238: So-called "killing and fighting" is nothing more than the ultimate catharsis.

After the first lesson on Inheritance Peak—named "Enlightenment" but truly a "Warning"—the mist in Qingxi Valley seemed heavier than usual.

For a whole month, apart from consistently going to the Repair Hall to clock in and check the accounts, Su Ming was like a hibernating old turtle, shrinking inside his own Immortal Cave, rarely even opening the heavy stone door.

Inside the Immortal Cave's quiet room, a Fluorite was embedded in the ceiling, casting a cold, clear glow.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on a Prayer Mat, a Jade Slip recording the *Elementary Introduction to Basic Assault Runes* floating before him. He frowned, his fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly on his knee.

"Master, I've been feeling restless these past few days."

Su Ming finally spoke, breaking the silence in the room. "The scenes Elder Guhe showed, especially the Rune War Chariot casually smashed by the Violent Ape on Tianfeng Plain, keep replaying in my mind."

"A sense of crisis is good; it means your brain hasn't stopped working."

Lin Yu's phantom floated out of the xuantian ring, maintaining his usual lazy appearance, though his eyes held a touch more seriousness. "But mere anxiety is useless. Can anxiety kill the enemy? No. We must transform this fear of death into productivity."

He conjured a light board in mid-air and began to instruct him earnestly.

"Come, let's review your current configuration."

"On the defensive side, you have the Ruoshui Art as a foundation, granting you long-lasting and resilient Spiritual Power. Coupled with the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Water Rhyme Formation and the Concealment Art we devised, if you want to run, virtually no one at the same level can stop you."

"On the auxiliary side, you have the Repair Hall, Old Wang and the others helping you gather intelligence and handle miscellaneous tasks, plus the Water Refining Method, a purification technique that's practically cheating."

Lin Yu's finger paused, pointing to the last blank area, his tone becoming playful.

"But what about the offensive side? Disciple, besides trapping people with water (Water Binding Technique) or dazzling them with a mirror (Water Mirror Technique), what other means do you have to defeat an enemy in one move? If you really met that Violent Ape, are you planning to smash it to death with Spirit Stones, or choke it to death with account books?"

Su Ming gave a wry smile and spread his hands: "That is the core problem for this Disciple. The Ruoshui Art benefits all things, but it singularly lacks 'ruthlessness.' I've been looking through this *Elementary Introduction to Assaults* these days. The runes documented within, such as 'Explode,' 'Burn,' and 'Rend,' mostly require fierce Fire-attributed or Metal Spiritual Power to drive. Trying to simulate them with Water Spiritual Energy often ends up being a poor imitation."

"That's because your mind hasn't turned the corner."

Lin Yu floated in front of Su Ming, extended a translucent finger, and gently poked Su Ming's glabella. "Who told you water can't kill people? Who told you 'destruction' must explode like fire or be sharp like metal?"

Su Ming was stunned: "Master, please enlighten me."

"Remember this: so-called attack, so-called destruction, its essence only has two points: the ultimate compression of Energy, and the instantaneous, violent release."

Lin Yu drew a circle in the air, then abruptly compressed it into an extremely small point. "Do you think water is soft? That's because you haven't applied enough pressure. When you compress the volume of a large river into a needle, that thing can slice through Refined Iron like tofu. What is this called? It's called a 'High-Pressure Water Blade'... *cough*, it's called 'Ultimate Softness Transforming into Ultimate Hardness'."

A thoughtful light flashed in Su Ming's eyes.

"The concentration and release... of Energy?"

"Correct. Stop trying to imitate the sharpness of metal; you need to find the 'sharpness' of water." Lin Yu waved his hand. "Stop daydreaming here. Practice yields true knowledge. Go to the Repair Hall, give your subordinates something to do, and while you're at it, find us some 'negative examples'."

...Repair Hall, Bing Zi Qi Hao Courtyard.

Although Su Ming was already an Outer Sect Steward, he had not relocated the Repair Hall; it remained his base of operations.

It was currently afternoon, and the clang of hammering echoed continuously throughout the courtyard.

Wang Defa was holding a Purple Clay Teapot, squinting while supervising the work under the veranda. Seeing Su Ming stride in, he quickly put down the teapot and scurried over to greet him.

"Hall Master, why have you found the time to come personally today? I've already checked the accounts for the past few days, and I was just about to..."

"Leave the accounts for now."

Su Ming waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the busy Menial Workers in the courtyard. He walked straight to the warehouse where items awaiting repair were stored. "Old Wang, pass down an order. Starting today, all Formation Plates and Magical Artifacts sent for repair—specifically those involving damaged 'Assault-Type' runes or blown up due to 'Spiritual Power Detonation'—must be singled out."

Wang Defa froze, his face full of skepticism as his fat cheeks squeezed together. "Hall Master, these things are the hardest to repair. The Spiritual Power Circuits inside are completely scrambled. If we're not careful, the plate might explode a second time. Didn't we used to try and refuse this kind of work?"

"The past is the past, and now is now."

Su Ming casually picked up a scorched Heart-Protecting Mirror, his fingertip gently tracing the savage crack on its surface, sensing the residual violent Fire Spiritual Power.

"We need to record how they broke. Which rune failed first? Which node's Spiritual Power lost control first? Did the explosion pattern collapse inward or spray outward?"

Su Ming turned around and looked at Wang Defa, his tone calm but undeniable. "Old Wang, if our Repair Hall wants to advance to the next level, we can't just be 'Patchwork Artisans.' We must deduce 'killing' methods from these Formation Plates."

Wang Defa nodded, half understanding, half confused, but he had one major virtue: obedience.

"Whatever Hall Master says goes! A-Sheng! Tie Zhu! Stop what you're doing, all of you, and follow the Hall Master's instructions—dig out all those shattered junk items for me!"

Watching everyone busy themselves with searching and sorting, Su Ming stood in the corner and asked Lin Yu to help him activate the "Micro-Observation" state.

With the augmentation of Lin Yu's Soul Power, the pile of Scrap Metal and Junk transformed in his eyes.

Instead of scorched metal, they were countless broken, twisted, and scattered Energy lines. He saw how an Explode Rune instantly drew in all the surrounding Spiritual Qi and then burst its host; he saw how a Sharp Rune drilled a tiny hole in a shield like an awl, leading to the collapse of the entire defense.

The incomplete runes were reflected in Su Ming's eyes. The *Elementary Introduction to Basic Assault Runes* in his Sea of Consciousness began to correspond one-by-one with the physical objects before him. The previously obscure theories, verified by these "negative examples," started to become dimensional and vivid... Night fell, and Su Ming was back at his Qingxi Valley Immortal Cave.

Su Ming stood barefoot in the center of the quiet room; a thin layer of water had accumulated on the Bluestone floor beneath his feet.

He did not use a Formation to clean it up, but instead stared intently at a fist-sized Water Sphere suspended in front of him.

"Sharp."

Su Ming uttered a low shout, his Divine Sense like a knife, sharply cutting into the Water Sphere, attempting to guide the Water Spiritual Energy to arrange itself according to the trajectory of the "Sharp" rune.

The Water Sphere trembled violently, and sharp spikes protruded from its surface, attempting to simulate the sharpness of metal. However, it only lasted for a single breath before dissolving with a *poof* and falling to the ground as a puddle of stagnant water.