An exciting and tragic duel of prodigies concluded with a somewhat absurd "unfinished" ending.
The cultivators present felt as if something was stuck in their chests, unable to utter a single word.
Mo Hua's use of the Fireball Technique rendered everyone present silent.
...
But regardless of the process, a loss is a loss, and a win is a win.
Mo Hua was in a good mood.
To achieve the greatest victory at the smallest cost, with a tiny Fireball Technique ending the competition, could not have been more fitting.
The sword discussion ended, and Mo Hua and Linghu Xiao were ready to leave Mount of Tao.
At the crossroads, they encountered Qin Cangliu again.
Qin Cangliu stared intently at Mo Hua, his eyes filled with extremely complex emotions: hatred, admiration, anger, and a faint tinge of resentment.
All these emotions welled up in his heart, making him speechless, and he finally squeezed out a single sentence:
"Mo Hua, I will remember you..."
After saying this, he turned and left without looking back.
Mo Hua's mindset was fine; this wasn't the first time he heard such words.
On the contrary, Situ Jian behind him sighed silently.
Junior Brother's sword discussion enemies increased by one…
The crowd moved towards Taixu Gate.
On the way back, Linghu Xiao remained silent.
Mo Hua secretly glanced at him a few times and quietly asked, "Xiaoxiao, do you feel upset?"
Linghu Xiao shook his head, but when he saw Mo Hua's clear and sincere gaze, he subconsciously nodded and admitted:
"I lost."
Mo Hua asked him, "Do you think you can win your entire life?"
Even with his good talent and strong swordsmanship, he couldn't possibly never lose.
At least today, he lost to Qin Cangliu.
But precisely because of his talent, he couldn't keep losing; in the end, he would win more.
Mo Hua nodded, "Yes, most cultivators experience both victories and defeats in their lives."
"Essentially, victories and defeats are the same; they are the Great Dao's revelation to cultivators, shaping your path of Tao cultivation."
"Victory is to firm your path, defeat is to correct your path."
"If you win, continue onwards, if you lose, find what's lacking and step by step, improve…"
Mo Hua continued, "This is the insight I gained from formations."
"In others' eyes, I might be a formations genius, the formations leader, unmatched at the Formation Competition."
"But actually, I constantly fail when learning formations."
"I couldn't learn or paint a formation, constantly failing, so I keep learning, keep practicing, keep understanding… and with more failures, gradually, I succeeded."
The Taoist Stele can break through the limit of divine sense, giving him more opportunities to practice formations than ordinary cultivators.
This also means he fails at drawing formations tens or even hundreds of times more than ordinary cultivators.
Precisely because he failed so much more than others in formations.
Thus, he became powerful, to a level other Formation Masters of the same generation couldn't even see his back.
"True strength is forged through countless failures."
"Don't mind others' praise, don't think a so-called 'genius' must never face defeat."
"That's the mindset of the mediocre."
"True geniuses only focus on their own Dao."
"True Sword Cultivators only focus on their own swords."
"Nothing else matters."
"Only your ultimate pursuit is real. All victories and defeats are mere clouds."
Linghu Xiao was moved, after contemplating for a while, his eyes firmed, "Junior Brother, I understand."
Cheng Mo and Situ Jian also seemed thoughtful.
Even Ouyang Xuan, glanced at Mo Hua with a look of surprise.
Seeing Linghu Xiao understood, Mo Hua nodded.
Xiaoxiao was Taixu Gate's Sword Dao Genius and his own Junior Brother.
Mo Hua sincerely hoped he wouldn't be disturbed by worldly names, and uphold his Sword Dao, to slowly grow stronger and become a great Sword Cultivator of unmatched prowess in the future…