Pei Xuanjing's mouth revealed a smile, he said, "Visualization Method is when a martial artist who has condensed the real intent of martial arts uses their understanding of the real intent to portray it for others. The martial artist can then contemplate it day and night, imitating its method, hoping to grasp the real intent of martial arts."
To condense the real intent of martial arts, one must reflect on what they have learnt to break through its real intent, transforming it into their own understanding of martial arts.
The method Pei Xuanjing proposed was for the martial artist who has grasped the real intent of martial arts to imprint their understanding on an object. Through day and night observation and immersion in it, a martial artist may be able to stimulate their own understanding.
Even if one cannot grasp the real intent of martial arts, possessing such an item containing the real intent can allow a third-grade martial artist to refine their Blood Qi during cultivation, accelerating the speed of polishing and refining the Blood Qi.
As long as one can constantly keep this item on their person, and the real intent of martial arts hasn't completely dispersed, then one can continuously refine their Blood Qi.
After listening to Pei Xuanjing's narration, the crowd on the field fell silent, each contemplating this method in their minds.
This method seemed to have some merit. The two greatest difficulties probably would be finding a strong martial artist on a similar path willing to imprint their real intent, and finding an object capable of bearing the real intent of martial arts.
After all, this relates to future cultivation. If the item found cannot bear the real intent of martial arts for a long enough time, it would not work.
Pei Xuanjing looked at the contemplative crowd, waited for them to regain their senses, then began to talk about the second method, "The second method, I call it the Seed Intent Method!"
Seed Intent Method!
As the name implies, it is about turning the real intent of martial arts into a seed, planting it into the heart of the martial artist, allowing them to refine this real intent, acclimate to it, and transform it into their own understanding of martial arts, thereby making up for their foundational flaws.
However, the real intent they learn is that of the master who provided the martial arts intent seeds, so the selection of the seed must align with their martial arts foundation, otherwise, there would be conflicts and damage to the foundation.
"What is the Seed Intent Method? Which of these two methods is better?" one disciple asked.
Pei Xuanjing pondered and said, "It all depends on the individual, I can't make a judgment."
Of course, in Pei Xuanjing's view, the first method might be most suitable for fourth-grade martial artists. They have not yet broken through and their path isn't fixed. If a strong martial artist can guide them similar to how Pei Xuanjing once bolstered Pang Hong, it might increase their chances of understanding the real intent of martial arts.
However, the second method in Pei Xuanjing's view was too harsh and fierce. After all, the real intent of martial arts was incredibly dominant, and any martial artist capable of embodying such intent was certainly not ordinary.
Martial artists choosing to accept martial arts intent must have enough will to accommodate it. Otherwise, not only would they fail, but they might also be harmed by it.
Pei Xuanjing looked at the martial artists and said, "I have now taught you both methods. If you choose the first method, I can help you copy the real intent of martial arts for you to observe and understand."
He extended his slender, clean palm, an invisible sword intent appeared in his hand: "If you choose the second method, then the sword intent that I have refined now, if you can refine it, you can learn my real intent of martial arts."
"Of course, don't worry, I give my word that even if you fail to refine this martial arts intent, you will only suffer a bit of pain, there will be no danger to your life."
The means that Pei Xuanjing originally used to subdue Yu Zhenzi and Deng Zhong reappeared. But this time it was not to subdue anyone, but to use it as a primer, to serve as the seed of martial arts intent for the martial artists to refine. If they can refine this sword intent, then they can use it for themselves and understand Pei Xuanjing's real intent of martial arts.
Of course, this method of understanding the real intent of martial arts and Pei Xuanjing's original intent of martial arts are worlds apart. It's not that Pei Xuanjing declined to let the others refine it, but because at his current Realm, even just one ten-thousandth of the power of martial arts intent is not something a third-class martial artist can bear.
Moreover, because of his Realm, controlling this martial arts intent is incredibly easy. With his safeguarding, the person will at most suffer some torture and pain while refining the martial arts intent, and there will be absolutely no threat to their life.
In Pei Xuanjing's view, taking risks for continuous progress, even if it may be dangerous does not matter, let alone just suffering some pain, it is not considered a danger at all.
"Hushing sounds…"
As all saw the sword intent in Pei Xuanjing's hand, all the false Master martial artists could not help but take deep breaths, their eyes revealing an intense light of excitement.
Every person in the field knew that the Sect Leader's strength had reached an unfathomable depth. If they could luckily refine this sword intent, it would certainly change their fate.
Indeed, the power contained within this sword intent was less than one ten-thousandth of Pei Xuanjing's true martial arts intent, but the power it held was still enough to surpass many first-grade martial artists. If someone really could refine it, their strength would certainly skyrocket.
"Sect Leader, this disciple is willing," a disciple said.
