Forge a path to success.

Chapter 188 The Art of Seeking the Dao with a Broken Heart (1)

"The history of those with broken hearts is a history of fighting against heretics and their own egos..."

In the sweltering heat of summer, cicadas on the old trees chirped listlessly. Inside the classroom, separated by a wall, children sat upright, trembling with fear, as did their patriarch, who held an ancient longsword in his hands.

"To lose to heretics is to lose one's life; to lose to oneself is to lose one's nature." The old man tapped his fingers and flicked his knife, producing a clear and melodious sound. "Which one is true defeat? Qingye, you tell me."

She was called upon, and immediately stood up, replying without hesitation, "Yes! It's death!"

A few snickers rippled through the classroom. Dignity and will were more important than life—a common sense even a young child knew. The children in the clan turned their heads, casting mocking glances. The patriarch smiled too, his expression unreadable. "And why?" he asked.

“That…one’s own mind is one’s own, it’s something that can be discussed! Or rather, it can be communicated!” Qingye became increasingly nervous, blurting out incoherently, “But once you’re dead, there’s no room for discussion! And you can’t come back to life! In that case, you can’t do anything, so death is more terrifying. I think that’s how it is!”

The snickers turned into loud laughter. The patriarch joined in. The laughter was like an invisible cage, isolating her from those around her, turning her from a sociable person into an animal being watched. Her face was pale, her hands and feet were cold, and from the depths of the endless mockery came a deafening, aged voice that seemed to have struck a chord.

"Wow, you're a genius!"

From that day on, she was the genius with a broken heart, Guang Shi Qing Ye.

·
Qingye slapped her cheeks hard, forcing herself to break free from the memory. She was always like this; whenever she felt down, she would recall those unbearable memories, making her mood even worse.

She knew why; she was still stuck in the Sinful Bone state, her body storing too many negative emotions, naturally causing her thoughts to slide into a negative abyss. She should ascend to Point 3 as soon as possible, so she could help everyone and solve her own problems. But…

—Someone like you dares to call himself a heartless person?

Chongming's mockery echoed in her heart, wounding her fragile self-esteem. She told herself not to think about it, not to create trouble for herself, but a voice in her heart kept repeating, telling her that the old master was right. She couldn't cultivate now; she needed to calm down, at least to control her emotions.

By the time she realized it, Qingye had already run out of the settlement and into the dense forest. She leaned against a tree trunk, trying to calm her racing heart and force herself to stay composed. Then, a deeper sense of frustration washed over her.

What is she doing? What happened to her original plan? She's throwing a tantrum and running away just because she was scolded a couple of times. How is she any different from an ordinary female student? Shouldn't she find somewhere to cry secretly afterward?

They've made such a disgraceful spectacle; they're hardly worthy of being called heartless people.

The despondency deepened, and Qingye covered her face with a sigh. She wanted to prove Chongming wrong, but every action she took only confirmed his correctness. She was at a loss.

Just then, anxious shouts came from not far away, accompanied by a piercing cry. She followed the sound and saw four tribal warriors wielding magic rifles and bone axes, fighting against a four-winged blind bird. Beside the warriors was a half-destroyed trap, and a bear with a snail's head was about to break free.

The situation was clear: the hunt was interrupted halfway through by a strange beast that had suddenly appeared, and the prey was about to turn into a death sentence. Qingye crafted two shadow shurikens. The first grazed the blind bird's abdomen, drawing its attention. As the blind bird reacted to the sound and became alert, the second shurikens pierced its eyeball from the opposite direction, passing through its brain.

The blind bird twitched a few times, but continued walking due to nerve control. Qingye flashed behind the strange bear, slashed its head open, and plunged its blade into its chest cavity to crush its heart.

She drew her sword and stepped aside. Only after the two beasts were completely dead and no longer moving did she say to the warriors, "It's over."

The settlement warriors let out a weak cheer. The squad leader, wounded by the blind bird, sat under a large tree, repeatedly clasping his hands together: "Thank you so much! You saved my life!"

"These warriors are truly remarkable!" another warrior said, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. "They are indeed powerful warriors worthy of being called the slayers."

The soldiers' praise made Qingye's heart tighten. She had been insignificant in that battle; a more agile Point Two could have easily destroyed the mechanisms in the painting. Thinking back to Jinye City, she hadn't contributed much either; the center of the battlefield belonged to the dazzling legends, and she had simply been there the whole time.

Qingye smiled bitterly: "It's basically thanks to Mr. Chu and the others... They are much more capable than me."

"I couldn't tell," the squad leader said sincerely. "In my eyes, you're all the same. You're all very strong."

Qingye immediately recognized that he wasn't an Ascended One; his combat prowess relied entirely on his armor and relic weapons. The squad leader was a weathered middle-aged man, and the fact that he'd survived this long with such meager equipment only spoke volumes about his experience. If Qingye hadn't come, someone like him would have perished in a hunt right on his doorstep.

"Did something happen?" Qingye asked.

The squad leader hesitated for a few seconds: "Dissolving bears usually live deep in the forest. Blind birds have been caught so well that they rarely approach settlements. But today they've all appeared one after another."

