Chapter 600: Still Mind

Returning to Yoda’s training grounds, Yoda’s instruction of Luke had already begun to bear fruit; Yoda constantly urged Luke to control the Force, to control the stone.

Ye Nan felt neither joy nor sorrow; having mended his spiritual flaw, he did not succumb to emotions like regret in such situations, for he understood that regret could not undo the present circumstance, so he skipped regret entirely and moved straight to strategizing.

Ye Nan knew Yoda still doubted him, evident from the fact that Yoda only began teaching Luke after Ye Nan had left.

But just because Yoda didn’t teach didn’t mean Luke wouldn’t; given the relationship between Ye Nan and Luke, Ye Nan was confident he could obtain everything Yoda had just taught Luke.

He just needed to figure out the right method to acquire it.

Luke was clearly delighted to see Ye Nan approach; his previously steady handstand began to wobble as his inner state stirred.

“Don’t move,” Yoda scolded Luke. “Focus. Sense the Force fully. Control the stone.”

“Yes!” Luke replied, calming himself and exerting all his effort to control the Force.

Gurgling!

The starship in the river emitted a gurgling sound, then sank, vanishing beneath the water in an instant.

“No.”

Seeing this, Luke panicked; his calm mind shattered instantly, and he tumbled down in a roll.

“Ah.” Yoda descended from above, sighing.

“I’m sorry,” Luke knew he had erred and quickly apologized to Yoda.

“Why were you so impatient?” Yoda leaned on his cane, gazing at Luke, his eyes filled with disappointment.

He was disappointed in Luke. Luke, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, was a hothead—though Obi-Wan Kenobi had been young back then, easy to mold and train. But Luke was too old; he required far too much time to shape, and Yoda, precisely, had no such time.

“If we lose the starship, we can’t leave this place,” Luke grew visibly agitated. “I don’t want to spend my whole life on this planet.”

“I don’t want to either,” C-3PO, having witnessed the starship’s sinking in full, immediately lamented. “Now we’re all screwed.”

“How do you know you can’t leave?” Yoda said calmly. “You always do this—define something as impossible before it’s truly beyond hope.”

Yoda lowered his head and sighed again. “You’re always in a rush. You should understand what I mean.”

“But Master, moving a stone is one thing; moving a starship is another,” Luke said, frustrated.

The weight of a stone and the weight of a starship were incomparable. He had succeeded in moving the stone, but barely; moving the starship was practically impossible.

“No,” Yoda slammed his cane hard into the ground, showing his anger. “There is no difference. To your mind, moving a stone and moving a starship are the same. And…”

Yoda’s voice grew quieter. “Never declare something absolute until you’re truly desperate. Your starship sank—but that doesn’t mean you can’t retrieve it. Others have starships too. How can you be so certain one won’t descend from the sky at some future moment?”

“Don’t doubt my words. Fate is strange—it never leaves a person utterly hopeless. It always leaves a tiny path behind. The difference lies in whether you can find it.”

Luke listened to Yoda’s words and fell into deep thought. He suddenly realized he was always impatient, always despairing before things reached their end. He realized he didn’t believe in hope at all.

“If a person always leaves their future to fate, what value does that person have?” Ye Nan suddenly interjected. “A man is a man, not a puppet of fate. When one entrusts everything to fate, he likely has no reason to live.”

Luke was shaken again; Yoda’s and Ye Nan’s words clashed in his heart, leaving him uncertain.

“Who is right?”

Two utterly different views, yet both seemed reasonable. Suddenly, he was caught in torment.

“Are you questioning my words?” Yoda struck his cane against the ground, furious. “Who is the master here—you or me?”

Ye Nan had repeatedly contradicted him, and Yoda was already angry; he felt that each time Ye Nan challenged him, the dark side of the Force grew closer to Luke, for Luke’s mindset was gradually aligning with the dark side—even without actively sensing it, the dark side would find him.

