The True Nature of Magic

Ice and fire.

From the perspective of ancient, less advanced magical civilizations, they were considered the same attribute.

Yet, for someone with modern physics and chemistry knowledge, they were simply phenomena arising from burning and solidification.

But was there not something more fundamental, a deeper essence that connected them?

The answer was yes.

It lay in the flow and stillness of particles at the microscopic level.

And in the intricate manipulation of energy.

Indeed, within the realm of advanced magic, ice and fire were fundamentally one.

Even magic of other attributes was no different; all were merely the consequences of particle movement.

Ultimately, the existence and transformation of all things in the world stemmed from changes in energy.

However, the magic Xie Haizhu truly excelled at was never merely ice-attribute magic.

Instead, it was a form of energy manipulation that struck directly at the core of existence—if it could even still be called magic.

The reason no one in the outside world knew this was simply because she had ‘feigned weakness’.

No one had ever been able to force her to unleash magic of such a profound caliber.

Of course, this wasn’t purely a matter of strength.

Since the distinction between ice and fire was nonexistent for Xie Haizhu, it meant—

“So that’s it. There was never a second personality, never a division between scorching and icy states. The ‘icy me’ has been me all along.”

The proof lay in her first transformation into Xie Haizhu, when she had merely become a little calmer, without any distinctly different personality from another self.

It was only after a conversation with Sister Yun that she subconsciously felt unworthy of being Xie Haizhu.

Believing herself inferior to her past Xie Haizhu persona, a subconscious thought arose within her: ‘If only I could truly become Xie Haizhu.’

This yearning created a contradictory psychology, causing her two forms to manifest completely differently.

In reality, the calm, confident, yet somewhat willful and mischievous Xie Haizhu had always been her.

She had always done precisely what she desired to do.

She had consistently pursued her own will.

It was akin to a netizen who, timid and reserved in reality, would freely express their true feelings and act impulsively online.

All the things she usually dared not do or even think about, she had accomplished under the ‘alias’ of Xie Haizhu.

As for the discrepancy in memories, this wasn’t an issue of a second personality either.

Rather, it was akin to a future self acquiring more information, then returning to the past to deceive both herself and the world.

After all, a person’s personality is profoundly influenced by memories, or more precisely, by what they learn and understand.

At that time, she had possessed certain crucial information.

Unaware that she didn’t possess a dual personality, she had concluded that it was too soon for her Xie Shenhong self to access this information.

Consequently, she had sealed away those memories, only to unseal them upon transformation.

Later, it was unclear if she had already realized they were one and the same—that she was simply her.

That was why she had consistently remained in her scorching form.

No, it was highly probable that she had anticipated even this, which was why she had acted as she did.

Regardless, having understood all of this, she had now reclaimed all her power and restored her innate magical knowledge.

As for the icy sensation within her, she could, whenever she wished, transform it into heat, numbness, ease, rigidity, or any other feeling.

Concerning the bolts of lightning unleashed by Rayne, she could dispel them with a mere flick of her sleeve.

However, there was no necessity to do so.

Upon comprehending her own circumstances, Xie Haizhu’s mindset naturally underwent a profound change.

The once insecure Xie Shenhong could no longer be as free as the Xie Haizhu of the past.

“The previous me was indeed not suitable for encountering this information too early.”

Fortunately, she had met that person.

“Ah, no, this isn’t the time to dwell on pleasantries,” Xie Haizhu offered a faint smile, then gently raised her hand, dispelling the Absolute Zero.

Time in the area began to flow once more.

“Xie Haizhu!”

Li Tianming cried out in haste. His memory was still stuck in the moment before, utterly unaware of what had transpired while time was frozen.

On the other side, Rayne still maintained his serious and solemn expression.

Clearly, he too had no idea what had just occurred.

Soon enough, however, they noticed something amiss.

The storm of lightning had swept through everything before them like a broom, yet it had bypassed Li Tianming and Xie Haizhu entirely.

Li Tianming froze, then, as if something dawned on him, he looked towards the Saintess nearby with a delighted surprise.

Rayne was initially stunned, then his expression shifted to one of slight indignation.

“Madam Haizhu, are you toying with me?”

“My apologies, I had no such intention. I was indeed not in proper condition just now, but things are different now. Please, hold nothing back.”

“I will.”

Rayne assumed a stance, gathering power.

He then elementalized, attempting to evade Xie Haizhu’s sudden renewed attack… but failed.

A barrage of ice spikes filled the air, surrounding the exact spot where he reappeared after elementalizing.

Yet, none of them pierced him.

“If my senses are not mistaken, you can elementalize three times consecutively.”

Xie Haizhu lightly lifted her hand, dispersing the ice spikes.

She continued, “And your self-imposed limitations, specifically your refusal to cast any defensive magic, are a dangerous practice I personally do not recommend. After all, elementalization can be blocked and predicted.”

“Thank you for the guidance,” Rayne replied with a serious expression, then unleashed his strongest sword strike, charged for ten seconds.

He declared, “Thunder Stream Sword Draw, Flash of Lightning!”

Magic hummed, and in a blinding flash of electric light, a blade forged from condensed lightning appeared before Xie Haizhu.

Xie Haizhu could sense that the blade was refined from a billion volts of electricity, immensely powerful.

Unfortunately, it was still merely lightning.

The world, astonishingly, slowed down.

The world had evidently become incredibly sluggish.

Even the lightning itself moved with agonizing slowness.

During this process, Xie Haizhu manifested a lightning rod that plunged deep into the earth.

She dismantled the lightning blade into individual arcs, gradually drawing them underground.

****

After regaining her magical knowledge, she realized that the path she had initially taken was undeniably correct.

The more powerful a mage, the more they emphasized micro-control and magic layering.

It was akin to controlling a river.

Allowing a river to indiscriminately scour mountains, fields, and farmlands might seem grand and powerful, yet it wasted immense energy.

An excellent mage, however, could precisely direct the river to strike only the objects they wished to destroy, or to precisely nourish a specific patch of land.

They could even ensure that every water molecule and nutrient was accurately absorbed by the plants and trees that needed them.

In fact, Battle Lord-tier mages had already begun to operate this way; elementalization was the best proof.

But it wasn’t enough.

Not refined enough, not fast enough, not direct enough to the essence.

After diverting the lightning for a while, Xie Haizhu redirected the subterranean electricity.

It returned to the surface, transforming into colossal ice pillars.

Countless ice spikes protruded from between the pillars, interlocking to form a veritable army of ice.

The world returned to its normal speed.

“What?!”

Witnessing Xie Haizhu neutralize his strongest sword strike and conjure an ice army to trap him in the blink of an eye, Rayne was utterly stunned.

This effortless display, this level of power, surpassed that of any Battle Lord he had ever encountered.

Even His Majesty the Emperor, renowned as a Battle Lord of the second stage and an undefeated champion across the empire, paled significantly in comparison.

“Do you wish to continue fighting?” Xie Haizhu flew to the front of the ice army.

She continued, “I have no intention of killing you, nor have you harmed any of our nation’s warriors… So, could you tell me your purpose for being here?”