With one stroke of the saber, the path of a hero is carved.
Only to lament that time is merciless.
Alright, it seems that Yuan’s poetry skills are just so-so... But while the poem is average, one can taste a hint of heroic spirit, it appears Yuan enjoyed himself for a while after comprehending the saber skill.
But time waits for no one, having stayed too long in the Wangliu River, the days are running short...
Xiao Jie asked once more.
Then he wrote down his reading comprehension.
[This poem profoundly describes the author’s heroic spirit, as well as the hero’s late-life lament over the passage of time...]
System prompt: Reading comprehension successful, satori progress 75%.
The fourth poem: Sunset.
Once the heroic spirit is understood,
Why avoid life and death seen lightly?
The fervor of bygone days remains today,
Long River Sunset Slash the Void.
Hmm... this poem has some flavor.
At this moment, Xiao Jie’s spirit is heavy. The reading comprehension of this poem must be the most important, whether he can succeed makes him shiver.
Luckily, all previous attempts were successful at once, he still has three chances, no need to be afraid.
As usual, he first seeks to understand the author’s mindset.
"Yuan, why did you write this poem back then?"
Yuan Bai looked out the window, his eyes revealing a hint of resignation, a touch of detachment.
"The matter of life and death is unpredictable, but thanks to you, my little brother, I have no regrets in life. Even as I face the prospect of death, I bear no sorrow or complaint. However, when I returned to Monkey Valley to await death, the fear in my heart grew heavier.
Between life and death lies great terror. I couldn’t sleep at night; although I knew I had a few more days to live, I felt as if I were already dead.
I kept my saber by my side every day because only it could offer me some consolation. Yet, one day I suddenly had a satori, seeing something different."
"Indeed, everything is born from nothingness and is destined to return to it, and time is the catalyst for this fate.
I don’t understand why those dead in Wangliu River can still walk and run, why time flies by so fast, but I’ve grasped the meaning behind it.
No matter whether we are ordinary mortals or immortals from the heavens, we are all destined to turn to dust. That’s why those two immortals are hiding; they too are evading the inevitable end.
It’s just a pity, I can’t escape it, and neither can they.
Since it’s inevitable, what difference does it make whether I am afraid or not? If even the immortals can’t escape, why should I bother trying?"
Xiao Jie wondered, "But after becoming an immortal, one can live forever, can’t they? Why couldn’t they escape?"
Yuan Bai chuckled, "Hehehe, even this world will one day perish, so how could immortals be an exception? It’s merely that they can live longer. When I had my satori at that time, I thought to myself, with this strike of my saber, even immortals would have to retreat three steps.
That’s when I comprehended this secret technique."
But there seems to be some logic to it. The universe has been born for 13.7 billion years, but according to scientists’ predictions, the universe will ultimately reach heat death, that is, annihilation.
So it is with the Earth, the Sun, and even the universe itself.
So what about immortals?
Thinking of this, suddenly my enthusiasm wanes—I am still wholeheartedly pursuing becoming an immortal...
But even if I did become an immortal, living tens of thousands of years, millions of years, or even billions of years, I may still not be able to escape the fate of annihilation in the end.
Suddenly, I truly had an epiphany about seeing through life and death.
I decisively began to answer the question.
[Answer: This poem poignantly reveals the author’s philosophical understanding of time, destiny, and even the cosmos. Everything in the world is destined to perish...]
System prompt: Reading comprehension successful, satori progress 100%, you have successfully comprehended the Inner Secret technique [Long River Sunset Slash Void].
I did it! Xiao Jie sighed in relief, but there wasn’t much joy in his triumph.
He carefully checked the Skill Bar.
[Long River Sunset Slash Void (Inner Secret)
Use: Summoning the Power of Time River.
Envelop the enemy with the Power of Time River, and based on the target’s Spiritual Strength and Life Span, trigger one of two effects.
Effect 1: Shorten life. The enemy’s life span will be reduced by 30 years (this value is the amount of life span already consumed by the user), their attributes and status will fluctuate accordingly with the change in life span.
Effect 2: Annihilation. There is a very small chance that the enemy will be completely annihilated by the Power of Time, returning to dust. Enemies annihilated this way will not generate any Experience Points or Slaughter value, nor will they drop any Equipment.
Note: When the user sees Through Life and Death, the probability of triggering annihilation will be greatly increased.
Secret technique description: All things in the world have their moment of demise; this Saber Skill is to present that moment in advance. Those with weaker spiritual power may have their nothingness made real, facing their annihilation ahead of time. Only those with unwavering will, who see through life and death, or those with prolonged life spans and Eternal Life, have a chance to resist this move.]