The corner gives the wooden martial arts master, whose martial arts are equivalent to a harem.

"Quickly, let's have a fight! Consider it an apology for not practicing my skills when you were in Shennongjia, only practicing the Great Sage's Splitting Palm and the Heaven-Turning Backwards Technique!"

Wu Fengxian laughed maniacally.

Even those who harbor resentment should respond with a smile.

"Okay." He landed the sentence in a simple and calm voice.

Furthermore, he took a step without leaving a trace, shrinking the distance to an inch without a trace of worldly dust or mortal concerns.

In just one step, he arrived on the arena, standing in front of Wu Fengxian.

From the moment the voice ended, time seemed to shrink to an extremely small scale.

The muscles on Wu Fengxian's face, which had been moving due to her manic laughter, continued at an incredibly slow pace. Gu Chuanhen could tell that Wu Fengxian hadn't reacted at all.

In reality, time remains the same; it's just that everyone perceives it differently.

Listening to lectures by teachers you dislike is a long, agonizing ordeal, but when playing your favorite games, time flies by without you even noticing. This is a relatively subjective perception of time.

This sense of time is also a benefit brought about by the Jade Purity Dao Body.

It wasn't that time had slowed down, but rather that Gu Chuanhen's sense of time had reached a level that Wu Fengxian couldn't match at this moment. At the same time, his Jade Purity Dao Body also allowed him to move freely and easily within this sense of time.

It's as simple as a person being gifted enough to see the trajectory of a bullet, but whose body simply can't support that person in dodging it.

Within this timeframe, Gu Chuanhen, who was usually quite agile, became slightly more serious.

The magical power, formed by the fusion of electrocardiogram and innate true essence, moves at low power within the body.

Then the mind commands the arm, and the arm commands the fist.

His magic eliminated all physical phenomena that would cause his punches, such as the wind piercing the air or creating sonic booms, but that doesn't mean his punches were weak or powerless.

A simple, unadorned, ordinary punch—a simple, basic punch, yet one that shows restraint.

The more martial arts skills one possesses, the fewer martial arts skills one possesses. A simple and unpretentious punch is also a manifestation of martial arts returning to its original simplicity and great skill appearing clumsy.

With a single punch, Wu Fengxian's face was distorted, her facial bones caved in, and the flesh on her face looked like dough that had been pressed down, with the sunken part squeezing out the rest.

"Pugh!"

Then, she briefly lost consciousness for a second. In that second, her face, which had been disfigured by Gu Chuanhen, was restored.

When Wu Fengxian opened her eyes again, she saw Gu Chuanhen standing with his hands behind his back, and Fang Zhiwo standing next to him.

"I have reconciled with Gu Chuanhen and can come back now." Fang Zhiwo reached out his hand, wanting to help Wu Fengxian up.

"Hmph! Who do you think you are?! Just because you've reconciled with Gu Chuanhen doesn't mean you've truly reconciled! I didn't agree to that!"

Wu Fengxian laughed freely and opened Fang Zhiwo's hand.

"I just can't forgive him! Why didn't he train me when we were in Shennongjia?! You heard his reasonable explanation, but you don't speak for me!"

She stood up unsteadily, her expression agitated.

"Oh no? Why did that punch seal my martial arts prowess? It even sealed my internal energy!"

Wu Fengxian stared at Gu Chuanhen in astonishment and surprise. She had never expected that Gu Chuanhen would become such a One-Punch Man before he even went bald (in fact, he had already gone bald once).

"Why can't I represent you? You, me, her, all three of us are part of the same whole, the common entity of the King of Men and the Eight Extremes. We are one, you are me and I am you..." Fang Zhi hadn't finished speaking.

Wu Fengxian started cursing.

"Hey! You really like Gu Chuanhen that much? You can even forgive him for only practicing the other two martial arts styles and not you? What a scoundrel!"

Her insults weren't particularly vulgar, but the way she insulted them was as if she were arguing with herself after catching her boyfriend cheating on her (or even having sex with two women).

It's as if an angel is telling her to break up with her boyfriend, saying that there's only zero times or countless times when someone cheats. Another devil is advising her that any man who's still breathing is a scumbag, telling her to let go and accept this reality, and then telling her to just make do, what else can she do but get a divorce, and so on.

