The Three Realms of Saint Awakening.
Holy and Bright—Zhang Ling Heng had already reached this realm by the age of fifty.
Awaken and Guard It—decades of relentless cultivation, day in and day out, and his unyielding resolve in the face of death had long since forged his Spirit into something unshakable.
All that remained was the most difficult step.
To make his mind and body resonate, to break through the barrier, to invert life and death.
And that was precisely what Zhang Ling Heng was doing now.
At the very end of his life, he wanted to see it—the sole regret he had ever known.
His body consumed vast amounts of nutrients, leaving Zhang Ling Heng as nothing but skin and bones.
His eyes gazed into the distance, as if he could already see the path ahead.
At this moment, though his physical body was withered and frail, in Zhou Yuanjue's Spirit, Zhang Ling Heng's form grew larger and larger.
"I see it... A pity. In the end, I was just one step short."
Suddenly, he sighed. The expansive Spirit and the light in his eyes began to recede rapidly.
This aged body, in the end, had become too great a restraint.
After a final burst of life, his blood flow and heartbeat became exceedingly slow, as if they would stop at any moment.
He looked at Zhou Yuanjue with a calm gaze, his eyes holding no disappointment in his failure, only a tranquil acceptance of all things.
"The human body is finite, but the human mind is infinite."
"Though I may leave this world, the fire of my Spirit will remain, living on in this era and in history. It will not be extinguished."
"Fate has brought us together. Today, I pass this will on to you. I know your Heart Intent—to transcend all, to be unbound by the mundane. But remember, even a sky-supporting tree has its roots in the earth. I hope that if you one day achieve Saint Awakening, you will not forget our nation and its people, all these living beings!"
With that said, his breath nearly ceased. His eyelids, heavy as lead, slowly began to close.
"May the world be at peace, and this prosperous age last for eternity. May the flame of the Martial Dao burn bright and never die..."
After those words, there was only silence.
THUMP THUMP THUMP!!
The powerfully built White Ape came rushing over. It cradled Zhang Ling Heng's body, which had been left as gaunt as a skeleton from his forced attempt at Saint Awakening. Upon realizing he was no longer breathing, the White Ape lowered its head, gently rubbing the fur on its face against Zhang Ling Heng's withered cheek.
Zhou Yuanjue saw with perfect clarity a crystalline liquid drip from the great ape's eyes.
All things have a spirit. All things have feelings.
SKREEE!!
The White Ape threw back its head and let out a mournful cry.
The cry pierced through the cave and echoed in the empty mountains.
The Daoists in the Cloud-Picking Temple also heard the ape's cry. They all stopped what they were doing, their faces filled with sorrow.
After its long cry, the White Ape turned its head and gave Zhou Yuanjue a deep look. Then, cradling Zhang Ling Heng's body with one arm, it rushed into the depths of the cave at an incredible speed.
Zhou Yuanjue watched the White Ape disappear into the distance, speechless for a long time.
The scene that had just unfolded left him with an unprecedented, powerful shock.
Stimulated by Zhang Ling Heng's Fist Technique and will, his emotions were now in turmoil.
'The human body is finite, but the human mind is infinite.'
'One should not force the infinite mind to accommodate the finite body. Instead, the finite body must move in rhythm with the infinite mind.'
'A person has a soul, and a fist has a spirit!'
'A Fist Technique is like a person, and no person is perfect. There has never been a perfect Fist Technique. It turns out I've been walking down a dead end all this time.'
Under the stimulation of Zhang Ling Heng's Fist Technique, he had a sudden epiphany.
Before, he had pursued the perfection of his Fist Technique. Every move, every stance, had to be incomparably precise, without the slightest flaw or opening.
But Saint Awakening was about breaking through the limitations of established Martial Dao and techniques to find a path that was a one hundred percent match for oneself.
Previously, he had been trying to merge his own Heart Intent with the Red Falcon Fist. That was the wrong path.
The Red Falcon Fist was created by someone else. It was bound by finite techniques and a finite body. How could it possibly resonate with his infinite mind?
He needed to forge a new path.
At this moment, he was completely immersed in his own world.
From childhood, he had been frail and sickly; it was the Martial Dao that helped him transcend his body's limitations. After surviving a car crash, it was the Martial Dao that helped him walk out from the shadow of fear, allowing him to rise above a mundane life and find a meaning greater than life itself...
People all said the times had changed, but he was willing to search amidst the difficulties.
He had always believed that the power of the human spirit could overcome any and all shackles.
His body began to move, flowing with the surging tide of his heart.
He used his mind and will to drive his Fist Technique and its moves.
His Fist Technique changed. It was still based on the Red Falcon Fist, but it was different from the traditional form.
This time, he could clearly feel a slight resonance between his Heart Intent and his body. His Fist Technique was like a Divine Dragon whose eyes had just been dotted in, coming to life.
It was only then that he realized the inherent techniques and artistic conception of the Red Falcon Fist were far too small.
A falcon can soar through the sky, fierce and violent, but it still has its limits. As the saying goes, how can a sparrow know the ambitions of a swan? The difference between species restricts their upper limits.
The Red Falcon Fist, a second-rate ancient Assassination Fist, had reached its peak at the Great Success Realm. Its conception and its techniques both determined its ultimate ceiling.
After all, the Red Falcon Fist lineage had never produced a Saint Awakening Level expert.
To break through, he had to reform this Fist Technique.
Within Zhou Yuanjue's will, the Red Falcon soaring through the sky underwent a metamorphosis, like a cicada shedding its skin.
From that old shell, a new being struggled free.
It had proud eyes and a massive body. Its wings were like clouds hanging from the heavens. With a single beat of its wings, mountains and seas trembled, and it transcended the sky itself.
The Red Falcon Fist was an Assassination Fist, filled with bizarre, violent, and unscrupulous techniques. It had a sinister, dark aura, but at this moment, all of that was swept away.
His Fist Technique, too, was reborn.
Holy and Bright!
He finally understood the path he was meant to walk.
Now, his will could resonate with this reborn Red Falcon Fist, but in terms of technique, this new version still had numerous flaws and openings.
It was just a rough draft, a sudden burst of inspiration and emotion. It was incomplete.
Just as Zhang Ling Heng had said of the Three Realms of Saint Awakening: comprehending the Dao is easy, but guarding the Dao is hard.
To hold fast to one's own Dao and perfect it—that was the truly difficult part.
To maintain his will with perseverance, to see it through to the very end, to bring this newborn Fist Technique to perfection until every move and every stance resonated with his Heart Intent—this was the path he had to walk next.
He stopped his Fist Technique, and his turbulent emotions gradually calmed. He looked in the direction where the White Ape had vanished and recalled Zhang Ling Heng's words.
'Our nation and its people... all living beings... In that era, you were also respectable Transcenders. When dragons fight in the wild, their blood is black and yellow.'
'I will remember your words. For the kindness of passing the flame, for the grace of lighting the lamp, if I have the chance in the future, I will surely repay you.'
He murmured to himself. When he finished, he faced the direction where Zhang Ling Heng's body had disappeared and bowed deeply.