Time flows on, indifferent to human fleetingness. Before the building, the lake lay as quiet as a dark mirror, reflecting the falling leaves drifting through the night.
As the hours turned to September 11, Bai Zhou spent the entire long stretch before dawn studying the Three Thousand Three Hundred Vortexes taught by Crow.
Taking the original Thousand-Blade Vortex Slash as a foundation and drawing upon the Three Thousand Vortexes, Crow had traced the techniques back to their origins. Astonishingly, she had successfully deduced the Vortex component suited to the Adventurer pathway, completing the Thousand-Blade Vortex Slash.
"Crow, just how capable are you?" Bai Zhou was genuinely stunned.
"Something even those senior figures in the Fog Capital couldn't accomplish, you managed in half a night?"
"It isn't that I'm more capable than them." Crow shook her head.
"Specialization makes the difference. Those academic pedants didn't have a Destined Adventurer starting from scratch to observe as a sample. Besides, they might not have cared that much. They don't walk the Adventurer pathway to begin with. Being able to reverse-engineer imitation Vortex techniques for other pathways almost from scratch based on Thousand Blades—that is what requires profound heritage and visionary mastery.
"I merely stood on their shoulders. Using the force-exertion mechanics they deduced, I imitated this secret technique," Crow said frankly. "It was originally an Adventurer secret technique, so of course its power surpasses the imitations of other pathways."
After a moment's thought, she added, "Of course, I stood on your shoulders as well.
"As for me...
"'Only after playing a thousand tunes does one understand music; only after viewing a thousand swords does one recognize a blade.' That is all."
Crow looked at Bai Zhou and answered earnestly, "I've simply been exposed to more knowledge and seen a wider range of things. You will encounter all of it sooner or later."
She said softly, "In other words, I merely learned it a bit earlier than you—and now, don't you know it too?"
*Don't you know it too?*
That matter-of-fact question somehow touched a soft spot in Bai Zhou's heart. He looked into Crow's eyes and felt she was entirely different from the instructors in Wancheng.
In Crow's gaze, Bai Zhou saw none of the arrogance or condescension that the black-robed instructors routinely displayed without shame. There was only calm and natural ease—equality mingled with encouragement and hope for him.
Crow truly was a wonderful teacher.
"However, this is also an important lesson I must teach you," Crow added.
"In the mystical world, always remember that knowledge is equal. Never grow arrogant because of knowledge.
"We are merely chosen by knowledge; none of us owns it. We chase knowledge, yet we are also hunted by it. A knowledgeable person may look down on others with a sense of superiority, but in truth, he has only taken a few more steps forward. Little does he realize that the curse of knowledge he bears has already reached a perilous degree."
"A curse?" Bai Zhou asked in confusion.
Crow nodded.
"Arrogance itself is a curse.
"In the mystical world, many Extraordinary predecessors have paid a grievous price for the arrogance of knowledge. After all, those who drown are almost always good swimmers.
"The more conceited one is in their learning, the less humble they are, and the more likely they are to invite an ominous end while pursuing mystical knowledge."
With that, Crow offered two examples.
"Over a thousand years ago, there was an Extraordinary school called the Sun Chasers. The core of their philosophy was 'To know the sun, to become the sun.' Then one day, they truly became the sun."
Crow spoke as casually as if telling a bedtime story. Having grown up reading cautionary tales in Wancheng, Bai Zhou instinctively anticipated a twist.
Sure enough, Crow continued: "Nearly a hundred members of the school spontaneously combusted at the same time during an experiment. The fire raged for three days and three nights, leaving not even ashes behind. What was terrifying was that right up until they burned to death, those nearly hundred Extraordinaries remained intoxicated by their research, shouting aloud that they had become the warm sun."
Bai Zhou was speechless.
*How could it not be warm?*
"And two hundred years ago," Crow went on, "a high-ranking mysticism master in official service unearthed an ancient clay tablet from ruins in the Ruin Realm. It was inscribed with a lost, ancient script that only he could decipher.
"He worked on it for three years before finally translating the first line."
Bai Zhou asked, "What did it say?"
In the dim light, Crow's tone grew strange. Pausing briefly, she said softly, "The tablet read: *You've finally read this far. Congratulations.*"
Bai Zhou froze.
"And then?"
"Then he vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Literally vanished," Crow said. "His assistant watched him finish reading that line, and the man faded away like pencil marks wiped by an eraser, growing transparent until nothing was left."
"What about the tablet?" Bai Zhou asked again.
"It remained there," Crow said. "Except the words changed, and they became readable."
Bai Zhou swallowed hard. He knew whatever came next wouldn't be pleasant, but curiosity got the better of him. "What did it change to?"
