Chapter 80: State of Flow
After reaching my residence, I hung the stone on the wall in my room as a reminder of where I started and how far I had come.
After touching upon the mysteries of the next stage of the Dao of Silence, I realized that my approach to silence had been wrong from the start.
Though keeping my mouth shut was not a dangerous move, it was also not the best one. The real test was not about becoming mute but about speaking less, thinking before I spoke, and considering the future consequences of my words. Instead of doing this, I had gone ahead and completely silenced myself.
The true challenge was to remain stable and never let emotions take control of my decisions.
The urge to interject in a conversation between two or three people when not asked to—without even knowing the topic—was strong. And if my luck was good, my self-image inside my own mind would improve. I repeat, inside my mind, because in reality, my value in others' eyes would decrease. They would see me as someone hungry for praise and use it to their advantage.
But holding myself back and only speaking when my opinion was requested—without being swayed by the pressure of an inflated ego—was key. Maturity meant having the courage to say no when I was unaware of something. Speaking the truth at the right time was better than getting embarrassed over a single mistake and losing the reputation I had painstakingly built.
And one could never be entirely sure of what their tongue was saying compared to what their heart truly believed.
"Master, do you have any orders?" Shadow Sentinel appeared before me, one hand clenched over their chest and one knee on the ground. Their voice sounded as if it came from within a hollow tube.
"No, and do not worry about your lodgings. You can stay in the guest room adjacent to mine," I said with a forced smile. I was not used to people speaking to me like this.
"Thank you, Master, for your great care." Shadow Sentinel spoke with the same genderless, hollow voice.
I let out a bitter smirk. It seems like it will take some time to adjust to this master-servant play.
"Alright," I said, then walked out of my room and gestured for Shadow Sentinel to follow me. "I will show you your room."
"NO!" Shadow Sentinel shouted. I was surprised and confused—had I said something offensive?
"I-I mean, Master, how could I dare to trouble you by making you take this servant to their room?" Shadow Sentinel quickly explained, seemingly worried about offending me.
"It's alright, and I don't have all day. I want to get back to cultivating, so follow me quickly. Once you're settled, I can cultivate with peace of mind."
Shadow Sentinel quickly followed me.
...
After settling my protector in their room, I returned to mine and closed the door.
While the world wasted time cheering for their idols in the tournament and arguing over which so-called genius disciple was the best, I was inside my room, circulating the secret technique of the Hidden Dragon Sect—the Drifting Dragon Breathing Method.
With someone else in the house now, I didn't want to attract too much attention.
I sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion and calmed my mind, trying to enter the State of Flow. That was what I had named it. In that state, my body moved instinctively, completing actions before the commands even reached my brain.
This was what I had been working on recently. A few months ago, I had accidentally absorbed pure Qi in my sleep. From there, I wondered—what if I could control this state on command? And what would happen if I remained in this state all the time? Though I had not tested it yet, nor had I seen anyone else with it—or maybe someone had, but I just didn't know.
So, I had no choice but to self-study everything. Fortunately, at least the State of Flow had a clear direction for improvement. For now, I compared it to muscle memory.
Muscle memory refers to the ability of muscles to perform a specific task automatically due to repeated practice, without conscious effort. It is commonly associated with physical activities like martial arts, playing instruments, or even handwriting.
My instinct told me that the State of Flow was a condition beyond muscle memory, but for now, I would first master muscle memory.
I had been punching a black metal sheet for a while, engraving the technique deep into my body. Sometimes, during my usual morning practice, my thoughts drifted elsewhere. Yet, even as my consciousness wandered, my body continued practicing without losing power.
I had hung my locket on a nail stuck into one of the wooden pillars in the front courtyard and activated its recording function to observe how my body moved under the influence of muscle memory alone.
When I snapped out of my reverie, I realized my body was heating up and sweating like never before. Even the sky had dimmed slightly. I was shocked—my body had been moving for so long, yet it felt as if I had unlimited stamina.
I replayed the video from the locket.
The moves performed by "me" in the recording were at the semi-perfection realm. In cultivation, mastery over techniques is divided into four stages—unless the technique itself has unique divisions, such as First Strike, Second Strike, and so on.
Initiation Realm:
The beginner stage, where a cultivator has just learned the technique and can barely execute its basic form. Power and efficiency are severely lacking.
Flawless Realm:
The technique is performed smoothly without mistakes but still lacks deeper mastery. It is effective but not yet at its peak potential.
Perfection Realm:
The technique is executed with near-absolute mastery, allowing the cultivator to unleash its full potential effortlessly. However, there may still be room for refinement or further evolution.
Transcendent Realm:
The highest level of mastery, where the technique becomes an extension of the cultivator's will. At this stage, the technique surpasses its original limitations, allowing for improvisation or even evolution into a higher form.
I got the idea of the State of Flow from the concept of the Transcendent Realm, where a technique becomes an extension of a cultivator's will. If even a technique—an external, non-living thing—could have stages, then why couldn't the human body have stages waiting to be explored?
As cultivators, most of us rely too heavily on external opportunities, artifacts, and assistance, often disregarding the very first opportunity the Vast Flow gave us—our own human physique.
And I wasn't talking about innate physiques like the ones Xue Lingxi and Jin Meiyu possessed. No, I was talking about something even deeper...