Speaking of which, Jun Mo Xie actually had the Three Great Sacred Lands to thank!

If it weren't for the collective assault by the Sacred-level experts and above from the Three Great Sacred Lands injuring the Fourteenth Young Master of the Nine Hells, and the fact that so many strong practitioners from those Sacred Lands were garrisoned in this ** City, preventing that fellow from acting rashly... how could the Fourteenth Young Master of the Nine Hells be brooding here, suffocating in his own frustration?

Without today’s chance encounter and subsequent enlightenment, it's hard to say how much effort Jun Mo Xie would have needed to grasp this realm...

The True Self Institute is not a place for reckless abandon without restraint; because no matter how unrestrained one acts, there is always a prerequisite: absolute strength! Only with sufficient power can you do exactly as you please without caring what anyone else thinks.

But the True Self is like a newborn infant; even when facing the great tiger poised to devour it, when hungry, it still struggles and cries out for milk...

And yet, it feels no fear!...

This is the true instinct of a person! To magnify this instinct until it applies to any domain—that is true Return to Simplicity!

Jun Mo Xie let out a long breath in his heart...

So that was the truth!

No wonder so few people succeed in this world; the root cause lies here.

All martial artists in this world pursue either their own physical strength or a mental state capable of bearing immense power, yet they consciously or unconsciously neglect the objective existence of the self! This is the so-called capital, the origin. But even if your power reaches its zenith and your cultivation reaches its limit, so what?

Even the greatest power has prerequisites; besides a commensurate state of mind, it also requires a vessel—a carrier capable of containing such mighty force.

And that vessel, without exception, is the living body!

Just as Buddhism often states, the physical body of a sentient being is the treasure for crossing the sea of suffering in cultivation!

Yet, while pursuing great strength, most people gradually stray from the path, going further and further astray, until in the end, they lose themselves and forfeit the original intent of their True Self!

Such people are no longer wielding or manifesting power; their bodies are being used by the power in reverse!

This is analogous to the dangerous transformation often mentioned in Wuxia novels: Man as the instrument of war. If extended here, it means man becomes the implement of the war machine!

In this scenario, the essential and the incidental are inverted; the subject and the object switch places. If such a person could still achieve high success, that would be truly bizarre! You are practically inviting demonic deviation, yet you still dream of scaling even higher peaks—that is clearly the delusion of a fool.

Jun Mo Xie had a realization, and the sudden inspiration that flashed in his spiritual consciousness, he certainly would not let go, pondering deeply: If things developed this way from the very beginning, what would happen?

Undoubtedly, the Fourteenth Young Master opposite him, and the entire Nine Hells lineage, began their training precisely this way. That is why they achieved such greatness, but this path also has a critical flaw: the infinite magnification of the self!

Although confident, this excessive self-assurance unintentionally makes their core being arrogant and mad! Because they have always believed: In this world, there is absolutely nothing they cannot accomplish; they are the strongest, omnipotent, and everyone should grovel at their feet, looking up to them, worshipping them!

And this belief leads to extremely severe consequences!

After all, not everyone can achieve the success of the First Young Master of the Nine Hells; such peerless figures appear only once since antiquity.

The subsequent Young Masters of the Nine Hells, though all exceptionally gifted, still possessed a vast gap compared to the First Young Master’s previously unparalleled, terrifying might. When the confidence—or arrogance—you possess cannot match your actual strength, there can only be one outcome: tragedy. This is why, among the Young Masters of the Nine Hells, only the First achieved infinite glory, while the others were wiped from history! In fact, wasn't the First Young Master of the Nine Hells himself a tragedy? So supremely confident, so utterly arrogant, yet in the end, he still fell to another peerless powerhouse! Compared to the other Young Masters, perhaps he was just luckier, avoiding any power capable of annihilating him in the Xuanxuan Continent.

Young Master Jun has never lacked confidence, but it is not the excessive confidence seen in the Nine Hells lineage!

Confidence is good, but excessive confidence is absolutely detrimental. How should one find a balance here? How can one allow oneself unrestrained development while simultaneously assessing the situation, recognizing one’s own standing, thus allowing strength and self to advance in tandem!?

As Young Master Jun pondered, the Fourteenth Young Master opposite was observing him with keen interest.

Having been thoroughly provoked by this brat, the Fourteenth Young Master of the Nine Hells, who had nearly lost his composure, finally recovered. He was also an astute person whose vision was anything but low; earlier, he had merely been confused by Jun Mo Xie's stream of half-true, half-false nonsense, causing him to speak without choosing his words. When Young Master Jun suddenly stopped talking, the Fourteenth Young Master's senses instantly cleared. As he refocused his gaze on the person before him, he was startled to find that the brat opposite had instantly abandoned his slick tongue and adopted an appearance of solemn, profound composure. The Fourteenth Young Master almost felt as if a different person stood there, sensing a level that was profoundly unfathomable...

