Chapter 1010: Rapid Progress
Humans have seven emotions: joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, and shock.
Ling Feiyu's first life clearly had the full range of emotions and desires, experiencing great joy and great sorrow, encompassing both fear and anxious thoughts.
Just this first life alone had already tempered her mind and will to a great extent.
In her second life, Ling Feiyu was born on a blue planet, becoming a doctor who saved lives and healed the wounded. This world had no profound martial arts, only an advanced technological civilization.
Relying on her medical skills, she saved many people, but eventually fell ill from overwork and died on the operating table.
In her third life, Ling Feiyu was a cold-blooded assassin, with killing Zhang Ruochen as her ultimate goal. Unfortunately, she was defeated by Zhang Ruochen time and time again.
In her fourth life, Ling Feiyu was a poor mulberry-picking girl. Eventually, under Zhang Ruochen's guidance, she spent a lifetime building a business and became the wealthiest merchant in that world.
In her fifth life, Ling Feiyu was the leader of a demon cult, cruel and bloodthirsty, dictatorial and overbearing.
In her sixth life, Ling Feiyu was a white fox spirit. As her guide, Zhang Ruochen helped awaken her intellect and set her on the path of cultivation.
In her seventh life, Ling Feiyu was born in a brothel, becoming a courtesan whose beauty captivated the world. She enjoyed the adoration of men everywhere, chasing fame and fortune, wasting her youth.
Zhang Ruochen spent a great deal of effort guiding her, but could not change her.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen had to act personally, using emotional means to make her abandon all fame and wealth and live in seclusion with him in the mountains.
In this life, the two naturally had intimate physical contact, even bearing children, spending their lives together with the mindset of carefree hermits.
This life also caused Zhang Ruochen to sink deeply, developing true feelings for her.
Fortunately, in his old age, Zhang Ruochen woke up in time and successfully extricated himself.
As a guide, Zhang Ruochen had to maintain his rationality at all times. Once he lost his reason and forgot his role as guide, he and Ling Feiyu would be forever trapped in the "Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram."
If that happened, and they died within the "Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram," they would also die outside the scroll.
Zhang Ruochen finally realized that the "Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram" was indeed very dangerous, making it easy to lose oneself.
The span of one life was simply too long.
Long enough to make one forget why they had come to this world in the first place.
What about seven lives?
Thus, it was clear that the "Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram" was not a place of kindness, but rather a land of evil. Those with insufficient mental fortitude would likely die within it.
...
...
By the bank of the ancient river, there was a circle three zhang in diameter.
Chu Siyuan, Luo Xu, and Luo Shuihan waited quietly outside the circle. Even they could not remain calm at this moment.
Seven days and seven nights had passed. Whether it was success or failure would soon be known.
Luo Xu furrowed his brow and asked, "Brother Chu, in the long history of the Painting Sect, there should have been some predecessors who entered the 'Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram' for training, right?"
Chu Siyuan nodded. "Indeed, there were some, but very few—no more than a hundred."
"And how many succeeded?" Luo Xu asked.
Chu Siyuan pondered for a moment. "About twenty percent, only seventeen."
"How can the 'Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram' be so dangerous?" Luo Shuihan was somewhat moved, feeling surprised.
Because failure meant death.
"It is inherently dangerous. Otherwise, why would only a few dozen people have entered it for training?" Chu Siyuan said seriously.
Then Chu Siyuan smiled again. "Zhang Ruochen and Ling Feiyu are both prodigies who appear only once in a century. They must have some extraordinary qualities. Their chance of success is at least seventy percent."
Even with a seventy percent chance of success, there was still a thirty percent chance of failure.
Their hearts remained suspended. No one knew the outcome until the very end.
"Chi!"
A faint sound came from the "Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram." Two bright points of light flew out from the scroll, rushing toward Zhang Ruochen and Ling Feiyu respectively.
The next moment, they both opened their eyes, simultaneously fixing their gazes on each other.
Ling Feiyu's eyes were somewhat dazed as she murmured, "Didn't I die? Why am I seeing you again... No... no, I'm not Qing Yu'ou, I'm Ling Feiyu."
Qing Yu'ou was the name Ling Feiyu had in the seventh life within the "Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram."
Ling Feiyu raised her hands, and two surges of thick Saint Qi surged in her palms. She placed her palms one above the other at chest level.
She slowly closed her eyes, beginning to digest the insights and memories of seven lives, integrating them all.
Compared to Ling Feiyu, Zhang Ruochen encountered a major problem.
Although Zhang Ruochen had retained his memories throughout these seven lives and knew they were illusory worlds, the memories of seven lives were still too vast. They also contained Zhang Ruochen's insights into the Saint Path, the power of time and space, the Sword Dao, fist techniques, and palm techniques. It was impossible to digest them all in a short time.
