Confucian Dao Pearl

Under the gaze of the four figures, Zhu Youji ascended the final stone step to the highest peak, meeting each of their eyes in turn. With a slight, knowing smile, he remarked, "This path of yours is certainly a long one. It took quite a bit of effort to reach the top."

The journey, enhanced by the lingering Qi of the Sub-Sage's exhortation to study, had mended most of the fissures in his heart. Only a faint crack remained, stubbornly oscillating between mending and splitting anew--a mark that refused to fully heal. Part of the residual, indestructible energy had fused with his Pure Blood Heart, while another fragment continued to chip away, radiating a unique, unyielding power.

Zhu Youji had his suspicions about the origin of this energy. It bore the unmistakable traces of the power of the Immortal Phoenix.

"So it is the Sacred Heart Sutra," Zhu Youji mused silently. "Does this mean that the Supreme Being is Di Shitian?"

He kept this question buried deep within his heart.