Atlas of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 473: Guidance

After leaving Mo Tie Mountain, Chen Chuan drove towards the city. However, a strong wind started blowing outside, with leaves and flower petals flying around, and the temperature seemed to have dropped significantly.

Yet, he found it quite comfortable. Holding the steering wheel, he recalled his conversation with Senior Brother Cao and couldn't help but think that although the old Imperial Family had been overthrown and the old times seemed buried, many things undoubtedly still profoundly influence the present, making it hard to completely break free.

This influence is not only internal but also comes from the outside.

The remnants of the old times in the Convergence Zone have many connections with companies around the world; otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to engage in military confrontations with the Base.

This is the situation in Da Shun, and presumably, other countries face similar issues.

Before the Great Boom arrives, all governments can probably do is try to suppress internal conflicts to avoid major upheavals that could lead to unforeseen consequences.

During this period, various forces and groups will try to strengthen themselves in every way possible. For an individual, such a rapidly changing world presents both crises and opportunities. What he needs to do is take advantage of this time to propel himself upwards, to gain more powerful strength.

After returning to the Academy, he took care of some daily tasks and patiently waited for the new semester of Wuyi to begin.

Soon, three days passed, and on February 1st, before nine in the morning, following the instructions on the platform, he arrived at a training room on the 70th floor to wait.

Chen Chuan was not anxious. He quietly practiced his Breathing Technique, and before he knew it, a long time had passed. It was almost noon when he heard footsteps behind him.

Chen Chuan stood up and turned around to see a man in gray-blue training clothes walking in. The man was about forty, with deep, weathered eyes and a small mustache on his upper lip. He was a mature, handsome middle-aged man with a somewhat decadent air.

At first glance, this man seemed very casual and unpretentious, but Chen Chuan knew he was anything but ordinary.

Because he couldn't sense this man's energy field at all.

Previously, Jian Cheng Sheng was the most skilled opponent he had encountered in using the energy field, yet he could still feel the presence of the energy field. Clearly, this man was even more formidable.This must be the teacher responsible for guiding me.

The middle-aged man came in, touching his head as he walked, and said, "Sorry, sorry, really sorry, Chen, I'm late. Have you been waiting long?"

Chen Chuan said, "What the teacher teaches is worth the student's wait."

The middle-aged man sighed, "The teacher didn't mean to be late. It's my first time in Jibeidiao Central City, and the scenery here made me linger."

Chen Chuan said, "Isn't the place where the teacher lives Central City?"

The middle-aged man waved his hand, "It's different, it's different. Every Central City is different, just like every person is different. Even if two people look the same, their inner worlds are different..."

He coughed, "I've digressed and wasted a lot of time. I won't delay Chen any longer. Let me formally introduce myself, my surname is Xue, Xue Shou."

When he said his name, there was a slight gleam in his eyes. Just a moment ago, he seemed very casual and harmless, but now, there was a burgeoning aura about him.

Chen Chuan bowed slightly, "Hello, Teacher Xue."

Teacher Xue also bowed in return, "Hello, Chen." After straightening up, he said, "I've seen some of your past battle records and evaluations. Your foundation is undoubtedly well-polished, meeting the conditions for guidance, so we can skip the preliminaries. Now, let's start the formal teaching."

He sat down cross-legged, "Chen, please sit down."

Chen Chuan sat down as instructed.

In the spacious training hall, the two sat facing each other. The sunlight shone on the warm-colored floor, clearly reflecting their figures.

Teacher Xue said, "Chen, before we start, I want to ask if there's something you particularly want to pursue?" As he spoke, he gestured with his hand, "Or a target, if you will. No matter the size, you can tell me."

Chen Chuan did not hesitate and said frankly, "My Martial Combat initiation teacher asked me a similar question. My answer was, "The body is not bound, the mind is not fettered," and my thoughts have remained unchanged.""Oh... the body is not bound, the mind is not fettered... That's not easy."

Teacher Xue looked at him meaningfully, "In today's world, there are rules and constraints everywhere, but it's good that you have a clear target. This saves me a lot of trouble.

Hmm, has anyone told you that the Third Limit is actually the limit that the human body can reach?"

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "I have heard of it."

Seeing that he had also heard of this, Teacher Xue nodded with satisfaction and said, "So the principle is very simple, classmate Chen, even if you polish your body to perfection, you cannot rely on this to move towards a higher level. The key to breaking through to the next stage lies in..."

He brought two fingers together, pointing to his forehead, and emphasized, "Lies in the spirit, or more precisely, in the use of the spirit, mainly focusing on Steady Spirit."

