"To Gao Han, for officially becoming an inner-sect disciple tonight—cheers!"
"To our gathering this fine day—cheers!"
"To Old Bai finally taking a wife—cheers!"
"You rascal! Who said I am getting married today?!" Old Bai roared in fury.
Gao Han watched the drunken revelry with a helpless smile. They were already spouting nonsense, grasping at any excuse to raise their cups.
After leaving the sect, Gao Han and his companions galloped on horseback to the nearest town, where they gathered at a tavern.
Cups and bowls clinked as they drank heartily, and soon most were dead drunk. Zhu Jin, in particular, was extraordinarily unrestrained: while others drank from bowls, he drank straight from wine jars.
He kept clamoring for toasts, utterly obsessed with wine. Upon seeing the liquor, he had long forgotten his original purpose of challenging Old Bai to a drinking contest.
When no one would drink with him, he tilted a jar back and poured the wine down his throat.
Gao Han drank very little that night. As the newcomer and the youngest among them, he thought it wise to hold back, and the others took mercy on him.
By the end of the feast, only Gao Han and Bai Xuebin remained sober.
Bai Xuebin was Elder Bai's given name, and Gao Han had been surprised to hear it—so scholarly for a martial artist.
As Bai Xuebin later explained, he had been a scholar before taking up the sword.
Years earlier, he had traveled to the capital to take the imperial examinations, only to fail unjustly. He later learned that a corrupt court official had stolen his place.
Fuming with rage, Bai Xuebin devoted himself to martial arts, vowing to kill the official and avenge the injustice.
He had received some martial training in his youth, and after his failed examination, he trained single-mindedly.
Yet for all his relentless effort, his talent was limited. To this day, he had reached no higher than the Fourth Layer of True Essence. He had long given up on revenge, for the official kept three Fifth Layer True Essence bodyguards.
To ease his sorrows, he had spent decades reading.
No one could count how many books he had devoured over the years. Though his martial prowess was unremarkable, his knowledge of the continent's legends, cultivation principles, and key insights far outstripped Gao Han's.
Gao Han bombarded Bai Xuebin with questions on cultivation, and the elder was delighted to share his learning—glad his studies had finally found purpose.
Under Bai Xuebin's guidance, the puzzles that had long plagued Gao Han's martial path suddenly cleared, granting him a deeper understanding of the way of the warrior.
Bai Xuebin even analyzed the Realm of Selflessness with remarkable clarity, more lucidly than You Canghai had ever explained it.
To reach the Realm of Selflessness, it turned out, one must comprehend the highest state of the martial path: the Supreme Goodness Like Water.
This was a state of mind, not mere passive calm like stagnant water.
Water nourishes all things without contending; it dwells in places others despise, yet nothing in the world can overcome its force.
When steadfast, the mind is as still water, unshaken by anything, unruffled by anger, ever retaining reason—for only in reason can one unleash one's full power.
When striking, one must be as a raging tide, erupting in an instant, shattering all obstacles, with an invincible will and unyielding faith.
Gao Han's Frenzied Self state was far too violent, utterly incompatible with the Supreme Goodness Like Water.
If he could grasp this state, casting aside his berserk battle intent and moving purely in accord with his heart, he would truly attain the Dao.
Naturally, the state had levels of mastery. What he had described was the higher realm; at lower levels, one could only control one's inner energy with precision.
This paled in comparison to the highest realm, where one governed one's own joys and angers, achieving a mind as calm as still water.
Gao Han had not yet entered the threshold of the Supreme Goodness Like Water, let alone mastered his own emotions.
Bai Xuebin's words in the underground dungeon had triggered a sudden enlightenment, elevating his martial insights, yet he still fell short.
He could not yet perfectly control his true essence, much less his emotions. At best, he stood at the half-step into the Water Realm.
Only when he mastered his emotions would he formally step into the Supreme Goodness Like Water.
And once he reached minor attainment, controlling his true essence flawlessly, he would truly enter the Realm of Selflessness.
The two states were inextricably linked, as fish to water.
The Supreme Goodness Like Water was the foundation upon which the Realm of Selflessness rested.
Only with perfect control over one's power could every strike in the Realm of Selflessness be unleashed at maximum force.
Bai Xuebin's guidance proved invaluable, granting Gao Han a completely new understanding of martial arts.
Previously, his grasp of martial realms had been vague; he knew only of the Realm of Selflessness, not where his own cultivation stood.
By the time their conversation ended, everyone else had passed out drunk—all except Zhu Jin, who rambled incoherently.
"Where am I? Who are you? Why are you dragging me? Do I know you?!"
"Help! These two are perverts! They're going to assault me! Sob…"
"Young man, I want to bear your children…"
Each line drew stares from nearby patrons, who eyed the group strangely. Gao Han shuddered, his skin crawling.
His face darkened, and he suddenly felt the urge to beat Zhu Jin senseless. Bai Xuebin looked ready to do the same, mortified at the shame.
At dawn the next day, a earth-shattering howl erupted from Hidden Dragon Peak, where the inner-sect disciples resided.
"Oww!"
Zhu Jin woke, clutching his face, and screamed in agony. His cries rose and fell sharply, piercing the morning sky.
"Why does it hurt so much? Dammit—who's that pig-faced fool in the mirror?!" He caught sight of his reflection and jumped. His eyes were blackened, his cheeks swollen, his head entirely puffed up.
"Wait… that's me! Who did this…?!"
Gao Han woke late that morning. He and Bai Xuebin had purchased a horse-drawn carriage to haul the drunken men back to the sect, not returning nearly until daybreak.
He planned to visit the Mission Hall to take on a task—a term he had learned from Bai Xuebin.
As it turned out, the sect did not entirely withhold Profound Rank techniques. To learn one, however, a disciple must meet two conditions:
First, be an Elite or Core Disciple.
Second, possess sufficient Sect Contribution Points. A low-tier Profound Rank technique, for instance, required a hundred thousand points.
Contribution Points were earned by completing missions or rendering outstanding service to the sect.
Taking missions was not only a way to earn points but also to make silver.
Each task came with fixed Contribution Points, silver rewards, or other valuables.