The Way of Restraint

Chapter 44: A Still Mind

Su Jie paced back and forth, appearing restless and uneasy.  

Inside his body, an uncontrollable surge of emotions threatened to break free.  

In some foreign countries, there were competitions where people were locked in sealed rooms to test their endurance. However, those participants had light, food, and the reassurance of knowing it was just a show. Psychologically, they felt safe—completely different from Su Jie’s current situation.  

Yet, even under such conditions, Su Jie had not collapsed. His mental resilience was already remarkably strong.  

A pitch-dark, enclosed space—this was already a form of cruel punishment. Over time, it was even more tormenting than electric shocks.  

Time passed. Sometimes Su Jie lay down, sometimes he stood up. He was on the verge of breaking down.  

But just when he reached his limit, he would force himself to stop and suppress his agitation.  

He had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually, hunger and thirst set in.  

Yet, Uncle Mang still hadn’t come.  

“Did Uncle Mang really forget about me?” Doubt crept into Su Jie’s mind. “He’s blind… If something happened to him, I might starve and die of thirst in here…”  

In theory, if he was truly desperate, he could drink the water from the toilet. But when he checked, there was none left. He pressed the flush button, only to find that the tank was empty. The first time he had relieved himself, the water had already been used up, and the pipes had not refilled.  

Now he was in a situation with neither food nor water, deepening his despair.  

To make matters worse, the longer he stayed in this agitated state, the more energy his body consumed, making his hunger intensify.  

“I can’t go on like this. I have to calm down—no joy, no sorrow, no fear of life or death, no dread of terror…” Every time he felt himself breaking, Su Jie reminded himself to hold onto the last thread of clarity in his mind.  

Who knew how many times he had neared collapse? How many times he had been tormented by despair? Yet gradually, through sheer willpower, Su Jie forced himself into a state of complete calm.  

He lay down, thinking of nothing, doing nothing, breathing in the most even rhythm possible.  

It was the Great Corpse State.  

He entered a deeper level of this technique, treating himself as a corpse. Wasn’t this pitch-black space just like a tomb and coffin?  

If he was already dead, what was there to fear? What was there to despair over?  

All that remained was absolute relaxation and tranquility.  

In that instant, Su Jie found this place rather nice—so peaceful that he felt he could stay here forever. He no longer felt hunger or thirst; it was as if his body’s life force had stopped depleting.  

Suddenly, he seemed to grasp the essence of a certain state of “feigned death” in his training. It was something he had never reached before in the Great Corpse State. After enduring excruciating suffering and despair, he had finally broken through.  

Lying there motionless, he neither thought nor slept. His mind was crystal clear, void of all distractions—he had forgotten martial arts, forgotten his studies, forgotten everything. It was as if he were drifting at the edge of the universe, embracing endless solitude.  

But solitude was not suffering. It was bliss.  

This was an evolution of his mental resilience.  

Click!

The door opened.  

Uncle Mang entered.  

But at that moment, Su Jie didn’t react, as if he didn’t care about his arrival at all.  

“Su Jie, do you know how long you’ve been in here?” Uncle Mang asked.  

“Not really interested,” Su Jie finally sat up, his expression serene and his mind exceptionally composed. This was the state he had reached after enduring suffering and despair—his Great Corpse State had advanced further.  

“It’s been three days,” Uncle Mang clicked his tongue in amazement. “Even elite American agents struggle to endure such conditions without breaking down. But judging by your state, you could probably last another two days without issue. Your mental state has minimized your energy consumption. The Great Corpse State is one of the simplest yet most profound yogic disciplines—a gateway, so to speak. There are many levels within it. Previously, you had only reached the first level—‘Calm Mind, Tranquil Spirit.’ Now, you’ve attained the second level—‘Neither Dead Nor Alive.’ If you can reach the third level—‘Living Dead’—you will be at the peak. This kind of psychological training enhances your brain function, influences your body’s hormonal balance, and further boosts your physical capabilities. The intricate relationship between mental and physical states is one of my research topics.”  

“Living Dead? Sounds like a character from some martial arts novel—something about Mount Zhongnan and a Tomb of the Living Dead,” Su Jie mused.

“That is Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen Sect. Historically, he practiced Daoist Qi cultivation, which was quite similar to the Great Corpse Laying Technique. He built a tomb for himself and secluded himself inside. After three years of cultivation, he finally trained his mind to the state of a living dead, thus establishing the Quanzhen lineage,” Uncle Mang said.  

