Joy of Life

Fan Xian stood under the large tree with one hand supporting his waist and one gently patting the trunk of the tree. A smile shone in his eyes. His expression was as shameful as could be. It was as if his entire body had been divided into little squares and each of them was filled with a large “lowly” character.

It was what was known as “despicable” [JW1]. Not only did the words and actions of this young man from the Qing Kingdom create suspicion in front of Sigu Jian, they were also beginning to become shameless.

The Northern Qi Emperor, who had been silently listening to them talk and digesting the shock in her heart, finally could not resist any more. Looking at Fan Xian, she asked, “How can a person be so shameless?”

Fan Xian turned his head to glance at her and smiled self-mockingly. “You should know that I’ve learned Tianyi Dao. You should also know that I know the Tyrannical martial method. If I also learn Sigu Sword, I’m afraid I’ll become a strange creature, even though the arts put no pressure on the body. Most importantly, I have never believed that there is love without reason and hate without reason.”

He turned toward Sigu Jian and quietly said, “You still haven’t given up your plan. Must all you old people try and cultivate an opponent for my Emperor before you die?”

Sigu Jian’s face was cold. “Of the three of you, I always had the lowest opinion of you. I had not expected that you had changed or improved a lot during these two years. It is somewhat out of my expectations.”

Fan Xian lowered his head slightly and replied, “After experiencing too many life and death situations, one would always feel deeply moved.”

He knew that the three people Sigu Jian referred to was him, Haitang, and Thirteenth Wang. They were the three young people closest to the realm of Great Grandmaster. He thought for a long time and then continued. “Thirteenth should have learned it, but even he could not understand the truth within, much less me.”

Sigu Jian didn’t speak. On the contrary, it was the Northern Qi Emperor who smiled slightly and said to Fan Xian, “If you really don’t want to learn, why don’t you give this opportunity to me?”

“You?” Fan Xian laughed. “Your Majesty truly does things differently.”

The little Emperor pressed her thin lips together in a smile and said, “The sword saint only wants to create more trouble for the Qing Emperor after he dies. You are, in the end, his illegitimate child, you probably won’t be able to harden your heart enough. Passing it on to me seems more direct.”

Hearing these words, even Sigu Jian could not resist laughing. “Who would have thought that there were more and more interesting people in the world?”

“Alright, there is no need to bring up idle matters.” Fan Xian stood seriously behind Sigu Jian with his hands resting lightly on the back of the wheelchair. “Since I am going to learn, time is of the essence. Should I go wash and fast for a few days?”

Sigu Jian’s expression was strange as he turned his head to glance at him. “The sword is used to kill people. Even if you wash for a 100 days, you will still be stained with blood in the end. So, why wash?”

Fan Xian shook his head and said, “Since you want to teach me, you have to at least look like a teacher.”

“You’ve probably learned most of the sword secrets from him,” Sigu Jian narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “The sword is a dead thing. what is holding it is a hand. No matter which direction you stab or chop from, nothing much changes. It is impossible to use 10,000 different attacks. After all, space is only so big.”

Fan Xian listened silently and intently. To the side, the little Emperor had her eyes tightly closed, not letting a single word slip by. Even though her realm was not sufficient for her to understand too much, if she forcefully remembered it, there would always be many extraordinary talents in Northern Qi, such as Haitang, who was far away on the grasslands.

“How should a sword strike out to kill someone? That is a question of sword technique. However, the changes in sword technique are always at the end of a movement. Tens of thousands of years have passed and countless wise men have put much thought into this. As they say, there is nothing new under heaven. No matter what change it is, it had long been predicted.”

“Thus, sword secrets are never the most important part.” Sigu Jian’s remaining arm rested calmly against the armrest of the wheelchair. He stroked it gently like he was stroking the sheath of an ancient sword. “When you feel some kind of realm, you should understand that killing with a sharp sword is not how to kill someone. Rather, it is that you should kill someone.”

