Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 97 Enlightenment
The morning light was faint, and the thin mist was chilly.

Beside the steps in front of the courtyard, dewdrops clung to the banana leaves, poised to fall.

The stone bricks under the eaves were clean, having just been wiped by a servant, without a trace of water, and a tiger-skin cushion was laid out.

A man sat cross-legged on it, holding prayer beads in his hand, his eyes fixed on the banana leaf, seemingly lost in thought, completely at ease.

“Uncle, just as you predicted, Zheng Hui is treacherous and cunning. Yesterday, he brought all those people back to his residence.”

Duan Rusu stood aside and said angrily, "These people have ruined our big plan. Once the imperial edict and those notices are posted today, the news we've stirred up will soon be muddied."

The Yuwen family members had only been operating outside the capital city before, and had not yet actually entered the city to target those individuals.

According to their previous estimates, the king should be brought in only after something happens to someone in the city.

At that time, rumors had become widespread, and even if the monarch changed his attitude and rushed into the scene, he might not be able to easily suppress the rumors.

However, the Yuwen family suffered a setback before even leaving the city, their defeat being exposed far too early.

Zheng Hui was astute enough to persuade the king to enter the arena, thus curbing the momentum of the original rumor.

When people get things done, they inevitably encounter some variables, some big and some small.

The man said, “You just encountered a setback, and you’re already so angry. A whole night has passed, and you still can’t calm down. You’re just wasting your energy and worrying, which won’t help. Let me recite a calming scripture for you.”

"Namo Ratna Trayaya, Bodhisattva, Mahasattva..."

This man was Duan Zhong. He looked to be around forty years old, with plump and radiant skin, and appeared even younger than Duan Rusu.

His hair was as black as ink, his eyebrows were like swords and his eyes were like tigers, his cheekbones were slightly high, and he had a short, thick, and neat beard on his chin.

With his physique and appearance, he exuded a majestic and imposing aura, yet his light robes and loose belt, along with his unhurried and gentle voice, revealed a touch of warmth and elegance.

Seeing that he actually wanted to recite the entire scripture, Duan Rusu's lips twitched, but she didn't dare to interrupt him.

"Sigh, how can your mind work if you don't calm down?"

Duan Zhong said, "Yi Mouxun has been suppressing the power of our army, so I have to focus my attention on military matters recently."

"All matters concerning the Yuwen family are entrusted to you to handle, so that you can manage them, not so that you can also pick up the habits of those assassins and spies."

"When they fail at their tasks, they are mostly doomed, but you, despite this setback, have not lost your foundation and your strength remains. What are you in such a hurry for?"

Duan Zhong strummed the prayer beads between his fingers.

"The Yuwen family is quite powerful, but the people they sent were not the best. Losing this group of people may not necessarily be a bad thing for my Duan family."

"Moreover, we also have Tibet, which can lend a helping hand. Tibet has already invited a high priest and thirty-six senior monks to come and help us."

Duan Rusu was both surprised and delighted: "The Tibetans actually sent out someone like this?!"

Throughout Tibet, high priests were few and far between, and they were mostly responsible for presiding over royal prayer ceremonies and protecting the royal family during important events.

And those senior monks were all exceptionally skilled, one in a million.

These people must have lived in the royal city for a long time.

Aside from the time when the battles with the Tang army were at their fiercest, when I heard that the high priest had accompanied the army, I have never heard of these people ever leaving the country.

"What do you think I was doing all these years when I was meeting with the Tibetans every year?"

Duan Zhong said leisurely, "We want them to see with their own eyes what the people of Nanzhao are now, and to warn them of the consequences if Nanzhao sides with the Tang Dynasty!"

"Even so, it took me several years to convince them to send such a master to help me seize the throne."

"However, the Tang Dynasty is preparing for war and strengthening its military. It is certain that they will launch an attack this year to completely recover the lost territory."

"Given the current situation, the Tibetans had no choice but to make a decision."

Duan Rusu was thrilled: "Great! When will they arrive? With the speed of these experts, it shouldn't take them too long to get here. Once they arrive, we can make our move."

"No, they have another task to help us with on the way."

Duan Zhong said, "We need to force Yi Mouxun and the others to take action against our Duan family first."

Duan Rusu asked in bewilderment, "Uncle used to teach me military strategy and martial arts so that I could seize the initiative. Why are you giving away the initiative for nothing this time?"