“Is that how it was in history? Then was his martial arts very powerful?” Su Jie asked.  

“That, I don’t know. Mental cultivation can certainly enhance physical fitness, but it’s not the same as martial arts. However, if you reach the state of a living dead, any martial arts you practice will progress rapidly. In Chinese history, many cultivators didn’t actually train in martial arts but instead focused on mental resilience. For example, Zhang Sanfeng—I believe his martial arts is another matter, but his mental cultivation was truly at the level of a grandmaster. If you have time, you should read his Rootless Words.”  

Uncle Mang had Su Jie step outside. “You’ve been in there for three days and nights. Although your mental state is fine, your body has deteriorated significantly. You need to recuperate. Come with me—I’ve prepared plenty of nutritional supplements.”  

Sure enough, when Su Jie got up, he felt weak in the legs. Anyone would feel the same after going three days and nights without food.  

Moreover, during that time, he had gone through intense anxiety and despair, depleting a significant amount of physical energy.  

“I understand this well,” Su Jie said, still able to walk. “My coach also told me that mental resilience is essentially a person’s moral character. When someone has a strong will, can endure hardships, and calmly analyze gains and losses, they can excel in anything they do. That’s why establishing good character from the start is crucial. A person who is lazy and deceitful will achieve nothing, no matter how favorable their conditions are.”  

“If I’m not mistaken, your coach is the godmaker, Odell,” Uncle Mang suddenly said.  

“How do you know?” Su Jie was startled. Odell had told him not to reveal it to anyone, and he had kept it a secret. But now that someone had guessed, there was nothing he could do.  

“Actually, some time ago, he came here and spoke with me. I know what he’s trying to do—he’s searching for supernatural power. But what he’s truly after is the highest level of mental training. Right now, human body training has reached a level of extreme precision, completely analyzed by artificial intelligence. Humans will never surpass AI. AI can absorb thousands of years of human knowledge in a single second and extrapolate even more. Just look at Go, and you’ll see what I mean,” Uncle Mang said. “But when it comes to training the mind, AI is powerless—because the human psyche is uncontrollable.”  

Su Jie had heard plenty about this subject. However, he was particularly interested in what Uncle Mang had mentioned about Wang Chongyang and Zhang Sanfeng. He wanted to research them and read their works. These figures had been mythologized in various novels, but in reality, they were just practitioners of mental cultivation. If he could learn from their insights, his own training in this area could reach a higher level.  

“Globally, the training of mental resilience is still in its infancy. But in ancient times, civilizations such as those in India and China, along with various religious sects, conducted extensive research on it. Unfortunately, back then, civilization wasn’t advanced enough to preserve much of it. Only written records and illustrations remain. If there were videos or detailed data, that would be ideal,” Uncle Mang sighed.  

Su Jie remained silent. His experience over the past three days in the “dark room” had significantly strengthened his mental resilience—far more than days of electric stimulation ever could.  

After that, he followed Uncle Mang to another location. He first drank dairy products and honey to regulate his digestion. After half a day, he ate porridge and soup noodles, then received massages to aid his recovery.  

After twenty-four hours, he had fully regained his strength, and all his physiological indicators had returned to peak condition.  

In truth, his physical fitness was excellent, and his recovery ability was extraordinary. This level of exertion was nothing to him.  

Once his body had fully recovered, he resumed training and found that his boxing techniques had improved once again. He could control his punches effortlessly, and his mind was sharper than ever. His mastery over his own body had also become more precise.  

“Originally, your dark room training was supposed to last much longer, with repeated cycles of hardship. But you managed to complete the mental resilience training in just three days. In fact, you’ve already broken many records for special agent training,” Uncle Mang said. “The training of mental resilience is fascinating—it’s easy to break through. Buddhism has a saying about sudden enlightenment. But physical training requires consistent effort over a long period. Your physique is already very strong, but you lack muscle memory. To truly master combat techniques to the point where they become instinctual, you’ll need three to five years of constant practice. Of course, at your current rate, you could reach that level in just a year.”  

“I understand,” Su Jie said. He was well aware that his physical ability, techniques, and reflexes had yet to reach their peak. There was still plenty of room for growth.  

The reason for this was simple. First, he was only sixteen years old. Second, he had only been training for two months—far too short a time. But within those two months, he had already reached a level where he could compete with provincial-level professionals. 

That was thanks to the efforts of Odell, Uncle Mang, and Gu Yang. Of course, his own dedication and intelligence played a significant role. Additionally, Josh’s contributions could not be overlooked.

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