I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

—His body resembled that of a lion king.

Xue Jing placed his palm on the edge of the mattress, exerted a little force, turned his body, and tried to get off the bed.

"Thorn-"

A tearing sound came, and Xue Jing was slightly taken aback.

Looking to his side, he saw that the mattress, full of springs and incredibly elastic, had been dented to the bottom by his palm.

"Huh? I didn't use that much force, did I?"

Xue Jing frowned slightly.

Although his strength has increased yesterday, he has already adapted and adjusted.

Given his current control over his body, he shouldn't be able to make a mistake with the force.

"It's impossible for me to make such a basic mistake. The only possibility is that my strength suddenly increased overnight."

Xue Jing seemed to be deep in thought.

He pressed the attribute table and took a look.

【Body: 1576】

The value had increased by more than ten points compared to before he went to sleep. This was a normal increase after he started practicing Nirvana Technique, and it was no different from the previous few days.

With just a few extra points, it's impossible for him to exert such a large error in force, actually damaging the mattress.

"Nirvana Technique, is that it...?"

Xue Jing had a slight understanding of the situation.

This first Buddhist sleeping technique, if practiced to a high level, can gradually grant one the physical characteristics of Buddha Shakyamuni and allow one to develop the unparalleled strength of a lion king.

But the problem is... he's only been practicing for a few days.

Have you already reached a 'profound level' so quickly?

"Besides the Nirvana Technique, there is no other reason for the sudden increase in strength."

"After eliminating all the impossibilities, the one that remains, however incredible, is the only truth."

Xue Jing touched his chin.

"That makes sense. When I first started practicing for a day or two, I already started to show signs of the Buddha's thirty-two marks, which was clearly different from what others were doing."

"and……"

Xue Jing looked at the [Body] value on the attribute table, his eyes filled with deep thought.

"My strength has increased significantly, but there's no change in my physical stats..."

"The attribute table should be correct, which means that this 'strength' does not come from the increase in my physical strength, but from other means."

Xue Jing thought of those Buddhist ascetics who had cultivated Nirvana Technique. Despite being extremely thin and weak, they could still display tremendous strength that was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

"Could this be... a 'supernatural power'?"

He considered a possibility.

The 'Lion King Strength' obtained through Nirvana Technique does not directly affect one's physical body, but rather receives some kind of external 'blessing' through a special, mysterious means.

According to Buddhist teachings, this should be called supernatural powers.

"...I think I roughly understand."

Xue Jing looked at the [Saint] index on the attribute table.

"This Nirvana Technique is extremely special. Whether one is suitable to practice this technique does not depend on so-called 'talent for martial arts' at all."

A flash of inspiration seemed to constantly flicker in his mind, and Xue Jing comprehended the principles of Nirvana Gong in a way similar to 'enlightenment'.

"The fact that I was able to practice this skill so quickly, developing the signs of the Thirty-Two Aspects and the Lion King's Might in just a few days, has almost nothing to do with the talent that [True Martial Arts] gave me, but rather..."

"My level of existence is noble enough!"

In other words, the stats for the [Holy] are just too high.

"Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, was born without any exposure to Buddhism and did not know a single word. Yet, upon hearing others recite the Diamond Sutra, he immediately attained enlightenment and realized his true nature, almost becoming a Buddha on the spot, comparable to Wang Yangming's enlightenment at Longchang."

"Such a person must be like Buddha Shakyamuni, a being who is 'born holy'. Even without any other blessing, his own 'holiness' index is probably unbelievably high."

"If they were to cultivate the Nirvana Technique, they might even be able to do it faster than I have."

Xue Jing's eyes flickered.

"From this perspective, the Buddhist principles and the 'Tao' mentioned by Taoism in the dark may also be something similar to 'gods'."

"However, 'Buddha' and 'Tao' may not have a concrete entity like ordinary deities, but are formless and intangible, simply existing there."

“Through the practice of Nirvana, I came close to the Buddha. Just as a recipient receives a divine gift from a deity, I also received the Buddha’s blessing, which granted me the Lion King’s great supernatural powers.”

"...That should be the process."

This was a baseless speculation, but Xue Jing inexplicably felt that his guess was probably pretty close to the truth.

After clenching his fists a few times, Xue Jing mastered his current power with perfect physical control.

"I have about 25% more strength than yesterday."

He calculated.

Xue Jing's base stats are currently very high, so 25% of his strength would have a rather absurd effect on him.

"This is just the beginning... The further you progress in the Nirvana Technique, the more exaggerated the boost to strength becomes."

"I wonder when I'll be able to throw an elephant into outer space with a wave of my hand, just like Buddha Shakyamuni."

