Iris Darren looked pretty rough around the edges too.


    He''d just begun drawing in energy when something cut him off.


    What made it worse was that he hadn''t brought his white bone army with him.


    "How fascinating... these bugs actually have the guts to fight back." Iris Darren''s lips curved into a cruel smile.


    "Fine then, let''s wipe them all out!" Iris Darren clenched his hand into a tight fist!


    ...


    When I came to, I found myself on some mountain.


    The mountain wasn''t huge and looked like it housed a temple.


    Rows of temple-style structures dotted the mountainside.


    I slowly cracked my eyes open. I tried to push myself up but sharp pain shot through every part of my body.


    "Where am I?" I nced around, confusion clouding my thoughts.


    "You''re up!" Pearson Bowman pped my shoulder, making me flinch from the pain.


    "Watch it!" Elena Green quickly warned him.


    Pearson Bowman scratched his nose, looking embarrassed. "Got a little carried away..."


    I waved him off, struggling to sit up in bed, then asked, "Where is this ce?"


    Elena Green filled me in, "This is Nine Pinnacles Mountain, where Senior Jimmy Ysabel lives."


    "Nine Pinnacles Mountain? Jimmy Ysabel?" My brow creased deeper.


    Elena Green nodded, "We broke out of the Capital City Martial Arts Association''s prison, and they''re definitely not going to let this go."


    "Right now, Senior Jimmy Ysabel is our only shot at help."


    I let out a heavy breath.


    In the end, I''d dragged Jimmy Ysabel into my mess.


    "Thanks, everyone, for getting me out." I sped my hands together, then asked, "Is everyone else okay?"


    "Don''t sweat it, everyone''s fine. Just focus on getting better." Pearson Bowman brushed it off.


    Iy there in bed, worry written all over my face.


    We might''ve gotten out, but we weren''t in the clear yet.


    "The Capital City Martial Arts Association''s going to send Martial Saints after us." I said grimly.


    "We need toe up with something."


    "Come up with what? Besides Senior Jimmy Ysabel, where else are we going to find a Martial Saint?" Pearson Bowman shook his head.


    I went quiet. After thinking it over, my mind drifted to the Crane.


    If I called the Crane, maybe it could stand up to the Capital City Martial Arts Association, right?


    But after mulling it over, I scrapped the idea.


    The Crane and its kind were living their perfect life right now, and dragging them into my problems just to save my own skin didn''t sit right.


    "Just worry about healing up. We''ll work something out." Elena Green tried tofort me.


    I nodded but kept my mouth shut.


    The qi levels here weren''t amazing, but they beat the hell out of that Capital City Martial Arts Association prison.


    Over the next few days, I put everything into recovering.


    With their careful attention, my injuries healed pretty fast.


    Maybe because the young crowd from the Mystic Realm had shown up, those stuck-up rich kids from the Capital City had finally gotten knocked down a peg.


    Pearson Bowman brought me a divine sword, and Elena Green even broke out the rare herbs her family had been saving for my treatment.


    Three dayster, my injuries were pretty much healed.


    I got up and walked out of the building, and the first thing I saw was this massive Bodhi tree.


    Everyone had gathered under the big tree, with Jimmy Ysabel sitting right in the middle.


    I walked over quickly and made it to the tree.


    "Junior Mason Raymond greets Senior Jimmy Ysabel." I cupped my hands and bowed.


    Jimmy Ysabel gave a small nod and gestured, "Sit."


    "Mason Raymond, you''re incredible. You almost took a Martial Saint''s head off, that''s amazing!" Be Tad smacked my shoulder hard.


    I smiled ruefully, "I barely scraped by putting my life on the line, and that was against the weakest Martial Saint..."


    "You did more than enough. Throughout all of history, nobody''s managed to bridge that gap. You did incredibly well." Jimmy Ysabel said evenly.


    Hearing this, I quickly sped my hands in gratitude, "The truly incredible one is you, Senior. You could''ve livedfortably but chose to fight them instead, putting your life at risk."


    Jimmy Ysabel shook his head, "I''m afraid there wasn''t much more I could''ve aplished."


    "Senior, you''re the first person of our time to reach the Martial Saint Realm! That''s what makes someone a prodigy!" Zora Solomon burst out.


    Jimmy Ysabel shook his head, "Someone who reaches the Martial Saint realm isn''t necessarily a genius, there are plenty more talented than me."


    "If I''d known that reaching the Martial Saint realm would stir up all this trouble, I would''ve preferred staying in the Military Marquis Realm."


    Everyone went silent after hearing that.


    But I seemed to catch something in what he''d said.


    Someone who reaches the Martial Saint realm isn''t necessarily a genius?


    That meant breaking through to the Martial Saint realm didn''t depend just on talent?


    With that thought, I bowed to Jimmy Ysabel, "Senior, you mentioned that reaching the Martial Saint realm doesn''t depend on talent. So what does it depend on? Mindset? Understanding? Or luck?"


    "What you''ve mentioned has nothing to do with me." Jimmy Ysabel shook his head.


    I bowed respectfully, "I''ve tried both secluded training and gaining real-world experience, but I still couldn''t be a Martial Saint, didn''t even get close."


    "Now, I''m kind of lost. I don''t know what approach to take to be a Martial Saint. I''m asking for Senior''s guidance."


    Jimmy Ysabel''s gaze settled on me.


    Those deep eyes seemed to look straight through me.


    Everyone else also focused on Jimmy Ysabel, like they were waiting for his wisdom.


    Right then, Jimmy Ysabel slowly got to his feet.


    He calmly spoke a few words: "Once the dao is grasped, everything bes clear."


    After saying that, Jimmy Ysabel slowly walked away.


    "Once the dao is grasped, everything bes clear..." I repeated the phrase, my brow furrowing as I tried to figure it out.


    "What''s that sentence supposed to mean, exactly?" The others voiced their confusion too.


    "Seriously, couldn''t Senior Ysabel just spell it out!"


    "Some things you have to figure out yourself, you don''t get it!"


    I stayed quiet, my finger rubbing my chin, that sentence filling my thoughts.


    Once the dao is grasped, everything bes clear...


    All day long, my brow stayed creased, my mind stuck on that puzzling sentence.


    "Enough, quit thinking. Your body''s not fully healed yet, you need proper rest." Be Tad said casually.


    I smiled and said, "Alright."


    Even though I said that, I couldn''t stop turning over that confusing advice in my head.