Chapter 109

109. Chapter One Hundred and Nine

Guan San is currently stroking the server, please complete your subscription to defeat him! Bai Tian's hand closed around the black-and-red sword hilt. On the surface she was no different from usual, but inside she was already brimming with a restless mix of killing intent and fighting spirit—and that restlessness came precisely from the black longsword in her hand.

Truly worthy of being my sword.

She thought it absently. This feeling of hearts being connected made her scalp tingle—like someone peeking into her thoughts in her mind, or like a confidant pouring out their heart to her. Either way, it was irresistible.

At this moment, no matter who came to her side, the only outcome would be a fight. So when she saw Bai Xinli's figure appear outside the door, she was wild with joy.

The Bai Xinli spoken of by the Bai couple.

The Bai Xinli she had not seen in fifteen years.

The Bai Xinli who had changed her Fate.

The Bai Xinli who could overwhelm her completely with a single glance.

Too strong, too strong, too strong.

Too wonderful, too wonderful, too wonderful!

She was going to draw her sword against Bai Xinli!!

Atian knew she was going mad.

A lucid madness.

But what of it?

She was born destined never to be a well-behaved good girl—what was wrong with going a little mad?

The sword hilt in her hand went from cool to warm, two flushes of red crept quietly onto her cheeks. Lady Bai, who had devoted herself single-mindedly to cultivating Atian into a proper lady, would of course never spend money hiring a martial instructor for her. Those fighting moves of hers were all street brawling tricks—she couldn't even clench her fist properly, let alone wield a weapon.

But for a Sword Cultivator, the most unnecessary thing to learn was how to hold a sword—something one was born knowing. Did it still need to be taught?

Bai Tian, naturally, was the same.

The moment Bai Xinli said "Junior Sister Bai, please," she thrust a sword backward without a second thought. Flames gathered on the pitch-black blade and formed a vortex, the sword tip aimed straight at Bai Xinli's heart.

Her sword hand was steady, the blade was steady, the thrust was precise and forceful, as though she had practiced it thousands upon thousands of times. Even the slight sideways spin of the tip gave one the feeling of exquisite precision down to the finest hair's breadth.

This is what a Sword Cultivator is—they are born for the sword.

However, Sword Cultivators too have their high and low.

This sword stop was blocked an inch from Bai Xinli's chest by an invisible wall. The moon-white hair ribbon covered his sight and concealed his expression, but Atian guessed he must look, as he had that day, as pure and lofty as the bright moon in the sky.

Then, she was sent flying by a powerful surge of force.

Slammed heavily into the wall behind her, Atian slid down to the floor. A tearing pain shot from the tiger's mouth of her right hand; sticky liquid welled up from it and dripped down along the sword hilt.

It hurts.

An unprecedented pain swept in from her back, instantly engulfing her five viscera and six bowels, churning them into a mess. Yet she wanted to laugh out loud, even her fingers trembling slightly with excitement.

Bai Xinli had not drawn his sword; he had not even moved. His protective Sword Qi alone had already given her a severe warning.

She, to Bai Xinli, was like Song Zhicheng to her—a mayfly shaking a tree, not worth mentioning. But, but, this was exactly right!

Her Sword Bone was Completed, while Song Zhicheng's had only just sprouted.

Bai Xinli had achieved success in Sword Cultivation, while she had not even entered its gates.

Song Zhicheng wanted to become her, and she wanted to become Bai Xinli.

And what was wrong with that?

Bai Tian, leaning on her sword, struggled shakily to her feet, shook the remaining drops of blood from her right hand, and beamed radiantly at Bai Xinli. "Again!"

She thrust another sword, faster and more cunning than the last, yet the flames still could not pierce the invisible barrier, and once again she crashed heavily to the ground.

"Haha…" She wiped the fresh blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her left hand, then raised her sword again. "Again!"

It went without saying that what awaited her was being sent flying once more.

Atian propped herself up with her sword to stand. Her white underclothes were already dotted with red plum blossoms, yet she laughed brightly and said, "Again!"

Again and again she raised her sword, and again and again she was sent flying. In the end, the blood on her hands made her unable to grip the sword; she could only let the hilt slip from her palm. Her body was wrapped in searing pain, no longer able to carry out the commands her brain sent out. She simply leaned against the wall and gave a shy smile at Bai Xinli, who was gradually approaching.

As if to prevent her from charging at him again without a care, Bai Xinli extended one hand and gently tapped her forehead with his index finger. His body temperature was slightly cool, out of place in this room filled with flames.

As for Atian, after catching her breath for a moment, she slowly reached out; her drooping fingertip traced across his chest, leaving a red mark on his moon-white clothing.

"Ah, I stabbed you." Atian said with a beaming smile.

Before she lost consciousness, she seemed to hear Bai Xinli sigh.

