[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl":3,"chapter-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-558":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Great Jin's Most Iron Rice Bowl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":12,"novelImage":21},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1897332,2531,"Chapter 558: Self-Forgetfulness","the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-558",558,"\u003Cp>As Hua Changxi gradually adapted to not exerting control, the coordination of the ten-person formation proceeded more smoothly than she had anticipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just a few short days, the flow of spiritual power among the ten became as smooth as moving one's own limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Duan Jishan begin arranging drills for the hundred-person military formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hundred-person formation and the ten-person formation might seem to differ only in numbers, but in reality, they represent a qualitative leap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among ten people, spiritual power could still be perceived by intuition and connected through tacit understanding; but with a hundred, each person's spiritual power was merely a faint stream that, once merged into the great formation, became a single drop within a vast, surging torrent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi deliberately suppressed her inner desire for control, forcing herself to sense the flow of breath and energy from the other nine hundred and ninety-nine individuals; she strove to match her footsteps to the rhythm and effortfully merge her spiritual power into the formation's circulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She discovered that she had \"disappeared.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a disappearance in the physical sense, but a dilution of her presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the ten-person formation, even without controlling, she remained a distinct individual, an indispensable link in the array; but in the hundred-person formation, her meager spiritual power was like a drop of ink falling into the ocean, failing to stir even a ripple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could no longer find herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More accurately, she did not know how to anchor herself within this vast ocean of spiritual power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sense of panic surged forth once again!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thud~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The muffled sound of colliding spiritual powers rang out again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi was flung outward by the formation's inertia, stumbling back several steps before steadying herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She did not immediately return to her position but stood where she was, gazing at that crimson military formation with a grave expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the ten-person formation, she had learned to let go of control and allow her spiritual power to flow naturally; yet in the hundred-person formation, after letting go, she instead did not know where to place herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Jishan walked over, his gaze calm as he looked at her: \"What is the problem this time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking: \"It seems... I cannot find myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, while practicing the hundred-person formation in the Flame Mountain, that strange feeling lingering in her heart had been exactly this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was the panic of losing oneself, yet also a sense of peace akin to water returning to the sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was contradictory and utterly unfamiliar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Jishan pondered for a moment and said: \"You have always existed; there is no need to specifically seek yourself out. You have already merged with the others; the others are you, and you are the others.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi nodded, turned around, and walked back into the formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, she did not attempt to control, nor to guide, nor to deliberately search for herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the result remained the same—she was flung out again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A third time, a fourth time, a fifth time...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spiritual power surged and circulated within the great formation, while she, like a fallen leaf, was swept up in its spinning and churning, yet unable to merge into that torrent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Liyue, Yan Guichen, and the other Battalion Commanders and Company Commanders standing within the formation watched as Hua Changxi was repeatedly ejected and silently returned, waiting in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They knew this was not an issue of strength, nor one of attitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a different kind of predicament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a predicament they had all experienced in the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ten-person formation required learning to let go; the hundred-person formation, on the basis of letting go, demanded achieving a balance of \"neither losing oneself nor refusing to become part of the whole.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This required constant practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing outside the formation, gazing at that crimson expanse, Hua Changxi suddenly realized something—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All her previous cultivation had been directed toward the question of \"how she could be herself\"; whereas the practice of military formations pointed toward \"how to be oneself within a crowd.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gap between these two was as vast as a heavenly moat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, that is enough for today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"From now on, all formation drills for your group will be scheduled for the evening.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ninety-nine individuals Duan Jishan had arranged to practice with Hua Changxi, mostly Battalion Commanders and Company Commanders like Ye Liyue, all had their own troops to train and could not accompany her indefinitely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Ye Liyue and the others limping away, grimacing in pain and supporting one another, Hua Changxi felt somewhat guilty recalling how they had been variously ejected from the formation during this period; she immediately produced a batch of Soul Power Fruits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each fruit was round and plump, its skin shimmering with a lustrous glow, while rich waves of soul power escaped in wispy threads from cracks in the peel, condensing into a faint mist in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One fruit for each of the ninety-nine sparring partners; eating one would increase their soul power by a million.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you all for your hard work these past days!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone froze for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, those who had been grimacing in pain no longer had sore waists; those who had been rubbing their legs no longer limped; those who had been clutching their chests found their breathing smooth again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One by one, their eyes lit up as they stared intently at the fruits in their hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Guichen even declared righteously: \"Little Hua, you are too polite. The Zhu Que Army is a single entity; your affairs are our affairs. What hardship is there to speak of? Let us continue drilling tomorrow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others quickly echoed in agreement: \"Exactly, exactly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Yan Guichen and the others had departed, Hua Changxi turned to Duan Jishan and gave him an even larger Soul Power Fruit, one that would increase soul power by ten million upon consumption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hand over the affairs of the Martial Hall; in a while, the Hall Master has mission arrangements.