Chapter 32: Focus and a Flash of Inspiration

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Chapter 32: Concentration and Sudden Inspiration

Once Wubei and Lu Yu began their experiments, the other researchers followed their example. They began searching for suckers—no, for collaborators—to serve as experimental subjects, and threw themselves into scientific research.

Although their experiments often resulted in fatalities, they produced results remarkably quickly. (When the supernatural first emerged, combining it with technology could produce results with astonishing ease. This was a completely new field; simply making a discovery was enough to achieve something. But after the supernatural and technology had been integrated and developed for a long time, results could only be achieved through invention and creation.)

The abundance of visible achievements further fueled everyone’s enthusiasm. This phenomenon had both advantages and disadvantages, and Xiong Yan did not know what he could say about it.

…

After another lecture came to an end, Xiong Yan found himself surrounded.

Ever since he had been cornered after his very first class, he had essentially been cornered after every class. By now, his morning lessons had practically turned into a combination of lectures and after-class question sessions.

Thus, Xiong Yan did not leave. Instead, he sat directly on the floor and waited for the person before him to ask his question.

His name was Lin Er.

Under normal circumstances, no parent would give their child such a name. What kind of idiot would do that?

In truth, Lin Er had chosen the name himself.

At the same time, information about Lin Er surfaced automatically in Xiong Yan’s mind.

As a child, Lin Er had suffered from a grave illness and been born with congenital deficiencies. Shortly after his birth, his parents abandoned him by the roadside. Before he froze to death, he encountered a Daoist who lived in seclusion on Dragon Tiger Mountain.

This Daoist possessed genuine ability—and considerable wealth.

Under his treatment, Lin Er’s body quickly recovered. He also began breathing exercises, cultivating his vital energy, and studying the various teachings of the Daoist tradition.

If the story ended there, it would not have been anything unusual.

But when Lin Er was twenty-eight, the old Daoist died—not from illness, but simply of old age.

Having witnessed the old Daoist’s peaceful death with his own eyes, Lin Er was deeply shaken. He began pursuing the immortal path, longevity, and the supernatural.

He had been extraordinarily gifted from childhood and had inherited everything the old Daoist truly knew at a remarkably young age. After the old Daoist’s death, he went to university to study advanced scientific knowledge.

Several years later, he went abroad to continue his studies, where he encountered numerous cults and learned a great deal about philosophy.

He then began conducting research overseas, focusing particularly on hypnotic psychology. Although many people died as a result of his work, no evidence could be found against him. In the end, he was declared unwelcome and had no choice but to return home.

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After returning home, Lin Er may have realized that his actions could hardly be called harmonious and might one day implicate Dragon Tiger Mountain. Thus, he claimed to be an expelled disciple of Dragon Tiger Mountain, severed all ties with it, and then began to give free rein to himself.

He specialized in using antique smugglers and tomb raiders of every kind as practice subjects. Whenever he encountered one, he hypnotized them, and once they were under hypnosis, he made them turn themselves in to the authorities…

“Hello, officer? I have committed a crime…”

As for those who had committed particularly heinous offenses, they were not even given the chance to surrender. They simply went home and killed themselves.

Therefore, even before the resurgence of spiritual energy, Lin Er had been a key person of interest to the relevant authorities. If not for the lack of evidence, he would have been behind bars long ago.

But even without evidence, the authorities had assigned personnel to monitor him around the clock, hoping to uncover something incriminating.

A person like him was simply too dangerous.

“Director, I have a question. I believe I have already reached the state of constant stability, remaining in a meditative state at all times. I even have the vague feeling that I can break through and cultivate spiritual power. Yet for some reason, every time I am about to break through, a sense of impending danger wells up inside me.”

“I want to know what this feeling of danger really means. If I truly break through, what will happen?” Lin Er asked seriously.

The Lin Er standing before him was one hundred eighty centimeters tall, with well-proportioned muscles. His physical fitness could not compare with Peng Bing or Daoist Changkong at the peak of their strength, but he was still at the level of a provincial athlete—in every respect.

Moreover, Lin Er smiled often.

Thus, although Lin Er had never been particularly talkative, who could dislike a young man who was tall, cheerful, and seemed full of sunshine?

What was more, he was knowledgeable in astronomy and geography. Whether it was Daoist teachings, the monotheistic religions of the West, or advanced scientific knowledge, he could explain everything with impressive clarity.

A talented, sunny young man like that was naturally loved by everyone.

Xiong Yan did not answer him directly. Instead, he clapped his hands.

“Lin Er’s question is highly representative. All of you, put aside what you’re doing and come over to listen.”

“All this time, I have never taught you how to refine the spirit, nor have I taught you how to visualize. This is not because I wanted to conceal these methods from you or deliberately withhold instruction on spirit refinement. It is because spirit refinement itself is simply too dangerous.”

At the beginner stage of energy cultivation, even if something went wrong, the worst that could happen was an obstruction in one’s breathing. To injure yourself through nothing more than the simplest acts of inhaling and exhaling, you would have to be a true genius of stupidity.

At the beginner stage of mimic boxing, so long as one regularly examined one’s body, even if something went wrong, it was impossible to develop an incurable condition such as organ failure right from the start.

But spirit refinement was different. Even at the beginner stage, one careless mistake could turn a person into a mental patient. Training oneself into schizophrenia was a common occurrence.

“However, although I have never taught you directly, I have indirectly set you on the path of spirit refinement. At the very least, I have been laying the foundation for you all along.”

“Before I explain Lin Er’s question, I will first introduce several concepts.”

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“Concentration, sudden inspiration, sudden enlightenment, and unity between Heaven and humanity.”

“Ordinary people have all experienced the state of concentration.”

“During class, teachers often say, ‘Pay attention and listen carefully!’ The state you enter when listening attentively, playing a game with complete focus, or seriously doing your homework—that is concentration.”

“Concentration is not difficult. It is not some unattainable state. Anyone can achieve it. The only difference is that some people can concentrate on studying, while others can concentrate only on games, music, or other pursuits.”

“But as I said, concentration is not difficult.”

“As long as you have a brain—no, even if you do not, even if you are an idiot—you can still concentrate on playing a game.”

“A level deeper than concentration is sudden inspiration. When you were in high school, perhaps you were working on the final question of a mathematics exam—the last part of the final problem. After reading it, you thought hard for five or six minutes, but could not come up with a single approach.”

“So you gave up and began checking the earlier questions. After finishing, you returned to the problem, but several more minutes passed and you still had no idea how to solve it. Just as you were about to abandon it completely, a thought suddenly surfaced in your mind, and you instantly knew how the problem should be solved.”

“That is sudden inspiration.”

“Diligent students have certainly experienced sudden inspiration, and not just once. But clearly, sudden inspiration occurs far less often than concentration.”

Concentration could be encountered every day.

Concentration was a state that even ordinary people could grasp.

Even an ordinary person who knew nothing at all could enter a state of concentration at any time and in any place, so long as they were willing.

But sudden inspiration?

That depended far more on fate.

Even the most brilliant student could not guarantee that, every time they encountered a difficult problem they did not understand, inspiration would suddenly strike. Someone who could remain in a state of constant inspiration was not merely a top student. They were a true scholar-god.

“A level deeper than sudden inspiration is sudden enlightenment.”

When playing games, people had surely experienced moments of sudden inspiration as well. Ultimately, ordinary people could achieve sudden inspiration, but most people could not summon it at will.