Su Ming’s footsteps halted.

Why?

For longevity? For power? Or to roam heaven and earth freely like Qingfeng and Mingyue?

No.

Su Ming’s mind flashed with the despair of that moment he fell off the cliff, with Zhao Qianshan’s ferocious face, with the humiliation of being trampled upon at will by the powerful when he was just a mortal.

He raised his head, his eyes clear, silently answering in his heart.

“To live.”

“To live with dignity, without being manipulated by anyone… to live.”

Boom!

The roaring sound in his mind dissipated, and the surrounding pressure suddenly eased.

Su Ming felt as if his divine sense had undergone a baptism, becoming more condensed.

“Not bad, disciple!” Lin Yu praised, “That answer, plain, unadorned, and even a bit dull, but it hits the essence! Much better than all that empty talk about ‘for all living beings’ or ‘for justice.’ This Pagoda Spirit probably is a pragmatist too, letting you pass.”

Su Ming smiled faintly and quickened his steps.

Passing through the bridge of light, the scene before him changed once more.

The previously chaotic starry sky vanished, replaced by a deep blue expanse.

Hundreds of blue light spheres floated here, each one enveloping a crystal-clear jade slip. Mist swirled, light shimmered on ripples, as if he were in a deep-sea dragon palace.

“We’ve arrived, the water-attribute cultivation method zone.”

Su Ming took a deep breath. The dense water spiritual energy made all the pores on his body relax and open. The spiritual energy within his Dantian cheered and leaped for joy, as if returning to a mother’s embrace.

“Is this the joy of a single-attribute spiritual root?” Lin Yu sounded somewhat envious, “Back in my day, to pass that damn exam, I memorized books until my hair fell out, but I never had this feeling of being like a fish in water. Disciple, don’t get dazzled by the choices, find it according to what Old Ma said.”

Su Ming nodded, closed his eyes, and released his divine sense.

He didn’t look at the brightness of the light spheres, nor did he pay attention to the pressure they emitted. Instead, he completely immersed his mind and spirit in the artistic conception of “water.”

What is water?

Is it the raging, turbulent sea? The trickling stream? Or…

He recalled Lin Yu’s teaching—”The Way of Survival isn’t about being cowardly. It’s about being like water, adapting to the container, seeping into every crevice. It appears soft and weak, yet it can drip through stone.”

This concept resonated strangely with his current state of mind.

In this deep blue starry space, one originally dim and lightless light sphere, hiding in a corner, seemed to sense this resonance.

Unlike the other light spheres that eagerly radiated light to attract Su Ming’s attention, it merely trembled slightly, emanating a gentle, peaceful, and inclusive aura.

Just like… a drop of the most ordinary water.

Su Ming abruptly opened his eyes. His gaze pierced through countless dazzling light spheres, precisely locking onto that inconspicuous “star” in the corner.

“Found it.”

He moved, drifting over gracefully, and reached out to gently touch that light sphere.

No rejection, no backlash.

His finger passed through the halo. The touch was warm and smooth like jade, as if holding a drop of warm current.

The next instant, the light sphere exploded, transforming into countless blue points of light that drilled into the center of Su Ming’s brow.

Boom!

Su Ming only felt darkness before his eyes, as if he had instantly plunged into an endless azure sea.

But this sea had no violent winds or giant waves.

The sea surface was smooth as a mirror, reflecting the star-filled sky. The ebb and flow of the tide carried a rhythm that seemed eternal.

Lines of ancient, grand characters, rising and falling with the tide, imprinted directly into his mind. Each character contained the supreme principles of the Great Dao, shaking his very soul.

“The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contention. It stays in places that people dislike, therefore it is close to the Dao.”

“Dwell in good places. Keep your mind deep. Deal with others kindly. Speak with sincerity. Govern with order. Handle affairs with competence. Act with good timing.”

“Because it does not contend, it is without blame.”

As the scripture flowed, that gentle spiritual energy began to circulate on its own within his body.

It wasn’t bursting with vitality like the Greenwood Longevity Art, nor was it sharp and aggressive like metal-attribute methods.

It was like a clear spring, slowly flowing through Su Ming’s meridians, which had become somewhat parched and twisted from forcibly practicing the wood-attribute method.

Wherever it passed, the tiny cracks were smoothed over, and the accumulated impurities were washed away.

Su Ming’s originally somewhat unstable foundation began to grow steady and solid under the nourishment of this power.

Even more wondrous was that when this water spiritual energy flowed past the tiny sprout of his wood spiritual root deep within his Dantian, it didn’t cause conflict. Instead, like spring rain nurturing growth, it made that originally somewhat wilted tender sprout instantly stretch out its branches and leaves, becoming even more vibrant and emerald green.

Water nourishes wood, ever-renewing!

“Perfect.”

Lin Yu’s voice sounded in Su Ming’s mind, carrying unprecedented satisfaction, “It’s practically tailor-made for you! This Like Water Art, while its offensive power seems utterly battle-useless, this recovery speed, this mana regeneration rate, this compatibility… it’s basically a walking fountain! Disciple, this is solid! With this method, plus the formations I taught you, in the future we’ll be the unkillable cockroach, the tireless ox!”

Su Ming awoke from that mysterious state. A deep blue light flashed in his eyes, then quickly faded, returning to their usual clarity and calmness.

He could feel that this cultivation method was his fundamental method.

It didn’t demand explosive power in the short term, but focused on long-term accumulation. Just like the path he wanted to walk, not contending for momentary pride, only seeking ultimate longevity.

“The jade slip can’t be taken away.” Su Ming looked somewhat regretfully at the gradually fading light sphere in his hand.

“Nonsense, these are the core legacies of their sect, you think they’d let you just take them?” Lin Yu urged, “Hurry up! While it’s still active, memorize as much as you can! Don’t forget to memorize the annotations too, they’re the experiences of predecessors, very important!”

Su Ming said no more. He sat down cross-legged, opened his divine sense fully, and began to inscribe this Like Water Art with all his might.

Time passed minute by minute.

Deep within this blue space, a pair of blurred eyes were quietly watching this scene from across the void.

It was precisely that Library Guardian elder.

On his face, which seemed eternally expressionless, a trace of extremely faint surprise actually flickered for a moment.

“Found a life-bound, perfectly compatible method in half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea…”

The elder murmured to himself, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, like a mere disturbance of air.

“And his nature is clear and pure, like water containing emptiness, neither arrogant nor impatient. Facing the interrogation of the Heart-Seeking Bridge, he actually saw through it in the span of a single breath…”

“Junior Brother Ma has sent quite a promising seedling this time. A pity though…”

The elder slightly raised his hand, pointing a fingertip.

The water spiritual energy around Su Ming suddenly doubled in density. The originally somewhat obscure and difficult-to-understand scripture, in this moment, became clear and fluent, as if someone were whispering a recitation in his ear, explaining it word by word.

Su Ming, who was struggling to memorize, shuddered. Wild joy surged in his heart, but he didn’t dare let his focus waver. He could only absorb this unexpected gift even more greedily.

Lin Yu, keenly sensing the change in the environment, rolled his eyes inside the ring, though the corner of his mouth curled up in a smile.

“This old man, talks about handling things strictly by the book, but his actions are quite honest. Seems ‘looking honest’ really is a plus. Full marks for this under-the-table favoritism.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep