"Brother, your saber skill is already good, but unfortunately, the speed is still a bit slow, and the inner strength is also insufficient. These things can’t be rushed; you can only practice slowly."
"Yuan, I think I can try to comprehend your ’Sunset Collection’ now."
Yuan Bai, speechless, said, "Oh, so confident? That’s a secret technique I comprehended amidst life and death, not something just anyone can learn."
Xiao Jie smiled: "How can I know if I don’t try? Besides, don’t I have your help?"
With the author of the secret books present, what’s there to fear about not passing the reading comprehension?
Yuan Bai nodded, "Alright, I’ll help you then. Shall we start now?"
"No, let’s change the location, and I need to eat something first."
Xiao Jie put on the Old Man’s Bamboo Hat and consumed the prepared Ti Hu Pill, finally reaching a comprehension of 30 points.
The two made their way to a quiet training room and sat down facing each other.
"Come on, Yuan, please start."
Yuan Bai cleared his throat and began to recount.
"Long River Sunset Slash Void—The essence of this move lies in the understanding of time, the experience of the fading destiny brought about by the passage of time. At that time, I thought of the terrifying power in Wangliu River. No matter your myriad skills and ambitious heart, they are meaningless in front of the Power of Time."
"If you can grasp this, it won’t be hard to comprehend the essence of this move. However, it’s difficult, your age is too young, how could you understand the sorrow and despair of the setting sun of one’s years?"
(It’s alright if you don’t understand; I also spent over a decade grinding through my studies, and I scored full marks in reading comprehension during my language exams.)
"We’ll see when we try." Xiao Jie said, opening his backpack, right-clicking on "Sunset Collection" and choosing to read.
He was not new to reading comprehension, so he was not unfamiliar.
The Sunset Collection contains four poems, requiring 30 points of comprehension and a full level of Phantom Annihilation Blade Technique to begin reading comprehension.
Each poem must be understood individually, completing one before starting the next, and all must be passed to achieve Satori.
Fortunately, there were three chances, allowing some space for trial and error.
Xiao Jie focused his mind and looked at the poetry collection, which even had voiceovers.
As the text lit up line by line, a somewhat immature child’s voice echoed in his ears.
The first poem: Monkey’s Joy.
Little monkey’s joyful play,
Only dreaming of white steamed buns every day.
Following the master to Chop Wood,
Ignorant of desires and free of worries.
Xiao Jie watched speechlessly, glancing at Yuan Bai across, thinking that this is a limerick, isn’t it? Are you really proud to include it in the poetry collection?
But thinking about it, Yuan Bai was originally a monkey, so making a limerick isn’t too bad.
After the poem was recited, a question box popped up.
[System Prompt: Please enter your understanding of this poem.]
Xiao Jie thought about it and asked, "Yuan, is this ’Monkey’s Joy’ about reminiscing and cherishing the carefree life of your youth?"
"Exactly, Brother Sui Feng truly understands me. Ah, although I knew nothing back then, following my master daily chopping wood and working, the only joy was occasionally eating a white steamed bun, which was a rare delicacy. Now that I think about it, I still cherish those memories."
Xiao Jie thought that people indeed become nostalgic as they age; even a steamed bun could stir up so many emotions.
He immediately began answering the comprehension questions.
Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten his experience from language exams.
[Answer: This text recounts a carefree past, through simple descriptions reflecting the author’s pure and simple happy childhood, and expresses nostalgia for the past times...]
[System Prompt: Reading comprehension successful, Satori progress 25%.]
Not bad, starting off strong, my skills are indeed still sharp.
The second poem: Misguided.
Longing to enter the woods for leisure,
Troubles and worries are hard to escape.
Path ahead is long and unknowable,
Struggling against the waves in Wangliu River.
This time, the voiceover was slightly melancholic from a young man.
This poem was a bit better, although still lacking in artistic flair, at least not so vulgar.
Considering White Ape’s past, the meaning was not hard to understand.
To be cautious, Xiao Jie asked again.
"Yuan, did you have any feelings when you wrote this poem?"
Yuan Bai sighed, "I had just left my master and ran to the woods seeking freedom, but everywhere was the same, bullied by barbaric apes, laughed at by other monkeys, chased by demons in the valley, feeling it was better to stay with the old master where I could live peacefully, and occasionally eat steamed buns.
At that time, I just felt life was meaningless, so I thought, why not go to the mountains and take a risk, maybe I might succeed, and if not... hehe, death was but a trivial matter since life had little meaning at that moment."
Xiao Jie thought to himself, you found life meaningless, but you didn’t know your master was still out looking for you outside Monkey Valley.
Understanding Yuan Bai’s thoughts made answering much easier, so Xiao Jie began to answer.
[Reading comprehension: This profound poem expresses the author’s confusion and despair about the future, his disappointment with the real world, and his desire to escape. To seek a glimmer of opportunity, the author resolutely entered the dangerous Wangliu River...]
A profound interpretation, descriptions of various psychological journeys, it was as profound as it could get.
System Prompt: Reading comprehension successful, Satori progress 50%.
The third poem: Saber.
I returned from the mountains to mortal realms,
Grasping the Saber Skill to slash through demon miasmas.
Barbaric apes and evil beasts all surrendered,
Unrivaled, who dares to challenge me?
I was born with talents that must be useful,
Even a macaque can become a hero.