Chapter 100: This Old Man Is Too Strong!
“You’re actually still alive?”
As Hua Laomo spoke, the entire area surrounding the town fell silent.
Shi Feizhe, who was sweating profusely from his “fire” training, suddenly heard the old man’s voice transmitting directly into his mind.
What do you mean I’m still alive?
You old geezer are actually hoping that I die out here!
Shi Feizhe opened his eyes and looked around, but he couldn’t see the old man anywhere!
“Come east!” The old man transmitted his voice again.
So, Shi Feizhe got up and walked towards the east.
Shan Xu, who was sitting beside him, noticed Shi Feizhe getting up and glanced at him.
“It’s nothing! Just an acquaintance!” Shi Feizhe said in a low voice, giving him a reassuring look.
“Okay!” Shan Xu was relieved.
Ever since he started practicing the 《Twelve-Layered Pagoda》, he had made twelve friends.
Shi Feizhe was the only friend who hadn’t tried to kill him, which was quite a feat!
As he walked eastward, the path grew darker and darker. He kept walking through the darkness until he began to doubt whether he had heard the old man correctly. Finally, he saw a familiar figure.
In the dark desert, there was an old man standing on a sand dune.
He looked the same as before, short in stature, wearing a gray-white robe, with no hair or beard, only thick and long eyebrows.
“Are you Yuan Jiuzhong?” Shi Feizhe walked over and asked as soon as he saw the old man.
The old man shook his head and said, “I am Chong Jiuyuan!”
“Then…”
“But this old man once used the alias Yuan Jiuzhong!” The old man said faintly.
“…”
Isn’t it still you?
“Besides Yuan Jiuzhong, this old man has also used aliases like Yuan Jiuzhou, Yuan Jiujiu, and Yuanyuanyuan. One can’t wander the Jianghu without a few aliases, can they?” The old man continued.
The invincible Yuan Jiuzhong, and the conman Yuan Jiuzhou, right?
Alright, alright, the old man is sly!
“Didn’t you say you were waiting to die?” Shi Feizhe asked, puzzled.
You said you would die in the cave on the back mountain?
“Yes, this old man thought so too, but that boy Hua Chonglang gave me a reason I couldn’t refuse.” The old man continued walking east, motioning for Shi Feizhe to follow.
“What reason?” Shi Feizhe asked as he walked.
“An opponent! An opponent who can kill me!” The old man said.
“Huh?”
The old man said, “This old man is too strong!”
“…”
That’s a pretty arrogant statement!
“Since I entered the Jianghu over a hundred years ago, I’ve rarely encountered an opponent. It goes without saying for those in the same realm, but I can easily kill those who are a realm above me!” The old man glanced at Shi Feizhe and said, “I’ve even defeated Zhoutian realm experts while being at the See the Truth level.”
???
Shi Feizhe was dumbfounded. You’re that strong?
With my 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula《, I can only defeat Qi Sea realm martial artists!
“Back then, this old man felt that all the martial arts in the Jianghu were wrong!” The old man said proudly. “Only my method of training is the right one!”
“What do you think of the mental cultivation method I taught you?” He suddenly asked Shi Feizhe.
“Uh…” Shi Feizhe said honestly, “I can’t understand it!”
After learning that the old man might be the invincible Yuan Jiuzhong, Shi Feizhe had naturally studied the old man’s mental cultivation method repeatedly.
But… he couldn’t understand it.
That cultivation method mainly talked about the conflict between heaven and man.
What kind of “heaven” is this “heaven”?
How do heaven and man conflict?
Why do they conflict?
It was like when Shi Feizhe was young and first came into contact with philosophy. He knew each word individually, but couldn’t understand them when they were put together.
Especially Freud’s philosophical thoughts, which attributed most of a person’s behavior to sex.
It was truly difficult to understand, inconceivable.
Confused.jpg.
Or when a student who struggles with academics encounters the formulas and methods for calculating the gears of a continuously variable transmission, their eyes would glaze over.
Can’t understand.jpg.
✿✿✿
“You’ll naturally understand when you reach the Heaven’s Barrier realm!” The old man said calmly.
After reaching a certain level in the True Realm, one’s True Qi and strength would stop increasing. This level is known as the Heaven’s Barrier among Jianghu people!
“What if I can’t reach the Heaven’s Barrier realm?”
“Then it means you’re stupid! You naturally won’t need to understand!”
The old man continued walking ahead and said, “There are many things you won’t understand until you reach that level. For example, when I was young, I had three of the most beautiful women in the world by my side, making others envious…”
“But you trembled every night when you saw them?” Shi Feizhe blurted out.
“…” The old man sized up Shi Feizhe again and said, “I always thought you were a strange one, but I didn’t expect you to know this too.”
“It wasn’t trembling, but boredom, disinterest!” He said.
“I’ve been to countless places in my life. You probably don’t know that the world we’re standing on is actually a sphere!”
“From the poles covered in eternal ice to the scorching deserts, I’ve walked for many years, wanting to see if there were any experts in the overseas wilderness!”
“In the end, they were all weaklings. In this life, living to the very end, I only want to fulfill one wish.”
“What wish? What wish haven’t you fulfilled?” Shi Feizhe asked, puzzled.
You’re so awesome, what else could you possibly not be able to do?
“I want to be beaten to death!” The old man said faintly.
“Huh?” Shi Feizhe thought he had heard wrong.
“I want to be beaten to death alive! Only then would my life be complete!” The old man sighed and said.
“…”
Old man, you’ve already hogged all the bragging rights in the world, please stop!
“Why?”
“Why is there no one stronger than me!”
“Why has no one ever defeated me, or even killed me!”
“I’ve been racking my brains over this.”
The old man continued to boast to himself.
“Until I was disheartened and decided to return home to wait for death. Hua Chonglang came knocking on my door.”
“That kid, I don’t know if he’s born in the year of the dog, but as soon as I returned to the Central Plains, he came looking for me, saying he wanted to avenge a palm strike from forty years ago!”
“I had already forgotten about that incident from forty years ago. He still remembers!”
“So I gave him another palm strike.”
“Unexpectedly, he came looking for me again. This time, he actually has the potential to break through!” The old man became more and more excited as he spoke, and said to Shi Feizhe, “He might actually reach the same realm as me.”
“… Are you that strong? A whole realm ahead of everyone in the Jianghu?” Shi Feizhe finally understood why the old man was so powerful.
The old man could easily defeat others even when he was a realm lower than them, and now he’s a realm higher than everyone in the Jianghu.
Who the hell could possibly defeat him!
“To break through the Heaven’s Barrier, you need to solve two problems.” The old man continued, “Although you might not need it, you can listen.”
“…”
Damn it, if I could defeat you, today next year would be your death anniversary!
“First, you need to question yourself, and then you need to question heaven.”
“Questioning yourself means questioning your heart, you need to find what you truly want to do and the path you want to take. Questioning heaven is more complicated, it requires collapse.” The old man said.
“Collapse?” Shi Feizhe asked.
“Collapse your past and rebuild a new self.” The old man said.
“Based on objective facts, re-establish a new worldview, values, and outlook on life?” Shi Feizhe thought for a moment and said.
“Huh?” The old man looked at Shi Feizhe once again.
He didn’t expect this weirdo Shi Feizhe to have such insight.
“That’s the principle, it seems simple, but it’s very difficult and painful to do! Once you’ve passed both of these stages, your power will change, just like this!”
With a “crackling” sound, Shi Feizhe saw the old man’s body grow taller, bursting his clothes.
I just want to be beaten to death!
