Chapter 325

Chapter 325: Inner Strength

Mr. Commoner was clearly a wise old man who knew exactly which method would be most effective for dealing with Lou Yun. His words proved far more potent than anything else could have been. The moment they were spoken, Lou Yun sprang to his feet.

“Master! I’m up! Don’t leave yet!”

“Haha!" Mr. Commoner laughed heartily. "Good! Since you’re up, naturally I won’t leave for the moment. However, time is very limited for both of us. You must understand, you are still within the True Dream Realm, but now it’s within the True Dream Realm I have constructed.”

Hearing his master say he wouldn’t leave just yet, Lou Yun felt a surge of joy first. But then the latter half of the sentence struck him, causing shock and confusion to wash over his face.

Just as Mr. Commoner said, the present Lou Yun had already escaped the True Dream Realm conjured by the two Elders of the Huangfu Family. The reason he hadn’t truly awoken was because he had entered the True Dream Realm laid out by Mr. Commoner. Therefore, his mind and consciousness were now completely restored to normal.

“Master, why am I in the True Dream Realm you constructed?” Lou Yun originally didn’t want to dwell on these perplexing things, but if he ignored them any longer, the sheer volume of doubts would surely overwhelm and explode his mind.

Mr. Commoner smiled knowingly. "Ah, explaining the True Dream Realm technique is deeply profound. Honestly, my boy, at your current level of cultivation, it’s simply impossible to make you understand it clearly. So, I can only tell you this: when the others were casting the True Dream Realm upon you, there was a brief interruption. My True Dream Realm seized that opening and was successfully instilled within you, successfully drawing you into my True Dream Realm."

Lou Yun listened attentively. Although he didn’t fully grasp it, he understood the general gist. "Master, since I escaped the original True Dream Realm, they must have noticed, right?"

If Lou Yun was now within Mr. Commoner’s True Dream Realm, then within the True Dream Realm controlled by the two Huangfu Elders, his trace should have vanished.

Seeing Lou Yun grasp this point so quickly, Mr. Commoner was clearly quite pleased. "Indeed. However, since your true self hasn’t fully awakened yet, they are still searching for you within their True Dream Realm. They absolutely cannot imagine you’ve already broken free. They will only assume you became vigilant and fled from the previous scenario."

Explaining the True Dream Realm in the simplest terms would be: it is a man-made illusion artificially imposed upon one’s mind. The ‘person’ within it isn’t the real flesh-and-blood entity, only the consciousness of that person. While the main framework of the illusion is set by the one who creates the True Dream Realm, its minute details, or specific scenes, shift and evolve based on the consciousness of the person caught within it.

Within such an illusion, the instant your consciousness undergoes even a slight change, the surrounding environment will naturally shift accordingly to follow your thoughts. The caster of the illusion can only track a person’s consciousness within one such environment at a time. Because their speed is far from matching the instantaneous nature of thought, if a consciousness suddenly vanishes, the caster’s first assumption is that the person has awakened. But if they haven’t awakened, then certainly their consciousness shifted so drastically that it fled into a different environmental sequence within the larger realm.

Therefore, the Grand Elder, who had taken over the Second Elder’s duty and was patiently listening to the doubts voiced by Lou Yun’s consciousness within their True Dream Realm, suddenly discovered Lou Yun’s consciousness was gone. He urgently looked towards Lou Yun’s physical body and saw he still hadn’t regained consciousness, remaining in a state of unawareness. Naturally, the Grand Elder didn’t overthink it and immediately began searching for Lou Yun’s consciousness within the True Dream Realm.

Of course, they could never have imagined that during their handover, the brief interruption allowed another True Dream Realm to slip into the gap. The capability to cast a True Dream Realm like this far surpassed their own. In fact, they were completely unaware such a method to deploy the True Dream Realm even existed.

Lou Yun thought for a moment and understood the logic. "Master, when exactly did you set up this True Dream Realm?"

Because Lou Yun remembered Chang Xiang had explained that instilling a True Dream Realm required a medium to draw the target into the dream. For the Huangfu Family, this medium was their guqin music. During Lou Yun’s apprenticeship acceptance dream, potentially everything around him could have been a medium. But this time was different. This time, Lou Yun was within the secluded Huangfu Family compound. He hadn’t touched any object or person related to Mr. Commoner or the other masters. Logically, it shouldn’t have been possible for Mr. Commoner’s True Dream Realm to materialize.

Naturally, Mr. Commoner knew the question Lou Yun wanted to ask. He smiled faintly. "The medium I used to install this True Dream Realm was, ironically, the True Dream Realm itself!"

Although the statement sounded paradoxical, Lou Yun froze momentarily before rapidly grasping its meaning!

This time, the medium Mr. Commoner used to draw Lou Yun into his dream was nothing other than the True Dream Realm itself. Not the one he created, but the True Dream Realm cast by the Huangfu Family, or potentially anyone creating one!

