The Way of Restraint

“What is your philosophy, Dad? Is it also that path of extinguishing humanity and pursuing divinity?” Su Jie already knew that within Typhon Training Camp, this was the path of cultivation…or rather, the path of evolution.

The key was that Su Jie couldn’t say whether this path was good or bad. In the cruel process of natural selection and evolution, perhaps this path was the correct one, while the Eastern philosophy Su Jie adhered to…the theory of unity between heaven and man…might be wrong.

Because no one knew what would happen in the evolution of thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years.

Perhaps, in the distant future, humanity would evolve into an entirely different form.

“Both right and wrong,” Su Shilin said. “If I had imparted my own methods to you, you would now be bound by fixed thinking patterns, rather than possessing the worldview that comes most genuinely from within yourself. I would have imposed my own worldview on you during childhood. That would have compromised the perfection of your spiritual nature.”

“That’s true. Everyone has their own unique understanding of the world,” Su Jie said. “If one is strongly indoctrinated with a worldview from childhood, it will inevitably conflict with one’s own inherent worldview. It’s like organs…the ones you grow yourself are the best. Even if someone else’s is identical, it will still be rejected. Let alone ideas.”

“Throughout human history, all wars and conflicts have originated from the desire to impose one’s own ideas upon others,” Su Shilin said. “Yet this is also an inevitability of order. Without a unified ideology, society descends into chaos. It’s a paradox.”

“In fact, the Book of Changes already describes such a social state in four characters: ‘qun long wu shou’…a multitude of dragons without a leader. This is an omen of great fortune…when everyone’s character is supremely noble, everyone is independent, and no one imposes their will on others,” Su Jie said. “But this social state is too idealistic…it may never be achieved. It exists only in imagination, an ideal state.”

“In any case, my martial philosophy doesn’t suit your personality. And now you’ve found a worldview that fits you…one you developed through your own learning. This is the most suitable for you, and it’s extremely important,” Su Shilin said. “That’s why you’ve progressed so quickly…in just two years, you’ve become an exceptional powerhouse of the world.”

“Once the mental state reaches the Living Dead realm, physical capacity far surpasses that of ordinary people…every metric can even break world records. It is indeed exceptional.” Su Jie had conducted extensive research on human body data and analyzed this deeply.

The impact of the Living Dead mental state on the human body was so immense it could be described as a complete transformation…a large-scale evolution.

With such dramatic changes in physiological indicators, it was no wonder people like Feng Hengyi claimed to have acquired “divinity.”

Su Jie had never considered this “divinity.”

“You want to fight your old man?” At this point, Su Shilin dispensed with small talk…he had long noticed Su Jie’s state and knew he wanted to spar.

“That’s the idea,” Su Jie said. “Now that I’ve reached the Living Dead realm and achieved Divine Enlightenment, I’ve fully consolidated this cultivation. I seem to have glimpsed a deeper level…approaching the realm of Enlightenment. So Dad, you shouldn’t hide from me anymore. I can see that your realm is at the Enlightenment level, though you haven’t yet fully realized Emptiness.”

“Emptiness?” Su Shilin asked with a hint of confusion.

“These are the realms Liu Guanglie created based on his own insights: Stability, Stillness, Tranquility, Severance, Clarity, Enlightenment, and Emptiness. He calls them the Seven Characters of Minglun. I’ve mapped these seven characters to my cultivation path and found they correspond,” Su Jie said, explaining the meaning of each.

“Interesting. Impressive. Liu Guanglie truly deserves his reputation as a contemporary grandmaster of martial arts…Minglun Martial Arts Academy’s national standing is no empty title. These seven characters are orthodox and proper, yet they encompass all the secrets of martial arts. At the very least, they cover eighty percent of Chinese martial arts cultivation,” Su Shilin said, deeply admiring Liu Guanglie…not so much for his cultivation, but for his meticulous delineation of mental cultivation and spiritual realms.

Each character carried profound meaning.

One could say each character was like a lamp, illuminating the path forward.

Whoosh!

At this point, Su Jie struck.

He didn’t continue discussing martial arts with his father…he used action to verify the mysteries within. A thousand words were worth less than one exchange.

In this opening move, he didn’t use the “Hoe Strike” technique. Instead, he used the first of the Eighteen Free-Hand Techniques that Gu Yang had originally taught him…”Long Ape Reaches for the Arm”…a supreme technique of Through-the-Back Boxing. The strike extended far and long, like a whip suddenly cracking. With a flick of the arm, it produced a crisp snap.

If that snap landed exactly on the point of force application on a person’s body, the entire body would split apart.

Yet those who could train this technique to such a level were extremely rare.

Seeing Su Jie’s arm whip out without any apparent dramatic movement, Su Shilin knew his son’s skill had truly reached an unfathomable level…as deep as an abyss, as vast as the sea…and even he had to be cautious.

