Tian Hao paid no attention to how the outside world changed, burying himself in arduous training within the Mount Hua Sect.
His ears heard nothing beyond the window; his mind held nothing but his grueling training!
Only when Old Yue returned to the mountain gate wreathed in murderous intent did he realize he had been training with his head down for three whole months.
"Thank you for all your hard work, Master!"
Seeing Old Yue's left arm wrapped in bloodstained bandages, Tian Hao felt a pang of guilt. Clearly, Old Yue had suffered considerably over the Dictionary and Mount Hua Academy.
"It was a little arduous, but seeing hope for Mount Hua's revival brings me great joy."
Stroking his beard with a soft chuckle, Yue Buqun felt more thrilled and excited than ever before.
Ever since his master's death, he had taken the revival of the Mount Hua Sect as his personal responsibility. Yet over twenty-odd years, he had achieved little and seen not the slightest glimmer of hope.
But everything had changed since he met this disciple.
First came the brilliant idea for a Dictionary, then the wealth Guan Family Fort had accumulated over a century, and now the establishment of Mount Hua Academy.
In the foreseeable future, Mount Hua would surely become a sacred haven of scholarship for the entire world. Even the Sun-Moon Demon Cult, whose influence in Jianghu blazed like the midday sun, or Shaolin and the Wudang Sect would never dare act recklessly there.
Basking in the reflected glory of Mount Hua Academy and the Dictionary, the Mount Hua Sect could finally develop in peace and security, without worrying about enemies attacking their doorstep.
At the very least, no one would dare openly attack Mount Hua. Otherwise, the spittle of the world's scholars alone would drown them, and their names would stink for ten thousand years. In his unexpectedly acquired disciple's words, they would suffer social death.
"I saw you frowning in thought just now. Have you encountered a difficulty in your training?"
Calming his surging emotions, Yue Buqun asked with concern.
"I have indeed run into a difficulty. My Embrace Origin Force is infinitely close to major mastery, but I simply cannot comprehend the meaning of Embrace Origin Guarding the One. I've been stuck for two months."
Tian Hao scratched his head in frustration. He had never expected Embrace Origin Guarding the One to be so difficult to comprehend.
He had thought Embrace Origin Force would be his first external martial art to reach major mastery, only to get stuck instead.
Instead, the lowest-level and simplest art, Eagle Claw Stele-Smashing Hand, had reached major mastery first. After that, he had brought Horizontal Crab Iron Shirt to Minor Achievement, making his skin like leather and greatly increasing his strength.
"Back then, Senior Martial Uncle Wang Qinggang also practiced Embrace Origin Force. I heard him say that the core meaning of Embrace Origin Guarding the One lay in focusing the mind."
At that moment, a one-armed man standing behind Yue Buqun suddenly spoke, sharing the words of a predecessor.
"Focus the mind! Focus the mind!"
Repeating those words, Tian Hao felt a flash of inspiration in his mind and realized he had taken the wrong path.
He had assumed that Embrace Origin Guarding the One meant transforming his Embrace Origin Force once again. Who would have thought those words referred to the mind, not force at all?
With the blockage in his understanding suddenly cleared, the many problems that had troubled him for so long unraveled in an instant. He even began practicing the Embrace Origin Force Fist Technique involuntarily, his awareness growing steadily more focused.
Noticing something unusual about Tian Hao's state, Yue Buqun's expression changed, and he motioned for everyone to retreat quietly.
"Sect Master, could Martial Nephew Tian Hao have entered a state of epiphany?"
Recalling that strange, dazed look in Tian Hao's eyes, the one-armed man could not help asking in a low voice.
He was a Mount Hua disciple of the previous generation. When he joined the Mount Hua Sect, its accumulated resources were still intact, and he had read many texts that described the wondrous state of epiphany.
Under fortunate circumstances, some exceptionally perceptive masters of earlier generations could enter such a state. Afterward, they would often improve dramatically or even break through to a new realm.
The look in Tian Hao's eyes just now had closely resembled those accounts of epiphany, but how was that possible?
The boy was not even twenty and had not cultivated any inner power. How could he enter a state of epiphany?
"I cannot be certain either. None of us have ever witnessed it ourselves. Wait and see. If Hao breaks through his bottleneck afterward and brings Embrace Origin Force to major mastery, then it must have been an epiphany."
