Peking Opera Cat: I Became A Zi's Brother

After digesting the "Mowang Qiansi" mental method, Xiaoqing felt that the rhythmic energy in the meridians of her arms was like a dredged stream, and even the movement of raising her wrist became a little lighter.

She tried waving her sleeves, and the light blue sleeves drew an arc in the air. The rhythmic force flowed naturally along the corners of the sleeves, and it was three times more stable than before - this is the power of completing the "root". There is no need to deliberately exert force, but it comes with a "smoothness".

"Ready?"

Mo Yuan's voice came from the other side of the water mirror. He lightly tapped his fingertips, and the originally calm ink-colored water mirror suddenly rippled. The picture gradually changed into the appearance of the Shenzong Palace Guarding River.

It was not the current Hugong River - there was no shimmering water on the river surface, but instead a thick layer of chaotic fog. The gray-black fog flowed along the water surface, and wherever it went, even the ink in the water became turbid.

"..."

What made Xiaoqing's heart even more nervous was that on the bluestone road beside the river, there were scattered shadows of several disciples of the Body Sect. The rhythmic energy on their bodies had dissipated, leaving only traces of being contaminated by chaos.

"This is……"

Xiaoqing's voice trembled a little. She recognized that this was the "First Chaos Invasion" recorded in the history of the Shen Sect. It was said that the chaos came suddenly, and the first generation sect leader Mo Yuan led his disciples in a desperate resistance to defend the origin of the Mo Vein.

"This is the body sect from a thousand years ago."

Mo Yuan's voice was a little melancholy. He stood beside the water mirror, his figure overlapping with the palace-protecting river of the past.

"The chaos back then was even more primitive and ferocious than it is now. It lacked any skills, only pure 'pollution'. I led my disciples in resisting for three months, and finally, with the power of 'Ink Fusion of All Things', I was able to drive the chaos out of the Ink Veins."

He turned to look at Xiaoqing, his eyes becoming serious:

"The second level of the trial will have you return here—not to 'harden yourselves' like I did back then, but to use the power of 'Ink Fusion' to transform the chaotic mist on the river into pure rhythmic energy."

"Transformation?"

Xiaoqing was stunned. In the past, when she fought against chaos, she either used ice rhythm to "freeze" it or used ice dragon arrows to "disperse" it. She had never thought of "transformation" - chaos was dirty, and rhythm power was pure. How could these two things be transformed?

"What do you think chaos is?"

Mo Yuan did not answer directly, but instead asked a seemingly irrelevant question.

He raised his hand and waved it. A wisp of the chaotic mist on the water mirror drifted over and landed on his fingertips. It did not pollute his rhythmic power, but instead swirled gently around his fingertips like a stream of water.

"In the eyes of the world, chaos is 'evil' and 'pollution,' but in the ink rhyme of the Shen Sect, chaos is simply 'disordered energy' - just like an unground ink stick, which appears to be a lump of 'impurities', but with the addition of water and slow grinding, it can be transformed into ink for writing and painting."

He applied a slight force with his fingertips, and the chaotic mist actually began to change - the gray-black color gradually faded, slowly turning into a pale white rhythmic power, and finally merged into his dark blue rhythmic power, becoming indistinguishable from each other.

"This is 'Mo Rong'."

Mo Yuan's voice was a bit solemn, "The most fundamental power of the Body Sect's Mo Yun is not 'attack' or 'defense', but 'inclusion' and 'transformation'.

Just as water can dissolve ink, and ink can dissolve color, our rhythmic power can also dissolve chaos—but only if you let go of the desire to "fight," and instead use "smoothness" to connect and "sinking strength" to grind.

Xiaoqing looked at the transformed chaos, and suddenly she understood. She remembered that when she was practicing Ice Dragon Arrow in the afternoon, Mo Zi said

“Rhythm should be like flowing water, resilient”;

I remembered what Mo Yuan said in the first level, "Softness is not weakness, compliance is not retreat" - it turns out that all these are laying the foundation for "Mo Rong".

She took a deep breath, walked to the water mirror, and imitated Mo Yuan, raising her hand to condense a wisp of rhythmic power - this time it was not the sharp power of the Ice Dragon Arrow, nor the entangled power of the Wind-Breaking Sleeves, but the purest, inky ice rhythm.

