Chapter 524: Chapter 343: Discussing Innate Doctrine, The Contest of Paths! [Vote for Monthly Ticket!]
"Practical Combat!"
"Life and Death Struggle!"
"When a person is in battle, facing life and death, their spirit reaches its peak, illuminating their mind. The more they fight, the stronger and braver they become, with the hope of proving Innate Dao!"
"With each life-and-death battle, they draw closer to Innate."
"As long as they don’t die!"
"They will eventually achieve Innate!"
Practical combat! Struggle! Life and death crisis! This is the most certain ’path of Dao proof’ for Ban Xianfu.
This is indeed a highly promising way to prove Dao, for instance, Shi Qingke was the first to launch an assault towards Innate Dao during the Cang Mountain Sword Discussion—
"Shi Qingke attempted a breakthrough by leveraging the oppression of the White Bone Forest within the White Bone Banner."
"But he failed."
"Ban has pondered this afterwards, suspecting several reasons for his failure—"
"First is insufficient pressure. Although the White Bone Forest is strong, it is not individually overpowering, thus the oppression it brings is limited."
"Second is the lack of sense of crisis. The Cang Mountain Sword Discussion, after all, is a martial arts competition. Even if Shi Qingke fails to hit Innate, the most he would face is cultivation regression without the risk of death, insufficient crisis."
"Third is insufficient foundation. To break through in practical combat, one’s foundation cannot be too weak, otherwise, it’s simply gambling."
Ban Xianfu appears to be a simple brute, wielding the Avici Blade, only knowing how to kill, yet unexpectedly he has a delicate side, understanding analysis and summarization, and his analysis is indeed insightful.
Indeed!
Shi Qingke’s path is actually aligned with Ban Xianfu’s revered ’practical combat Dao proof’, but Ban Xianfu summarizes, ’practical combat Dao proof’ hinges on ’between life and death’, on the peak burst of ’spirit’ under life-and-death pressure.
If Shi Qingke had chosen a different environment and opponent, changed his mindset, there might just have been a breakthrough.
But unfortunately, he chose the wrong place and the wrong opponent—
Heavenly Time, Geographical Advantage, Human Harmony!
Shi Qingke had none, how could he prove Dao?
Thus, in Ban Xianfu’s eyes, from the moment Shi Qingke showed signs of aiming for Innate, he already judged him to have failed!
...
Ban Xianfu and Wei Lingshan have similar ideals but fundamentally differ.
Wei Lingshan’s thought actually aligns more closely with Lu Yuru: "Combat carries risk, who knows if the battle will lead to Dao proof or death first?"
Lu Yuru does not approve of Ban Xianfu.
But she is intrigued by Wei Lingshan’s suggestion to explore the ’Underground City’: "Chen Xiantian comprehended the [Jiangguan Misty Rain Stele] and achieved instant enlightenment, achieving Innate on the spot. When we enter the ’Underground City’, we need not focus solely on battle; we can seek treasures like the ’Misty Rain Stele’ for comprehension. One moment of enlightenment is more effective than hundreds or thousands of fights!"
Ban Xianfu advocates ’practical combat Dao proof’.
Lu Yuru leans more towards ’enlightenment Dao proof’.
This method may indeed be fortuitous, but looking at the ’Heavenly List’ grandmasters, most achieved Innate through enlightenment.
To speak of nearby examples—
Such as Chen Ze.
Or Jiang Bianliu.
They can all be considered ’enlightenment Dao proof’.
Jiang Bianliu studied boxing his entire life with deep accumulation; upon acquiring Yan Chuan’s ’Xingyi Boxing’ manuscript, he gained instant enlightenment, achieving Innate Dao.
Chen Ze is even more extreme. With Yan Chuan’s assistance and absolute focus, he comprehended the [Misty Rain Stele] for a full seven days, achieving Dao proof through opportunity and creation.
This is also enlightenment.
Lu Yuru practices the ’Three Great Swords’, aspiring to merge the three into one, creating the "Three Heavenly Swords", aiming for the moment of enlightenment and sublimation at its creation, to break through all shackles at once, and thus prove Dao.
This path sounds mystical, seemingly relying on luck.
But in reality, it still depends on personal accumulation.
Of course.
Besides personal accumulation, if one could gain opportunity from places like the ’Underground City’ to accelerate this process, it would be ideal.
Enlightenment Dao proof!
Also known as ’Opportunity Dao proof’!
This is what Lu Yuru and Wei Lingshan hope for.
But for Yan Chuan, ’practical combat Dao proof’ might offer some hope, but ’enlightenment Dao proof’ is unfortunately unattainable.
Enlightenment!
What is enlightenment?
As the name suggests, ’sudden comprehension’ is ’enlightenment’!
A Martial Artist’s enlightenment often accompanies a significant boost in strength—
For instance, during the Sword Discussion, Chen Ze, Wang Ge, Fu Yunzhan all experienced enlightenment, not only advancing greatly in Absolute Skills but also making rapid progress in cultivation.
For example, Yan Chuan himself, during practical combat utilizing the "Ghost Prison Yin Wind Roar", instantly enlightened and saw a rapid cultivation surge.
But these are rare chances, a flash of inspiration.
The stronger the enlightenment!
The greater the advancement through enlightenment, the more intense the flash, leading to more severe growth and elevation.
For instance, Chen Ze, initially enlightened in only "Quanzhen Swordsmanship" and "Jade Maiden Swordsmanship", even with enlightenment, his cultivation slightly progressed a few layers, breaking limits from Postnatal Second Layer to Limit-breaking Second Grade, only increasing to Postnatal Fourth Layer Limit-breaking Fourth Grade. Although the growth was not insignificant, compared to Fu Yunzhan’s subsequent enlightenment in "Evil Exorcism Sword Skill", the absolute skill saw greater enhancement, thus driving cultivation ascent more significantly, from Postnatal Fourth Layer directly to Ninth Layer, astonishing!
But Fu Yunzhan, when compared to Wang Ge’s subsequent direct entry to Postnatal Eleventh Layer, falls short.
As for Yan Chuan.
His "Ghost Prison Yin Wind Roar" advanced from the Five Realms Peak to the Late Stage of the Sixth Realm, yet the progress was still less than Fu Yunzhan and Wang Ge, therefore his cultivation only rose to Ninth Layer.
This is ’enlightenment breakthrough’!
It can also be seen as ’practical combat breakthrough’!
But technically it’s still ’practical combat breakthrough’, fundamentally different from Lu Yuru’s revered ’non-competitive’, ’peaceful’ ’enlightenment’.
But the kind of ’enlightenment’ Lu Yuru seeks, Yan Chuan cannot achieve.