activa-t Chapter 79 A tiger crouches in the heart, its spirit at ease; a sword sheathed is virtue.
Chapter 79 A tiger crouches in the heart, its spirit at ease; a sword sheathed is virtue.
Chapter 80 A tiger crouches in the heart, its spirit at ease; a sword sheathed is virtue.
On the table, the Xuan paper trembled slightly.
"This—this is—"
Third Master Li approached the table, his once cloudy and shrewd eyes now wide open.
He stared intently at the painting, the ink still wet, making "hoho" sounds in his throat, unable to utter a complete sentence.
There is no snow, no corpses, and no chilling murderous intent in the painting.
There was only one tiger.
A tiger descending a mountain, depicted purely with ink wash, yet seemingly possessing breath and body temperature.
It didn't bar its teeth or show its claws; its body lines were smooth and steady, and its four paws were firmly planted on the mountain rocks.
It was turning its head, and those cruel beastly eyes that had once regarded all living beings as prey in the "White Tiger Carrying Corpse" painting now revealed a kind of composure after being enlightened by Lu Cheng.
It was the aura of a king who "inspected his territory and all things were his subjects".
Powerful yet understated, fierce yet not menacing, spirited yet not scattered.
Like a true grandmaster, standing atop a high mountain, amidst the rolling clouds, his heart is not filled with killing, but with compassion.
"This is the 'White Tiger Patrolling the Mountain' painting."
Lu Cheng slowly put down the wolf-hair brush and let out a long sigh.
A layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, not because he was physically weak, but because he was mentally exhausted.
Using the brush as a weapon, he forcibly crushed his own sense of "moderation and peace" and poured it into the black and white ink painting, which took more effort than fighting a life-or-death match.
"I erased the menacing aura that seemed to crawl out of a pile of corpses from the 'White Tiger Carrying a Corpse' painting."
Lu Cheng turned around, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and slowly wiped the ink stains off his fingers. His gaze was sharp and piercing, staring directly at Zhao Shanhe, who was already dumbfounded.
"Your punches are too hasty and too impulsive."
"You visualize that iron lion and perceive it as an inanimate object because the fire in your heart is too intense; the lion cannot subdue you. You want to kill, to break free, to overcome, and thus you too are trapped in this 'heat'."
Lu Cheng pointed to the painting on the table, his voice booming like a bell, striking straight into Zhao Shanhe's heart.
"This picture suits you."
"The lion is dead, but I brought this tiger to life in my painting."
"Look at its eyes."
Lu Cheng's voice lowered, "It could clearly devour people, yet it holds back; it could clearly have sharp claws and teeth, yet it moves with ease."
"Do not seek unparalleled killing prowess, for that easily leads to demonic possession; but seek a solid foundation, for that is the righteous path."
"If you can understand the meaning behind this, and transform that burning, fiery energy into the composure of this 'mountain patrol,' you can achieve a state where you have the heart of a tiger yet the gentle touch of a rose—"
Lu Cheng paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately.
Once the barrier of "mutual understanding" is broken, it's like a windowpane – easily pierced!
Zhao Shanhe was completely stunned.
His gaze seemed to be drawn to the painting by a magnet, fixed on it.
In a daze, he could no longer hear his master's breathing, nor the noise outside the window.
In his world, only that black and white tiger remained.
"roar----"
A deep tiger's roar didn't reach his ears, but exploded in his heart.
He felt the tiger move.
It took steady steps, one step at a time, stepping off the paper, following the rhythm of his heartbeat, and entered his heart.
The large rock that had been lodged in his chest, making him anxious day and night, and even making him want to bang his head against the wall, shattered into dust with a long, deep tiger's roar!
"He's alive—he's really alive—"
Zhao Shanhe murmured to himself, and two streams of hot tears welled up in his eyes without warning.
The feeling was like a traveler who had been walking in the desert for ten days and ten nights suddenly drinking a mouthful of sweet spring water.
Clear and refreshing!
"Thump."
This senior disciple of the Iron Fist Gym, who used to be a proud and arrogant man, could no longer hold back and knelt heavily before Lu Cheng.
His knees slammed onto the floor with a dull thud, but he seemed oblivious.
"Uncle-Master Lu————"
Zhao Shanhe bowed with this grand gesture, his forehead pressed firmly against the ground, his voice choked with sobs.
"This gift is too heavy, it is a life-saving grace, I, your junior, kowtow to you."
This is the grace of spreading the word!
In the martial arts world, every stroke of the pen is a path to heaven.
Without this painting, Zhao Shanhe would have been nothing more than a ruthless and aggressive thug for the rest of his life, but this painting gave him the possibility of becoming a grandmaster.
Get up.
Lu Cheng raised his hand slightly and patted Zhao Shanhe's shoulder gently.
"Smack."
This seemingly casual strike actually employed the "tremor" technique of the "Fish-toad Strength" to instantly calm the surging blood and qi within his body caused by excitement.
