Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

"That night, your father caught you doing something. Something he couldn't let anyone know. He was afraid you'd tell, so he put something in your tea."

"He has been searching for a treasure that will grant him the power and wealth he has always dreamed of."

"And that key is in your brother Ding's hands."

"He won't allow anyone to access this secret, not me, and not you either."

Ling Shuanghua trembled all over.

She remembered that her mother had indeed drunk the tea that her father had brewed that night.

Dad said it was calming tea, and that Mom should drink it to get a good night's sleep.

"Your mother is doing well down there," the voice continued. "There are no evil spirits, no bullying, nothing at all. All those things your father said were just to make you obedient. Shuang'er, you are a good child, you have done enough for your mother. Now, it's time for you to live for yourself."

"Ding Dian is a good boy. I'm at ease knowing you're with him."

The humanoid shape gradually faded, as if it were about to disappear.

"Mother..." Ling Shuanghua reached out her hand, trying to grab something, but she grabbed nothing.

"Shuang'er, go with Ding Dian to a secluded place. Your mother will be at peace knowing you're both safe and sound down below."

As the last word fell, the human figure completely vanished into the evening breeze.

The courtyard was quiet.

Ling Shuanghua knelt on the ground and cried for a long time.

Ding Dian stood behind her, his eyes red-rimmed, but he did not step forward.

He knew that at this moment, she needed someone to cry to.

After a long time, Ling Shuanghua finally raised her head.

She turned her face and looked at Ding Dian.

This time, she did not cover her face with her sleeve.

The scar was glaring in the morning light, but in Dante's eyes there was only tenderness.

"Brother Dian," her voice was hoarse but firm, "take me away."

Ding Dian walked over, squatted down, and took her hand.

"Alright, now that this matter is settled, let's go somewhere where there's no one around."

"Rent a few acres of land and build a yard."

"Treasure, martial arts world—none of that matters to us anymore."

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Sun Fan.

Ding Dian stared at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

"Just how many secrets do you still have, kid?"

Sun Fan smiled too.

"Not much. Enough is enough."

He turned and walked out, but stopped abruptly at the courtyard gate.

"By the way, Brother Ding."

"Um?"

"Now that Miss Ling's inner conflict has been resolved, shouldn't you fulfill your promise to me?"

Ding Dian was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"You little rascal, you're not exactly polite at all."

Sun Fan waved his hand without turning his head: "I learned it from you."

Ding Dian's laughter echoed in the air above Qingxu Temple for a long time.

Three days later, at the Shen family's villa.

Ding Dian sat at the stone table in the courtyard, with a teapot, teacups, and a dish of peanuts in front of him.

Sun Fan and Di Yun stood in front of him, each holding a sword.

"The Divine Illumination Scripture," Ding Dian said calmly, "is an internal cultivation technique."

He picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

"This internal skill is different from other internal skills. Other internal skills cultivate qi, but the Shenzhao Scripture cultivates life force."

Sun Fan's brows twitched slightly.

"Qi is cultivated later in life, while destiny is innate." Ding Dian put down his teacup. "Qi can be replenished after it's gone, but once destiny is gone—you lose everything."

He looked at Sun Fan and Di Yun: "If you practice the Divine Illumination Scripture to a high level, you can bring the dead back to life. It's not an exaggeration, it really can. I've tried it."

Di Yun gasped.

Sun Fan remained calm, because he already knew.

"But bringing the dead back to life isn't about you saving people," Ding Dian's tone suddenly turned serious. "It's about you saving your own lives first."

He stood up and walked to the center of the courtyard.

"I will recite the mantra of the Divine Illumination Scripture once. Try to memorize it carefully. If you can't remember it, I will recite it a second time. But at most three times—if you still can't remember it after three times, it means you have no affinity for this skill, and forcing yourself to practice will be useless."

He began to read.

The formula is short, only a few hundred words. But every word seems to be carved in stone, heavy and carrying an indescribable weight.

Di Yun was sweating profusely as he listened, his lips moving incessantly as if he were desperately trying to memorize every single word.

Sun Fan remained calm.

