Comprehension

The film is great.

Tang Lingwu must have put a lot of thought into it, finding only high-quality documentaries.

The clarity is maxed out, the production team is top-notch, and every frame has a beauty that burns through the budget.

Several of them have very high ratings online, hailed as sacred texts for bird lovers.

What made Zheng Fa even more satisfied was that the photographers would hide their lenses in trees, near bird nests, even on sheer cliffs. Some were even attached to the birds themselves.

They tried their best to get close to the natural lives of these subjects.

Even setting aside the thought of gaining insights into the Crane Body Technique, these meticulously produced documentaries were enough to captivate Zheng Fa, a country bumpkin.

One, two...

Every night, Zheng Fa watched these documentaries.

He watched the birds in the footage, their daily lives.

He watched them take flight, soar, and land.

Hunt, eat, play.

He felt as though he saw some familiar scenes, as if they vaguely resembled the patterns in the third volume of the Crane Heart Sutra from the Crane Body Technique.

But he still couldn't quite grasp what it was, as if a thin veil of mist obscured it, leaving Zheng Fa still unable to figure it out.

Even as the documentaries were nearing their end, he still couldn't connect the two.

One evening, he unintentionally clicked on the one he hadn't watched yet, "The Vanished Sky Tyrants - Pterosaurs," and the opening narration made him freeze.

"Among the many hypotheses for the origin of birds, the theory that birds originated from dinosaurs is the most widely accepted by mainstream scholars."

"So some say that birds are close relatives of dinosaurs."

Zheng Fa paused, then snapped back to reality, a hint of surprise in his heart.

They really are birds!

"Pterosaurs are long extinct in our world, and we can't know exactly how they lived, but by using fossil evidence and observing bird habits, we can model and simulate the appearance and movements of pterosaurs."

Zheng Fa stared at the pterosaur model created with special effects on the screen, and bizarre images flashed through his mind!

This is it!

The author of the Crane Body Technique, their thinking process seems to be similar to this documentary, observing the movement patterns and living habits of various flying birds, modeling them, no, creating a never-before-seen—bird-person?

The pictures in the book gradually aligned with the image of the pterosaur on the screen.

Zheng Fa almost wanted to grab the author by the collar and ask:

You drew an animation, why didn't you write any annotations?

Zheng Fa spent days and nights watching documentaries. Especially after truly grasping the mysteries of the Crane Heart Sutra, Zheng Fa rewatched all the documentaries he had seen before. He broke down and combined each diagram from the Crane Heart Sutra, comparing it with the movements of the birds in the documentaries to deepen his understanding of these images.

After several nights of staying up late like this, even with his physical fitness, which had reached the beginner level of the Crane Pine Stance, he couldn't help but look haggard at school, with faint dark circles under his eyes.

"Zheng Fa, what have you been up to lately?" Wang Chen asked with a hint of concern, looking at his complexion.

"Up to what?"

"I mean, didn't you sleep well last night? Why do you look so listless? Are you sick?"

"Oh, I've been watching videos every night these past few days," Zheng Fa said, touching his face as he explained.

"Watching videos, what kind of videos... you, huh?"

Wang Chen's expression suddenly turned strange, as if he had thought of something.

"Tang Lingwu gave them to me."

"Tang Lingwu gave them to you?" Wang Chen seemed to be plunged into a state of immense incomprehension.

"The other day, the day your phone was confiscated by Old Chen."

Wang Chen twitched the corner of his mouth. That day was too unforgettable, and he actually remembered that Tang Lingwu had indeed sent Zheng Fa a message that day.

But he wasn't focused on that now; his face was full of gossip. "Don't tell me, let me guess!"

"?"

"Are they the kind... without clothes?"

"Why would they need clothes?"

Zheng Fa was surprised, not understanding why this person would ask such a question.

"The kind with very few people?"

"Mmm... you could count it that way."

A strange light of excitement flashed in Wang Chen's eyes.

"Indoors?"

"No, they're mostly in the wild."

"Tang Lingwu likes that kind of thing?"

Wang Chen muttered, as if he had uncovered a shocking secret. He patted Zheng Fa's shoulder and said leisurely, "The adult world may be exciting, but you still need to take care of your health!"

Zheng Fa didn't speak, just looked at Wang Chen with the eyes of someone who thought he was seriously ill.

Then Wang Chen sighed, "Tang Lingwu, in our class, her grades are good, she's beautiful, and Old Chen keeps a close eye on her. The boys in our class don't dare to talk to her, but from my observation, at least half the boys in our class have a crush on her."

"That many?" Zheng Fa really hadn't paid attention before. Who liked whom in class was never within his scope of concern.

"You're focused on studying. I dare say, you think about a lot less than I do. I didn't expect her private hobby to be so thrilling..." Wang Chen stroked his chin, looking like he had gained new knowledge. "If the whole class of boys knew, tsk tsk..."

"Tsk tsk what?"

"It would drive the other half of the boys crazy!"

Zheng Fa looked at Wang Chen, who was so sure of himself.

For some reason, his words sounded contradictory: vulgar, yet strangely reasonable.

Seventh Young Master saw an even more haggard Zheng Fa in his study.

"You look like this?"

To watch those documentaries, Zheng Fa had barely slept for the last two days in the modern world.

"I was comprehending the Crane Body Technique," Zheng Fa explained.

Seventh Young Master exchanged a look with Gao Yuan beside him, shook his head, clearly not believing it.

After all, Zheng Fa had already returned the book. How could he comprehend it?

Seventh Young Master glanced at Zheng Fa, shook his head, and picked up a book from the bookshelf behind him, handing it to Zheng Fa.

"What is this?"

"Stop thinking about the Crane Body Technique. I'm telling you, martial arts have no future. Come learn Talisman arts with me!" Seventh Young Master sighed.

Zheng Fa looked at the book in front of him. The cover read: Complete Explanation of Talisman Diagrams, Volume 1

"What is this?"

"Didn't I tell you about it before? Talisman Diagrams."

Zheng Fa flipped through it. It was indeed full of complex and abstract patterns.

Having just suffered the torment of the "birdman," Zheng Fa's head started to hurt. He put the book down and asked, "After finishing this book, will I understand the Talisman Path?"

"Heh, finish it? Do you know how many volumes this set of books has?"

"I don't know."

Seventh Young Master held up one finger.

"Ten volumes?"

Seventh Young Master shook his head.

"A hundred volumes?"

"A whole room!" Seventh Young Master pointed to a room on the side of the study, saying with some grief and indignation, "They're all in here!"

Zheng Fa turned his head and looked at the rows of bookshelves in that room, reaching to the ceiling. He swallowed.

"And this set of books, new ones are added every year! I started learning when I was young, and I've been learning until now, yet the ones I haven't seen are only increasing!"

Seventh Young Master's tone was so aggrieved it was heartbreaking.

Zheng Fa truly understood. This was truly the "sea of learning is boundless."

"Young Master, what exactly are Talisman Diagrams?"

"I don't understand either," Seventh Young Master shook his head. "According to this book, all Talisman Diagrams come from the comprehension of the Heavenly Dao by Immortal Sect cultivators. They contain the Great Dao. In fact, many of the earliest Talisman Papers were drawn with some Talisman Diagrams."

"But later, someone discovered that some Talisman Diagrams, though they looked different, had the same effect. So, some cultivators proposed the concept of Origin Talismans, trying to find their similarities."

"As for these... it's because Immortal Sect cultivators continue to comprehend new Talisman Diagrams every day..."

Zheng Fa suddenly understood, finally grasping why there was a whole room full of books.

"Brute force enumeration..."