Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 51: A mind like a newborn, a willpower like iron (First)

Wang Chao walked out of the courtyard and enjoyed the sunlight that was shining down on him. Overhead, several sparrows could be seen flying through the air in a pleasant way. Back when he was listening to the old man play the suona, it had taken three or four hours to finish the song.

“The Clear Jin is without intent and movement. It must be formed after the finest form of ‘muscles must loosen and the pores must attack’. The external must harden, and the internal must loosen. This is something the body has to do and has nothing to do with Hidden Jin.”

“The Hidden Jin and the three internal harmonies have to do with the mind and will. I knew in the past that if one was not calm, then they would sweat and the body would not issue a strong amount of power. This is the power of the will and intent. But how would this power be unleashed on a battlefield to its full extent? To have full command of this power in such a state is not an easy task to accomplish like crossing a large gap. This gap must have been illustrated by Cheng Tinghua when he spoke that ‘only the hands must be focused on when fighting’.”

As Wang Chao thought, he came to another idea, “Once this gap is crossed, then this skill of martial arts becomes a skill of Dao. By then will it become the quintessence of Guoshu.”

Thinking back to the very first day and night in this place. Although he hadn’t been able to use the elder’s knowledge to increase his own skill or actually fight with the seasoned person, it was still a worthwhile trip.

That was because every question he had had were all answered within this day and night.

“These two elders had fought and killed on the battlefield with wills as tough as iron. But after the decay of the younger generation, they saw the destruction of their ideals, causing them to reveal their baby like hearts….”

“A heart like a newborn, and a willpower stronger than steel…this is the mystery of the three internal harmonies. Martial arts is closely related to the mystery that is human life. To not understand life is to not understand their inner Jin. With an impure heart and a weak will, their inner Jin would be unusable. Mind…will…mind and will…the six harmonies. It is no wonder that Xingyi Quan’s predecessor was called the Intent of the Six Harmony Fist. This was the reason.”

“For the past two years, I’ve practiced day in and night out only for my martial arts to progress slower and slower. It was because of my impure heart in the end. After coming in contact with this colorful world, I was unknowingly affected by it. If this continues, then the only thing that awaits me is a slow degradation and the inability to never come to understand the higher layers of martial arts. I must calm myself and cleanse my mind and temper my will.”

In this past year, Wang Chao had opened his own company and came in contact with the upper class. Even more so, he had been enticed by the allure of power and wealth, causing his mind and will to no longer be as clean as when he immersed himself in his training with sis Chen.

In regards to his skill at martial arts, this was a slow acting poison.

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Fortunately after this day and night, he had experienced the passion of the senior generation. Grandfather Li’s final ballad had not only transformed his entire martial arts into a voice of power, but it had also cleared away the dense fog that had blurred Wang Chao’s mind.

Using this passion from the mind and will, it had transformed into a new passion to pursue the art of martial arts. In the end, the black clouds in his mind had been blown apart, revealing the bright moon illuminating the sky above.

At this moment regarding the muscles and pores being soft and hardened in accordance to both the external and internal three harmonies, Wang Chao had a deep comprehension of them now.

After two years of martial arts and a morning of revelations, the doors had been opened, allowing Wang Chao to attain the next step.

But understanding was still just understanding. If one wanted to improve their skill, they would need plenty of practice.

Wang Chao’s recent revelation had only opened up the path up the mountain, he still had not yet begun to climb it.

To chase after the path of martial arts with the heart of a newborn and a will of iron was not something anyone could accomplish after a single day.

“Ai, the reason why sis Chen didn’t tell me this before was because I had only just started out. I hadn’t reached this threshold yet, so her words would be no better than playing a lute for the cow to listen.”

Bringing his head down, he began to look at the congregated shadows as a myriad of emotions came to mind.

Taichi, Xingyi, Bagua, Eight Extremes, Tongbei, Crane styled Wingchun, The True Record of Guoshu, Tang Zichen, Zhu Jia, Zhang Tong, Cao Jingjing, Cao Yi, Li Wanji, Zhao Xinglong, Yao Xiaoxue, Grandfather Li, the elder crying full of grief, the secretary Zhu Tianlang, Zhao Jun, the axe wielders that ambushed him in the alleys, Lin Lijun that died from gunfire, the arrogant family from earlier this morning, the gun battle between cops and robbers, the life or death battle, the large financial building, the luxurious villa, the people who had gone purple from wine and blind with gold and many much more. Everything that Wang Chao had experienced within these two years quickly streamed into his mind.

