Chapter 209: Holding the Heart (Bonus for Alliance Master Binglie Benglie Boss)

No breath could be heard; a falling pin could be heard clearly.

No one had ever seen this scene, nor had anyone anticipated it.

In fact, this silence did not suddenly arrive at the end—it changed the moment the boy touched the small mirror.

As the mirror's surface reflected into the boy's pupils, the jade substance flowed, yet showed no tendency to change color—neither clear nor yellow, utterly unresponsive.

In the midst of confusion and bewilderment, Sui Sui Zaihua's sudden rise was striking and abrupt.

Even in official deliberations at the prefectural office, few had ever seen the old man's expression of shock, let alone to such an extreme degree. Fortunately, the next moment his expression eased slightly; though still gazing in awe, he now bore the appropriate posture of a senior minister of Shaolong.

For the mirror had not truly remained unchanged—it seemed to stall for half a breath, then resumed its normal process.

As the crowd, still bewildered, shifted their gaze back from Senior Sui to the mirror, they froze again before it.

No need to guess whether the artifact had malfunctioned, nor to wonder why the Supervising Officer had been startled.

Its display was blunt, vivid, and ostentatious—clearly announcing to all that it was unlike what had come before.

The flowing jade resembled thick, creamy clouds; it did not turn any color, but many patchy white lights burst forth from behind it, growing stronger, then illuminating it, piercing it, melting it.

Countless blazing white patches fused together, completely engulfing the entire mirror surface.

Thus formed a blazing white sun-wheel.

At once, voices rose from all sides as everyone strained to gaze.

What realm is this?

"The 'Sword Heart Mirror' has four states: Turbid, Clear, Bright, and Empty Purity"—the old man's words surfaced in his mind—Turbid, Clear, Bright—this was Bright!

No movement could be discerned, nor stillness—it simply glowed, and then the heavy, ferocious black substance reappeared.

Again, a wholly unfamiliar manifestation.

It did not surge upward from the bottom, forcefully pushing forward, but began flowing and enveloping from the mirror's edges, increasing, increasing, until it surpassed the frame.

For the first time, people understood where the black substance originated.

It was flowing black metal—undeniably, melted mirror frame.

Previously, only part of the metal within the frame had melted into black substance to stain the mirror surface; this time, all of it had turned into a torrent of black flow—the entire 'Sword Heart Mirror' bore no resemblance to the small mirror it once was, fully transformed into flowing black and white.

The frame melted completely; the scale of the black substance exceeded everyone's imagination—it could even fully envelop a human head, while at its center, the palm-sized mirror surface appeared pitifully small.

The black substance continuously spread and flowed, soon reaching the peak of its might, then irresistibly pressed toward the mirror surface—dense, viscous, dark—it twisted like a black dragon forged from shadow.

Like a black lotus slowly closing, even before such radiant white, the black substance once again displayed its overwhelming, crushing, unstoppable power without a trace of weakness—precisely as the artifact-maker had designed: the later heart-state trial, 【Fearless Gate】, would not be simple, but harder than the first two.

This had been fully demonstrated visually—the blazing white light was now completely obscured, not a single ray escaping; the vast black substance surged onto the mirror surface like heavy iron sand pressing upon thin, brittle paper.

Then, at the instant the overwhelming black substance touched the mirror surface, every taut nerve and held breath froze.

No struggle, no question of 'how long one could endure'.

The dazzling white radiance suddenly burst through everything, as if an awakened true dragon turned back and swallowed a wicked sheep—in an instant, the thick black substance vanished like shadow before the great sun.

The Eagle Watching Terrace froze like ice; no one had imagined that resistance against the black substance could take such a form and result.

The mirror frame re-solidified; the blazing sun's light slowly receded, and the boy before the mirror opened his eyes.

His face, illuminated by the blazing mirror, revealed every detail; his expression was calm, his gaze steady, momentarily resembling a divine being from the spectacle.

The entire hall fell utterly silent.

This silence only slightly broke when the boy stepped back and completed his bow to all four directions.

"Holding the Heart," Sui Sui Zaihua still stood, the old man's expression nearly solemn; amid the focused gazes of all present, he spoke slowly, his voice carrying through the hall, "—Bright Spirit!"

Holding the Heart · Bright Spirit.

Warriors who had tested the artifact needed no explanation—everyone knew how terrifying it was; the onlooking literati were utterly speechless—their newly rebuilt understanding shattered again—hadn't they already raised their horizons to mice racing against rabbits, and now a true dragon had suddenly roared past?

