As Xing Yan gathered his thoughts and entered the supreme realm of Great Splendor, mindful yet acting through nonaction, he discovered to his horror that the mighty great splendor flowing water within him had vanished without a trace-not even a thread remained!
His entire body was like a hollow bamboo stalk. His limbs and bones, once brimming with dao power, were now like a building deserted by its occupants, with nothing left inside!
This shock was no small matter! He had never thought much of it before, but to discover amid a military campaign that all his power was gone sent cold sweat streaming down Xing Yan's body and frightened his soul clean out of him!
"It's pretty nice not having it, too!"
Lingyi had gone out to gather news from the army for Xing Yan, leaving only Qiong Rong to keep him company in the lotus tent. When her horrified Hall Master brother stammered out the reason, she thought nothing of it and kindly comforted him:
"Don't worry, Brother Xing Yan! Qiong Rong is really good at fighting battles now. Whenever you want to fight someone, I'll fight them for you!"
"...Thank you."
Watching the little girl pat her chest in assurance, Xing Yan could not feel happy; even his polite thanks sounded listless. Then he thought again: looking as though he had lost both his parents was hardly appropriate in front of such an innocent, carefree little girl. Despite his anguish, he forced out a faint smile and agreed with what Qiong Rong had said:
"Yes, perhaps it's good that my dao power is gone. I'm still young, after all. I can learn other Daoist arts later... huh?!"
As he forced a smile and spoke to Qiong Rong, Xing Yan suddenly started for no apparent reason, thinking:
Huh?!