“You are the master—but the master of the Jedi. In matters of life philosophy, ancient Earth people understand more than you,” Ye Nan did not defer to Yoda’s authority. “As you said, placing hope in fate while refusing to strengthen oneself—that is not the attitude of a strong person.”

“Fate favors those who are prepared. It favors those who ready themselves and seize opportunities. If you do nothing but wait for fate to arrive, the goddess of fate will never favor you.”

Ye Nan’s words, though seemingly addressed to Yoda, were in fact meant for Luke.

Yoda’s words sounded reasonable but were passive, and clashed with Luke’s own nature. In a sense, Yoda was a failure.

He trained Obi-Wan Kenobi, yet Obi-Wan Kenobi still failed to become the passive defender Yoda envisioned—even Yoda himself could not embody it.

This was because sentient beings are never extreme. The light side of the Force demands absolute harmony with the Jedi: wisdom, defense, no offense, virtue—only such a person can achieve perfect alignment with the light side and advance further.

Yet neither Yoda, nor Obi-Wan Kenobi, nor Luke could ever achieve perfect alignment with the light side. For one thing, Yoda himself, though always preaching defense and non-aggression, still attacked. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke were even less capable—they were born for adventure and combat.

In contrast, the Sith Lord perfectly embodied the dark side: rage, cruelty, aggression—his nature complemented the dark side perfectly, allowing him to easily surpass Yoda.

One strives to approach the light side but can never merge with it; the other harmonizes perfectly with the dark side. The difference in superiority is clear.

Precisely because he understood Luke could not and would never fully align with the light side, Ye Nan spoke out to contradict Yoda, preventing Luke from betraying his own nature under Yoda’s teaching.

“Luke,” Yoda ignored Ye Nan and called directly to Luke. “Go retrieve the starship.”

“Me?” Luke, caught in inner turmoil, was stunned to hear Yoda ask him to retrieve the starship.

“I don’t think I can.”

He struggled even to move a small stone; moving a massive starship was practically impossible.

“To your mind, the starship and the stone are the same. There is no difference,” Yoda said.

“Then I’ll try,” Luke said weakly. He still remembered how hard it had been to control the stone just now; facing the starship, he still feared failure. So he comforted himself: I’m just trying. Even if I fail, it’s fine.

“Don’t approach it with a ‘just trying’ mindset,” Yoda, who understood Luke’s thoughts perfectly, snapped coldly. “Give it your all.”

“Yes.”

Luke turned, extended his hand, and used his heart to sense the Force, then directed the Force to control the starship.

Gurgling!

Continuous gurgling bubbles rose as the starship slowly ascended from the riverbed—slowly, but undeniably rising.

“Good,” Yoda thought inwardly. Even he could not help but admire Luke’s talent; he was born to be a Jedi.

“Pity—if given enough time to refine him, he might have advanced even further.”

“Amazing! Amazing!” C-3PO clapped excitedly. “The starship’s coming up! We can leave this place and roam the cosmos again! This damn planet—I can’t stand another second here.”

Hearing C-3PO’s words, Luke’s spirits lifted; his control over the Force immediately weakened, and the rising starship plunged back into the riverbed.

“Ah,” Yoda sighed inwardly. “His mind is still unstable, easily disturbed by external things. If this happens in training, how will he fare when facing real threats? He’ll likely be doomed.”

Yoda grew increasingly anxious about Luke’s future. He instinctively glanced at Ye Nan and saw him leaning forward, watching Luke’s performance. Another sigh welled up inside him.

“Is he the imposter?”

When the starship sank completely, Luke’s joy turned to disappointment. Sweat dripped down his face again, and the frustration made him feel even worse.

He waved his hand, wiping away the sweat, then turned and apologized: “I’m sorry. I let you down.”

“Do you understand where you went wrong?” Yoda asked.

After carefully recalling his earlier sensations, he concluded: “I understand. My mind is unstable. I’m easily disturbed by external things.”

“Correct. Training the Force requires stillness of heart. In any situation, you must remain calm.” (To be continued.)