Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 254: Be Like Water

Anji had no idea how long she remained stationary to stabilise her barrier spell. It was more challenging than anything she had ever done before. The intensity was on a completely different level than her isolated training. Although she understood what to do in theory, she was still nothing more than a beginner in refined energy control, thrust directly into a high-level difficulty trial.

Without anyone’s help, Anji struggled to find her centre in this strange trial chamber. Her shifu mentioned the presence of illusion and a violent energy scape. Yet, nothing could have prepared her for this alien experience. If Anji had to put a finger on it, the feeling was very similar to soul cultivation arts, except many times more intense. Perhaps this was exactly how the clairvoyance ability of every Mystical Qilin Sect Leader was trained. Being forced to constantly limit her second sight and manage the depth of what she saw was more exhausting than activating it.

Like the ocean, the trial chamber had its own invisible complex undercurrents. As Anji became more accustomed to the zone, she began to understand how to read the flow of energy more effectively. For her survival, it was smarter to avoid the larger flow of energy than hold her own against them with her defensive barrier spell. In this place, Anji’s internal energy was like a small fish swimming alone in the infinite ocean surrounded by whales and sharks.

If there was one thing Anji understood from her brief martial arts training with her weaker body, it was not how to throw a punch. Her second brother was not as strong as her third brother. Hence, he taught her some self-defence tricks he had used himself to get out of sticky situations. The first thing he taught her was to never go against a stronger opponent’s force but to ride the wave.

To be like water and to adapt to the situation, riding on opportunities created by other people’s momentum was an acquired skill. Anji took that lesson with her and modified the teaching to her spells. Rather than using her inferior and limited supply of energy, it was easier to borrow the vast energy of giants in this space.

In the silence, Grandpa Jin nodded with approval. Although flawed, Anji’s stopgap method worked. For now, she identified the structures and tangent of the stable energy flow in this space to borrow their nature as an anchor, replacing talismans. This could work, but it was equally risky, as she had to regulate the conversion of energy through her golden core. Moreover, due to the complexity and limit of her own cultivation level, Anji could only host as many as three types of energy nature efficiently, even if she trained for hosting the five basic elemental energies.

Light and dark energy signatures should never mix. Or at least, that had always been the rule taught by mortals. Yet, in this space, they co-exist. Anji, not knowing any better, had chosen to side with the light energy and two other elemental signatures to borrow for her spell. She still had much to learn in the golden dragon’s eyes, but it was a good start. Although they landed on shaky ground, Anji managed to stand by herself. That alone deserved credit.

In the rift between worlds, many types of beings existed. Grandpa Jin even materialised right beside Anji. However, she was still too busy to notice his presence. Unlike other stronger energy signatures, the golden dragon hid his presence and copied Anji’s own resonance to lighten the burden on his chosen ward.

Eventually, after stabilising an imperfect fort, Anji took some time to relax and study the strange environment. She had no idea if she was upright or upside-down. It was as if gravity did not exist, with how ephemeral many things were. Even the great pull of energy signatures did not last long. They ebbed and flowed like waves, almost convincing Anji she was in the ocean, even if she had never been to one before.

Quickly, Anji decided to establish her ground and reconnect with her physical body. Even if her second sight was pulled deep into another world, she still had a test to pass in the physical world.

That said, reconnecting was difficult. In here, it was easier to see the spiritual world. Anji found it incredibly difficult to sense the grounded energy signature emanating from material beings, such as trees or rocks. She could barely detect her own energy signature, which had never happened before.

Hovering around Anji, Grandpa Jin observed as she tried to reorient her presence. Most people would be lost in the rift that pulled the soul away. However, Anji resisted it almost naturally. It was not uncommon for many who stumbled upon a rift to be spirited away. Choosing to return to the material world and be shackled by its weight was not a burden many would willingly accept, as it took a great deal of willpower and desire to live for something more to endure an existential level of suffering.

Zhao Anji did not look back. If anything, she marched forward, ignoring the sweet honey traps in the rift. She did not seek salvation or enlightenment even when it was right in front of her. There was only one thing on her mind, and the only reason she requested to attempt the successor trials.

Determined not to lose sight of her purpose, Anji searched desperately for an exit in this strange dimension. Staying as far away as she could from all the chaotic interference, she eventually found a dead zone that did not contain any passing energy signatures. Here, Anji sought to establish her true stronghold. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

As Anji navigated past all the alluring natural energy sources and chose to set up her soul anchor in between the doorway to the mortal realm, Grandpa Jin was now absolutely sure about his initial hunch. Anji’s Heavenly Eyes were not pure. Perhaps it was the curse imposed on her soul during her reincarnation, but there was a hint of Demonic Eyes in her ability to see through where natural weakness lay.

Most energy signatures avoided the dead zone for a clear reason. There was nothing to gain from weakening natural entities over time. Yet, Anji did not hesitate to assimilate herself with it. The energy of death and karma was often feared and detested because it was everything that hindered cultivation’s progress. However, Anji took that opportunity and embraced it as part of her identity to return to reality.

Almost immediately, Anji felt a large drop as if the ground had suddenly disappeared beneath her. She screamed at the overwhelming force of gravity until she could now see two different worlds appearing in each eye. The new view was confusing and gave her a headache. There was no synchronisation, but somehow, Anji understood what happened.

Her Second Sight had evolved into something capable of looking at not only the future but the past. Such a thing had never happened before. According to her teacher’s records, Sages can usually see special things, but only of one speciality. Never has there been a case of a Sage having split visions. Multiple visions, yes. Simultaneous visions, never. A sage that foresees death cannot foresee life. A sage that foresees the past cannot foresee the future. A sage who saw through illusions cannot conjure visions.

Yet Anji stared at the vision split between her left and right eyes. How does anyone explain her double visions?