The Struggle of Traditions

Su Yu's words still echoed in his ears.

The wind atop the cliff scattered the scent of wine, along with Shen Qingzhou's unrealistic hopes for the sect.

Cloudveil True Person's despair, Su Yu's indolence, the decline of the Kan Water Lineage—he understood it all now.

When he returned to his secluded little courtyard, Ahu had already prepared the meal. Seeing him return, he respectfully bowed and quietly withdrew, not daring to ask questions.

Over these past few months, he had increasingly come to understand the thoughts of immortal masters. Speak less, ask less, and do one's duties well—that was the greatest propriety.

Shen Qingzhou did not touch the food and went straight into the study.

He sat down cross-legged and looked inward at his dantian. The bottleneck at the peak of Qi Refining Third Layer had already begun to loosen.

"Tradition depleted, road ahead severed..."

He silently repeated those eight words, but there was no dejection on his face.

He had the Profession Panel.

"It's still far from the limit..."

He knew perfectly well who the real master was.

With a thought, Shen Qingzhou summoned the panel. Three professions stood quietly displayed.

Tradition depleted, techniques incomplete? He could use Source Tracing to mend them, and Infer Ten from One to deduce them.

No one to show him the way? He himself could be the teacher.

He did not necessarily have to follow the old road. He could build his own towering edifice atop these ruins!

Having sorted through these thoughts, Shen Qingzhou felt his mind clear considerably. His dantian's sea of qi trembled faintly, and even his spiritual power circulated more smoothly than before.

For now, with the minor competition approaching, resources were the foremost priority. His current methods consisted of talismans, spells, and sword arts.

The spells [Star-Felling Gold-Shattering Blade] and [Jade Well Cleansing Water], one for killing and one for support, counted as trump cards. But in a direct fight, spells required hand seals and incantations, making them less straightforward than sword arts.

At the end of the day, a sword cultivator's foundation was still the sword.

If the sword was not sharp, his heart lacked confidence.

He calmed his mind and entered the state of [Swordheart Clarity]. Every move of the Tidal Sword Canon he had practiced in the courtyard flowed through his mind, while the sword arts from the various texts he had studied were also selectively absorbed for their strengths.

In the past, he had merely copied a cat by drawing a tiger, following a map to find a horse...

What one learned from books always felt shallow; true understanding required personal practice.

Now, he wanted to thoroughly integrate the true meaning of "Abyssal Concealment," achieving a genuine qualitative transformation.

At the same time, Blackwater Peak, inside a quiet chamber.

Zhao Heng sat cross-legged upon a cold jade bed, rows of empty jade bottles arranged before him.

His face alternated between red and green, and his condition was exceedingly strange. The water-element spiritual qi around him was violent, nearly breaking through the quiet chamber's restrictions.

"Heng'er, are you truly going to do this? Forcing your way through with pills will leave your foundation unstable. I fear there may be consequences."

A middle-aged man in black stood outside the door, watching the scene within with a complicated expression.

He was Zhao Heng's uncle, as well as a steward of the Zhao Family within the Profound Heaven Sect's inner sect.

From within the quiet chamber came Zhao Heng's hoarse yet resolute voice.

"Uncle, I have no time. If I keep cultivating step by step, what will I use to compete with them in the minor competition?"

He opened his eyes, bloodshot veins visible within. In cultivation, one could not survive without becoming mad.

The middle-aged man fell silent. He knew that the blow Zhao Heng had suffered at Wind-Listening Hall had been too great.

Yet he still could not help speaking up to persuade him. "The Lineage's intention is for you to advance steadily and surely. The Sea-Overturning Sword Art emphasizes building deep reserves before an explosive release. You... are being far too eager for quick success and immediate gain!"

"Building deep reserves before an explosive release?"

Zhao Heng gave a bitter laugh. "By then, the daylilies will have gone cold! In the cultivation world, one step behind means falling behind at every step!"

He seized the final bottle of [Blackwater Jade Marrow Pill] beside him.

This was a fierce medicinal drug capable of forcibly raising one's cultivation. An ordinary disciple would need a month to refine even one pill, yet over this half month, he had swallowed an entire bottle.

Had Shen Qingzhou seen this, he would likely have been green with envy. Such savage pill-taking was simply a waste of medicinal power.

"Uncle, go back and tell my father. Either let me walk this road into the black, or treat me, Zhao Heng, as useless. Do not give me any more of the Lineage's resources."

Having said that, he swallowed the entire bottle of pills in one gulp.

Boom!

The violent medicinal power exploded within his body. Under its impact, tiny beads of blood seeped from the surface of his skin.

His entire body looked like a water bag about to burst, pushed to its very limit.

Yet he gritted his teeth and circulated his cultivation technique, forcibly guiding that power to scour his meridians and dantian.

