Chapter 2

In the evening, Zhang Ye did not sit cross-legged to practice; instead, he lay on the bed, silently organizing the memories that had suddenly awakened.

These memories from Earth contained an entire life, filled with truly remarkable experiences. Zhang Ye quietly absorbed them, feeling his horizons broaden significantly.

"Turns out, Earth is actually a large ball made of soil! Beyond it, there are countless stars and endless void!"

"Turns out, the sun in the sky is actually a planet, a planet that constantly emits light and heat..."

"Turns out, airplanes actually fly like this!"

"Turns out, steel ships can also float on the sea with ease!"

...

Zhang Ye slowly flipped through the memories, and one particular memory caught his great interest: "The Chinese classic—The Tao Te Ching!"

The Tao Te Ching is a book. Zhang Ye read only the first twelve characters: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name," and immediately realized the profundity of this book.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; the named is the mother of myriad creatures. Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe its subtlety; but always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. These two are the same but are called by different names. Both may be called profound; profound and mysterious, the gateway of all subtlety."

This short opening passage directly pointed to the essence of the Tao, revealing the origin of the universe. Seeing such profound discourse, feeling the mysterious, vast, and profound yet direct essence contained within, Zhang Ye trembled all over.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. What a remarkable book! I never imagined such a remarkable book could exist in the world!" This mysterious classic from a distant space gave Zhang Ye a great shock right from the beginning, making him lose his composure.

If the first chapter gave Zhang Ye a great shock, then the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters made him gasp for breath, almost unable to catch his breath—

"Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs. The sage is not benevolent; he treats the people as straw dogs. Between Heaven and Earth, is it not like a bellows? Empty, yet not exhausted; when moved, more comes out. Much talk leads to exhaustion; better to hold to the center."

"The sixth chapter: The Valley Spirit never dies; it is called the Mysterious Female. The gateway of the Mysterious Female is the root of Heaven and Earth. It is continuous, seemingly existing, but not overused."

"The seventh chapter: Heaven and Earth are enduring. The reason they can be enduring is that they do not live for themselves; thus, they can be long-lived. Therefore, the sage places himself last, and finds himself first; he puts himself outside, and finds himself preserved. Is it not because he is selfless that he can achieve his self?"

"The eighth chapter: The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contention, staying in places that others disdain, thus it is close to the Tao. It dwells in good places, it is deep in the heart, it is kind in giving, it is truthful in words, it is good in governance, it is skillful in action, it is timely in movement. Because it does not contend, it is without blame."

...

Wonderful!

Too wonderful!

Absolutely wonderful!

Zhang Ye could never have imagined that such profound discourse could exist in the world! Although his world of savagery had many classic works, those so-called classics were nothing compared to this mysterious Tao Te Ching!

After reading just eight short chapters, Zhang Ye was already emotionally stirred, his mind surging with waves. He could no longer lie on the bed, jumping up and pacing back and forth in the room, carefully savoring the words of the Tao Te Ching. The more he savored, the more he felt the profound and mysterious depth, sensing a mysterious and immeasurable door slowly opening, a simple and ancient aura of the Tao enveloping him, making the mysteries of the universe seem within reach!

Zhang Ye walked around the room, completely immersed in the Tao Te Ching. Unconsciously, he spent the entire night walking, only waking up when the sun rose. Zhang Ye's cultivation was shallow, and a night of savoring did not lead to any profound insights. However, the first eight chapters of the Tao Te Ching deeply impacted Zhang Ye's mind, giving him a new understanding of the essence of cultivation and solving some martial arts problems.

For the next two days, Zhang Ye was almost in a state of not eating or sleeping, repeatedly reciting and savoring this extremely mysterious Tao Te Ching. On the third day, when Zhang Ye read the twenty-fifth chapter of the Tao Te Ching, he was completely stunned.

"There is something formless and perfect, born before the universe. It is silent and empty, standing alone and unchanging, pervading all things without fail. It can be the mother of the universe. I do not know its name, so I call it the Tao, and I call it great. Great means passing away; passing away means reaching far; reaching far means returning. Therefore, the Tao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, and the king is also great. In the universe, there are four greats, and the king is one of them. Humans follow the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature."

After reading the twenty-fifth chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Zhang Ye felt as if he had been struck by lightning. "Humans follow the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature" these thirteen characters danced in his mind, and he suddenly had a profound insight. His true qi began to flow spontaneously and vividly.

The true qi flowed out of his dantian, entering the various meridians in his body. This flowing true qi was lively and full of vitality, slowly nourishing Zhang Ye's entire body as it passed through the meridians, gradually seeping into his various acupoints, continuously refining his body.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Ye suddenly felt a vibration in all his acupoints, and the true qi slowly flowed back to the dantian, making him fully awake.

Zhang Ye subconsciously checked his body and suddenly noticed that black and foul substances were oozing from his arms and face, making him extremely stinky. Shocked, Zhang Ye circulated the true qi in his body and was stunned. He had unexpectedly broken through to the second level of martial arts, the true qi refining the body, from the first level, the true qi entering the body!

In the world of savagery, martial artists' cultivation levels are divided into nine levels based on true qi, known as the Nine Levels of Martial Arts. The standards for each level are: the first level, true qi entering the body; the second level, true qi refining the body; the third level, true qi leaving the body; the fourth level, true qi transforming into a stream; the fifth level, the stream forming a stick; the sixth level, gathering qi into a wall; the seventh level, bundling qi into thunder; the eighth level, refining qi into liquid; the ninth level, refining liquid to return to the true.

Advancing to each level of the Nine Levels of Martial Arts is extremely difficult. Even the so-called geniuses of the Zhang family were only at the peak of the second level. The head of the Zhang family, Zhang Chengtian, had practiced for over forty years and was only at the late fifth level, showing how difficult cultivation is.

Zhang Ye's talent was average, even somewhat low. With his talent, it would have taken at least a dozen years to advance to the second level of martial arts. However, he had unintentionally entered a state similar to enlightenment, and under the influence of the true qi in his body, he easily broke through from the first level to the second level, with the true qi flowing steadily and vividly, without any foundation instability!

This was truly a miracle!