"Let me do it, I have been a third-grade Martial Artist for many years, I will definitely succeed."
"…"
Several people spoke up immediately, while the remaining martial artists followed suit.
Such an opportunity was right in front of them, anyone would want to try their luck, perhaps they could succeed.
Moreover, with the Sect Leader personally promising that there will be no life-threatening danger, at most there would be some pain, there was nothing to worry about at all. It would be foolish not to take the opportunity.
Not to mention these third-grade false Masters, even some first- and second-grade martial artists were somewhat tempted. They were very aware that Yu Zhenzi and Deng Zhong had once been fortunate enough to receive Pei Xuanjing's sword intent. Although the circumstances were a little complicated, those five had undoubtedly benefited greatly.
By leveraging the Sect Leader's remaining sword intent, they could understand the realm the Sect Leader had achieved in the Way of the Sword, and also use it to polish their own real intent, enhance their strength, it was a win-win situation.
"Alright, today I am giving you all a chance." Pei Xuanjing flicked his finger, and the sword intent shot up into the sky.
The horrifying sword intent revealed its extreme sharpness, leaving countless sword marks in the sky.
Pei Xuanjing swiftly threw out a palm, scattering the sword intent around him, transforming it into countless Sword Qi that came raining down on the martial artists in the practice martial arts field.
In an instant, a sword intent was added to the inner bodies of these third-grade pseudo grandmasters. However, the fourth-grade martial artists did not have this opportunity.
After all, they could observe the aggressive true martial arts intent of Pei Xuanjing, but they lacked the qualifications to truly bear it.
"Ah!"
"Ha!"
"Hmph!"
The moment the sword intent entered their bodies, these pseudo grandmaster martial artists felt a terrifying force circulating within them. Even though they had prepared themselves, believing in their determination to endure the pain, dozens of them couldn't help but cry out instinctively.
However, in the blink of an eye, cries of agony filled the practice martial arts field. Yet not a single one of these people chose to give up. They gritted their teeth, sat cross-legged and began to circulate their skills, trying to refine the sword intent in their bodies by condensing their Blood Qi.
Pei Xuanjing's face wore a faint smile as he observed their changes, using the power of his Yin Spirit to envelop those around him.
...
Ever since Bai Xiaosheng took over the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, it has become a place for not only observing celestial phenomena, calculating solar terms, and formulating calendars, but also a place on par with Factory Guard and Six Gates for monitoring worldly information.
Nobody knew the reason why Bai Xiaosheng had chosen to publicly take over the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, not even the Qingxu Taoist who was familiar with him. He only knew that it was one of Bai Xiaosheng's goals to participate in their plan, but he didn't know why.
Pei Xuanjing only guessed that Bai Xiaosheng's takeover of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory was part of a big scheme, but he did not delve deeper. After all, everyone who came together had their own plans and nobody would actively interfere.
Of course, not long ago, the mysterious Mr. Wu also accepted the emperor's invitation to join the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, becoming the Superintendent who was second only to Bai Xiaosheng.
"I must thank Mr. Wu for his help this time. Otherwise, even I wouldn't have been able to detect the changes in these forces so smoothly," Bai Xiaosheng said to Mr. Wu with a smile.
In his hands was the investigation report sent back by his subordinates, summarizing the recent unusual activities of certain factions.
After he and Pei Xuanjing had discussed the incident at Dragon Tiger Mountain, they realized that what happened there would not be an isolated case. If people returned from Dragon Tiger Mountain, others from factions with legacies in the Sky Wasteland would certainly return too.
This mysterious Mr. Wu knew almost everything about the Sky Wasteland. With his help, Bai Xiaosheng swiftly narrowed down the scope of the investigation to some key targets, eventually making some discoveries.
"It was just a small effort on my part. After all, I am standing with you guys now, and I don't want to see the world fall into chaos," Mr. Wu said nonchalantly.
He didn't want to see the world plunge into chaos now. He still needed time to make some preparations. Helping Bai Xiaosheng and others to lock down the activities of those people was a good thing for him; at least he wouldn't be left in the dark in case of unexpected events.
He chuckled and asked, "How does the Superintendent plan to handle these people?"
Bai Xiaosheng glanced at him and countered, "Why should we handle these people?"
This was a matter he had already discussed with Pei Xuanjing. All they needed to do was to uncover the identities and backgrounds of the others. There was no need to rush to take action.
With more and more forces returning from the Sky Wasteland, they couldn't possibly fight every single one of them, could they?
Instead, they figured it would be better to guard against them for now and watch their reactions. If there was no anomaly or nothing that clearly disrupted their plans, there was no need to take action.
After all, compared to the massive forces in the Sky Wasteland, the people dispatched by the other side were insignificant. Eradicating these people would only be a prelude to inevitable warfare when the massive forces behind those people return.