If one spoke only of willpower, Zhao Heng was no weaker than anyone else. Unfortunately, he was always short by one breath—or perhaps he had simply been born at the wrong time.

Fortunately, he could stake everything and make ruthless decisions.

"Alas..."

The middle-aged man outside the quiet chamber sighed. He did not stop him again, merely standing guard with care.

He understood that Zhao Heng had made his choice.

Once the pride of a great clan's descendant was ignited, it would either burn open a path—or burn him into ashes.

Sword-Coming Peak, Wèi Earth Dao Academy.

Lu Chen was likewise sitting in meditation. Within his sea of consciousness stood a stone stele half the height of a man.

Ever since he had accidentally found this object at the age of three, it had become his greatest secret, never known to outsiders.

The stele had an ancient, simple appearance. Its surface was covered in natural patterns resembling undulating mountain ranges, as though it had endured the changes and vicissitudes of thousands of years.

"Boy, your heart is in turmoil."

An aged voice rang directly within Lu Chen's sea of consciousness, carrying a hint of gloating amusement.

"He merely took a shortcut in his understanding of the Dao!"

Hearing this, Lu Chen could not help arguing.

"Still talking tough!"

The owner of that voice retorted without ceremony.

"Then let me ask you: is understanding of the Dao not also part of one's strength?"

Lu Chen fell silent. He had no way to refute that.

Cultivating the Dao meant cultivating the Dao. Dao techniques were naturally the foundation—there was no doubt about it.

But Shen Qingzhou's words, "Your Dao attainment is far, far behind," had lodged in his heart like a thorn.

It hurt. It hurt too much!

He simply could not accept it.

"What does the Wèi Earth lineage value most? Your Sinking Mountain Sword Intent has form but no spirit!"

"I ask Turtle Elder for guidance."

Lu Chen had no choice but to put away that bit of pride and humbly seek instruction.

He was not a fool, merely somewhat proud. Now that Shen Qingzhou had dealt him a blow, he naturally lowered his head.

Moreover, Turtle Elder had helped him all along and had never been wrong. Naturally, Lu Chen was wholeheartedly convinced.

"Look upon the [Mountain-Suppressing Stele]."

Guided by the aged voice, Lu Chen's mind sank into the stele before him. This stele was not unfamiliar to him.

Every time, it brought new insights.

In a daze, he seemed to see a boundless expanse of earth. Upon that land, a divine mountain rose from the ground and pierced into the clouds.

This mountain was not dead. It seemed to possess life.

It breathed. With every breath, it stirred the earth-vein qi across a radius of ten thousand miles.

"A mountain possesses its own 'momentum,' its own 'field.'"

"You are no stranger to the four realms of swordsmanship. You have already grasped sword intent. Now, you must consider sword momentum."

"Pry upon the power of a stretch of earth and form a 'Heavy Domain' that belongs to you. Within it, all things bear the weight of mountains, and even dust is like iron!"

Lu Chen's breathing became hurried. It was as though he had glimpsed an entirely new world.

"Water is ever-changing by nature. If you only use brute force to suppress him, he has hundreds of methods to deflect and dissolve that force. He may even borrow your strength to strike back at you."

Turtle Elder taught without holding anything back. "The mutual restraint of the Five Elements is not a rigid rule. That Kan Water fellow once severely damaged my Wèi Earth Tradition, leaving behind the achievement of 'Earth Granary Sinking Current.' But as times changed, great powers capable of suppressing all ages emerged from my Wèi Earth lineage as well, resetting the order of mountains and rivers. Instead, Kan Water collapsed in a single blow and declined.

The only certainty is that everything is constantly changing.

The struggle between traditions is precisely like this: one rises as another falls.

Kan Water is now water without a source, while if you can comprehend the true Mountain-Suppressing Way, you will be drawing upon the momentum of the earth veins. With a rooted foundation, suppress water without a source."

"Under sword momentum, no matter how fast his sword is, can it still move quickly beneath pressure multiplied a hundredfold, a thousandfold?"

Indeed!

A new understanding and inspiration arose in Lu Chen's heart.

"I understand."

"Mm, you can be taught. Before the minor competition, remain here and comprehend this Mountain-Suppressing Stele."

Turtle Elder was fairly satisfied with Lu Chen. Otherwise, given his status, he would not have chosen this boy.

"When your Sinking Mountain Sword Intent can draw forth even a thread of the stele's 'Heavy Domain' power, then you may leave seclusion."

"Yes, Senior!"

Lu Chen closed his eyes and poured all his focus into that Mountain-Suppressing Stele.

Earth-yellow currents of qi swirled around him. Strands of intangible aura wrapped around his body, and his presence began to change.