He closed his eyes and tried to feel what was behind those words—not the literal meaning, but the tone, rhythm, and pauses of Ding Dian when he read them.

Those things are more important than the formula itself.

Read it three times.

Ding Dian looked at the two of them: "Got it?"

Di Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead, stammered as he recited it once, making seven or eight mistakes.

Ding Dian didn't say anything, but corrected it again.

It was Sun Fan's turn.

He spoke, and not a single word was wrong.

Ding Dian raised an eyebrow.

"Have you studied this before?"

"No," Sun Fan shook his head. "But I've learned other things. The first thing my master taught me was to listen attentively, not just with my ears."

Ding Dian looked at him and suddenly sighed.

"Your master is also a formidable figure."

Sun Fan did not respond.

Ding Dian then taught them the methods of accumulating luck.

The method of circulating energy in the Shenzhao Scripture is completely different from ordinary internal energy cultivation. Ordinary internal energy cultivation starts from the dantian, travels through the meridians, and returns to the dantian. The Shenzhao Scripture starts from the heart, travels throughout the body, and returns to the heart.

"Qi is life, and life resides in the heart," Ding Dian said. "If the heart is still, qi will not dissipate. If qi does not dissipate, life will not end."

Di Yun tried to circulate his breath, his face turned red, and he almost passed out.

Sun Fan tried circulating the energy once, and felt his heart skip a beat. A warm current surged from his chest, flowing through his limbs and bones. The current was weak, but pure, like a spring in the deep mountains, crystal clear.

Ding Dian looked at his expression and nodded.

"You have a good foundation and can pick things up quickly. But don't rush into practice—the Divine Illumination Scripture is most averse to impatience. The more impatient you are, the less you will succeed."

"When I was in prison, I was initially anxious to get out and to take revenge. For a very long time, I couldn't even focus on the Divine Illumination Sutra."

"Until I gradually became numb and accepted this failed life, Shenzhaojing actually regained its vitality."

"If it weren't for this, perhaps my Divine Illumination Sutra could have been completed much faster?"

Ding Dian spoke with a sigh.

Sun Fan nodded, keeping Ding Dian's words firmly in mind.

Over the next few days, Ding Dian would guide the two in their training every day.

Di Yun's progress was slow, but he was very diligent. He would get up before dawn every day to practice and wouldn't rest until dark. Sometimes he would practice a single movement hundreds of times and still not get it right.

He would squat in the corner, sulking, but after he calmed down, he would get up and continue practicing.

Sun Fan's progress is much faster.

He has a good foundation; the groundwork he laid over the past twenty years has not been wasted.

Although his internal skills were rudimentary and he had never actively practiced them before, he only practiced swordsmanship.

However, sword practice also requires the coordination of internal energy. After so many years of internal energy practice, one can always become proficient through practice.

They also have an extremely thorough understanding of their own meridians.

He mastered the key points of the Shenzhao Scripture's formula and energy circulation method in three days, could run it smoothly in five days, and after seven days, he could feel the warm energy in his chest slowly growing stronger.

Ding Dian was secretly amazed by his progress.

It took him three months to even begin to grasp the basics of the Divine Illumination Scripture. Sun Fan, on the other hand, only took seven days.

But he didn't praise Sun Fan.

He knew that praising such a genius too much would be counterproductive.

On the tenth day, Ding Dian called Sun Fan to the courtyard alone.

"Your Divine Illumination Scripture has already achieved some initial success," he said bluntly. "Although it's still very weak, the approach is correct. What follows is a gradual process; it can't be rushed."

Sun Fan nodded.

"Now, let me tell you about Ling Tuisi."

Ding Dian's expression turned serious.

"Ling Tuisi's martial arts skills are no less than mine in the past," he said.

However, to be fair, Ding Dian, who had just arrived in Jingzhou City, although he inherited Mei Niansheng's martial arts mantle, had not had time to study it carefully, and his mastery of the Divine Illumination Scripture was still limited.

"I was imprisoned back then not because I couldn't beat him, but because—"

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Because it's despicable."

Sun Fan understood what he meant.