This brat had actually entered a state of epiphany right here and now!

He had just been relentlessly annoying him until smoke nearly billowed from his ears, and now he had plunged into the transcendent realm of enlightenment!

This was utterly unacceptable to anyone...

The Fourteenth Young Master was truly rendered speechless!

Could this brat possibly become any more outrageous? Furthermore, this enlightenment... it is a flash of spiritual light that can only be chanced upon, not sought! Even I dare not claim I can enter enlightenment whenever I wish. How significant a matter is this? And he achieved it while drinking, chatting, being shamelessly impudent, and trying to dine and dash... suddenly achieving enlightenment!

Wait a moment...

This strange, deep-level fluctuation that feels vaguely familiar... I must have encountered it somewhere before... The Fourteenth Young Master frowned deeply, searching his memory until it dawned on him: Th-this... how is this possible?... Isn't this the Soul Shock technique of our Nine Hells clan? Could such a fluctuation truly appear in this mortal world of the Xuanxuan Continent?

The moment this thought struck him, the Fourteenth Young Master was instantly alarmed!

Could this brat actually be a member of the Nine Hells true bloodline? If so, it would offer a reasonable explanation for how he perceived his identity. But... how did he recognize me... yet I failed to recognize him? Moreover... why is his soul fluctuation so peculiar? Although it strongly resembles the inherent art of our clan, there are subtle differences, but it could still be considered a similar path.

Also... I am still alive, still ready to engage in future conflicts. If this brat truly belongs to the Nine Hells clan, how did he emerge? How did I sense nothing? Has the progress of the Nine Hells truly surpassed my imagination?

After a long pause, Jun Mo Xie’s fingers twitched, finally rousing him from that marvelous state. He stretched broadly, rubbing his eyes, and remarked, “That nap felt truly comfortable. It’s been a long time since I slept so soundly...”

He considered the epiphany to be sleep? The Fourteenth Young Master, who had been lost in thought, instantly felt his face darken, and the anger he had just suppressed flared up again!

“Brat, are you... Little Fifteen?” the Fourteenth Young Master asked with a grim expression.

“Little Fifteen?” Jun Mo Xie looked blank. “What Little Fifteen?”

“Stop the nonsense! I’ve seen through your identity. How did you get here, you brat?” The Fourteenth Young Master slammed the table, enraged. “Don’t you know anything about respecting your elders? Even if you don't care about the people in this world, you should show some respect to me! I truly don’t know how your elders raised you!”

“Whomever you are, I honestly don’t understand what you’re talking about. What language are you speaking?” Jun Mo Xie shook his hat in confusion, though his mind was perfectly clear. So this fellow mistook me for the Fifteenth Young Master of the Nine Hells... and saw through my identity? Damn it, I have no idea what he’s thinking. Besides, even if Young Master I used a number for a name, it would be First Young Master of the Nine Heavens, not ranking behind you!

“Look at this, brat,” the Fourteenth Young Master glared fiercely, extending his right hand and placing his five long, pale fingers flat on the tabletop. Suddenly, the color of his fingers slowly changed, turning into a patch of black shadow shrouded in a layer of floating mist, which was milky white.

The Fourteenth Young Master smiled slightly, and his fingers instantly returned to their original state. This transformation was extremely brief, perceptible clearly only to the two of them.

This peculiar change was indeed a unique ability of the Nine Hells clan! Absolutely genuine!

This technique wasn't some magnificent martial art; it was a secret method for concealment in the dark world of the Nine Hells. However, in this current world, it was largely useless, yet this exclusive clan method had become an excellent means of mutual identification...

It was just that the demonstration by the Fourteenth Young Master today was essentially like flattering a blind man—a complete waste of time!

“Did you see clearly? Are you still going to pretend?” The Fourteenth Young Master looked at Jun Mo Xie with a hint of mockery, leaning back in his chair, regarding him with the gaze reserved for a junior. “Just tell me how you got here, and be quick about it!”

“I saw very clearly, but I’m truly speechless regarding you! I only suggested you had epilepsy earlier to save face for you; now I genuinely suspect...” Jun Mo Xie said gloomily, “...you might actually have epilepsy!”

“You insolent brat!” The Fourteenth Young Master reached out and grabbed Jun Mo Xie’s wrist pulse. Jun Mo Xie neither dodged nor retreated, allowing him to hold on, while inwardly laughing so hard his intestines twisted into a knot.