Then, after an unknown amount of time, the cellphone within his clothes began to ring, jolting Wang Chao up from his thoughts.

Taking in a deep breath and shaking his entire body to relax, he cleared his throat. Air began to escape his throat as he exhaled sharply.

Almost as if he was expelling all of the impure things from within his body out of his mouth, Wang Chao immediately felt as if his entire body was suddenly clear and his mind was at an unprecedented level of rationality.

After that deep breath, Wang Chao picked up the phone only to hear Zhu Jia’s voice, “You’ve been standing at the gates for a long time, what are you doing? Did you finish your talk with grandfather that fast? Seeing how amiable you two were, did grandfather see you as a brother in Bagua? I’m sitting in a car not too far away. After afternoon, I came by over only to see you staring off into the distance like an idiot, have you gone crazy?”

Looking up to inspect the area, he suddenly noticed that on the main roads, there was a single high class BMW with a military license. Wang Chao didn’t even want to know where she had gotten this car from.

Seeing Wang Chao looking her way, the windows of the car suddenly rolled down, revealing Zhu Jia’s beautiful face as she waved her hand.

As Wang Chao walked over, he suddenly realized there was a pretty looking lady sitting at the driver’s seat with an elegant dress. There was a clear air of elegance–just one look was enough to tell that she was properly educated as a high status family.

“Ai, it’s you?” Wang Chao’s eyes narrowed as hen recognized the driver. It was the girl from earlier this morning that had caused the elder she visited to cry in grief.

“This lady was just driving an all terrain Hummer this morning. It hasn’t even been half a day, and she swapped out to another military vehicle. This is truly the power of the daughter of an affluent family, how unfortunate…”

When Wang Chao thought back to the crying man, his heart felt a little tired.

“Wang Chao, get in the car. We’ve invited a person to get eat, you’re coming along too.”

“Jia Jia, who’s this person?” The lady looked at Wang Chao with a look of doubt.

“He is my friend and fellow disciple of martial arts with my grandfather Li. Grandfather Li is his teacher so he came to see him.” Zhu Jia boasted of Wang Chao’s identity.

“Ah.” The lady’s eyes began to shine as she listened. Scrutinizing Wang Chao closely now, she looked as if she recognized him, “Grandfather Li’s next generation disciple? It’s no wonder I saw him earlier this morning when I came by.”

“I have some matters to take care of back home, Zhu Jia, you have fun in Beijing for a few days.”

Wang Chao spoke declined diplomatically. Although he knew that Zhu Jia bringing him to dinner would mean a meal with plenty of other young rich ladies and a better development for his future, he wasn’t interested at all.

This type of allure was a feast for the rich and powerful. To the martial art immersed Wang Chao, it would only serve to bring his mind to a disorderly state and slowly corrode his willpower.

Daoist practices generally involved withdrawing from the secular world, but Wang Chao hadn’t yet withdrawn himself yet. His mind was not yet like a newborn and his willpower was not yet like steel. If he were to try and forge his way into the world and then be tempted by such wealth and power, then he would definitely be lost to it.

Knowing how he would conduct himself in such a situation, Wang Chao gave it some thought before finally outlining a path of cultivation for himself.

After Zhu Jia had called to him, Wang Chao gave a smile. With no further word, he turned around and left.

Zhu Jia would have never imagined that Wang Chao would decline her invitation. As Zhu Jia turned red in the face, the rich daughter in the car with her looked at Wang Chao’s retreating back with a stunned look.

After some time, Zhu Jia recovered with a slight sniffle and an apprehensive mutter, “If you don’t go, that’s fine. Hmph. Let’s go!”

“What’s wrong, Jia Jia, is he not your boyfriend? Did you have a lover’s quarrel?” The lady asked.

“Hmph! Even after I helped him, he’s still unable to see that!” Zhu Jia snorted.

The rich daughter laughed for a moment before setting the car into drive.

It wasn’t until night time that Wang Chao had returned home. He spoke several words to his parents, saying he had gone for a trip before giving another phone call to Li Wanji that he was would be going to practice by himself. In that time, Zhao Xinglong would be his representative.

Li Wanji had been very cooperative and agreed to Wang Chao’s request.

With every last thing taken care of, Wang Chao isolated himself for several days. Soon, a cold frost descended upon the entire city, rivers, lakes and roads.

On an early morning with snow blanketing the ground, Wang Chao stepped on the road towards the southwest.

Wang Chao wanted to travel like in the time of the previous century to inspire himself. To travel the rivers, the frosty mountains, the prairie and the mountain ridges, Wang Chao wanted to admire the sights and get rid of any distracting thought.