What they witnessed today left many stunned into silence; the difference in cultivation talent among individuals was truly, genuinely as vast as heaven and earth—some crawled among withered branches and rotting leaves, others soared through clouds and rosy light.

"Uninvaded, unstained, heart bright as spirit—facing the illusions of the heart-state, one conquers them. This is 【Bright Spirit】," Sui Sui Zaihua said slowly. "It is the end of the Fearless Gate, signifying you have fully penetrated this artifact. The 'Sword Heart Mirror' is now a dull toy in your hands."

The old man looked at Pei Ye: "Boy, if your first trial was truly 【Unchanged】, then it is fine—it means you possess the innate 'Mirror of Ice and Glass' heart, like the Luminous Sword Master; 【Bright Spirit】 is naturally expected. But since your trial was 【Holding the Heart】, it must have come from later cultivation—how, then, could you achieve 【Bright Spirit】?"

—'What have you directly faced?'

Pei Ye remained silent.

He knew what the old man meant. The 【Fearless Gate】 of the 'Sword Heart Mirror' seemed mysterious, but having experienced it once, especially after observing 【Spring Longevity】, he fully understood its mechanism.

Within the heart-state, one gathers the 'Pure Self', implants the concept of 'Sword', then introduces a collection of concepts such as 'fear' or 'enemy'.

The key lies in the 'enemy'.

And this enemy is 'quantified'.

If it is a ferocious tiger, an ordinary warrior's inner nature might manifest as a mere mouse—naturally collapsing upon sight.

A stronger one might be a rabbit—able to fight back fiercely, achieving 【All Defense】, already a superior rodent. Among Dao-seekers, the most capable who resist longest are foxes and wolves; though still destined to fail, they at least have a chance to struggle.

But Pei Ye's heart-state was a qilin.

A tiger before it was as a white rabbit before a tiger.

But if a true dragon came, then even the qilin would be insufficient.

In other words, 【Bright Spirit】 does not mean forever 【Bright Spirit】, eternally resisting all fear—it merely means the boy, having truly faced immortals and gods, already possesses a heart far surpassing ordinary people; in understanding 'fear', the 'Sword Heart Mirror' can no longer probe his limits.

This was precisely the old man's question.

You are so young—how could your heart be as deep as a abyss? What carved it?

Pei Ye fell silent for a moment, then lowered his head and said something seemingly nonsensical: "I am from Fenghuai, my lord."

"." Sui Sui Zaihua slightly raised his head, stunned for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Good boy—you are named Pei Ye, correct?"

"Yes, my lord."

"You truly have no desire to practice the two sword forms?"

Pei Ye hesitated: "Practicing sword forms is no problem—if my lord wishes to see, I shall perform them—but."

But—I truly have no intention to join the Yi Jian Academy.

Sui Sui Zaihua slowly nodded, said no more, and only added: "After this gathering ends, come with me to the prefectural office for an hour—let us talk."

Pei Ye clasped his fists and nodded: "I also have matters I wish to ask my lord."

Thus Sui Sui Zaihua nodded with a smile, gestured for him to return, and sat back down.

Beside him, Zhao Zhang still stared blankly at Pei Ye's back, then turned and asked: "Sui, Sui Lord—won't the Yi Jian Academy accept such a genius?"

Sui Sui Zaihua smiled: "The Yi Jian Academy isn't a place to bind people. If fate calls, they come; if not, they leave. On any land of the Great Tang, Young Master Pei will become a pillar of the state—why insist?"

Zhao Zhang sighed heavily: "Sui Lord, you're high up—you don't know the hardship below. The Yi Jian Academy is precisely what the court is now heavily promoting—he goes elsewhere, and my achievements lose half their luster!"

"Hahaha, then you go flatter him yourself."

". Enough. Sui Lord, your noble character—I won't disturb him." Zhao Zhang sighed with a smile.

First, since everyone's talk was exhausted, let's just output the rest (though I feel this guy's already finished showing off); second, if I add this extra chapter, I'll have written ten thousand characters today!

From now on, call me—【Ten-Thousand-Characters-Per-Day Author】!

After repaying this chapter, I still owed 31 more.

But,

【Thank you, Boss Jingxin Xu, for the Alliance Master reward—Boss, you're magnificent, thank you for your support, truly a great expense】

Now I owe 32 more.

Tomorrow I'll do my best to update on time.

(End of Chapter)