At this point, his tone became slightly more serious: "When the cultivation of the body reaches its end, or when it cannot break through barriers due to human limitations, then we need to use the spirit as a starting point to drive our whole being to continue moving forward.

Most of what you have trained so far is your body. Although the spirit has also been advancing, you have not used any skills to polish it."

He raised his palm and opened his fingers.

"Generally, a Martial Artist's spirit is scattered, lacking cohesion, but in the face of danger, it will unconsciously condense."

As he spoke, he suddenly clenched his hand into a fist.

"Life-and-death crises force a Martial Artist's spirit to converge on its own, but this is temporary and forced. Once relaxed, it becomes even more scattered and weak than before.

It's like muscles that have never been trained; they might burst with enough strength momentarily, but afterwards, they can hardly be used and need a period of rest and recovery to be used again.

So our first step is to condense and strengthen your spirit."

Chen Chuan listened very attentively and then said, "Please, teacher, enlighten me."

Xue Shou said, "Third-Limit Martial Artists often talk about nurturing and refining Steady Spirit. This is not said casually; the key lies in the two points of "nurturing' and "refining'.

The daily exercises you have been doing are part of "nurturing', not "refining'. Nurturing also has a set of special methods, which I will teach you later. Now, we mainly talk about "refining'. Only by refining well can the strength of the spirit be brought into play, rather than being wasted and doing nothing."The first step of "refining' is to find a target that is the most persistent and firm in your heart, because without facing life-and-death crises, often only such beliefs can condense one's own Spirit, giving one's own Spirit something to rely on, like a root planted in the soil.

The reason I asked you about your target earlier is this, no matter what the target is, whether it's good or bad, you must follow it without wavering.

If during this process you doubt yourself or abandon and betray this path, then I can only say you are not suitable for this path and it's better to give up as soon as possible.

So make sure this is indeed what you truly want in your heart, and never just pay lip service to it. You must truly recognize yourself and practice it."

Chen Chuan nodded, then couldn't help but think of Wei Wusheng's thoughts, it seems that the person must follow his own heart to do things, and the "heart" can give him more rewards, I don't know if this is the case.

Teacher Xue saw his momentary thought and said, "Chen, do you have any questions or doubts you want to ask? You can speak out, and I can help you answer."

Chen Chuan thought for a while, then talked about Wei Wusheng.

After listening to his narrative, Teacher Xue touched his chin and said, "I have seen the fight between you and Wei Wusheng, although this is also a method of Spirit Cultivation, it's actually a different matter.

What Wei Wusheng cultivates should be a method from the old times martial classics for training military officers, perhaps with a bit of cult methods mixed in, but the main point should remain unchanged. This method lies in taking the strengths of others to make up for one's own shortcomings, because one's own talent in some aspects is insufficient, hence using this method to compensate.

That kind of thought, although it can also be considered Spirit Cultivation, mainly lies in subduing another integrated strength. This method is good, but how to say it, the foundation you currently possess is exactly what he hopes to achieve after complete integration."

He said meaningfully, "He is looking for the door that can be passed through, and you are already standing in front of the door, so do you understand?"

Chen Chuan understood now and slowly said, "He is compensating for his own defects to reach higher."

Xue Shou patted his knee and said, "That's right, this path is not for everyone, so many Martial Artists, Third Limit is often their limit, if this limit is not broken through, they can't even find the door, let alone think about the next step.Alright, let's get back on track. I see you've been restraining your energy field; you must have learned energy field skills, right?

Chen Chuan nodded.

"Good, that saves me another step."

Teacher Xue looked even more satisfied. With some prerequisite conditions met, there's no need to spend more effort.

"The energy field is an expression of the body's information, but altering the energy field is also a way to utilize Spiritual Power. We can use this to directly observe changes in your Spirit. Wait a moment for me."

He stood up and walked out, returning after a while with a bowl of medicinal liquid placed in front of Chen Chuan. "This is not for you to drink. Try to sense it carefully with your energy field."

Chen Chuan tried to sense it and was slightly surprised, as he could actually feel a faint energy field from it, and as he probed, it rippled slightly.

Teacher Xue said, "You felt it, right? Indeed, this thing is actually alive. It's extremely sensitive to any external energy fields and gazes."

He then stopped smiling and said seriously, "Student Chen, the first thing you need to do is to gather all the scattered thoughts of your Spirit into one, completely restrained. I need you to look at this bowl of medicinal liquid until it doesn't ripple at all. I'll give you only one hour," he gestured, "Start now."

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