Chapter Forty-Six: Challenged by Another

Day after day passed, and as the Pavilion Tournament drew nearer step by step, Lin Xiaobao grew increasingly anxious. The more anxious he became, the harder it was to break through. Since he began cultivating, with the help of the two elders, his progress had been smooth and swift—almost like a rocket. Now, suddenly halted, Lin Xiaobao found it hard to accept this reality, and his temper had become noticeably irritable lately.

“I told you long ago,” Elder Mo patiently explained, for once refraining from his usual rebukes, “the Realm of Spirit Path is the true divide between warriors and cultivators. It is no longer a matter of accumulating strength to break through, but of comprehending the power of the Path. The Way of Humanity is elusive, the Way of Heaven unfathomable... The Way resides within the heart. If you cannot calm your heart, how can you grasp the Path? Without comprehension, how can you break through?”

Mo’s words struck Lin Xiaobao like a wake-up call, and his mind immediately grew calmer. “What is the Path?” he asked.

“There is a thing formed by chaos, born before Heaven and Earth. Silent and vast... Thus the Path is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, Humanity is great. Among the four, Humanity stands as one. Humanity follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Path, the Path follows Nature...”

No matter how powerful the elders were, when it came to comprehending the Path, they could not do it for Lin Xiaobao. They could only speak of its true essence, never daring to reveal even a word of their own personal insights gained during their own enlightenment.

Each person has their own fortune; each person’s understanding of the Path differs. If one follows another’s enlightenment, it’s nothing but imitation—one can never go further.

“Heaven is the Path, Earth is the Path, Humanity is the Path, Alchemy is the Path, Formations are the Path... All things are the Path!” Lin Xiaobao murmured, as if he had grasped something. Yet when he tried to seize it, nothing was there.

“I understand!” Lin Xiaobao suddenly leaped from the water vat. “All things embody the Path, so why focus on just one? Alchemy is the Path, formations are the Path. From today onward, I will study both alchemy and formations—perhaps I will find my own Path through them!”

Lin Xiaobao’s vision and insight already surpassed those of most people in this world. At first, he had simply been impatient for progress, believing that persistent cultivation would result in a breakthrough. He had fallen into a mental trap, and the harder he tried, the further he strayed.

Now, awakened by the elders’ guidance, he immediately understood what he needed to do.

With a relaxed mindset, Lin Xiaobao seemed to forget the urgency of entering the Realm of Spirit Path. He devoted himself almost entirely to the study and arrangement of formations. Whenever he grew tired, he would restore his mental strength through cultivation of the Mindwave technique, leaving the Supreme Fire Art aside.

He already stood at the peak of the ninth stage of the Innate Warrior, and unless he broke through to the Spirit Path realm, further cultivation would be futile—he could gain no more strength. Besides, even if he failed to enter the Spirit Path, mastering formations would still greatly aid him in battle.

Seeing Lin Xiaobao gradually find his way, the two elders felt much relieved. Many practitioners became stuck at the Innate Warrior stage, unable to cross into the Spirit Path realm, falling into the same trap Lin Xiaobao had faced. Only Lin Xiaobao had the good fortune to receive the elders’ timely guidance.

Some might realize the right method on their own, but none could understand the essence of the Path so thoroughly—it was all up to their own efforts to comprehend, and most could never take that crucial step.

Lin Xiaobao was fortunate, but in cultivation, luck alone is not enough; one must also have opportunity. Now, all he lacked was that moment of enlightenment.

Opportunity is invisible and intangible—it might come in the next instant, allowing Lin Xiaobao to suddenly comprehend and step into the Spirit Path, or it might never arrive, and he would carry his regrets to the grave.

Setting formations, drawing talismans, practicing the art of body formations—these became the main rhythms of Lin Xiaobao’s life. As his understanding of formations deepened, he felt himself drawing ever closer to the door of his own unique Path.

When a person focuses on something, time passes quickly.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had gone by. Lin Xiaobao, much like a scientist engrossed in research, was completely immersed in the world of formations. He even forgot that his purpose in studying formations was to comprehend the Path—now his world consisted only of formations.

The Pavilion Tournament, held every ten years at the Snow Wind Pavilion, did not pause simply because Lin Xiaobao was absent.

First came the competition among outer disciples. In the Snow Wind Pavilion, anyone who cultivated to the Postnatal Warrior stage within five years could directly become an official disciple; otherwise, they could only enter the top ten of the outer disciples’ competition through the Pavilion Tournament.

For those with lesser talent, this was undeniably an opportunity, and for some new disciples with exceptional talent, it was a chance to accelerate their progress.

Such battles might not interest official disciples or personal disciples, but every outer disciple was eager to seize this opportunity.

Though few watched the matches, the outer disciples’ tournament lasted nearly a month, finally producing the top ten.

Among these ten, seven were new disciples who had once fought side by side with Lin Xiaobao in the Hongwu Hall, while only three spots were claimed by veteran outer disciples.

As for Hu Dequan, Dreamshadow, and Wu Mei, those three had stepped into the Postnatal Warrior stage within a year after the Hongwu Hall incident, becoming official disciples directly.

After the outer disciples’ competition, the official disciples’ matches followed, then came the grand finale—the personal disciples’ tournament.

“Xiaobao… Xiaobao…”

Unaware of events outside, Lin Xiaobao was contemplating how to transfer the Red Fire talisman’s formation onto himself using the body formation method, when Wang Dashan’s bull-like bellow echoed at his door.

“Xiaobao, something’s wrong! You’ve been challenged!” Wang Dashan called loudly from Lin Xiaobao’s doorway.

“Challenged? What’s going on?” Lin Xiaobao was puzzled. Who would challenge him? Could it be Long Xing Tian?

Wang Dashan rambled on for the time it took to burn a stick of incense before Lin Xiaobao finally pieced together the story from his chaotic words.

It turned out the official disciples’ tournament had ended, and the top ten official disciples were now qualified to challenge any personal disciple. If victorious, they would receive a reward of five thousand contribution points.

Lin Xiaobao, who had become a personal disciple through special means, was now seen by these top ten official disciples as nothing more than a source of contribution points.

Stretching lazily, Lin Xiaobao realized he hadn’t fought anyone in nearly two years. Perhaps it was time for some exercise.

As for his failure to break through from Innate to Spirit Path, Lin Xiaobao had grown much more serene after this period of insight into the Way of Heaven. When the time comes, the breakthrough will follow naturally.