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"Put down the swords in your hands that you claim are for 'acting on behalf of Heaven'."

Yi Huawei's gaze swept over Shi Feixuan, as if piercing through her skin and looking directly at the Cihang Sword Qi flowing within her body: "Seal off that delusion of 'choosing a master on behalf of Heaven' in your minds."

"Then…,"

His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable power: "Step down from this Emperor's Peak, step out of the cage you have woven with the 'Heavenly Way'."

“Go among the ‘people’ you claim to save. Not as a high and mighty ‘fairy’ or ‘savior,’ but as a… ‘human being.’”

Shi Feixuan's pupils suddenly contracted. He stepped down from Emperor's Peak? Like an ordinary person?

"Go and see for yourself whether the iron cavalry of the powerful clans you support leave behind songs of praise for 'benevolent governance' or the lamentations of countless refugees."

Yi Huawei's voice was like a cold iron plow, turning over the soil deep in her understanding that she had never truly touched: "Go and taste for yourself how many bushels of millet you collect for the sake of the world actually fall on the shoulders of ordinary farmers? Go and touch with your own hands the withered hands and calluses of the tenant farmers on the lands occupied by powerful families."

“Go to the streets and alleys, listen to how the peddlers and laborers curse the world, listen to how the common people carefully calculate every grain of rice and every foot of cloth, and listen to what the ‘peace’ they truly yearn for looks like.”

"Go to the countryside and see how farmers struggle to survive amidst the exploitation by powerful figures and natural disasters and wars, and see how a spring rain or a hailstorm can easily destroy a family's hopes for the whole year."

"Go to the border passes and see how the soldiers are always ready for battle, see how the smoke of war rises and falls, and see how many nameless bones are piled up behind every grand plan of a 'dynastic enterprise'."

Yi Huawei's words were not passionate or impassioned, but rather possessed an almost cruel calmness, painting the most real and somber picture of the mundane world.

"Use your eyes to see, use your ears to hear, and use your hearts to feel."

He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Instead of using your self-righteous 'Way of Heaven' to speculate and arrange things!"

"If you truly have even a shred of compassion for the world, and are not fixated on the title of 'acting on behalf of Heaven',"

Yi Huawei's voice lowered, yet carried an even deeper penetrating force: "Then, when you truly see the root of suffering in this world—those deeply entrenched interests of powerful clans, those exorbitant taxes that suck the marrow from one's bones, those wars that treat human life as worthless, those monopolies that stifle life..."

"What you need to do is not to choose a 'wise ruler' to suppress all this and place your hopes on his 'benevolence'. Because the 'wise ruler' you choose is born from this rotten soil and is part of this chain of interests! What you need to do is to think about how to use your power, wisdom, and even the millennia of accumulation of this Emperor's Peak to help those at the bottom of the 'dust' to pry away these huge stones pressing down on the heads of all people, bit by bit!"

His words, like heavy hammer blows, struck Shi Feixuan's already crumbling defenses:
“To help the villagers dig a canal that can irrigate a hundred acres of dry land is more meritorious than to support a ‘wise ruler’.”

“Researching a prescription that can prevent and treat epidemics would save countless lives rather than ‘choosing a master on behalf of Heaven’.”

"It is more valuable to mediate and quell an impending village feud than to sit idly by and watch the world be engulfed in war."

"To urge the government to reduce a miscellaneous tax that exploits merchants and travelers is more popular than to talk about 'benevolent governance'."

"even,"

Yi Huawei's gaze fell on Shi Feixuan: "Teach a few farm children to read and do arithmetic, so they will be less deceived in the future. That would be a thousand times more beneficial to the common people than you talking about 'the Way of Heaven' and manipulating the world's chessboard from this mountaintop!"

This is 'great benevolence without benevolence'.

Yi Huawei's voice fell silent: "The true way of Heaven is in the life and death of all living beings, not in the scriptures of your Jingzhai, nor in the illusory destiny of the 'He Shi Bi'."

"Let go of your attachments, engage with the world, do small acts of kindness, and accumulate virtue step by step. This is the only path that you, Jingzhai, should take if you truly want to 'help the world'."

He closed his eyes again and said nothing more.

Shi Feixuan stood frozen in place, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning. The path Yi Huawei had described—without divine light, without a destiny bestowed upon her, without grand ambitions or great achievements, only trivial, ordinary, and even humble "minor merits"—was completely opposite to the teachings she had received and the mission she had longed for over the past twenty years! It was a path leading downwards, towards mud, towards dust, towards the "people" she had never truly understood.

The immense shock left her mind reeling. Go down the mountain? Like an ordinary person? To dig a canal? To treat the sick? To teach children to read? This…this was his so-called “saving the world”?
Absurd! Degrading! Even...blasphemous!
The thought screamed instinctively in her heart. But Yi Huawei's cold, penetrating words echoed repeatedly in her mind like a curse, each word like a red-hot branding iron, searing her wavering beliefs. She tried to cling to that sacred sense of mission from the past to resist, only to find that the belief was already riddled with holes, leaving only a magnificent empty shell.

