Clear-Heart Mirror

"Of the four requirements, only one remained unmet... That made sense. Even a hidden profession brought forth by an explosion of fortune would not appear out of thin air. I must have already fulfilled most of its requirements before it appeared on my available professions list."

As Jiang Xuan's thoughts raced, he also clearly understood the origins of each requirement:

"If I'm not mistaken, the first requirement was fulfilled because of the One Qi Sword Art I just cultivated. This art cultivates the heart and guards unity, perfectly matching its demands;

The second requirement was met because my true spirits overlapped and fused, and my soul was already far stronger than that of ordinary people;

As for maintaining Clarity of the Spirit Platform at all times, that must be the protection of the Mind-Cleansing Mantra..."

After only giving the employment requirements a cursory glance, Jiang Xuan had already realized that this was a profession rooted in cultivating the heart and wielding the sword.

The path of cultivation was, in the first place, the cultivation of oneself, one's heart, and one's true self. At that thought, the scales in Jiang Xuan's heart had already begun to tip toward [Clear-Heart Sword Disciple].

And his realization of the final matter made him completely resolve himself.

"In the game, this encounter is called Numinous Insight... Since it is enlightenment, and it even waives one core requirement... this isn't a multiple-choice question at all. This is an opportunity meant for me alone!"

At that thought, Jiang Xuan completely made up his mind.

"Clear-Heart Sword Disciple it is."

As Jiang Xuan made his choice, the words [Clear-Heart Sword Disciple] immediately appeared on his profession panel.

However, all conditions had to be met before one could formally take up a profession, and Jiang Xuan still had one requirement left incomplete for Clear-Heart Sword Disciple.

Fortunately, just as he had predicted, Numinous Insight was an opportunity for him—if he did not meet the standard, then he would use enlightenment to reach it.

"Buzz!"

The instant the profession mark of [Clear-Heart Sword Disciple] imprinted itself into Jiang Xuan's main profession slot, a sudden epiphany descended upon him.

"Boom..."

In his epiphany, Jiang Xuan understood what the heart was, and even saw through the ultimate truth of cultivation—the Dao required sincerity: sincerity toward one's heart, sincerity toward oneself, sincerity toward the Dao.

It was not merely understanding. The push from Numinous Insight also brought a transformation to his heart, allowing it to reach a special realm.

"My heart and my will are clear as a bright mirror!"

As the epiphany unfolded, prompt chimes rang out one after another within Jiang Xuan's sea of consciousness.

[Through Numinous Insight, you have understood the importance of "sincerity toward the heart." Your heart has undergone a transformation.]

[Your Clear-Heart Sword Disciple quest ③ has been completed.]

[All four employment requirements have been fulfilled. You have successfully taken up the main profession—Clear-Heart Sword Disciple.]

The moment the employment ceremony was formally completed, an indescribably mysterious power and a flood of information surged into the depths of Jiang Xuan's heart.

Washed by that power, Jiang Xuan's body and mind underwent certain changes, and he also gained further strength.

If expressed through game logs, those changes would be:

[You have successfully taken up the Purple Precious Grade profession: Clear-Heart Sword Disciple. The power of your heart and soul has greatly increased.]

[You have unlocked profession passives: Clear-Heart Mirror (Self-Observation), Heart: Sincerity (Sword).]

[You have learned the profession skill: Sword of the Mind (First Realm: Beginner, 1/800).]

Every change brought by Clear-Heart Sword Disciple occurred on the level of the heart, so almost no mana fluctuations emanated from Jiang Xuan's body.

Once the employment was complete and he had thoroughly sorted through the benefits this profession brought him, Jiang Xuan suddenly clenched his fists.

He realized with incomparable clarity that he had chosen correctly this time—and had made a fortune beyond measure!

"As expected of a Purple Precious Grade profession. It's truly powerful!"

It was no wonder Jiang Xuan was so stirred up. The benefits brought by taking up Clear-Heart Sword Disciple were simply too astonishing.

Foremost among them was the tremendous increase in the power of his heart and soul.

