Hex-Edge: Requiem of a Fractured Swordsman

1. The Liquid Epiphany Flood

The ruptured inkwell's contents formed a rising tide that:

Dissolved the battlefield's "classroom" illusion

Revealed the scorched remains of the original Celestial Strategy Pavilion

Left the trio waist-deep in swirling pedagogical memories

Lin Wufeng's golden threads instinctively wove a filtration net, catching three key fragments:

A Charred Bamboo Slip: Showing the Tome's first ever lesson—"Meridians Are But Ink Channels"

A Half-Melted Jade Seal: Stamped with "Grade: Consumed" on a student's petition

A Preserved Eyeball: Its retina displayed the Pavilion's true layout—a feeding mechanism disguised as a school

2. The Ruler's Judgment

The jade measuring tool in Lin Wufeng's hand grew heavier as it:

Weighed Bai Yu's scars (verdict: "78% trauma, 22% real knowledge")

Assessed Ying Sha's prism eye (verdict: "50% prison, 50% observatory")

Measured Lin Wufeng's golden threads (verdict: "12% memory, 88% censorship")

Then it turned on itself, self-administering ten sharp strikes to its own surface. Cracks formed, revealing an inscription:

"The best teacher is one who refuses to be worshipped."

3. The Nurse's True Face

As liquid epiphanies soaked into Lin Wufeng's leaden memories, his "nurse" finally appeared undisguised:

Not a person, but the Pavilion's first successful teaching aid

Her "osmanthus cakes" were knowledge pellets coated in emotional triggers

The "kindness" had been a behavioral modification program

Worse—she still existed.

Her current form floated in the epiphany pool: a living puppet made of:

Grading rubrics for skin

Ink-stained baby teeth for joints

A stomach full of half-digested star charts

4. The Scar Rebellion

Bai Yu's inverted scars had begun teaching back:

Spine: Projected a hologram of the Tome's deleted chapters

Palms: Carved corrections into any surface they touched

Throat: Produced a perfect imitation of the Hollow King's voice screaming "I WAS CHEATED!"

When the nurse-puppet reached for him, his scars lashed out autonomously, branding her with:

"FAILED TO EDUCATE, ONLY TRAINED"

5. The Prism's Counter-Curriculum

Ying Sha's eye had become a living protest flyer:

Left Side: Showed the Tome's ideal student (a blank-faced doll absorbing ink)

Right Side: Displayed the Pavilion's actual output (the Hollow King's畸形 form)

Center: A real-time feed of the silver strand's internal debate

The split was deepening:

Left Silver Strand advocated reforming the Tome

Right Silver Strand urged complete dismantlement

Their conflict manifested as lightning that rewrote whatever it struck

6. The First Graduate

Amidst the chaos, a forgotten truth surfaced—there had been one successful student:

Ying Sha's Father.

His epiphany bubble floated intact, showing how he:

Discovered the Tome was eating its best pupils

Sabotaged the system by creating the twin vessels

Intentionally got himself "consumed" to plant rebellion seeds

The bubble's surface reflected their current forms with a label:

"Final Project Drafts - Version 12.7"

7. The Revolution's Choice

The jade ruler heated up, presenting three options etched in fire:

Reformist Path: Become the new teachers (merge with silver strand)

Iconoclast Path: Unwrite the Tome entirely (sacrifice all its knowledge)

Heretical Path: Learn properly then destroy the school

The nurse-puppet began frantically scribbling a fourth option—but Bai Yu's scars slashed her parchment skin before she could finish.