Only the sound of burning pine resin and the constant whistling of the wind outside the window remained in the hall. Shi Feixuan's face shifted in the firelight, pale, bewildered, struggling, resisting... In the end, it all turned into a bottomless weariness and... a faint, almost imperceptible, bewildered inquiry about that "minor achievement"?
She slowly turned around, her steps unsteady, as if walking on clouds, and walked step by step toward the tightly closed palace door. Her pale white figure appeared extremely thin and desolate in the dim light.

………………

The next morning, the chill was even more intense than the day before.

The snow on the summit of Emperor's Peak reflected the pale sunlight, casting a chilly glow over the plaza. Yi Huawei, still wrapped in his unassuming gray cotton robe, stood on the stone steps in front of the side hall, his gaze fixed on the ethereal clouds below, as if waiting for something.

He did not live to see the Jade Disc of He Shi Bi, nor did he receive the Cihang Sword Manual.

A gentle breeze swept across the square without warning, swirling up a few fine snowflakes. The wind carried an indescribable emptiness, as if it had merged with the very fabric of heaven and earth. A figure, seemingly emerging from the void, appeared silently in the center of the square.

The newcomer wore a faded, unusually large gray Taoist robe. His hair and beard were all white, and his complexion was rosy like a baby's, with a gentle, even somewhat innocent smile on his face. He was not tall, with a slightly hunched back, and his hands were tucked into the wide sleeves of his robe. At first glance, he looked like a kind old farmer that could be found anywhere in the mountains.

His gaze fell on Yi Huawei, his gentle smile unchanged, but a faint hint of surprise flickered deep in his eyes. Even with his mastery of the "Eight Strikes of the Scattered Hands," a state of near-perfect harmony with nature, he couldn't fully fathom the depths of this silent man before him. The other stood there, his aura restrained to the extreme, like an ancient, unchanging rock, yet subtly radiating a sense of tranquility that seemed out of place in this world.

"This humble Taoist priest, Ning Daoqi, greets you, sir."

Ning Daoqi's voice was calm and soothing, with a unique rhythm, like a mountain spring flowing over bluestone, naturally calming the restlessness in people's hearts.
"My junior sister Qinghui sent a message saying that a remarkable person with extraordinary insight has arrived at Emperor's Peak, and whose words are thought-provoking. I am eager to meet him and have come to pay my respects. I hope that you will not hesitate to enlighten me."

Yi Huawei slowly turned around, his gaze calmly meeting Ning Daoqi's. His gaze remained deep and unwavering, unmoved by the other's status or his aura of being one with the world.

"nameless!"

He uttered two words in a hoarse voice, as a response.

Ning Daoqi smiled amiably, rolled up his sleeves, and took two steps forward with a relaxed demeanor: "I've heard that you have many criticisms of my Jingzhai's practice of 'choosing a master on behalf of Heaven,' saying that it is the source of chaos, and even... has the suspicion of being 'evil'?"

His tone was gentle, as if he were discussing a trivial and amusing matter, but the weight of his words was immense.

"It's just facts."

Yi Huawei's answer was concise and to the point, without any embellishment.

Ning Daoqi's smile faded slightly, and the gentleness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a scrutinizing look: "Sir, your words are perhaps too arbitrary. The Way of Heaven is unfathomable, and the human heart is unpredictable. The Jingzhai sect, with its thousand-year heritage, uses its sword heart to perceive the will of Heaven, chooses a wise ruler to stabilize the world, stop wars, and relieve the suffering of the people. This is great compassion and great merit. What is there to it as 'evil'?"

"Compassion? Merit?"

Yi Huawei's lips seemed to twitch slightly:
"Using the common people as pawns, regarding human life as worthless, placing one's own will above all others, and using the name of Heaven to carry out dictatorship. If such behavior is called compassion, then the act of massacring cities and destroying countries can also be called redemption."

Ning Daoqi's fingers, hidden in his sleeves, twitched slightly, and the smile on his face vanished completely, replaced by a deep solemnity.

Yi Huawei's words, like cold daggers, pierced the very foundation of Jingzhai's existence and subtly touched upon the boundaries of his Taoist philosophy of "non-action."

"Sir, you've gone to extremes. The way of Heaven operates according to its own principles. Jingzhai's actions are simply following the trend and guiding the general trend towards good..."

"Go with the flow?"

Yi Huawei interrupted him, his voice still calm, yet carrying a penetrating power that seemed to see through everything: "Is it following the 'momentum' you interpret, or the instinctive momentum of all living beings seeking survival? Guiding towards good? Who sets the standard for good? Is it the sword in your hands that you claim to wield as justice?"

