Chapter 135: 135. Chapter 135

135. Chapter 135

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"Elder Li Ke's Enlightenment class must continue," Su Ying took out a scroll, spread it on the table, and then picked up a brush to write and draw on it. "Hmm... whoever chooses Master's Star Astrology, Eight Trigrams, and Fortune-telling Guide is a fool. Cross it out, cross it out."

Atian sat obediently to the side, watching Senior Sister Su Ying, who looked like a kind mother, help her choose her classes, not daring to even let out a breath.

Logically speaking, having successfully reached Foundation Establishment, she should already be able to withstand the power of "Wanjie," but the problem was that she was self-taught and had reached Foundation Establishment in a muddled state. She possessed the cultivation of Foundation Establishment but didn't know how to use it at all, and the direct manifestation of this was—Wanjie had no scabbard.

A Life-bound Sword having no scabbard proved that the Sword Cultivator could not control their own power with ease. Furthermore, Wanjie did not look like a pushover; if Su Ying were to strike a sword at her now, the consequences would truly be unpredictable.

Either way, if it wasn't her who was unlucky, it would be Bai Tian. Judging by the gap in strength, the latter was more likely to be the unlucky one.

Of course, this little matter couldn't stump the Beihai Sword Sect. Since she couldn't control it with ease, wouldn't it be fine to just practice until she could?

"There are two paths laid out before you now: one is to accept special training from Elder Luo Li, and the other is to learn the Sword-Nurturing and Blade-Concealing Technique from Senior Brother," Su Ying said, counting on her fingers.

"Elder Luo Li?" Atian blinked.

"Oh, right, I forgot you haven't met her yet," Su Ying patted her forehead, the expression on her face quite complex. "Elder Luo Li is the only woman among our sect's five Elders. Her Life-bound Sword is a very rare dual sword, and as for her personality... you'll know once you meet her in person."

"Oh, then I choose her." Atian gave her answer readily.

Such a swift decision made Su Ying pause. After she came to her senses, she wrote a few strokes on the scroll. Seeing her bite the tip of her brush in hesitation, she still asked the question, "Speaking of which, you and Senior Brother have a marriage contract, right?"

"Mm." Atian nodded.

Su Ying sighed upon hearing this.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just lamenting that even though I raised him, Senior Brother is indeed a disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect."

She had a complex look on her face when she said this.

"Meeting his fiancée, the first time he scared her until she collapsed, the second time he beat her up—this is truly too Beihai Sword Sect."

"So?" Atian tilted her head in confusion.

"So..." Su Ying became hesitant for the first time ever. "Is it because he was too heavy-handed... that you didn't choose him?"

This island of bachelors at the Beihai Sword Sect had always been a difficult problem for the cultivation world. Having finally waited for a cooked duck to arrive, she almost wanted to give Lady Bai a thumbs-up. If the duck flew away just because Bai Xinli didn't know how to hold back, she would definitely rush to the Martial Arts Arena and strangle him.

"No." Atian shook her head decisively.

"Then why?" Now it was Su Ying's turn to be confused.

Just as Su Ying thought Bai Tian was going to spout some nonsense like "fiancés should see less of each other before marriage" or "a young lady from a good family shouldn't spend long periods with men," she saw her cheeks suddenly flush with a rosy glow, and she actually became shy.

"Actually..." Atian covered half her face with her sleeve, "... I joined the 'Worship Senior Brother' cult, so if I have to face him every day, it would be too embarrassing."

"…Huh?" Su Ying was truly dumbfounded this time.

"Because I like Senior Brother very much," Atian said with her eyes curved into crescents, "like him so much that I want to send him flying."

Although she looked like a girl in love when she said this, her eyes were frighteningly bright, and in an instant, she became sharp and dangerous, just like the black sword she held in her arms.

Su Ying opened her mouth, but in the end, she closed it again. A woman's intuition told her that this matter should not be probed further.

Although she had made the ambitious declaration of wanting to send Bai Xinli flying, the chasm-like gap between the two still remained, and the first thing Atian had to do was go to class obediently.

Thus, with Wanjie on her back, Zhao Kuo pulled by her left hand and Song Zhicheng by her right, she appeared in Li Ke's class once again, amidst the terrified gazes of the other senior brothers.

"Yesterday, I spoke about liberating one's nature, and that very night someone successfully forged their sword. I am very gratified," Li Ke gave Atian an appreciative look. "If you could all have such an easy time with Enlightenment, how much worry I would be saved!"

The male disciples who were senior brothers hung their heads, looking like frost-bitten eggplants. Thinking of their own burnt-down courtyards, their sorrow grew even deeper.

Although he was also a senior brother, Song Zhicheng, who was completely out of the line of fire, took advantage of everyone not paying attention to secretly take off his shoes and pick at his feet.

