The sword flashed like lightning, stabbing straight for his throat. Chen Wuya stood where he was, heat surging through his palm. The power had not yet fully taken shape, yet it already made his spine prickle.
He did not retreat.
At the instant the two swords closed in from either side, the torn page against his chest suddenly grew scorching hot, as if seared by fire. That icy voice in his mind rang out once more: "Accumulation of erroneous cognition detected. Secondary path reconstruction complete."
A chaotic current of true qi exploded from his dantian and raced upward through meridians it had never traveled before. The Hand Shaoyang Triple Burner Meridian, the Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian, and even the Belt Vessel Meridian, which should never have been mobilized at this moment, were forcibly opened by that twisted power. His arm gave an uncontrollable jerk. His left palm pressed against the inside of his right arm and thrust outward, the movement so bizarre it looked like he was snapping a bone.
"Clang!"
A harsh metallic ring exploded through the woods.
The sword of the disciple on the left actually trembled in midair. Its edge shifted by several inches and slammed into the blade of his companion on the right. Sparks flew in all directions, and both men froze.
Their combined attack had been broken.
Chen Wuya himself was stunned for a moment. He had never expected that push to work, much less that the system's completion would correct not only the circulation of his qi, but also the trajectory of his moves—even though, to ordinary eyes, that trajectory was simply wrong.
Yet it was precisely that "wrongness" that disrupted their rhythm.
The sword-wielding disciple let out an angry roar, twisted his wrist, and swept the sword tip back up, intending to use "Severing Current" from the "Qingfeng Thirteen Forms" to seal off Chen Wuya's escape. His companion quickly retreated half a step, raising the compass high as its needle buzzed and pointed straight at Chen Wuya's heart.
"Don't let him move again!"
"He's using some crooked, evil technique! Quickly, seal his meridians!"
Before their voices had even faded, the two sword shadows closed in again.
Chen Wuya gritted his teeth and stamped hard on the ground. His figure blurred, and he shot diagonally away using the "Universe Reversal Step." This footwork had originally been a wild trick he learned by watching a sideshow performer walk a stake array at the academy. It had no rules whatsoever, yet he had forcibly fitted it into the breathing rhythm of the Canglang Art. The system seemed to regard this "noncompliant" method of movement as another form of "erroneous understanding," and it followed the momentum, guiding his true qi toward the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian. His legs suddenly grew three parts lighter.
He slipped past the sword edge by the narrowest margin. The fabric over his shoulder split open, and his skin burned with pain.
"When you practice swordsmanship, are you always thinking about 'following the flow'?" he asked as he retreated rapidly. His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly into both men's ears. "The qi has to flow smoothly, the moves have to follow the momentum, and even your feet have to land properly on every mark?"
The two men's attacks faltered.
"But what about water?" he sneered. "Rivers and streams surge onward, but which stretch of them is straight? The more bends there are, the fiercer the force. You practice the Canglang Art as if it were a straight line. No wonder you get stuck every time you turn through the Guanyuan Acupoint."
The compass-wielder's expression shifted.
That was... too accurate.
When they first began learning, they had indeed felt that kind of stagnation. Their master had later said it was because their foundations were insufficient and that diligent practice would resolve it. But this boy before them had never even entered their sect. How could he know such minute points?
"Shut up!" the sword-wielding disciple roared as his sword momentum rose again. "If I don't cripple your meridians today, I won't be able to appease the hatred in my heart!"
Sword light poured down like a waterfall, pressing toward him from every direction.
Chen Wuya said nothing more. He crossed both palms before his chest, and the true qi within him circulated furiously. He knew that move just now had already been his limit; trying it again might not trigger the system's completion. But he also understood that true "Misaligned Force" did not lie in the move itself, but in the blind spots of his opponent's understanding.
He deliberately slowed his steps, letting the tree trunk behind him draw closer to his back.
With nowhere left to retreat, he suddenly grinned and said in a low voice, "Have you ever tried treating 'reversing the flow' as the proper path?"
The next instant, he inhaled sharply—but used reverse abdominal breathing, his chest caving in like a dry well. At the same time, his true qi forcibly reversed through the Governing Vessel Meridian, shooting from the Weilu straight to the Baihui. It was a reverse surge through vital acupoints forbidden by every orthodox cultivation method!