The two sides were actually waiting for the right opportunity. They were waiting for Heaven and Earth to return to its peak and then usher back the forces from the Sky Wasteland.
While they were seizing the time to enhance their own strength, so that when Heaven and Earth fully recovered and the other side returned, they would have the strength to negotiate on an equal footing.
According to their thinking, instead of alarming the enemy now, they might as well bear it for a while, wait for their strength to grow, then choose a faction that shows hostile intentions and strike it with the force of a thunderbolt, killing one to warn the others.
"I see."
Although Bai Xiaosheng didn't spell it out, Mr. Wu understood their intention.
After all, he had come to understand quite a bit about the ancestral land during this time and understood their style of doing things.
Just like the founder of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, Emperor Taizu of the Great Ming, who wasn't the strongest power when he first started his uprising. But by following the method of 'building high walls and amassing grain, postponing the claim to kingship', he eventually became the biggest winner and established the Great Ming empire of six hundred years.
A flash of brilliance flashed in Bai Xiaosheng's eyes as he suddenly opened his mouth to ask, "Mr. Wu, your strength seems to have recovered quite quickly in recent times, hasn't it?"
He could now finally confirm that the identity of the other party was definitely not the disciple of the Witch Deity Teaching as he first claimed, but someone with a greater background.
In the beginning, the strength displayed by Mr. Wu was only at the Third Level of the Spiritual Realm, seemingly on par with talents from the Sky Wasteland like Xue Hanyi.
However, the secrets he knew and the things he controlled were absolutely not something that a junior disciple could know or master, even if the Witch Deity Teaching was a top-level faction. They would never let their junior disciples know so much.
When the Great Ming Divine Dynasty ascended, Bai Xiaosheng gained quite a bit of benefit. He was now at the peak of Third Level of the Spiritual Realm, just one step away from the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm.
But he found that he still couldn't see through Mr. Wu's strength, nor could he sense any hint of danger from him.
This was quite shocking. If the other's strength was only slightly stronger than his, Bai Xiaosheng would definitely feel some pressure and senses under certain circumstances.
The situation now was only possible under two circumstances: either the other's strength was far inferior to his, or the other's strength was far beyond his, so much so that he couldn't detect anything.
The result, therefore, was self-evident.
"Hehe, since the Superintendent already knows, why bother to find out the details?" said Mr. Wu with a faint smile on his face and a note of exclamation in his voice.
As of now, he had temporarily joined the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, and his significant help that day earned him a Divine Position. Though it was a medium-level Divine Position, it was more than enough for him.
Leveraging the divine position of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, his strength was recovering rapidly. Although it was still far from his peak strength, it was a significant improvement from when he first returned to his ancestral land. At this point, he had enough power to protect himself. Even if the foes from the Sky Wasteland were to pursue him, he had the means to confront them, leaving him far from helpless.
Bai Xiaosheng shook his head and said, "I heard that in ancient times, the Witch Deity Teaching was originally in charge of the rites of the Divine Dynasty, weren't they?"
He was not Pei Xuanjing. Pei Xuanjing had enough confidence to allow some people to do some things, to turn a blind eye to certain matters. But the nature of Bai Xiaosheng meant that he paid great attention to many things, he couldn't possibly ignore them.
Mr. Wu, still smiling, said: "Superintendent, if you have something to say, just say it straight out, there's no need to beat around the bush."
"Since Mr. Wu is so blunt, I'll just get straight to the point." Bai Xiaosheng switched his self-reference to 'I', and directly stated: "I am quite curious about some events that happened in ancient times and would like to discuss them with you."
He was probing. Bai Xiaosheng's branch had a hold on a lot of information, but even Bai Xiaosheng himself couldn't confirm whether these pieces of information were true or false.
Therefore, he wanted to take the opportunity to probe, to cross-validate and observe the other party's attitude, while checking to see if the information he held was true.
There was a flicker of cold light in Mr. Wu's deep eyes, which disappeared instantly, almost unnoticed by Bai Xiaosheng.
He stared intently at Bai Xiaosheng, not making a sound. The hall of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory became extremely quiet. Both of them stared at each other, neither backing down.
Had Pei Xuanjing been present, he would have instantly realized that Bai Xiaosheng was being too reckless. Bai was gambling with his own life.
The mystery of this Mr. Wu was even a cause of concern for Pei Xuanjing himself. It was due to Pei's confidence in his own strength that he was willing to trade with the other party, despite not having much trust in him.
With Mr. Wu's strength, if he were truly pushed too hard and was provoked to turn against them, neither party would gain much. But by provoking him, Bai was essentially gambling that Mr. Wu still needed them and wouldn't dare to upset the situation.