Not only did this strengthen the foundation of his cultivation, it also offered irreplaceable aid to his current Qi Refinement practice.

There were actually three ways to refine the ownerless spiritual qi drifting between heaven and earth into mana belonging exclusively to a cultivator.

The first was vital blood, which was the origin of Refining Essence into Qi.

The second was the cultivator's heart and soul power. A powerful divine will could likewise transform ownerless spiritual qi into mana.

And if one's heart and soul power was sufficiently strong, it also brought benefits when casting spells—after all, the spells of the world were never completed wholly with a cultivator's own mana. That would consume far too much.

Most of the time, cultivators used their own mana as a guide to draw upon the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, making it attack alongside them. Doing so not only consumed less mana, but could multiply the power of their spells.

The power of the heart and soul was precisely the central pivot that drew upon the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, and it was also the primary means of locking onto enemies.

It could be said that the importance of the heart and soul was not the least bit inferior to mana.

Originally, Jiang Xuan's heart and soul power had already reached the middle stage of Spirit Pivot Aperture Opening. After another increase, he was nearly at the late stage.

"With my heart and soul power rising another level, the speed at which I refine mana will surely soar again!"

Beyond vital blood and the heart and soul, the third path for accelerating spiritual qi refinement was "intent."

Whether it was the intent of mountains and rivers, sword intent, the essence of flame, or the Dao resonance of wind... as long as a cultivator comprehended it, he would develop a natural affinity with the spiritual qi of the corresponding attribute.

At that point, not only would the cultivator's efficiency in refining spiritual qi soar, but spiritual qi of the same origin throughout heaven and earth might even gather into his body of its own accord.

And this "intent" was also the only reliance by which poor cultivators with mediocre Spirit Roots and no family backing could overtake others on a curve.

"Yet intent and Dao resonance have always been exceedingly difficult to comprehend. Some cultivators sit in meditation for an entire lifetime without touching even half the threshold. This is a road to the heavens meant solely for genius talents of comprehension, and it is also the core reason why comprehension has always been more precious than Spirit Roots in the cultivation world."

The increase in heart and soul power after taking up the profession made Jiang Xuan feel that, even by the most conservative estimate, his efficiency in refining mana would increase by thirty percent.

And that was only the most basic reward.

"Intent is powerful—and during that Numinous Insight just now, I did comprehend a trace of intent related to the heart."

Unlike tangible intents such as mountains and rivers, sun and moon, flame, and earth, the intent born from a transformation of the heart did not enhance one's affinity with the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

But that absolutely did not mean the intent of the heart's Dao was weak. Quite the contrary, the intent born from a transformation of the heart was the rarest and hardest to obtain—it enhanced what was most intangible and also most crucial to cultivators: comprehension!

The profession passive [Heart: Sincerity (Sword)] of Clear-Heart Sword Disciple was a powerful passive that directly increased one's ability to comprehend.

[Heart: Sincerity (Sword): You have understood the principles of sincerity toward the heart and sincerity toward the sword. When cultivating with a sword in hand, or cultivating sword-related moves and cultivation arts, you will enter an ultra-focused state of concentration.]

As everyone knew, even when learning the same thing, different levels of concentration produced results as different as clouds and mud.

And now, having seen through the truth of Heart: Sincerity, Jiang Xuan could directly enter this ultra-focused state whenever he cultivated with a sword in hand or studied sword Dao cultivation arts and moves.

In such a state, he truly achieved "deaf to all matters beyond the window, with one heart comprehending only the true meaning of the sword Dao."

In this state, he might have no spare attention to care about changes in the outside world, but the efficiency of his sword Dao cultivation could directly double—or even more!

"The word concentration has always been a heavenly chasm dividing mediocrities from geniuses."

[Heart: Sincerity (Sword)] alone was enough to leave Jiang Xuan entirely satisfied.

Yet the [Clear-Heart Mirror (Self-Observation)] that followed gave Jiang Xuan an even greater surprise.

[Clear-Heart Mirror (Self-Observation)]

[Level: 1/3 (Proficiency 1/3000)]

[Skill Effect: You may use your heart as a mirror, reflecting every flaw and defect in your cultivation, physical body, and soul in minute detail.]