"This is to repay a favor to your master, and also because I don't want to see such a good talent like you go to waste."
"The more seed our martial arts community in Beiping has, the more confident we will be when facing foreign enemies in the future."
Old Master Li, standing nearby, was already in tears, with tears even clinging to his beard.
Looking at Lu Cheng, his guess about the "successor of the Grandmaster of Embracing the Elixir" was no longer a guess, but an undeniable fact!
With a casual splash of ink, one can create a fundamental diagram that embodies the "true meaning of martial arts."
How could one so skillfully transform the imagery of such a ferocious creature into something so balanced and peaceful, turning malevolence into harmony?
Even a master of internal energy transformation couldn't do this.
If he didn't have some celestial being guiding him, or receive some enlightenment from a true immortal, Li Tieshou would have ripped those eyes out and stomped on them!
"Master Lu————"
Third Master Li wiped his old face, turned around, and bowed deeply to Lu Cheng. He bowed so deeply that his waist bent at a ninety-degree angle, and he refused to get up for a long time.
"You are doing a good deed."
"That old White Tiger painting was a deadly weapon. It was only for looking at, not for practicing. Looking at it could drive you mad. It was a death trap left for unparalleled geniuses."
"But this picture of yours—"
Li Sanye's voice trembled; he was extremely excited.
"This is the right path, a supreme manual that allows even ordinary martial artists to have a chance to glimpse the path to becoming a grandmaster."
"On behalf of the Iron Fist School, on behalf of all its disciples, and even on behalf of all the younger generation of martial arts practitioners in Beiping, I thank Master Lu for his great kindness in passing on his teachings."
Lu Cheng waved his hand calmly, picked up the folding fan made of Xiangfei bamboo again, opened it with a "whoosh", and gently shook it.
The wind ruffled the hair at his temples, revealing a touch of detached and carefree spirit.
"You're exaggerating."
"Paintings are inanimate, but people are alive."
Whether he can succeed or not is up to his own destiny and the fate of your Iron Fist Gym.
After saying that, Lu Cheng didn't linger and turned to walk away.
When I came out of the Iron Fist Gym, the sun was already setting.
-
The fiery clouds on the horizon resembled blood-stained silk, covering half of Beiping City.
Lu Cheng declined Li Sanye's invitation to stay with a lavish banquet and, with Lu Feng in tow, strolled back at a leisurely pace.
The two, one young and one old, walked down the bustling street.
Lu Feng followed behind, carrying the empty pastry box in his hand, his little head still drooping, as if he was reliving the scene just now.
"Master."
Lu Feng suddenly quickened his pace and caught up with Lu Cheng.
"Your painting—it's truly divine."
The boy's eyes sparkled, revealing a cleverness mixed with a hint of confusion.
"I just peeked at it from the side."
"That tiger—it looked so big, so fierce, with claws like steel knives. Yet I wasn't afraid at all?"
"On the contrary, I find it quite endearing."
Lu Feng scratched his head, seemingly searching for the right words to describe it.
"It's like... it's like seeing you, sir. Although it's imposing and no one dares to mess with it, it won't bite as long as you don't make a mistake."
Lu Cheng paused slightly, turned around, and looked at the wolf cub with some surprise.
This kid's comprehension is even higher than he thought.
A childlike heart is most likely to point directly to the source.
He was able to see through appearances to the essence of "benevolence," which shows that the child was not inherently bloodthirsty.
"Being friendly is the right approach."
Lu Cheng smiled, closed the folding fan in his hand, and gently tapped Lu Feng's head.
"That's 'Renhu'."
"Fengzi, you must remember this."
Lu Cheng turned around, pointing to the bustling street, to the poor people struggling to make a living, and to the vibrant human world.
"Those of us who practice martial arts all have knives in our hands and thorns on our bodies."
"But the knives in our hands are for protecting people, not for bullying them."
Why is the tiger the king of beasts? It's not just because it can kill.
"It's because it can 'suppress'."
"Suppress the evil thoughts in your heart, suppress the evil spirits in the world."
Lu Cheng looked at Lu Feng with an unusually serious expression, one that conveyed an expectation of passing on the torch.
"Only when your mind is upright can you throw a straight punch."
"If your heart is crooked, no matter how strong your fist is, you're just a menace, a mad dog that will be slaughtered sooner or later."
"Do you understand?"
Lu Feng looked at Lu Cheng with a half-understanding, then looked at his own small, calloused hands.
He remembered the days he fought for food at the human market, his sister's pale face from hunger, and how Lu Cheng brought him back to the mansion, fed him meat, dressed him in new clothes, and taught him how to be a person.
At that moment, a seed took root in the boy's heart.
He nodded heavily, taking those words to heart.
"Sir, I understand."
"A sword hidden in its sheath is a virtue."
"To protect my master and the Qingyun Troupe, that's my way!"
"Good lad, your tongue is getting sharper and sharper." Lu Cheng couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.