funbook-pk Chapter 555, The Problem of Self-Existence
Chapter 555, The Problem of Self-Existence
After passing through a scorching lava tunnel, Hua Changxi stepped into a brand new canyon.
Unlike the fierce, relentless battle in the first canyon, this place was deathly silent, with a suffocating solemnity permeating the air.
Hua Changxi pondered to himself, the first test in the training ground was individual combat, so the second test was probably team combat.
Then, while surveying the canyon, they cautiously stepped deeper into it.
Just as she stepped a hundred meters into the depths of the canyon, a sudden gale arose in the valley, and the earth shook violently.
Immediately afterwards, ten array platforms emerged from the ground, with array flags fluttering and rustling on them.
Hua Changxi happened to be standing next to a formation platform and was surrounded by the formation.
At the same time, the surrounding spiritual energy surged and twisted wildly, instantly condensing into ninety-nine burly figures clad in crimson armor—the Vermilion Bird Army!
Hua Changxi's eyes suddenly lit up as she looked intently at the imposing array before her.
A hundred-man army formation!
Through the Vermilion Bird Army's formation, she recognized it as the Vermilion Bird Army's basic formation—the Crimson Flame Arrow Formation.
Hua Changxi's eyes flashed, as if she had guessed what the test she was about to face was—practicing the Crimson Flame Arrow Formation with the ninety-nine Vermilion Bird Army soldiers in front of her.
Sure enough, the next moment, the Vermilion Bird Army standing in the center of the formation shouted: "Form ranks!"
The ninety-nine Vermilion Bird soldiers moved instantly, quickly taking their positions.
Hua Changxi, who was cooperating for the first time, was conscious but her body was a beat behind.
The moment she took a step, a tremendous repulsive force suddenly struck her. Before she could even react, she was violently thrown out of the formation and fell to the ground in a disheveled state.
"Disorganized rhythm, move out!"
"Again!"
Hua Changxi gritted his teeth and got up. Looking at the ninety-nine expressionless Vermilion Bird soldiers who had returned to their positions, he took a deep breath and stepped into the formation again.
"Form ranks!"
The second time, she was a fraction faster and was once again thrown out of the battle formation.
The third time, her position was slightly off, and she was thrown out of the battle formation.
Time and again, Hua Changxi was ruthlessly kicked out of the army because of some minor oversights.
The strictness of the hundred-man formation far exceeded her imagination. It did not allow any individual's sharpness to override the collective, nor did it tolerate the slightest hesitation or mistake.
Here, one hundred people must completely forget their 'self' and become a community with a shared destiny, breathing the same air and beating the same heart.
"I never knew military formation drills were so difficult."
Hua Changxi, who was used to fighting alone, rarely paid attention to the training of the Vermilion Bird Army. She always thought it was not a difficult task. After experiencing it herself, she felt that the head of the Lingguang Hall Martial Arts Hall, as well as the centurions and platoon leaders in charge of the daily training, had worked really hard.
"Bang, bang, bang~"
Having been thrown countless times, Hua Changxi grew numb from the impact, and the thought of retreating resurfaced in her mind once again.
However, as soon as the thought arose, feelings of resentment followed.
"I refuse to believe that I can't even train a hundred-man formation properly!"
She was, after all, the Palace Master who commanded 100,000 Vermilion Bird troops. If she couldn't even train a 100-man formation properly, she herself would find it unacceptable, even without outsiders' comments.
After falling many times, I did accumulate some experience.
At first, Hua Changxi's attention was focused on himself, and all his actions and thoughts were aimed at getting closer to the other ninety-nine Vermilion Bird Army.
This way, her actions could be quickly synchronized with the Vermilion Bird Army, but if she lost focus or her attention wandered even slightly, she would immediately make a mistake.
After the fall left her numb, she felt her brain slow down, and she could only instinctively follow the movements of the other Vermilion Bird soldiers.
Although she still makes mistakes, she finds that the number of mistakes is actually decreasing.
Hua Changxi was extremely surprised!
After reviewing the situation multiple times, she was surprised to find that as long as she didn't focus too much on herself, but instead directed her attention outward and focused her mind on the Vermilion Bird Army, she could improve her performance.
Feel the flow of their energy; listen carefully to their synchronized shouts and footsteps; perceive the spiritual energy circulating within their formation.