The skill's description was simple, but its effect was excellent.

The hardest thing for people had always been facing themselves squarely and seeing through their own weaknesses and flaws.

Yet Clear-Heart Mirror could display all of that before his eyes in minute detail.

What delighted Jiang Xuan even more was that this ability was also of immeasurable use to his current Aperture Opening cultivation!

Its usefulness was not limited to finding them quickly—it could find them all!

At that thought, records from cultivation texts he had previously memorized surfaced in Jiang Xuan's mind.

"The human body contains a total of three hundred and sixty acupoints. In the early stages, the acupoints within the body are easy to find. But later, as more and more acupoints are found, those acupoints that hide themselves become increasingly difficult to seek out."

"The difficulty does not merely increase by a little—it doubles."

"Therefore, cultivators who fully cultivate every bodily acupoint and reach the state of perfection are instead few in number."

"The overwhelming majority of cultivators stop hastily after opening merely one hundred and eighty acupoints, then turn to preparing to forge their Dao Foundation."

"Because they open too few acupoints and their bodily cultivation is incomplete, most cultivators do not have a particularly high success rate in forging their Dao Foundation. Even with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, their success rate is less than thirty percent."

"With Clear-Heart Mirror reflecting myself, the number of acupoints I open will never stop at one hundred and eighty!"

Besides the two profession passives, Jiang Xuan also gained an offensive ability—Sword of the Mind.

This skill could condense Jiang Xuan's heart and soul power into an invisible, intangible sword of the mind.

This sword could directly attack an enemy's soul, and it could also attach itself to flying swords and Sword Qi, greatly enhancing the power of Sword Qi and the speed of one's sword strikes.

The heart cleaved the soul. This was a sword capable of harming ghosts!

Judging solely by its effects, this ability was actually extremely impressive. But for the current Jiang Xuan, pure offensive means were far less important than [Heart: Sincerity (Sword)] and [Clearheart Mirror], the two abilities that could increase his cultivation efficiency.

Thus, after merely giving the skill description a quick glance, Jiang Xuan temporarily set it aside.

Taking up [Clear-Heart Sword Disciple] and thoroughly sorting out the marvelous uses of each ability had consumed quite a bit of Jiang Xuan's time.

Once everything was settled, Jiang Xuan was unwilling to waste even half a moment and immediately began preparing to cultivate.

—For the current Jiang Xuan, cultivating while holding a sword offered the best efficiency, as it could trigger the passive effect of [Heart: Sincerity (Sword)].

Unfortunately, when he came here, Jiang Xuan had never imagined that he would be able to take up the hidden profession Clear-Heart Sword Disciple and obtain such an ability.

Without a suitable tool in hand, Jiang Xuan could only give up on it for the time being.

"I'll first test the effects of Clear-Heart Mirror."

"Splash..."

After carrying out the purification ritual of cleansing his body, hands, and mouth, Jiang Xuan immediately sat cross-legged upon a meditation cushion and began his first cultivation session after taking up the profession.

"Buzz..."

The moment his cultivation began, Jiang Xuan sensed a world-shaking difference.

In the past, Jiang Xuan could also look inward, but his divine sense was weak. The scenes he saw within were always hazy and unclear, and when he guided spiritual qi through a full circuit within his body, he had to rely mostly on feeling.

Now, however, everything was entirely different. The instant he closed his eyes, Jiang Xuan felt a great radiance burst forth in his sea of consciousness. A treasure mirror, clear as a tranquil lake and bright as a cold moon, slowly emerged from the depths of his awareness.

The flawless mirror surface reflected Jiang Xuan's twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians in minute detail. He could even clearly see the path spiritual qi followed through his meridians, as well as every trace of spiritual qi that leaked away during its circulation.

Being able to perceive everything clearly gave Jiang Xuan room for precise adjustments.

"This part is wrong. This section of the meridian bends, so the spiritual qi must slow down here to avoid crashing into the meridian walls and causing loss..."

