Xu Wuyi faced the crimson sunrise.

Its blazing radiance shone down, illuminating every scene that had once made him feel the sting of injustice.

The arrogance of the Lin Family melted like ice and snow in the daylight; the great chasm of resource barriers was seared and leveled by the scorching rays...

All the scorn, favoritism, and oppression seemed so ridiculous and insignificant under this purest, most unyielding light, until they were finally incinerated into nothingness.

An unprecedented enlightenment washed over Xu Wuyi’s heart like a clear spring.

He understood.

His "Incineration" was not a savage act of destruction for destruction’s sake.

His "Incineration" was the light of this brilliant, great sun!

It was a raging flame of absolute impartiality and justice, meant to cleanse the world of all its filth and inequality!

He came from a humble background and had personally experienced the hardship of scarce resources and the injustice of being crushed by the powerful.

These experiences had long since planted a seed deep in his heart.

He longed for change, for a more just order.

This desire was typically suppressed by his steady "mountain" nature, hidden deep within the sea of his subconscious.

It was not until he reached Minor Achievement in the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace and his Heart Fire was sublimated to its peak that this deepest-seated desire was stirred, ultimately giving birth to this True Intention of "Incineration."

What it was meant to burn away was not existence itself, but the injustice, oppression, and barriers that shrouded it!

Mountain was his foundation, his perseverance, bearing all things.

Incineration was his will, his path, remaking all things.

The mountain bears the great sun, and the great sun illuminates the mountains.

Far from being contradictory, the two were a perfect match, together forging the heart of his Martial Arts!

The illusion receded like the tide.

Xu Wuyi’s consciousness returned to reality. He was still standing in Grandmaster Lin Jianyi’s small courtyard, his body swaying slightly.

His forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, but his eyes were astonishingly bright. His previous confusion and bewilderment were gone, replaced by the clarity and resolve that comes from perceiving one’s true self.

He took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Lin Jianyi again. "Thank you, Grandmaster Lin, for helping me see my true nature."

Lin Jianyi nodded slightly, the hint of a smile in his eyes deepening.

He had used his Sword Intention to probe Xu Wuyi’s true heart, and the resulting scene in his sea of consciousness was visible only to the two of them.

"No matter how far you go in the future, I hope you never forget the conviction you feel today," Lin Jianyi said.

Xu Wuyi nodded solemnly. "I will never forget!"

A smile appeared on Han Mo’s face. He cupped his fist to Lin Jianyi. "Thank you for your efforts, Martial Uncle."

...

After returning from Grandmaster Lin Jianyi’s courtyard, Xu Wuyi’s mind grew completely serene.

The two True Intentions, "Mountain" and "Incineration," were no longer a source of confusion for him. Instead, they had become guiding lights on his path of Martial Arts.

A sense of unprecedented clarity filled his mind, making the path forward seem crystal clear.

Back in the underground Cultivation Room of Villa #7 in Hidden Dragon Garden, Xu Wuyi didn’t rush to raise his Life Energy Level. Instead, he immersed his entire Heart and Spirit in exploring the Minor Success Realm of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace.

The Minor Success Realm of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace was completely different from the Pile Skills and physical movements he had practiced before.

It was no longer bound by external forms, instead turning to the inner Refinement of the Spirit.

The essentials of the Cultivation Technique for the Minor Success Realm flowed through his mind, and a unique Technique emerged—Heart Fire Refining Spirit.

It was actually a Visualization Method!

’Visualize a Melting Furnace. The Furnace Flame is the Heart Fire. Cast your Spirit into it to be repeatedly forged and polished, removing the impurities to refine the essence, and in doing so, strengthening it...’

Xu Wuyi understood instantly.

Refining the Spirit was, in essence, a practice one only delved into at the Martial Master Stage.

At the Martial Artist stage, the focus was primarily on the refinement of one’s Qi and Blood and physical body. The growth of Spiritual Power was mostly passive, increasing slowly in tandem with one’s Life Energy Level.

Ever since obtaining the Mountain Shifting Technique early on, Xu Wuyi had focused solely on that one Cultivation Technique and had not deliberately tried to refine his Spirit.

Refining the Spirit before the Martial Master Stage was a dangerous affair, so his Spiritual Strength had only been tempered naturally during the process of strengthening his Heart Fire.

Now that he possessed two True Intentions of Martial Arts and had reached Minor Achievement in the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, he could finally give it a try.

He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into his Dantian.

The mass of dark gold Heart Fire burned quietly, stable and contained.

Following the Visualization Method, he began to guide his spiritual consciousness.

It didn’t go smoothly at first.

Spiritual Power was ethereal and illusory. Concentrating it to a high degree and actively casting it into the Heart Fire required exceptionally fine control.

The slightest lapse in concentration, and either his Spiritual Power would fail to coalesce, or he would instinctively recoil in fear as it neared the Heart Fire—the innate aversion of a living being to being burned.

Xu Wuyi did not grow impatient.

He recalled the Mental Realm of "Melting" contained within the Volcanic Wood Carving, envisioning his Heart Fire not as a flame of destruction, but as a Melting Furnace for refining pure gold.

Once, twice, three times...

He started over each time he failed.

His patience was as boundless as ever.

After countless attempts, he finally managed to carefully separate an infinitesimally fine thread of his Spirit and slowly guide it into the dark gold Heart Fire.

HUMMM!

Like a drop of cold water hitting a pan of searing oil, an intense, burning pain shot back along the spiritual thread and into his consciousness!

This pain wasn’t physical; it struck directly at the depths of his soul, far more unbearable than any bodily injury.

Xu Wuyi let out a muffled grunt, veins throbbing on his forehead, and nearly broke out of his Visualization state on the spot.

But he gritted his teeth and held on.

He could clearly feel that amidst the indescribable, searing pain, the wisp of Spiritual Power was not being destroyed.

Instead, it was like iron ore cast into a blast furnace; its impurities were being stripped away, and though the remainder shrank in volume, it became more condensed and pure.

When he finally withdrew that thread of Spiritual Power from the Heart Fire, a peculiar sensation of "lightness" and "resilience" flowed back to him.

Although his total Spiritual Power seemed to have diminished slightly, its quality had clearly improved.

’It’s working!’ Xu Wuyi was elated.

Practicing Heart Fire Refining Spirit was excruciatingly painful and a tremendous test of Willpower, but the results were also immediate.

He could feel his perception of his surroundings sharpen ever so slightly, and his control over the Qi and Blood within his body became more effortless.

From that day on, Xu Wuyi added Heart Fire Refining Spirit to his daily training regimen.

Every day, he would set aside a fixed amount of time to endure the soul-searing pain of guiding his Spiritual Power into his Heart Fire for refinement.

After each session, he was mentally exhausted, as if he had just been through a great battle.

But the result was an increasingly condensed Spiritual Power, a gradually expanding range of perception, and an ever more subtle and profound control over his own strength.

Under this arduous, day-after-day Refinement, his Life Energy Level, as expected, began to grow explosively.