The Way of Restraint

This person was very ordinary.

The first time Su Jie saw the young man named Wen Ting, he only felt that he was exceptionally plain—unremarkable anywhere he went. In a crowd, one would never even notice his existence, as ordinary as dust.

But on the second look, he felt this person was not simple.

It was like a pearl hidden among fish eyes—on the surface it looked very similar to the fish eyes, but in its core depths, there was a luster.

And on the third look, he abruptly sensed, by intuition, that this person was extremely formidable—like a deep abyss, pitch-black and fathomless, one could never see what lay within. It was as if when you gazed into the abyss, countless terrifying beings from its depths were also gazing back at you.

This Wen Ting’s presence was unfathomably deep.

Su Jie did not judge people by their physical form—he looked at their presence, their spirit and intent, their foundation, their core.

For example, when he looked at Yang Shu, his inner core was like a sovereign’s sword—external virtue and internal law interpenetrating each other. Supported by yin and yang, he had honed his psychological quality and character to be upright, sharp, firm, and righteous, walking the path of the sword to sever all worldly vexations.

As for Feng Hengyi, he was a pure beast—or a demon—not human, and he did not regard anyone else as human either. Cold and emotionless, just as Liu Guan had described: seeing all beings as lambs, and himself as a god.

Whenever one’s psychological quality was trained to an extremely high degree, their inner core would exhibit some characteristic. This characteristic represented their thinking pattern—the formation of their worldview, philosophy of life, and values—and they would hold fast to it unwaveringly. This was also what Confucianism called the “sage-hearted way.”

Su Jie had seen all kinds of formidable figures. Setting aside Yang Shu and Feng Hengyi, there was Liu Guanglie, who seemed like an immortal descended to the mortal world. Zhang Nianquan seemed like a living Buddha or Bodhisattva playing in the human realm. Zhang Hongqing seemed like some kind of overlord, combining good and evil, sole and supreme. Then there was that mysterious young man in the dragon mask who had inexplicably attacked him and nearly killed him—he truly seemed like a divine dragon, revealing its head but never its tail. As for Takeshi Omoto, Su Jie saw in him the shadow of the ancient Japanese warrior. His core was the Japanese bushido spirit, while on the surface he embodied Chinese Confucian thought. If one were to use a metaphor, this person could be likened to a mountain.

Additionally, Odell and his father Su Shilin were also absolute powerhouses. But from Odell, Su Jie seemed to see the shadow of Kua Fu from ancient mythology—endlessly chasing the sun. Odell was pursuing the supernatural power he envisioned.

As for Su Shilin, Su Jie could not tell what he was. Perhaps he was like a precious mirror that had tarnished, gathered dust, become stained—deliberately covered with the dust of history. Yet once re-polished, it would shine brilliantly. Or perhaps he was deliberately settling, like an antique artifact that became more valuable with age.

Su Jie could not gauge the relative levels of Odell and Su Shilin. Whether supernatural power truly existed in the world was also a question Su Jie now found puzzling.

Because the more he was exposed to science, the less he knew what the future might bring.

Just as the person who invented the steam engine thought they were changing the way humans lived, but they had no idea that in the future, humans would be able to fly into outer space.

Perhaps in thirty, fifty, or a hundred years, with rapid technological advances and great breakthroughs in life science genetic engineering, supernatural powers might indeed emerge in the human body.

As long as he did not meet an untimely death, Su Jie believed he could now live to one hundred and twenty—certainly no shorter than Zhang Nianquan. That meant he could still experience a hundred years of life, spanning a full century, crossing from the 21st century into the 22nd.

Su Jie was actually very curious about what the world would look like in the 22nd century. It was now 2018—time was heavy, and years passed in a flash.

Su Jie knew he was still young, yet time passed second by second. While he felt a great urgency, he also remained calm.

Walking through this world, he moved with composure and ease.

After looking three times, Su Jie had truly seen—with his keen perception and Living Dead cultivation—that Wen Ting was an abyss, unfathomably deep. But whether beneath the abyss lay beautiful mountains and clear waters, singing birds and fragrant flowers, or towering waves and jagged rocks, Su Jie could not know.

He and Liu Shi got out of the car. Wen Ting did not rush forward to greet them first—because within Hedao Group, his status was actually quite low, far below many of the big shots. His standing came only from his outstanding work and from being Liu Shi’s prospective son-in-law.

Hedao Group’s equity structure was very complex, including foreign capital, with many shareholders—historical baggage from rounds of financing.

Though Liu Shi’s position in this giant conglomerate was akin to an emperor, he faced many constraints as well.

At the head of the group was the CEO, Lin Qingzhi, about ten years younger than Liu Shi. He was the current “prime minister” of the entire company, wielding great power. He was also a business prodigy who had followed Liu Shi from early on, a founding elder of the company who held shares, now worth tens of billions.

