Volume One: Turmoil in Yan and Yun Chapter Sixty-Six: Gathering Storms on All Sides (Part Four)

Feng Yang had contemplated many times how he would react upon obtaining the Three Wood Decision. Yet when the moment truly arrived, he found himself unexpectedly calm—he paused for a brief instant, then simply smiled and returned to his book. The art of Harmonizing Light with the Dust was intriguing, but what captivated him more was the fleeting mention of Dynamic Healing Defense in the text. If his memory served him right, this should be the inherited secret technique of the Dao Ming Temple.

There were three great defensive arts in the world: Chan Buddhism’s Sleep-Inducing Meditation, the royal family’s World Number One, and the Dao Ming Temple’s Dynamic Healing Defense. Sleep-Inducing Meditation was nimble; World Number One was domineering. Anyone who mastered one of these found it nearly impossible to be defeated by peers of equal rank.

Dynamic Healing Defense charted a markedly different path. It followed the Five Directions, using the mysterious arts, conceived by the first temple master of Dao Ming Temple after studying the Five Directions: Mountains and Rivers.

“It seems you have little interest in Harmonizing Light with the Dust,” the temple master laughed lightly. “What is it? Do you wish to learn the ancestor’s Dynamic Healing Defense?”

Feng Yang was puzzled. “Did you practice Point of Understanding as well?”

“With neither wings of the colorful phoenix nor the hearts that resonate with one another… It is indeed an excellent technique,” the temple master said softly. “My relations with those shaven-headed monks were never good. Why would I study their arts?”

“Then how did you know what I was thinking?” Feng Yang queried.

“When you reach my age, you will understand,” the temple master replied.

Feng Yang fell silent.

“Harmonizing Light with the Dust is a method I created,” the temple master suddenly said. “Yet even I have not mastered its essence.”

Feng Yang recalled the time when the temple master and Li Jingxing exchanged blows, sweeping through fifty provinces with a single strike of Harmonizing Light with the Dust. Was such a display still not the essence?

Indeed, the temple master had not studied Point of Understanding and couldn’t discern Feng Yang’s thoughts. He continued, “When you stand on the shoulders of giants to create a method, you must naturally surpass all predecessors.”

He paused, then smiled gently. “But methods are just methods. It is about suitability, not strength or weakness.”

Feng Yang did not agree. “World Number One remains the greatest technique to this day, and the fame of Three Wood Decision has not waned in the two millennia since Wei Sanmu’s death…”

The temple master replied, “The world believes World Number One is the strongest technique, but the problem is that not everyone possesses the boundless internal energy of the Dugu family.”

Feng Yang was momentarily stunned. This was indeed beyond his realm of knowledge.

The temple master chuckled, “In theory, every royal family member is qualified to practice World Number One, but today, only two people have mastered it. Do you know why?”

Feng Yang shook his head.

The temple master grew serious. “Even I, if I use World Number One in battle, would be depleted of all internal energy within two days… In contrast, if I employ the Supreme Profound technique for offense and defense, I could fight endlessly.”

Feng Yang was astonished.

This was the first time he realized that even those at the Grand Unification level could face internal energy exhaustion. Common sense held that battles among such figures were determined solely by personal strength—never by wearing each other down, since their internal energy reserves were inexhaustible. Even when using the strongest techniques against each other, victory would show itself before energy ran dry.

If World Number One was truly so, then perhaps its supremacy deserved quotation marks.

Indeed, judged by any metric, World Number One would rank among the top three. Yet with such energy consumption, it was limited… No wonder the key criterion for royal succession was mastery of World Number One.

World Number One established the unmatched combat power of the Divine Emperor, but the difference was not vast. At least, the Grand Unification masters of the world could withstand it for a time. Outstanding figures such as the Dao Ming Temple Master, the Dao Sage, the Sword Extreme, and the Flower Palace Master could even avoid being outmatched.

“Does World Number One feel somewhat overrated?” the temple master smiled.

“Compared to its reputation, yes,” Feng Yang replied, disappointed. “I thought the Grand Unification master who wielded World Number One was the strongest.”

“The invincible one is always the person, never the technique,” the temple master spoke softly. “Not every royal can reach the heights of Dugu Feiyun.”

Feng Yang nodded.

“So you must never focus on the technique,” the temple master said, tapping Feng Yang’s head. “To forge iron, your own strength must be true. Techniques, achievements, weapons—they are merely the hammer that strikes the iron.”

Then his expression shifted.

Feng Yang, head bowed, did not notice the change, and said, “When the old emperor first attained Grand Unification, he could battle the Demon Lord. Without World Number One, it would have been impossible.”

The temple master drew his thoughts back from the north. “That’s why I say, not every royal is Dugu Feiyun.”

He paused, then went on, “And no one could have predicted Dugu Feiyun would ascend directly to Mortal Immortal. Even so, he was a step behind the Demon Lord.”

“A step behind?” Feng Yang was confused.

The temple master glanced at him. “If even the strongest of all ages could be matched so easily, then the demon race would not have lingered as humanity’s heart-devil for so many years.”

Suddenly, Feng Yang remembered a most outrageous tale. He asked incredulously, “Was it perhaps the Empress Xuan?”

“Whether it was Empress Xuan or Empress Wu,” the temple master’s expression grew wistful, “that woman was the most indispensable part of Dugu Feiyun’s legendary renown.”

Feng Yang fell silent.

The temple master continued, “Without her, humanity might have been extinct by now.”

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