Then the angels began exorcising the demons, and the devils also began to try to defile the angels and cause them to fall from grace.

Of course, the above is just a metaphor. They are similar in essence, but they cannot be generalized in practice.

I only realized I was angry when I heard Wu Fengxian start cursing.

"You damn bastard!" she cursed, "I'll throw this damn thing at you—"

She was about to hurl even more vulgar insults, but Gu Chuanhen patted her on the shoulder instead.

"Stop cursing. You two are just insulting yourselves. It's pointless," Gu Chuanhen advised, as if he were advising two sisters who were cursing each other.

"When did it become your place, an outsider, to interfere in our affairs? You've only trained me for a few months at most, right? How close are we really?"

Wu Fengxian looked at Gu Chuanhen with dissatisfaction. Even though Gu Chuanhen had sealed her martial arts with his magic, she was still arrogant and fearless.

Upon hearing Wu Fengxian's words, Quan Yi silently retreated and walked away. He didn't intend to continue watching. After all, what he had originally thought was a martial arts contest that he could record and analyze had suddenly turned into an emotional entanglement, which was no longer worth observing. Or rather, he dared not observe, lest he be caught in the crossfire.

"Humans really do need guidance," Quan Yi murmured.

His flexible approach left the scene to the three parties involved.

After being called an "outsider" and having an "unfamiliar relationship," Gu Chuanhen fell silent.

Wu Fengxian and Fang Zhiye also clearly sensed Gu Chuanhen's silence.

After a moment, Gu Chuanhen scratched the back of his head and asked with a forced smile.

"So... I was just naively thinking we were close?"

Gu Chuanhen was not injured, but there were indeed some things blocking his mind and making him feel tangled.

Admittedly, Bajiquan's favorability towards him skyrocketed like a machine, which is also a manifestation of the beginner's welfare level. However, the Bajiquan of that time was not the Wu Fengxian of today. The Bajiquan of that time was a whole, while the current Wu Fengxian is only one-third of it.

His feelings for Fang Zhiwo only deepened when he was facing Bajiquan's Superego. This means that the part of his feelings that deepened was another third.

The two thirds he faced each focused on different aspects of the ancient legends and their respective areas of resentment.

One person's perception of another is actually a sum total, which includes strengths, weaknesses, and a wide variety of other aspects.

If Fang Zhiwo's understanding of Gu Chuanhen is based on his strengths, then Wu Fengxian's insistence on certain aspects of his understanding are the mistakes Gu Chuanhen made.

Strengths and weaknesses are not contradictory, because they are both part of the whole.

Therefore, in such situations, couples often bring up old grievances when they argue. The old grievances themselves may not be a big deal, but they will always be a thorn that cannot be removed. You can only ignore them, or try to remove them when you think of them again.

When it comes to bringing up old grievances, even the closest relationships can end up with saying things that will hurt the other person's feelings.

Perhaps it's because they know it's a close relationship that they can say such hurtful things without restraint? Perhaps it's because they know it's a close relationship that they dare to say such hurtful things so naturally?

Therefore, it is precisely because of the close relationship that some things cannot be said. Of course, even if the relationship is not close, there are still some things that cannot be said.

Gu Chuanhen was too young to understand what was going on with this behavior, let alone why it would happen.

All he knew was that he was actually a little sad.

This sadness wasn't enough to make him drop the little pearl, nor did it break his defenses, but it was indeed like a thorn.

Gu Chuanhen squatted on the ground, drawing circles, without saying a word.

I have no idea what he's thinking.

The sixteen-year-old boy experienced what could be described as his first emotional blow.

"That's not what she meant." Fang Zhi said, trying to exonerate Wu Fengxian.

Wu Fengxian sighed deeply and turned the focus of the conversation back to the problem.

"I'm sorry, I was being too harsh just now, but I just can't accept it. How can you practice a different style of martial arts instead of me? I can't accept that."

"You're practicing other styles of martial arts to become the best in the world. Only practicing Bajiquan will only lead to a narrow perspective. Don't you understand this principle?"

