230: Qin Qing's transformation, the essence of Legalism, and the wrath of the angels.

Xinghai University, the top floor of the Student Union Enforcement Department, the Head's exclusive Meditation Room.

Unlike the Hundred Schools Society's new headquarters, which was characterized by inclusiveness and bustling popularity, everything here exuded a sense of absolute Order and cold solemnity. The interior space was vast, with clean, sharp lines, dominated by silver-white and dark gold hues. The walls were made of a special alloy capable of absorbing noise and stabilizing energy fluctuations, polished like a mirror. There was no superfluous decoration; only the entire wall opposite the door was dominated by a massive bas-relief constructed of pure light energy—a totem depicting scales suspended above a Law book, with wings representing Judgment and guardianship extending from both sides. It emitted a constant, faint, majestic glow, serving as the real-world projection of the rules of Qin Qing's divine domain core, the judgment sanctuary.

In the center of the Meditation Room, Qin Qing was not, as usual, dealing with mountains of violation reports or planning the next campus Order patrol. She had rarely shed her stiff Head of the Enforcement Department uniform-style Divine Robe, changing into a simple, moon-white casual dress. Her black hair was tied up with only a plain wooden hairpin. She sat cross-legged on a cushion carved from a single piece of “Calming Cold Jade.” On the low table in front of her lay an ancient scroll made of tanned animal hide, along with several faintly glowing Jade Slips.

The script on the scroll was not the Star Sea common language, but ancient and obscure seal script—it was the copy of selected chapters of Han Feizi, which recorded the core essence of the Legalist School, gifted to her previously by Lin Zhou. The Jade Slips contained Lin Zhou's explanations of concepts such as the combination of “Law, Method, and Authority,” and “No Exemption from Punishment for high officials, no omission of reward for commoners,” along with examples of their divine Domain application (partially sanitized versions).

The only sounds in the room were the subtle rustling of Qin Qing's fingertips occasionally tracing the scroll and the Jade Slips, and the light of contemplation constantly flowing in her clear, cold eyes. The solemn Order permeating the air subtly intertwined and clashed with the cold, strict, yet logically rigorous intellectual essence within the scroll and Jade Slips, which pointed directly to the nature of rule and Order.

Half a month had passed since the earth-shattering battle against Chief Student Xuanyuan Hong. The outside world was turbulent: the Hundred Schools Society was rapidly expanding, Lin Zhou was in seclusion to consolidate his strength, and discussions about the “Power of Thought” and the Way of Civilization were growing increasingly fervent on campus. As the Head of the Enforcement Department, Qin Qing, who had fought alongside Lin Zhou under immense pressure, witnessed firsthand, and even participated in the magnificent feat of “Hundred Schools Sounding Together,” the impact and introspection she experienced internally were far deeper than what the outside world perceived.

Initially, her approach to Lin Zhou was driven more by curiosity and vigilance toward a “novel Order variant,” as well as recognition of the practical value he demonstrated in battle. Serving as an Advisor to the Society also involved considering how to utilize his influence to regulate the emerging faction while observing and studying him up close.

But when she truly calmed her mind to study the Legalist School classics and insights Lin Zhou had given her, an unprecedented sense of resonance and resolution gradually overwhelmed her initial utilitarian mindset.

Her Judgment Angel divine Domain originated from the ancient “Sacred Order” System passed down by her Family. Its core power lay in “Execution of established Sacred Law and punishment of those who deviate from Order.” The concept she was instilled with from childhood was: Order is absolute, Law is divinely bestowed (or formulated by a higher divine existence), and the duty of the Angels is to loyally guard and Execute this set of Laws, using fire and sword to judge all “Chaos,” “evil,” and “injustice.”

This System was powerful and pure, granting her and her Angel Legion unwavering faith and potent Punitive Power. But deep within Qin Qing's heart, there always lurked a faint sense of doubt and limitation that she herself might not have clearly perceived.

Where did the Law come from? Why was it formulated this way? If a situation arose that the Law did not explicitly cover, or one that conflicted with a higher intuitive sense of “justice,” how should she rule? When the “Chaos” she faced did not stem from malice but from cognitive differences or survival needs, was pure “purification” truly the optimal solution? Her Judgment sometimes felt more like a passive reaction than an active shaping.

The Legalist School of Thought, particularly Han Feizi's Major Achievement theory of “Law, Method, and Authority,” opened a completely new window for her.

“'Law' refers to statutes written in official records, and penalties must be known to the people...” Qin Qing softly recited the words on the animal hide scroll, her eyes sparkling. The Legalist School's “Law” was not some vague, sacred decree, but written rules explicitly formulated by the ruler (or ruling group), promulgated through official channels, made known to the populace, and mandatory to obey! Its purpose was to “define duties and stop disputes,” maintaining ruling Order and social stability. This allowed her, for the first time, to contemplate the construction of Order from the perspective of a “Legislator” rather than merely an “Enforcer.”

