My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Faced with Wang Ping’s question, Zhang Xinghuai gently shook his head. "As for this Saint," he said, "you can only understand once you’ve truly seen him. It’s something that can’t be explained with words."

"How do I see him?"

"He exists deep within the human heart..."

"That can’t be right," Yu Lian interjected. "Don’t try to fob us off with that nonsense. We both know full well what state the Jimin Association is in. If a fool like Si Ran can see the Saint, why can’t we?"

Zhang Xinghuai remained silent for a long time in the face of Yu Lian’s words before finally speaking. "If I have to describe it, the Jimin Association’s Saint is likely a powerful entity of consciousness. He is both weak and strong."

"The Primordial Spirit of some powerful being?"

"No, I’m more inclined to believe it’s a naturally born entity of consciousness!"

Yu Lian asked, her tone filled with confusion, "Naturally born? You mean like all living things, born from parents? Just that he’s... special?"

Zhang Xinghuai seemed taken aback by her question for a moment before shaking his head. "I don’t know. I only know that when the Jimin Association was first established, there was no Saint. The Saint first appeared..."

He looked at Wang Ping, paused, and then said, "It was three years after Ancestor Yuxiao traveled to the Mist Sea Region. The concept of the Saint was brought back by three individuals: Guan Xi, Chongyun, and Ma Zuo. Chongyun was the leader of the moderate faction, while Ma Zuo was the leader of the radical faction."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping took out an exquisitely carved, red Five Elements Stone to toy with. Staring at the intricate patterns of mountains and rivers on the stone, he asked, "Are you trying to tell me that the Jimin Association’s Saint is connected to Ancestor Yuxiao’s journey to the Mist Sea Region?"

"I can only say it’s a possibility."

"A possibility?"

Zhang Xinghuai suddenly fell silent, apparently considering how to phrase his next words. After a long pause, he said, "Did you know? Before Xiao Shan Lord, aside from a few Star Gods, neither the Five Profound Sects nor the two sects of the Heavenly Gate had any record of anyone from the Human Race advancing to the Fifth Realm."

Wang Ping’s brow twitched. "The Lord has already told me that."

Zhang Xinghuai met Wang Ping’s gaze. "It seems Xiao Shan Lord trusts you a great deal. From the very day we entered the Cultivation Realm, it’s as if we’ve been subtly led to believe that many True Monarchs have appeared among the Human Race since the rise of the Human Dao. It’s an implicit assumption, one we’ve had since birth. You never really stop to question it until someone solemnly brings it to your attention."

Hearing this, Wang Ping and Yu Lian both contemplated the issue. It seemed to be just as Zhang Xinghuai had described. A very unsettling thought began to form in Wang Ping’s mind.

"There are still many unknowns waiting for us in this world."

Yu Lian’s words sounded like she was trying to reassure herself.

Zhang Xinghuai glanced at Yu Lian and said, "Since the rise of the Human Dao, the first person to attempt to advance to the Fifth Realm was Ancestor Yuxiao. But there aren’t even any official records about him. If it weren’t for us passing down the stories by word of mouth, he might have long been forgotten."

Yu Lian slid from Wang Ping’s left shoulder over to his right. "I remember our topic was the Jimin Association’s Saint," she reminded him. "Are you saying they brought him back from the Mist Sea Region?"

Zhang Xinghuai replied, "The word ’brought’ doesn’t quite fit. They only brought back a part of the Saint’s ideology. The Saint is... he’s..."

He was at a loss for words.

"Something like the Five Elements Energy?"

Wang Ping was suddenly reminded of something Ruan Chunzi had said. He offered his own understanding, "We in the Five Profound Sects cultivate the Five Elements Spiritual Veins, using our own veins to connect with the Five Elements Spirits. We then cultivate the Dao of Longevity through them. In a way, the Five Elements Spirits could also be called ’Saints’."

Zhang Xinghuai contemplated this for a long while before replying, "The cultivation system of the Five Elements Spirit is akin to a leap in one’s plane of existence. It’s an incomparably complex process, a forced fusion with a power that isn’t our own. The Jimin Association’s ’Saint’s Dao,’ however, is about acceptance. As long as you are accepted—not by the Saint, but by yourself—and this is then confirmed by the Saint, you can wield the purest power of light in all of heaven and earth."

As he spoke, a ball of pure white light materialized in his hand. It had no temperature, no powerful or oppressive aura.

"It’s that simple?"

Yu Lian blinked her eyes and looked at Zhang Xinghuai. "I’ve always accepted myself. What do you think, am I qualified? Take me to see your Saint!"

Meeting Yu Lian’s gaze, Zhang Xinghuai smiled. "It isn’t that simple. Once you begin cultivating the ’Saint’s Dao,’ there’s no turning back. For all of your future, however long that may be, you can never reject yourself. You cannot harbor even the slightest shred of self-doubt. The moment you do, you will be devoured by the source of light and vanish from this world in the blink of an eye."

Upon hearing this, Yu Lian seemed to recall something. Her head trembled slightly. She then clung to Wang Ping’s arm, taking a deep sniff of his scent before she finally calmed down.

Wang Ping had no interest in this so-called ’Saint’s Dao.’ He was more focused on the Realm of True Monarch, but his thoughts were destined to be fruitless—like grasping for the moon’s reflection in water or a flower in a mirror.

After all, the only way to find the true answer to that question was to walk the path himself.

"Another game?"

Wang Ping gestured to the game board before him. He cleared his mind, forcing himself to stop thinking about such distant matters. While he spoke, he slowly cleared the pieces from the board and ordered a puppet to pour more tea.

During the latter half of the Spring Festival night, the two played a total of six games. Wang Ping won each one with ease. Though it confirmed Yu Lian’s earlier suspicions, Wang Ping still enjoyed playing.

Just after 7:00 AM, Liu Shuang and Zhao Yu’Er came to pay their respects. When they saw Zhang Xinghuai, they broke into genuine smiles, a rare sight given the indifference he usually showed in the military camp.

Yu Lian exhaled a breath of Water Spirit Qi toward the sky and said to Wang Ping through their connection in the Spirit Sea, "I kind of miss Xiaozhu."

Just as Wang Ping was about to reply, the dim eastern horizon was suddenly suffused with a golden halo. As he raised his head to gaze at it, a streak of dark green light streaked across, obscuring most of the glow.

"That’s the direction of Bin Pass!" Liu Shuang reminded him softly.

As Wang Ping nodded, the faint sound of clashing energy reached his ears.

Just then, Zhi Gong and Huaimo landed to Wang Ping’s left and right, followed by Hu Yin, Wu Quan, and Ganxing. Mountain Guard, who had been drinking with his disciples and grand-disciples, was the last to arrive.

"Should we go take a look?" Wu Quan looked at Wang Ping.

"The commotion they’re causing is even greater than ours was. That’s Pingzhou Road! Even after the recent unrest, there are still four to five million people living there. If this fight continues, the entire area will be razed to the ground!"

Huaimo Taoist formed a spell with his left hand, his consciousness connecting with the world itself. By probing the waves of energy rolling in, he deduced what was happening on Pingzhou Road.

"They’ve directly deployed Third Realm Cultivators!" he said, looking at Wang Ping.

"I have no intelligence on my end indicating they had any such plan," Liu Shuang said softly.

"That’s just like Xiu Yu," Ganxing said, looking at Wang Ping. "He must have received intelligence on our position after coming out of seclusion and charged right over with his Third Realm Cultivators. Should we go check it out?"

"There’s no need." Wang Ping’s expression was placid.

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