Chapter 145: Start with the Body (Part 2/2) (1/2)

Chapter 145: Start with the Body (Part 2/2)

Translator: Strivon

Xue Lei coughed. “Gym master….”

Xue Lei was a bit flustered. He understood Luo Nan's thoughts. Frankly speaking, anything involving Formatting Theory was a sensitive topic! He was really afraid of Luo Nan becoming furious, turning around, and leaving. Xue Lei wanted to do his best to save the situation, and he wished that Xiu Shenyu would not say things so bluntly. At least leave some leeway for mediation.

Unfortunately, the message conveyed by Xiu Shenyu's dark eyes could not be stopped. It was sent, and there was a near-zero chance that Xiu Shenyu would withdraw his remark with his temperament.

The tai chi ball continued to roll in the bowl tray. Amidst a rumbling sound, the design on the surface gradually lit up and became clear. Xiu Shenyu turned his gaze to look at it, signaling that he had no further intentions to speak.

As for Luo Nan, his gaze rested on Xiu Shenyu's face. Luo Nan had been like this since Xiu Shenyu had said ”without a doubt”. Luo Nan didn't make any other movements. He just stood there in place like a statue. Even his breathing seemed to have stopped.

Xue Lei looked to his left. Then he looked to his right. In the end, there was nothing he could do. He just hung his head and prayed to himself. He hoped that God would open his eyes and prevent trouble from arising at all costs.

For a time, the only movement in the spacious room was the constant rolling of the tai chi ball. It rolled from the words and thoughts of a person to the words and thoughts of another person.

An unknown amount of time passed and Luo Nan, whose entire body had been frozen, suddenly walked forward a single step. He raised a single hand to cut open the incorporeal layer of stone that froze him, and he reached out to press against the rolling tai chi ball. The metal sphere rubbed against the palm of his hand, and the metal sphere jiggled twice due to the uneven distribution of external force. The metal sphere nearly flipped out from the bowl tray, but it just barely stabilized. It now rocked back and forth in the bowl tray, and the luminous patterns on the sphere's surface naturally faded away without a trace.

Xiu Shenyu frowned for a moment, then raised his eyes to lock gazes with Luo Nan.

This was bad! The gym master didn't like other people disturbing him when he was fiddling with the tai chi ball!

Xue Lei's heart began to beat wildly. He simply wanted to cry faced with the situation before his eyes, but no tears could come out. He never expected the situation to unfold like this when he had invited Luo Nan to come to the daoguan and learn breathing techniques!

But the situation developed in a way that was not as pessimistic as Xue Lei was imagining.

Luo Nan did not become furious because of the criticism toward Formatting Theory, and Xiu Shenyu did not become angry at Luo Nan for stopping the tai chi ball from rotating. As the monotonous sound of rolling faded away, Luo Nan spoke with a low voice of increasing clarity.

”Gym Master Xiu, the only flaw in my technique is that it doesn't consider the human body. Am I right?”

”I don't believe that it is 'your technique’.”

Xiu Shenyu reached out a hand as well. He pressed against the tai chi ball, applying similar force for the second time, while Luo Nan found it hard to accept these words from Xiu Shenyu yet again.

Two people had their palms pressed against the tai chi ball, and the metal sphere became all the more still. It did not move an inch. Through this subtle powerplay, Xiu Shenyu gave a slow answer.

”In worldly cultivation, the right path should come from the inside to the outside. From me to him. Water travels in accordance to the terrain of the mountain. Breath and energy move due to the human body. And grace and beauty are found within. If such a marvelous spectacle occurs outside the body, then what business do 'I' have?”

Xue Lei's head was spinning from listening to the antonomasia of 'You's and 'I's, but Luo Nan could understand each of Xiu Shenyu's words with clarity. The words related to Luo Nan directly involved a concept that Luo Nan was most familiar with: I. Me. My. The ‘self’!

This time around the concept was heard in quite an ironic manner.

Luo Nan's grandfather had written down a twenty-word secret mantra in his notebook. Every clause began with a ‘my’: My heart’s a prison, my heart’s a furnace; My heart calls for a lens, my heart calls for the nation.

Wasn't Formatting Theory rooted in the ‘self’? The ‘self’ had to exist!