Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Chapter 184.2: The Beginning of Martial Dao! Eight Principle Seeds; the Shock of the True Inheritor Hall Master! (II)

Before long, sparks of insight were flickering through Lu Changsheng's mind, each thought bolder than the last.

In truth, the Martial Dao was a path that tempered the self until one could stand against heaven and earth. But no matter how far it was pushed, the human body was ultimately fragile and far weaker than that of demons. How, then, could it truly contend with the world?

That was why martial artists needed to materialize the Mind Space and cultivate Principles. By using Principles to enrich themselves and support the Mind Space, the Mind Space could gradually evolve into a true world. Only then would the martial artist possess the foundation to stand against heaven and earth.

Lu Changsheng's eyes gradually lit up. Although none of the text spoke of the idea of evolving a true world, he could not shake off the feeling that this was the right way forward. Otherwise, how could a martial artist possibly ever stand against the immortal cultivators that drew power directly from heaven and earth?

If I really want to evolve a true heaven and earth... one Principle won't be enough. Take the Principle of Time and Space, for example. Those are the most fundamental, but they're out of reach. No one can truly comprehend them. Most Dao Foundation experts don't even try. They rely on the Domains they've already formed and slowly derive their Principles from there. That's the realistic approach.

If that's the case, my Principles will have to come from my own Domain as well. And I can't have too few or too many. It has to be just right. If the Martial Dao is really about evolving heaven and earth... then what Principles would actually make that possible?

Lu Changsheng fell into deep thought. The Principles of Time and Space were out of the question, so there was no point in dwelling on them. Letting that line of thinking go, he shifted his focus elsewhere.

He recalled the many theories about the nature of the world from his previous life. Among them, the concept of the Five Elements stood out the most. In countless Daoist teachings, all things in heaven and earth were said to arise from these five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. As it happened, he had already comprehended the Five Elements Domain, so if he followed this path, deriving the Principles would undoubtedly be far easier.

Some theories spoke instead of four fundamental elements, land, fire, water, and wind, as the basis of all things. Though different from the Five Elements, the two systems shared clear overlaps.

No matter how the world was explained, certain forces always remained at the core. Water and fire, in particular, appeared time and again, as if they were indispensable to the very structure of heaven and earth. There may have been other interpretations, but in the end, most followed the same underlying pattern.

So, if I have the Principles of Land, Fire, Water, and Wind, along with the Five Element Principles of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, can I evolve a world myself[1]? Or at least, stabilize one?

Although Lu Changsheng did not know how to evolve heaven and earth, starting from the fundamentals should not be wrong.

The Principles of Water and Fire overlap, so I only need seven!

A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes. During his time in the Transmission Hall, Lu Changsheng had read extensively about how Dao Foundation experts cultivated their Principles: most settled on two or three, and that was the mainstream path.

Ultimately, there was a limit to what a martial artist could grasp. Too many Principles would scatter the martial artist's focus, making it difficult to grasp any of them deeply. On the other hand, too few would make it exceedingly hard to condense a Divine Ability. Thus, two or three struck the best balance.

As for those who cultivated more than five, you could probably count them on your fingers. Seven or more was almost unheard of.

Lu Changsheng had gone through countless texts without reading about a single Dao Foundation expert who chose such a path. However, if he could somehow comprehend seven Principles, then condensing a Divine Ability might become far easier.

With my level of Perception, grasping seven Principles shouldn't be too hard, right?

Lu Changsheng knew exactly where his greatest advantage lay: in his extraordinary Perception. It had always set him apart from other martial artists. Still, those who managed to step into the Dao Foundation Realm were no ordinary figures either. Certainly no one who had managed to forge their Dao Foundation possessed a weak Perception.

Seven Principles... It's not just about raising the chances of forming a Divine Ability. It might even have something to do with evolving heaven and earth. But land, fire, water, wind... even the Five Elements I just thought of—that's all just the physical structure of the world. Then what about life? What actually makes life... life? What's it built from? And what separates life from all these physical structures?

A spark of inspiration flashed through Lu Changsheng's mind, and a new line of thought gradually took shape.

Mental strength!

That had to be the key. The most fundamental difference between life and those lifeless structures, like stone, lay in mental strength. It was mental strength that gave rise to consciousness, and only with that could something truly be considered alive.

Life itself was an essential part of heaven and earth. Without it, any so-called world would be nothing more than a stagnant expanse—silent, empty, and incomplete.

Then do I also need to comprehend the Mental Principle?

As it happened, he was already nurturing the Golden Heart Sword within his Mind Space, and that sword embodied mental power. If he wanted to comprehend the Mental Principle, it would naturally become his greatest support.

In that case, I'll need the original seven and the Mental Principle.

Lu Changsheng made up his mind. To comprehend a Principle, he first had to imprint a Principle Seed. Without a corresponding Domain already present in the Mind Space, that seed could not be formed. In other words, the number of Domains a Divine Treasury martial artist had mastered would directly shape their path in the Dao Foundation Realm.

The Martial Dao had never been a path of isolated breakthroughs. It was built on accumulation and continuity, where every stage was closely tied to the one before it. In the end, everything came down to the strength of the martial artist's foundation.

For example, in the rare case where a Divine Treasury martial artist only possessed a single Perfect Domain yet relied on peculiar items to forcibly expand their Mind Space, then in theory, they could still push it to a hundred li and attempt a breakthrough to the Dao Foundation Realm.

However, once such an individual stepped into the Dao Foundation Realm, their path would already be set in stone. With only a single Domain, they could comprehend only one Principle. At that point, there would be no room left for further choice. Their Dao Foundation path would, in essence, have reached its limit.

Everything had its own trade-offs, and that was especially the case for cultivation. There were no true shortcuts. Every step required a solid foundation, and the stronger the foundation, the more options would be available in the future, and thus the broader the path of the Martial Dao would become. In that case, the martial artist could indeed climb higher.

In Lu Changsheng's case, he had comprehended enough Domains, so even if he wanted to comprehend the eight Principles, he could still find the corresponding Domains within his Mind Space. At the very least, imprinting the Principle Seeds would not be an issue because he had the qualifications.

Most Dao Foundation experts did not possess as many Domains as Lu Changsheng, so for them, cultivating eight Principles was simply impossible. After all, each additional Principle was like a whole new level of power; it did not merely increase the chances of condensing a Divine Ability, but also granted the power from that Principle itself.

In terms of strength, the more Principles the martial artist grasped, the greater the benefits—but everything hinged on the condition that every Principles had to be fully comprehended. Very few Dao Foundation martial artists would actually dare to aim for eight Principles from the outset. Once the seeds were imprinted, there was no turning back.

So, unless Lu Changsheng actually comprehended all eight Principles, condensing a Divine Ability would be impossible. If he went forward with this, he would essentially make things harder for himself.

And yet, he considered that difficulty necessary. Without it, he would never be able to go far beyond the Dao Foundation Realm.

Anyway, I should head back for now.

Having made up his mind, Lu Changsheng returned to his cave residence. The path ahead was clear: he would cultivate eight Principles. All that remained now was to begin.

Alright, I'll imprint the Principle Seeds first.

1. The raw draws on two systems (地 | dì) from the Four Classical Elements and (土 | tǔ) from the Five Elements. Both are often translated as earth in English, but they are actually different in the Chinese characters and represent separate Principles in this novel. To preserve that distinction, we will render 地 as land and 土 as earth to be consistent with our earlier usage. ☜