If you ask me, what is special about Cantrela in Mingchao? I will tell you that the answer is not complicated. Isn’t Cantrela’s growth path a reflection of ourselves? Everything from breakthroughs, skills, special weapons, to circuit optimization, isn’t it a mental journey in our daily life? Everyone, more or less, will experience this process of “from nothing to strong and then to seeking balance” at a certain stage, especially in this impetuous society, who doesn’t have a little “confusion”?

In this game, Cantrela, as a character, has her innate advantages and potential, but more of it is her continuous exploration and growth. This kind of growth is similar to the pain and struggle of “breaking the cocoon and becoming a butterfly” that most of us have experienced. Her growth is very much like our own constant torture and repair of ourselves, constantly improving ourselves, until we finally stand at the high point of life and look back, and find that everything is not so complicated.

1. Breakthrough: The cracks in life are the source of strength
Breakthrough is not easy. In Cantrela’s world, breakthrough is everything. And in each of our lives, breakthrough is also a price, a pain of breaking away from habit and comfort. She needs the Polyphonic Core and the Purifying Conch. The way these materials are collected is just like some inevitable trivialities in our lives – they are scattered in the copy, like a pile of messy life fragments, waiting for you to pick up.

Sometimes, breakthrough means that you have to face your own shortcomings. You used to be not strong enough, not capable enough, or even not brave enough. But just like Cantrela, only when these “weaknesses” are revealed one by one, we have the opportunity to become strong. You have to know that when facing the difficulties of life, the most important thing is not how to avoid these challenges, but how to still smile confidently when facing challenges.

The process of breakthrough is not that simple. For Cantrela, the Polyphonic Core and the Shell Coin are just some symbols. The real breakthrough is often an inner enlightenment. Each of her breakthroughs is an acceptance of her own imperfections and her inner tenacity in resisting the pressure of the outside world. The cost of breakthroughs is not only the consumption of material resources, but also the consumption of time, energy, and even emotional endurance. And what about ourselves? Isn’t it the same?

2. Skill improvement: Every step in life is the energy accumulated for yourself
Cantrela’s skills are like the “tools” accumulated by each of us in life. From “slow board vortex” to “fast board vortex”, every skill improvement is not an easy thing. Every skill improvement requires us to take another step in the state of “already good enough”, and this process is almost endless.

But what we have to ask ourselves is, does life really need us to evolve and surpass ourselves so constantly? I think this demand is a reflection of our inner uneasiness. Life is always full of countless uncertainties. We want peace while we are constantly running. Cantrela’s skill improvement is actually the continuous construction of “self”, and this construction is not achieved overnight.

However, we will find in the end that not everyone can have the ability of Cantrela to kill with one blow. On the contrary, real growth is often manifested in a series of small daily details – keep calm, learn to reflect, and learn to find your own rhythm in situations that are beyond your control. Skill improvement is not to make yourself stronger, but to make yourself more introverted and maintain control over your life.

3. Special weapon enhancement: inner peace is more important than any external force
Speaking of Cantrela’s special weapon enhancement, it inevitably reminds me of those “weapons” themselves. How much substantial help can those seemingly magnificent and dazzling weapons bring us in the end? If we only treat the enhancement of special weapons as a simple physical battle, then we may lose the meaning of the game itself. Rather than saying that the enhancement of special weapons is to gain higher combat power, it is more like giving Cantrela a “psychological hint” – she has become stronger, that is, her inner firmness has been strongly supported.

Each of us needs our own “special weapon”. Special weapons are not necessarily a knife or gun in the actual sense. It can be a kind of self-confidence, a belief, or even the power we persist in loneliness and confusion. And this process, as Feng Tang often mentioned in his novels, is essentially a process of constantly strengthening and adjusting oneself. This is a painful process, but to some extent, it makes us more real and more resilient.

4. Circuit optimization: live out yourself and pursue inner peace
Circuit optimization seems simple, but it is actually the most difficult part. For Cantrela, the circuit is not just a systematic strengthening, it is more like a summary and sublimation of her fighting philosophy. Every time she optimizes the circuit, it is an “adjustment” of herself. And what about ourselves? When facing difficulties, each of us needs to find inner peace by adjusting our own “circuits”. Whether through meditation, rest, or through reflection and summary of our own experiences, the optimization of these “circuits” is actually a process that each of us will experience.

The optimization of the circuit will eventually make us no longer shaken by unnecessary external influences. In the bustling city, each of us is like Cantrela, constantly adjusting our hearts to resolve internal and external pressures. In the end, we will find that what really makes us have a strong heart is not the outbreak of a certain skill, but the calm state of mind.

5. Summary: Behind Cantrela’s growth is our own image
Looking back, let’s look at Cantrela’s growth. Her breakthroughs, skills, special weapons, and circuits all represent a process of self-cultivation. And this process may be our own path of growth. Each of us is fighting against the world while fighting against ourselves. Cantrela’s story is actually the story of each of us – a story about breaking through oneself, cultivating the heart, and finding strength and peace.

So, when we continue to play Cantrela in the game, can we also think of our own life? The effort made for every bit of progress, the pain felt for every challenge, all of this may be the gift given to us by life.