One Yin and One Yang Make the Dao
In the eyes of scholars and men of letters, military commanders were crude warriors, and not without reason.
The vast majority of military commanders had literacy skills limited to parsing words and phrases.
Some military commanders were even outright illiterates.
To military commanders, passing on the Dao and teaching meant reading straight from a manual and then pushing their disciples to put their heads down and train hard.
If a disciple progressed at lightning speed, it meant the master had taught him well.
If a disciple progressed slowly, it meant the disciple had poor aptitude.
Zhu Zhanshan's master was clearly a crude warrior.
Although his exceptional talent had brought him to the Innate Realm, he was still completely in the dark when it came to martial theory.
All Mo Wenjian could say was that this was simply leading the young astray.
Considering that Zhu Zhanshan was just a little brat, Mo Wenjian decided to put it simply.
"The martial arts of military commanders originated with the School of Military Strategy, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought. They emphasize tempering the body and training hard day and night. Wudang's Two Forms Swordsmanship, on the other hand, inherited the teachings of the Daoist School, another of the Hundred Schools. It holds that a single day of enlightenment is worth more than ten years of arduous cultivation. Your Imperial Highness, your broad, sweeping style of practice is suited only to the martial arts of the School of Military Strategy, not those of the Daoist School. I will show Your Imperial Highness three moves. If you can grasp their essence, it will be enough to cultivate Two Forms Swordsmanship to the pinnacle!" Mo Wenjian tried to find a weapon, but after looking all around and finding none, he reluctantly picked up a broom.
"Please, senior brother, I beg you to instruct me!" Zhu Zhanshan bowed deeply to Mo Wenjian, then looked at him with great anticipation.
"The first move: Lifting Heavy as Though Light!" Mo Wenjian raised the broom high and smashed it down on a leaf.
The broom moved so fast that it let out a piercing whistle.
Ordinarily, an attack that fierce would have smashed the leaf to pieces.
Strangely, however, though the broom had struck with tremendous force, the leaf had not budged.
Mo Wenjian withdrew the broom and motioned for Zhu Zhanshan to examine the leaf closely.
Zhu Zhanshan was shocked to discover that the leaf, thin as a cicada's wing, had been split into two clearly distinct layers.
The upper layer had borne the powerful impact and had long since been reduced to a pile of mush.
Yet the lower half was completely undamaged, as though it had felt no force at all.
"Could this be the legendary Minute Control?" After a moment of astonishment, Zhu Zhanshan could not help crying out.
"Lifting Heavy as Though Light can also be called Minute Control. At its heart, it means controlling one's strength completely. Even in the midst of the fiercest attack, one can stop in an instant, striking only as far as needed and avoiding accidental injury!" Mo Wenjian plucked the leaf and handed it to Zhu Zhanshan.
"I have read descriptions of Minute Control many times in martial arts manuals, but this is the first time I have seen it with my own eyes. Senior brother, your level is truly unfathomable!" Zhu Zhanshan accepted the leaf with both hands as though he had received a priceless treasure.
"Your Imperial Highness, you flatter me. Hidden dragons and crouching tigers abound in the Great Ming Dynasty, and its extraordinary people are beyond counting. I could hardly be called unfathomable!" Mo Wenjian paused, then continued, "The second move I will teach Your Imperial Highness is called Lifting Light as Though Heavy!"
Holding the broom in one hand, Mo Wenjian gently tapped another leaf.
Ordinarily, under such slight pressure, the leaf should only have stirred a little, as though bathed in a spring breeze.
Strangely, however, the leaf shot ten meters away like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Mo Wenjian walked forward and motioned for Zhu Zhanshan to examine the leaf closely.
Zhu Zhanshan stared at it and found that the leaf was completely undamaged.
"I think I understand what Lifting Light as Though Heavy means. Your movement looked gentle, senior brother, but it concealed a tremendous force. That is why the leaf flew ten meters!" Zhu Zhanshan paused, then added, "Because you have mastered Lifting Heavy as Though Light, senior brother, you can completely control that hidden force, great though it is. That is why the leaf suffered no damage. Senior brother, this move of yours truly leaves me breathless with admiration!"