The pupils of the two disciples contracted sharply.
If this was not qi deviation, then what was it?
But while they were still startled and suspicious, Chen Wuya thrust both palms forward.
The force of his palms was not strong. Not even a trace of power leaked outward. Yet invisible ripples seemed to spread through the air. The fallen leaves ahead suddenly began spinning upward, forming a brief screen between the two men.
In that instant, their combined-attack formation stalled for half a breath.
That was enough.
Chen Wuya launched himself into the air, borrowing force from a horizontal branch. With a flip, he leaped into the depths of the forest. Branches scraped open his cheek, but he had no time to care about the pain. He only ran for his life.
Angry roars rang out behind him one after another. "After him! We absolutely can't let him escape!"
"That breath he used just now... it shouldn't exist at all!"
Chen Wuya lowered his body and threaded through the bushes. He could feel the heat within him dissipating, that strange power receding like a tide. But this time, he did not panic.
He knew it had not been an illusion.
Nor had it been mere luck.
It was a path to survival born from being "wrong."
As he hurried onward, he silently repeated the system prompt: "Accumulation of erroneous cognition detected. Path reconstruction." He tried to deliberately distort the rhythm of his breathing, guiding his true qi in reverse to strike the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian. Sure enough, his legs grew lighter again, and his steps became ever swifter.
A fork appeared ahead. One path led straight into the wilderness, while the other wound into a valley.
He deliberately left several clear footprints on the straight path, then leaped onto a horizontal branch and traveled upside down for more than thirty yards. After that, he silently dropped to the ground and rolled into a pile of rotting leaves.
A moment later, two Qingfeng disciples charged up to the fork.
"This way!" The compass-wielder pointed at the straight path. "The lingering aura is obvious!"
"Wait." The other crouched to examine the ground. "He couldn't possibly have left footprints this deep at the speed he was moving. Someone deliberately misled us."
"Whether they're real or fake, chase first!"
"Have you forgotten what the steward told us? The sect master wants him alive. We can't afford the slightest mistake."
After a brief discussion, the two finally decided to search separately. One pursued along the straight path, while the other turned onto the narrow trail through the valley.
The woods sank back into silence.
Beneath the pile of rotting leaves, Chen Wuya held his breath and gently pushed apart a gap between the dead leaves with his fingertips. He watched the compass-wielding disciple turn and leave, his cloak brushing over the tips of the grass as he gradually disappeared into the distance.
He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, but his palm was still faintly numb.
That battle had nearly drained his entire mind and spirit. More importantly, he had touched the threshold of "Misaligned Force." It was not mere luck, but something built upon a complete overturning of martial common sense. The more it defied reason, the more easily it seemed to trigger the system's completion mechanism.
He reached into his robes and touched the half of the torn page. The paper was warm, as though it had come alive.
So it wasn't me practicing the technique.
It was the technique adapting to me.
Shouts came from the distance, mixed with faint sounds of metal striking metal. Clearly, the search had not ended.
He slowly rose and brushed the fallen leaves from his body. He was just about to move when he suddenly heard a faint scraping sound from the tree behind him.
He turned and saw a horizontal branch swaying slightly. Between the leaves, the corner of a moon-white robe flickered faintly.
Someone climbed the tree?
His heart tightened, and he was about to dodge when he saw that figure did not come down. Instead, it remained quietly crouched among the branches, seemingly hiding as well.
Could they... have noticed something too?
Chen Wuya narrowed his eyes without making a sound. He slowly backed away several steps, circled around behind another tree, and quietly raised his head under the cover of light and shadow.
The person had their back to him. Their figure was slender, and a silver-threaded sash at their waist fluttered faintly in the wind. They held a slender soft sword, and the sapphire on its tassel flashed and vanished.
Not a pursuer.
Another bystander.
The corners of his mouth lifted. He was just about to speak when the person suddenly raised a hand and made a gesture for silence.
Immediately afterward, footsteps began approaching once more from the distance.
Chen Wuya instantly lowered his head and pressed himself close to the tree trunk.
The person did not move either, still crouched on the branch like a leaf that had blended into the night.
The forest wind rose, sending several dead leaves swirling into the air.
Chen Wuya stared at that moon-white figure and suddenly asked in a low voice, "Do you also think they've been practicing it wrong?"
Before you continue