Once Lou Yun became trapped within anyone’s True Dream Realm, regardless of the caster, the True Dream Realm constructed by Mr. Commoner would activate immediately. It would then find an opportunity to pull Lou Yun’s consciousness into it.

Lou Yun managed to understand this much. However, figuring out how this feat was accomplished was beyond him right now, even if he racked his brains.

Of course, Mr. Commoner granted him no time for deeper contemplation. Seeing the light of understanding dawn on Lou Yun’s face, he pressed on immediately. "Alright, disciple. Our time together this time isn’t long. Therefore, let me tell you the purpose behind my constructing this True Dream Realm encounter!”

This was the second time Mr. Commoner emphasized the limited time. So, despite a touch of reluctance in his heart, Lou Yun could only snap to attention and listen with complete focus.

"I am here for two reasons. First: by now, you should have met the bodyguard I prearranged for you, Gui You Quan.”

Mentioning this, Lou Yun felt immense admiration for his master’s foresight. He nodded urgently. "Yes! I met him! Not only that, Gui You Quan took the initiative to form a Soul Contract with me! He should be sitting right beside me now… though I don’t know if he entered the True Dream Realm like I did."

Mr. Commoner chuckled. "Rest assured. Since he formed a Soul Contract with you, it means he’s approaching his final Heavenly Punishment. With his current strength, there’s no True Dream Realm powerful enough to trap him!"

"Gui You Quan’s Heavenly Punishment will be exceptionally ferocious due to his heavy accumulation of killing sins. And you are the only one who can help him. However, his nature is rather arrogant and unyielding. And you, my boy, are far too kindhearted. Even though he’s bound by the Soul Contract to you, you wouldn’t have the heart to truly extinguish his soul and scatter his spirit. Consequently, it makes it difficult for you to restrain him properly. So, once you wake, convey a message for me. Upon hearing it, he will obey you unquestioningly."

Hearing his master’s words, Lou Yun was even more impressed. Without having witnessed the situation personally, his master had described Gui You Quan’s issue with pinpoint accuracy. Indeed, dealing with Gui You Quan was a current challenge for Lou Yun. Although Gui You Quan had surrendered his life via the Soul Contract, he was a habitual killer. Unless Lou Yun repeatedly and strictly forbade him, he wouldn’t hesitate. And if he did kill someone, given Lou Yun’s compassionate nature, forcing him to execute Gui You Quan and scatter his soul would be unbearable!

Under such circumstances, controlling Gui You Quan naturally proved difficult!

Therefore, Lou Yun exclaimed with immense hope, "Master, what words could possibly be that effective?"

"Simply tell him this, from me: If he listens to you and obeys, then there is still hope for him to see Xiao Jia again."

Lou Yun frowned, repeating the name. "Master, who is Xiao Jia?"

"Ah, I don’t have time to explain that now. If he is willing, he will tell you himself. So go ahead and give him that message. He will guarantee he’ll follow your every command faithfully from now on."

Without pausing for a moment, Mr. Commoner immediately continued. "My second reason for being here is this— I feel I’ve been somewhat remiss as your master. Therefore, I must teach you something more!"

The warmth conveyed by these words filled Lou Yun’s heart. He hastily shook his head. "Master, you’ve been beyond diligent, exceptionally good to your disciple! You’ve already taught me so much, such a vast quantity that I haven’t even mastered everything you imparted!"

Mr. Commoner waved his hand dismissively. "The cultivation methods and weapon techniques I previously taught you merely bolstered your external strength. Their true usefulness is limited. What I intend to teach you now is something that will help you unlock your inner strength.”

Even for someone as un-greedy as Lou Yun, hearing this made it impossible not to be intrigued. "Master, what is inner strength?"

"The Soul!"

The soul determines everything about a living being and possesses formidable power. Aspects like natural talent, the six senses (especially spiritual awareness), all can be said to be profoundly influenced by the soul’s energy. Lou Yun had heard Chang Xiang speak many times about the soul, emphasizing its paramount importance and profound power. Now, hearing Mr. Commoner himself declare the soul as the inner force, even if Lou Yun doubted before, he was compelled to believe now. The only disappointment was that, until this moment, he hadn’t yet managed to perceive the soul’s existence.

"Master, I heard… uh, a friend mention… " Lou Yun wasn’t trying to purposely hide Chang Xiang from his master; it was simply that the master didn’t know who Chang Xiang was, so he corrected himself mid-sentence. "…that the soul is the fundamental basis for any life to exist. It’s intangible, unseen, and requires conscious effort to perceive its presence! And that for true cultivation – practicing both magical and ordinary skills in concert – one needs to temper common weapons using soul fire."

Mr. Commoner’s face wore an inscrutable, profound smile. "Indeed, what your friend says is quite accurate. That is precisely why my goal this time is for you to perceive the existence of your soul. What follows – mastering soul fire, cultivating soul power – can only be done by you through dedicated practice afterwards."

"Nodding vigorously, Lou Yun agreed "Yes, yes! Master! So, shall we begin now?"