Yang Ge leisurely sipped his tea, not disturbing Shen Fa as he perused the Floating Snow Palm secret manual.
After a long while, Shen Fa finally closed the manual and exclaimed in admiration, "What a marvelous palm technique; even rarer is that its leg and palm movements are inherited from the same lineage, complementing each other. When I find you a suitable weapon technique later, your martial arts will be considered complete!"
Yang Ge thought for a moment and asked slowly, "Could you explain to me what cultivation in the Qi Sea Realm is all about?"
Shen Fa pondered briefly before asking, "You’ve already looked over this palm technique, haven’t you?"
Yang Ge nodded, "Of course."
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Shen Fa said, "Proper cultivation in the Qi Sea Realm is just like this: accumulating Inner Qi to form peaks, breaking through barriers and unblocking meridians. Just to clear the Twelve Primary Channels and achieve the harmony of yin and yang, it would take at least a decade."
Yang Ge shrugged, "As you know, I’m not exactly the conventional type."
Struggling to restrain the urge to roll his eyes, Shen Fa explained patiently, "That’s just what I mean. You were born with all channels open, so there’s no need for you to endure the hardship of breaking through barriers and unblocking meridians. In theory, as long as your Inner Qi is strong enough, you could try to harmonize yin and yang, and refine essence into Qi right away."
Seeing his serious tone, Yang Ge cleverly played along, "But there’s always a catch, right?"
Shen Fa nodded, "Martial arts are static, but people are dynamic, and even the best martial arts depend on who uses them!"
"Think about it, two martial artists reach the True Essence level: one diligently cultivates for twenty or thirty years to achieve it, while the other does it in just two or three months. Even if their powers are equal, do you think the two can be compared?"
Yang Ge pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "If their powers are equal, isn’t the only difference in the level of their techniques?"
"It’s more than just the difference in technique!"
Shen Fa thought for a moment and then said, "Let’s say practicing martial arts is like a blacksmith forging his own weapon... You’ve seen blacksmithing, right?"
Yang Ge nodded.
Shen Fa continued, "Imagine two blacksmiths: one spends over a decade, hammering thousands of times to forge a blade."
"The other blacksmith simply casts a blade directly from molten iron."
"When the two blacksmiths cross swords, who do you think would live and who would die?"
This time Yang Ge understood, "You mean that a martial artist doesn’t just practice martial arts, but also trains themselves, right?"
Shen Fa nodded, "Exactly. As the blacksmith forges the blade through a thousand hammers, the blade becomes stronger and sharper, and he himself becomes more robust and powerful."
"But by casting a blade directly from molten iron, not only is the blade brittle and prone to breaking, he gains no physical training whatsoever."
"Though both are blacksmiths and both wield a blade, I’m afraid the forging blacksmith could split the casting blacksmith and his blade into four pieces with a single strike."
"And it’s quite obvious who has the potential for higher achievement between the two."
Yang Ge thoughtfully asked, "Then couldn’t I just cast the rough blade from molten iron and then continuously forge it with a thousand hammers? Wouldn’t I then have a blade at all times to brandish and cut down my foes, while also getting sufficient training?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Fa mused over it seriously, and after a while, he nodded hesitantly, "In theory, that should be possible..."
Yang Ge couldn’t help but laugh, "Is there a ’but’ again?"
Shen Fa also laughed, "Yes, the least wise thing in life is to want this and that at the same time."
"Especially in martial arts, one reaps as one sows; if you cheat in your practice, your martial arts will naturally cheat you."
"The suffering, the hardships, the difficulties, the unattainable goals—all these torment and obstacles are also the trials that those destined for greatness must endure."
Based on my brother’s shallow insights from squandering thirty years, those with exceptional talent who quickly rise to fame at a young age either never recover from a setback or become stuck at a certain hurdle for life, never making any further progress. It’s the very few who end up achieving greatness."
"On the other hand, those of average talent but with resilient minds, after countless tribulations, each and every one of them manages to achieve something."
"Among the four grand elders, the seven great heroes, and the twelve mighty champions who currently dominate the martial arts world, the only one who can truly be called a martial arts prodigy is the Quanzhen Sword Immortal, Li Qing. The rest have all suffered repeated defeats and continued fighting, never giving up!"
"Even you, with your supreme physique and unobstructed meridians, will see some ascend to unparalleled heights, overlooking all others, and some will be stuck at the True Essence stage unable to accept death, won’t you?"
These words were spoken with a profound seriousness and a heartfelt sincerity.
Yang Ge put away his smile, stood up straight, and solemnly clasped his fist in a salute, "Sir’s words are like a wake-up call that strikes me deeply. I will surely engrave them in my heart and reflect on them every day!"
Shen Fa was very pleased, got up, and gently patted him on the shoulder, "Don’t rush. The path of martial arts is long and boundless, but there is scenery at every step and enlightenment to be found along the way."
"You must believe that all the sweat you’ve shed and all the hardships you’ve endured will not be in vain. One day, they will return to you in ways you cannot imagine, helping you reach even higher summits!"
Yang Ge thought about it for a moment, then the chest he had just puffed up deflated instantaneously.
He tucked his hands in his sleeves and said quietly, "Sweat is okay, I’d rather do without the hardships, though. I’m practicing martial arts for self-preservation, for a better life. If I’m seeking out suffering just for the sake of improving my martial arts, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?"
Shen Fa "heh"ed, sneering, "Trouble won’t stop looking for you just because you don’t go looking for it... Didn’t you get beaten until you vomited blood just a few days ago? Have you forgotten already?"
Yang Ge: "I haven’t forgotten, and I’ve already decided to keep even further away from the martial world!"
Shen Fa: "And what if you distance yourself from them, but someone still comes looking for trouble?"
Yang Ge: "If I keep my distance like that, who would go out of their way to cause me trouble?"
Shen Fa, exasperated, "Utterly foolish, utterly foolish!"
Yang Ge looked at him in surprise, "I think it’s your idea that’s problematic. If I accidentally step in dog poop, shouldn’t I think about how to stay further away from it in the future? Should I instead get a pair of shoes that don’t mind getting dirty and purposely step in it every time I see it?"
Shen Fa: "Your thinking is flawed. If you’ve stepped in dog poop, that means there are dogs around. Wouldn’t you think about how to keep the neighborhood dogs from daring to poop in front of your house again, instead of just thinking about how to avoid the poop? Can you guard against thieves every single day?"
Yang Ge: "Based on what you’re saying, if a dog poops in front of my house, I should become the king of dogs and command all the dogs around?"
Shen Fa: "Why would you think about becoming the king of dogs? Can’t you just grab a stick and beat it to death?"
Yang Ge: "You beating it to death won’t solve the issue either. Are you going to beat all the dogs to death?"
Shen Fa: "Why would I need to beat all the dogs to death? Wouldn’t it work to just beat the ones that poop indiscriminately?"
Yang Ge: "There will always be dogs that aren’t afraid of death!"
Shen Fa: "Then keep beating them to death, that’s it!"
Yang Ge: "That’s sophistry!"
Shen Fa: "You can’t plaster a wall with wet mud!"