When Atian woke again, she was still in her own room, only now lying in bed. Everything around her was as usual; only the scorch marks on the walls and ceiling, and the pain across her body, proved that the raging flames had not been a dream.

"You're awake."

Su Ying, sitting by the bed, frowned at the bronze mirror in her hand. She had recently felt a dry line appearing under her eyes and was greatly troubled by it, though given her true age, a face full of wrinkles would be the norm.

"Does it hurt? Good—it serves you right! A lesson for you! Provoking Senior Brother, you really don't value your life!"

Su Ying didn't even look up, but that didn't stop her from lecturing.

"Speaking of which, I heard the commotion you caused last night was no small matter. Fortunately I was on night duty; otherwise, the one who faced you last night would have been me. I don't have Senior Brother's ability—I might not have been able to subdue you."

Finding her Life-bound Sword at the head of the bed, Atian reached out and touched it before feeling a little reassured. She then felt a bit chilly on her chest, looked down, and discovered she was wearing only a single thin garment.

"Eek!" She shrieked and burrowed into the blankets.

"Eek what," Su Ying put down the mirror, her tone laced with irrepressible glee. "Last night you were wearing this very outfit, clinging to Senior Brother and refusing to let him leave—what's the use of being shy now!"

"A proper lady must be shy." Atian earnestly retorted.

Su Ying was astonished by her professionalism, and with deep emotion handed her a bronze mirror. "Wake up! I've never seen a proper lady who drags a man into a duel in the middle of the night and sets fires!"

Atian rubbed her struck forehead, feeling a little wronged.

"Speaking of which, helping Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters through the agitation brought on by sword-forging is also one of Senior Brother's duties. You needn't feel bad about it."

"Agitation?" Not feeling bad about it in the slightest, Atian repeated thoughtfully.

"A Sword is a deadly weapon. Once unsheathed, the desire to fight will inevitably surge, and since your Life-bound Sword is closely tied to you yourself, being affected is unavoidable."

Su Ying explained seriously.

"A sword is at its sharpest the moment it leaves the scabbard, relying entirely on an unstoppable edge of momentum. If we hadn't let you vent that edge completely back then, I'm afraid your Sword Heart would have been damaged."

Atian felt too embarrassed to tell her Senior Sister that she was usually just as wild and crazy herself, so she could only nod vigorously to show she was listening.

"Since you have already succeeded in forging your sword, there are some things that must be said," Su Ying said, her tone suddenly turning solemn. "Have you felt it—your Sword Heart? Do you know—your Sword Name?"

The Sword Heart and the Sword Name—the two most important things for a Sword Cultivator.

Bai Tian gently stroked the long sword in her hand, yet her mouth brought up an entirely unrelated topic. "... Senior Sister Su Ying, Senior Brother—he's really strong, isn't he?"

"Why bring that up all of a sudden?" Su Ying furrowed her brow.

Atian smiled. "Because I want to become that strong too!"

Su Ying fell silent at those words. She thought for a moment, then finally sat on the edge of the bed with her legs spread wide in a bold, commanding posture, and said to Bai Tian: "Junior Sister Bai, do you know what Senior Brother's sword is called?"

Atian thought of the beautiful red-threaded White Jade Sword worn at Bai Xinli's waist, and shook her head.

"Senior Brother's sword... is called 'Selfless,'" Su Ying's face was utterly solemn. "Of the three thousand Daos, among ten thousand laws, there is no self—that is what 'Selfless' means."

"The reason Senior Brother has been highly praised as 'the person of the younger generation closest to the Heavenly Dao' lies precisely in this. What others spend their whole lives pursuing, he obtained from the very start. But the higher the starting point, the harder the road ahead."

"How can one hold 'Selfless' in proper measure? Losing the self leads one to fall into eternal calamity; clinging too tightly to the self makes it impossible to take a single step forward, and the Sword Heart loses its guard. The hardship and suffering within this, perhaps only he himself knows."

"I have already almost forgotten Bai Xinli."

That sentence Atian had puzzled over endlessly echoed in her ears.

At this point, a faint bitter smile appeared at the corner of Su Ying's mouth. "Come to think of it, I'm actually a few years older than Senior Brother's mother. I raised him from childhood, but ever since he began tempering his sword and sheathing its edge, even I can barely understand him anymore."

However, the self-pitying mood didn't last long. Su Ying, Senior Sister who could never help breaking character, indignantly slapped the bedhead. "That stinky little brat, hiding things from his motherly Senior Sister me—truly lacking in filial piety! How utterly unreasonable!"

Atian nodded her head like a chick pecking at grain.

After calming her emotions, Su Ying switched the form of address back again. "A Sword Cultivator cannot choose their own Sword Heart, nor can they change their own original heart. Even though this path is ten thousand times difficult to walk, Senior Brother can only press on, knowing the hardship."