Though his heart was shaken, Liens didn't wait for a response from the strange being before exiting the instance.

White space.

"My emotions are a bit off."

Liens muttered softly to himself, recalling the questions he had just posed to the strange being in the instance, and his brows couldn't help but furrow tightly.

Leaving aside whether his statement had issues, after all, his understanding of the reactionary forces wasn't extensive.

He didn't know the difficulties of the strange being, nor did he understand why the "God of Absolute Fairness", who was clearly paying attention to the battle in Kara City, didn't directly intervene.

Therefore, his statement carried a clear emotional Tendency, which was his main concern.

When did he become so emotional?

"Since when did I start becoming 'normal,' becoming melancholic, becoming caring about others?"

"The old me might have felt disgusted by the actions of those reactionary forces, but my heart would definitely not have experienced much psychological fluctuation because of it."

"Is it Nimophila's influence…? No, that divine contract at most made me feel a bit closer to her, it wouldn't affect my mindset."

Liens suspected the contract he had signed with Nimophila, but quickly dismissed it.

"So, it's still my own problem… Is it the influence of Heaven and Earth?"

"When people forge the True Path to reach Heaven, while influencing Heaven and Earth or being blessed by Heaven and Earth, they will inevitably be influenced by Heaven and Earth due to being too close to it."

"The most vivid example is my 'Heaven and Man as One.'"

"In that state, my influence on Heaven and Earth is maximized, and Heaven and Earth's influence on me is also maximized, so in that state, I am almost without emotion, only basic rational logic and goals."

"And after exiting 'Heaven and Man as One,' my emotions immediately recover, as if the influence of Heaven and Earth doesn't exist, but… does it really not exist?"

Liens was noncommittal.

Even slight abnormalities in the brain can cause a person's worldview to change, let alone the influence of Heaven and Earth; that infinite information is enough to instantly overwhelm an ordinary person's cognition.

To investigate the problem within himself and attempt to find a solution, Liens began conducting research within the instance.

As the research progressed, he discovered that his problem was even more severe than he had imagined, and it wasn't just about becoming melancholic.

...

Dawn.

The rising sun began to cast its radiance upon the earth.

Liens woke up early from the instance, brandishing his longsword, and started practicing "Body Tempering Swordsmanship" in the open space, something he hadn't practiced in a long time.

He wasn't doing it to exercise his body, but rather to relax his mind and body through the act of practicing swordsmanship.

Yesterday's research, besides making him understand how serious his problem was, hadn't yet yielded a solution in the short term.

Since he started using "Learning from Heaven and Earth" to enhance his learning ability, he had rarely encountered such a situation.

Even complex magic, he had emptied the Dean's knowledge in less than a month, and in terms of the depth of his understanding of magic, he was even stronger than the Dean.

It was just that he didn't have magic power; otherwise, he could even consider advancing to the Grand Magician realm.

So, after gaining this cheat, he truly rarely encountered any problem that could stump him; no matter how difficult the problem, a few more uses of Heaven and Man as One would always find the answer in the infinite information of Heaven and Earth.

But now, the root of the problem lay in the influence of Heaven and Earth on him; the more he used "Heaven and Man as One," the more he exacerbated his "condition."

However, it was difficult for him to give up "Heaven and Man as One," this hard-won cheat and ultimate move, and it was already too late to give up now.

The influence Heaven and Earth had on him was already irreversible and would only become more severe, and it wouldn't stop affecting him just because he didn't use "Heaven and Man as One."

It was like two lakes, one large and one small; they had already established a pipeline connection, and with the pipeline unable to be blocked, no method could prevent the water from flowing over.

"Good morning, Mr. Heier."

Elsa, who also woke up early, greeted Liens.

"Good morning, Miss Elsa… Are you also practicing Sword Style in the morning?"

Liens stopped practicing his Sword Style, turned to face Elsa who was walking towards him, and seeing her holding a longsword, he asked.

"Yes, this is one of my daily cultivation methods."

"Before, I used to run around the Outer City wall and clear out monsters near the city, but now I have to stay at the association, so I can only practice my Sword Style to keep my skills sharp."

Elsa replied.

After speaking, she found an empty spot not far from Liens and began practicing her Sword Style.

The Sword Style she wielded was very simple, just the movements of Basic Swordsmanship, but after watching for a while, Liens frowned slightly.

"Too rigid."

After a while longer, seeing that Elsa still maintained her deliberate sword-wielding movements, he reminded her.

Upon hearing this, Elsa realized that this was a pointer from Liens, so she obediently began to modify her Sword Style.

"Stop!"

Liens stopped Elsa from continuing to randomly change her Sword Style movements.

"I'm a bit confused… From your practiced sword-wielding movements, I can tell you've reached the level of Sword Tendency."

"And that practiced and straightforward Sword Style also aligns well with my impression of you, but why don't you delve deeper, and instead deliberately adjust your Sword Style?"

"Are you dissatisfied with something about your personality?"

Liens looked at Elsa in confusion; he had never seen such a conflicted Sword Style in someone who had already reached the Sword Tendency level.

There was an indescribable sense of contradiction.

At first, he thought this was Elsa's Sword Style, using contradiction and misalignment to make it difficult for opponents to discern her moves.

But after watching for a while, he realized that this was no Sword Style at all; she was clearly on the wrong path.

Hearing Liens' series of questions, Elsa was also very puzzled; how did it suddenly go from Sword Style to her personality?

However, she still understood Liens' meaning, which was still criticizing her for being too deliberate in her sword wielding, so she earnestly explained:

"My father once told me that the first great door in the Sword Style realm is instinct, and I've always been unable to find that instinctive feeling."

"So, I wanted to engrave the Sword Style into my body's instinct through continuous practice."

Liens frowned as he looked at Elsa; he recalled having mentioned the distinction between "instinctive swordsmanship" and "swordsmanship instinct" to the strange being before, and he hadn't expected to see a real-life example today.

"Your method of practice is theoretically correct, but you're missing a crucial step—thinking."

"You rigidly practice Sword Style without thinking about what purpose you want to achieve with your sword swings, or how to make your sword-wielding movements more perfect or more suitable for yourself."

"Practicing Sword Style this way will only develop an instinctive habit, which is your current deliberate movements, and will not allow your Sword Style to penetrate into your instinct."

"Discard the so-called truths taught by predecessors, and face what your heart desires."

"Where the heart goes, there is instinct."

After speaking, Liens turned and walked back to his quiet room, leaving Elsa standing bewildered in the open space, pondering Liens' words.