157: Chapter 157 Losing Without Knowing Why

The sixty-sixth floor of the Bone Platform.

The moment Lin Mo stepped onto it, only two skeletons appeared ahead.

But the aura of these two skeletons was more dangerous than the previous four or six.

Because the golden patterns on their bodies had begun to close completely.

Like two combat intents sealed within the bone frames.

One focused on speed, the other on stability.

The fast one was like wind and thunder; the stable one was like a monolith.

Lin Mo watched for a few breaths, then suddenly smiled.

"This is just right."

He raised his blade and moved forward.

This strike did not start too heavy.

Instead, he first let the blade edge cut half an inch into the fast one's offensive, then used a second layer of force to forcibly deflect its bone arm.

Immediately after, his feet slid, and he naturally pivoted into the stable one's flank.

His blade stance shifted again.

The third and fourth layers of blade force merged almost into a single line, piercing through the gaps in the stable one's bones.

Both skeletons shattered simultaneously.

Lin Mo stood in place, slowly sheathing his blade; the line in his heart regarding "power connection" became clearer and clearer.

"So true continuity isn't just about connecting movements."

"It's about connecting the intent as well."

"Blade intent, footwork intent, thunder intent, the momentum of the Dragonkin... they all must be connected."

"Only then can it be considered true mastery."

His mind grew brighter and brighter.

After this floor, his understanding of smelting skills into passives drew closer to completion.

Because he could faintly feel that so-called skills could actually be broken down into three parts:

Initiation

Exertion

Recovery

If these three parts could be integrated into bodily instinct, then active skills would begin to disappear from the act of "deliberate execution."

This was exactly what he needed to do now.

The sixty-eighth floor of the Bone Platform.

On this floor, there were a total of eight skeletons.

They formed a circular formation, the golden patterns on their bodies echoing each other, creating a strong pressure.

As soon as Lin Mo stepped up, he knew this floor couldn't be easily crushed by skill alone.

What it required was the coordination of combat rhythm.

"Very good."

A hint of battle intent rose in Lin Mo's eyes.

"Then I'll use you to test my current limits."

He struck with his blade.

The Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash revealed the prototype of the "Chain Flow" for the first time.

The first strike cut through a skeleton.

The second strike used the residual momentum of the first to sweep across the flank.

The third strike was no longer a follow-up, but a regrouping of the force from the previous two strikes to form a stronger secondary explosion.

The fourth strike, the sixth, the eighth...

The blade momentum surged continuously like flowing clouds and flashed repeatedly like an aurora.

Every hit was not isolated.

Every hit paved the way for the next.

Lin Mo's combat had begun to take on the flavor of a "system."

While he advanced strike by strike, the group of geniuses and elders outside finally experienced firsthand what a despairing gap meant.

Ji Wuchen was on the nineteenth floor, his face so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

He had originally thought that by burning his bloodline, even if he wasn't the fastest, he wouldn't fall too far behind.

But reality dealt him a heavy blow.

The suppression of the Bone Platform was stripping away his confidence bit by bit.

Gu Yunting was also forced to stop once.

He looked at the seemingly simple but extremely difficult skeletons ahead, realizing for the first time that his sword didn't "understand" this place enough.

Lu Chenzhou was even more frustrated.

He felt that although his strikes were powerful and heavy, every time he exerted force, it was bounced back.

Ye Huangyi had already begun to adjust her thinking.

She no longer sought a frontal breakthrough, but used the stealth and infiltration of Shadow Hunt to try and find the most effective rhythm within the Bone Platform.

Yan Shisan was still ascending.

Though not fast, he was extremely steady.

In a place no one noticed, Shen Zhihan had quietly stepped onto the twenty-fifth floor.

She had understood the true intent of the Bone Platform earlier than most, so her rhythm had not been disrupted from the start.

She didn't deliberately chase Lin Mo, nor did she compete for priority with the external geniuses.

She just rose quietly, bit by bit.

Like a blade already sharpened, waiting for the moment to truly unsheathe.

The seventieth floor of the Bone Platform.

After standing firm, Lin Mo did not strike immediately.

Because he had sensed that this floor began to involve the "prototype of a domain."

There weren't many skeletons ahead.