Chu Siyuan walked behind Zhang Ruochen, extending a palm and placing it above Zhang Ruochen's head.
"Zhang Ruochen, you have experienced seven lives. The insights you've gained are comparable to a Saint who has lived for hundreds of years. With your current age and experience, you cannot digest them all at once. Now, I will seal the memories and insights of six of those lives."
Chu Siyuan used his spiritual power to condense six rings of light, which he struck into Zhang Ruochen's body from above his head.
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen's complexion returned to a ruddy color, no longer as pale as before.
It was not until the next morning that Zhang Ruochen managed to merge the memories and insights of the first life with his own Saint Soul.
"In the first half of the first life, I trained in the mortal world, tempering my mind. In the second half, while guiding Ling Feiyu in Sword Dao cultivation, I also practiced fist techniques and sword techniques."
"The Luo Water Fist Art reached the sixth level... How can this be? I clearly remember reaching the eighth level of the Luo Water Fist Art in the first life."
The Luo Water Fist Art had a total of nine levels. With each level, the power of the fist technique increased significantly. Moreover, Luo Xu was still perfecting the Luo Water Fist Art, aiming to create a tenth level.
"Sword Four reached Great Perfection... I remember reaching Great Perfection with Sword Five in the first life."
"Spiritual Power intensity reached the forty-eighth rank... Shouldn't it be the fiftieth rank?"
...
Just by merging the memories and insights of the first life, Zhang Ruochen's fist techniques, sword techniques, and spiritual power had all made leapfrog breakthroughs, reaching a new height.
But they had not reached the level they should have been.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Chu Siyuan, suspecting that his cultivation achievements from the first life had been sealed.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Chu Siyuan was somewhat annoyed and glared back.
But soon, Chu Siyuan seemed to realize something and understood. He let out a loud laugh. "Kid, are you suspecting that I sealed some of your insights? To tell you the truth, no. Your achievements in the first life of the 'Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram' were only this much. Everything else was an illusion."
"Really?" Zhang Ruochen didn't quite believe him.
Chu Siyuan became even more irritated, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was doubting his character, as if he had been insulted.
Chu Siyuan said coldly, "The 'Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram' is just a scroll. Do you think it can turn you into a supreme expert overnight? The world inside is all illusory. It's perfectly normal for your perception to produce some hallucinations."
Chu Siyuan explained further, talking until his lips were dry, and eventually, Zhang Ruochen gradually came to believe him.
In fact, just by merging the memories and insights of the first life, Zhang Ruochen was already quite satisfied with his achievements.
Luo Water Fist Art: Sixth Level.
Sword Four: Great Perfection.
The eight moves of the Calibrated Sword Technique: Mastered.
Spiritual Power intensity: Reached the thirty-eighth rank.
In the coming period, Zhang Ruochen would need to fully integrate and master the achievements of the first life, achieving perfect harmony, before he could merge the memories and insights of the second life.
Of course, his cultivation level within the "Seven Lives Seven Deaths Diagram" had always been at the Fourth-Step Half-Saint, never increasing.
Thus, in the second, third... and seventh lives, Zhang Ruochen's achievements actually became lower and lower.
With the cultivation of a Half-Saint, there were naturally bottlenecks in practicing martial techniques.
For example:
A Half-Saint could never successfully cultivate Sword Seven.
A Half-Saint could never cultivate the Luo Water Fist Art to the ninth level.
Because profound martial techniques were not something that could be mastered simply by spending more time. They would reach a plateau beyond which progress ceased.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen's true gain from spending seven lives was not in martial technique mastery, but in insights into life and the Saint Path.
"When I was reborn in Yunwu Commandery, why couldn't I directly use the martial techniques I had cultivated in my previous life?"
Zhang Ruochen was puzzled and thought carefully.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen considered a possibility: it might be related to the "body."
The Crown Prince of the Sacred Bright Empire and Zhang Ruochen were not the same body. To be precise, the two bodies were vastly different.
A martial technique allowed a cultivator to unleash several times, or even dozens of times, their power because the technique was perfectly aligned with the cultivator's body.
With a different body, one naturally could not unleash the true power of the technique. Even if forcibly executed, it would only produce the form, without any real power.
Ling Feiyu had fully integrated the memories and insights of seven lives, returning to her peak state. She remained seated cross-legged, but a sharp aura emanated from her. She was completely different from the Stone Beauty.
Ling Feiyu's eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen. In the depths of her pupils, a complex expression flickered and vanished. She asked, "Zhang Ruochen, what are you thinking?"
Zhang Ruochen stopped pondering, looked up to meet Ling Feiyu's gaze, and smiled. "I was just wondering, between you and me, who is the master and who is the disciple?"
Silence fell for a moment.
"Indeed, you have only merged the memories of the first life."
Ling Feiyu appeared very calm, even somewhat cold. She nodded lightly, stood up, and prepared to leave. (To be continued.)