“Master.” Xue Ling walked towards Chu Li and called out to him softly.
Chu Li looked at her. “Did everything go well?”
Xue Ling was startled and her body immediately stiffened. His glare had pierced through her like a cold blade, she felt as if she fell right into a house of ice. Her entire body was frozen in place.
Chu Li could tell something was off. He locked his gaze and waved his hand. “Uh, I’m sorry. They stayed?”
“Yes.” Xue Ling let out a breath of relief. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The gaze she felt was far too terrifying.
Chu Li closed the black box. “How many floors did Brother Jiang Kuai pass?”
“He’s now a rank 6 Protector,” Xue Ling replied. “His martial arts is really good. Where did you find him, Master?”
Chu Li broke into laughter. “Brother Jiang Kuai is the famous Celestial Monkey of the martial arts world. It’s normal for him to reach rank 6. Are they satisfied?”
“I think they’re quite happy,” Xue Ling said, “especially his wife.”
Chu Li nodded. “You’ll have to visit them often. Since it’s their first time here, they might need the help. One maid might not be enough.”
“Understood,” Xue Ling replied, “or should I get two more to help?”
“There’s no need,” Chu Li said. “Just let them get comfortable by themselves. Go and make yourself busy.”
Xue Ling pointed at the black box. “What’s that?”
“The bone of the Spirit Tiger.” Chu Li smiled. “Don’t touch it. You’ll probably die.”
“Master looked terrifying just now.”
“I was battling its ill spiritual force. You came right on time. Are you still visualizing Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait?”
“Of course!” Xue Ling nodded.
She felt the effect of visualizing Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait and it was amazing. Her nerves were getting stronger, and she no longer felt out of breath, nor did she have a weak heart all of a sudden. Xue Ling was now much more consistent in her responsibilities. Most importantly, she felt her inner energy work much faster than before.
Chu Li nodded in satisfaction. “I’ll change another piece of art for you.”
“Thank you, Master.” Xue Ling had a sweet taste of the benefit. She knew that the art was a treasure, people were usually unwilling to show it to others just like that.
Chu Li waved off his hand and Xue Ling went into the kitchen to cook.
——
Ever since Jiang Kuai had joined the Public House, Chu Li never showed his face. He sat in the courtyard visualizing the bone of the Spirit Tiger and tried to comprehend the inauspicious power of it, as he strengthened the ferocity of the white tiger in Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait.
Chu Li felt that the power coming from the void was getting stronger, like a turbulent wave engulfing him.
His body was increasing in power and becoming tougher. Chu Li became faster, and the power of Sentient Menace was also increasing because of Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait. Infinite Azure Sea was easily stacked to five layers as well.
Chu Li lamented to himself, how this one piece of bone helped him so much.
He always had an urge to touch the bone, just once, but there was something warning him from his heart. It stopped him from directly touching it, potentially saving him from danger.
Chu Li believed in his own intuition and forced himself to subdue the urge. He only visualized it and sensed it in close proximity, never laying his hands on it.
Chu Li helped Xue Ling in her cultivation during his free time. She was improving very quickly.
The biggest drawback of Crescent Cryptic was that it cultivated relatively slowly. However, under his strong vigor, Crescent Cryptic was easy with no obstacles whatsoever.
With his help, Xue Ling’s one day of cultivation was worth as much as one month of her usual cultivation. In one month, she had already broken through her acupuncture points. She completed her acquired mastery and was only one step away from innate mastery.
Xue Ling was a little impatient. She did not reach the key door, unable to find the road to innate mastery.
She knew that Innate Mastery was a metal door, where nine out of ten people at this stage failed to become Innate Masters. Her qualifications were average, and it was because of Master Chu Li’s help that she was able to reach this stage this quickly. If Xue Ling had relied on herself, she would not have reached this stage, not even in eight or ten years.
Xue Ling collected her thoughts and calmed herself down. If she continued to grind at it slowly, she was sure to find the key.
In the morning, Chu Li had finished cultivating and sat at the gazebo. He took the teacup that Xue Ling had prepared for him and pointed at the stone chair to his front. “Sit down. Let’s talk, shall we?”
Xue Ling gently sat at where he pointed.
Her snow white gown was spotless, and she looked like a white jade, with fluid eyes as clear as lake water. She gazed at him, full of curiosity. “Master?”