Only three.

But as they stood there, they naturally formed a pressure field.

It was a very faint but extremely stable domain.

Lin Mo closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was a deeper meaning in his gaze.

"It seems the path ahead is getting more and more interesting."

"So be it."

"Then let me see how far this so-called true intent can push me."

He raised his blade and moved forward slowly.

The light of the Aurora Flowing Cloud Slash became extremely restrained at this moment, yet even more dangerous.

Because Lin Mo had gradually refined it from a "technique" into a "habit."

And this was precisely the precursor to an active skill smelting into a passive skill.

When Lin Mo stepped onto the seventy-first floor, there was no expected skeletal ambush on the platform, nor any sudden eruption of killing intent.

There was only a Bone Stele.

The Bone Stele was about thirty feet high, pure white throughout, its surface covered in dense cracks as if repeatedly eroded by time, yet it had never completely shattered.

Lin Mo stood before the Bone Stele and did not move immediately.

He just watched.

As he watched, four words slowly emerged on the Bone Stele:

What is the Martial Dao?

Below, Ji Wuchen, who had just stepped onto the Bone Platform, paused.

He looked up, staring at those four words, his expression showing clear impatience for the first time.

"Mysticism and charlatanism."

He whispered.

In his view, the Bone Platform trial should be about crushing, slaughtering, and breaking through, not standing before a stone tablet playing god.

Gu Yunting's frown deepened.

He was sharper than Ji Wuchen, so he could feel that the Bone Stele wasn't just placed there randomly.

It was as if it were scrutinizing.

Not scrutinizing strength.

But scrutinizing whether one was qualified to talk about "Martial Arts."

Lei Wanjun stood behind; his gaze, which had originally been somewhat condescending, now slightly froze.

"This isn't a question."

Shen Guhong said in a low voice.

"This is a threshold."

Daoist Master Yun Yao looked at Lin Mo, finally showing some genuine attention in her eyes.

Before the Bone Stele, Lin Mo did not rush to answer.

He just raised his hand and gently pressed it against the surface of the stele.

Then, he spoke.

"Martial arts is not to prove I am stronger than anyone else."

"Martial arts is to know why I strike."

The Bone Stele fell silent for a moment.

Immediately after, the entire Bone Platform suddenly lit up with a circle of pale light.

Ji Wuchen's expression changed slightly.

Because he saw that the four words on the Bone Stele did not disappear; instead, they seemed to be "re-lit" by some kind of power.

It was as if Lin Mo's words were not just an answer.

But had made the stele "acknowledge" him.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

Lu Chenzhou muttered, his expression revealing a hint of disbelief.

He was best at suppressing others with momentum, so he instinctively looked down on such "heart and dao-questioning" things.

But now, he felt an indescribable discomfort for the first time.

Because he suddenly realized he couldn't answer it at all.

If he were asked to answer "what is martial arts," he could state countless principles of cultivation and combat experience, yet he couldn't say something as simple yet direct to the essence as Lin Mo.

And this simplicity was precisely the most terrifying.

Because it wasn't recited.

It was walked.

On the seventy-second floor, there was no Bone Stele.

In its place were four pure white figures.

They were faceless, soundless, and weaponless.

But as soon as they appeared, the aura of the entire platform changed.

Those were not ordinary enemies.

They were more like some extremely abstract manifestations of the Martial Dao.

The four figures walked slowly; with every step, the entire floor of the Bone Platform seemed to be pressed down an inch.

Lin Mo stood in the center, his expression calm.

But those below were no longer calm.

Ji Wuchen stared at the four white shadows, his gaze becoming truly sharp for the first time.

Because he saw that Lin Mo did not rush to strike.

He first looked at his own feet.

Then he looked at the landing points of the four figures.

Finally, he raised his blade.

This was originally a very ordinary opening stance.

But Ji Wuchen inexplicably felt that something was wrong.

"Something's wrong..."

Gu Yunting spoke in a low voice.

He stared at the trajectory of Lin Mo's blade, suddenly feeling an extremely absurd sensation.

That strike of Lin Mo's didn't seem like it was slaying an enemy.

It seemed more like it was "unraveling" something.

