If he had yet to understand the external sacred way, did that mean he had to understand the boundless sacred ways?
Fang Yun's heart swiftly gave him an answer: no.
Truly seeking to understand those boundless sacred ways would be like asking a fish to understand every drop of water, a bird to understand every leaf, or a student to understand all knowledge. In theory, this was possible, but in practice, it could not happen at his present stage.
Yet, since it was theoretically possible, an ambition rose in Fang Yun's heart: to know all things, to hold all things within his heart. Any learning that did not enter his heart was empty illusion.
In the next instant, however, Fang Yun recalled Confucius's words. Even Confucius had said that he was not born knowing, but came to know through learning.
A ripple suddenly stirred in Fang Yun's heart, and he gained a deeper understanding of certain Confucian School classics.
"I understand."
"My Heart Knows Itself is not enough. I must also have a path of my own. Just as this world has mountains and rivers, oceans and skies, poisonous miasma spreading and thorns encircling, wherever I go, there should be a road of my own. If I meet a mountain, I cut through it; if I meet water, I build a bridge; if I meet an ocean, I part its waves. If I meet the power of the Inverse Stele, it should retreat before my sacred way. The principle is that simple. I had a vague awareness of it before, but only now can I savor these subtleties. And from there... understand what Tempering Destiny truly means!"
It all happened in an instant. Through a simple predicament and its underlying principle, Fang Yun grasped a more profound truth.
A smile