Chapter 129: Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine

129. Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Nine

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She idly thought that this heart-to-heart connection made her scalp prickle, like someone peeking into her thoughts through her mind, or like a kindred spirit pouring out their heart to her. Either way, it was irresistible.

At this moment, no matter who came to her side, there could only be one outcome: 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 hadn't seen in fifteen years.

The Bai Xinli who had changed her Fate.

The Bai Xinli who could completely suppress her 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 what of it?

She was born destined never to be a proper, well-behaved young lady. What was wrong with a little madness?

The sword hilt in her hand went from cool to warm, two flushes of pink crept up her cheeks. Lady Bai, who had devoted herself to cultivating Atian into a refined young lady, certainly wouldn't have spent money hiring her a martial instructor. Her fighting moves were all street brawling tricks; she couldn't even clench her fist properly, let alone hold a weapon.

But for a Sword Cultivator, the least necessary thing to learn was how to hold a Sword — something innate, who would need to be taught it?

Bai Tian was, naturally, no exception.

The moment Bai Xinli said "Junior Sister Bai, please," she thrust a counter-thrust 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 hand was steady, the sword body was steady, the thrust accurate and forceful, as if she had practiced it thousands upon thousands of times. Even the slight lateral spin of the sword tip gave one a feeling of exquisite precision.

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

However, Sword Cultivators too have their high and low.

This thrust was stopped a few inches before Bai Xinli's chest by an invisible wall. The moon-white hair ribbon covered his vision and hid 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 shockwave.

Slammed heavily against the wall behind her, Atian slid down to the floor. A tearing pain shot 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 chaos. Yet she wanted to laugh out loud, her fingers trembling slightly from excitement.

Bai Xinli had not drawn his Sword; he hadn't even moved. His protective Sword Qi alone had given her a brutal show of force.

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

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

Bai Xinli had achieved something in Sword Cultivation, while she hadn't even stepped through the door.

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 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, raised her Sword again, and said, "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, unable to carry out any more commands from her brain. She simply leaned against the wall and gave a shy smile to the gradually approaching Bai Xinli.

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, she slowly reached out; her drooping fingertip traced across his chest, leaving a red streak 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 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 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 — a lesson learned! 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 — I might not have been able to restrain you."

Finding her Life-bound Sword at the head of the bed, Atian reached out and touched it, feeling only then a little reassured. She also felt 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 carrying an irrepressible note of schadenfreude. "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 young lady must be shy," Atian countered 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 young 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?" Atian, who felt no guilt whatsoever, repeated thoughtfully.

"A Sword is a weapon of death. Once it leaves its sheath, the desire to fight will inevitably surge, and since your Life-bound Sword is intimately tied to you, being affected is unavoidable."

Su Ying explained seriously.

"A Sword is sharpest the moment it leaves its sheath, relying entirely on an unstoppable sharpness of spirit. If we hadn't let you vent that sharpness completely at the time, it would likely have damaged 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 vigorously to show she was listening.

"Since you've already succeeded in forging your sword, there are some things that must be said," Su Ying said, her tone suddenly turning solemn as she reached this point. "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, isn't he?"

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" 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, 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 methods, there is no self—such is this 'Selfless.'"

"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 seeking, he obtained from the very start. But the higher the starting point, the harder the road ahead becomes."

"How can one keep hold of 'Selfless'? Losing the self leads to an eternal calamity; clinging too tightly to the self makes it impossible to take a single step forward—the Sword Heart falls. 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'm actually a few years older than Senior Brother's mother. I raised him from childhood, but sadly, 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, who always couldn't help breaking character, indignantly slapped the headboard. "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 little chick pecking at grain.

After calming her emotions a little, Su Ying switched the form of address back again. "A Sword Cultivator cannot choose their own Sword Heart, nor can they change their own true heart. Even though this path is ten thousand times difficult to walk, Senior Brother can only advance in the face of difficulty."

"What I'm saying is to let you know—if you want to be as strong as Senior Brother, I'm afraid you can only—advance in the face of difficulty."

"On the road of Xiuxian, there are no shortcuts. Only by keeping faith with your true heart and comprehending the great Dao can one fight an Immortal Path out among the thousands upon thousands!"

As she spoke, her brows and eyes softened.

"I'll ask you one more time—what is your Sword Name?"

"Wanjie," Atian smiled as well. "Through ten thousand tribulations, only then does one find the beginning and the end."