The blade light fell, and the white shadows split apart.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

However, at the moment of the shattering, Gu Yunting vaguely saw that the fragmented white light spots did not disappear; instead, they lingered around Lin Mo for a brief instant before being absorbed by some invisible force within his body.

"He is absorbing them?"

Ye Huangyi spoke for the first time, her voice very soft but carrying obvious astonishment.

She had not seen wrong.

Lin Mo was not simply shattering those white shadows.

It was as if he were forcibly tearing off the martial dao fragments contained within these white shadows and kneading them into his own body.

At this, even the several elders could not sit still.

Lei Wanjun's expression sank slightly.

"What is this kid doing?"

Shen Guhong's gaze suddenly became extremely sharp.

"It is not a battle."

"He is using the Bone Platform to practice his martial arts."

Daoist Master Yun Yao watched quietly, the trace of indifference in her eyes having faded quite a bit.

"More accurately, he is dismantling his own old path."

This sentence caused the few of them to fall silent simultaneously.

Because they finally realized that Lin Mo's strength was not the simple kind of "crushing across levels."

Rather, he was using the Bone Platform to dismantle, filter, and reorganize the originally scattered things within his own body, bit by bit.

This was not passing a trial.

This was forging anew.

Ji Wuchen stood on a lower Bone Platform step, his pupils slightly constricting.

He suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Because what he was best at was "speed."

Once his bloodline combustion was activated, his speed, explosive power, and reaction time were all elevated.

But now, the "speed" Lin Mo displayed on the seventy-second level was completely different from his.

That was not speed born of an explosion.

That was speed that "should have been that way in the first place."

It was speed that flowed naturally after his movements and judgments had merged into one.

For the first time, Ji Wuchen felt an extremely unfamiliar oppression.

It was not being suppressed by power.

It was being suppressed by comprehension.

"How did he do it..."

He asked almost subconsciously.

No one answered him.

Because Gu Yunting was also watching.

Gu Yunting could see the underlying principles better than Ji Wuchen, so his expression was even uglier than Ji Wuchen's.

"He is not deliberately adjusting his movements."

"He is letting his movements find their own path."

Once these words were spoken, the few people around fell silent.

Because they suddenly realized that this ability to "let it find its own path" had already exceeded their common sense regarding combat.

If a person could fuse footwork, blade techniques, reactions, and power into an instinct, then they would not have any obvious "traces of thought" when fighting.

He was not choosing.

He was naturally occurring.

And this kind of naturalness was the most terrifying.

On the seventy-third level, Lin Mo stood in the center of the platform; to outsiders, there was no earth-shattering scene.

It even looked quieter than the previous few levels.

But it was precisely this quietness that made people feel even more uneasy.

Because every time the suppression of the Bone Platform descended, Lin Mo did not "endure" it as they had imagined.

He seemed to be moving along with the suppression.

Moving along with the rhythm of the Bone Platform.

Moving along with the rhythm of the enemy.

Moving along with the spatial compression, power rebound, and bone pattern disturbance to find that most suitable landing point.

And then, he would strike.

Below, Lei Wanjun stared at this scene, his expression growing increasingly heavy.

"He is not forcibly breaking through."

Shen Guhong nodded slowly.

"He is following the momentum."

"Even, he is borrowing the momentum."

At this moment, Wei Qianshan suddenly said in a low voice:

"If a person can turn an enemy's suppression into their own rhythm... then can they still be considered to be undergoing a trial?"

No one replied.

Because this question was too sharp.

They could all see that Lin Mo's state was quietly changing.

He was no longer a person being assessed by the Bone Platform.

He was more like a person who was "using the Bone Platform."

Daoist Master Yun Yao looked upward, a look of true gravity finally appearing in her eyes.

"The Bone Platform seems to be... cooperating with him."

This sentence made everyone fall silent.

The Bone Platform cooperating with the trial-taker?

This should have been the most absurd statement.

Yet, everything before their eyes looked increasingly like that was exactly the case.

Every time Lin Mo was at the point where he should have collapsed, he could always find a sliver of the finest crack within the rules of the Bone Platform.

And that crack seemed like a door left behind by the Bone Platform itself.

This made it impossible not to associate this with a terrifying possibility—

It was not Lin Mo adapting to the trial.