"Why should I understand these principles? Just practice Bajiquan and become invincible. This is honing a single skill to perfection, so how can it not be considered the pinnacle?"

"But you can't just watch Chuanhen rely solely on Bajiquan, can you? A single supreme skill has its limitations; you can't stop him from becoming a hexagonal master."

"A jack of all trades, master of none. How many true all-rounders are there in this world? If someone is strong enough to defeat an all-rounder, then how can they not be considered an all-rounder?"

···

The superego and ego are out of harmony, each sticking to their own opinions and arguing. It's like they're practicing martial arts, but instead of fighting, they're just exchanging words, and neither of them can defeat the other with their words.

In reality, this kind of verbal sparring can only be applied to characters who are not firm in their convictions, unless it is a conceptual verbal sparring skill.

In Bajiquan, the superego and ego are not, by any measure, characters that would waver.

The verbal refutation between them continued, and it seemed to be gradually escalating into a pointless argument.

But a single voice stopped the two "me"s from continuing.

"Enough, stop arguing. I've figured it out." Gu Chuanhen ended his self-healing session of squatting on the ground and drawing circles.

It seems he has thought a lot about it, thought it through thoroughly, and even figured out some things.

When facing Fang Zhi, all you need to do is communicate and resolve the issues.

However, when dealing with Wu Fengxian, one cannot rely solely on communication; one must speak with facts.

"When I was practicing those two boxing styles, I wasn't thinking about becoming a master," he explained his thoughts at the time.

Then, I asked curiously, "Then why are you still practicing?"

Gu Chuanhen smiled and answered sincerely.

"That's because I found myself liking that feeling. I purely like that feeling and enjoy it."

I enjoy the feeling of enriching myself through martial arts, and I relish the sense of growing stronger through that enrichment. This feeling is more immediate and effective than simply studying.

Admittedly, I suffered a lot while learning martial arts, but that suffering could not overshadow my love for it.

The ancient legend says he was too benevolent. This is neither derogatory nor complimentary; it's simply stating a fact.

In a short period of time, he transformed his personal love for martial arts into a profound love for the Way of the Martial Arts. Although he didn't yet understand that this was a form of universal love, he believed his intuition was correct.

This great love for martial arts can be divided equally into smaller loves, so that it can be applied to every martial art one learns in the future.

He's like that character played by Roger Kwok in a mahjong movie, all lovey-dovey with the mahjong tiles.

"Scumbag!" This has no negative or positive connotation; it's just a joke and a sarcastic remark.

Now, the scumbag Gu Chuanhen is about to launch another installment of his theory of universal love.

"Many people, regardless of their mental state, will experience some confusion when practicing or doing anything that requires a long period of time. The difference lies in whether this confusion comes quickly or slowly, and whether they overcome it quickly or slowly."

This sense of confusion stems from the inability to see progress.

If you can't see progress, it means you're not getting positive feedback.

But I can personally experience it.

The fulfillment I feel from practicing martial arts is like a progress bar that I can clearly see slowly moving forward, and this positive feedback is what I like.

After Gu Chuanhen finished speaking, she looked at Wu Fengxian. She knew Wu Fengxian would want to say something.

"So at that time, you weren't satisfied with just practicing with us anymore?" Wu Fengxian asked. She gradually calmed down.

"That's part of the reason, but another part is my fault, which is indeed a mistake I can't escape."

The mistake was that I knew that because I had already mastered Bajiquan, which meant I had already transformed you into human form, I thought I could continue practicing it later. Yes, your affection for me skyrocketed too quickly, and my inherent flaws started to surface.

The surge in favorability isn't your fault, it's mine.

Because if you know it's too easy to get, you won't cherish it as much.

At that time, I thought that the Great Sage's Cleave would be just as much of a fan of yours, and that it would allow me to see higher views faster.

The same goes for the "Fan Tian Tong Bei" (a type of traditional Chinese back-reading exercise). I want to master it quickly so that I can see higher views sooner.

However, it's clear that Da Sheng Pi Gua isn't the type to be very fond of me, and from this I understand that Fan Tian Tong Bei isn't necessarily that type either.

Because of my assumptions, I made a mistake: if you want to see a better view, you can't rush things; you have to take it one step at a time. Taking too big a step can easily lead to disaster.

