Pan Long did not quite understand what Lanling Kuang meant.
Why would failing to master Cord-Bound Laws of All Under Heaven mean losing the very foundation on which he stood in this world?
If Lanling Kuang had said that failing to master martial arts would cost him that foundation, Pan Long could have understood. In this world, might made right. If his fists lacked strength, he would naturally have nothing to stand on.
But even if he never learned Cord-Bound Laws of All Under Heaven, the arts of the Confucian School alone—or even just the Nine-Turn Mysterious Art—still gave him hope of attaining Longevity.
So why would failing to master this one art leave him unable to stand?
He did not ask aloud. But Lanling Kuang was a founding master of one of the Hundred Schools of Thought and had once served as grand preceptor of the Great Xia Dynasty. With eyes that sharp, he naturally saw Pan Long's doubt.
The gaunt old man coughed. "You think the Confucian School's arts are enough to secure your place in the world, perhaps even attain Longevity?"
Pan Long nodded.
Lanling Kuang gave a cold laugh. "Do you know how one attains Longevity?"
"To attain Longevity, you must either find a path that can stand firm under heaven and achieve Union with the Dao to become one of the Immortals and Buddhas, or hold fast to an obsession, transcend life and death, and become a Demon God," Pan Long answered.
Bi Lingkong had taught him these basics.
Lanling Kuang nodded slightly, then asked, "What ideas lie at the root of every Confucian martial art?"
"Benevolence and rites," Pan Long replied. "Benevolence is the pursuit of personal virtue; rites are the pursuit of social Order. Every martial art of the Confucian School grows and