If Su Jie were still at his level before fighting Zhang Hongqing, even having reached the Living Dead realm, he would be no match for Su Shilin. But after fighting Zhang Hongqing, he had experienced true terror and narrowly escaped death. He had reflected deeply and worked tirelessly to improve his physical condition. Now, nearly half a year later, both his body and experience were incomparable to what they had been.

Recently, he had also engaged in life-and-death combat with two other masters…Feng Hengyi and Wen Ting…which had further enriched his experience, like adding a catalyst to the mix.

So when he fought his father Su Shilin, he was in the best state of his life.

Su Shilin raised his arm to intercept Su Jie’s “Long Ape Reaches for the Arm,” striking from the middle to cut it off. This wasn’t any prescribed martial arts movement…it was spontaneous, natural, and perfectly formed.

Without even looking, Su Jie abruptly withdrew his arm and threw his whole body forward…an elbow thrust like a spear, a siege ram driving in, unstoppable.

“Greeting the Door with the Elbow”…a technique from Eight Extremities Boxing. Crashing, explosive, using the body as a shield and the elbow as a spear, advancing like a forest, invincible.

Su Shilin shifted his body and threw a punch, aiming precisely at the point where Su Jie’s elbow force had not yet reached its peak.

If this punch landed, it would be like cutting off the flow at the source, reducing all of Su Jie’s power to nothing.

But Su Jie seemed to have anticipated this as well. In the midst of his elbow thrust, he shifted again…spinning, using the Magic Step to create a distance illusion: it looked like he was advancing, but his body was actually retreating.

Boom!

In retreating to avoid Su Shilin’s punch, Su Jie finally unleashed his killing move.

Heart-Mind Intent, Hoe Strike!

His hand rose from below, shooting up to the crown of his head, like a dragon ascending to heaven. In the process of rising, he protected his entire centerline, his whole body contracting into a single line.

The moment it reached his crown, it crashed down with a thunderclap.

Snap!

Like a thunderbolt descending, his footwork surged forward like lightning…one move, three variations, pressing the attack, aimed directly at Su Shilin’s face.

At this moment, Su Jie’s Hoe Strike technique was more powerful than ever. Having integrated the “Nine Palaces Great Yu Thunder Section Orthodox Method,” he carried the true essence of Daoist Thunder Magic. Under that strike, the momentum was like the vast, awe-inspiring power of heaven itself…unstoppable.

This momentum, which had previously been grounded in the grand scheme of family and nation, now incorporated the overwhelming force of the heavens…unified, the three powers of heaven, earth, and humanity interacting, with man merging into heaven and earth, heaven and earth amplifying the human heart…a resonance of power.

Su Jie’s strike was nearing the Dao.

Even Su Shilin’s expression turned extremely grave in that instant.

He knew that if he didn’t show his true skill, he might be caught off guard by his own son.

In that instant, Su Shilin suddenly crouched low, his fists sinking like a great mountain into a lake, revealing nothing. His entire being seemed to disappear, slipping out from under Su Jie’s intent.

Su Jie’s Hoe Strike, infused with the Thunder Orthodox Method, descended like a heavenly tribulation, destroying all things in the world…inescapable.

But Su Shilin’s move seemed to transcend the Three Realms, stepping outside the Five Elements, the cycle of reincarnation, the influence of calamities. His movement appeared to place him in another dimension of time and space.

At this moment, Su Shilin had shown his true skill.

Whatever this footwork was, it flashed and flickered as if soaring through the heavens or tunneling through the earth…completely vanishing, beyond the mortal world. Naturally, the attack couldn’t reach him.

The moment his strike missed, Su Jie knew something was wrong. But he had also anticipated this…he hadn’t expected to defeat his father Su Shilin with a single blow.

In that instant of failure, his second strike came…relentless, with no respite.

But as his second strike came down, Su Shilin flickered again and dodged it once more.

However, Su Jie’s strikes were never limited to just two. His Hoe Strike technique could cycle endlessly, without pause…as long as his stamina held, like lightning and thunder, capable of destroying everything in the world.

Swish, swish, swish…

He struck continuously, a full thirteen times in one breath, both hands cycling, pressing the attack on Su Shilin. In this barrage, even Su Shilin couldn’t find an opening to counter…he could only evade.

Yet Su Shilin dodged all thirteen strikes with thirteen consecutive shifts, not even brushing against his clothes. And despite such intense combat in the cramped space of their home, not a single piece of furniture was disturbed…unlike Su Jie’s fight with Wen Ting, which had reduced an office to rubble.

After evading Su Jie’s thirteen consecutive strikes, Su Shilin finally found an opening. He suddenly kicked.

This kick was a stroke of genius…using length to defeat shortness, like a flying peak hanging from a mountaintop, stamping onto Su Jie’s chest.

But Su Jie seemed not to see the kick at all…his expression, even his eyes, showed no reaction whatsoever, deader than the dead.

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