“No Exemption from Punishment for high officials, no omission of reward for commoners.” This sentence touched her deeply. In the Judgment Angel System, the severity of punishment was often linked to the target's “depth of sin” and “degree of Order disruption,” but it was inevitably subject to implicit influences from factors like the target's strength and background (for instance, the determination required and the resistance faced when punishing a Faint Divinity campus violator versus punishing a Mid-Tier Divine Power violator were vastly different). The Legalist School's emphasis on “equality before the Law” (at least formally), and the maintenance of the absolute authority of the rules, perfectly aligned with her inner pursuit of “absolute justice,” even appearing more thorough and idealized.

“'Hold to the Law and maintain Authority, and there is Order; abandon the Law and lose Authority, and there is Chaos.'” The Legalist School emphasized the combination of “Law” and “Authority” (prestige, power). Qin Qing considered her own Angel Legion; their power came not just from the individual, but from the “Sacred Authority” (Authority) represented by the judgment sanctuary, and the “Sacred Law” (Law) they Executed. But the Legalist School went further, pointing out that the “Law” itself should become the source and guarantee of “Authority,” not merely a tool of “Authority.” This made her begin to reflect on the power structure of her divine Domain.

The more she studied, and the more she recalled the details of that battle, the greater the shock and realization in her heart.

During the battle, Lin Zhou deployed the Net of Law to define “illegal” acts and weaken them—wasn't this the combination of “legislation” and “judiciary”? By using the Legalist concept of No Exemption from Punishment to strengthen the Law Fishmen's attacks against elite units, wasn't he manifesting the idea of “equality before the Law”? His synergy with her Divine Edict Barrier—wasn't he attempting to construct a more stable and proactive Order Domain that combined “Law” and “Authority”?

As for herself, her previous Judgments relied more on the Angels' individual “sense of justice” and loyalty to the Law. While pure, this approach seemed passive and weak when facing Xuanyuan Hong's higher-level, more systematic Conquest Order. What if, like Lin Zhou, she could not only “Execute the Law” but also more profoundly “understand the Law,” “apply the Law,” and even participate in “defining the Law”... Once this thought emerged, it spread like wildfire across the calm, rational lake of her mind.

She began to attempt to cautiously introduce and fuse some of the Legalist School's core concepts with the rules of her own divine Domain. This was not a simple stacking of skills, but an infusion and guidance at the ideological level.

She started with the most core ability, [Judgment]. The Judgment Angel's [Judgment] essentially involved mobilizing Sacred Order Power to conduct an “Order Deviation Degree” check on the target, applying varying degrees of punishment (damage, weakening, confinement, etc.) based on the result. Previously, the standard for this check was relatively vague, relying mainly on the Angel's own perception and the Law's general principles.

Qin Qing tried to introduce the Legalist concepts of Holding Names Responsible for Reality (examining reality according to the name/status to ensure alignment) and “Matching Penalty to Crime” (matching the penalty to the crime). Instead of vaguely sensing “Chaos” or “injustice,” she began trying to define the enemy's “crime” more clearly—was it “violating established agreements”? Was it “conducting unjust aggression”? Was it “using forbidden Chaos methods”? And she began to pre-set different tiers of [Judgment] response rules for different “crimes.”

Simultaneously, combining the egalitarian concept of No Exemption from Punishment, she consciously began to weaken the implicit reliance of the Judgment skill on external factors like the target's strength and status, linking its power more purely to the severity of the target's “crime.”

This process was extremely difficult and fraught with risk. The Sacred Order rules were ancient and stable, while Legalist School of Thought was an external, heterogeneous seed of rules. Forcing the Fusion might lead to rule conflict, or even self-retaliation. Qin Qing had to rely on the absolute Order environment of the Meditation Room and her profound understanding of Order rules, attempting the process bit by bit, like the most precise surgical operation.

Progress was slow and often saw setbacks. But she could feel that every successful minor adjustment deepened her understanding of “Judgment,” and the rule resonance triggered when the skill was released seemed more precise and condensed.

On this day, she concluded another attempt, feeling no obvious immediate improvement. However, when her Divine Thought sank into her divine Domain, the phantom of the suspended [Law Scales] at the core of the judgment sanctuary seemed slightly more solidified and stable than usual, and the Order brilliance it emitted contained an added trace of indescribable coldness and decisiveness.

Just then, her personal terminal received a message from Lin Zhou, inviting her to participate in a small-scale tactical simulation and live-fire test within the Hundred Schools Society. The purpose was to evaluate several prototypes of "Ideological Armament" newly developed by the Research Hall, as well as the coordination proficiency of members from the War Hall and Combat Hall. The location was the standard small Virtual Combat Platform beneath the Society's headquarters.