Within Hedao Group, he commanded a “mountain” faction with many loyal followers.

Even Liu Shi could not easily remove him.

Then there were the various vice presidents of Hedao Group—like the various ministers of an ancient court, all waiting for the emperor Liu Shi to step down.

Su Jie had only ever seen these people in news media before. Each one was a business big-shot—even the least among them was worth billions, and a single sneeze from them could shake entire industries.

These people came to greet Liu Shi. Seeing Su Jie also get out of the car, they were slightly surprised but said nothing.

“This is my personal bodyguard. Don’t let his youth fool you—his skills are extraordinary. Incidentally, he’s also been responsible for Larry’s security,” Liu Shi said, introducing Su Jie.

Su Jie knew Liu Shi was establishing some status for him.

Indeed, when Liu Shi said this, many of the executives present initially wore expressions of dismissal, each privately thinking that Liu Shi had once again fallen for some mystical guru’s tricks.

But when they heard that Su Jie had also been responsible for Larry’s security, even Lin Qingzhi grew serious and began to take Su Jie seriously.

As the saying goes: a man’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow. Larry’s standing in the global business world surpassed everyone present, including Liu Shi—a true high-tech tycoon. If Su Jie could handle his security, he certainly possessed extraordinary skills.

As Liu Shi spoke, Su Jie covertly observed Wen Ting’s reaction. He found that Wen Ting’s expression did not change at all, showing no fluctuation. He still wore that harmless, unassuming look, while deep in his core presence he remained as immeasurable as an abyss.

Su Jie felt a chill of caution—he knew this man would not be easy to deal with.

Putting aside Wen Ting’s presence, his physical fitness was also extremely formidable. Ordinary people could not tell, but Su Jie could see that his muscles were hidden beneath the skin and membrane. On the outside, he was soft as cotton, seeming fragile, but on the inside, he was hard as iron and stone, difficult to damage.

Looking through the surface of his skin into his bone marrow, Su Jie found that his physical constitution was no less than Feng Hengyi’s.

His mental state was not the Living Dead realm, but followed a path similar to Feng Hengyi’s—though with subtle differences. Yet this state of mind was also extremely powerful, in no way inferior to the Living Dead.

Su Jie had originally believed that spiritual cultivation must follow the path of “stability, stillness, tranquility, severance, clarity, enlightenment, emptiness.” But after hearing Liu Guan’s theory and learning about the cultivation methods of Master Blackwater from Blackwater Training Camp, he realized that the Western path was a different system altogether, with a fundamentally different worldview.

The reason for this misconception came from Odell.

Odell was a typical Westerner, but his approach to enlightenment and spiritual cultivation was entirely based on the Eastern theory of unity between heaven and man. He had even taught Su Jie to study the I Ching.

Su Jie now realized that Wen Ting was also a valuable research subject for him.

This reminded him of Zhang Hongqing. That man’s spiritual state was likely a combination of Eastern and Western thinking, producing that blend of unity-between-heaven-and-man with a domineering, overbearing quality.

The group walked into the Hedao Group building and reached the large office at the top. Liu Shi invited everyone to sit. Su Jie stood behind him.

“You should sit too,” Liu Shi said. “We’re back in China, in my headquarters building. What happened in Japan definitely won’t happen here.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Su Jie said. “There’s a master here. If someone were to assassinate you, sitting here, I wouldn’t have time to react.”

“Here? Which master?” Hearing Su Jie say this, the executives present exchanged glances, completely unable to understand what he was talking about.

Liu Shi was also startled at first, but then he understood—Su Jie was referring to Wen Ting.

*I’ve never noticed that Wen Ting knows martial arts. Su Jie is warning me.* Liu Shi began to scheme inwardly. *It seems I chose the right person in Su Jie. With his help, I can get many things moving.*

He glanced at Wen Ting and saw him organizing documents, looking as if he had heard nothing, focusing only on his own work and ignoring all other voices in the group. In any boss’s eyes, this was the model subordinate.

*If he had no ulterior motives, he really would be a good successor,* Liu Shi thought again. *Su Jie isn’t suitable—first, he has no interest in business; second, he’s impossible to control; he’s not even polite to me, and I can’t do anything about it. Also, my status and position don’t command his respect—in fact, he feels superior to me.*

Liu Shi had already noticed this in many small details.

He was a billionaire with extremely high social status. Ordinary people could hardly meet him—they only saw him speak on television news. When he interacted with ninety-nine percent of people, they would be intimidated by his presence.

But Su Jie felt superior in front of him. This was not the arrogance of youth—it was a difference rooted in the very essence of life.

A large cat looking at a mouse naturally feels superior. Even if that mouse is the king of rats, it doesn’t matter—it’s a matter of species advantage.

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