Chapter Ten: A Difficult Man

Martial arts are not for everyone. Not everyone who possesses martial arts can become a master. It is the person who is formidable, never the martial art itself. The gap between people can be even greater than the gap between a human and a dog.

Take the current situation, for instance: Shi Fei did not quite understand what the old man meant by "yin and yang," "all things," or "meridians." It was not so much that he didn't understand, but rather that whenever he shared his own interpretations with the old man, the elder would fly into a rage and turn hostile. This left Shi Fei full of confusion.

"Did I say something wrong?" Shi Fei asked.
The old man remained silent. He would be a fool to pay any more attention to Shi Fei.

Since the old man wouldn't speak, Shi Fei had to decipher the techniques taught to him on his own. But how could a man trapped in a dream understand complex martial arts? A whole day passed with zero progress, and the old man remained mute. Watching the glowing cave entrance, Shi Fei realized that if he couldn't master these techniques, he couldn't leave; he could only wait. Wait for someone to rescue him.

And if no one came? Would he just end up like the old man—clinging to hope, growing old, and eventually dying trapped here? "The Dog-Trapping Cave"—it truly lived up to its name.

Shi Fei sighed. He felt a profound sense of helplessness. What was he to do?

One day, two, three, four... Every day, Shi Fei marked the stone wall. Before he knew it, over a dozen days had passed. The packages sliding down from the cave entrance contained only dry rations and water, with no more notes. What had happened to Qingqing? Were the previous notes really from her? He didn't know, and he dared not think about it.

In the depths of the dark cave, within the reality of his dream, amidst a tangle of thoughts, Shi Fei didn't even know what kept him waiting. He began to attempt the training, persisting even though he couldn't make a breakthrough. He couldn't just do nothing!

The old man in the shadows suddenly spoke: "Kid, that's not the way!"
"Why?"
The old man smiled thinly. "Do you know that martial artists are divided into different ranks?" Having observed Shi Fei for over a dozen days, he felt he had seen through him.
"I do not," Shi Fei replied.
"The lowest are like you—rotten wood. Even if I taught you a peerless divine art, you wouldn't be able to master the basics!" the old man mocked.

"The next level are ordinary practitioners who follow the steps rigidly, never achieving anything significant," the old man said, hinting at his opinion of Shi Fei. In his mind, even if Shi Fei were to master the basics, he wouldn't rise above this level.
"Above them are the masters. They have their own understanding of the arts passed down by their predecessors and adjust them to better suit themselves. They align the techniques with their own nature to exert maximum power."
"Finally," the old man said solemnly, "there are the supreme masters!"
"Supreme masters?" Shi Fei asked.
"Supreme masters think what others dare not think and do what others dare not do. They break the rules!" The old man laughed, and in his laughter, it seemed as though he had truly been a supreme master once.

Shi Fei was stunned. Think what others dare not think, do what others dare not do? In this dream, was there anything he dared not think or do? Yes! He dared to fly out of this place! Humans cannot fly, not even in dreams. But if one possesses supreme martial arts, perhaps one can!

Since he couldn't understand the techniques the old man taught, why couldn't he practice them according to his own understanding? Was there anything he dared not attempt in this dream? If I cannot understand the martial arts as others describe them, then I will make the martial arts follow my way!

This is a dream! And I will master my own dream!

As his thoughts shifted, those previously incomprehensible concepts suddenly became clear. The barriers that had blocked his training were kicked aside. A trace of internal energy emerged within him, stirring a faint breeze in the cave.

"Hmm?" The old man stared at Shi Fei in astonishment.

The wind swirled in the cave, gently circling Shi Fei like a lover's caress. Shi Fei sat cross-legged, the internal energy flowing through his body. An hour later, he leaped up with a sudden burst of power, soaring a full ten feet high!

His eyes flashed with brilliance as he said to the old man, "Thank you, Senior, for the techniques and the guidance. I have attained enlightenment!"

"?" The old man didn't know what Shi Fei had understood, nor how his cultivation had advanced so rapidly. He only saw Shi Fei continue to practice, using the techniques he had taught him. The old man squinted, trying to discern the movements, until he recognized a shadow of his own *Heaven-Extinguishing Soul-Searching Hand*.

The *Heaven-Extinguishing Soul-Searching Hand* could drain the life force and essence of all things; those struck would turn pale as paper, their bodies withering away. Once unleashed, it was unstoppable. But this boy was practicing it in such a strange, distorted way!

The old man watched for a long time before finally saying, "Kid, you seem to be doing it wrong." By "seem," he meant "you are."
"I am not wrong," Shi Fei replied.
"You are wrong!" the old man insisted.
"If I can practice it, it means it cannot be wrong!" Shi Fei countered.
"Practicing it this way, you might suffer a cultivation deviation and die suddenly one day!"
"No! I feel fantastic!"

It was true; Shi Fei felt the energy flowing within him, seemingly generating endlessly, sharpening his senses and making his body nimble. The old man reached out to grab him, but stopped midway and pulled his hand back. "Come here, let me check your pulse."

There was no harm in it, so Shi Fei walked over and extended his left hand. The old man’s withered fingers gripped Shi Fei's wrist, checking his pulse.
"How is it? I told you I was fine, didn't I?" Shi Fei watched as the old man frowned.
"How could your meridians be opened?" the old man asked in bewilderment.
"What are meridians?" Shi Fei asked, looking blank. To a dreamer, understanding meridians and acupuncture points was too difficult.

"..." The old man continued, "And how is your circulation so bizarre?"
"What is circulation?" Shi Fei asked again.
The old man looked at him, his mouth agape, at a loss for words. He clearly remembered that when Shi Fei first arrived, he was just an unremarkable, chubby boy. How had he become so unrecognizable in the blink of an eye? Was he hiding his true strength? Or was there another reason? He was truly... absolutely baffled.

"This shouldn't be... this shouldn't be..." he muttered to himself. In his entire life, he had never encountered such a strange situation.

Shi Fei, on the other hand, smiled. "Senior, wasn't it you who just said that a supreme master thinks what others dare not think and does what others dare not do?"

The old man remained silent. Was that what he meant? Could this person before him be a martial arts genius? Was he? He needed to observe him further.

"Kid," he said, "I will teach you a set of blade techniques!" If he couldn't figure out his internal energy, he would test him with blade techniques. Compared to internal arts, he was even more proficient with the blade!