Chapter 114

114. Chapter One Hundred Fourteen

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She thought absently, this feeling of two hearts beating as one made her scalp tingle, like someone peeking into her thoughts inside her mind, or like a confidant pouring out their heart to you—either way, it was irresistible.

At this moment, no matter who came to her side, there was only one outcome—a battle. So when she saw Bai Xinli's figure appear outside the door, she was overjoyed.

The Bai Xinli spoken of by the Bai couple.

The Bai Xinli she hadn't seen in fifteen years.

The Bai Xinli who had changed her fate.

The Bai Xinli who could suppress her completely in 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 so what?

She was born destined never to be a well-behaved, rule-following good girl—what was wrong with a little madness?

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, certainly wouldn't have spent money hiring a martial instructor for her. Those fighting moves of hers were all rough street brawling—she couldn't even clench her fist properly, let alone wield a weapon.

But for a Sword Cultivator, the least necessary thing to learn was how to hold a sword—something innate, did it still need someone to teach it?

Bai Tian was, naturally, no exception.

The moment Bai Xinli said "Junior Sister Bai, please," she thrust out a backhanded sword strike without thinking. Flames gathered on the pitch-black sword body, forming a vortex, and the sword tip aimed straight for Bai Xinli's heart.

Her sword-holding hand was very steady, the sword body was very steady too, the thrust was accurate and forceful, as if it had been practiced thousands upon thousands of times—even the slight sideways spin of the sword tip gave one a feeling of exquisite precision.

This was what it meant to be a Sword Cultivator—they were born for the sword.

However, among Sword Cultivators there were also the strong and the weak.

This sword strike was blocked an inch short of Bai Xinli's chest by an invisible wall. The moon-white hair ribbon covered his vision and concealed his expression, but Atian guessed that he must look, just like 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 against the wall behind her, Atian slid down to the ground. A tearing pain spread from the tiger's mouth of her right hand, a sticky liquid welled up from it and dripped down along the sword hilt.

It hurt.

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

Bai Xinli had not drawn his sword, he hadn't even moved—the mere Sword Qi of his protective aura had already given her a severe warning.

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

Her Sword Bone was completed, while Song Zhicheng's had only just begun to sprout.

Bai Xinli had achieved success in Sword Cultivation, while she hadn't even crossed the threshold.

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 off the remaining drops of blood from her right hand, and beamed radiantly at Bai Xinli. "Again!"

She thrust out another sword strike, faster and more cunning than the last, but the flames still couldn't pierce the invisible barrier, and once again she crashed heavily to the ground.

"Haha..." She wiped the 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 used her sword to prop herself up as she rose. Her white undergarment was already dotted with red plum blossoms, yet she laughed brightly and said, "Again!"

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

As if to prevent her from charging at him recklessly again, Bai Xinli extended one hand and gently pressed his index finger against her forehead. His body temperature was slightly cool, out of place in this room filled with flames.

And Atian, after catching her breath for a moment, slowly reached out, her drooping fingertips tracing across his chest, leaving a red mark on his moon-white robes.

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

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

When Atian woke up again, she was still in her own room, except now she was 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 been feeling that a dry line had appeared under her eyes, and was terribly troubled by it—though given her true age, a face full of wrinkles would be perfectly normal.

"Does it hurt? Good, it serves you right—let it be a lesson to 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. Luckily 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, and 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 she felt a little at ease. Then she felt a bit of a chill 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 eek," Su Ying put down the mirror, her tone brimming 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 absolutely be shy." Atian rebutted earnestly.

Su Ying expressed surprise at 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 forehead where she'd been hit, feeling a little wronged.

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

"Agitation?" Atian, who felt no guilt whatsoever, repeated thoughtfully.

"A sword is a lethal weapon—once it leaves its sheath, a soaring desire to fight is inevitable, and since your Life-bound Sword is intimately connected to you, being affected is unavoidable."

Su Ying explained seriously.

"A sword is at its sharpest the moment it leaves its sheath, relying entirely on an unstoppable, forward-charging keenness. If we hadn't let you thoroughly vent that keenness right then, it would likely damage your Sword Heart in the future."

Atian was too embarrassed to tell her Senior Sister that she was usually just as wild and crazy herself, so she could only nod her head 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's tone suddenly turned solemn as she spoke, "Have you felt it? Your Sword Heart. Do you know it? Your Sword Name."

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

Bai Tian gently stroked the longsword in her hand, yet her mouth brought up an entirely unrelated topic, "... Senior Sister Su Ying, Senior Brother, he's really strong."

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

Atian laughed, "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, imposing 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 'No-Self,'" Su Ying's face was utterly solemn, "Of the three thousand Daos, all laws are without self — that is what this 'No-Self' means."

"The reason Senior Brother has been 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 becomes."

"How can one hold 'No-Self' in check? Losing oneself leads to an eternal fall; clinging too tightly to oneself means one cannot take a single step forward — the Sword Heart loses its guard. The hardship and suffering within this, perhaps only he himself knows."

"I have already nearly forgotten Bai Xinli."

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

At this point, a wry smile appeared at the corner of Su Ying's mouth, "Speaking of which, I am actually a few years older than Senior Brother's mother. I raised him from childhood, but ever since he began nurturing his sword and sheathing its edge, even I can no longer really understand him."

However, the self-pitying mood did not last long. Senior Sister Su Ying, who could never help breaking character, indignantly slapped the head of the bed, "That stinky little brat, hiding things from his motherly Senior Sister me — he truly has no filial piety at all! It's simply outrageous!"

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 in the face of difficulty."

"I say all this because I want you to know that if you wish to be as strong as Senior Brother, I'm afraid you can only — press on in the face of difficulty."

"On the road of Xiuxian, there are no shortcuts. Only by keeping faith with one's original heart and comprehending the Great Dao can one fight their way out of an Immortal Path among the thousands upon thousands!"