She gently reached her hand into the water mirror, and when she touched the layer of chaotic mist, just as Mo Yuan said, a cold, manic force flowed through her fingertips and into her pulse, as if to disrupt her rhythmic energy.

"Don't panic, stay calm."

Mo Yuan's voice came at the right time.

"Use the power of 'flowing water to the secluded', allowing the rhythm of your ink to flow along the chaotic 'force', and don't try to block it. It's like grinding ink, you have to follow the lines of the ink stick, you can't do it brute forcefully."

Xiaoqing nodded and immediately sank her rhythmic power. Like a stream of water, it followed the chaotic and manic energy and drilled deeper and deeper.

At first, the Chaos Mist was still resisting, occasionally stirring up a force, trying to push her rhythmic power out. But Xiaoqing did not rush. Following the mantra of "bend but not break", the Chaos Mist turned left, and her rhythmic power followed suit.

Chaos turns right, and her rhythmic power follows suit - like a pair of dance partners, you retreat and I advance, you advance and I retreat, there is no confrontation, only "following".

As time passed, beads of sweat began to appear on Xiaoqing's forehead.

This is much more tiring than practicing the Ice Dragon Arrow - practicing the arrow is "condensation", while "Mo Rong" is "dispersion", which is to break down one's own rhythmic power into countless fine threads, like a net, and wrap around every strand of chaotic energy bit by bit, and then slowly guide and transform it.

Suddenly, a force even more violent than before arose from the chaotic fog, as if to tear her rhythmic power apart!

Xiaoqing's fingertips trembled violently, and she almost couldn't control her rhythmic power - she thought of the "Mo Yun figure" just now, and the fear hidden in her heart, and the rhythmic power in her pulse shook instantly.

"Guard your roots!"

Mo Yuan's voice suddenly rose.

"Have you forgotten the first level of 'calmness'? Chaos is drawing out your negative emotions. If you panic, your rhythmic energy will become chaotic, and once chaotic, it will backfire!"

"root……"

Xiaoqing bit her lip and closed her eyes, no longer looking at the chaotic fog in front of her, but focusing on the feeling in her pulse - there was the "Mo Wang Qiansi" mental method that Mo Yuan had just taught her, the "Shun Jin" that Mo Zi helped her to open up, the "Liu Shui Tong You" that she had practiced countless times, and... and the faint icy charm that Mo Yun left in her pulse.

That is her "root" - the inheritance of her family, the company of her loved ones, and her determination to become stronger.

When she opened her eyes again, there was no panic in her eyes.

She suddenly dispersed the ink rhythm in her pulse, no longer "following the chaos", but like water flowing over stones, she completely wrapped up the manic chaotic energy!

She did not force it, but followed the mantra of "going and coming back", letting Mo Yun gently spin in the chaotic energy - just like wringing a towel, following the force, and wringing out the "mania" in the chaos bit by bit.

"Om-"

With a slight sound, the manic chaotic energy suddenly calmed down, the gray-black color gradually faded away, and turned into a pure white rhythmic force, which followed Xiaoqing's fingertips and penetrated into her pulse.

Then, like a chain reaction, the chaotic fog on the water mirror began to change on a large scale - the originally thick gray-black color, with Xiaoqing's hand as the center, gradually became transparent and white, and finally turned into countless strands of white rhythmic power, like a stream returning to the sea, pouring into her veins.

The water in the Hugong River gradually returned to its inky purity; the shadows of the disciples on the shore also gradually became transparent, and finally turned into wisps of light and dissipated into the air.

The image on the water mirror returned to its original ink color, but this time, the mirror surface was emitting a faint, warm light.

Xiaoqing withdrew her hand, and felt that the pulses in her body seemed to be filled with energy - three times stronger than at its peak. Moreover, these energies included her own ice rhyme, the ink rhyme of the body sect, and the transformed chaotic rhyme force. The three were entangled together, like ink, water, and ice melted into one, indistinguishable from each other.

"well done."