It makes sense that they encountered an enemy they shouldn't have met. Qingye looked into the depths of the jungle. She had heard Ji Huaisu say yesterday that the group was originally supposed to return to the settlement through the jungle.

“You should know that there are bad things in the woods.”

“Warriors, we all need to eat.” The squad leader smiled wryly. “If we go hunting sandworms, we’ll die even more miserably.”

Qingye nodded and disappeared silently. When she returned, she was accompanied by a dozen strange birds with unusually long beaks and three black creatures that looked like wild boars, trailing behind her with shadow threads.

"Please take these back to the settlement first. I'll go deeper inside to investigate the situation."

"Thank you so much!" The squad leader gave a forced salute. "Please be careful!" Qingye watched the soldiers drag their prey back to the city, feeling a moment of bewilderment. To Chongming and her teammates, she was just an insignificant helper. In the eyes of her peers at home, she was the coward who always made a fool of herself. But in the settlement, she had become an object of admiration for the soldiers, even though her actions were nothing more than a small favor.

Does a person's role truly change with their environment? If one day she were to go to a weak, dusty island, would its inhabitants worship her?
The thought made Qingye feel nauseous. It was too foolish, too arrogant, like a stupid person flaunting their power. She focused her mind and stepped into the deep forest.

The forest was silent, broken only by the occasional cry of a strange beast. Behind the deep green leaves, as if lurking demonic eyes, lurked, watching her every move. Qingye carefully left a shadow behind her, marking her path. Her nostrils twitched slightly, discerning an unusual scent in the damp, decaying air.

It was a fragrance, like perfume on a noblewoman's shoulders, or orchids blooming at midnight. Qingye instinctively thought of the luxuries of her hometown; such a symbol of civilization couldn't possibly exist in a forest teeming with decaying matter, corpses, and insects. Qingye immediately held her breath. She knew that certain plants and beasts would deliberately create similar scents to lure their prey; the fragrance in the wild was most likely poison.

But at that moment, the outline of a huge, terrifying monster immediately appeared in her mind. Thick flowers blooming like mountains, vile plants covered with lips—Qingye had never seen such a creature before, but fear naturally brought the monster to life, eroding her spirit.

He might have been poisoned by a neurotoxin. Qingye immediately turned around and retraced her steps.

The shadow line is broken.

She stood frozen, her heart clenched with chilling fear. Being cut off from her escape route wasn't the worst part; what was terrifying was that she hadn't even detected the enemy's methods. From being poisoned to the rupture of the shadow threads, only a few breaths had passed, and she couldn't even tell which came first.

Once again, Qingye felt the gaze from behind the leaves, a naked, greedy thirst for flesh and blood. The leaves began to vibrate, and a cacophony of flapping wings rose from the darkness. The unknowable monster began to flap its wings, and the entire jungle trembled at its movements. A feeling of nausea arose, and Qingye trembled as she reached out to steady herself against the tree trunk, only to find that the tree had turned a brilliant purple, melting like mud.

Qingye clutched her head tightly, wanting to scream. Her heart was pounding faster than she could imagine. The jungle was shrinking. Noise and stares were closing in. The space had become a tiny prison because of fear.

The clear, resonant sound of a sword echoed through the deep forest, instantly bringing clarity to the world.

"Control your emotions." Some say, "Fear can cloud your vision."

The sound of flapping wings was no longer heard; only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard. She was indeed leaning against a large tree, its trunk purplish, but it was just a normal dark-colored plant. Qingye followed Jianming and saw a campsite in a sparse area of ​​trees, where a pale-faced man sat alone on a wooden stake.

He had medium-length hair, wore a silver hoodie, and the short sword on his knee was still trembling slightly; he was clearly a ruthless individual.

"How are things now?" the man asked.

"I...can't feel it at all." Qingye herself couldn't believe it. "Is it...an illusion?"

“It’s an illusion,” the man said in an unquestionable tone. “Fear amplifies the sense of crisis.”

"But, neurotoxins..."

"It smells like flowers."

Qingye was speechless, then said, "Such a loud flapping sound." "It's the wind." "The trees are melting!" "A hallucination."

"But, but..." Qingye shook her head vigorously, pointing to the broken shadow behind her, "My threads are all broken!"

"It's because I'm practicing swordsmanship," the hooded man said calmly. "Any other questions?"

"Yes, that's all." Qingye subconsciously lowered her head in response, just like when she was in class. Her awe of the strong made her remain silent.

"Sit down and rest." "Okay." Qingye carefully sat down on the ground. The hooded man stared blankly at his short sword.

"name is?"

"Light illuminates the night..."

"I am Longyu."

The name sounded more like a knife than a person's name; it was obviously a fake. Qingye didn't dare to expose it: "Thank you, Mr. Longyu."

Then the conversation ended. Long Yu continued to stare blankly at the short sword, his muddy gaze like that of an office worker just waking up from a drunken stupor. This awkward and unsettling silence lasted for more than ten minutes before Long Yu looked up at Qing Ye as if he had just noticed.

"You have a problem."

"Ah," Qingye nodded, "Yes."

Longyu made an ice knife and tossed it to her, then picked up the short knife from her lap.

“Then let’s practice Kendo,” the man said. “No matter what the problem is, Kendo is always the best way to solve it.”

(End of this chapter)