After Desri left, Linley lingered in the mountain town for a few more days, making sure the defenses of both the new and old mines were in order. Then he went up to the stone house on the mountaintop alone and stayed inside.
Even when Gates brought wine to the door, he was turned away.
"Third brother," Gates knocked three times on the door, "What are you doing hiding on the mountaintop? You've protected the mine, won the battle, and even that old man Desri is willing to come out of the mountains. What else could you be so upset about?"
After a moment of silence, Linley's voice came through the room. "I want to go into seclusion. Don't bother me with trivial matters for the time being."
"Seclusion?" Gates was taken aback. "Didn't you just break through?"
"I always feel like something's missing," Linley's voice lowered. "I can't quite put my finger on it; you have to figure it out for yourself."
Gates shook his head, threw the wine jar at the door, and went down the mountain grumbling.
Inside the room, Linley sat cross-legged on a futon, with only a Purple Blood Soft Sword in front of him. He wasn't practicing his swordplay; he just sat quietly, like a stone sculpture.
These days, his Tempos of the Wind has gradually become more refined. Fast and slow have merged, the wind has become his eyes, and his sword has become a level sharper than before. But as he practices, he always feels that he has missed a crucial foundation.
His major wasn't wind.
The blood of the Dragonblood Warrior is connected to the earth. From the day he stepped into the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the ground beneath his feet and the land he leaned on in his heart have always been this solid land. The wind was a sharp blade he found behind the mountain village, but what truly kept him from falling was the earth.
"Grandpa Doehring," Linley asked silently in his heart, "Which direction should I go?"
Doehring didn't use telepathy, but instead pushed open the door and came in on the evening of the third day. He sat opposite him and slowly said, "You've grasped the essence of wind; it's time to look back at the earth."
"Soil?" Linley looked up.
"You are Dragonblood Warrior, the power of the earth flows in your veins," Doehring said. "The wind can make you fast, but what truly allows you to stand firm and walk steadily is the earth beneath your feet. These days you've only focused on sharpening your sword, but you've forgotten to strengthen your body."
Linley froze. He gripped the sword hilt and looked down at his hands—hands covered in dragon scales, with distinct knuckles. He suddenly remembered how he had survived his most wretched moments entirely thanks to his dragon-scaled body. The hardness of the dragon scales was like the weight of the earth.
"But hardness alone isn't enough." Doehring seemed to see through his thoughts. "The true power of the earth lies not in its hardness, but in its vastness. You can split a rock, and it cracks; but if you punch this ground, no matter how much force you use, you'll just sink in, dissolved by the layers of earth."
Linley's heart stirred slightly.
That night, he stood alone outside the house, looking at the layers of rocks at his feet, and slowly squatted down, placing his hands on the cold rock surface.
He didn't use his Battle-qi or his mental energy to force it; he simply felt it quietly. At first, he couldn't feel anything, only the rough and cold surface of the rock. But when he calmed his mind and slowly let his spiritual power based on the Laws of Earth sink down, he touched something extremely faint—it sounded like a rhythmic pulsation from the deepest part of the earth.
Pulsation.
He had long ago grasped the Pulsation and mastered it to the 128th level. But that was always a technique he used for offense, layering force to break through his opponent's defenses. He never imagined that the Pulsation could be used for defense.
If he didn't unleash the 128 Pulsation at the enemy, but instead gathered them around his body, spreading them out layer by layer like the earth—then even if a sword were to strike, its force would be gradually dissipated by these continuous Pulsation, and by the time it reached the deepest point, it would have no strength left.
It's like a fist hitting the ground. No matter how heavy the punch, it only creates a ripple.
Linley's eyes slowly brightened.
He stopped thinking and sat down cross-legged on the spot, closed his eyes, and completely immersed his mind in the earth beneath his feet. One layer, two layers, three layers... the continuous Pulsation spread out layer by layer in his body, no longer a force to overwhelm people, but a closing, inward barrier.
At first, the barrier was as thin as paper. The moment Linley's thoughts became slightly confused, the barrier would crumble and disappear. He pushed it down and started over again and again, not caring at all as sweat dripped down his forehead.
The seventh day.
Linley remained seated cross-legged atop the mountain, his eyes closed, but a faint aura emanated from him. This aura was extremely subtle, neither sharp nor ostentatious, yet it was as profound, enduring, and boundless as the land itself.
He slowly opened his eyes, raised his hand, and gently pressed on his right arm.
A powerful yet gentle force rippled out from his arm. If someone were to slash at him with a knife at this moment, the force of the blow would be neutralized by each layer of force, and by the time it reached his flesh, it probably wouldn't even leave a white mark.
" The Profound Truths of the Earth..." Linley murmured, "So, guarding is the deepest way of the earth."
He stood up, drew his Purple Blood Soft Sword, and slowly swung it in the morning light. This sword strike had no speed of wind, yet it carried a profound and solid charm—as if the power of mountains accumulated over millions of years had been condensed into this one sword.
The wind is a sharp blade, used for attack. The earth is fertile soil, used for defense. Only by combining offense and defense can he truly find the foundation upon which his path stands.
"The wind is the sword, the earth is the shield." Linley sheathed his sword, gazing at the rolling mountains below, and murmured, "The convergence of wind and earth is the true path of the Dragonblood Warrior."