Chapter 654: Progress

The feeling was as if a perfectly organized world had suddenly been turned upside down by an invisible hand.

She gritted her teeth and thrust her sword again, putting everything she had into the strike.

The sword gleamed like a rainbow, piercing straight toward Xu Wuyi's throat. But the moment the tip of her blade was about to touch that layer of blue light, her mind suddenly went blank.

It wasn't that she lost consciousness; rather, she lost control over everything. She didn't know who she was, what she was doing, or where the sword in her hand was supposed to strike. All Order and all Rules were entirely incinerated in this instant.

The sword light dissipated. Zhao Qingwei stood frozen in place, her eyes vacant, the longsword hanging limply from her hand.

Xu Wuyi looked at her, knowing that the victor of this spar had been decided. With a mere thought, the blue Flame instantly vanished.

Zhao Qingwei's body shuddered slightly as clarity gradually returned to her eyes. She looked down at her hand, then at the sword she held, and finally at Xu Wuyi standing opposite her.

"Just what on earth is this thing?" she asked slowly, her voice soft and carrying an unmistakable trace of exhaustion.

Xu Wuyi fell silent for a moment before replying, "It incinerates the Order upon the target, plunging them into Chaos. The longer the duration, the more thorough the incineration."

Zhao Qingwei remained silent for a long time after hearing this. She recalled the feeling from just moments ago—the sensation of losing control over everything, of not even knowing who she was. It was absolutely terrifying. If they had been on a real battlefield, she would have died countless times over by now.

She looked up at Xu Wuyi with a complex expression. "This ability of yours... is far too overpowered."

Xu Wuyi didn't respond. Just then, Lin Jianyi's voice drifted over from beneath the locust tree.

"Qingwei, come here."

Zhao Qingwei took a deep breath, sheathed her longsword, and walked over to Lin Jianyi.

He looked at her with calm eyes. "Do you know why you lost?"

Zhao Qingwei paused for a moment before answering, "Because his ability is too strong."

Lin Jianyi shook his head. "Wrong."

Zhao Qingwei stared blankly.

"The Rules of Order do possess an extremely high status, but if you simply assume you can't win because of that, then everyone else might as well just surrender," he said.

"This..."

Lin Jianyi continued, "You lost not because his ability is strong, but because you are not strong enough. Your sword has yet to find its own path.

"Your speed is merely speed. But speed itself is not the path. The path is what lies beneath the speed: why you are fast, what the purpose of your speed is, and what is on your mind when you are moving so fast."

He looked at Zhao Qingwei, his gaze calm yet profound. "Xu Wuyi's Flame of Order incinerates things on the level of Rules. If your speed remains only at the level of technique, you will never be able to contend with this kind of Rule-level power.

"You need to find your own path. Instead of pursuing speed, you must elevate speed itself into a Rule."

Zhao Qingwei fell silent, carefully mulling over Lin Jianyi's words. After a long while, she looked up.

"Teacher, I understand."

Lin Jianyi nodded. "We continue tomorrow."

Zhao Qingwei was momentarily taken aback, then turned to look at Xu Wuyi, who stood there with a tranquil expression. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

"Alright."

...

In the days that followed, Zhao Qingwei visited Lin Jianyi's small courtyard every day.

Every afternoon, she sparred with Xu Wuyi in the clearing. And every single time, she was tormented to the brink of madness by that bizarre Flame of Order.

The sensation was agonizing. Even though she gave it her all, and even though her sword strikes had reached the absolute limits of speed, she could never break through that blue screen of light. The instant her sword pierced the light, she would be thrown into Chaos, losing control of everything. Sometimes it was her Qi and Blood that fell into Chaos, sometimes it was her Spirit, and sometimes it was her train of thought.

During the most terrifying instance, she even forgot who she was and what she was doing. She just stood there blankly until Xu Wuyi withdrew his power, allowing her to slowly regain her senses.

After every sparring match concluded, she would walk over to the locust tree and listen to Lin Jianyi's guidance for half an hour. His instructions were simple. His sentences were short, but each one cut straight to the core.

"Your sword is too fast—so fast that you don't have time to think. But the true path requires you to maintain absolute clarity even at such speeds.

"Your speed seeks validation externally, aiming only to stab your opponent. But true speed should be sought internally, striving for total unity with your sword.

"Your sword lacks its own Will. You are wielding the sword, but the sword is not in your heart."

Zhao Qingwei listened time and again, pondered time and again, and practiced time and again.

On the fifth day, she finally made a slight breakthrough.

That afternoon, she fought Xu Wuyi once more. The moment her sword pierced the blue light, she felt her mind starting to descend into Chaos again. But this time, she didn't lose control completely. She clenched her jaw, her eyes locked firmly on her sword, the direction of its tip, and Xu Wuyi's figure. Amidst the Chaos, she faintly sensed a sliver of clarity.

That clarity was incredibly faint—so weak it was almost imperceptible—but it was undoubtedly there. Following that sliver of clarity, she thrust her sword forward. The tip of her blade broke through the light, stabbing toward Xu Wuyi's chest.

Though it only advanced an inch, and though the sword plunged back into Chaos immediately after, that single inch was the culmination of five days of grueling effort.

Xu Wuyi looked at the sword tip that had breached his defenses, a flash of approval crossing his eyes. "You've improved," he said.

Zhao Qingwei withdrew her sword and staggered back a few steps, panting softly. A thin sheen of sweat beaded on her forehead and her face was somewhat pale, yet a trace of irrepressible excitement danced in her eyes. She had finally grasped the crux of it.

Lin Jianyi's voice drifted over from beneath the locust tree. "Not bad. We continue tomorrow."

On the tenth day, Zhao Qingwei's sword managed to break three inches through the light screen.

On the twelfth day, five inches.

On the fifteenth day, her sword finally reached Xu Wuyi's chest.

Although it was merely a light tap, and although she descended right back into Chaos the very next instant, this was a qualitative breakthrough. The moment the tip of her sword touched Xu Wuyi's chest, Zhao Qingwei felt an indescribable wave of joy well up in her heart.

She had done it. She had really done it.

She withdrew her sword and stepped back, standing in the center of the clearing as she gasped for air. Sweat soaked through her training clothes and dripped down her cheeks. Her face was as pale as paper, and her legs trembled so much she could barely stand. But she smiled. The smile was faint, yet it carried a sense of relief she hadn't felt in fifteen days.

Xu Wuyi looked at her and nodded. "Congratulations."

Zhao Qingwei looked at him in silence for a few seconds before speaking up. "You absolute freak."

Xu Wuyi didn't respond. Just then, Lin Jianyi walked over. He stood between the two of them, sweeping his gaze past Zhao Qingwei before landing on Xu Wuyi.

"It's been half a month," he said. "How is your mastery over the Flame of Order?"

Xu Wuyi pondered for a moment before replying, "I've basically mastered it. Whether it's targeted incineration or Rule locking, I can utilize them as I please. The only issue is that the drain on my Spiritual Power is too immense, meaning my sustained combat capability is limited."