Ning Daoqi fell silent. Even the wind in the square seemed to freeze. His once gentle and clear eyes now gleamed with a sharp, inner light, like two deep pools reflecting Yi Huawei's cold figure. Yi Huawei's words stripped away all the grand facades, pointing directly to the core essence of power—the power to define "good" and "power."

This is the original sin that no transcendent power can avoid.

After a long silence, Ning Daoqi sighed softly, his sigh carrying a hint of helplessness, but also a hint of determination: "Sir's words are like a thunderclap, deafening and enlightening. However, those who follow different paths cannot work together. The Way of Jingzhai is the belief that I and my junior sister Qinghui have held throughout our lives. Even if it has flaws, it cannot be completely negated by you in a few words."

He slowly raised his hands, which had been tucked into his sleeves. Those withered palms now contained a terrifying power that seemed to freeze the air in the entire square. His wide Taoist robe billowed without wind, bulging like clouds.

"Sir, your insight is extraordinary, and your cultivation is unfathomable. I am unworthy, but I wish to use my 'freehand' skills to 'learn' from you. Perhaps my words are insufficient, but your skills may reveal the true extent of your abilities."

Ning Daoqi's voice remained calm, but every word struck like a heavy hammer against a bluestone slab, carrying an undeniable pressure. He understood that words could not sway the other party in the slightest; only by discussing the Dao through martial arts could he probe the depths of this mysterious man, and also make a final defense for Jingzhai and for his own beliefs!

Before he finished speaking, Ning Daoqi made a move!

Without a single earth-shattering sound, he seemed to transform into a gentle breeze. His toes lightly touched the snow-covered flagstones, and he appeared like a ghost, standing a few feet in front of Yi Huawei. His movements were so swift and light, as if he had merged with the space itself, utterly devoid of any trace of human presence. His wide gray Taoist robe billowed like flowing clouds, and a withered hand silently emerged from the sleeve, its fingers slightly curved into claws, the palm sunken as if containing an invisible vortex, gently pressing towards Yi Huawei's chest!
This press, seemingly effortless and without force, caused the air in front of Yi Huawei to suddenly collapse, emitting a low groan! The wind and snow within a radius of several feet seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, swirling wildly towards that palm! This was Ning Daoqi's starting stance of the "Eight Pounces of the Scattered Hands"—[Humble and Open-minded]! Seemingly wide open, it actually drew upon the power of heaven and earth, transforming immense force into an invisible press!
Yi Huawei didn't even lift his eyelids. Just as the hand, imbued with the immense power of heaven and earth, was about to touch the cotton robe on his chest, he moved. The movement was equally simple—he merely raised his right hand flat, his five fingers slightly spread, to meet Ning Daoqi's pressing hand. There was no surge of true energy, no burst of qi, only a pure and utterly calm and precise stillness.

boom!
A dull, heart-stopping thud rang out!

There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected; their hands collided like two ordinary pieces of wood. However, centered on the point of contact between their hands, an invisible yet overwhelming shockwave suddenly spread outwards!
boom--!
The hard bluestone slabs on the square were as if they had been brutally plowed by an invisible giant plow, instantly cracking and churning! The snow covering them was violently ripped up, turning into a sky full of snow powder, surging in all directions like a white, raging tide! Several gnarled ancient pines near the edge of the square shook violently, their needles falling like a torrential rain! In the distance, the windows of the side hall groaned under the weight of the storm!

Ning Daoqi's body jolted violently! For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on his rosy, baby-like face! He felt as if he had pressed against not a hand, but an ancient, unchanging, towering mountain! The overwhelming, unstoppable force of the impact was pure, vast, and as heavy as a mountain! What shocked him even more was that his pride and joy, his "Humble Mind," which could command the power of heaven and earth, instantly dissipated upon contact with the other's hand, like waves crashing against a reef! The other's body seemed like a silent abyss, completely unmoved by external forces!
Yi Huawei remained as steady as a rock, not even the hem of his clothes fluttering. He caught Ning Daoqi's hand with his right hand, his five fingers slightly tightening, gripping the other's wrist like an iron clamp!
Ning Daoqi's eyes flashed with a sharp light! With a low shout, the purest Daoist true essence within his body, almost the very origin of heaven and earth, erupted! His gripped wrist twisted and trembled violently! A stream of true essence, perfectly harmonious yet containing a terrifying spiraling tearing force, burst forth, attempting to break free of the restraints! At the same time, his free left hand, fingers pointing like a sword, struck towards Yi Huawei's brow with lightning speed! Before his fingertip even arrived, a condensed, tangible finger gust, powerful enough to pierce through metal and stone, had already torn through the air!

These two moves are precisely the "Circular Strike" and "Pointing to Heaven and Drawing on Earth" techniques from the Eight Strikes of Sanshou! They are both offensive and defensive, exquisitely crafted! (End of Chapter)