High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

A Divine Bird is reborn from the ashes—this is an ancient legend.

But what Xu Wuyi felt at this moment was not rebirth, but coexistence.

The Flame was not a calamity that destroyed life, but a part of life itself—an external manifestation of Life Energy.

The moment this thought arose, his sea of consciousness trembled violently.

The Mountain Peak Great Sun Realm spun wildly. The light of the great sun grew increasingly intense, increasingly concentrated.

Finally, under Xu Wuyi’s ”gaze,” the great sun’s form began to change—it gradually elongated and morphed, taking on the silhouette of a three-legged Divine Bird.

The Golden Crow.

The mythical sun bird from the legends, which commanded Flame and light.

At the same time, the high mountain that had been supporting the great sun began to sink slowly.

It wasn’t collapsing, but subsiding, as if returning to the earth to become part of its solid ground.

The Golden Crow spread its wings and soared through the world of his consciousness, scattering countless golden specks of light like a shower of sunshine.

These specks of light fell upon the subsiding mountain—no, it could no longer be called a mountain. It was transforming into a vast, boundless expanse of Earth.

The golden light landed on the Earth, not dissipating, but flowing and converging like a living liquid.

Every drop of golden light carried the characteristics of the Undying Flame—scorching, inextinguishable, and vibrant.

Xu Wuyi’s consciousness was completely immersed in this scene.

He forgot time, forgot himself, forgot everything.

He simply ”observed.”

He observed the Golden Crow soar, observed the golden light scatter, and observed the Earth bear its weight.

After an unknown amount of time, when about a tenth of the conscious Earth was covered in golden light, a strange sense of saturation washed over him.

It wasn’t the exhaustion of his Spirit, but the feeling that some kind of ”container” had been partially filled.

Xu Wuyi naturally withdrew from the state of Visualization.

He opened his eyes. The bamboo house was dim. Outside, it was the dead of night. Moonlight spilled through the window lattice, casting a cold, quiet light on the floor.

He sat where he was, unmoving.

In his mind, the image of the Golden Crow soaring and the Earth bearing the light was still vivid.

But even clearer was the sensation—for every patch of Earth covered, his Spiritual Power grew stronger.

It wasn’t an increase in quantity, but a qualitative improvement, as if his Spirit was being tempered and nourished by the golden light.

Just then, deep within his sea of consciousness, the bronze-colored scroll silently unfurled.

New text appeared on the Martial Arts Diligence Record.

[Standard Training Completed Today: 1]

[Visualization Method: To Be Named]

[Current Realm: Entry Level (13%)]

[Evaluation: Body as Earth, bearing the Flame. Flame nurtures the Spiritual, Earth nourishes the Spirit. A self-contained system with a promising path forward.]

Xu Wuyi was stunned.

’I created my own Visualization Method?’

’And it’s already at the Entry Level, skipping Beginner entirely.’

He carefully recalled the process.

Observing the Celestial Bird Painting, his consciousness resonating, the Mountain Peak Great Sun turning into a Golden Crow, the high mountain sinking to become Earth, the golden light scattering and converging to nourish his Spirit.

This was indeed far from the simple Moving Mountains Visualization Method, nor was it any Technique taught by the Flame Venerable, and it certainly wasn’t the familiar Heart Fire Refining Spirit.

This was a path he had forged himself.

”Body as Earth, bearing the Flame...” Xu Wuyi murmured, repeating the words from the evaluation, his eyes gradually brightening.

He understood.

What was Flame? Flame was the power he controlled, the path he understood.

But he was not the Flame. He was the ”Earth” that bore the Flame.

Flame needs to burn, to move, to connect and resonate—these are the characteristics of fire.

And the Earth needs to be stable, to be solid, to contain and bear—this is his foundation.

The Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace trained the body, the furnace; the Moving Mountains Visualization trained the spirit, the mountain.

And now, he had combined the two and forged his own path—body as Earth, spirit bearing the Flame.

The Flame burns on the Earth, and the Earth is brought to life by the Flame.

Mutually reinforcing, a self-sustaining cycle.

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and closed his eyes again, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness.

Sure enough, the expanse of Earth was still there, with the golden light flowing across it.

Although only a tenth of it was covered, the feeling of a full Spirit and heightened perception far surpassed anything he had experienced before.

With a thought, he tried to mobilize the golden light.

Instantly, a wisp of dark golden Flame rose from his palm.

But this Flame was different from before. It was more solid, more vibrant, and at its core, the faint illusion of a Golden Crow flickered and vanished.

Xu Wuyi could feel that the Spiritual Power contained within this wisp of Flame was far greater than before.

It not only possessed the physical properties of the Undying Flame but had also taken on a ’Spiritual’ quality, as if it truly had a life of its own.

He dispersed the Flame and tried something else.

He released his Spiritual Power, and his perceptive range exploded from the previous ten kilometers to fifteen. Moreover, his perception was much clearer, able to capture even the most subtle fluctuations.

With a flicker of his will, the Mountain Peak Great Sun Realm appeared.

But now, this Mental Realm had transformed into ”Golden Crow Carrying the Earth”—a Golden Crow soaring in the sky, scattering golden light, while the solid Earth below bore its weight and nourished the Spirit.

The two Mental Realms had fused perfectly, without the slightest hint of stagnation.

’This is what it truly means for the ’fire to have revealed its nature’...’ Xu Wuyi finally understood the meaning of the Flame Venerable’s words.

Revealing its nature wasn’t about seeing the characteristics of fire, but about seeing the relationship between the fire and oneself, and seeing one’s own ”true nature” in the path of Martial Arts.

He had now found his own path.

Although he was just starting on this path, only at 13% of the Entry Level, the direction was clear, and the way forward was illuminated.

Xu Wuyi stood up and walked to the window. The starry river in the night sky was brilliant, and the moonlight was like water.

He thought of the slaughter on the Star Realm Battlefield, of Old Cat’s final gaze, and of Milo’s Celestial Wolf Illusion crumbling amidst the flames.

Power is meant for protection.

A path is meant for walking forward.

And now, he had a clearer direction.

”What should I name this Visualization Method?” Xu Wuyi gazed at the night sky, and after a moment of contemplation, an answer formed in his mind.

”Golden Crow Carrying the Earth.”

The Golden Crow is fire, it is yang, it is motion.

The Earth is the body, it is yin, it is bearing.

The Golden Crow soars in the heavens, scattering light; the solid Earth below nurtures life.

This was his path.

The Martial Arts Diligence Record seemed to sense his intention. The text on the scroll flickered slightly, and the words ”To Be Named” gradually faded away as new characters materialized:

[Visualization Method: Golden Crow Carrying the Earth]

[Current Realm: Entry Level (13%)]

[Evaluation: Body as Earth, bearing the Flame. Flame nurtures the Spiritual, Earth nourishes the Spirit. A self-contained system with a promising path forward.]

A faint smile touched Xu Wuyi’s lips.

He knew that from this day forward, his journey on the path of Martial Arts would truly be his own.

...

On the morning of the fourth day, Xu Wuyi trained as usual.

After completing the Basic Body Refining Technique, he clearly felt his Qi and Blood circulate more smoothly. Every movement carried a wondrous rhythm.

It wasn’t a conscious effort, but his body instinctively harmonizing with his breath, his Qi and Blood, and his Spirit.

’Is this the change brought about by ’Earth nourishing the Spirit’?’ Xu Wuyi realized, feeling the lightness of his body and the fullness of his power.