Capítulo 21: Mysteries of the Mind
The training methodology of the Starsoul Illumination art differed completely from normal cultivation or body-refining.
Rather than cutting oneself off from the world, it required one to comprehend the outside world, specifically celestial bodies.
According to the brief remarks present in his memories that were gifted to him by the system, the art was originally derived from a gifted cultivator who happened to be an astrologist in his spare time.
By charting the paths of the stars across the night sky and imprinting them into his mind, the cultivator was able to unleash the power of his inner psyche.
However, it was far too early for Yan Guang to consider such things. Everything had to be taken one step at a time.
So, he sat down and stared at the stars in the night sky. Rather, it would be more accurate to say he stared at one specific star.
Concentration was the key to beginning mind-refining.
It was the gateway to achieving powers beyond one's dreams.
To concentrate on one point, disregarding all else, was a task deemed unattainable by many.
Human beings were gifted and burdened with perspective. No animal would ever put tomorrow's needs over today's, except man.
Man was able to think across space and time, imagination and reality, existent and nonexistent.
This perspective was a curse to many. Possessing knowledge that extended beyond the present moment, how could they ever feel truly immersed in it?
This was the challenge presented to Yan Guang.
Apart from extreme circumstances, Yan Guang recognized that he was quite scatterbrained.
His thoughts would jump from topic to topic and stimuli to stimuli, never quite staying still.
Hence, that was his first task, to stop thinking.
Without cutting off his senses or being in a fight-or-flight situation, this proved to be more difficult than imagined.
It was akin to building a palace out of cards in the mind.
A single stray gust of wind or slight misplacement and everything would come crashing down.
One impulse or one thought was all it took to dissipate all of his concentration.
All that was left was him, and the bright white dot at the center of his vision.
After he managed to still his mind, there was still the task of observing the star.
What did it mean to observe? Was he to analyze it? If so, in what way?
Such questions sent ripples of thought across his mind, threatening to ruin his focus.
_No thinking. No analyzing. Only observing_
That was the final thought that rang out in his mind, silencing all others.
An hour passed.
Yan Guang sat fully still with the veins in his eyes inflamed and reddened. All the staring made him look like he had gone crazy.
Nothing had changed at all. The star was still a star, and he was still... he.
Thoughts of the futility of all this began to surface but were quickly quelled.
His observation continued.
Drowsiness began to take control. Yan Guang's eyelids drooped, threatening to shut him off from observing the star any further.
Yet, he stayed awake, barely.
Yan Guang had fallen into a state that could only be described as between the waking and sleeping worlds.
It was a strange intersection indeed.
Strange shadowy figures seemed to hover at the very edge of his vision, testing his dedication.
The side effects of sleep deprivation were beginning to appear
Yan Guang's sense of self slowly disappeared.
Only when one was awake could they tell oneself apart from the world.
Sleep meant a temporary pause of the stream of consciousness, a lack of an ego.
By partially sleeping, Yan Guang achieved the same effect. He could no longer tell what he was staring at, or whether it was part of him or the outside world.
In a sense, he thought he was the star. It was all he could remember in his short-term memory, that tiny dot.
_I am the star._
A thought managed to slip past all the restrictions into his mind, and Yan Guang was finally able to see it.
Somehow, he just knew, that inside of his brain, there was a mysterious thing that they called the soul.
He could see it, despite common sense dictating that his eyes obviously couldn't look inside his own head.
In fact, it wasn't just the soul he could see. He could 'see' many parts of his own body.
This was different from the typical proprioception each person possessed, it was as if he could truly analyze each part of his body.
Focusing on the soul, Yan Guang noticed that it took the form of a small clump of gas. Upon seeing it, Yan Guang knew he had finally reached the first stage of the Starsoul Illumination Art, the Stellar Nebula stage.
The preliminary step to begin mind-refining was to successfully discover one's own soul, as Yan Guang had just done. Only after one was aware of the existence of the enigmatic soul could they begin to strengthen the mind.
There were many ways to accomplish this, but the simplest way was to concentrate on any object one aligned with.
Yan Guang went with the technique's recommended object of a star.
The more detailed the object was, the harder it was to concentrate on it and achieve the effect of forgetting the ego. Hence, an object that appeared simple on the surface such as a star was the perfect thing to deliberate upon.
After finding their soul and becoming a beginner in mind-refining, the refiner would find that their soul had taken on some of the properties of the object they focused on.
The reason the star was thought to be so optimal was because of its low difficulty and infinite potential. A soul was only limited by the form it took, so by imitating something as powerful as a star, practitioners of the Starsoul Illumination Art had a high upper ceiling of power.
All of this corresponded to the 'Starsoul' part of the technique. The 'Illumination' part was still out of Yan Guang's reach for now.
For now, Yan Guang's soul had not yet reached the level of a star. Being at the stellar nebula stage meant that he was still waiting, waiting for his soul to accumulate enough strength before it could truly metamorphosize into a star.
Yan Guang knew that there was still a long path in front of him before he would be able to reach the star stage.
All he was concerned about now was getting some sleep and waking up in time tomorrow morning.
Crawling over to the bed was quite a struggle. Though he was awake, his legs had decided to go to sleep before he did, inconveniencing him quite a bit. Eventually, he managed to get on.
The mattress was comfier than he had imagined. It almost felt like sleeping on a modern bed.
Yan Guang sunk into his covers, finally getting the sleep he deserved.
Night quickly turned to day, and the sun rose to fulfill its duty of bringing light, as it had done every day before.
Despite it being early morning, many were already awake.
Two such people were about to meet in a building at the very center of the complex, inside a small room that served as an office.
"Headmaster, I'm here to report.", said a voice from behind a door.
"Come in", replied the headmaster, an old man who seemed to be nothing but skin and bones.
The door opened accompanied by a creaky noise as Ji Bei, a White Tiger elder walked into the room. He quickly sat across from the headmaster and began to report, "I believe I've found someone who will interest you. He's a student from yesterday's examinations."
The headmaster seemed slightly intrigued, but responded slightly unenthusiastically, "If it's just about some random kid, deal with it yourself. Don't wake me up early for this."
"You'll get why I'm here once I start explaining, headmaster.", Ji Bei explained
"Hurry up and tell me then, Ji Bei! I don't remember teaching you to be so slow and longwinded.", scolded the headmaster.
"This boy, Yan Guang, has a martial physique, I'm 90% sure! He could be the savior of our school!", Ji Bei excitedly proclaimed.
The headmaster's eyes seemed to light up for a moment before quickly returning to calmness. "If what you're saying is true, this is indeed excellent news."
The headmaster paused to think before continuing, "I'll have one of my grand-disciples teach him, then. Shift him to section 1A."
"Is that all, headmaster? Shouldn't we interfere, provide him with some kind of accelerant for his training? We need him to become a martial master as soon as possible!", Ji Bei argued.
"No. Despite his physique or his background, he's still a student of ours. It isn't our school's way to rush a student's training for our own benefit.", the director stated, staring sternly at Ji Bei.
"Martial master is not the end of martial arts, Ji Bei. You're missing the forest for the trees. If only you weren't so shortsighted, perhaps you might've been one by now.", said the headmaster.
Ji Bei's head tilted down in shame as he apologized "I'm sorry, master. Disciple was too hasty and didn't see the bigger picture."
"Good. Now, go! I have to take my morning nap.", the headmaster shouted.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Thedumbdaoist
Thedumbdaoist Apologies to all readers, but this book will be on hiatus for some time due to me having exams. I promise to be back and releasing daily afterward!
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