In the deepest part of himself, Li Yuan once again beheld the inner realm.
It was no longer just an empty space filled with tranquil mist.Now, change had begun.
The sky, once grey, now shimmered with a faint blue.A gentle stream flowed through the valley, forming a clear river.Small stones appeared, and upon them were inscribed words once unseen:
Understanding.
"This is not merely a place of imagination," Li Yuan murmured in silence."This… is a reflection of all I have come to understand."
On the surface of the water, he saw his own reflection—but it shifted, taking on different forms.
Himself in various moments:
When he studied water and understood how the world flows.When he embraced stillness, and the world no longer disturbed him.When he faced fear, and saw that fear was simply an incomplete understanding.And when he truly ceased to be—yet remained present.
Each understanding formed a landscape within him.The river, the sky, the mountains, and the mist were no longer random appearances…They were the shapes of awakening.
Understanding of water shaped the river.Understanding of martial arts formed the stones and the earth beneath his feet.Understanding of stillness kept the sky blue.Understanding of fear birthed the shadows.And… understanding of absence allowed him to vanish.
Li Yuan sat by the river.Its water was clear, yet deep.
He could see memories of his childhood,images of his teacher,his first fear in battle—all flowing past.
But he was undisturbed.
He simply observed… and slowly smiled.
"If the outer world is the place to walk...then the inner world is the place to take root."
Then, something changed.
The sky above cracked faintly—not destruction,but the emergence of new space.
Mountains began to rise.The earth expanded.Tiny trees began to sprout.
Li Yuan was growing.
But his growth was not visible in the outside world.It was happening within.
"Strength is not what I do to the world," came the quiet voice within,"but how the world inside me transforms through understanding."
And when his eyes opened once more in the outer world,there was no flash,no aura,no visible change.
Yet to anyone who could see deeper, it was clear:
Li Yuan had stepped further along the path of understanding.
His inner world was no longer just a space for reflection—but a land where all possibilities could take root.