It was the trial being adapted by Lin Mo.

On the seventy-fourth level of the Bone Platform, Lu Chenzhou was completely devastated.

He was originally an extremely proud person.

In his view, the inheritance of the Ancient Martial Sect was the orthodoxy, and the momentum of the body was the foundation; anything flashy was just a side path.

Therefore, he had always been unconvinced by Lin Mo.

Unconvinced that Lin Mo went first.

Unconvinced that Lin Mo was noticed by the elders.

Unconvinced that Lin Mo stood at a higher position than them.

But now, watching Lin Mo's performance on the seventy-fourth level, a deep sense of discomfort arose in his heart for the first time.

Because Lin Mo was not the kind of "strong person" he could understand.

He was too strange.

So strange that Lu Chenzhou did not even know how to evaluate him.

That feeling was like you always thought your opponent was using a certain fist technique, but as you fought, you discovered that the other party had already rewritten the matter of "how to throw a punch."

"What on earth is he practicing..."

Lu Chenzhou said in a low voice.

There was no mockery in his tone, only a hidden sense of unease.

Gu Yunting glanced at him and suddenly gave a bitter smile.

"I want to know, too."

This was not a sign of weakness.

But the powerlessness after one's cognition had been truly shaken.

Because they all discovered that Lin Mo's changes could no longer be explained by "becoming stronger."

He was becoming more difficult to understand.

And once a strong person became difficult to understand, it meant—

His growth had already begun to deviate from conventional measurement.

On the seventy-fifth level, Lin Mo saw for the first time what "Martial" itself looked like.

The entire platform had only one skeleton left.

No golden patterns.

No light.

No flashy phenomena.

It even looked plain and unremarkable.

But it was precisely this skeleton that made Lin Mo stop.

The crowd below also subconsciously held their breath.

Because they discovered that this time, Lin Mo did not strike as quickly as he had before.

He stood in front of that skeleton, seemingly observing it.

Observing what?

Observing a pile of bones?

They had assumed Lin Mo would immediately crush it.

But Lin Mo did not.

He looked at that skeleton for a long time, and finally, he slowly exhaled a breath.

Then, that skeleton moved.

It was just a punch.

A very simple punch.

There were no complex changes.

There were no flashy intentions.

But the moment that punch was thrown, the aura of the entire Bone Platform seemed to have been gently nudged by something.

Ji Wuchen's expression changed abruptly.

"What kind of punch is this?"

He blurted it out.

No one could answer.

Because that punch was too simple.

So simple that it was like the foundation of foundations.

Yet it was precisely this simplicity that made everyone with any real discernment feel an inexplicable chill.

Shen Guhong's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"So that's how it is..."

"This level is not giving him an enemy."

"It is showing him the skeleton of Martial."

Once this was said, the expressions of the several elders around changed simultaneously.

They finally understood.

Before the seventy-fifth level, the Bone Platform had given Lin Mo fragments.

Blade technique fragments.

Footwork fragments.

Power fragments.

Willpower fragments.

But starting from the seventy-fifth level, what the Bone Platform gave him was already a "skeleton."

It was the most primordial, the most basic, the most inescapable Martial Dao itself.

This was what was terrifying.

Because when you see a person who can not only fight but also understand the skeleton of Martial, you know—

He has already begun to touch the edge of the "Dao."

On the seventy-sixth level, Lin Mo's movements became even fewer.

Fewer did not mean weaker.

On the contrary, that scarcity meant that he had already begun to strip away all useless, redundant movements.

One blade strike.

One stance set.

One turn, and it brought forth the momentum for the next level.

Ji Wuchen watched this scene, his expression truly ugly for the first time.

Because he suddenly realized that his own most proud bloodline combustion seemed a bit "cheap" compared to what Lin Mo was displaying now.

His bloodline combustion was forcibly pushing himself to the limit.

While Lin Mo's change seemed to be turning the limit itself into the ordinary.

One was burning oneself.

One was remodeling oneself.

The difference was clear at a glance.

This caused Ji Wuchen's state of mind to fluctuate for the first time.

And this fluctuation was fatal.

Because what a heaven-sent genius feared most was not losing.

It was discovering that they had lost without knowing why.