"Keep going. With a piece of metal this large and with so many details, you'll need to pour in a lot more LINH." – La Diep's voice rang out, deep and resolute.
Hearing that, Khanh immediately focused his entire willpower, his body tensing up. Sweat beaded across his forehead, his face contorting as he forced LINH into the massive block of metal in his hands. It let out a faint hiss as the energy seeped inside.
"This task… it's truly excellent for sharpening your control over LINH." – La Diep observed carefully, tapping his fingers lightly against the forging table, a faint smirk curling at his lips.
"Really? But… I don't feel anything special at all." – Khanh asked, his voice betraying doubt, though his hands did not stop channeling LINH.
La Diep let out a low chuckle, his sharp eyes fixed on the boy:
"A LINH user is like a large jug of water with a small hole at the bottom. To truly use one hundred percent of your capacity, you must constantly pour in more, never letting it run dry. This forging process forces you to push your limits, to circulate and replenish LINH while using it."
Khanh nodded slowly, imagining the comparison. But another thought soon arose, and he voiced it:
"Then… what about Le Vy's hollow constitution? Why isn't she practicing this with me?"
La Diep laughed heartily, then lowered his voice, explaining:
"Of course it's different. Le Vy possesses an incredibly rare condition – the Hollow Constitution. Imagine a giant jug of water… except there isn't a single drop inside. Normal people at least have a little. That emptiness makes her body extremely suitable for gods or demons to take root in. If she cannot master herself, she may be controlled and become nothing more than a vessel for them."
Khanh shivered at the thought. Memories of those human-shaped demons he had faced before resurfaced, and a chilling realization came: perhaps they too had once been people… carriers of the Hollow Constitution.
"Luckily, Le Vy happens to match many of the conditions of our society." – La Diep added, his tone dropping lower.
"What conditions, master?" – Khanh asked curiously.
"Deficiency… failure. Hahaha. Isn't it just like the name of our society – The Heaven's Fracture?"
Khanh froze for a moment, then lifted another massive block of metal, channeling LINH into it while muttering in protest:
"But Master Tinh Hai and Master Ho Lam Uyen are both incredible! They aren't failures at all, not in the slightest!"
"Oh, is that so? Hahaha…" – La Diep tilted his head back, laughing, though his laugh carried a bitter undertone. – "That's only your shallow impression. In truth, there are far more complications behind them than you can imagine."
Khanh frowned, unwilling to yield:
"And what's so complicated about Master Tinh Hai? Doesn't he have strength nearly on par with the royal guards themselves? How is that in any way a failure?!"
La Diep's hammer stilled. His gaze drifted into the distance, his voice heavy:
"I've said this before. We, the ones in this society… are nothing more than a pack of failed dogs, used by the state. Those figures you see as glorious… in reality, they are just discarded men, stripped of their posts and honors. Nothing more."
As he spoke, memories surfaced unbidden. La Diep recalled the very first time he met Tinh Hai. It was on a stormy afternoon, rain pouring relentlessly from the heavens. Tinh Hai, clad in his iron army armor, sat silently beneath the downpour. Around him, villagers huddling from the rain hurled venomous words at him:
"Because of that man, we lost a true official!"
"What kind of talent did that so-called general have to deserve that position?"
"He should die already, worthless bastard!"
La Diep had only watched from a distance, but the scene had seared itself into his mind. He could still see the vacant, almost numb expression on Tinh Hai's face as he endured the curses of the people.
Back in the present, La Diep closed his eyes and exhaled a long, weary breath. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, drew in deeply, and let the smoke curl and linger in the air.
"Perhaps… it's better if you seek the answer yourself. In time, you'll understand." – his voice rasped, tinged with fatigue.
Seeing his master in such a state – weary, burdened by memories – Khanh felt doubt gnaw at his chest. Could it be… something terrible had indeed happened to this society?
"This design… truly impressive." – La Diep finally murmured, as though desperate to break away from the heavy recollections that clung to him.