Release...
Like a dam that suddenly lets go of its water, like a breath held too long finally exhaled, something within Li Yuan began to... release. It wasn't a loss of control, but the inevitable release of something that had been contained for too long within the boundaries of individual consciousness.
The sixteen understandings he had gathered over more than four centuries—Water, Silence, Existence, Doubt, Breath, Heaven, Body, Loss, Fear, The Veil, Soul, The Qi of Chaos, Chaos, Memory, Home, and the newest one, The Oldest Breath—all of them began to move out of the passive Ganjing realm.
The understandings that had only resonated in Li Yuan's personal spiritual dimension now began to... seep outwards. Like perfume spreading from an open bottle, like light radiating from a lit candle, the vibrations of each understanding began to flow from his inner being into the outer world.
The radius of that spread expanded at a surprising speed.
One kilometer... five kilometers... ten kilometers...
The vibrations of understanding continued to spread in ever-widening concentric circles, piercing physical boundaries, passing over mountains and valleys, crossing rivers and oceans, rising into the atmosphere and descending into the depths of the earth.
Two hundred kilometers... five hundred kilometers... one thousand kilometers...
Li Yuan felt his consciousness—or more accurately, the resonance of his understandings—spread to a radius that encompassed the entire planet. The Earth's diameter is about 12,742 kilometers, the equator's circumference is about 40,075 kilometers, and in a measure that cannot be counted by conventional time, the vibrations of his understandings had enveloped the entire surface of this planet.
Upward, into the atmosphere and outer space. Downward, to the Earth's core. Forward, backward, in all directions—no corner of the planet was left untouched by the subtle resonance of Li Yuan's sixteen understandings.
And the world... responded.
Not with dramatic changes or striking supernatural phenomena, but with subtle adjustments that felt natural yet profound. Like an orchestra that suddenly finds the right conductor, the entire planet began to vibrate in a more aligned harmony.
Rivers all over the world began to flow with a strange tranquility. Turbulent water became calmer, dangerous eddies subsided on their own, chaotic currents found a more harmonious rhythm. Li Yuan's understanding of Water resonated with every drop of water on this planet, reminding them of their true nature—to flow without resistance, gentle yet unstoppable.
Strong winds in various parts of the world began to calm. Storms that were raging lost some of their ferocity. They didn't stop completely—because winds and storms also have a role in the ecosystem—but they became more... directed. More in line with nature's needs than just random destructive forces.
In the bustling markets of big cities, a strange phenomenon began to occur. People who usually shouted to offer their wares began to speak in softer voices without even realizing it. The noise decreased, arguments subsided, and the atmosphere became more orderly without anyone giving a command. Li Yuan's understanding of Silence touched the souls who had never heard its name, reminding them of the peace hidden behind the noise.
Wild animals that were hunting suddenly stopped. The fierce eyes of predators turned to confusion, as if seeing a reflection of themselves and questioning their intentions. Not because of fear of a greater power, but because... they recognized something within themselves that was deeper than the hunting instinct. Li Yuan's understanding of Fear interacted with their primordial fear, transforming it into a deep self-awareness.
Every one of Li Yuan's sixteen understandings touched the aspects of the world that corresponded to it. The understanding of Soul resonated with every living being, reminding them of the uniqueness and sacredness of their existence. The understanding of Breath harmonized the breathing rhythm of all life, creating a subtle yet comprehensive harmony.
But Li Yuan realized that this was not something that could be allowed to continue.
Five seconds.
It had only been five seconds since his understandings began to release, and the impact was already felt across the entire planet. If it were allowed to continue, this resonance could change the natural balance of the world in unpredictable ways. Not because it was dangerous, but because it was... too fast. True change requires time, requires a gradual process of adaptation.
With a will that had been honed for centuries, Li Yuan began to pull back the resonance of his understandings. Like a breath being re-inhaled, like light being gathered back to its source, the vibrations of the sixteen understandings began to shrink from their global reach back into his spiritual dimension.
The understanding of The Veil—which he had developed to protect his understandings from those who were not ready—now worked on a scale he had never imagined before. It wrapped the cosmic resonance back into the boundaries of his individual consciousness, preventing an impact that was too great, too fast.
In a matter of seconds, just as fast as the initial spread, the entire resonance was pulled back. The world returned to its normal rhythm, albeit with a faint echo of the harmony they had just felt.
"I am not the one who changed the world," Li Yuan whispered in the post-event silence, his voice filled with deep awe and humility. "The world only chose to resonate with the Dao that already existed within it. I am merely a small echo of that eternal harmony."
This experience taught Li Yuan something fundamental about the relationship between an individual's spiritual understanding and its cosmic manifestation. The world didn't change because he imposed his will. The world changed because the resonance of his understanding reminded every aspect of reality of its true nature—of the harmony of the Dao that had always existed but was often forgotten in the chaos of daily life.
The river became calm not because Li Yuan calmed it, but because the Water flowing in the river remembered its true nature when reminded by the resonance of Li Yuan's understanding of Water. People spoke more softly not because they were forced, but because their souls remembered the value of silence when touched by the resonance of the understanding of Silence.
This was the fundamental difference between power and understanding, between forcing and reminding, between dominating and harmonizing.
Li Yuan realized that in those five seconds, he had witnessed a preview of the true potential of the Daojing when it is understood and practiced with perfect depth. Not as a tool to control the world, but as a way to remind the world of the harmony that is already its inherent nature.
The journey from within to without had occurred.
And in that journey, Li Yuan understood that true power is not the ability to change the world according to personal will.
True power is the ability to remind the world of the harmony that is already its true nature.
The echo of that eternal harmony... now vibrated in every molecule of his existence.