171 Chapter 170: Redo (2/2)
”There is no need to rush. Take your time. Quickly coming out with results is not productive and will not get you anywhere. You need to comprehend what you're seeing, not just copy them. It's not just a matter of simply copying down what you see. You need to disassemble and analyze the intricacies of the Spirit Diagrams bit by bit, and then comprehend the totality of them, how these separate components add together to produce a greater whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Just simply regurgitating what you've seen is not enough.”
Why the hell did Sect Leader Zi sound like my graduate school advisor? That was the same reason why I failed in graduate school, just blindly memorizing theory and regurgitating them, applying them and citing academic sources without truly understanding the different nuances and having a deep comprehension of their conceptual arguments, merely skimming the text superficially and not getting past the surface of what was written.
I had spent too much time in this timeline that I had forgotten to work on that flaw of mine. Then again, nobody would think to apply such academic rigor learned only in graduate school to stuff in a martial arts world filled with pseudo magic.
”You need to proceed gradually, take this one step at a time, and slowly explore the mysteries of the Spirit Diagrams. You need to invest a good amount of time to truly understand the meaning hidden within, not just a few days.”
I sighed, feeling a sense of dread. ”In other words, I'll have to return to the Spirit Engraved Pillars and activate them again.”
”Correct.” Sect Leader Zi nodded again. ”And spend more time sitting under them and studying the Spirit Diagrams they offer.”
God damn it, I sure as hell wasn't going to spend months or years sitting under the Spirit Engraved Pillars just to understand Spirit Diagrams! My goal wasn't to be a blacksmith or Spirit Engraver, it was to be a martial artist!
I was content being a Blood Blade. I didn't want to waste too much time on being a damned blacksmith or Spirit Engraver. I wasn't Li Yao. I had different goals and aspirations.
And before the readers could jump on me and criticize me for being narrow-minded and stuff, claiming that being a blacksmith or Spirit Engraver would make me a stronger martial artist…uh, no. It did not. Sure, it would help me in that I would be able to somehow forge more powerful weapons for myself, but as I said, having powerful weapons were pointless if I myself wasn't strong or skillful enough to wield it. And already my past year in Nine-Tailed Fox Sect had proven over and over again that I didn't have the talent for smithing, no matter how hard I tried. I would be at best an above average blacksmith, not someone who could forge a legendary Spirit Weapon.
I wasn't a Mary Sue, after all.
Furthermore, think about it realistically. In reality, did you need to learn how to forge guns and rifles in order to be a good soldier? Yeah, you learn the basics of gun-stripping and cleaning your rifles, and assembling your rifle, and I certainly already grasped the basics of maintaining, repairing and sharpening my weapon. But you didn't have to be an armorer or a gunsmith to be a good soldier. Nor did you need to master smithing to be a good swordsman. Blacksmiths and swordsmen were two separate vocations for a good reason.
And I wanted to be the latter, not the former.
As for those who would definitely ask, ”why can't you be both?” it was because I didn't have the talent, nor did I have the time to master both. Look above where I already stated that I would never be more than an above average blacksmith. I would rather invest all that time into sharpening my martial arts. Already I had to take out quite some time from learning martial arts because of my personal project regarding my Snow Aegis, and engraving Spirit Diagrams on my battle-automata, and if I spend more time on smithing, I might as well give up on martial arts. Not to mention, I only completed Snow Aegi with Tang Qi Hong's help. I would never be able to do it on my own…
…wait.
I suddenly had an idea.
”Sect Leader, do you mind if I assemble a discussion group? A…group of, um, I guess, academics and blacksmiths? I would like to share the Spirit Diagrams with them, and ask them for help in comprehending these Spirit Diagrams.”
If I couldn't do it on my own, then what happened if I asked for help?
”Qi Hong has also triggered a response on the Spirit Engraved Pillars before. I'm sure her input will be invaluable.”
”I see…” Sect Leader Zi's eyes widened, as if he had never thought of that idea. ”A research group, in other words. That's a brilliant idea! Why didn't anyone think of that?”