It was a seemingly profound statement, but Fan Xian understood. Wu Zhu had once talked to Fan Xian about so-called “true power.” Truth was the cultivation of the zhenqi in the body into layers, while power contained too much, for example, aura and specific hand techniques. Without question, sword technique fell into the category of power. What Sigu Jian was saying now had already surpassed the boundaries of true power.

“It is faith and determination. When your true power has reached the peak and needs to break through, what is needed is faith and determination.”

Sigu Jian raised his head to gaze at the large canopy. In a flash, two sword intents formed and pierced straight into the sky. Countless birds and bugs in the tree acutely sensed a murderous intent in the air between heaven and earth. Escaping fearfully, they made countless cries. It was very harsh. The birds turned into black dots, flying out from the depths of the treetop. They headed straight for the clouds in the sky.

Sigu Jian’s voice became lower and lower.

“People are not gods. Their bodies are just vessels. They have a limit. The cultivation of zhenqi increases with reality. At some level, the body’s meridians will no longer endure it and stop it. If one forcefully cultivates to increase it, it will only break the meridians and render the person useless. Of course, above the boundless oceans is already the ninth-level. If one wanted to rise further, it is a difficult matter.”

Sigu Jian’s eyes continued to calmly watch the green top of the tree. Fan Xian and the little Emperor listened quietly on the side. The atmosphere was strange. The little Emperor was not a powerful warrior, so she did not understand. Fan Xian was about to capture some kind of truth. No matter whether it was Lang Tiao, Yun Zhilan, or himself, they had all stepped into the ninth-level. However, they could not improve anymore because they had reached the limits of their bodies. No matter how much more they practiced, they could only keep maintain this realm.

“Truth is the water poured in, while power is how the water is splashed,” Sigu Jian said leisurely. “A jar of water will never be able to soothe acres of land. This is the so-called limit. If you cannot break through the boundaries of power, you will only ever be able to disperse the water ladle by ladle. Pettiness cannot be changed. No matter how many techniques and sword secrets you learn, if there is only so much at the source, you will not be able to understand what it feels like when a river breaches the banks.”

“So, what is important is the zhenqi in the body,” Fan Xian unconsciously commented, thinking of the Tyrannical zhenqi that was as unfathomable as the East Sea in the Emperor’s body.

“Between the realms, there is always a balance and mutual restriction. Truth is indeed the most important thing. If you cannot learn a method to release the truth in your body, it is impossible for you to have a truth that exceeds the mortal realm.”

“Like if a great river breaches the banks, if you cannot control the flow of the river water, the profound heavens will not gift you a great river,” Sigu Jian smiled mockingly and said. “The heavens have a virtuous love of life. It will not let anyone casually drop dead.”

“This explanation is too idealistic. I suddenly realized that although you had raised the most number of powerful warriors in the world, when it came to teaching students, your level is not much different to Uncle Wu Zhu.” Fan Xian sighed and thought that what Sigu Jian said made sense, but it was just all nonsense. Without a gate into the zhenqi in the body, the natural limits of a body would not allow zhenqi to endlessly expand. If zhenqi could not improve and surpass that boundary, it was impossible to grasp that profound method.

It was truly nonsense and a proposition that didn’t make sense.

“Because the zhenqi in the body is no longer at a level that can be sustained by the body and already left the boundaries of the world, thus, correspondingly, the method to control this zhenqi is also not something that humans should have.” Sigu Jian’s gaze drew back from above. Looking at Fan Xian, he coldly said, “This is a natural logic.”

“How can this problem be resolved?”

“You must first find a method that does not belong to this world.” Perhaps it was because Sigu Jian withdrew his gaze, but the wind rustling through the tree also stopped. The leaves swayed gently. The birds and bugs that didn’t have time to escape fell silent.

“It is precisely the desire and determination I spoke of earlier.”

Sigu Jian looked into Fan Xian’s eyes, unsure how much this young man could understand. Slowly, he said, “Strength beyond the ordinary must be achieved through methods beyond this realm for it to appear in this world. You must forget everything you learned. Your little tricks, the coffin-break technique, Sigu Sword, the Tyrannical method, the Tianyi Dao method… You have to forget everything that can capture a trace of the method.”

