Chapter 101

101. Chapter One Hundred and One

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She's about to break.

For the first time in her life, Atian felt such an overwhelming sense of crisis. Compared to Bai Xinli, the strength she had relied on in the past was fragile and utterly useless. She could trade blows with Song Zhicheng, and she could easily snap the magical artifact that had left Zhao Kuo helpless, but she could not withstand a single glance from Bai Xinli.

What is the gap?

This is the gap.

Along this journey, she had not failed to experience powerful Sword Intent, nor had she failed to see formidable cultivators. The former, like the Ancestor's Broken Sword; the latter, the eccentric Tan Tianming and the ever-smiling Guo Huai. However, the Ancestor's Broken Sword was, after all, an ownerless object, and Tan Tianming and Guo Huai were, after all, Martial Uncle-level figures whose cultivation had long since reached a state of perfect ease. How could they possibly deliberately release it to intimidate a young girl?

But Bai Xinli is different.

At the age of twenty, the prime of ambitious youth, he needs no concealment of his brilliance, nor any deliberate hiding of his shortcomings. His radiant prime cannot be concealed, nor hidden.

Her body and spirit were pushed to their absolute limits, yet deep within her heart, a stubborn streak of defiance held her up, keeping her from collapsing.

Cannot kneel. Cannot kneel.

Once she kneels, she truly will break.

Scattered flames flickered from between her fingers, but the moment they appeared, a thin layer of frost smothered them, stirring not the slightest ripple.

She did not know how long had passed. The terrifying Sword Intent receded like water, and the young girl, stripped of its pressure, shuddered. Her whole body collapsed to the ground, yet she could not move even a single finger. She could only stare blankly, gasping for breath.

"Nephew Xinli is different from the others. He has lived year-round in the Stone Chamber of the Martial Arts Arena."

"Nephew Xinli's situation is also a matter of necessity. You'll understand once you see him."

It was not merely understanding; it was complete clarity.

With Sword Intent and pressure of this magnitude, if he stayed in the residential quarters, no one would likely be able to sleep at night.

Her clothes had long been soaked through, sticking to her body in extreme discomfort, yet Atian's spirit was inexplicably exhilarated. An urge to laugh out loud lingered in her heart.

What is the Sword!

This is the Sword.

What is the Dao!

This is the Dao.

How fascinating, truly too fascinating!

She wants a Sword like this too.

She wants a Dao like this too.

She wants it so badly her bones ache.

"Can you still stand?"

A cold male voice sounded from above her head. The voice was not particularly deep, yet it was sufficiently magnetic, carrying a metallic, icy quality.

Atian licked her lips and smiled. "You're a monster."

The other party was silent for a moment before answering, "Thank you for the compliment."

After lingering on the cold ground for a while, Atian directed her hands and feet, which had recovered a little strength, to shakily climb to their feet. Bai Xinli was standing five paces in front of her, elegant as an orchid or jade tree, in the radiant prime of his youth.

Supporting herself on her knees to catch her breath for a few moments, she finally had the mind to examine the appearance of this nominal "fiancé."

Bai Xinli had been very good-looking since childhood, so delicate and pretty he resembled a girl. Though he had grown out of the androgynous ambiguity of his youth, he still compelled people to clutch their chests and praise him as a "handsome young gentleman." Especially those eyes—the pupils so dark and round, so deep they seemed bottomless.

Atian felt she ought to whistle right now as a sign of respect, but as a proper lady from a good family, she held back.

Fifteen years without meeting, and the first meeting would involve whistling like some lecher—even she couldn't bring herself to do that!

Perhaps the other party had deliberately suppressed his Sword Intent, for she no longer felt the prickling sensation on her back, and now had the leisure to let her thoughts wander.

Although a "child bride" title bound the two together, Atian and Bai Xinli had never had any interaction beyond "that one glance" before. Being politely distant as Senior Brother and Junior Sister was a little strange, but if they were to chat familiarly... the two of them really weren't familiar with each other!

"My apologies," it was ultimately Bai Xinli who broke the awkward silence. "I was the one who had Zhao Kuo bring you here."

Atian was stunned by his words. She had expected him to ask about Master Bai, or about Lady Bai, but she had not expected his first words to be an apology.

The fact that the strange actions of Beihai Sword Sect had Bai Xinli's instruction behind them had not actually surprised her. Zhao Kuo's "calculated on my fingers, fated with our immortal sect" was entirely a lie to fool the Bai couple. If he could truly calculate fate, how would Atian have been picked up by Master Bai in Shengxian Town? How would she have quietly lived in Guangkai Town for so many years?

She did not consider herself a clever person, but she was no fool either. The moment Zhao Kuo departed and then returned, she had already grown suspicious of this Senior Brother of Beihai Sword Sect.

The Bai family's only connection to Beihai Sword Sect was Bai Xinli. The only one who could make Zhao Kuo, representing Beihai Sword Sect, depart and then return, was also Bai Xinli.

Why was she so certain that Bai Xinli wielded such influence? That required mentioning Beihai Sword Sect's regular visits.

Once a year, rain or shine—not merely a passing glance before leaving, but a genuine house call. These cultivators, rumored to be proud and aloof, were actually willing to bow with clasped hands to mortal Father Bai and Mother Bai. This was a treatment even the County Magistrate could not enjoy. At that time, she had guessed that this fiancé, unseen for fifteen years, must hold an extraordinary position within Beihai Sword Sect.

