“Jun Ye…” Miao Xiaomiao whispered his name softly.
Tears had already flooded those exquisitely beautiful eyes.
She had developed a habit: whenever she felt happy, pained, or lost, she would call out this name. It was as if only by invoking that name could she find an inexplicable sense of calm, banishing all negative feelings.
But now, the automatic utterance of those same two words utterly failed to achieve its usual effect. Instead, it only made her heart feel more chaotic!
The night was deep, and the bright moon had already begun its descent across the sky.
Miao Xiaomiao remained standing there, lost in thought, motionless for what felt like an eternity.
This was Jun Moxie’s room. If I stay here, where is he sleeping? Could he be in one of those pretty sisters’ rooms?
Thinking this, Miao Xiaomiao was shocked to discover a pang of bitter jealousy rising within her heart.
He is Mo Junye… He is Jun Ye…
Why? Why?!
She wept in agony, completely unaware that when she thought of Mei Xueyan, Guan Qinghan, and the others, she had instinctively used the term, "those pretty sisters," as a sort of acknowledged moniker for them…
Suddenly, a long, whistling cry rose up on the wind, drifting lazily, infused with an ethereal quality that seemed completely merged with heaven and earth, carrying an almost unreal sensation…
Miao Xiaomiao’s heart stirred, and she looked instinctively in that direction.
Jun Moxie’s room, naturally, offered the best vantage point in the entire Xie Jun Mansion, being the most expansive room. From here, the vast expanse of the Heavenly Punishment could seemingly be viewed in its entirety…
Then, Miao Xiaomiao’s pupils dilated rapidly, stretching to their absolute limit: far in the distance, within the forest, a faint white silhouette drifted gracefully upward. His ascent was so slow and elegant, as if something beneath him were providing support, carrying him gently toward the boundless night sky!
Jun Moxie!
What is he doing?
Miao Xiaomiao’s heart tightened, and she focused her gaze.
Jun Moxie was deeply frustrated; the current situation was utterly unprecedented in both his lives. This was why, after dinner, he had simply slipped away alone.
Young Master Jun had gone straight into the Heavenly Punishment Forest and casually jumped onto a large tree.
He then lay down on a branch, rested his head on his arm, and closed his eyes, pretending to doze.
This was his ingrained method from his previous life for relaxing, a technique that had always been effective.
But tonight, Jun Moxie found that even this reliable method seemed to have failed; he simply could not quiet his mind, no matter how hard he tried. After a long, long while, though the surroundings were completely silent, his inner turmoil only grew more agitated.
Helplessly, he opened his eyes and looked at the gentle, water-like moonlight above. Jun Moxie offered a wry smile. “You are still the best. No matter where I go, I can see you. In whichever world, you remain so untroubled, serene, and tranquil. In the blink of an eye, ages have passed, the world itself has transformed, yet you remain utterly unperturbed…” What could the moon possibly know of sorrow? The water-like moonlight continued to shine quietly upon him.
As cold and gentle as ever.
Gazing at the moonlight, Jun Moxie exhaled a long breath and fell into a sudden, profound silence.
He suddenly recalled the words he had just uttered unintentionally.
“No matter where I go, you remain so untroubled, serene, and tranquil. In the blink of an eye, ages have passed, the world itself has transformed, yet you remain utterly unperturbed.”
In that trance-like state, Jun Moxie experienced a sudden, startling enlightenment.
This momentary epiphany instantly propelled him from extreme agitation into a state of detached tranquility, his heart as still as flowing water! It was equivalent to leaping from the extreme of chaos to the absolute extreme of stillness! From one limit to its complete opposite!
The ultimate, starkest contrast!
And the entire conversion process seemed to take less than a second!
But this transition from utter chaos to utter calm brought Jun Moxie an insight that felt almost saintly and transcendent!
A great dike somewhere in his heart shattered at that moment, crumbling like a broken mirror into fine dust!
No more obstruction!
Jun Moxie’s spirit seemed to soar instantly into the distant night sky, boundless and free for him to roam at will!
The breakthrough in the Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong (Creation of Heaven Technique), the breakthrough in the Hongjun Tower (Grand Completion Pagoda), arrived precisely when Jun Moxie was at his most troubled!
The moment Jun Moxie’s body began to float gently upward, he finally could not suppress a long, resonant cry!
In the extreme emptiness his state of mind had entered, Jun Moxie understood so much in an instant! Or perhaps, countless thoughts and principles flooded into his heart all at once!
Clarifying the heart and seeing the nature; my heart is heaven and earth!
Existing within heaven and earth, heaven and earth enter my heart! Heaven and earth are like my heart! And my heart is like heaven and earth!
All things, all laws, all realms within heaven and earth are merely a matter of the mind; nothing more!
A single thought can summon storms and thunder; a single thought can cause all things to vanish!
If my heart is heaven and earth, then my body is all things in heaven and earth!
Though mountains and rivers remain still, if I move, mountains and rivers will topple!
Heaven and earth may be eternal, but if I perish, heaven and earth will collapse!
One ounce can overcome ten thousand pounds; when softness reaches its extreme, it is unequaled in fierceness!
