Chapter 137: Soul Force Awakens, Grandmaster’s Insights (2)

Let's attempt Soul Force again.

Following his usual routine, Wu Yuan wiped his body clean, assumed the lotus position, closed his eyes, and began his Soul Force training once more.

Gradually, his Soul Force expanded outward. One meter, three meters, ten meters, twenty meters... In the blink of an eye, Wu Yuan's Soul Force extended beyond a radius of 100 meters, far surpassing his initial attempt.

Next, he focused on deeply perceiving the matter within this expanded radius. This consumed his Soul Force energy at a rapid pace and a wave of exhaustion overtook him, but he had faced this many times before and refused to give up.

As Wu Yuan immersed himself in perceiving his surroundings, his Soul Force extended further and his heart grew calmer. Soon, his perception grew increasingly clear!

His consciousness gradually merged with the surrounding environment, not exactly like the matching of frequencies in the second level of Environmental Mastery, but a fusion of his soul, spirit, and environment! It was as if his soul and spirit were completely assimilated with the environment, giving him a sense of unparalleled peace.

While his physical body resided in the room, his consciousness ventured outside. Where it drifted, he could sense the rhythm of the wind; as it swooped down to the ground, he could feel the weight of the earth...

Wu Yuan found himself enveloped in a profound serenity. It was as if a refreshing breeze washed over him, rejuvenating his spirit.

Soon, a surge of strange power permeated his being, seeping through his skin and coursing through his body. He could feel it threading across every inch of him, gradually converging in his middle dantian lobe.

Whats this?

Wu Yuan's awareness snapped back into his body.

Power from the outside world?

Wu Yuan could sense that this power originating from the world outside was extraordinary.

My soul integrated with my surroundings, sensed a stronger force, and naturally absorbed it.

Like a flowing stream, this mysterious power coursed through every corner of his body. Before he knew it, his body became stronger, purer.

It can even purge impurities from the body?

Wu Yuan was stunned.

His body only contained minute amounts of impurities, yet this mysterious power from the external world could still expel them.

What exactly is this power?

Wu Yuan's heart was filled with questions, but he did not attempt to reject this mysterious force. He merely observed it.

Gradually, Wu Yuan realized that this mysterious force was not rampaging through his body, but instead, it was nourishing every inch of it along a strange, mystical route. The path it took was difficult to detect with the naked eye, only with a strong consciousness could one sense it.

With the middle dantian lobe as the core, it weaves through 108 points of the body...

If Wu Yuan still did not understand what was going on, then his past life's cultivation was in vain.

This path had to be the so-called meridian circulation [1], reaching every single part of the body.

So, the Federation's conjectures were all true. The lower dantian lobe refines food and other energy sources to nourish the essence and blood, strengthening the body to the human limit. Unlock the middle dantian lobe, and you can open the human acupoints... initiating the ultimate evolution of life!

Wu Yuan felt like he was slowly pushing open the door to a brand new realm. On this night, unknowingly, he had finally reached the level he had dreamed of in his previous life.

As his consciousness grew weary, he gradually fell into a deep sleep. The mysterious power from the outside world also quickly dissipated after weaving through his meridians, leaving no traces.

The next morning, Wu Yuan woke up and jumped to his feet in the martial chamber, completely refreshed.

My perception?

Wu Yuan quickly noticed that his body appeared lighter, his strength and speed had increased, and his vision and hearing had also improved!

He immediately recollected the events of the previous night.

My soul has fully integrated into the surrounding environment.

Wu Yuan closed his eyes, focusing his mind.

Gradually, he sensed that mysterious power once again, and began to consciously guide it. Instantly, this mysterious power entered his body once more.

It's a type of energy that can bolster the physical body and purge impurities. Though its effects are subtle, with only slight enhancements to my body, its purity is unparalleled. Only the Ancient Immortal Dew can compare to it.

A shocked expression crossed Wu Yuan's face. The Ancient Immortal Dew was a very precious natural treasure, worth more than 100,000 silver taels per drop. But this mysterious power? In Wu Yuan's view, it seemed to contain the infinite potential of this vast and boundless world, waiting for him to seize it.

The power contained within the world itself?

Wu Yuan took a deep breath.

Just by Visualizing the black pagoda and continuously boosting his soul, he had unlocked such a surprising feature?

Why bother hunting for natural treasures in the future? All he needed to do was focus on absorbing the power of the world, and his body would continuously grow stronger.

Could it be that the Heavenly Rankers are tapping into this power? The power of this vast world?

Land Rankers already reached the limit of the human body. To surpass the limit of life meant embarking on a transcendent path of evolution. This likely required some external power beyond the human body itself.

Other than the two hierarchs, only the sect's sixteen Grandmasters Insights can provide me with answers.

Too many questions and curiosities arose in Wu Yuan's heart.

If he had never reached this level, he could have accepted being kept in the dark. But now? His mind raced, spawning countless questions as his thirst for the truth ignited. After all, curiosity was the instinct of every intelligent being.

Wu Yuan left his room.

...

"Wu Yuan, are you certain you want to redeem these two Grandmaster's Insights?" The two custodians stationed in the library questioned Wu Yuan repeatedly.

"Yes!" Wu Yuan nodded. "There is no need to dissuade me any further. I am well aware that two Grandmaster's Insights require 60,000 contribution points. I wish to redeem them."

