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“I don’t believe in heresy, now that I’ve given you the chance, it’s time to determine the winner!” Xiao Yan’s mana had been pushed to the extreme, and he charged towards Zhu Yi so quickly that it was hardly visible to the naked eye. As the Crash of the Eight Trigrams pulsated with an immense power, the surrounding space trembled and appeared to be collapsing onto itself.

Zhu Yi raised his eyebrows, and as he faced Xiao Yan’s menacing Crash of the Eight Trigrams he chucked his longsword aside. “The fire blazes in the pond, change! The gentleman who rules the world shall observe the ancient calendar! Sheath!” Zhu Yi abandoned his sword, and he extended and aligned his index and middle fingers. A blast of sword Qi burst forth from Zhu Yi’s fingertips. In a blink of an eye, it grew to a size of hundreds of meters. This sword Qi appeared to invert the heavens and the earth, changing states and human destiny, even changing the Mandate of Heaven! This move was much more forceful compared to the “Wind and Thunder in all Heavens and Earth” and the Fire Illumination technique that defeated Xiao Budian. This was the most powerful and forceful move Zhu Yi derived from the Way of the Facile Blade, which is to sheath one’s sword! The misty white sword Qi dazzled and shone with a concentrated power. Not only does it represent and symbolize all creations under heavens, but it also represented a powerful mortal technique without equal! Not even Xiao Yan’s Crash of the Eight Trigrams can overcome this move in an instant. Insurmountable initially, an unrestrained sword Qi charged straight towards Xiao Yan. “This is when everything starts going downhill for you, Big Senior. You lose!”

In this battle between disciples, excluding the round with the weak Wang Lin, Zhu Yi has won both rounds against Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian. Zhu Yi let out a long bellow filled with energy. Faced with Zhu Yi’s Changing Heaven Mandate’s move, Xiao Yan too was awed and dazzled. Loudly, he exclaimed, “Nice!” But that was not enough.

The Crash of Eight Trigrams could destroy external demons! On the path of cultivation, there were naturally many obstacles. Here, demons meant external obstacles. When a cultivator could overcome a demon king, only then could he understand the Tao. Everything that’s external, such as treacherous obstacles, danger, enemies and difficulties can all be said to be external demons.

Xiao Yan now used a variant technique of his Crash of the Eight Trigrams to dispel all these external demons1 The energy of the all-destroying Qi weighed heavily upon each other, and yet it did not appear to have dissipated. Rather, it tightly encapsulates Xiao Yan and his immediate surroundings, turning into invincible armor. Every single attack targeted at Xiao Yan was smashed into smithereens and reduced to nothing by this power. The teen in the black shirt clenched his hands to form an incantation, standing at rapt attention. He emanated an immovable and eternally powerful force.

At that moment, Zhu Yi’s face turned black. His sword-sheathing technique may be most powerful technique from the Way of the Facile Blade, but it was also the most mana draining one. First, he battled intensely with with Xiao Budian, and now Xiao Yan. Having fought two extremely taxing and intense battles, despite having gone through the Foundation Establishment phase, Zhu Yi could feel his mana running out. Sheathing his sword was apparently futile, and hence Zhu Yi lost his energy to fight again.

However, what made him more sullen was the fact that he clearly possessed the upper hand in the fight, having came within inches to defeating Xiao Yan, and then, in a blank of an eye, the tables turned. This feeling is worse than defeat. It was like a breath stuck in his throat that he could not expel.

“Zhu Yi, come up first, ” Lin Feng lightly glanced at Zhu Yi, and then turned his head to Xiao Budian and said, “Tianhao, are you interested in sparring with your Big Senior?”

Xiao Budian rolled his eyes, and said laughingly, “Big Senior, guide me please.” He then leapt 10 meters into the air, making a light somersault, and landed at the bottom of the valley. Zhu Yi took a deep breath, and glided up the mountain to stand next to Lin Feng.

From there, he appeared to watch Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian in a daze. Lin Feng thought to himself, “Zhu Yi spent a decade studying the classics and the way of becoming a gentleman, yet his character is neither kind nor humble nor courteous.”

In Zhu Yi’s mind, the only way to become a gentleman is to be brave and daring enough to be the first under heaven. In the fight to be the first under heaven, one must never be content and continually strive for excellence. That is the way of the gentleman. Despite not vocalizing it, and also because of his respect for his Big Senior and their harmonious relations, Zhu Yi’s heart had always burnt with a vigorous fire. He sought to be the best amongst Lin Feng’s disciples, their role model and hero.

“You don’t actually believe that you have lost, do you? It just doesn’t sit well with you, right?” Lin Feng asked lightly. Zhu Yi reacted with a sudden shock and after much deliberation, nodded his head honestly. He believes in the way of the gentleman, but as a young person, and also because of his extraordinary life, he was hot-blooded and could not willingly admit defeat to another person. Even if that person is his Big Senior.