“Are you stuck at the threshold of Innate Mastery?” asked Chu Li.
“… Yes,” Xue Ling helplessly answered. “I just can’t seem to reach the door no matter what. I don’t feel it at all.”
She had asked Zhao Ying about this, regarding the phase before one broke into Innate Mastery.
“It’s hard to find it when you aren’t calm,” replied Chu Li.
“Then should I calm my heart?” asked Xue Ling.
Chu Li smiled. “You’ll only be calm when you stop thinking about it.”
“How is that possible!?” Xue Ling shook her head.
Innate Mastery had been on her mind from dawn to dusk. She had no intentions of giving up, no matter what.
“It’ll be very hard to break into Innate Mastery, with a personality like that,” Chu Li said.
The more stubborn one was, the harder it was for them to calm their heart. If their heart was not calm enough, they would be unable to reach the key door. They would have been unable to find the road to Innate Mastery.
The reason why Innate Mastery was hard to break into and blocked many aspiring martial artists was not due to their lack of qualification, but because of their temperament.
Only when one had finally decided to give up on reaching Innate Mastery and stopped being stubborn, would their heart calm down. The degree of calmness needed to be strong as well. Only then would the key door naturally appear.
But if one gave up the moment they were stuck and did not have an urge to even attempt to look for it, they would also not have reached Innate Mastery.
One would pour their heart and soul out to find it, and gave up just like that. They had completely given up on all hope as if their opportunity to continue living had vanished. All their hopes and dreams, gone.
This would be the point where things had reached an extreme. The development into Innate Mastery would have moved in the opposite direction. This was the best timing as one would see the key door at this moment, finally breaking into Innate Mastery.
The harder one sought for it, the deeper the tranquility they will have reached once they gave up. It was similar to achieving enlightenment in Buddhism. If one did not seek for it hard enough and simply gave up right away, they would not have reached any depths of tranquility.
The perfect timing was fleeting, however. Only a few people were able to grab onto the string of hope.
This was why one should not tell another how to break into Innate Mastery. If one knew in advance, they would not have experienced both extremes of hope and despair and would have been unable to break into Innate Mastery. That was why Chu Li was unable to just tell her. If he did, it would have only harmed her progress.
In fact, Chu Li was able to conclude the process. Most people broke into Innate Mastery without a clue as to how or why.
Chu Li had a mentality that was different from this world. His dharmic base was very refined, and he kept an eye on obscure heart techniques meticulously. He had already seen through the secret of Innate Mastery.
The reason why Chu Li entered Innate Mastery without much trouble was not because of his mentality, but because of his profound Zen. His ability to stay tranquil was very refined. He only had to search for a while to reach the key door and break into Innate Mastery.
However, with a tough and stubborn personality like Xue Ling’s, where she would not give up on it under any circumstances, breaking into Innate Mastery would have just been a pipe dream.
But Chu Li was unable to bring himself to just watch as she blindly wandered around in search of the key door to no avail. If Xue Ling depended on herself, she would not have reached Innate Mastery. Not even if she took eight or ten years for it.
Xue Ling was not convinced. “Master, does that mean I’ll never reach Innate Mastery?”
“If nothing out of the ordinary happens, you’re never going to,” Chu Li replied.
“But why?” Xue Ling asked.
Chu Li smiled.
Xue Ling nipped her red lips. “Master, do you mind helping me?”
Chu Li broke into a hearty laugh.
Xue Ling rolled her eyes at him.
She believed in what Chu Li said. Xue Ling did not trust herself much. Since Chu Li said that she would be unable to break into it, then he must be right. Looking at her expression, it was likely that he would help her.
Xue Ling might have still cared about her pride and standing in front of anyone else, but with Chu Li, she could not have cared less. She had thrown it all away earlier.
“Okay, I will help you,” Chu Li agreed.
It was unexpected, but she was overjoyed.
“Thank you, Master!”
“Let’s go to my room.”
Chu Li stood and left the gazebo, walking to the west room of the main hall.
Both of them sat on the couch. Xue Ling sat with her legs crossed. She put both of her hands together and looked solemn.
Chu Li sat right opposite her. He pressed his thumb in between her brows and did not move an inch.
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