Chapter 46 · Volume 1

Baina

Just now, Ed had integrated himself into the wind and the earth. Integrating himself into the wind could immensely increase his speed, allowing him to pluck leaves from a hundred meters away and place them on everyone's heads in the span of a single breath.
At the same time, it was also because he had integrated himself into the wind that Tyr and the others did not sense anyone passing by them at all.
This was because when performing 《Baina》, Instructor Ed had transformed into a part of the wind himself. It wasn't that he hadn't caused any disturbance, but rather that they had perceived the disturbance as nothing more than a gentle breeze.
In addition, Ed had also integrated the power of the earth, which was why he hadn't left any footprints or traces of treading on the ground.
“Next, I will break down all the magic circuits and demonstrate it slowly once. Watch the flow of my magic power closely.”
To ensure everyone could see clearly, Ed deliberately released his magic power externally, allowing the reserves to more intuitively observe the path of the magic power within his body.
A moment later, after Ed finished demonstrating 《Baina》, he waved his hand, and a pile of sharpened wooden sticks appeared, forming a small heap at the front of the line.
“Do you see that stream over there? Silverline flying fish live in it. Your task for today is to spear fish using these wooden sticks.”
Although most of the reserves were extremely reluctant, everyone knew very well what the consequences of disobeying an instructor in the Sword Prison would be.
One by one, the reserves could only reluctantly walk to the front of the line, pick up a wooden stick, and head toward the stream.
“Let me remind you, your catch today will be your lunch. If you don't want to go hungry, you'd better work hard at spearing fish.”
“Yes, sir...”
Tyr arrived at the stream. His reflection rippled on the clear water, where several silverline flying fish were swimming.
As Tyr drew closer, these silverline flying fish zipped away, turning into silver streaks.
The silverline flying fish was a freshwater fish with incredibly delicious meat. Their bodies were nourished by magic power, but since they didn't have magic seeds inside them, they weren't considered magical beasts.
Nevertheless, both their reaction time and swimming speed far exceeded those of ordinary fish.
When startled, they fled at a speed that felt like flying. In the eyes of ordinary people, they appeared only as a white streak, which was why they were called silverline flying fish.
Catching a silverline flying fish with a wooden stick would be no simple task.
Since the silverline flying fish rarely approached the banks, they had to step into the water to spear them. Moving in the water would inevitably cause ripples, and even that tiny disturbance was enough to startle the silverline flying fish away.
Tyr took off his shoes, rolled up his pants to expose his knees, and slowly stepped into the stream.
The stream wasn't deep. With Tyr's current height, it only reached his shins.
After entering the water, Tyr made several attempts, but every single time, before he could even get close, the silverline flying fish had already darted away.
He tried seven or eight times in a row, all to no avail.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out. Tyr turned to look and saw someone lose their footing and splash straight into the water while trying to spear a fish.
“Brother Tyr, have you caught any fish?”
From a section of the water not far away, Sevira asked him while holding her wooden stick.
“No.”
Tyr shrugged. These things were simply too difficult to catch.
He looked down at the silverline flying fish swimming past his feet. If he made even the slightest movement, the subtle ripples generated in the water would immediately scare them away.
Tyr stopped his pointless movements. If they only relied on this brute-force method to catch fish, they would never catch a silverline flying fish in their entire lives.
Besides, this was a test set by Instructor Ed. There was no way it would be that simple.
What should he do? Tyr stared blankly at the flowing stream.
The silverline flying fish possessed an incredibly sharp sense of perception; they could sense even the minutest ripple. Therefore, to catch them, one must not generate any ripples when approaching.
Use magic power to part the water and create a dry zone for himself?
No, pushing the water away with magic power would similarly startle the silverline flying fish.
To avoid creating ripples, his steps and the flowing water had to remain relatively stationary to each other.
In other words, the speed of his legs wading forward had to perfectly match the flow rate of the stream.
Was such a thing even possible?
Tyr recalled Instructor Ed's demonstration of 《Baina》 just now, where he had completely integrated his body into the wind so that they couldn't perceive his presence at all.
Instructor Ed had said that the core of 《Baina》 was integration. Since 《Baina》 could allow them to integrate into the wind, it should also allow them to integrate into the water.
Furthermore, Instructor Ed had shown them the magic circuits of 《Baina》 before telling them to catch fish. He clearly wanted them to utilize 《Baina》 to do so.
Tyr relaxed his entire body and slowly closed his eyes. Settling his mind, he let the cool stream water flow past the skin of his shins.
His Innate Sword Heart was pure and stainless, instantly cutting away all distracting thoughts. This allowed him to focus all his energy on recalling the magic circuits Ed had used during 《Baina》 while simultaneously feeling the changes in the flowing water beneath his feet.
Baina, Baina... taking in the breath of all things, integrating oneself into heaven and earth.
Integrating into the wind, one becomes the wind itself—formless, traceless, silent, and breathless. Integrating into the earth, one's steps sink into the soil, leaving no prints on the ground, erasing all traces.
What I need to do now is integrate into the water, making my body breathe in unison with the flow, so that my movements and stillness share the same source as the stream.
Tyr focused his mind into one, began to channel the magic power from his heart, and started constructing the magic circuits inside his body.
Unlike the singular circuits of ordinary martial arts or magic, the magic circuits of 《Baina》 seemed to spread magic power throughout the entire body, and then, using the whole body as a foundation, extend that magic power outward to contact external forces, harnessing them to integrate oneself into them.
Whether it was martial arts or magic, executing them wasn't as simple as merely sketching out the magic circuits. The most crucial point was ensuring the circuits did not collapse after being constructed; only then could the construction be considered successful.
After constructing the magic circuits, Tyr began to let the magic power of 《Baina》 diffuse out of his body to perceive the changes in the stream.
Seeing this from afar, Ed and Tina were already starting to find it normal.
Successfully constructing the magic circuits on the very first try—if it was Tyr, it was indeed to be expected.
After all, this was a heaven-favored genius who had figured out the method of dual-magic cultivation at the mere age of eight. Even if Tyr's talent appeared any more heaven-defying now, they wouldn't feel surprised.
Along with the extension of his magic power, Tyr was astonished to find that his field of vision actually extended outward with it.
At this moment, in his vision, he and the stream seemed to stand opposite each other. The flowing water began to be broken down in his sight, revealing its microscopic form.

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