To Qiu Yun's surprise, at the beginning, Di Gong didn't teach him any profound knowledge but simply taught him to read and write.
He would get up early to go for a run, come back for breakfast, and then study Chinese, mathematics, history, and geography. Di Gong said, "Buddhism says, 'There is nothing outside the mind' (a Buddhist concept emphasizing the primacy of the mind), which is just empty talk. In fact, 'There is no mind outside the material world' (contrasting with the Buddhist concept, emphasizing the influence of the material world on the mind). If you don't understand astronomy, geography, and the ways of the world, you won't understand human psychology!"
Di Gong only gave him an introduction to each subject. Qiu Yun had to learn by himself from books. Having endured hardships, Qiu Yun was extremely diligent in his studies. He absorbed knowledge like a sponge.
The enlightenment education went on for five long years. Maybe due to his frail childhood, his body soaked up nutrients like a parched sponge. Coupled with daily exercise and a strict schedule, Qiu Yun had grown tall and strong by the age of fourteen.
That year, Di Gong hung a calendar on the wall and asked Qiu Yun to punch it a thousand times every day. This training was both arduous and boring, but Qiu Yun persevered.
As one page of the calendar was torn off each day, it became thinner. After a year, when all the pages had been torn off, Qiu Yun could even punch the concrete wall with his bare fists, making the wall shake violently.
Brute force can overcome all skills (meaning that great strength can overcome various skills). On this basis, Di Gong taught him some self - defense techniques, only ten in total. He asked Qiu Yun to memorize every move so that he could defend himself and survive in critical situations.
Di Gong's condition was getting worse. His right eye bulged higher and higher. Qiu Yun advised him to go to the hospital, but he firmly refused, saying that life and death were determined by fate.
The two had an argument about this. When Qiu Yun woke up the next day, he found that he was blind. He panicked and shouted, knocking down all the things in his bedroom.
"Don't be afraid!" Di Gong's voice came. "I drugged you when you fell asleep last night. You're blind now, but it's only temporary."
"Why did you do this?"
"To train your senses. People rely too much on their eyes to obtain information, so their ears, noses, and tongues gradually lose their functions. Now, I'm making you unable to see to enhance your other senses!"
Qiu Yun was already used to such strange training. He said with a bitter smile, "How am I gonna read books every day then?"
"I'll teach you Braille! By the way, from today on, we'll learn the Mind - Control Technique!"
Di Gong began to teach Qiu Yun the moves of the Mind - Control Technique. The Mind - Control Technique is divided into several parts: [b]Silent Observation[/b], [b]Color Inspection[/b], [b]Verbal Enticement[/b], and [b]Mental Symbols[/b].
Silent Observation is similar to reasoning. One can judge a person's occupation, family background, experiences, etc. through minor details and nuances. Those well - versed in this art can, upon first meeting someone and taking a few glances, accurately describe most of a person's situation.
Color Inspection involves observing subtle nuances in a person's facial expressions to judge their character, emotions, concerns, and preferences. Only by understanding people can one practice Mind Control.
[b]Verbal Enticement[/b] is about using just a few words to sway a person's heart, influence their judgment, and interfere with their thoughts. Di Gong said that a person's heart is like a mountain rock, formed by the accumulation of numerous experiences. However, even a mountain rock has cracks. Moreover, by finding that crack, it's possible to drive someone crazy or even decide their life or death with just one sentence.
The [b]Verbal Enticement[/b] technique is extremely profound, with thirty - six forms. Compared with the popular "Thick - face and Black - heart (a concept emphasizing cunning and unscrupulousness in dealing with others)" in the secular world, it's like the difference between the clouds and the mud.
The [b]Mental Symbols[/b] involve suggestion and hypnosis. In the [b]Mind - Control Technique[/b], suggestion is called a 'hidden symbol', hypnosis is called 'implanting a symbol', and using hypnosis to make someone perform an action is 'activating a symbol'.
Regarding suggestion and hypnosis, Western scholars have studied for two hundred years and developed various theories, yet they still haven't discovered its principle. Di Gong explained it in a single sentence: 'There is a spiritual aperture in a person's heart, like a switch. By activating it, one can manipulate a person.'
