The Way of Spirit

The Way of Spirit is a long urban-powers novel by the web author Shang Wuyin, comprising 158 chapters and roughly 300,000-plus characters. It was first serialized online under the title The Way of Spirit and later released in a traditional-Chinese e-book edition on the 17K platform in seven volumes. The protagonist, Xie Yang, is an ordinary student who buys a calligraphy-and-painting scroll titled Whispered Ear at an antique shop and from then on gains hearing beyond that of ordinary people: he can hear women's inner voices and gradually learns to manipulate sound to attack others. From this the author builds an entire system of "entering the Way through spirit": humans are born with five senses, which enter five cultivations—Liwei (taste), Cong'er (hearing), Xingbi (smell), Ruiyan (sight), and Xuanchu (touch); all five can enter the Way of Spirit, and once one cultivation is mastered, all five are mastered. Xie Yang's ability to hear only women's hearts is regarded in the Way of Spirit as "Hearing the Heart," the highest attainment of the Cong'er cultivation in the Realm of Being, yet it works only on women, baffling fellow practitioners. As his powers grow more conspicuous, another group of people with superhuman abilities begins to stir, and struggles over the Yun'er Device, Jieli, formations, and ancient legacies unfold in succession, forcing Xie Yang to grow through battle after battle. The work combines China's traditional "Way" with urban powers, attempting to portray another kind of "Way" created by human effort rather than attained through contemplation.