"Hmm... this should be enough to throw it at 'cosmic velocity'? I think it's about 23 times the speed of sound."

Thinking about strange things, Xue Jing washed up a bit and, in a rather good mood, made breakfast.

Since the little maid arrived, he has basically stopped cooking himself.

After finishing breakfast, he left some food for the little maid, Maomao, and Xue Wan, and then went out to the Hidden Dragon Dojo.

Leaping and bounding along the eaves in a straight line, Xue Jing quickly arrived at the temple and entered through the gate.

Because he maintained his 'aura concealment' state, even if he walked right past her, the receptionist who was secretly playing on her phone didn't notice him. Xue Jing entered the elevator and went to the fifth floor.

Instead of going to his own cultivation room, he went to the Mind Cultivation Room first, knocked on the door, and without waiting for a response, pushed the door open and entered.

It was a little past six in the morning. Li Qi had already woken up and was sitting in a wheelchair behind his desk, examining a stack of documents and turning a page every now and then.

Hearing the door open and turning around to see Xue Jing walk in, Li Qi immediately smiled and said:

"Oh, it's Xiao Jing. So early?"

Xue Jing nodded to him, "Good morning, Master."

Li Qi hummed in agreement and asked, "What is it?"

"Master, come here for a moment."

Xue Jing beckoned, and although Li Qi was puzzled, he put down the documents and wheeled himself over to Xue Jing.

"What's going on?"

Xue Jing did not answer, but instead asked:

"Master, how is your Nirvana Technique practice going?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qi sighed and said, "I can't say I gained nothing, but I'm completely clueless... I can still learn something from Huang Po Gong thanks to my Taoist cultivation, but I really don't understand Buddhist techniques at all."

After Xue Jing mastered the Nirvana Technique at a glance, the "Lion Lying in Nirvana" painting was placed in Li Qi's meditation room. He stared at the painting every day, but even now he has not gained any understanding of it. It's like looking at an ordinary old painting with nothing special about it.

Li Qi was a master who had once leaped over the Dragon Gate. His body was a body that had broken through limits and had his genes reshaped, making him a completely different concept from an ordinary human body.

Even the most severe injuries are not incurable for him, provided that... he is mentally sound.

The spirit and body of those who break limits are closely related, especially for figures like Li Qi who leaped over the Dragon Gate with their strong spirit, the influence is even greater.

In that fierce battle more than a decade ago, the true dragon in his heart was killed by Wan Yulai. The wound to his heart was far greater than the wound to his body. If his heart was crippled, his body would certainly be crippled as well.

Previously, Li Qi had practiced Huang Po Gong, which was brought to him by Xue Jing, for a long time, and his physical condition had finally improved.

In contrast to Huang Po Gong, which mainly focuses on physical conditioning, Nirvana Gong has a greater effect on the healing of the mind and spirit.

Therefore, Li Qi desperately wanted to cultivate the Nirvana Technique, as it was his hope for recovery.

Unfortunately, the more anxious he was, the more he seemed to be shut out by the 'Buddha'. He stared at it every day, but he couldn't understand anything at all.

"I see." Xue Jing nodded.

“In that case… Master, do not resist, I have offended you.”

Xue Jing stretched out his right hand and pressed it on Li Qi's balding head, which had a few tufts of hair.

"Hmm?" Li Qi was puzzled by Xue Jing's actions, but out of trust in his disciple, he obeyed Xue Jing's words and did not resist in the slightest.

The next moment, he suddenly shuddered.

A chill ran down Li Qi's spine as he felt something flow into his brain through Xue Jing's palm.

No... it's less about entering the brain and more about entering the deepest part of the brain—the mind.

Knowledge, insights, experiences...

In a daze, Li Qi seemed to see a dreamlike scene.

Beneath the twin Sala trees, upon the lotus throne of enlightenment, lies a colossal Buddha, his azure-blue compassionate eyes seemingly half-closed.

Gradually, Li Qi's aged and menacing face transformed into one of compassion, much like that of the Buddha.

Endless Buddhist principles surged in his heart, transforming into pure spring water that washed over his spirit.

Deep within the spirit, an old dragon with four legs, five claws, and horns on its head lay lifeless on the ground like a corpse. Its golden scales were cracked everywhere, and shattered bone spikes protruded from its body, leaving almost no part of its flesh intact.

The spring water washed over the old dragon, removing some of the blood and grime, and then continued to wash it, repeating the cycle repeatedly.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

Xue Jing carefully performed the initiation, slowly imparting the 'Nirvana Technique' to Li Qi.

He stopped and withdrew his hand when he felt that he had reached the limit of Li Qi's mental endurance.