After she shifted her focus from herself to the Vermilion Bird Army, the number of times she was thrown out of the battle formation dropped sharply.
At that moment, she had a feeling that she was no longer an intruder, but rather like a drop of water returning to the sea, naturally merging into this crimson ocean.
"Form ranks!"
As the command sounded again, Hua Changxi moved.
This time, her footsteps perfectly overlapped with those of the other ninety-nine Vermilion Bird soldiers, and her breathing resonated with theirs. When the formation needed to be activated, her spiritual power flowed in precisely like a river entering the sea; when the formation needed to be withdrawn, her aura instantly returned to silence.
boom!
A hundred people moved in unison, and the earth roared.
To outsiders, the originally independent hundred people now seemed to have lost their boundaries, transforming into a towering fire giant.
The 'Crimson Flame Arrow,' formed from the spiritual power of a hundred people, swept out with overwhelming force without any hesitation, tearing a dark crack in the void in front of it.
Orders must be obeyed without question, and actions must be taken in unison.
When the formation ended, all one hundred people froze at the same time, even the swaying of their clothes seemed to stop at the same instant.
Standing in the center of the formation, Hua Changxi felt the immense power that connected her soul and flesh with those of the ninety-nine people, and a completely unfamiliar and strange feeling surged within her.
"Boom!"
The crimson arrow didn't stay in the air for long before it shattered with a roar, turning into a sky full of flowing fire that dissipated into the void.
Immediately afterwards, the figures of the ninety-nine Vermilion Bird Army also faded away, transforming into pure spiritual energy like the receding tide, returning to the world.
The ten array platforms that had stood there and the array flags that had been fluttering in the sky quickly disappeared into the ground at this moment, as if they had never existed.
After a while, Hua Changxi came back to his senses.
Seeing the hundred-man army disappear, she knew she had passed this hurdle.
She remained silent for a while, until the strange emotion in her heart subsided, before taking another step.
"Boom!"
After venturing further in, the earth shook again, this time more violently than before.
The same battle platforms and flags, the same Vermilion Bird Army, only in greater numbers.
Looking at the nine hundred and ninety-nine Vermilion Bird soldiers in the formation, Hua Changxi's eyelids twitched involuntarily—a thousand-man army formation, the Heaven-Burning Flame Formation!
Coordinating with a hundred Vermilion Bird soldiers was already that difficult; now, facing a thousand-strong army, Hua Changxi already sensed that she would be frequently thrown out of the formation again.
"Bang bang bang~"
As expected, Hua Changxi found the drills even more difficult amidst the thousand-strong army, and the thought of retreat arose in his heart once again.
She wasn't afraid of falling and was willing to continue training, but she couldn't overcome the mental hurdle.
Military drills emphasize strict adherence to orders and do not tolerate any individuality.
Within a military formation, individual strength is greatly suppressed; only absolute obedience and perfect coordination can unleash the formation's full power.
In terms of behavior, she was actually willing to cooperate.
However, military formations require not only physical coordination but also mental coordination.
She has always been a very self-centered person, and it's too difficult for her to give up her personality.
The thought of abandoning herself overwhelms her with anxiety and panic.
If she were to relinquish her unique characteristics and completely blend into the crowd, would the remaining shell still be considered Hua Changxi?
If Hua Changxi were an octopus, then in the midst of a hundred-man army, she only needed to cut off one or two tentacles, which would be acceptable to her.
However, in a thousand-man army formation, to achieve mental harmony and synchronized formation with other Vermilion Bird soldiers, at least half of the tentacles must be severed.
This is a devastating blow!
Hua Changxi found it hard to accept.
Give up?
In no mood.
do not give up?
But she couldn't 'abandon' herself.
In the test of military formation, Hua Changxi found himself in a dilemma.
At the same time, she was also confused about her own problems.
Humans must have a sense of self; without a sense of self, who is living?
But she also discovered that in many things, one cannot only be self-centered.
In dealing with the world and conducting oneself, if one only cares about one's own temperament, it is like the Vermilion Bird Formation before us. If one stubbornly clings to oneself, it will be difficult to integrate into the formation, and the formation will be unable to gather power.
Putting aside right and wrong, she began to ponder for the first time: Was there a problem with this kind of stubborn self-centeredness? (End of Chapter)