Beyond the Limits

Liu Xing had become extremely experienced at roasting Spotted Mice, and before long, he had the Spotted Mouse King cooked to perfection.

"Old man, it's a shame you'll never have the good fortune to taste such delicious Spotted Mouse again." Having finished roasting the Spotted Mouse King, Liu Xing suddenly spoke, naturally facing the corner of the cave. Though the old man slept there, he would never wake again.

"Old man, thank you for leaving me the Nine Great Wilderness Forms. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get Spotted Mice to eat so easily." As he spoke, Liu Xing carried the roasted Spotted Mouse over to the stone grave, tore off its plumpest hind leg, and placed it before the grave.

"Old man, I saved this plump, juicy hind leg especially for you. Too bad you went to sleep and refuse to wake up. Isn't offering you something this delicious a bit of a waste?"

Liu Xing murmured to himself as though the old man were sitting cross-legged right in front of him.

"Old man, I've memorized all the Jade Slips you left me, and the slips themselves have been destroyed. Don't worry. I'll keep the promise I made to you. But if I can't get back to the outside world, what use is any of this, no matter how well I remember it?"

"Old man, when you were still around, I thought your daily nagging was so annoying. But now that you're no longer chattering in my ear, it feels as though something's missing. Now it's my turn to nag you every day. I wonder if you can stand it. If you can't, I really wish you'd wake up and give me a good scolding! Old man, I'm sure you wouldn't want to see me all alone and so lonely, would you?"

"I mastered all the Nine Great Wilderness Forms two years ago. These past two years, I haven't known what else to do, so I picked out a few things from the Jade Slips that I could just barely understand and started cultivating, sitting cross-legged the way you used to. But there's nothing fun about it, and it hasn't done anything for me at all. It looks like without that spiritual root you mentioned, cultivation really is impossible."

"Still, I won't lose heart. Since I mastered the Nine Great Wilderness Forms, no animal on Connors Star can beat me anymore. Even if I could cultivate and grow stronger, there'd be nowhere on this planet to put that strength to use. Really, the only thing I envy about cultivators is their ability to fly! I'm sure that feeling of looking around and seeing everything beneath your feet must be wonderful."

"Over the past few years, every two or three months, I've gone to the mountains in the south and climbed the highest peak, just to experience that feeling of having the earth beneath my feet. Old man, I really like that feeling. If this world is destined to divide people into the strong and the weak, I want to be the strongest of all. Maybe that's why I practiced the Nine Great Wilderness Forms so hard, and why I never stopped training my strength even after I mastered them."

"Old man, you told me that cultivators seek the Heavenly Dao and strive to become immortal! But I think that idea is ridiculous. At least as far as I can see, here on Connors Star, the seasons turn and flowers bloom and wither. Even the sun, moon, and stars don't remain unchanged. What could possibly be immortal, then? Fragile life least of all."

"Maybe, if I really get a chance to go to the outside world, I'll be able to see what cultivators are like and experience what this Heavenly Dao you spoke of actually is!"

"Oh, right, old man. You ought to know that roasted Spotted Mouse doesn't taste good once it's cold. I won't stay and chat today. Let me fill my stomach first."

With that, Liu Xing began taking great bites of the roasted Spotted Mouse. The satisfied look on his face was enough to show just how delicious it must have been.

He demolished the roasted Spotted Mouse like a gale sweeping away scattered clouds, wiped the grease from his mouth, and gave a long, leisurely stretch. After raking up the ashes to bury the embers, he flopped down in a corner of the stone cave and fell fast asleep, snoring away.

A faint sliver of moonlight shone through the slanting crack in the cave roof, falling across Liu Xing's still somewhat boyish face. Everything seemed so peaceful.

Had the old man still been alive, he would certainly have been astonished by Liu Xing's achievements. Though Liu Xing lacked a spiritual root and could not cultivate, his training in the Nine Great Wilderness Forms had already pushed his strength beyond the limits of the human body. Even a novice cultivator would probably have been no match for him.

In truth, practicing the Nine Great Wilderness Forms alone would not necessarily have brought Liu Xing to his current level of strength, even with his exceptionally gifted natural physique.

The problem was that, after losing the old man's guidance, Liu Xing had no idea how to proceed with his training. Alone and frightened of what the future held, he had intensified his physical conditioning while continuing to practice the Nine Great Wilderness Forms.

His method of conditioning his body could be considered a form of external hard-body training. The old man had known something about this as well, so he had always tailored the intensity of Liu Xing's external training to suit him, allowing him to draw out more of his potential.

Without the old man's guidance, Liu Xing no longer knew where to draw the line with his external training. He blindly increased its intensity and soon exceeded the limits of what his body could endure.

Anyone else who had recklessly trained the way Liu Xing did would have been crippled, if not killed. Yet Liu Xing gritted his teeth and pulled through.

Throughout all those years of training, Liu Xing had constantly hovered at the edge of his limits, then surpassed them time and again.

Liu Xing had been able to persevere for three reasons: his truly resolute will, his naturally exceptional physique, and the crucial role played by the Nine Great Wilderness Forms.

It was the Nine Great Wilderness Forms' ability to draw out the fullest potential of Liu Xing's body that allowed him to keep surpassing his limits, growing stronger step by step.

Since ancient times, no small number of people had practiced the Nine Great Wilderness Forms, yet not one had reached Liu Xing's current level. Various fortunate circumstances had certainly played a part, but the most fundamental reason was that Liu Xing had put in many times more effort than an ordinary person.

How could anyone hope to surpass their limits without paying a price?

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