Everything will be completed according to the original plan.

  Lin Yue reluctantly put down the cold-emitting engraving knife in his hand and replaced it with a familiar kitchen knife.

  Today, I want to split two pieces of wood!

  Lin Yue set a goal for himself, then picked up the kitchen knife and quickly chopped it up. Long-term contact had raised his reaction speed and correction speed to an extremely high level, with almost no gap between the two knives, completely without stopping, one knife chopping down and another already lifted.

  An hour and a half later, Lin Yue finally finished splitting the two logs. Feeling the intense soreness spreading through his arms, Lin Yue smiled as he lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

  Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Yue returned home early after finishing his stall at the antique jade street. During this time, he went to Rong Le Xuan's processing plant to help cut a few pieces of difficult-to-cut gambler's stone material. He was supposed to receive labor fees from He Changhe, but Lin Yue resolutely refused to accept them. His relationship with He Changhe was no longer ordinary, and if it were in the past, he would have definitely accepted the payment. However, they had become master and apprentice, although not formally, and in their hearts, one had already regarded the other as a master, while the other saw this one as an apprentice. Everything was unspoken, a kind of tacit understanding. A disciple helping his master wouldn't accept money from him; if word got out, it would be a joke.

  "Are you following a routine, coming back early once every seven days?" Qin Yuyao asked with a smile to Lin Yue who was busy in the kitchen.

  "I'm also wondering if Old He is doing this on purpose. If I came home late every day, that would be great, then I wouldn't have to cook and could eat what you make every day."

  "This is your wild imagination, your master is really good, it's indeed considerate of me this virtuous woman. Lin Yue, you big old man just obediently cook! I'll just watch you cook, watching you cook makes my heart feel a thrill of excitement, extremely excited."

  "You're rejoicing at others' misfortune"

  ……

  After finishing dinner, Lin Yue returned to his room and began his daily practice. More than half a month of practice had already allowed him to make great progress, from originally being able to cut one incense stick to now being able to cut four every day. At the same time, he could now cut two incense sticks with ten knife strikes. This "cutting" wasn't just about touching, but rather using the blade's edge to cut through the burning incense. Because it would only take a few strikes to extinguish the incense, this resulted in an increase in the amount of incense he used every day.

  Lin Yue stood in front of the ignited incense, his mind focused and undistracted, holding a kitchen knife. He no longer sought to attain any particular state or hoped to cut down a certain number of knives with ten swings, for this was not something that could be achieved through seeking. The more he sought it, the more he became trapped in it, and the more attached he was to it, the less he could achieve his own expectations. It's better not to compare, not thinking about it doesn't mean not doing it, but rather requires putting in a hundred times more effort, waiting for the natural course of events to unfold.

  Lin Yue's heart slowly became as still as an ancient well, his expression solemn and stern, as if the sky could collapse and not shake him in the slightest.

  Breath condensed. One knife flashed out instantly.

  A red dot in the darkness suddenly dimmed, and sparks were violently ignited. The sparks flashed like meteors in the dark for a moment before turning into darkness again.

  Direct hit!!!!

  Facing such a brilliant achievement, Lin's solemn expression was not moved at all, and he raised his knife again, instantly slashing out with one stroke.

  The last red dot was also split into four or five pieces, and the entire room turned dark.

  Hit again!!!!!

  Lin Yue turned on the light, lit the incense, then turned off the light again and raised his knife. Throughout this series of actions, Lin Yue's expression didn't change in the slightest.

  When the incense burns to a certain extent and is completely burned, quickly slash out with one knife.

  The incense had just been lit and hadn't had time to burn out its entire life when it was extinguished in the night sky.

  Third time hitting it right on!!!

  Turn on the light, light incense, raise the knife, chop down.

  Fourth time hitting the mark!!!!!

  ……

  Lin Yue's face was struck by five knives in a row, and it wasn't until the sixth knife that his momentum was finally stopped. He then swung out four more knives, but none of them hit their mark.

  In the darkness, Lin Yue let out a sigh. His state of being as still as an ancient well couldn't be maintained for long after all! The state of being as still and unmoving as an ancient well, without joy or sorrow, which Lin Yue had comprehended a few days ago, was suddenly entered into without any warning signs. Moreover, after entering this state, his perception rose to an unprecedented height. Everything was clearer than ever before, and his thoughts were smoother than ever before. He felt like a bystander wandering the world, with the perspective of an observer making him invincible. However, when he hit the incense for the fifth time, his heart had a ripple. He wanted to hit it again for the sixth time, but failed. The next four attempts also ended in failure because he was too eager to hit it. Although he failed, maintaining the state of being as still as an ancient well for five times already made Lin Yue very happy. He wasn't a greedy person; being able to do his best was good enough.

  It's already a rare occurrence to have such a state once a day, and today Lin Yue was able to enter the state of "ancient well without ripples" at the very beginning, which is already a great favor from heaven. In the following time, Lin Yue continued to chop one knife after another in an orderly manner as before. Occasionally, he could chop two consecutive heavy blows, but only two, and there was no longer the kind of smooth and amazing feeling as before.

  Today's condition is relatively good, Lin Yue split four and a half incense sticks, and after splitting, he fell asleep in a daze.

  He arrived early at Rong Le Xuan, Lin Yue sat on the chair behind the counter and began to ponder. It has been 23 days now, and there are only seven days left until the agreed time with Chang Tai. At present, he can only hit five out of ten knives, and it's still that thick incense. The opponent requires the most ordinary incense, and the time is still very tight.

  I must quickly raise the state of Kōsei no Nami to six knives, then switch to ordinary fine incense. Lin Yue is also very confident in splitting fine incense, because the state of Kōsei no Nami is no longer concerned with coarseness or fineness. If I can successfully split ten fine incense within seven days and get six knives, I'll switch to using my own picked-up engraved knife.

  He thought of the seal knife that he had sealed away, and Lin Yang felt a sudden itch in his heart. He hadn't touched that seal knife for a long time. For some reason, that seal knife seemed to have a magical power, the more he touched it, the more he wanted to touch it, until finally he didn't want to let go of it at all. However, Lin Yang eventually put down the seal knife with great difficulty, which showed how high his willpower and perseverance were.

  Lin Yue named the knife "Hàn Yuè" (Cold Moon) because it emitted a chilling aura, and also because of the seal script character for "moon" on its body.

  Just as Lin Yue was lost in thought, a crisp and clear voice disrupted his peaceful reverie.

  "Excuse me, do you accept this kind of stone here?"

  Lin Yue looked up and saw a little girl wearing a white dress. The girl seemed to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, a very beautiful girl with a delicate face matching the pure white dress, looking like a white lily from afar, extremely pure and innocent.