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having spoken, Hua Changxi flashed away directly, paying no heed to Duan Jishan, who seemed poised to speak but held back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the next month, Hua Changxi spent her days refining pills in the main hall and handling matters reported by various departments and Nanxiang County, while her evenings were dedicated to practicing the hundred-person military formation with Ye Liyue and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more they drilled, the more she realized that she simply could not overcome her psychological barrier in the short term to fully merge with the others within the formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the hundred-person formation was this difficult, one could hardly imagine the thousand-person or ten-thousand-person formations that would follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she truly had to wait until she overcame this psychological obstacle, who knew how long that would take.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, she decided to take Duan Jishan into the Flame Mountain, letting him undergo the trial to win the Flame Mountain's token.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to that nearly cruel training experience in the Flame Mountain, after a full month of daily battering and coordination, Hua Changxi had ultimately found a method to merge, truly forming a hundred-person formation with the other ninety-nine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having achieved the letting go of the ten-person formation and the merging of the hundred-person formation, she had assumed entering the thousand-person formation would be smoother than it was in the Flame Mountain; yet, after being ejected from the formation more than ten times, she discovered that her sticking point remained firmly in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Hua Changxi did not force herself to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Jishan walked to her side, gazing toward the center of the drill ground, and instructed in a deep voice, \"Do not rush to enter the formation yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just stand aside and watch how others train.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To form a thousand-soldier array, one must not only engrave the formation pattern flawlessly into one's mind, but also open one's body and heart to feel it—feel how the qi and spiritual power of a thousand Zhu Que soldiers interweave, circulate, and finally merge into one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, his tone serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With a hundred-soldier military array, if trained enough, even without achieving complete fusion, the small numbers and high margin for error allow the formation to barely take shape.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But with a thousand-soldier military array, even a single person making a tiny, imperceptible mistake will trigger a chain reaction, causing the entire great formation to collapse instantly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he finished speaking, drumbeats suddenly erupted on the drill ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boom~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accompanied by the muffled, resonant sound of war drums, one thousand Zhu Que soldiers moved simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They advanced and retreated with measure, attacked and defended in unison, their steps flawless, their formation seamless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle array unfolded like a unified crimson torrent, its offensive and defensive rotations generating surging, interconnected killing intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one advanced or retreated without order; no one disrupted the formation. It was as though this were not one thousand independent individuals, but a single colossal entity possessing hundreds of arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the drumbeats ceased abruptly, in that instant, the thousand soldiers halted their movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tens of thousands of soldiers stood silently together, their breathing unified, their qi entirely retracted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the ultimate discipline, and absolute unity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi watched all of this, her heart shaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her eyes now, this was no longer a group of Zhu Que soldiers, but a fighting machine so precise it was suffocating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every soldier was like the most tightly meshed gear within it, their movements perfectly synchronized, without a single superfluous tremor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They knew their positions and duties clearly; they needed no thought, no hesitation, only execution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Absolute obedience to orders, absolute self-forgetfulness!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before this, she had never paid close attention to the Zhu Que soldiers' training, but now, having personally trained herself, she finally understood just how arduous the Zhu Que soldiers' strict, day-after-day, year-after-year training truly was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi withdrew her gaze from the drill ground and turned to look at Duan Jishan beside her, who was watching the military array with a face full of satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment of silence, she asked, \"Are there any tricks to practicing the thousand-soldier military array?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Duan Jishan pulled his gaze back from the field, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: \"For a thousand-soldier military array, both body and mind must undergo a fundamental transformation—from the 'small self' to the 'great self'.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, his voice dropping slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And the most crucial step in transforming from the 'small self' to the 'great self' is 'self-forgetfulness'.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This step is actually harder for those with greater strength and more distinct personalities to break through.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Jishan glanced at her: \"The strong are accustomed to control, accustomed to perceiving, judging, and deciding with themselves at the center.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But in a military array, these are obstacles. It does not care how strong you are; it cares whether you can completely surrender yourself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only by achieving 'self-forgetfulness' can the fusion of a thousand be realized.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi's eyes flickered: \"Self-forgetfulness...\" She could not do it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a stretch of silence, Hua Changxi looked at Duan Jishan: \"Have you delegated the matters on your hands?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Jishan looked at her, then gave a soft \"Mm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Changxi said, \"Go wait at the mountain gate; the Hall Master will come find you shortly.\" With that, she turned and left the drill square.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Jishan watched her retreating figure, the corners of his mouth twitching. He took out a Thought-Link, sent a few messages, and then went to wait at the mountain gate.\u003C\u002Fp>",1936,"2026-06-12T02:51:24.126Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","203a534f7d9480250974ba999f5cf12e59ad9d53d07c35508e7a4a12e38c4aff",null,"the-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-chapter-557","https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-great-jin-s-most-iron-rice-bowl-cover.jpg"]