The two custodians exchanged a glance, their helplessness evident.

In their view, these Grandmasters Insights were typically only redeemed by first-rate Adepts or above. No matter how talented Wu Yuan was, he was still just a disciple in his teens, could he really comprehend the Grandmasters Insights? It was simply a waste of contribution points!

But with Wu Yuan's insistence, what could the two custodians say? In terms of status, Wu Yuan held a much higher rank than them within the sect.

"Very well!" The older custodian relented. "Wu Yuan, you may only read the books here in this reading room, they must not be brought out. The contents of these books must never be shared with anyone, understood?"

"Understood." Wu Yuan nodded.

They watched as Wu Yuan clutched the two books, ducked into a reading room, and then closed the door behind him without hesitation.

"Report this matter to the sect elder."

...

The reading room was an enclosed space of ten square meters with excellent sound insulation, designed for a single reader and fitted with a bed for rest.

Grandmaster Yun Shan's Insights.

Wu Yuan leaned back and cracked open the first book.

Grandmaster Yun Shan, the founder of the sect, might not be as powerful as Grandmaster Fang Xia, but he was still one of the top twenty experts in the world at the time.

Wu Yuan already had a general understanding of the history of the sixteen grandmasters in his sect. In the end, he selected two insights from them.

Without such strength, how could he establish a sect during the flourishing age of the Chu-Jiang Empire? His cultivation insights must be extraordinary.

Wu Yuan began to read, immersing himself in the book's pages.

Books embodied the wisdom of the ancients.

Reading a book was essentially having a dialogue with the ancients across time and space.

......

Three days later, in the Cloud Hall.

"You're saying, Wu Yuan has started to read the Grandmaster's Insights?" Grandmaster Yu looked down from the host seat.

"Yes." Sect Elder Huan stood respectfully, a hint of concern on his face, "Not only that, he redeemed two Grandmaster's Insights, and after entering the reading room, he hasn't emerged for three whole days."

"Could he have fallen under some kind of psychosis?" Sect Elder Huan wondered worriedly.

"Which two Grandmasters' Insights were they?" The Rain Hierarch asked. Her voice was steady, seemingly unworried.

"'Grandmaster Yun Shan's Insights' and 'Grandmaster Fang Xia's Insights', Sect Elder Huan replied.

"Crafty lad! He doesn't settle for just any reading material, he goes straight for the two most formidable Grandmasters," The Rain Hierarch's face revealed a slight smile.

Sect Elder Huan was taken aback. "Hierarch, aren't you worried?"

"Do you remember the words of Sect Elder Mo when he returned to his hometown?" The Rain Hierarch said lightly, "At the beginning of the year, Wu Yuans skill had already reached the Rigid Yet Supple stage."

Sect Elder Huan couldn't help but nod.

"With his talent, even if he didn't completely perfect the stage after nearly a year, he must have made significant progress," The Rain Hierarch murmured.

"What does that have to do with him now?" Sect Elder Huan was puzzled.

"Geniuses are lonely!" The Rain Hierarch said, "The more you understand, the more you grasp, the more doubts will flood your mind. Within the martial academy, no one can guide him anymore, and he doesn't feel that it's appropriate to consult me."

"So, only the Grandmaster's Insights can provide him with the answers he seek." The Rain Hierarch smiled, "I suspect he's now lost in those books."

"It's time to meet him. Once Wu Yuan emerges, bring him to me," The Rain Hierarch instructed softly, "I want to see what sets this number one genius of our sect apart from the rest."

"Yes," Sect Elder Huan's eyes lit up.

How could he not understand? The Rain Hierarch was finally going to personally mentor Wu Yuan.

Days slipped by.

Within the reading room, Wu Yuan slowly savored the text, reading at an unhurried pace. The two Grandmasters' Insights weren't wordy, fewer than one million words in total, but they were brimming with martial arts principles. This was especially so for 'Grandmaster Fang Xia's insights', the last fifth of which covered all his insights after becoming a Great Grandmaster.

Wu Yuan felt that his horizons were greatly broadened.

So, this is the path from Grandmaster to Heavenly Ranker.

Wu Yuan's eyes sparkled as he continued pondering and deducing, working hard to digest these insights and make sense of them.

On the eighth day, Wu Yuan finally emerged from the reading room with the two Grandmasters' Insights.

Before he could utter a word, the two custodians insisted he stay put, urging him to be patient. Soon, a rotund elder in purple robes hurried over.

"Sect Elder Huan," Wu Yuan greeted with a smile.

"You little rascal, you scared me to death. How could you be so engrossed in those books?" Sect Elder Huan glared at him. "You've been reading non-stop for eight days and nights!"

Wu Yuan just laughed in response.

Only by becoming obsessed enough to forget about sleeping and eating could one attain the truth! Without delving deep and immersing oneself, how could one achieve greatness? Given his physical constitution, he could go without food or drink for ten days without an issue.

Moreover, over the past eight days, Wu Yuan had been absorbing the mysterious power of the external world, and felt neither hunger nor fatigue.

"I see you're in good shape, Sect Elder Huan commented. Alright, put down the books. Follow me to the Cloud Hall. The Rain Hierarch has summoned you."

"The Rain Hierarch?" Wu Yuan was startled.

The most powerful Grandmaster of the sect, a world-renowned expert, suddenly wished to meet him?

What could possibly be the reason?

1. acupoints are positioned along the meridians