Duan Zhong stopped his prayer beads, his tone slightly somber, and said, "Although Yi Mouxun suffered a great defeat back then, he has done a really good job in governing the people's livelihood after driving out the Tibetan troops in recent years. Some military officers in the army are also wavering."

“If we strike first, although we can suppress and purge these discontented people afterward, we will inevitably lose our own generals. However, if Yi Mouxun strikes first against our most meritorious and prestigious military families.”

"We were forced to ask the king to abdicate, which would naturally preserve more generals for our Nanzhao Kingdom."

Duan Rusu understood immediately and said with heartfelt admiration, "Uncle's insight is brilliant!"

Duan Zhong glanced at him, seemingly smiling, but inwardly sighed.

This hardly qualifies as a brilliant insight. If my nephew were even slightly more intelligent, he wouldn't need to spell it out so clearly; he would have figured it out himself.

Unfortunately, after the Tubo Kingdom bestowed upon Duan Zhong the title of "King of Righteousness," Duan Zhong felt that he was too ambitious and deliberately cultivated his sons and nephews in the way that was brave but reckless.

As a result, the former king of Nanzhao trusted the Duan family more.

Duan Rusu was clearly a very cunning person when she was young. She was the most favored among her nephews and nieces. She was ordered to pretend to be brave but reckless. She has been pretending for so many years that she has even become a victim of her own schemes.

Is it really true that if you don't use your brain for years, you'll feel more comfortable not having to use your brain?
In recent years, Duan Zhong has felt that his family has no successor and he can only place his hopes on his great-grandchildren, which has made him more resentful of the Nanzhao royal family.

If they hadn't been wary of the royal family back then, why would they have raised their family to be like this?
Duan Zhong sometimes recites the calming mantra, but he is actually just using Buddhist teachings to remind himself not to be too demanding of his foolish nephews and nieces.

As for that year, it was the Tibetans who deliberately bestowed titles upon him, causing the Nanzhao rulers and their ministers to become estranged.

Duan Zhong didn't hold a grudge too much; on the contrary, he felt that it was a kind of composure and demeanor that a hegemon should have at that time.

Although the Tang people migrated here and were captured, they made great efforts to promote the prosperity of Nanzhao.

However, Duan Zhongyi always felt that the Tang people's attitude of being proud of their domineering nature while also hoping to internally cultivate the sage way, nurture the people with benevolence and virtue, and allow them to rest was a vulgar mentality of indecisiveness.

If one desires to achieve hegemony, then tyranny is the best approach.

If a tyrannical ruler is not good at nurturing the people, then he will plunder them from elsewhere. After all, the Tang people are particularly easy to use, and their resources are inexhaustible.

Wasn't the Nanzhao Kingdom's prosperity during the reign of its former king also due to its alliance with the Tubo Kingdom, its adoption of their methods, and its plunder of the people?

However, after the An Lushan Rebellion, in order to cultivate national strength, Tibet gradually banned the use of Chinese characters and promoted Tibetan script in the territories it occupied, which was much better than what Nanzhao did.

The Tang Dynasty's eagerness to recover lost territory was likely partly due to this reason.

Once the Duan family has secured their position as royalty, there is still much they can learn from Tibet.

despair!
The dew on the banana leaves fell and dried in the sunlight.

At noon, the sun shines a luster on the deep green banana leaves, but by dusk, the banana trees become desolate.

The sun and moon are like boats floating in the clouds. They rise and fall, fall and rise again.

The bare locust tree, on another morning, was covered with dew.

Chu Tianshu sat cross-legged under the tree, his back to the trunk, with his sword across his knees.

The blood from his fingertips drew patterns on the sword.

With blood as a sacrifice and yin energy as a guide, an aura akin to that of the spirit world rose gently from the surrounding soil and even the cracks in the bricks and stones.

Light as a thin mist, pale white as silk.

The purity of these subtle energies is vastly different from what I felt in the mass grave.

The fine threads wrapped around the sword, and in a short while, they seemed to seep into the sword.

It's a very subtle feeling.

The Three-Seven Divine Sword was originally capable of storing a large amount of mental energy, but that mental energy seemed to be stored in a cavity inside the sword.

These subtle spiritual energies directly permeate the sword's material, gradually nurturing and refining it.

Over these days, a soldier's spirit has yet to emerge from the sword.

But as Chu Tianshu looked at the sword, he was increasingly able to perceive a vividness in it.

"Once your sword spirit is fully developed, it will probably be stronger than my current blade spirit."