Qin Qing's eyes shifted slightly. This might be an opportunity—a chance to verify her concept of "New Judgment," which she had grasped recently, in a relatively safe and controlled environment.

She replied with her consent, then stood up, changed into her Head of the Enforcement Department Divine Robe, and meticulously tied her dark hair back up. Her cold face showed no deviation, yet deep within her eyes, there seemed to be a subtle glimmer of "inquiry" and "expectation" that hadn't been there before.

A moment later, beneath the Hundred Schools Society, on the underground combat platform.

The platform was simulated as a simple hilly area. The Red and Blue sides were gathering. The Red side, led by Wang Meng, was an Assault Faction composed of twenty Behemoth Giant Beasts (average LV34) and fifty Dwarf Heavy Shieldbearers (LV30), representing the Hard-Attack Style testing party within the Society. The Blue side, temporarily commanded by Zhao Hao, was a Defense Counterattack Faction mixed with thirty Elf Rangers (LV32), twenty new Mohist Repeating Ballistas (prototypes), and... ten Four-Winged Judgment Angels (average LV40) under Qin Qing's command.

Lin Zhou, Li Mo, and others were at the observation deck, ready to record data.

"Advisor Qin Qing, you can command your Angels according to your usual fighting style. We are mainly testing the firepower coverage of the new ballistas and the maneuverability and evasion capabilities of the Elf Rangers," Zhao Hao said through the communication channel.

"Understood," Qin Qing's cold voice responded. She looked at the ten Judgment Angels standing solemnly with slightly spread wings. Her Divine Thought quietly connected to them, transmitting a trace of the "New Judgment" concept—integrated with the Core Tenets of Legalism—that she had grasped these past days, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake.

In the Angels' emerald eyes, the calm Light of Order seemed to ripple with an extremely faint, more rational and systematic pattern. The longswords in their hands, burning with Order Flame, appeared more restrained and concentrated in their glow.

The battle began.

The Red side Behemoths, covered by the Dwarf shield formation, let out savage roars and launched a charge as overwhelming as a landslide! The earth trembled, and their Aura was terrifying.

The Blue side Elf Rangers quickly scattered, using their exquisite archery for harassment and sniping. The Mohist Repeating Ballistas emitted grating mechanical sounds, and volleys of crossbow bolts flashing with armor-piercing runes poured down like a metal storm onto the charging Behemoths!

Meanwhile, the ten Judgment Angels did not rush to ascend and strike. Instead, following Qin Qing's command, they hovered about fifty meters above the rear of the defensive line and uniformly raised their longswords.

"Judgment—Target: Charging Formation. Crime Determination: 'Intentional Destruction of Defense Line,' 'Non-Negotiated Violent Assault,'" Qin Qing's Divine Thought was clear and calm.

Ten golden Pillars of Order descended from the sky. They did not scatter but precisely enveloped the five fastest and most threatening Behemoths, as well as the Dwarf Shield Formation supporting them in front!

This time, the [Judgment] Pillar seemed slightly different from before. The light was more solidified, and faintly visible within it were extremely subtle, circulating silver rune phantoms (the nascent mapping of the Legalist concept of Xing Ming). Under the light's shroud, the five Behemoths and the Dwarf shield soldiers felt not only the suppression of Sacred Order and the Pain of Punishment, but also an invisible, cold, and explicit "rule" declaring their "action" as "illegal," thereby applying corresponding levels of weakening and damage!

[Data Observation (Real-time)]

Judgment Targets: Five Behemoths (LV34-36), Twenty Dwarf Heavy Shieldbearers (LV30).

Judgment Effect (Compared to Qin Qing's previous Divine Power investment):

Rule Suppression Effect: Efficiency of dispelling and suppressing statuses like "Chaos" and "Berserk" increased by approximately 8%.

Damage Output: Estimated increase of 9-11% for the "Fire of Punishment" damage dealt to primary targets (Behemoths).

Negative Status Application: Success rate and duration of "Intimidation" (reducing attack desire) and "Imbalance" (reducing defense and balance) effects increased by approximately 7% and 12%, respectively.

Skill Linkage: The "Order Buff" effect (slightly increasing penetration and damage against Chaos) applied by the Judgment Pillar to friendly units within range (Elf arrows, ballista bolts) is more stable.

Overall Assessment: The Comprehensive Effectiveness (suppression, damage, Crowd Control) of a single [Judgment] skill increased by approximately 10%! Moreover, the precision of skill release and Rule Self-Consistency have significantly improved.

"Oh?" Li Mo, at the observation deck, noticed the data anomaly immediately and adjusted his glasses. "Head Qin Qing's Judgment skill has an Energy Utilization Rate increase of 3.7 percentage points, and the Rule Interference Intensity is clearly enhanced... This isn't just a simple increase in Divine Power; it's an optimization of the Skill Core?"