"This section is straight and unobstructed. I can speed up and rush through it, saving time on the circuit..."

"Mm, this is the heart, the core of my vital blood. Spiritual qi is refined most efficiently when passing through here... It cannot go quickly here. It must go as slowly as possible..."

Without Clear-Heart Mirror to survey the whole picture, Jiang Xuan could only guide spiritual qi through his body at a uniform speed during a full circuit.

But now that Clear-Heart Mirror allowed him to see through the entire situation, he discovered that refining spiritual qi was different from casting spells.

The latter naturally needed to be as fast as possible in order to release a spell quickly. But the key to cultivation was the infusion of vital blood and the refinement of the soul. Here, haste could not be pursued. At some crucial points, slowness had to be the guiding principle—the slower, the better.

At the same time, Clear-Heart Mirror also allowed Jiang Xuan to know exactly how much vital blood he should use to infuse spiritual qi for the greatest efficiency.

"Before, I simply piled vital blood onto spiritual qi all at once. With such a crude method of infusion, nearly half of my vital blood was wasted for nothing."

"Now, using the same amount of vital blood to infuse the corresponding spiritual qi with such meticulous workmanship cuts at least half my vital blood consumption. Accordingly, my cultivation time has effectively nearly doubled."

Having understood the mysteries of "Refining Essence into Qi," and made the speed of spiritual qi's circulation through his full circuit properly paced, alternating tension and relaxation, this alone gave Jiang Xuan's cultivation efficiency a qualitative leap.

Now, he only needed to circulate spiritual qi through his body for three full cycles to transform it into mana exclusively his own.

Moreover, because precise control reduced his vital blood expenditure during this process, Jiang Xuan's cultivation time had nearly doubled as well.

The final result was that, by the time Jiang Xuan finished cultivating, he had opened three acupoints in one go!

"I can open three in the morning and three in the afternoon—that's six in one day... If I had taken up Clear-Heart Sword Disciple on the first day of entry, I might have had a chance at an excellent rating in the Dao-Bearing Class!"

The instant Jiang Xuan calculated this result, his heart began pounding wildly. He was excited, but also somewhat... regretful.

"Unfortunately, today is no longer the first day of entry, but the fourth day. There are only three short days left before the deadline for an excellent rating."

"Three days, and I need to open and nourish another thirty acupoints. I simply can't do it."

Having the qualifications to reach the summit yet missing the best opportunity—such regret was the most tormenting and the hardest to accept.

Fortunately, Jiang Xuan's will had always been firm, and the Mind-Cleansing Mantra protected his Spirit Platform. The two complemented one another. After only a few deep breaths, the unwillingness and regret in his heart had completely dissipated.

Yet as his negative emotions faded, the gleam in Jiang Xuan's eyes became even more blazing.

"Three days, nearly thirty acupoints. It's difficult, but it isn't as though I have no chance at all!"

Especially because of something that had happened during his cultivation just now, which ignited a blazing fire of hope in Jiang Xuan's heart.

During several hours of cultivation in the evening lesson, he had opened three acupoints. Naturally, the process had included steps to search for acupoints.

Because a cultivator's acupoints lay at the boundary between spirit and flesh, existing in a state where the illusory and the real overlapped.

Previously, for Jiang Xuan to find even one acupoint, he often had to expend immense mental effort and observe with concentrated focus for at least the time it took to drink a cup of tea before catching a single starlike glimmer of an acupoint amid the endless turbid qi surrounding his body.

But now, with the Mind-Cleansing Mantra protecting his Spirit Platform and Clear-Heart Mirror seeing through the origin of all things, the instant he focused his observation, he directly saw more than ten points of brilliant starlight!

This also meant that with a single act of concentrated observation, he had found eleven hidden acupoints!

"With Clear-Heart Mirror and the Mind-Cleansing Mantra, finding acupoints is no longer difficult for me. The difficult part is filling them with mana and turning them from illusory to real."

"But there has always been a shortcut for refining mana."

"Pills. As long as I have enough pills, even if only three days remain, I can still open thirty-six acupoints and enter the Dao-Bearing Class with an excellent rating!"