Chapter 778: Tianxin Martial Master

A good number of people had come inside.

About half a sichen later, a little over a hundred people sat scattered across the grounds.

Earlier outside, there had been close to two or three hundred people. The bone-touching evaluation alone had eliminated nearly half of them.

This was understandable, however. After all, martial arts had a threshold for entry.

"Is it about to begin?"

"Soon, soon."

"I heard from those who came before that the Tianxin Martial Master of Nanyan Mountain gives profoundly insightful martial lectures. Everyone who listens gains something. They say someone even had an epiphany during a session, elevating their blood vigor to another level."

"Is she really that incredible?"

"Heh. Either way, it's not something you want to miss."

Murmurs of discussion continually rippled through the crowd.

Chen Changsheng occasionally caught snippets of their conversations.

The name repeated most often was that of the Tianxin Martial Master.

Chen Changsheng asked, "Is this Tianxin Martial Master very famous in the jianghu?"

Qin Chuan nodded. "The Tianxin Martial Master was already famous many years ago. She is from the Northwest. In her early years, she was a disciple of the Buddhist Faction. Later, after returning to secular life, she entered the jianghu and became renowned for guiding others in martial arts. Back then, someone even offered a thousand taels of Gold for her guidance. Who could have expected she would vanish for a time, only to appear in the Southern Yan Sect? From the looks of it, she must have been recruited by them."

"Formerly of the Buddhist Schools..." Chen Changsheng murmured.

Qin Chuan said, "However, this Tianxin Martial Master also has a terrible reputation. Some say she didn't return to secular life voluntarily, but was expelled by the Buddhist Faction. After entering the jianghu, she committed many slaughters. Her methods were brutal, as if she possessed no humanity at all."

As they spoke, Chen Changsheng felt a sudden sense of awareness and looked toward the second floor of the Earthen Towers.

A figure dressed in plain clothes and wearing a felt hat appeared in his line of sight.

Unless he was mistaken, this person was the Tianxin Martial Master.

Her face indeed held an expression of compassion, but those eyes were exceedingly piercing. The corners of her eyes were as sharp as saber and sword, and it seemed many things were hidden within her gaze.

"It's actually a woman?"

Chen Changsheng paused inwardly.

Qin Chuan said, "The Tianxin Martial Master was once a Buddhist nun in a hermitage. Perhaps it is because a woman's blood vigor is inherently inferior to a man's that she later became famous for guiding others in martial arts instead."

In the world of martial artists, blood vigor was exceptionally important. But a woman's blood vigor would leak at specific times. This condition could easily lead to entering fire and falling into demons, severely limiting their martial upper bounds.

This was why there were so few women who made a name for themselves through martial arts in today's jianghu.

"She's here, she's here!"

"So this is the Tianxin Martial Master."

"It's a woman?"

"Now that's truly unexpected."

Tianxin directed her gaze toward the crowd below.

She swept her eyes over the hall. Then, taking a step, she executed her Lightness Art and landed steadily upon the high platform.

"Quiet."

Tianxin spoke softly. After she glanced around, the surrounding noise gradually faded away.

Once silence had settled over the grounds, Tianxin finally spoke again. "The martial lecture is divided into three halls: Human, Earth, and Heaven. During the lecture, there shall be no clamor and no questions. If you collapse from exhaustion or feel dizzy and unwell, please leave the building immediately."

"What will be taught next is the Human chapter."

"Please be seated."

The Tianxin Martial Master took her seat.

Following her lead, the people present sat down on the round mats prepared in advance.

Those without seats simply sat cross-legged on the floor.

Chen Changsheng and Qin Chuan sat down one after the other.

Looking at the Tianxin Martial Master, Qin Chuan murmured softly, "Hearing about it a hundred times isn't as good as seeing it for oneself. I really must watch carefully to see exactly where the profundity in these martial lectures lies."

The people who returned had bragged wildly about the Tianxin Martial Master, acting as if they were possessed. Qin Chuan, however, didn't believe it. How could such a broad, general martial lecture achieve such miraculous effects?

The Tianxin Martial Master exhaled softly before beginning, "All martial arts in the world start with the human body. An infant possesses Pre-Heaven purity, untainted by the mundane, yet their blood vigor is far from full..."

Her opening remarks were mostly clichés, serving as a preamble much like the foreword of a book.

Only after finishing this did she enter the main topic.

"Let me ask: where does blood vigor come from?"

"Martial artists explored this long ago. The first source is the essence of Pre-Heaven, which is the innate essence inherited from one's parents. The second is the essence of Post-Heaven, which is the essence of the natural world and the food refined by the spleen and stomach."

This was something everyone knew.

However, the Tianxin Martial Master shifted her tone. "Yet, in my view, there is also a third, a fourth, a fifth..."

Only upon hearing this did the crowd below finally grow interested.

"Qi is the qi of the world, and blood is the blood within the human body. The two complement and balance each other. The path of martial arts is a gradual process to make these two rise steadily together, rather than having one wane while the other waxes."

"In my early years, I studied the scriptures and learned that the balance of yin and yang could also be broken. Someone once centered their focus on yin energy to create a martial arts canon. It was extremely yin and supremely soft; the resulting martial arts were blindingly fast and incredibly difficult to break. It shattered the balance, yet it forged a profound martial art."

"There are also supreme yang martial arts centered entirely on yang energy. From childhood, practitioners accumulate yang energy within their bodies. As the cultivation method operates, they mobilize their blood vigor and supplement it with yang energy, resulting in extraordinary martial prowess."

"These two examples are no accident. The human body is like the vast heaven and earth, intertwined and connected to form a single system. Thus, balance is important. But breaking that balance is also a viable path."

Listening to these words, Qin Chuan furrowed her brow.

She looked at Chen Changsheng beside her and whispered, "This doesn't seem right..."

Chen Changsheng gave a slight nod.

It sounded as if she were teaching people how to fall into the demonic path.

Yet, some of the things this person said felt somewhat familiar to Chen Changsheng.

Years ago, Ouyang Feng's Nine Yin Manual had been exactly this kind of cultivation method. However, its drawbacks were exceptionally glaring. After practicing that set of martial arts for a long time, a person's mind would turn chaotic, and their emotions would be heavily affected.

With so many people present, there were naturally many who also felt this was utter nonsense.

The crowd exchanged glances or conversed in hushed tones.

Seeing this, the Tianxin Martial Master spoke up, "I know you all believe this to be a crooked and heretical path. However, the true evolution of martial arts lies exactly within it. As the saying goes: destroy before you can establish, only then can the new be forged."

"The word 'martial' is inextricably linked to blood vigor. Qi is one matter, and blood is another."

"Blood originates from within the human body. It is formed in the marrow and reaches every part of the body."

"The word 'blood' is also inseparable from the outside world. What one eats can serve as a great tonic, replenishing blood vigor..."

"Earlier, I mentioned supreme yin and supreme yang martial arts. The fluctuations of yin and yang cause the balance of blood vigor to shatter. As a result, these methods easily lead to entering fire and falling into demons, severely damaging the practitioner. If there were a method to adjust and stabilize this balance, this chaos could be resolved."

"That method lies in the Spirit!"

"Spirit?"

Perhaps only now had they truly entered the main topic.

In the path of martial arts, this was a term some knew, yet very few ever paid attention to.

"What is the Spirit?"

Dharma Master Tianxin then continued, "The Spirit is the mind. It is the mansion within the brain. Every thought and every contemplation resides within the Spirit!"