One force can subdue ten meetings; when rigidity reaches its peak, gentleness overflows!
What is rigid? What is soft? If I decree it rigid, it is rigid… If I deem it soft, it is soft!
The thousand-mile rivers and streams, I traverse them at will!
The bright cosmos, I command it!
Whose domain is this magnificence? Mine alone!
Jun Moxie’s body continued to ascend slowly, maintaining the original supine posture, his arms still resting beneath his head. Rising in this strangely contorted position, he slowly floated above the treetops, gradually gaining altitude. Though the ascent was gradual, there was no sign of deceleration!
Suddenly, the myriad thoughts swirling in Jun Moxie’s mind vanished instantly, leaving only pure clarity and boundless lucidity in his mind. He then executed a perfect aerial somersault, standing bolt upright in the empty space, raising his hands and moving his feet entirely according to his will, standing firm in the vast sky as if rooted to solid ground, allowing him to perform any movement freely, without distinction.
Truly, without any distinction!
“Hahahaha…” Jun Moxie’s heart swelled with elation, unable to contain himself, and he laughed out loud. Then, with hands clasped behind his back, he stood there, resembling a mortal who had instantly attained immortality, shooting upward like a firework rocket with a sharp “swoosh”!
His robes fluttered in the wind—he was above the white clouds!
In the high heavens, he stood alone!
Looking down upon the rivers and mountains, gazing upon all sentient beings!
Yes, it was another breakthrough, and a comprehensive one at that! Not only had the Hongjun Tower and Kai Tian Zao Hua Gong advanced simultaneously, but Jun Moxie’s personal understanding of martial cultivation had also taken a significant step forward today—a step of profound importance!
The previous Jun Moxie operated on the principle of ‘one strike to kill, one strike to annihilate,’ viewing the enemy's demise as both the beginning and the end of every action. For an opponent, this was certainly the most effective and correct method of attack, as the most perfect defense is inherently offense!
But excessive rigidity easily breaks. A relentless, forward charge always contained a flaw. If his initial attack was completely neutralized by the opponent, then his only recourse was to flee a thousand miles away; he had absolutely no opportunity to engage or wait for the next chance to strike.
Because his defense was insufficient!
Though offense is the most perfect defense, once the offensive fails, the perfection reveals its inherent gap! Once a gap appears, perfection naturally becomes a fatal weakness!
It must be said that being strong in offense but weak in defense had always been the greatest weakness of Jun Moxie, something even he was acutely aware of and had desperately tried to correct.
But it never changed.
The belief that offense is the most perfect defense was branded deep into his soul!
Habits cultivated over two lifetimes, combined with his inherent temperament for tactics, were not something that could be casually discarded!
However, this time, under the bright, gentle, yet all-encompassing moonlight, Jun Moxie achieved enlightenment!
The perfect fusion of rigidity and softness, true integration!
Softness is a power; rigidity is also a power. Softness can become rigid; rigidity can also become soft!
This concept closely resembled the idea of Tai Chi, yet it differed from it. Tai Chi arises from Wu Ji (the Ultimate Nothingness) and is primarily based on using softness to overcome rigidity, borrowing force to strike force. But what Jun Moxie realized now was the seamless unity of rigidity and softness, indistinguishable from one another!
In that moment, Jun Moxie completely forgot everything external—he forgot where he was, he forgot the myriad things in heaven and earth. He only felt boundless joy and excitement in his heart, needing to unleash every martial technique he had just comprehended to vent his exhilaration!
He shifted his footing slightly, adopting an unsteady stance in mid-air, and slowly raised both hands. They were as supple as spring water, but in the next instant, the hands, which had been rising upward, suddenly split apart and struck outward with fierce speed. With a slight tremor, they delivered dozens of successive, incredibly fierce vibrations!
If a master with profound Xuan power witnessed this scene, they would surely refuse to believe their own eyes, or perhaps conclude that Young Master Jun was performing magic or sorcery, capable of actualizing things that defied the laws of nature.
Because to an observer, the Young Master simply raised his hands gently at first, but the next moment he transformed into a Thousand-Armed Guanyin. Every movement was executed with utmost gentleness, clear and precise; no one would suspect that any force resided within. Yet, in reality, every tremor was accompanied by extremely powerful, intense force!
With a sliding step of his foot, his hands followed, his shoulders moved, his waist swayed—his body danced like a soft willow in the wind. Every motion was clearly visible, yet inexplicably generated a string of afterimages, and every afterimage was an exact replica of the previous moment’s residual image. Strangely, these countless images lingered in the air, showing no sign of dissipating.
As Jun Moxie’s movements accelerated, the number of afterimages in the air increased, growing denser and denser, gradually forming a dense, vast field in the sky!
Initially, it spanned only a range of three or two zhang (a unit of length), then it expanded to tens of zhang, then hundreds, then thousands of zhang. Finally, the horizon was dominated only by Jun Moxie’s silhouette, which had formed a massive cloud of figures in the empty air!
From beginning to end, not a single phantom image dissolved! This phenomenon was truly like magic or sorcery!
(Today’s update is complete.)