Translator: Strivon

  Xiu Shenyu was quite different than how he normally was when he was instructing children. He was completely different.

  The cold and gloomy expression that Luo Nan was oh so familiar with had flown off to god knows where. What Luo Nan saw was a middle-aged elementary school teacher with a gentle and smiling face. His four limbs were touching the ground, his body bent into a crawl. With his figure extended out and his spine swaying, he looked like a giant lazy cat.

  The group of seven and eight year olds were copying him. They meowed and purred in delight, and they even spontaneously discovered new skills. They flipped, rolled, pounced, and turned. They were very lively.

  Luo Nan really was stupefied.

  Xue Lei felt that he had to explain things. He coughed, “This is the cat form that the gym master uses specifically to establish the children’s foundations. You may be able to see the dog form in the future as well. This is the path of Beast Form Mimicry. You know, there are two animals that kids are quite familiar with in the city. It’s easier for them to refer to these animals."

  "Oh, really?" Luo Nan was still a little dazed.

  Xue Lei understood what Luo Nan was thinking. He said, "The gym master has always been very nice to children. Thinking back to the days when I attended the basic classes, it was a solid education with a long-term influence. But when I switched to the specialty classes and was taught personally by the gym master…… Man, oh man."

  He cherished the memory, yet he also grimaced in pain, his emotions complex.

  Xiu Shenyu saw them and acted very calmly. They couldn’t tell if Xiu Shenyu was anxious at all about his form collapsing. Xiu Shenyu remained on the ground, guiding the children to crawl around in a circle. He had the children spread their limbs and move their joints. He even reminded them to control their breathing. The scene could be described as order within chaos. Control was present from beginning to end.

  They practiced all the way around the grounds before Xiu Shenyu stood up, beckoning Luo Nan and Xue Lei to come over.

  The children still had reign over the grounds as they wildly played…… er, practiced. Luo Nan and Xue Lei carefully made their way around the group of overly energetic little fellows and stood by Xiu Shenyu’s side. They looked at Xiu Shenyu, and this time, Gym Master Xiu had donned on his usual dull expression. It was as if his languid, relaxed, and casual expression was just a dream.

  Luo Nan wasn’t stupid enough to ask about this change. He just obediently reported his recent cultivation progress.

  Xiu Shenyu asked a few details, confirming that Luo Nan really did make progress in his cultivation. He didn’t appear surprised by it, just nodding his head. In the end, he asked, "You have finished cultivating in the eyes orifice. Your pace is fast, and your foundation is strong. You can be considered talented. Continue cultivating down the path of nine orifices, six roots. You don’t have to rigidly adhere to the order. You should try all of them."

  "Try all of them?"

  "You will only know the reason when you try them yourself." Xiu Shenyu didn’t believe there was much to say about this matter. He spoke a single sentence and changed to an item that he felt was far more important. "Begin from the six roots and nine orifices. Perceive all around. Worldly thoughts are like the tide—very dangerous toward cultivators. Therefore, true knowledge and clear experiences are of the utmost importance. Know yourself and call the truth. Know people and call the light. Knowing people and knowing yourself must be done equally."

  Luo Nan could only understand half of it, but hearing Xiu Shenyu talking about knowing people, he was reminded of today’s squandered afternoon. He couldn’t help asking, "There seems to be thousands upon thousands of different types of people in this world, but when it comes to the level of life, they are like a myriad of streams converging in a single channel. The differences are extremely small. There are many places that are specious. How does one distinguish between them all?"

  Xiu Shenyu glanced at him and gave a gentle nod. There was praise contained within his actions, similar to when Luo Nan narrated his extraordinary progress in cultivation. He said, "We, as cultivators, start from three places when it comes to knowing the self and knowing people. The root receptacle, the root nature, and the root trigger. These three, whether they be in teaching others or in self-cultivation, must all be seen clearly."

  "The root receptacle, root nature, and root trigger?" Luo Nan was stupefied.