“As long as there is a trace, there is certainly a logic to be found. However, the true power of a Great Grandmaster’s realm does not have any logic to it.” Sigu Jian’s pupils gradually shrank. Looking at Fan Xian, he said in a stern voice, “You have to forget you are a person! You have to forget you have hands and feet. You have to forget you have hair on your body and pain in your bones. Don’t try to use any methods that can be controlled by your body to try and console the zhenqi in your body.”

“Only desire and determination can throw out the limitations of your flesh.” Sigu Jian’s voice gradually lowered. It still seemed like countless bells ringing in Fan Xian’s head. “Take off your clothes.”

Taking off this clothes, Fan Xian’s head felt like it was being struck by lightning. Sweat suddenly poured out of his body, completely soaking his clothes. He was familiar the words from the “Quotations from Su” of the Five Classics. When Master Ku He’s grandmaster, Master Gen Chen, meditated, he had once said, “A person’s body is a shirt. Only by taking it off can one move freely.”

On the precipice in Danzhou, when the cultivation of the Tyrannical martial method had reached the most critical moment, Uncle Wu Zhu had struck his head with a stick and roared the same thing.

He had never thought he would hear these words from Sigu Jian’s mouth. The will of heaven seemed to be mysteriously and inexorably proving to Fan Xian the deep meaning of these words. It was like he was being shown a completely new world that was mysterious, incomprehensible, and charming.

Sigu Jian did not speak anymore after saying this. Calmly and silently, he sat under the large tree.

Fan Xian’s body was covered with cold sweat. He faintly felt like he understood something. In reality, he did not understand anything. He knew what Sigu Jian said was true and correct. However, this method was overly illusory. There were no traces to seek. Most importantly, such an idealistic explanation was completely at odds with the Tyrannical martial method he had practiced since youth. Without his body as a bridge, would he be able to influence this real and solid world through his intentions?

Humans existed in the world. How were they different to the tens of thousands of animals? The answer was in the word “intentions.” Humans were the soul of all creatures. They could talk and think, see flowers blooming and be happy, see flowers withering and be sad, and observe the phases of the moon yet feel sorrow for the eternal changes of the world. Watching the rise and fall of the tide, they could feel the sorrowful impermanence of life.

No other creature was as complicated as humankind. Only people could have such a wealth of feelings and intentions that could not be forgotten in a moment. The heaven and earth coldly watched the destruction of all life. Only humans could counter-watch the heaven and earth, faintly communicating through their intentions.

The sweat on Fan Xian’s body gradually dried. He knew how such a realm could enchant one’s heart. He also knew that such a realm was not reached simply because one wanted to reach it. In a raspy voice, he asked, “The true Sigu Sword does not need a sword. How will you teach me?”

“The method does not reach a second person. If it does not wish to be passed on, it will not be passed on,” Sigu Jian broke the silence and coldly said. “Today, you wandered through Dongyi with me. I can only have you look. As for experience, that is completely up to you.”

Fan Xian bowed sincerely and said, “I am willing for you to lead the way.”

The little Emperor stood by their side with her eyes closed and eyelids trembling. It looked like she was trying to remember every word of their conversation.

Sigu Jian did not acknowledge what these two young people were thinking. He indicated for Fan Xian to push his wheelchair. They left the large tree, heading toward the luxurious center of Dongyi.

At some point, perhaps when Sigu Jian raised his head to look at the sky, everyone under the tree had fled in fear. It was now peaceful below the tree. There were only faint shadows enveloping the ground beneath it.

With a whoosh, the sea wind swept across. The leaves below the large tree suddenly flew up. Countless leaves fell down, revealing holes in the canopy through which the startlingly blue sky could be seen. It was as if the gaze of a god was, at some moment, lightly sweeping across the earth.

[JW1] The characters for “despicable” is made up of “lowly” and “squares,” hence the pun.