The silence in the hall echoed to such an extent that you could hear a pin drop, but then Mr. Wu suddenly burst into hearty laughter: "Ha ha ha, no wonder you are the Superintendent, you really are extraordinary. I admire you, Mr. Bai. Since you are curious, I'll certainly comply."
After saying this, he got up and walked out of the hall without even a second glance at Bai Xiaosheng, who was left behind.
Whoosh whoosh…
Waiting for Mr. Wu's figure to disappear at the entrance of the hall, Bai Xiaosheng collapsed onto a chair. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans dripped from his forehead, splattering onto the floor. He was panting heavily.
If someone had been behind him at that moment, they would have noticed that his entire back was soaked with sweat.
"I won the gamble."
At that moment, that was the only thought in his mind.
But he had indeed just felt the killing intent emanating from the other party. His life had hung in the balance, and in the end it was the other party that decided to give up on upsetting the situation.
"Apparently, his goals are not small. He's even able to tolerate such provocation." Bai Xiaosheng pondered.
"Heh, even in the past, I only ridiculed others for having reckless courage, but I didn't expect I'd behave like that today," he derided himself.
In the past, he always had a plan before taking action. He never allowed himself to be in a situation where he was not in control, letting others hold his life in their hands.
But today, he couldn't help but to voice his probe without any warning, making such a bold gamble.
No one else could understand – only because of the enormous pressure from the mysterious Mr. Wu. Even individuals from the Sky Wasteland like Xue Hanyi didn't give Bai Xiaosheng such trouble.
But Mr. Wu was too mysterious. He knew too much, and his strength was far beyond anything Bai Xiaosheng could control. Being used to having control over everything, Bai Xiaosheng couldn't bear this.
Fortunately, just as he had thought, Mr. Wu still needed him and his companions. The other party did not dare, or perhaps they were not able, to turn the tables.
After all, killing Bai Xiaosheng would be easy, but the death of Bai Xiaosheng would inevitably lead to a direct conflict with Pei Xuanjing and the others.
In the current Daming World, it is not an exaggeration to say that Pei Xuanjing is unrivalled. Even Mr. Wu would have to avoid the force of Pei Xuanjing, the holder of the Golden Book and Jade Scroll.
Such a scenario would undermine his plans, thoroughly disrupting them. Then his decision to return to his ancestral land ahead of schedule, at a significant cost, would be meaningless.
…
Pei Xuanjing, who was present in Tiandu, had no knowledge of the conversation between these two men, nor did he know that his plan had nearly been scuttled by Bai Xiaosheng.
Pei Xuanjing, now lacking time, was awaiting his refining of enough Taoyun and undergoing several more life simulations. Once his strength increased again, he would not need to have any concerns at all.
That's why he was willing to maintain this situation. Even though many people from the Taoist School believed that he gave too many divine positions to the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, he didn't care. As long as his strength improved again, he could easily take back anything he gave up now, as long as he was willing to.
The conversation between Bai Xiaosheng and Mr. Wu was not known to a third party, so of course, Pei Xuanjing was uncertain about it.
At this moment, he was studying the information collected.
It has been more than a month since he bestowed his Sword Intent on those pseudo-sect masters. During this time, about half of these individuals received Pei Xuanjing's Sword Intent, but they were unable to refine it and eventually chose to give up.
Even though he had deliberately reduced the amount of Sword Intent given, not everyone was capable of accepting it. Many pseudo-sect masters found his domineering Sword Intent unbearable. If not for Pei Xuanjing's watchful eye, they might have been driven mad by the Sword Intent.
"But that half of them have even persevered, is beyond my expectations. In my view, if a third of them had persisted, that would already be remarkable." Pei Xuanjing looked over the information in his hand and thought.
Of course, Pei Xuanjing was also aware that this was just the beginning. At present, those who can hold on to it — in the end, probably fewer than ten people would be able to refine his Sword Intent.
From the original hundred participants, this success rate was about a tenth.
Letting third-grade pseudo-sect masters re-understand the true intentions of martial arts, if one in every ten was successful, that would not be considered a failure. If word got out, it would indeed shock all martial artists. After all, given that the number of pseudo-sect masters in the world is 4 million, this meant that 400,000 of them have the opportunity to grasp the true intent of martial arts and become real sect masters.
What's more, Pei Xuanjing's Sword Intent was extremely domineering. Those who have survived until now and are refining it were inherently the cream of the crop among the pseudo-sect masters.
According to Pei Xuanjing's later experiments, he tried with the remaining first-grade martial artists to condense their own martial arts true intent seeds and gave them to the ones who failed at refining his Sword Intent.
And those people — although they couldn't bear Pei Xuanjing's Sword Intent and missed their opportunity — almost every single one of them was able to bear the true intent seeds of other first-grade martial artists once they switched.