Crow fell silent for a moment before repeating the altered inscription:
"*Next.*"
A bizarre silence settled over the dormitory.
Bai Zhou gave a dry laugh, at a loss for words.
"People collectively refer to these frequent, terrifying cases—where seeking knowledge invites disaster—as the curse of knowledge, or the price of arrogance."
In the shadows, Crow's expression remained calm. "So remain humble, keep searching, and tread forward with the utmost care—for forward is the only way to go. The Extraordinary path is a one-way road of no return. If fate is the shepherd, we are the goats driven forward by fate."
"Goats..." Bai Zhou felt a weight settle on his chest.
"Of course, there's no need to despair over it," Crow comforted him. "A shepherd is nothing special... Instances of sheep devouring people are hardly rare in the mystical world."
Bai Zhou fell silent again.
It was the first time he had seen Crow deliver such bloody, horrific 'comfort' with such an impassive face. Was this the composure of a veteran Extraordinary?
"All right, back to business. Now..."
"Time for class."
As the midnight chimes echoed through the base, Crow clapped her hands. Flames flared into life across the floor one after another, encircling them in the shape of an infinity symbol like two serpentine fire dragons meeting head to tail.
Twelve heavy curtains, half-real and half-illusory, rose in the shadows and unfurled in every direction.
The familiar Ouroboros ritual—governing 'curtains' and 'containment.'
"Instruction in the Thousand-Blade Vortex Slash officially begins."
The flickering firelight illuminated Crow's face through the layered shadows as her voice drifted over evenly: "The night is still long. You'd better be ready."
Looking at Crow's taut little face flickering in the firelight, an overwhelming sense of familiarity sent a shiver through Bai Zhou. In a daze, he felt as if he had been pulled back to Special Control Bureau Branch 36, back to twenty-six days ago.
He suddenly regretted wishing Crow a happy Teachers' Day. Setting off those fireworks had only summoned that drill instructor from hell right back.
"By the way, next time you try to fool young girls—like Fang Xiaoxia, the Gem Witch, or whoever—don't pull that fireworks stunt," Crow warned before starting the lesson.
"Why?"
"Because the spirituality released when a vortex collapses is actually offensive in nature. It easily injures people. Besides... they don't look like fireworks at all."
"Oh..." Bai Zhou nodded, pondering for a moment. "Then I won't say I'm giving them fireworks. From now on, I'll say I'm giving them vortex buns."
Crow gave him a blank look. "?"
*Giving you a steamed corn bun*—for Bai Zhou, who had spent his childhood starving in Wancheng, those were the words he had once longed to hear most, the most wonderful gift he could imagine back then.
Compared to giving someone a flower, handing them a vortex bun had to make them far happier, right?
"...You truly are a genius, Bai Zhou." Crow pressed a hand to her forehead. "Perhaps you really should give it a try. Even I want to see how they react."
She nodded. "Yes, I'm quite curious."
By daybreak, though Bai Zhou couldn't claim mastery, he had made noticeable progress.
While heading to the cafeteria for breakfast, he overheard interesting rumors drifting through the chatter of the crowd.
"Hey, man, long time no see..."
"Did you hear? Something huge went down at the base last night..."
"It has to do with Chief Instructor Shi!"
Bai Zhou listened for a bit and pieced together the gist of the story.
It turned out the Swordbearers' Chief Instructor Shi had heard about what happened at the Special Control Bureau and made a special trip back to headquarters to seek out the two delegation leaders from the Western Federation for a 'friendly spar.'
No one knew the exact outcome, but rumors claimed that although half of the chief instructor's flying knives had shattered, he walked away with a smile playing on his lips. As for the two delegates, they stayed sequestered in their quarters; no one had seen them step outside since, leaving their true condition unknown.
People speculated wildly, trading all sorts of guesses.
Listening to the gossip while eating, Bai Zhou found his appetite soaring. Before he knew it, he had downed two bowls of spicy soup and five fried dough sticks. After draining the last satisfying drop of broth and finishing the last strip of chili-oil pickles from the saucer, Bai Zhou stood up, picked up his tray, and returned the empty dishes.
He then strolled contentedly back to his dormitory, looking utterly relaxed.
Yet the moment he stepped inside and the door clicked shut, his expression changed completely.
Bai Zhou plunged right back into his studies, a stark contrast to his easygoing facade outside.
Every second counted.
By the afternoon, Bai Zhou wanted to keep practicing, but Crow stopped him.
"You've studied long enough. You just went through a major ordeal and now you're stretching yourself this tight again... You'll break yourself."
Crow looked at him and offered an earnest suggestion:
Chapter 236