As to his mindset, Zhu Yi had analyzed it very clearly, but he had no intentions of controlling it. The envy of the young, as well as their desire to win, is natural. If one should deliberately try to suppress it and pretend to be mature, it would be akin to using a sandbag to stop a flood. Not only would it go against the natural order, but it would also spawn future problems. It would be preferable to let it all out. Lin Feng turned his head and looked Zhu Yi right in the eyes. His gaze appeared to bore through to the bottom of his heart.

“So, what do you plan to do?”

Zhu Yi replied heavily, “I would like to challenge Big Senior again...If not, I feel as if there’s a rock inside my heart. My heart feels as if it’s full of incomprehensible barriers, and I could no longer string my thoughts together.”

“ Stringing thoughts?” Lin Feng’s mouth curled, “What do you mean by that?”

Zhu Yi replied, “I have read a Buddhist canon once, and it states that ‘A self-aware mind free from troubles and worries is a meritorious achievement. To recognize one’s nature is an accomplishment and to act according to one’s nature is virtuous.’ Clearing up my mind and adhering to my character and principles is the way I believe would allow me to string my thoughts together.”

Lin Feng nodded his head, “This is not entirely unreasonable, but have you not thought of a problem?” “According to your own nature, acting according to your desires, to achieve coherence between principles and action could cause others to act against their innate nature. Hence, many people would instead fail to achieve consistency between thought and action. They would thus be unable to free themselves from troubles and worries, ” Lin Feng said slowly.

“You believe in the way of the gentleman, and hence you must be aware of the precept of do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Here, Lin Feng smiled gently, “During our time on Earth, we would work towards what our hearts desire. There’s nothing wrong with that. Living a carefree life, while this isn’t wrong initially, but if your comfort comes at the expense of others then it’s called being self-centered.”

Upon hearing Lin Feng’s words, Zhu Yi was stunned into silence. He could not speak for a long while. Upon regaining his senses, he felt as if he had been doused by a bucket of cold sweat. Zhu Yi understood reason and was much more intelligent than others. All he require is a moment’s deliberation before he understood what Lin Feng intended to say, as well as the deeper meaning in his words. A person can be overbearing and selfish, but it would be for the best to have self-awareness. Understanding one’s own style of doing things may appear overbearing and selfish, and yet one cannot assume that being overbearing and selfish is natural in the eyes of others. One must temper it. If not, one would only be covering one’s own eyes.

Zhu Yi’s entire body began to sweat profusely, as he wondered, could his father, the Marquis of Xuanji, be that type of person? Requesting that others adhere to one’s own moral standards and norms, and yet refusing to acknowledge the feelings of others, or even assuming that this is the norm and that he was always correct. Making decisions on behalf of others, while believing that he was always right and that others should feel thankful towards him. Those whose thoughts were similar to him were correct, while those with a different mindset were wrong. Wrongs, hence, must be corrected. If not, one could not reason with this devious person. One’s own preferences and dislikes thus became absolute rights and wrongs. Those who follow me shall prosper while those go against me shall perish.

Lin Feng looked at Zhu Yi and sighed in his heart. Sometimes, some words must be said, as the power of genetics may be too strong. Regardless of how Zhu Yi and the Marquis of Xuanji may have their disagreements and differences, they were still highly similar right down to their bones. Zhu Yi closed his eyes to allow his thumping heart to calm down. His thoughts now reached a crossroad.

On one hand, it was his original straight path of being a gentleman, moving forward with a pure heart and a will as strong as iron. On the other hand, it’s a path of self-centeredness. Should he continue down this path, his father, the Marquis of Xuanji, would be waiting for him. Both paths represent his unwavering will and conviction in his own beliefs. However, there are fundamental differences between the two. The former would allow him to follow his heart, while the latter is merely succumbing to his desires.

Zhu Yi slowly opened his eyes, and bowed towards Lin Feng with the reverence he showed during the Master-Pupil Ceremony, and said earnestly, “I almost went down the wrong path. Thank you Master for your reminder. I am ashamed.”

Lin Feng laughed, “Look at how fast you attained revelations! It’s sufficient to show that you are more aware of your own principles that you know.” Lin Feng obviously had no desires to turn Zhu Yi into the old Marquis of Xuanji.

Should Zhu Yi become self-centered, not only would he become highly like his father the Marquis of Xuanji but as his master, Lin Feng, would also suffer. The master and the pupil would encounter increasing differences in opinions, and eventually breed hatred. Lin Feng wanted a disciple with a high degree of self-awareness who could reflect from time to time.

Upon seeing that Zhu Yi has understood, Lin Feng nodded his head satisfactorily and looked center of the valley. Laughingly, he said, “Right, concentrate now and watch the spar between Xiao Yan and Tianhao. Soon, the victor will be decided.”