High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices

Chapter 705: Chapter 693: Grandmaster Level Clash

“I told you before that the Heart Image is the foundation of Grandmaster cultivation. But it isn’t immutable; it can grow. How? Through continuous Visualization and comprehension, which allows you to understand your own Rules more deeply and master them more thoroughly.

“For every level you deepen your understanding of the Rules, the strength of your Heart Image increases by a fraction. For every fraction your Heart Image strengthens, the more Heaven and Earth Energy you can mobilize, the more stable your Domain becomes, and the closer you get to the third step.”

Xu Wuyi listened, his mind rapidly organizing this information.

He recalled how, after his promotion, he had sat in meditation every day, watching the Heart of Order slowly rotate in his sea of consciousness and observing those fragments gradually converging.

That state had actually been him inadvertently practicing Grandmaster Level Visualization.

He just hadn’t realized it at the time, acting entirely on instinct.

Flame Venerable looked at him and smiled. “You’re already doing it; it just hasn’t formed a system yet. This is perfectly normal. No one knows how to cultivate as a Grandmaster from the very beginning. Everyone slowly fumbles their way through, slowly summarizes their experiences, and slowly forms their own methods.”

He stood up, walked to the door of the bamboo hut, and stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the bamboo forest outside.

“The first thing in Grandmaster cultivation is to find a Visualization method that suits you. Some people like to close their eyes and meditate in quiet places, some like to feel the changes in their Heart Image during combat, and some like to comprehend the Rules through practicing fist techniques or swordsmanship. The method doesn’t matter; what matters is that it’s effective.”

Xu Wuyi also stood and walked over to his side.

Flame Venerable continued, “Your current Visualization method should be sensing Order while sitting in meditation. This method is quite good and suits your current stage. But you must remember to think, to comprehend, and to ask yourself questions during your Visualization.”

He turned around and looked at Xu Wuyi, his gaze carrying a profound meaning.

“For example, you can ask yourself, what is the essence of Order? What is its relationship with Flame? What is its relationship with Gravity? And what is its relationship with those Rules you’ve previously comprehended?”

These questions hit him one by one, plunging Xu Wuyi into deep thought.

He truly hadn’t seriously considered these questions before. He had merely relied on his instinct to sense and observe, without deeply contemplating the underlying principles.

Watching him lost in thought, Flame Venerable nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes, this is the exact state you need. Ask yourself more questions, think more, and comprehend more. Only then can you step by step deepen your understanding of the Rules and allow your Heart Image to continuously grow.”

He paused, then shifted the conversation.

“But you must know that Heart Image strength is only one part of a Grandmaster’s combat power—perhaps not even the most important part.”

Xu Wuyi looked up at him.

Flame Venerable said, “Heart Image strength determines how much Power of Heaven and Earth you can mobilize, which is indeed crucial. But after mobilizing the Power of Heaven and Earth, how you use it is the true key to victory.

“With the same amount of mobilized Power of Heaven and Earth, some can only use it to enhance their own strength, relying on brute force with every punch and kick. Some can transform it into exquisite Techniques, using skill to overcome sheer strength. And some can integrate it into their weapons to form unique combat methods.

“This is the application of Rules.”

He raised his right hand, palm facing up, and a wisp of Flame rose from it.

The Flame was very faint, so pale it was almost transparent, but Xu Wuyi could clearly sense that the Energy contained within far exceeded the full-force strike of an ordinary Martial Artist.

“My Rule is fire,” Flame Venerable said. “But this thing called fire has many uses. I can have it burn directly, turning people to ash. I can also have it coat my fists to enhance my Fist Force. I can even condense it into fireballs and throw them to explode.”

As he spoke, the Flame in his palm began to change.

First, it formed a thin thread, swaying gently in the air like a burning rope. Then, the thread condensed into a fist-sized sphere with a smooth surface, slowly rotating over his palm.

Next, the sphere dispersed again, transforming into a sea of fire that blanketed his entire palm.

Each form carried distinct Energy Fluctuations.

Flame Venerable extinguished the Flame and looked at Xu Wuyi.

“What is your primary application of Rules right now?”

Xu Wuyi thought for a moment and answered truthfully, “The Flame of Order. I can use it to burn Order, affect the enemy’s state, and plunge the surrounding environment into Chaos, but its direct lethality is indeed lacking.”

Flame Venerable nodded. Without judging it as good or bad, he simply said, “Every Rule has areas it excels in and areas it falls short in. Your Flame of Order excels at affecting states, so dig deeper in that direction and push it to the extreme. But at the same time, you must find a way to make up for the parts you aren’t good at.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. “Once you reach the Grandmaster Level, it’s very difficult to find any ready-made Martial Arts that you can learn directly. Those Martial Arts were all created by predecessors based on their own Rules—they suited them, but they might not necessarily suit you. What you need to do is draw upon the strengths of others, gather inspiration from various Martial Arts, and find the method that suits you best.”

As Xu Wuyi listened, a thought flashed through his mind.

The spear.

His primary weapon had always been the spear. From his time at Star Martial University, to carrying out missions later on, and then handling cases for the Inspection Department, he had never once put it down.

If he could integrate the Order Rules into his Spear Techniques, what would that look like?

But he quickly realized that this wouldn’t be so easy.

His previous understanding of Spear Techniques had been built entirely on a physical level. Thrusting, lifting, sweeping, and cleaving—the core of these movements lay in using one’s own physical strength to attack the enemy.