Chapter 85: Chapter 85
Ron was somewhat surprised by Morris’s candor, but the information the other party could provide wasn’t much, especially since he didn’t offer any specific details regarding the Evil God Priest’s true strength.
Given that he already suspected those cultists were coming for him, Ron was actually feeling somewhat anxious, but he knew it wouldn’t be appropriate to appear overly concerned about those cultists.
Otherwise, if he failed to gather news and instead aroused suspicion of sympathizing with the cult, his troubles would be immense.
Thus, the topic ended there. Ron didn’t press further, shifting instead to ask Morris about some questions regarding Whole-Body Force that he had accumulated over the past two days.
Since he could normally inhabit the Formal Knight state, Ron frequently experienced the difference between a Formal Knight’s perfect Whole-Body Force and his own inability to fully control his strength. Consequently, he could feel exactly where the obstacles to his progress lay.
He could resolve these issues through continuous training, allowing his body to grasp them naturally; this was the very purpose of training.
However, translating them into specific cases to consult an experienced person could save him a massive amount of monotonous training time.
It was much like the difference in efficiency between someone who could read practicing calligraphy and someone who couldn’t. Barring exceptional outliers, the efficiency between the two was absolutely worlds apart.
For Ron to push his Whole-Body Force progress past 70% so quickly, the Secret Pattern program of the 【Transcendent Body Refinement Technique】 he had compiled was indeed the key, but to a large extent, it was also thanks to Instructor Morris’s meticulous guidance.
“Instructor, when I practice the Ninth Sword Stance, I always find it difficult to sustain. My body involuntarily twists to the reverse side, and my strength struggles to reach its maximum.”
Ron had engaged in similar consultations many times over the past month. It was just that previous inquiries were always made in the afternoon during Sword Stance training at the training ground.
To seek guidance in the morning, right on the road like this, was a first.
But Morris didn’t mind these details. As long as it was Ron asking, he never minded answering, though the question Ron posed right now still caught him somewhat by surprise.
This was because the state of combined force involved in the Ninth Sword Stance was already close to that of a Formal Knight. It was not suited for Sword Stance training; in practice, mastering just the First or Second Sword Stance was enough to make someone a Formal Knight.
If Ron could actually train using the Ninth Sword Stance, then his actual progress might far surpass everyone else’s.
At this thought, Morris couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “I remember you always training with the Fifth Sword Stance before, didn’t you? Why the sudden switch to the Ninth Sword Stance?”
“Not quite. I am still using the Fifth Sword Stance for training. The reason I asked about the Ninth Sword Stance is because I encountered a problem similar to it.”
Ron explained truthfully. He did indeed normally use the Fifth Sword Stance for training, but outside of training, when he inhabited the Formal Knight state, he wasn’t strictly confined to the twelve Sword Stance states distilled from the Ice Sword Art.
Therefore, he encountered all sorts of situations in his daily practice. It was just that the bottleneck he was currently stuck on happened to be perfectly describable using the Ninth Sword Stance.
“I understand. I still underestimated your talent!” Morris sighed in admiration.
Reflecting on himself, the realization that Sword Stances were merely a guideline rather than an absolute standard had only come to him after he became a Formal Knight.
This kind of enlightenment, this kind of experience, could be easily obtained by any Formal Knight, but for an Apprentice below the Knight rank, it required an extraordinary comprehension of the true essence of the Ice Sword Art to achieve it.
This could be called talent, but it was absolutely not just talent. It also required peerless intelligence, as well as a vast amount of self-driven, grueling training.
For a moment, Morris no longer knew how to describe Ron, but thinking of the young man’s intellect, he couldn’t help but sigh internally at this damned world!
“Ron, I can answer the question you just asked. The reason you involuntarily twist to the reverse side and your strength fails to reach its maximum when practicing the Ninth Sword Stance is, to a large extent, because you are progressing too fast!”
“Progressing too fast? Why?” Ron subconsciously pressed.
“Yes, your physical enhancement has been too fast, to the point where your consciousness hasn’t been able to keep up. The consciousness I’m referring to here isn’t the portion you can perceive, but rather the part you cannot perceive.”
At this point, Morris gave an example to explain, “For instance, when you hold your hand over a flame, we instinctively pull it back after feeling pain. This is your body’s protective mechanism driven by that imperceptible part of your consciousness.
“The reason you involuntarily twist to the reverse side when practicing the Ninth Sword Stance is actually because that imperceptible part of your consciousness believes this movement might injure you. Thus, it makes a decision contrary to your conscious mind, suppressing the risk of injury in this manner.
“Likewise, the reason your strength is difficult to unleash to its absolute peak is due to the same cause. The force exertion state of the Ninth Sword Stance already involves the entire body. Gathering all that strength into a single point is indeed unbearable for an ordinary person, but you can handle it now. That’s why you feel like you have power in reserve but are unable to draw it out.”
“I see!”
Ron understood instantly. What Instructor Morris was actually talking about was the conflict between the conscious and the subconscious mind.
To give an extreme example: all humans possess a survival instinct. Everyone who commits suicide either possesses immense courage, even if only for a fleeting moment, or they regret it halfway but can no longer turn back (like jumping from a high place).
“Then how do I reconcile these two states of consciousness operating on different levels of perception?” Ron continued to ask.
“This question is both difficult and simple.”
Morris smiled, then explained, “It’s difficult because these are your own consciousnesses; it’s hard to use external forces to forcefully reconcile or even fuse them. Everything exists solely within your own perception. If you don’t understand or believe it yourself, no matter how much outsiders do, it’s all in vain.
“It’s simple because, after all, this is your own consciousness. As long as you figure it out yourself, it won’t be a problem anymore. The key is how to figure it out!”
“Then how do I figure it out?”
“It’s very simple. You need to explore the limits of your own body. During this exploration, that imperceptible part of your consciousness will also come to realize it. Then, when you conduct related training afterward, it will no longer act as a shackle!”
“Is that so!”
Ron truly hadn’t considered that the one hindering his progress would actually be himself, yet the solution was so unassuming. It truly echoed the proverb from his homeland: “A false transmission fills ten thousand volumes; a true teaching requires but a single sentence.” [1]
He already knew what he needed to do next.
“Thank you for your guidance, Instructor. I know what to do now.”
“It’s good that you know. Barring any surprises, the territory will assign you all to participate in the territory’s repairs and reconstruction work. You can take this opportunity to settle and consolidate. I hope to see a brand-new you after the reconstruction work is over.”
“Mhm, I will definitely put my heart into it.”
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the Eastern District of the territory. As far as Ron’s eyes could see, it was simply a scene of devastation.
…
[1]: “A false transmission fills ten thousand volumes; a true teaching requires but a single sentence” is a Chinese martial arts proverb emphasizing that true mastery lies in simple, core principles directly imparted by a master, rather than voluminous theoretical texts.