  "These are Buddhist terms. I’ve borrowed them, but in doing so I’ve slightly alienated the words. It’s more of a metaphor. In your terms, the so-called root and its development is a person’s basic order frame."

  Xiu Shenyu’s explanation of things thus far was understandable to Luo Nan.

  "As for the differences between the three…… Something material can be the receptacle, therefore possessing a volume of storage. Let good and evil be the nature, distinguishing direction. And the appropriate action can be the trigger, the reception of the power of fate. Simply speaking, when looking at their cultivation prospects, one must look at their natural endowments, which can divided into talent, nature, and chance. These key factors must be totally clear before a person can choose the best path, and the best person be chosen for a path."

  Luo Nan believed that not only was Xiu Shenyu teaching him how to cultivate, he was also elucidating on the teachings themselves. As a teacher, these words were undoubtedly plucked from his heart. In any case, Luo Nan and Xue Lei both perked their ears to listen in careful detail.

  "As the classic literatures sayeth, ’Taoism requires one to be affluent, while Buddhism requires only the self to achieve enlightenment.’ I won’t mention the controversies within. The schools of thought are different, and the disciples they take in have differences as well. This is clear and easy to see. Most of these differences come from the root receptacle, the root nature, and the root trigger. The principles can easily be understood, but to distinguish them in practice, this is the important point…… Xue Lei, don’t listen to what I’m about to say. Your root receptacle is thick, your root nature is simple, but your root trigger is far from starting. What you need are pure ideas. You won’t obtain any benefits from learning the techniques to distinguish between these powers."

  Xue Lei cowered, and he obediently walked into the distance to go act as a temporary instructor for the children.

  Luo Nan believed he understood. Xiu Shenyu was actually using Xue Lei as a living example, displaying how to subdivide between the root receptacle, root nature, and root trigger.

  The effects were excellent. Luo Nan already constructed a bit of a spectrum in mind.

  "Listen carefully."

  Xiu Shenyu reminded Luo Nan once more before teaching him how to discern between the different paths of receptacle, nature, and trigger.

  Luo Nan was merely learning some guiding principles right now. It was still very early for him to get started.

  But just these few principles were superb enough in themselves, especially the level of enlightenment needed to distinguish them. They pointed directly at the most mysterious and profound level of the human body and mind. It was likely that these principles could deal with some of the issues Luo Nan had with Formatting Theory.

  Especially…… Especially with what happened this afternoon……

  Luo Nan felt his soul strength stirring. He tweaked his ears and scratched his cheeks for a time, wishing to immediately return to the inhabited area of Trigate District. He wanted to keep a close eye on the little monkey and those wild little devils, and carefully examine them again.

  Unfortunately, this was something impossible to do tonight.

  It was rare for Xiu Shenyu to give advice with such earnestness. He needed to have Luo Nan understand the mysteries within. "With this discussion of this power, tonight I’ve imparted on you the path. First, know your mind and nature. Think it over a lot, and delve into studying. Know that your foundation for tolerance is thick and heavy. You can bear it. Since you’ve asked on your own accord, it seems that you have a direction. You should have encountered corresponding problems at a very appropriate time. Receptacle, nature, and trigger. Combining these three will be akin to spring returning to earth and the awakening of countless living beings. Growth will naturally occur, and though its character is soft, its nature is firm. The results should be decent."

  Luo Nan nodded in earnest. Right now, he understood a little about the true meaning of the phrase, "If a man in the morning hears the right way, he may die in the evening without regret." Of course, death was a huge exaggeration. It would be best if he could immediately do some testing for verification.

  Xiu Shenyu was certainly able to infer some things by looking at Luo Nan, but he had to crush Luo Nan’s urges and impulses. He continued speaking, "I’ll reiterate your memories when it comes to the orifices, and I’ll clarify the six roots once more. This is a technique where you must know yourself with absolute clarity. You need to combine this technique with the technique of subdivision I just mentioned. You must contemplate time and time again. You must polish yourself everyday. And you must continue to cultivate. You need to quell yourself to tranquility, for you must not advance prematurely.”