mind' are inseparable. When the body is strong, the mind is well-nourished.

"Once you reach twenty points of Life Force, you'll be full of vigor and vitality. Then you can withstand the strain of comprehending a 'Visualization Diagram' without being captivated by 'momentum.'"

He pointed at the cup of water on the desk and asked,

"Xiao Shi, how would you pick up that cup of water?"

"Reach out."

Qin Shi answered without hesitation.

"That action involves three stages. First, you form a 'thought.' Then you use that thought to drive your body and control your hand. Finally, you grasp the cup and complete the action."

Old Liang grew serious.

"This is the 'Three Realms Theory' proposed by Mind Grandmaster Yan Tongxuan. Thoughts and ideas originate in the subtle realm of the mind. The cup exists in reality, which is the material realm.

"And your body is the bridge between the two.

"The simple act of picking up a cup is actually your mind controlling your body to affect the material world. It encompasses the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity.

"Therefore, to cultivate the mind, you must first cultivate the body and increase your Life Force.

"The reverse is also true. Breaking through the body's limits and unlocking its potential are inseparable from the mind's elevation."

Qin Shi pondered, then blurted out,

"So it all comes down to subduing the mind?"

Old Liang gave an approving nod.

"Looks like you've read a few classics from the Old Era. That's right. 'Subduing the mind'—four simple characters that sum up the truth of cultivation.

"Your mortal body has undergone a transformation, and your Life Force has increased tremendously. I could let you have a look at the Hundred Forms Cultivating Momentum from the Hong Sheng inheritance ahead of time."

He stood, pulled an ancient booklet from his desk drawer, and handed it to Qin Shi.

The latter studied it intently for a long while, then looked up, his face full of confusion.

"Master Liang, what is this thing? I can't make heads or tails of it..."