"The martial arts of the School of Military Strategy emphasize breaking ten thousand techniques with a single force, so they have no need for anything fancy. Whether it is Lifting Heavy as Though Light or Lifting Light as Though Heavy, to Your Imperial Highness, they merely look impressive but are of little real use. The third move I am about to teach you, however, is entirely different!" Mo Wenjian paused, then continued, "The third move I will teach Your Imperial Highness is called Combining Hardness and Softness!"
Mo Wenjian raised the broom with one hand, gently tapped a leaf on the ground, then turned and left.
Zhu Zhanshan hurriedly bowed deeply, respectfully seeing Mo Wenjian off.
Only when Mo Wenjian's retreating figure had vanished from sight did Zhu Zhanshan come back to himself and resume examining the leaf on the ground.
Zhu Zhanshan stared wide-eyed at it for a long, long time.
His eyes grew sore, but he still could not spot anything unusual.
Just as Zhu Zhanshan was growing more and more puzzled, a breeze whistled past.
The breeze blew the leaf away, revealing a small pit.
At the sight, Zhu Zhanshan's whole body jolted.
"I understand! Once one has mastered Combining Hardness and Softness, one can easily kill an enemy inside hard armor, even through the armor itself. If all the military commanders of the Great Ming Dynasty mastered Combining Hardness and Softness, it would surely be like adding wings to a tiger when they marched into battle to slay the enemy. They would surely be unstoppable!" As an imperial grandson, Zhu Zhanshan viewed matters differently from ordinary people of the jianghu. The first thing he thought of was the value of Combining Hardness and Softness to the Great Ming Dynasty.
"Congratulations, Your Imperial Highness, on receiving the guidance of a reclusive master. Once word of today's events reaches the Capital, His Majesty will surely be delighted, and His Highness the Crown Prince will surely be greatly gratified as well!" Zhu Zhanshan's master stepped out of the shadows.
"Greetings, Master!" Zhu Zhanshan first performed the salute of a disciple to his master, then continued, "When senior brother instructed me, he made no effort to hide it from others. He was clearly hinting that I should pass Combining Hardness and Softness on to the Great Ming army, thereby improving its overall strength. Sorry to trouble you with this, Master!"
"Your Imperial Highness, I have been stuck in the Innate Realm for many years. Today, I was fortunate enough to learn the mysteries of Combining Hardness and Softness, and I faintly feel that I may break through my bottleneck. Please allow me a moment to contemplate it!" Having said this, Zhu Zhanshan's master drew his iron spear and began trying to attack the leaves without waiting for Zhu Zhanshan's permission.
"Although this matter is important, there is no immediate rush. Master, just handle it as you see fit!" Zhu Zhanshan knew full well that, to a martial artist, the enmity of obstructing one's path was greater than the heavens. Even an imperial edict had to be set aside for the time being when a martial artist was making a breakthrough, so he did not press the matter.
Zhu Zhanshan's master was a general who had fought a hundred battles, and his control over his strength had long since reached one hundred percent.
It was just that, for all these years, he had followed the essence of the School of Military Strategy's martial arts, pursuing the breaking of ten thousand techniques with a single force and thinking only of attaining the utmost hardness and strength.
Now that he had learned of Combining Hardness and Softness, a single hint was enough for him to understand it.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhu Zhanshan's master mastered Combining Hardness and Softness.
As the ancients said, one yin and one yang make the Dao.
Hardness could not endure, and softness could not hold fast. Only Combining Hardness and Softness was the proper path.
Having mastered Combining Hardness and Softness, Zhu Zhanshan's master immediately broke through the bottleneck of the Innate Realm and reached the Grandmaster Realm.
"I owe him an enormous favor!" Zhu Zhanshan's master could not help looking troubled.