Chapter 21: Origin of All Phenomena |
Ye Qinghe looked at Ning Qi and was immediately stunned in place.
She saw that at some point, Ning Qi had already closed his eyes, arms hanging loosely at his sides. His posture was utterly relaxed, yet there seemed to be a strange kind of rhythm hidden within. The setting sun slanted over Ning Qi, and the silhouette of the young child carried an almost sacred feeling.
“Could Little Junior Brother be having a moment of enlightenment?”
Ye Qinghe was shocked, then overjoyed.
She had heard Master Daoist Longshan talk about this kind of miraculous state. If one could attain enlightenment, it was like being aided by divine will—problems that had long puzzled you would resolve themselves in a flash. It was a supreme opportunity. Some people never achieved enlightenment in their entire lives.
“Little Junior Brother is only four and already experiencing enlightenment? What amazing comprehension!”
Ye Qinghe was a bit envious, but even more in awe.
Both of them saw this marvelous sight, yet she herself felt no insight at all—that was the difference.
In the eyes of common folk, she was undoubtedly a genius, but compared to Ning Qi, they weren’t even on the same level.
She began to guard Ning Qi seriously, in case his opportunity was disturbed.
On the stone platform.
Two humans and one ape.
Ning Qi and the White Ape both had their eyes closed, while Ye Qinghe was fully alert, sensing the surroundings to guard against any exotic beasts.
At this moment.
All kinds of inspiration flooded into Ning Qi’s mind.
Everything he had pondered over the past year surged up at once.
The many Stances he had studied in the Scripture Pavilion, the natural phenomena he had observed—everything surfaced.
He truly had comprehended something.
But it wasn’t solely because of the marvelous scenery before him—this was just the trigger. His foundation was already solid, and today, accompanied by Ye Qinghe, he had verified his thoughts. He would’ve succeeded in a few more days anyway.
Now, it had just happened earlier.
“Body Tempering Stances, in essence, are about ‘tempering the body with Qi.’ The Bi’an Stance gathers Bi’an Qi; the Zhenwu Stance gathers True Dragon Qi. Bi’an is fierce and divine, and the True Dragon is even more majestic and noble—both powerful representations of natural phenomena. Mimicking the ‘Qi’ of such beings naturally leads to greater strength and superior tempering results.”
“But the human body holds endless mysteries—even True Dragon Qi might not always be best. It could be highly effective in some areas, but less so in others.”
“The best way is to go with the flow, adapt to the circumstances, and use different ‘phenomena’ to temper different parts of the body. That way, every area is refined to its fullest potential.”
“Therefore… Master all phenomena of heaven and earth—to temper the human body!”
Thoughts continued pouring into Ning Qi’s mind, like a string threading together all the scattered lights of inspiration.
He began to move.
Under Ye Qinghe’s astonished gaze.
Ning Qi still had his eyes shut.
But his hands had already assumed a stance.
His punches and kicks weren’t fast, but they carried weight.
“Little Nine is… practicing a Stance?”
Ye Qinghe was stunned.
With her eyesight, she could only tell it was some kind of Body Tempering Stance.
“But isn’t Little Nine practicing the Bi’an Stance?”
She knew.
Her Little Junior Brother was an extraordinary talent—maybe he had already cultivated the Bi’an Stance to a profound and complete level. After all, when he’d learned the Chiwen Stance from her, he had shown monstrous aptitude.
But now, she couldn’t make sense of this Stance.
It clearly wasn’t the Bi’an Stance.
There was no Bi’an intent—not even the basic movements matched. There were no signs or manifestations, yet there was a mysterious rhythm.
Her eyes narrowed as she observed even more intently.
And then.
Ye Qinghe’s pupils gradually widened.
In her eyes, Ning Qi’s figure slowly disappeared.
She seemed to see a river, a mountain, a cloud, a breeze—and also a tiger’s roar, a dragon’s cry, a wolf’s strike, and an eagle’s screech.
Mountains, water, clouds, mists… dragons, tigers, eagles, wolves…
Ye Qinghe didn’t understand it, but she was deeply shaken.
She rubbed her eyes hard, then found that all those visions had vanished—Ning Qi was still throwing punches. The punches looked plain and unremarkable, but Ye Qinghe knew: this must be an incredible Stance.
Perhaps it could rival the Bi’an Stance.
As for surpassing it?
She dared not even think that far. The Nine Sons of Zhenwu were True Stances passed down through generations in the Zhenwu Sect. If her Little Junior Brother could create a new Stance at four years old that rivaled them, that would already be unbelievable.
“Little Nine, this guy… he’s defying the heavens!”
Unknowingly.
The White Ape had also woken up.
Ye Qinghe looked over at the sound and saw the White Ape, after digesting the red fruit, now snow-white and almost glowing, full of life. Its hands, feet, and even brows were covered in white fur—it looked almost divine. If not for the clever glint in its eyes, anyone would mistake it for an enlightened old ape.
The White Ape was about to leap around in excitement.
Ye Qinghe quickly gestured for silence.
It immediately spotted Ning Qi practicing with eyes closed in the distance, and its smart self froze, afraid of disrupting him. The image of Ning Qi smashing the Iron-armed Ape had left a deep impression.
Curiosity filled its eyes as it began to study Ning Qi’s movements just like Ye Qinghe.
The White Ape’s bright eyes gradually widened.
In its vision, Ning Qi slowly disappeared, replaced by a golden monkey in a Daoist robe. That monkey’s punches and kicks carried a unique rhythm, as if asking the heavens about the Dao. The White Ape was struck like lightning and couldn’t help trying to imitate.
But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t learn it.
Though the movements looked simple, when it tried them, they felt completely off—unnatural and painful.
Ye Qinghe watched the clumsy, stumbling White Ape and quietly reminded,
“Little monkey, this is a Stance only humans can learn. Don’t force it, or you’ll get hurt.”
The White Ape froze, its face full of disappointment.
But then.
It couldn’t help looking back at Ning Qi’s figure, eyes full of reverence and longing.
It had a feeling… this was different from anything it had seen before.
Ye Qinghe clicked her tongue in amazement.
She marveled at both the White Ape’s intelligence and the wonder of Ning Qi’s Stance—it had even inspired the White Ape to try learning it.
Finally.
Under the gaze of one human and one ape, Ning Qi slowly stopped his movements.
He opened his eyes and saw that he was only a fist’s width away from the edge of the stone platform, but he remained calm. Though his eyes had been shut, he could “see the spirit” and sense his surroundings—he wouldn’t fall off the cliff.
After reading through one hundred and thirty-two Stances, grasping their essence, observing the world’s phenomena and seasons, then using the Zhenwu Stance as a foundation to fuse them all—he had finally comprehended it.
A smile curled on Ning Qi’s lips.
Origin of All Phenomena Stance.
That was the fruit of this enlightenment.
The meaning of "Origin of All Phenomena" carried his aspirations. For now, he had only glimpsed the surface—but when his cultivation deepened and his perspective widened, perhaps he could reach the true source.
No doubt about it.
This was a supreme-level Stance. In Ning Qi’s vision, it was even greater than peerless-level Stances.
From now on.
His path in Body Tempering was wide open.
Ning Qi couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
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