The only way to open the spiritual aperture is concentration!
Get a person to focus whole - heartedly on something, then suddenly utter a word or make a movement, and a [b]Mental Symbol[/b] can be implanted.
This knowledge is novel and fascinating, like an inexhaustible treasure trove. Qiu Yun memorized it carefully and practiced diligently.
After being blind for a month, he had already adapted to this way of life. His hearing and sense of smell became extremely sensitive.
After a year, the appearance of furniture and streets could emerge in his mind. He wouldn't bump into anything while walking and could even go for a run. He would even secretly slip into the game arcade in the alley to play for a while. The boss, seeing him as a "blind man," would always give him a couple more tokens.
He could also play chess with Di Gong, which was Di Gong's only pastime. However, Qiu Yun's chess skills were really poor. Di Gong said he was too focused on the immediate circumstances and lacked an overall perspective.
One day, Di Gong called Qiu Yun to play chess, but there was no chessboard on the table. Qiu Yun said, "I'll go get it..."
"No need! Just play like this!"
"How can I play like this?"
"Do you know how to play blind chess? Keep the chessboard in your heart and remember the position of each piece with your mind. I'll make the first move. [b]A black piece on the seventh square of the fifth column[/b]!"
After hesitating for a moment, Qiu Yun reported the position of his own piece, "[b]A white piece on the tenth square of the sixth column[/b]!"
Playing chess like this was very difficult. Soon, Qiu Yun got confused with the positions, but Di Gong handled it with ease. After one game, they played another. Qiu Yun felt his head was about to explode and pleaded, "Di Gong, let's use a real chessboard!"
"Play seriously!" Di Gong said sternly.
In the next few days, Di Gong kept playing chess against Qiu Yun. Qiu Yun often had to count on his fingers to remember the pieces' positions, and Di Gong would rap him with his cane and tell him to remember with his mind.
This must be some kind of peculiar training. Qiu Yun gritted his teeth and persevered. After a month, he could play blind chess calmly. Di Gong didn't even need to report the positions of the pieces. With just a light tap on the table, Qiu Yun could tell the position by the sound, and a chess piece would land in his mind.
Di Gong saw that Qiu Yun had made a little progress and said, "Next, I'll teach you how to do [b]Creating Mental Tools[/b]."
"Di Gong, what are mental tools?"
"To put it simply, it's creating objects with imagination. This is not idealistic learning. In fact, it's [b]implanting a symbol[/b] in your mind and summoning it out for use through an action or a phrase. For example, this chessboard and chess pieces are your mental tools."
Qiu Yun thought it was amazing and asked, "Are the created objects real?"
"They can be seen, heard, and touched, but others can't see them. For instance, if I create a cup, I can hold it in my hand and feel its weight, but it can't hold water."
"So it's still fake?"
"Do you know I usually smoke?"
"Ah? I've never seen you smoke!"
"The pipe I smoke is a mental tool I created. Only I can see, touch, and smoke it. Smoking it can also temporarily relieve my pain. Remember last time when I [b]implanted a symbol[/b] in you and made you eat a 'chili pepper'? You really sweated from the spiciness. In fact, the chili pepper didn't exist at all. Your mind believed you ate a chili pepper, so your body reacted. Mental tools are objects that your mind believes exist!"
Qiu Yun pondered and said, "But if only I can see and touch these mental tools, what's the point of them?"
"What things are still useful even if only you can see and touch them?"
"A book?"
Di Gong smiled and put an object in Qiu Yun's hand. "Now I'll teach you the method. Try to create this [b]mental tool[/b]."
The thing was square and made of plastic. Qiu Yun felt its seams and realized it was a Rubik's cube...
(Note: The principle of [b]Creating Mental Tools[/b] comes from the method of creating an illusory person "tulpa" in Esoteric Buddhism. Using a systematic method, one can create a person with imagination. Currently, it has formed a sub - culture in the West. This technique is rather mysterious and easy to get out of control. Don't try it easily.)