Confidence had vanished, but that wasn't terrifying; relentless cultivation would one day restore it. The problem for Lan Se now was the fear Po Kong's overwhelming attacks had instilled in her, completely disorienting her. In the depths of her soul, the seeds of fear in battle had been sown, and with each subsequent defeat, the seed would grow and sprout until now that seed of failure had grown into a small tree.
In the three years since, her strength hadn't advanced an inch; in fact, it had somewhat regressed. Despite winning over thirty of the hundreds of competitions during these years, she lost every one against anyone close to her in strength. Especially recently, over thirty matches, and she'd cleanly lost them all.
Although she practiced with life and death dedication, the results were so disheartening... Yet knowing that continuing this way would lead to ruin, she had no solution.