Lin Zhou's gaze also sharpened. He could sense a familiar nuance in the Power of Judgment released by Qin Qing's Angels, an essence belonging to the Legalist concepts of Holding Names Responsible for Reality and No Exemption from Punishment. Although still faint and unsystematic, it was genuinely present and created a positive synergy with Sacred Order, resulting in enhancement!

On the battlefield, the five Behemoths subjected to the "New Judgment" clearly stalled their charge, exhibiting more scorched marks and brief stunning. The defensive Aura of the Dwarf shield formation also became disorderly. The Blue side Elf Rangers and ballistas seized the opportunity to focus fire, achieving better results than anticipated.

Wang Meng yelled from the Red side's command seat: "Head Qin Qing, what did you take today? Why does this Judgment hurt so much more than usual? And it causes stun?!"

Qin Qing did not respond, her cold face still expressionless, but the subtle glimmer deep in her eyes brightened slightly.

It works! Her attempt truly worked! Although it was only a preliminary, extremely minor Fusion, it genuinely enhanced the might and effectiveness of the [Judgment] skill! This was not a simple increase in power, but an optimization and sublimation at the level of rule application!

In the subsequent fighting, Qin Qing focused more on commanding her Angels to apply this "New Judgment." She attempted more detailed Crime Definition and Judgment Response for different types of targets (Behemoths, Dwarves, and even simulated Enemy Building Phantoms). Although far from reaching the systematic degree of Lin Zhou's Net of Law, every attempt deepened her understanding of combining the Core Tenets of Legalism with her own power.

After the live-fire test concluded, the data was compiled.

The average effectiveness increase of the [Judgment] skill used by Qin Qing's ten Angels during this test stabilized between 9.5% and 10.5%, with no significant increase in Divine Power consumption, and good stability.

Li Mo looked at the data report, clicking his tongue in wonder: "Optimization at the rule level... Incredible. Head Qin Qing, have you been studying those Legalist Classics given to you by the Society Head recently? This effect... it's practically a tailor-made strengthening for Judgment Angels!"

Zhao Hao also leaned over, admiration on his face: "Amazing, Head Qin Qing. Your Judgment really hurts now! Next time we go out to scramble for resources... ah, no, to do missions, you have to contribute more!"

Wang Meng rubbed his head (Virtual Somatosensory): "Next time, can you give us a warning? I need to have the Behemoths wear anti-stun helmets..."

Facing everyone's surprise and praise, Qin Qing merely nodded slightly, her cold voice remaining calm: "A slight realization, merely an attempt at application. Legalist Thought is indeed quite illuminating for those of us who pursue the Dao of Order."

Her gaze passed over the crowd and landed on Lin Zhou, who was standing nearby.

Lin Zhou met her gaze and smiled and nodded, his eyes full of affirmation and encouragement. He knew that Qin Qing's transformation was not a simple increase in skill power, but the beginning of ideological identification and the Fusion of paths. This held extraordinary significance for the Hundred Schools Society, for Qin Qing herself, and even for the Way of Civilization that he championed.

Qin Qing received the meaning in Lin Zhou's eyes, and the last subtle barrier she felt due to "Learning from External Paths" quietly vanished. She suddenly felt that serving as an Advisor to the Hundred Schools Society might not just be a job or a transaction, but an important opportunity for the Breakthrough of her own Divine Domain Path.

"Regarding the draft regulations for the Society's 'Legal and Regulatory Oversight Group,' I have completed the initial draft," Qin Qing said to Lin Zhou, her tone carrying a more natural sense of being a "Fellow Practitioner" than before. "It references some Legalist concepts of 'Clarifying Laws and Standards, Establishing Rewards and Punishments.' I will send it to you for review shortly."

"Thank you for your effort," Lin Zhou chuckled. "In addition, the Research Hall's 'Legalist Law Group' is currently lacking an instructor with profound practical experience in Order. Advisor Qin Qing, if you have time, please give them some guidance."

"I can do that," Qin Qing replied concisely.

Watching Qin Qing's back as she turned and left—still straight, yet seemingly imbued with a new sense of composure—Lin Zhou knew that the Head of the Enforcement Department of Xinghai University, the Inheritor of the Judgment Angel divine Domain, had truly begun to tread the path of understanding and fusing the Hundred Schools of Thought, especially the Core Tenets of Legalism.

Her transformation was like water wearing away stone: quiet yet resolute. And this was only the beginning. In the future, when the essence of Legalism's "Law, Method, and Authority" combined more deeply with her Divine Judgment System, what kind of brilliant and powerful Light of Order would it unleash?

Lin Zhou was full of anticipation for this.