Zhao Kuo, who also already possessed a Life-bound Sword, pinched his nose with an expressionless face.

"Since someone has made progress, let's delve deeper into today's content," Li Ke sniffed nonchalantly. "The theme shall be 'Breaking Superstition, Walking into Immortal Cultivation'."

"After successfully forging a sword, it does not mean you can relax. Sword Cultivators often face a more important hurdle, which is determining their own path."

Li Ke's eyeballs rolled around.

"Zhao Kuo! You tell us, how does one determine their own path?"

Caught off guard, Zhao Kuo had no choice but to let go of his nose. A sour, foul stench immediately hit his brain, yet the culprit was still looking at him with an innocent face.

Zhao Kuo, whose brain ached from the stench, swayed his body and used his willpower to say the answer: "Communicate with the sword."

"Very good, sit down," Li Ke, who had nonchalantly set up his grand-nephew, nodded with satisfaction. "Communicating with one's Life-bound Sword is indeed the fastest method."

Having said this, he changed the subject. "However, those of our generation, besides seeking longevity, must also comprehend the Dao. And the Dao is the ultimate truth between heaven and earth, the beginning and end of all things. Your Sword Heart is closely related to the Great Dao you wish to comprehend."

Atian nodded thoughtfully, yet she didn't understand what this had to do with breaking superstition.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough," after a series of coughs that made one suspect he would cough out his lungs, Li Ke extended two fingers and pointed at one of them. "Like me comprehending Life and Death, or Senior Brother Tan Tianming comprehending Fate, all are within the Three Thousand Great Daos. Choosing one and walking it to the extreme is the moment one pushes open the Xiuxianmen."

Speaking of this, he took a small booklet out of his robes and said with a smile, "A few days ago, I collected the Great Daos you privately yearn for. Now let us see what they are."

Many people's expressions changed drastically when he took out the booklet, and most couldn't help but wail when they heard what he said. The old disciples of the Beihai Sword Sect all knew that once this monster Li Ke took out his private notes, a tragic and inhumane humiliation was about to descend.

Sure enough, he opened the booklet happily, flipped to the middle, and even forgot his mandatory coughing. "Let me see, ah, the undisputed top of the list, having won with an overwhelming advantage, is—the Heartless Dao. The people who yearn for it are..."

As one name after another was read out, the disciples whose names were called covered their faces, looking as if they wished they could crawl under the table. Even Zhao Kuo, at Atian's side, stiffened his body; only Song Zhicheng was still happily picking at his feet—these days had been stifling him.

Atian, who didn't understand the mystery of it, cast a curious gaze at the nervous Zhao Kuo. The latter, noticing this, squeezed out a stiff smile. "Everyone, everyone has a time of youthful recklessness, Junior Sister Bai."

"I get it, I get it," Song Zhicheng turned his head, looking like someone who had been through it all. "When I read those storybooks as a child, the immortals in them also said they cultivated the Heartless Dao. But 'heartless' is clearly a state, how can it be a Dao?"

Zhao Kuo buried his head even lower.

By this time, Li Ke had finished reading the long list of names and was very satisfied with the mass-destruction damage he had caused. "Very good, it seems you have all realized your mistakes. I am very gratified. Zhao Kuo! You tell us, where did you go wrong?"

Zhao Kuo, who had been called upon again, was almost crying. He deeply suspected that his master was afraid he was living too comfortably and had said something to Li Ke.

"Because..." he said with a mournful face, "the Heartless Dao is a term used by Dharma Cultivators."

"Right, and also wrong," Li Ke shook his head. "The Heartless Dao that the world gossips about is actually derived from the Taixuan Sect's 'Supreme Forgetting of Emotions.' It is not a principle, nor is it a cultivation method, but an ideal state they pursue for their whole lives."

"'The sage forgets emotions, the lowest do not reach emotions.' This does not refer to a Heartless Dao without feelings, but a realm of having feelings yet not being tied down by them, not being trapped by them—a realm of being carefree and transcendent."

"Counting the successors of the Taixuan Sect, those who finally reached the realm of 'Supreme Forgetting of Emotions' can be counted on one hand. You bunch of Sword Cultivators want to imitate them—you're simply brain-damaged!"

The disciples who were angrily scolded as "brain-damaged" almost buried their heads into their knees.

"There are Three Thousand Great Daos, and the paths to the heavens also have ten million variations; however, a true man in this world must know what to do and what not to do. If you cannot even understand this principle, then leave the island on your own!"

Li Ke spoke these words with great severity. Aside from his love for Eight Trigrams, this sickly Elder was a good-tempered senior most of the time, but this time, he was clearly truly angry.

His outburst of anger was somewhat inexplicable, yet none of the disciples present were dissatisfied; instead, each of them looked ashamed and mortified, leaving Atian and Song Zhicheng completely bewildered.