Invincibility Begins with Mastery of Fist Techniques-Chapter 53: Lighting the Lamp

After finishing a disjointed routine, the old man stopped his movements. The enduring will that had swirled around him slowly subsided.

HUUUH!!

The old man slowly let out a breath, as if that slow routine had taken a serious toll on his stamina.

"My apologies. When you get to my age, you have to keep moving, or your mind starts to go."

His face, marked with distinct age spots, wore a serene smile as he spoke to them.

"That feeling just now... was it Holy and Bright?"

Zhou Yuanjue asked bluntly.

"That’s right. Why? You look surprised. Who says Holy and Bright is exclusive to Martial Artists?"

"Holy and Bright is a state of mind, a realm. Anyone with a firm will, a powerful spirit, who holds fast to their ideals and transcends life and death, has the potential to reach this realm. It’s just that the state of Holy and Bright manifests differently for everyone."

"Martial Artists have resolute intentions and unyielding characters. They are decisive in matters of life and death, so their Holy and Bright is highly aggressive. Scholars possess a luminous wisdom that illuminates the past and present, granting them the insight to perceive the unknown. As for leaders, who gather the strength of the masses and can move heaven and earth, their Holy and Bright manifests as immense authority, charisma, and the power to inspire belief."

"There are thousands of paths to the great Dao under heaven; the Martial Dao is not the only form of Cultivation. Everything in this world, all of its vast and myriad beings, is in a state of Cultivation. I have lived a long, long time. For the ideals and beliefs in my heart, I have faced death a hundred times without regret. I have stared down mortality on countless occasions and never wavered from my original path. After enduring so many trials, why shouldn’t I be able to achieve Holy and Bright?"

The old man said with a light chuckle.

"Can other forms of Cultivation lead to the Saint Awakening Realm?"

Zhou Yuanjue fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then asked his question.

"For the Saint Awakening Realm, the most crucial element is that both body and Spirit must reach their absolute peak. Only then is it possible to defy the boundary of life and death and break through one’s shackles. If the spirit is exceptionally strong but the body is frail, Saint Awakening remains impossible. Therefore, generally speaking, those who practice martial arts have the best chance. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be seeing this major event that is currently sweeping the nation’s Martial Arts Realm."

The old man shook his head.

’Both body and Spirit must reach their peak...’

Hearing the elder’s words, Zhou Yuanjue was lost in thought for a moment.

There are masters in every field!

’In this world, the Martial Dao has never been the only path of Cultivation.’

"You didn’t bring me here just to tell me this, did you?"

Zhou Yuanjue asked.

"Of course. Although your Holy and Bright has already passed the initial stages, you started your Cultivation with a Second-class Fist Technique. That comes with certain flaws that are not easily remedied."

"You have earned the title of Tianlu’s number one and are about to move from Tianlu Prefecture to the national stage. You have a real hope of achieving Saint Awakening. I’m just an old man living out my retirement here, so naturally, I hope to see the Martial Artist from Tianlu Prefecture go even further."

"Xiaoluo, and you, young lady of the Li Family, wait here for a moment. Young man, you come with me."

With a gentle smile, the old man clasped his hands behind his back, turned, and walked toward a building in the rear courtyard.

The old man pushed open a wooden door, and Zhou Yuanjue saw that the room inside was spacious and barren, with almost no decorations. There were only two objects in the center of the room.

A waist-high candlestick, upon which sat a brand-new red candle.

Not far in front of it was a yellow meditation cushion.

Aside from these, the room was empty.

"The human Spirit and body share a wondrous connection. The instinctive desires of our body influence our Spirit, causing us to succumb to temptation and ultimately lose our way. Our passions, our desires for fame and fortune—they are like dust that clouds a clear mirror, shrouding the path ahead in shadow."

"Our Spirit, however, can suppress this base nature, allowing us to find our True Self amidst a mediocre world. We can then gain complete mastery over our bodies and actions, no longer ruled by our baser instincts. A resolute will and wisdom are like a bright lamp, dispelling the dense fog before us and illuminating our path."

"Therefore, a lamp is a symbol of wisdom and awakening. Its light can fill every corner of the world, and it can also elevate our souls."

The old man spoke to Zhou Yuanjue as his aged body slowly moved to the cushion. He sat down facing the waist-high candlestick, the wick of the red candle perfectly aligned with the spot between his eyebrows.

"When I was young, I was born into a wealthy family. Later, when war broke out, I took refuge as a novice at Guangjue Temple. A master there taught me a Cultivation method called the Lamp Burning Technique. He had me meditate quietly for two hours every day, facing a candlestick. I was to focus my attention and imagine using my Spirit to ignite the candle’s wick. My Cultivation, he said, would be a success the moment I could light it."

"I was young and ignorant back then. I scoffed at my master’s words, thinking them utterly absurd. How could someone light a wick just by staring at it? I thought that such a feat, which defies all common sense, would require something like the Monkey King’s legendary fiery-golden eyes."

As the old man spoke, his eyes slowly lowered, and his entire demeanor grew tranquil. His gaze focused on the wick before him. Zhou Yuanjue could clearly feel it: in that moment, the old man’s Spirit, will, soul—everything intangible about him—seemed to coalesce with his gaze, condensing into a perfect, solid sphere.

It was like a polished pearl.

And yet, despite this, the wick before him did not ignite.

"Only later did I understand. The lamp my master wanted me to light was not the one before me, but the one within my heart—a lamp of wisdom and awakening, of unyielding perseverance, of facing death without regret, of pressing ever forward."

"This lamp can be a lamp of valiant progress, a lamp of self-sacrifice, a lamp of universal salvation, a lamp of transcendence and one’s True Self. It can be a beacon of light, or it can be a lamp of the Demon."

As the old man spoke, Zhou Yuanjue’s vision blurred, and he seemed to witness a wondrous sight.

A halo of light appeared behind the old man’s head. It was sacred and luminous, shining with a brilliant, seven-colored light, just like the halos depicted behind the heads of Buddhas and Immortal Gods in ancient scriptures and paintings.

Yet when he focused his eyes to look closer, it was as if nothing was there at all.

This halo was merely a sensation, not a physical entity.

A radiant circle.

A realization dawned in Zhou Yuanjue’s mind. The old man’s Spirit, which had concentrated into a perfect sphere as he stared at the wick, now seemed to have caught fire.

He had not ignited the lamp before him, but he had ignited the lamp within his heart.

Then, with the appearance of the radiant circle, Zhou Yuanjue felt a will begin to emanate outward.

The lamp in the elder’s heart seemed to illuminate the gloom of an era, flickering ceaselessly in a gray, dense fog, yet never once going out. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Zhou Yuanjue had felt a similar will from Zhang Ling Heng before.

It was the mark of an era.

"Saint Awakening is the fusion and breakthrough of body and mind. Secret techniques are merely products born from a simple union of the two—they are nothing truly remarkable."

"Right now, your Spirit, will, and physical abilities are all outstanding. You have already forged your own path, so you have no need to simply imitate others. Today, I will pass this Lamp Burning Technique on to you. I hope you can light the lamp within your own heart, illuminate the road ahead, and create a secret technique that is uniquely your own."

The elder extinguished the lamp in his heart, withdrawing from that wondrous state, and smiled at Zhou Yuanjue.