A keen light flickered in Yue Buqun's eyes as he suspected he might have misjudged his disciple.
Hao's physical aptitude and innate qi were indeed quite ordinary, but if he could enter a state of epiphany, his comprehension was clearly exceptional.
Comprehension was not something that could be tested, yet it was more important than either physical aptitude or innate qi, those two inborn gifts.
Rumor had it that the Wudang Sect's True Martial Dao Venerable, Perfected Zhang Sanfeng, possessed exceptional comprehension. He had now become one of the leaders of the Daoist traditions across the various nations.
It was said that Perfected Zhang Sanfeng had experienced an epiphany in his youth and used it to break through to the innate realm.
Although this disciple of his had only formally begun practicing martial arts at fifteen, missing the ideal window, his powerful comprehension and three years of accumulated effort had allowed his cultivation to surge forward over the past few months.
Now, with nothing more than a thin secret manual, he had brought Embrace Origin Force close to major mastery. Such comprehension was downright monstrous.
Even if he fell short of Perfected Zhang Sanfeng, the difference should not be too great.
Heaven truly blessed our Mount Hua!
Meanwhile, Tian Hao's awareness grew ever more focused and unified within his state of epiphany. He immersed himself completely in the Embrace Origin Force Fist Technique, while the mnemonic verses from its secret manual echoed through his mind.
After an unknown length of time, the originally domineering, fierce, and heavy Embrace Origin Force Fist Technique suddenly became drifting and elusive, soft and seemingly devoid of strength.
Yet those seemingly soft, slow punches forcibly burst the air, producing violent explosive cracks.
Crack!
Like an exploding firecracker, the sound shook everyone present and jolted Tian Hao out of his state of epiphany.
Before he could examine the changes in himself, he felt a splitting headache. His face turned pale as paper, and his body seemed to have lost a whole layer of flesh.
He was terribly drained, as though he had ejaculated eighty or a hundred times.
"Quick, swallow this pill."
Already prepared, Yue Buqun flicked the pill in his hand into Tian Hao's mouth. He had read accounts of epiphany in the past and knew its drawbacks.
Although an epiphany could let a martial artist overcome a bottleneck or even break through to a new cultivation realm, it placed a tremendous strain on the body. There had even been cases of people being drained to death by one.
Tian Hao had not cultivated internal power, nor did he possess a Visualization Method from any of the Buddhist, Daoist, or Confucian traditions. Bearing the strain with his body alone was naturally unpleasant.
Fortunately, this epiphany had not lasted long. Otherwise, he would have been in danger.
Once the pill reached his stomach and its medicinal potency dissolved and circulated through his body, Tian Hao finally felt somewhat better. His head still ached terribly, however, and blood even kept trickling from his nose.
"Master, what happened to me just now?"
Having recovered his breath a little, Tian Hao was utterly bewildered.
He had not felt anything unusual just now. He had merely practiced the Embrace Origin Force Fist Technique for a while and figured out some of its subtleties. Then his head had begun to feel as though it would split, and his body felt hollowed out.
As though he had ejaculated eighty or a hundred times!
"You entered a state of epiphany just now. Fortunately, it did not last long, and the explosive crack from your Embrace Origin Force Fist Technique startled you awake. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"You have not cultivated internal power yet and cannot sustain the drain of an epiphany. Do not enter that state like this again."
Yue Buqun cautioned him sternly, still shaken by what had happened.
Had Tian Hao not awakened in time, he would have intervened and knocked him unconscious.
Powerful as an epiphany was, it also came with tremendous danger and had to be treated with caution.
"An epiphany?"
Tian Hao grew thoughtful. As a veteran Qidian bookworm, he naturally knew what an epiphany meant. He simply had not expected to experience one himself.
Still, it made sense. Just looking at the word, an epiphany clearly had to be connected to comprehension. With the combined boosts from his junior martial sister cheat and his master's wife cheat, his innate spirit attribute had reached 33.5, more than thirty times that of an ordinary person.
It was perfectly normal for him to enter a state of epiphany. If he found more miserable young women to serve as cheats and continued stacking his attributes, he might even be able to enter that state at will.
Now that would be sweet!
Before you continue