Chapter 788: Discussing the Dao with Mi

Xiao Feng: ……

Based on what was said, it seems he didn't die.

But being a cripple or something seems too exaggerated, right?

He opened the master-servant contract interface, checked Mi's location, turned and flew toward her.

Both parties of the master-servant contract can sense each other's position, but the master can actively shield the servant, while the servant cannot shield the master.

At this moment, the two are about 30,000-plus kilometers apart; at Da Bai's speed, it will still take over three hours to get there.

Xiao Feng saw her HP now at 722 billion / 1340 billion; although she was badly hurt, she was not in mortal danger.

He let out a sigh of relief and said, 'Being crippled is better than dead; stay there, don't move, heal yourself, I'll come as soon as possible.'

'Yes, master……'

Mi responded with a sound, took out a healing potion and drank it, then sat on the ground to adjust her injured body.

Both sides remained silent for a long time; Xiao Feng activated Da Bai's skill 'Pursue Light and Chase Electricity', increasing movement speed, and flew forward like lightning.

The effect of Pursue Light and Chase Electricity is: consumes 50,000 mana, increases flight speed by 350%, lasts 120 seconds, cooldown 600 seconds.

After using this skill, Da Bai's speed surged to nearly 10 kilometers per second, approaching the second cosmic velocity!

However, a 30,000-kilometer journey is no joke; it's not reached that quickly, still requiring a long flight.

Mi is an NPC; her healing speed is somewhat slower than a player's, and even with high-quality potion assistance, she cannot instantly recover like a player who just downs a bottle.

She had just suffered a defeat, her mood was a bit low, and she did not take the initiative to speak to Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng feared she might encounter a powerful wild monster again, be silently killed outright, and then he'd have to wait a while to exchange a sentence, seeing if she could still reply.

After over two hours, with Da Bai repeatedly using Pursue Light and Chase Electricity, Xiao Feng arrived early near the Number 3 Little Maid.

This place is a dense forest; Da Bai retracted its wings and landed, but being too large, it got stuck again in the treetops, only able to break branches with its wings to get down to the ground.

Xiao Feng dismounted from the Immortal Crane's back and found the War Goddess under a hundred-year-old tree.

'Why, you were fine—how did you become a cripple?'

He stepped forward.

Mi was still dressed in a full set of golden armor and battle skirt, dazzling and noble; but upon closer look, one could see some dried golden bloodstains on the armor.

Her HP had been refilled; she sat on the ground, not going elsewhere, obeying her master's command.

Seeing Xiao Feng arrive, she stood up, her voice low, and said: 'The law of war, once one experiences defeat, will'

It would stagnate forever. I must walk another path of law to continue growing. But if I do that… I would betray the faith of the War God Nation and be unworthy of my current status.

'Why would defeat cause stagnation? Your understanding of law is flawed! In the world there is no undefeated person, nor an undefeated law. My Heavenly Dao inheritance never said it must be this or that; all rules between heaven and earth are not absolute, only flexible adaptation and survival of the fittest!'

Xiao Feng put aside his usual frivolous demeanor and scolded Mi.

On the way here, he had thought over this problem and prepared his response.

'No, the war rules forbid defeat; this is the tenet engraved in our bloodline inheritance! Every defeated war god never grew even a bit afterward, so even when facing a deadly situation, we cannot retreat!' Mi argued, her voice still strong, as she expressed her faith.

From her meaning, it seemed she also blamed Xiao Feng a little for breaking her faith and forcing her to flee, making her no longer a qualified follower of the war rules.

Xiao Feng frowned deeply.

'Who told you that? I don't believe this perfect game would have such a brainless setting!'

Mi replied: 'All past war gods have been like this! Since our war ancestor obtained the first drop of war ancestor holy blood, this undefeated faith has been passed down!'

This damn undefeated faith?

Xiao Feng was speechless.

'So your so-called war law faith is just from a single drop of that 'war ancestor's' blood?'

'Yes. A single drop of the war old ancestor's blood has given us the War God Nation's generation-after-generation faith; this drop of blood is stronger than the God King's inheritance, containing the profound ultimate law! Whether it's me, the Father God, or even older ancestors, we are all striving to uncover the mysteries within this drop of holy blood. Master, you are not a successor of the war lineage; please do not casually judge our faith! Even if you are my master, even if… I am no longer qualified to inherit it.'

Mi's tone was very excited, because she sensed Xiao Feng's contempt for 'a drop of blood'.

But the fact is exactly so; Xiao Feng truly holds it in contempt.

He shook his head and said, 'How can a single drop of blood be a faith! Even if its owner is a 3000-level powerhouse, a powerhouse's total strength and lifelong cultivation cannot be summed up by a single drop of blood. I ask you, if your blood were given to a mortal, what would happen?'

Mi blinked, feeling that the ideology she had inherited since childhood seemed to be challenged.

If someone else said that, she estimated she would punch them straight away, smashing their brain to pieces!

But Xiao Feng is her master, and she dares not lay a hand on him.

Upon hearing this question, Mi thought and replied: 'My blood also contains considerable energy; if obtained by a mortal below demigod level, it can greatly increase one's cultivation.'

And if the person is exceptionally talented, they might even hope to perceive a trace of my law's power.

'Mm, a trace.'

'……What's wrong?'

'A single drop of blood is merely an insignificant part of your myriad powers; how could it represent your whole?'

'But as the saying goes, 'view a spot and know the whole leopard, see the subtle and know the obvious, from the small see the large.' If that person truly had peerless talent, inheriting all my insights from this single drop of blood would not be impossible!' Mi continued to argue.

Xiao Feng asked again: 'Even if you gave him all your insights, what then? Are your rules the complete war rules? Compared to your so-called war ancestor, you might not even be worth an ant.'

'This…'

Mi was left speechless by his question.

'Likewise, your drop of holy blood is not the entirety of the war rules, but only a small part of what the war ancestor understood. What it conveys to you is the belief that defeat cannot be spoken of lightly, not reckless bravery that ignores death and ignores advance or retreat.' Xiao Feng continued, his tone gradually easing.

Mi lowered her head slightly, as if thinking.

After a moment, she asked: 'Master…… how do you know these? If what you say is also wrong?'

'Indeed, I might also be wrong; what in the world is absolutely right?'

Xiao Feng walked up to her and, using contract authority, retracted her war armor.

The war armor vanished; her silver-white long hair, freed from its bonds, fell loose.

The two locked eyes; Mi slightly lifted her head to look at him, awaiting his next words.

Under her golden-eyed gaze, Xiao Feng said slowly: "Even if mistaken, as long as life hasn't ended, there's a chance to return to the right path. You're a riddle, not a drop of the War Ancestor's blood—you needn't sacrifice yourself to inherit his flawed rules. Rules are self‑understood, the Dao is self‑trodden; if you lack the courage to blaze your own path, what kind of War God are you?"

What kind of War God are you?

A single sentence pierced straight into the riddle's innermost heart.

She retreated half a step, yet couldn't avert her gaze, as if caught by the master's eyes.

She murmured: "Rules are self‑understood, the Dao is self‑trodden? Then… then… what is it that we've inherited through the ages?"

"It's a shortcut."

Xiao Feng told her: "That's a path opened up by others, but it may not suit you to walk. A whale crossing the sea needs only a swim; a sand gull crossing the sea relies entirely on its wings; while a mortal crossing the sea needs a ship able to withstand huge waves. If following the predecessors' road cannot get you to a higher, farther place, then it shows this road isn't for you. The compatibility of the inheritance is too low; better to have none—go explore and blaze a path more suited to yourself."

(End of chapter)