And the facts proved exactly as she had expected. The Senior Brother of Beihai Sword Sect, publicly recognized as the foremost figure of the younger generation at merely twenty years old, surpassing fellow disciples who had cultivated for several times his number of years—how difficult was this to achieve!

Cultivation is not like a child's Enlightenment, where starting earlier secures a greater advantage. Cultivation is more like cultivating a karmic affinity—except it is the karmic affinity between oneself and the Heavenly Dao.

When the karmic affinity has not yet arrived, all efforts are in vain.

Bai Xinli entered the Floating Island at five. A five-year-old child, having just barely learned the Thousand Character Classic, his bones not yet fully grown, his Sword Bone only in its nascent stage—how could he speak of cultivation? How could he speak of comprehending the Dao?

This is what it means for the karmic affinity to have not yet arrived.

Like Zhao Kuo, he grew up on the Floating Island, yet was only permitted to follow his elders in learning the Sword after reaching the age of a youth. To this day, he has only just begun. And Bai Xinli is only slightly older than him. This age difference is virtually negligible in the cultivation world, where lifespans often span hundreds or thousands of years, yet Bai Xinli has become the Senior Brother of Beihai Sword Sect.

Atian had to admit that the young man before her was a true genius.

Perhaps her earlier assessment would also suffice: Bai Xinli is a "monster."

However, "monsters" must all pay a price.

If this was true for her, there was no reason Bai Xinli could be exempt.

"You..." she asked hesitantly, "... is there a problem with your cultivation?"

Bai Xinli gently shook his head upon hearing this. "When thoughts are unobstructed, everything follows naturally."

Then why?

Atian furrowed her brow.

Surely he couldn't actually want to get married, could he?

Seeing her confusion, Bai Xinli closed his eyes briefly and gave an answer, "I just... am about to forget Bai Xinli."

Forget... Bai Xinli?

But isn't Bai Xinli just himself?

Yet the daze lasted only an instant; Atian then caught the subtext of the latter, and almost instinctively looked at the sword at his waist.

It was a longsword as deserving of a whistle of respect as the man himself, pure white as jade throughout, with only a few striking threads of blood-red woven into the scabbard and hilt, coiling around the white-jade body of the sword and lending it a certain bewitching air.

Zhao Kuo was never one to keep his mouth shut, and while flying on his sword he told her quite a bit of common knowledge about the world of Sword Cultivators, including the matter of Sword Bone and Sword Heart.

The Sword Bone gives rise to the Life-bound Sword, and the Life-bound Sword determines a Sword Cultivator's Sword Heart. To possess such a beautiful longsword, to possess a Sword Intent sharp as frost piercing the bone, yet to say he is about to forget himself... what exactly is Bai Xinli's Sword Heart?

At this moment, her curiosity about Bai Xinli reached its peak.

"I cannot forget Bai Xinli, yet I cannot disturb my parents either, so I can only meet you."

The young man looked at Atian, his eyes bottomlessly deep.

"As a return, I shall grant you an Immortal Path."

Atian stood stunned for a moment, and just as she was about to answer, she noticed a banner hanging on the wall behind Bai Xinli, on which someone had scrawled in wild cursive, "Beihai Sword Sect — The Best Choice for Stepping onto the Immortal Path."

Bai Xinli also noticed that Atian had spotted the banner, and his gaze began to drift uneasily.

"Senior Brother, next time you read it aloud you should put a little more feeling into it," Atian offered sincerely.

Bai Xinli, who had been seen through by Atian as reciting the Beihai Sword Sect recruitment pitch, slowly... blushed.

"Master said that phrase must be used to be tempting enough," he said softly, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile, "but I think you probably don't need it."

One knows one's own affairs best. As someone who had likewise just awakened his Sword Bone, Song Zhicheng knew perfectly well that after awakening one enters an eager, combative state — otherwise he wouldn't have impulsively thrown another punch at her. But now on Bai Tian there was not a trace of agitation, not even the fighting spirit from their exchange of blows; the present sight of her carefully tidying her appearance really did resemble that of a young lady who never stepped beyond her own gates.

This girl... is unfathomable.

And Atian, who had already lowered her sleeves and let go of her skirt, noticed the bearded man's probing gaze, tidied her loose long hair, and gave him a shy smile.

The bandit, who had just been beaten up, felt himself coming apart in the wind.

Fortunately, he wasn't given long to come apart. After the successful candidates were announced, the losers who had been lying on the ground wailing were taken away one by one by newly appearing streams of light. Just as the two were exchanging bewildered glances, a new voice rang out — this time a woman's:

"This Ascension Ceremony has now concluded. Two have passed."

Two have passed?

Song Zhicheng looked at Bai Tian, Bai Tian looked at Song Zhicheng, and for a moment neither knew what to say.

A total of three thousand and two participated in this Ascension Ceremony, and now only two have passed. The two of them could go out in the future and boast that they had eliminated three thousand weaklings.

Over three thousand people took part in the selection, yet only a fraction could step onto the Xiuxian — this was the first time Atian gained a real sense of what Zhao Kuo had said: "those with the talent are one in ten thousand."

Certainly, there might be many people like the original Atian who had planned to live out ordinary lives quietly, never once entertaining the thought of risking it all for cultivation. Moreover, anyone who came to participate in the Ascension Ceremony surely had confidence in themselves. Yet even among this group of people with promising cultivation futures, the elimination rate was appallingly cruel.