Chapter 34 Heart

Xu Jingming's mental will had grown by leaps and bounds over the past month.

Because the 'pain training method' in the willpower training method was extremely effective, Xu Jingming deduced the 'cold training method' and the 'heat training method'. Even ordinary people had methods to temper their will through training in the cold winter and hot summer; conducting this kind of training method in the virtual world was very safe.

Of course, Xu Jingming's cold and heat training methods were extremely cold and hot, enough to threaten the body and constantly approach the limits of death.

In harsh environments close to the limits of death… he still had to focus on practicing spearmanship!

Only with a more condensed and focused mental will could one remain undisturbed.

Therefore, with the three training methods running in parallel, Xu Jingming practiced spearmanship with great effect, and his mental will grew rapidly. Now, his perception of his body was much clearer, and he could almost sense all his cells.

"Master, you were looking for me?" Xu Jingming looked at his master, Liu Hai, warmly.

"Jingming, how's your cultivation? Have you broken through to the fifth level?" Liu Hai asked.

Xu Jingming shook his head. "Not yet! I've been stuck at the bottleneck for more than a month."

Liu Hai nodded slightly.

Like him, he had been stuck at the bottleneck for more than a month.

"Come over here," Liu Hai invited, inviting Xu Jingming to enter his martial arts training ground.

"Alright." With a light tap, Xu Jingming went to his master's personal space training ground.

…

Inside the training ground.

Xu Jingming appeared out of thin air, smiling at Liu Hai. "Master, have you made a breakthrough in your cultivation?"

Last time, his master had guided him on how the body should be like water, reacting instantly to a thought.

Was he going to guide him again this time?

"I wish I could break through." Liu Hai smiled and shook his head, pointing to a stone bench beside him. "Sit."

Xu Jingming sat down.

"Let's exchange ideas." Liu Hai looked at his disciple. "Jingming, your thinking is different from mine. I'm relatively more traditional, and your growth rate is rapid… Now, you're no less than me, and may even be stronger than me."

Xu Jingming quickly said, "Master, I'm only at the fourth level limit now."

"It's different; your mental state is different." Liu Hai smiled as he looked at his disciple. "You're full of energy and fighting spirit, and you've obviously found your path and are single-mindedly forging ahead. As for me… I'm lost in confusion. Our mental states are completely different. It's only a matter of time before you surpass me."

Liu Hai had been the national team's head coach for so many years and had taught too many disciples.

Just by looking at their mental state, he could deduce seven or eight out of ten things! Those who were confused often frowned, or had a worried look between their brows. They were like a dull knife, no longer sharp.

But those who were high-spirited and sharp-eyed were full of confidence! That kind of confidence could infect others.

The state of the two at this moment was like this. Liu Hai was in a state of confusion, while Xu Jingming's mental state could already infect others. As soon as they met, Liu Hai understood the difference between them.

"Master, don't praise me; the more you praise me, the more panicked I get," Xu Jingming immediately said.

Liu Hai laughed. "Let's not talk about that. I want to ask, how did you manage to sense all the cells in your body? What experience do you have?"

"I haven't broken through yet, so I'll just share some thoughts." Xu Jingming didn't hide anything and said, "I imagine Master has also received a legacy and should know the importance of refining the heart."

Liu Hai nodded.

"At this time, one can only improve their mental awareness and strengthen it. Only by strengthening mental awareness can one sense all the cells in the body," Xu Jingming said. "How to strengthen mental awareness? Master must know some training methods and meditation techniques."

Liu Hai nodded. "In the legacy I received, there are also some methods for refining the heart."

"I think the way to improve in the short term is to temper one's mental will," Xu Jingming said.

"Temper mental will?" Liu Hai nodded slightly. "In the legacy I obtained, there are also eighteen methods for tempering mental will, but I feel that most of them are not suitable for me. There are only six that I'm trying to practice…"

"Tempering mental will should also be divided into realms, right?" Xu Jingming said.

"That's right."

Liu Hai nodded. "Some people try hard to grit their teeth and persevere. Some can treat all external torment as illusory. The most monstrous ones… under this kind of tempering, their spirit becomes more fervent, and their mental will becomes more condensed and strengthened."

