Chapter 240 – Mending Flaws to Cultivate Oneself (Part Two)

Roar, roar, roar!

Amidst the furious roars, Ye Kuang charged forth at breakneck speed, seemingly driven mad by rage, his moves exceptionally vicious.

Regardless of the severe injuries he had sustained in the previous battle, with new wounds compounding old ones, he was already showing signs of waning strength.

This allowed him to vaguely perceive something!

As the two clashed again, locked in fierce combat, he began to realize that although his opponent was absurdly powerful, he was not invincible.

Seeing this, the Old Taoist suddenly spoke up: “Brat, it seems you’ve started to understand. Sometimes, sheer power isn’t the key to victory. Often, when facing those with refined cultivation, overwhelming force can be as fragile as a paper tiger!”

“Remember: those who wish to cultivate their selves must first rectify their hearts; those who wish to rectify their hearts must first sincere their intentions; those who wish to sincere their intentions must first extend their knowledge, and extending knowledge lies in the investigation of things…”

At this point, the Old Taoist’s tone shifted, becoming solemn and resolute, as he declared emphatically: “This may seem unrelated to martial arts, but it can also be applied to Martial Studies. As for the profound mysteries within, they all understand—only you, for now, do not.”

Hearing this, Ye Kuang threw a furious Cannon Blast punch.

Thump!!

The sound, heavy as muffled thunder, struck the ears with a deafening roar, jolting the mind awake.

Surprisingly, however, Ye Kuang was forced back several steps by the impact.

As his foot met the wall, he pivoted and leaped away like a steed taking flight.

The wall, as if subjected to an unbearable force, instantly crumbled!

But Luo Hua appeared in the blink of an eye, laughing arrogantly: “You won’t understand—I’ll make you experience it firsthand!”

Iron Body!

In an instant, Luo Hua became like a mass of iron, using his own body as a weapon to charge headlong.

Clang!

Thud.

Despite Ye Kuang’s body being like bronze skin and iron bones, he could not withstand such immense force. He spat a mouthful of blood and was once again buried beneath the rubble.

Seeing this, Ling Wei could no longer bear to watch and closed her eyes.

In contrast, Luo Hua turned away indifferently, showing no trace of pride in his victory, remaining utterly composed.

“Captain, mission accomplished. This kid is too weak.”

“Return to the team.”

“Roger that!”

Unbeknownst to them, their casual conversation sounded piercing to someone’s ears.

Meanwhile, the Old Taoist gazed at the rubble, equally detached.

“As an otherworldly expert once said, ‘Cultivate it in the self, and its virtue will be genuine… Thus, observe the self through the self…'”

As he spoke, a gleam flickered in the Old Taoist’s eyes, growing more profound with each word.

“Only after things are investigated is knowledge extended; only after knowledge is extended are intentions sincere; only after intentions are sincere are hearts rectified; only after hearts are rectified are selves cultivated!”

With these words, the Old Taoist paid no heed to the others’ reactions and strode forward.

Only one phrase echoed in the surroundings, lingering unceasingly:

“And if you can grasp the essence of this in this very moment, only then will you be considered qualified!”

Bang!

Before the rubble, a stone shattered explosively, startling all who saw it.

“Old Mo.”

“Heh, I was just thinking it wasn’t satisfying enough. This kid is really tough…”

“Be careful!”

“Relax.”

Bang, bang, bang!

But then, scattered stones across the ground seemed struck by an invisible force, exploding one after another.Seeing this, Luo Hua’s eyes inevitably sharpened.

“Kid, don’t play these flashy—”

But before Luo Hua could finish speaking, an inhuman roar suddenly erupted from the spot!

Roar!

When this tiger-like roar pierced the sky, it sounded more like a dragon’s cry.

A golden light suddenly shot up from the ground, so fast it was like a flash of lightning, barely visible to the naked eye.

Luo Hua’s eyes widened like bull’s eggs, and without a second thought, he roared, “Iron Body!”

Clang!

At that moment, the sound of metal clashing rang out, deafening to the ears.

Luo Hua’s figure instantly retreated several steps, each step so heavy it seemed to carry the weight of a thousand pounds, leaving behind multiple craters in the ground.

But as he took the final step, his fury became unmistakable.

Because Ye Kuang, like a bolt of lightning, had closed in on him once again.

“You brat, don’t get too arrogant!” Luo Hua roared, his eyes blazing with rage.

Roar, roar, roar!

Hearing this, Ye Kuang clenched his fists tightly and unleashed an Earth-Shattering Shock of relentless bombardment ahead!

In response, Luo Hua seemed utterly confident, standing as straight as a pine tree, his chest thrust forward.

Boom, boom, boom!

The thunderous impacts echoed incessantly, one wave after another.

To the ear, the sound of fists striking flesh was unmistakably lethal.

In just moments of this new round of combat, Ye Kuang had thrown no fewer than a hundred punches.

Even if what stood before him were solid metal, it would have been pulverized into dust!

Yet Luo Hua remained as unyielding as a reef battered by raging waves, standing firm and unmoved.

Hearing the commotion, the Old Taoist spoke without turning his head, “Three parts determine success or failure. Otherwise, you are unworthy of entering Yuandao Academy.”

Ye Kuang’s momentum surged like a tidal wave, his mind clearly not solely focused on victory or defeat but deeply contemplating the chasm between combat prowess and cultivation.

The higher the combat prowess, the stronger the power—so why did it seem as fragile as a paper tiger compared to cultivation?

Was refined cultivation truly more powerful than combat prowess?

Or had he never truly unleashed the full potential of his combat abilities?

At this thought, a ripple of doubt stirred within Ye Kuang’s heart.

“Ahhh…”

Though his flurry of punches appeared overwhelming and unstoppable, in reality, they were as fleeting as a wisp of smoke, all show and no substance.

Perhaps combat prowess could only unleash inhuman destructive power when bolstered by cultivation.

In that instant of realization, Ye Kuang finally understood the profound importance of cultivating the self.

Just like the Five Qi Facing Heaven stance, which opens the gate of the Dantian.

The interplay of emptiness and substance is akin to the meridians circulating the Zhou Tian, compensating for the innate deficiencies!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

In that very moment, Ye Kuang’s Dantian Qi Sea suddenly burst open, as if a floodgate had been released, sending a torrential flow rushing through the walls of his meridians.

Here, it must be said: if he had only learned to utilize it before, now he had truly mastered the art of circulating Qi to the Dantian.

And once the meridians began circulating the Zhou Tian, it was like “harnessing the momentum of heaven and earth, moving through the subtleties of hands and feet.Ye Kuang, with 350 years of skill, directly skipped the first level of the Nine Yin—”Mystic Art Unfulfilled, Proper Art Circulating Qi”—and advanced to the second level: “Qi Circulates the Dantian, Zhou Tian Cycles Repeatedly.””

From this moment on, he had truly stepped into the hall of mastery, becoming a genuine martial disciple.