So how could I forget about Bajiquan in order to speed things up? That was my mistake, and there's nothing wrong with that.

It was only when Gu Chuanhen finished speaking that I realized Wu Fengxian and I had understood his thoughts.

"So, you really have started to love martial arts." Fang Zhiwo smiled slightly. "I can see that at the beginning, you only saw Wudang as a shortcut."

The shortcut was called "Welfare." But after embarking on this shortcut, Gu Chuanhen realized that it was actually a long way to go.

So what if it's a long way? The significance of taking a detour isn't in shortening the journey, but in appreciating more of the scenery along the way. This added scenery is a shortcut that extends and broadens one's life.

"But you only know you were wrong." Although Wu Fengxian knew Gu Chuanhen's thoughts, she still couldn't forgive him so easily.

The power of communication has solved most of the problems.

"I know you can't forgive me easily, but I know how to make you forgive me," Gu Chuanhen said.

He displayed his Heaven-Reaching Fist Technique.

"This is a fist technique based on your Bajiquan, combined with the Great Sage's Pi Gua and the Heaven-Turning Tongbei." As he spoke, he made a feint in mid-air, demonstrating the Heaven-Turning Fist.

"If I cannot learn from the strengths of others, I cannot create this Tongtian Fist technique with you as its core."

As Gu Chuanhen said this, Gu Jieyi fell freely and landed in front of Wu Fengxian, calling out sweetly.

"Mom!"

Wu Fengxian, who had begun to connect with Fang Zhi, softened her expression. She knew that Gu Jieyi was everyone's common daughter.

She touched Gu Jieyi's hair, smiled and nodded, then glanced at Gu Chuanhen.

"Continue." Wu Fengxian didn't realize that her tone had become somewhat satisfied.

"If I cannot embrace all rivers, I will not have been able to receive help from Bajiquan, Dasheng Piguazhang, and our shared daughter, and together we will not have been able to create the theory of Gongti Daoti, let alone the 'Yuanshi Jinzhang' and the Yuqing Daoti."

Moreover, if I cannot gather wisdom from all sides, I cannot use your Bajiquan as the general principle and other boxing styles as the foundation, and I will not be able to develop the other two Sanqing martial arts.

"If I cannot develop the martial arts of the Three Pure Ones, then I cannot make Bajiquan the guiding principle and a token of love for you two."

Then Gu Chuanhen changed his hand shape by making a pinching motion with his left hand and a cupping motion with his right hand, and pinched out a fist imprint.

"If I cannot embrace all styles, then your Bajiquan would not be able to give me such a token of love as the general outline of martial arts called the Yuanshi Jinzhang."

Fang Zhi smiled sweetly, blushing slightly as she looked at the fist marks that Gu Chuanhen had made.

This is the token of love that Fang Zhi gave to Gu Chuanhen. It is also the general outline of the martial arts manual, "Yuanshi Jinzhang".

She was indeed a little shy about being suddenly shown to another version of herself.

The Bajiquan self, who was in perfect harmony with me, touched his slightly flushed cheeks.

Wu Fengxian finally relented.

"For the sake of our token of love, I'll... I'll forgive you for now." She stammered awkwardly, deliberately avoiding looking at Gu Chuanhen.

"Then, please don't say things like 'we're not familiar' anymore, okay?" Gu Chuanhen asked, withdrawing his fist. "Hearing those kinds of words really makes me sad."

As we slowly walked towards each other, I realized that Wu Fengxian and I had answered Gu Chuanhen's question in unison.

"We've already exchanged tokens of love, how could I bear to make you sad?"

The two people returned to one, and the Eight Extremes of the Human King were now one-third complete.

The superego's "normality" and "restraint" were also somewhat diluted.

She boldly and passionately picked up Gu Chuanhen and gave him a warm hug.

"Are you feeling better now?" Fang Zhi asked affectionately.

Gu Chuanhen felt the warmth of the body embracing him, and his face turned slightly red.

He was indeed somewhat overwhelmed by such a passionate embrace stemming from romantic love.

Or rather, such intense, fiery yet gentle emotions are irresistible to young people.

In this wave, tokens of love played a crucial role.