"Three realms. The higher the realm, the better the effect of tempering the will," Xu Jingming nodded. "Master, you can try to find a method of tempering your will that suits you best."

"I've tried all sorts of methods, but they're all in the first realm, trying to persevere and endure." Liu Hai shook his head, and he looked at his disciple in surprise. "Jingming, you should be in a higher realm, so your mental awareness is progressing so rapidly?"

Xu Jingming nodded; he didn't hide anything from his master.

"This is talent," Liu Hai said with a smile.

"Maybe it's because I got used to practicing spearmanship in pain during the eight or nine years after my leg was broken," Xu Jingming said. "I repeatedly asked myself not to be disturbed by the pain, and after a long time, it became an instinct."

The injury to his leg seemed to have healed, but the leg would hurt whenever the weather changed or when it was humid. It also hurt from cold, wind, and chill.

It also hurt when the intensity of exercise exceeded a certain limit.

But he couldn't stop exercising, and he had to maintain an appropriate level during exercise so that it wouldn't worsen his injury. And when he went on stage… sometimes, he would slightly exceed the limit. Only during the World Martial Arts Tournament would he disregard the aggravation of his injury and use his ultimate move at critical moments!

This was also the reason why he had to retire at the age of 26; there was no way around it. Every time he fought in the World Tournament, his injury would worsen a lot.

"Eight or nine years of getting used to practicing spearmanship in pain?" Liu Hai was thoughtful. "You didn't have the idea of tempering your mental will back then; you were just focused on practicing spearmanship. After eight or nine years, the pain gradually couldn't disturb you anymore, and your realm naturally reached that level. But now, we're training with the goal of tempering our mental will, and it's hard to do what you did."

"Planting flowers intentionally, they don't bloom; unintentionally inserting a willow, it grows into a shade." Liu Hai sighed. "The mind is very complex."

"It is very complex," Xu Jingming nodded.

Among Xuan's five methods of refining the heart, there were also the two methods of reading to understand the heart and practice, and these two methods were even more important. Like Xuan had said, he had practiced for over ten thousand years and later relied on this to break through to the tenth level.

Clearly, improving the mind wasn't just about tempering the will.

"Of course, this may be your talent," Liu Hai said with a smile. "Everyone has different genes, different postnatal growth environments, and different psychological thoughts. This talent is naturally difficult to replicate."

Liu Hai looked at his disciple. "After the virtual world opened, we master and disciple haven't had a good fight. Let's have one today."

Xu Jingming's spirit was roused, and he laughed. "I was thrashed by you last time, Master."

"When the virtual world had just opened, I was already at the third level. Of course, I could thrash you," Liu Hai said. "But now, we're both at the fourth level limit! The outcome is hard to predict."

Xu Jingming stood up. "Master, you have to be careful."

"Don't worry." Liu Hai also stood up.

Although he knew that his disciple was strong, as the 'Master' who had been teaching his disciple for so many years, he wanted to defeat his disciple out of pride.

"I'll let you know why Master is the Master," Liu Hai said. "Let's put on our armor!"

"Alright." Xu Jingming was also extremely solemn.

Soon.

Master and disciple were both wearing light armor, standing facing each other from afar. Liu Hai was burly and tall, with a large shield in one hand and a large saber in the other. Xu Jingming was wearing dark red armor, holding a black spear.

Even though he was facing his master, as long as it was a battle, Xu Jingming had the desire to defeat his opponent! What's more… in front of him was his master, the master he had never defeated in all these years.

From the time he entered the national team until now, he had never won in any sparring match!

Xu Jingming wanted to win very much! But he also knew how powerful his master was in actual combat.

The desire for battle and the strength of his master made Xu Jingming's mental awareness even more condensed, and he had an even stronger desire to win this battle.

"Very good." Liu Hai could feel the tremor in his heart.

This rapidly growing disciple gave him a very strong sense of threat.

Moreover, as a master, he instinctively wanted to win! This instinct, this sense of self-respect, made his mental awareness even more condensed.

"You make the first move," Liu Hai said.