Book 19 Chapter 19

Nightfall

-Inducements

Night, moon, stars, and prey.

These were all things he'd gotten used to in recent years.

What does it mean to get used to?

The thought flashed through his mind that it might mean to stop thinking about it. Avoid thinking, reserve judgment. You just do it. You don't think about the action and the consequences. And I don't take responsibility. Of course, a distinction must be made between mastering a skill and becoming comfortable with it, otherwise it would be unfair to the master.

But accustomed as he was, his mind was at ease with his busy body; his body moved as if it didn't have to ask his head for permission.

The first time always brings with it both anxiety and anticipation, which can be a great psychological pressure and weigh down a person's spirit. So he panicked and wasted another five seconds.

He was impatient, wanting to end the fight as quickly as possible. His nervousness and lack of composure made his entire body feel dull, and he repeated five times what should have been once against a not-so-strong opponent.

The second time was much better. I had already been through it once, so I was prepared. So, once again, I was able to forcefully control my panicky mind when it tried to lose its composure, but in the process, I lost four seconds.

The third time was much more manageable. He already knew what was going to happen to him, and he was prepared to deal with it. After two rounds of trial and error, he had gained the experience to revise the entire process and fine-tune the details.

He knew that some hesitation would arise in his mind, and he knew that he would take control of that hesitation again, so he figured he could skip those two steps. He could calculate the whole process like a picture, and he had already practiced it twice. Eventually, his hands stopped shaking, and his hands were much easier to work with once the mental shaking was gone. Still, he'd used up three seconds. It wasn't enough.

By the fourth time, the distance was gone from his mind. There was no hesitation. He could only focus on the technique that would defeat his opponent. How could he defeat his opponent in a single bite? But because I was thinking too much about technique, I ended up spending another second. It wasn't just the emotional part of his mind that needed to be cleared; the rational part of his mind could also interfere with his physical movements to an excessive degree. He needed to organize his thoughts and focus on one thing.

And now, for the fifth time, his mind was at peace. There was no distraction. He could hardly tell the difference between what he was doing and a night walk. A little exercise in the moonlight might seem unusual, but he could see nothing wrong with it. Victory would come to him today as it had yesterday. He had never been so sure of success as he was today.

'This is the end of my late-night walks. Farewell to the cold night breeze and the dew of dawn. And now I will strike him down.

The blade in his mind had been sharpened enough over the past five nights. Today was not about sharpening the blade, but rather a ritual of sorts to test its sharpness. A ritual to declare that his blade was sharp enough to cut a peony!

The tangible evidence before his eyes would further boost his confidence, and that confidence would fuel his momentum. Gong Zonghui looked at the offerings for today's ritual with excitement.

"It's a plum……. Not a bad flower to practice plucking before you start plucking peonies."

The patrolman's uniform was embroidered with the plum blossom symbol of the Volcanic Sect.

'There's nothing to worry about. Nothing…….'

It's just repeating a recently created routine.

"I am invincible!

The young man, basking in the glow of his previous successes, was confident that his opponent would be unaware of his presence this time as well. Of course, he wouldn't do something as practical as ambushing him from behind. While he was still pondering how best to surprise the man in front of him, his back was turned. His back was to him, and his back was to the front.

"Good night!"

Turning around, the man smiled broadly and greeted her with his sword.

Flash!

A beam of moonlit sword light scarred the darkness with a streak of light. It wasn't the distinctive sword energy of the Volcanic Sect's famously flamboyant swords that emanated from the blade of the man in the Volcanic Sect's robes. It was a swift, lightning-fast blade that struck him.

"Huh!"

Gong Gongzhihui was thrown backward by the terrifying sword eclipse that threatened to cut his waist in two in an instant.

Voila!

The flash swept past his waist by a hair's breadth. The training he'd been practicing had saved his life. But it did not save his clothes. His fine silk robes had been cut cleanly by the sharp blade. Though expensive, his clothes were cheaper than his life.

"You're not a volcanist, are you?"

Gong Zhonghui looked at the figure in his shabby clothes. The man chuckled.

"You're late in introducing yourself. I'm Namgungsang of the Namgung family."

It was a smile that shone like moonlight.

"Good to see you, Master!"