Mo Yuan's voice was filled with relief. He took a few steps forward and stood in front of Xiao Qing. This time, his figure was no longer "Mo Yun's appearance", but revealed his true appearance:

He was wearing a simple sect robe, with a black jade hairpin in his hair. His eyes were gentle with the passage of time. He looked 70% like Mo Yun, but with a bit more majesty of the first generation sect leader.

"Not only have you transformed chaos, but you've also grasped the fundamental principle of 'Mo Rong'—'Do not resist, only accept; do not destroy, only transform.'"

He raised his hand, and a small, dark blue halo of mark condensed in his palm. The mark was engraved with the totem of his sect, and a wisp of ice-blue rhythmic energy was wrapped around it, gently beating as if it had life.

"This is the 'Ink Vein Seal', the core of the first generation of the Body Sect's inheritance, and the key to the origin of the Ink Vein."

He handed the seal to Xiaoqing and said solemnly:

"Thousands of years ago, I hid it in the ink veins, waiting for a disciple with a 'calm mind, smooth rhythm, and understanding of inheritance.' Now that you have passed the trial, it is time to hand it over to you."

Xiaoqing reached out to take the mark. As soon as her fingertips touched it, the mark turned into a strand of dark blue rhythmic power, which flowed along her fingertips and penetrated into her Shuixin acupoint.

Instantly, she felt as if all the meridians in her body were lit up—countless ancient images flooded into her mind like a tide:

It is the scene of Mo Yuan leading his disciples to grind ink and practice rhyme; it is the scene of him using the ink net to protect the Hugong River;

It was the scene when he hid the ink vein mark at the bottom of the river and said, "I hope that my disciples in future generations can understand the softness of ink and inherit the soul of ink"; and... there was also the scene when he integrated his rhythmic power into the ink vein before his death and said, "The inheritance of the body sect is not blood, but heart."

These images are not illusions, but the memories left by Mo Yuan in the imprint, and the true "past" of Shen Zong.

"These memories will help you better understand the inheritance of the Body Sect."

Mo Yuan's voice rang in her ears, and his figure gradually became transparent.

"The Ink Vein Mark not only helps you stabilize your rhythmic energy, but also allows you to call upon the power of the Ink Vein's origin at any time—but remember, power is for protection, not for showing off."

He looked at Xiaoqing, his eyes full of expectation:

"From now on, the 'Mo Soul' of the Shen Sect will be handed over to you. Don't let me down, and don't let Mo Yun down."

"I will!"

Xiaoqing nodded vigorously, her eyes a little red.

"I will protect the Body Sect and pass on the Ink Soul well. When my brother comes back, I will tell him that our Body Sect is doing well, and I am doing well too."

Mo Yuan smiled, his figure completely transparent, leaving only his last words floating on the water mirror:

"Go, Mo Qing. Your journey has just begun."

As the words fell, the illusion around him began to dissipate.

Xiaoqing suddenly opened her eyes and found herself still standing in the Moxi Corridor. Mo Zi was looking at her anxiously. The moat outside the corridor was glowing with inky light, exactly the same as the moat guarded by Mo Yuan in the illusion.

"Xiaoqing, you're finally awake! You've been standing here motionless for almost half an hour!"

Mo Zi held her hand, her tone full of worry.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiaoqing looked at Mo Zi, then looked at her own fingertips - the ink vein mark was gently beating in her pulse, and those ancient memories were still echoing in her mind. Her rhythmic power was stronger and more stable than before.

She smiled, raised her hand and condensed a ray of rhythmic power - it was an icy rhythm intertwined with dark blue, glowing softly in the moonlight, like Mo Yuan's rhythmic power, and also like Mo Yun's rhythmic power.

"Sister, I'm fine."

Her voice was a little choked, but full of determination.

"Also, it seems that I... have really taken over the inheritance of the Shenzong."

The glass lamp in the corridor was on, and the moonlight shone on the two sisters.

Xiaoqing knew that this trial not only made her stronger, but also made her understand what the "inheritance" of the Shen Sect was - it was not bloodline, not techniques, but the belief of "calm mind, smooth rhythm, and courage to protect", and it was the "Mo Soul" that connected the past and the future.

And she will carry on with this inheritance.