That was a very good question. Why didn't the idea of a collaborative effort ever occur to anyone in this timeline? In my previous timeline, that was how academic discussions and research and development projects worked. That was how archeologists and scientists worked. We didn't just sit down individually and meditated under a site. We formed groups and worked together on historical sites or scientific projects. A team of engineers gathered together to work on a blueprint – that was what my brother and friend/roommate (both of whom were engineers) told me. Nobody just sat down in his office and came up with a blueprint on his own. Even in literature, history and academic stuff, scholars engaged in dialogue. No one just stayed in his own bubble, isolated from feedback and discussion, and pretended to comprehend the mysteries of academic theory on his or her own.
Dialogue. That was the focal point of modern academic environment. Everyone was in dialogue with one another, discussing theories with one another. Networks. Discussion. Collaboration. We had moved past a world where everything was individual achievements and enlightenment. If I wanted to truly understand these Spirit Diagrams, it was pointless to just sit down and medidate on my own. I needed to discuss with like-minded people and get feedback and ideas.
”Certainly, Qi Hong would be a great idea. So would Hai Mo. A few of the elders…yes, I would love to personally participate too.”
Sect Leader Zi.
”I can't believe I never thought about that. Or anyone, for that matter. It's something that's so blindingly obvious!”
”Well, most wuxia and xianxia settings emphasize on individual effort,” I pointed out dryly. ”So that the protagonist can hog all the credit to himself and be praised for his achievements, which he attained all on his own without any help or assistance from others. It's to put the protagonist on a pedestal and show off how much of a genius he is, to comprehend something that no one can comprehend before, to do everything on his own. People love reading about overpowered protagonists who become godlike or legendary…that explains the massive wave of Mary Sues infecting the Internet.”
”…huh?”
Sect Leader Zi was staring at me, baffled. I cleared my throat and quickly shook my head.
”Nothing. I was merely thinking who I should ask. Maybe Lian Rou might help too.”
”Yes, yes.” Sect Leader Zi was eager to get the ball rolling. ”I'll get this collaboration group organized as soon as possible. Perhaps with our combined efforts, we'll be able to comprehend the Spirit Diagrams you accessed for us.”
In other words, I still needed to go to the Spirit Engraved Pillars. Well, I should be able to keep them activated for short spans of time before my spiritual defenses failed against the malevolent entity staying there.
I wondered if I should tell Sect Leader Zi about that. Perhaps we would be able to come up with a countermeasure against it.
”Um, there's one more thing I need to tell you.”
I briefly informed Sect Leader Zi, and he stared at me in disbelief.
”None of the other people who comprehended the wonders of the Spirit Engraved Pillars ever mentioned anything like that before.”
”Yeah, they weren't compatible with the malevolent entity, which was why it didn't bother to possess them.”
”Then what makes you different?”
That was a good question. One I wasn't sure I could answer. I could tell him that I was a member of the Heaven and Earth Sect, which was quite a huge secret, but…
”It's probably because of the martial arts I practiced.”
”Huh? Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula?” Sect Leader Zi raised an eyebrow. ”Why would that make you more compatible with this…demonic entity that's living underneath the Spirit Engraved Pillars?”
”No, not Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula. My main martial arts, from my primary sect…”
Sect Leader Zi looked as if he wanted to ask the identity of my main, primary sect, but he hesitated. It was sect policy not to pry into the backgrounds of the disciples who joined them, not unless they posed a threat (like Liang Shao Yang) or were already well known. As long as you had the ability and showed promise, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would recruit you without question.
”I see.” Sect Leader Zi paused for a moment. ”You said Qi Hong helped install a spiritual barrier function in your Snow Aegis, which helped to guard against this demonic entity?”
”Yeah, that's correct,” I confirmed.
”Show me your Snow Aegis. Perhaps I can upgrade it for you.”
”Really? Thank you so much!” without any hesitation, I passed my Snow Aegis over. Sect Leader Zi took a look at it, and hten nodded.
”Give me an hour, and I'll upgrade it and return it to you. In the meantime…” he picked up his cellphone and dialed a number. ”Great Elder Luo Zhi Chang? Are you free right now? Good. I need you to…”
Taking a deep breath, I glanced outside the gigantic window behind Sect Leader Zi, my eyes stopping on the plaza with Spirit Engraved Pillars at the foot of the Flame Volcano below. Even though I wasn't very enthusiastic spending too much time on Spirit Engraving and smithing, at least this burden would be a lot easier to bear now, since I was currently sharing it.
Pushing my glasses up, I smiled in relief.