Bo's blade descended, a streak of golden light that stopped a hair's breadth from Lian's shoulder. He tilted the radiant blade, pressing the edge firmly against Lian's neck.
"It's over," Bo said, his voice dropping to a cold, final tone.
CRACK!
Lian's body shattered like a sheet of frozen glass, the shards refracting the light of the valley. A heartbeat later, Lian materialised directly behind Bo, Guǐ Shā Shǒu held steady against the Master's own throat.
"I finally figured it out," Lian whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of exhaustion and triumph. "It took me a while to truly understand the logic... to see how the technique actually functions."
"Heh... you really did it. I was wondering why you seemed weaker than usual during that last exchange," Bo replied. Without turning, Bo's form shattered away as well, dissolving into light before reforming ten paces away to stand face-to-face with his disciple.
"Heh."
"Heh."
Both men wore massive, feral grins. The air between them hummed with the residue of broken chronometry.
"The Dao of Time truly is strange," Lian mused, his eyes tracking the invisible ripples in the air. "By scattering your Qi into localised anchors across the battlefield, you can rewind your physical state to the exact moment you placed that mark."
CRACK!
Lian was cut off mid-sentence. A golden flash bifurcated his torso, cutting him clean in half, but the Lian that was struck shattered instantly. He reappeared a few paces to the left, staggered and gasping for air.
"Huff... huff..."
Lian's chest heaved, his face pale.
Bo watched him from across the crater, his expression one of genuine curiosity. "It's not so easy, is it?" he said, walking forward with casual grace. "You surprised me, I won't lie. The Dao of Time is the most arduous path to tread. I didn't think you could touch its surface in such a short window."
Bo paused, tapping his temple with the hilt of his blade. "But remember, brat... a mark in the past is just a ghost. If you rely on it too much, you'll forget how to live in the present."
"It's not that I didn't want to teach this technique to you," Bo said, his voice losing its playful edge. "The truth is, there is a fundamental requirement to use it effectively that you lack."
"So, there's more to it..." Lian muttered. His muscles screamed in protest; his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand. "Just using it twice... it feels like my body is going to collapse. More than a quarter of my Qi was burnt to sustain those two jumps."
Despite the agony, Lian's eyes never wavered from Bo. He remained locked in a state of high alert, his survival instincts refusing to stand down.
"Look," Bo commanded. He raised his left hand high. On the back of his hand, etched into the skin like glowing constellations, were three silver stars.
"This is the inheritance of my family," Bo explained. "Only by attaining these marks can you anchor your soul, body and Qi against the drag of time. Without them, you are a leaf in a hurricane. I advise you to stop here. The next time you attempt to force this Dao, you might find yourself ageing decades in a second, your life essence drained until you are nothing but dust."
Bo's eyes narrowed into sharp slits.
"Listen well, brat. Your ability to discern the logic of martial techniques is astonishing, the best I've ever seen. But do not let your talent be your undoing. Never use a technique without fully understanding its roots. Even if you can see the outline, a technique needs its internal organs to flourish: the specific breathing patterns, the exact meridian pathways, and in my case, the physical provisions of my bloodline."
Bo took a step forward, his shadow looming over the crater.
"If you copy the wrong person, the wrong Da,o the technique won't just fail. It will rebound, and it will kill you."
Lian remained silent, the weight of the words sinking deeper than any physical blow.
"Damn it, he's right," he realised, a cold sweat breaking across his neck. "There is more to a martial art than just the shape of the strike."
He exhaled a long, heavy sigh, then stood straight. Casting aside his combat stance, he leaned into a deep, respectful bow.
"Thank you for the lesson, Master. I was hasty."
Bo looked down at the top of Lian's head, his stern expression softening into a faint smirk. "Tch... look at him," Bo thought. "The brat has truly grown. He isn't arrogant when I correct him... that is the disposition of a true Master.
"Well, it's not all bad, you know," Bo said, his voice regaining a hint of its usual levity. "You can use those sharp eyes of yours to find the flow and anticipate an opponent. You can even modify the techniques to suit your own style. With the Delightful Sword as your base, you can be forever changing yet your foundation will remain unshakable.
"Ah..."
Lian's breath hitched. As the words settled into his mind, a brilliant crown of pure, shimmering light manifested around his brow. He began to move forward, his steps slow, as if he were walking through water.
"Forever changing, but the same... swiftness, yet still..." Lian's gaze drifted upward toward the drifting clouds, watching their chaotic yet rhythmic patterns. Then, his eyes snapped back to Bo, burning with a new, terrifying clarity.
"This brat..." Bo whispered, freezing in place. "Is he... undergoing sudden enlightenment?"
Bo watched as Lian's Qi began to fluctuate wildly. One moment, it was a violent, raging hurricane, and the next, it was as calm and silent as a tomb.
"I see it now," Lian said, his voice echoing with a strange resonance. "The wrongness I've been feeling... I thought I had to choose a single path, a single technique, and stick to it. But deep down, every technique is the same. Be it a punch, a sword swing, or a palm strike... they all originate from the same source: chaos."
虚无
(Translation: "Nothingness")
The ancient symbols flared with blinding intensity above Lian's head.
"That's it. I understand now."
Lian exhaled sharply, and the crown of light around his head shattered into a thousand diamonds. The violent air around him died instantly, replaced by a vacuum of absolute stillness. He stepped forward, and the earth didn't even crunch beneath his feet.
"He's done it," Bo thought, a cold shiver running down his spine. "He has reached the Realm of Nothingness. It took me an entire century just to touch that border, and he did it in a moment of breath."
"What do you say we end this with one last strike?" Bo said. He began spinning the sword around his hands, his stance becoming dangerously relaxed. A low, haunting whistling sound echoed through the valley as the sky above began to darken, the clouds bruising into a deep purple.
"I will use one-tenth of my full strength." Bo's eyes glowed with a predatory light. "Try to stay alive."
"One-tenth, huh?" Lian's lips curved into a tight, dry smile. "So, he really hasn't been taking this seriously. Even after all that, he was just playing with me. Master truly is a monster... but I'm curious, too. I want to see exactly how a speck of dust like me fares against an absolute master."
"Fall."
Bo whispered the command and gripped his blade with both hands, crushing it. The radiant steel disintegrated into a fine, shimmering blue dust that fluttered toward the heavens. The moment the particles touched the atmosphere, the sky reacted.
The clouds began to rumble, shifting and twisting as they were forcibly condensed into a single point. As Lian watched, the entire sky seemed to solidify, transforming into a gargantuan, celestial blade that spanned the horizon. It was so massive that it blotted out the sun, its mere descent crushing the golden sigils that had governed the laws of the valley.
Thump-da-thud.
Lian's heart thundered against his ribs, the rhythm echoing the impending doom. The giant blade began its final hurl toward the earth, the pressure alone flattening the forests below.
"He should be alright... right?" Bo thought, his fingers twitching as he directed the blade toward his disciple. "This small world is currently restricting my true output. He will be fine... probably."
As the sky-sized sword hurtled down, Lian simply shifted his stance, his face turned upward toward the crushing light. His eyes were calm, the air around him began to vibrate with a frequency so high it was silent, and his lips began to move in a low, rhythmic murmur.
"..."