As Cheng the Blind Man spoke, he walked to the courtyard gate, his scabbard touching the ground, and he was carrying a food box in his other hand.

Chu Tianshu twitched his nose slightly, opened his eyes, and smiled, "Another new pastry invented by Lady Wenjing?"

"Yes."

Blind Cheng walked over and said, “She can’t stay idle. She said she’s taking advantage of this time to figure out some new dishes and pastries, and she’s also thinking about making wine from sugarcane.”

"Being closed for so long will definitely have an impact on business. When the restaurant reopens, we need to have something new to attract customers back."

Chu Tianshu took the food box, placed it aside, and opened it to take a look.

The yellow pastries, shaped like carp, are pleasing to the eye and have a sweet aroma with a hint of wine.

"Dao Baishu chats with the guards in the mansion every day, thinking of making up new stories. Lord Zheng is even busier than usual, seemingly looking for more help to deal with the Duan family."

Blind Cheng plopped down next to him and said, "Everyone's busy, it's good to be busy."

Chu Tianshu smiled and said, "What are you pretending for? I saw you helping with the brewing just a couple of days ago, but you're acting like you're very free."

The blind man leaned back, his hands resting on the mud, sunlight shining between his brows, looking very lazy.

"I just feel that it's very different from my days when I was in the army or chasing criminals everywhere."

Aren't you practicing your martial arts?

Chu Tianshu asked curiously, "Helping with brewing wine and transporting vegetables, plus practicing your own skills, must be quite a lot to do."

At this point, he suddenly remembered that when he stayed at the Wen Family Restaurant, he had never seen Blind Cheng practice his kung fu.

Back then, Cheng the Blind Man would leave early and return late, going out to take on quests and chase after criminals, running errands everywhere, and getting into fights, which could be considered a form of indirect training.

Therefore, Chu Tianshu had not asked before.

"What I focus on is understanding the methods of the moves."

Cheng the Blind said, "No need to say anything more. Your sect probably never explained the unique aspects of comprehending techniques to you in detail."

The method of enduring strength, the method of comprehending techniques, and the method of blood refinement.

The most important foundation is the method of strengthening the body, while fist techniques, bows, and horse stances are mainly for honing the body and improving strength.

The Blood Refining Technique is the most wondrous skill, capable of nurturing a soldier's soul, granting it supernatural powers.

Comprehending the techniques is the most challenging of the three.

One needs to have a solid foundation in the other two areas, and then gain an indescribable understanding of a certain technique.

Let your mind, body, and fighting spirit be perfectly aligned at that moment, reaching their peak.

This kind of move is called "enlightened move".

Without written words, man and knife become one.

Some people find enlightenment in the face of life and death, while others find it in a drunken dream at dusk.

Some people grasp the essence of a move on the chessboard the moment they place a piece, while others grasp it when they resign from their official posts.

Once the mastery of the technique is successful, the connection between the person and the soldier's spirit reaches the point of perfect harmony.

At this point, the most important thing is no longer practicing martial arts moves every day, but rather the constant resonance of mind and spirit with the soldiers.

Without drawing blood, the process can proceed naturally, nourishing the soldier's soul through the ripples of the heart.

The spirit of soldiers will naturally regulate the body's Qi and blood, keeping people in the state that comes from daily training and exertion.

In fact, improper training can even harm one's health, while the adjustment of the empathy of the soldier's spirit can only benefit people.

Chu Tianshu felt a little envious.

This "comprehension of techniques" sounds a bit like the feeling of grasping the essence of boxing.

But in other worlds, simply comprehending the essence of the fist doesn't have the effect of being in sync with one's own soldier's spirit.

"For those who embark on the path of understanding techniques, it is only meaningful to understand more techniques. Focusing solely on practicing stances that specifically train the physical body is not very useful."

Blind Cheng took out a small wine bottle from the food box and took a sip.

"Like me, when I drink, I think of the past, which is even more beneficial to my spirit. The more I drink, the more it promotes the circulation of qi and blood."

As he spoke, as if finding a reason for himself, he changed from sipping to swallowing, tilting his head back and gulping down more than half the bottle. "However, it's not absolute."

There is a saying that goes, "Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear."

"Some people have simply practiced a certain move too many times and thus embarked on the path of understanding the move. For such people, practicing old moves may help them understand even more moves."

“After mastering the technique, such a person might practice even more diligently than before.”

Chu Tianshu couldn't help but ask, "Then what move did you comprehend?"

(End of this chapter)