Chapter 15: 15. Chapter Fifteen

15. Chapter Fifteen

"Senior Brother, would you be willing to... take a sword strike from me?"

Bai Tian's hand gripped the black and red hilt; on the surface, she appeared no different than usual, but inside, she was filled with an eagerness born of a mixture of killing intent and fighting spirit, and this eagerness came precisely from the black longsword in her hand.

Truly worthy of being my Sword.

She thought nonchalantly; this feeling of being in perfect harmony was hair-raising, as if someone were peeking at the thoughts in her mind, or as if a soulmate were pouring out their heart to her—no matter which it was, it was impossible to resist.

At this moment, no matter who came to her side, the only result would be a battle, so when she saw Bai Xinli's figure appear outside the door, she was ecstatic.

The Bai Xinli spoken of by the Bai couple.

The Bai Xinli she had not seen for fifteen years.

The Bai Xinli who had changed her Fate.

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

Too strong, too strong, too strong.

Too good, too good, too good!

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

Atian knew she was going mad.

A clear-headed madness.

But so what?

She was born destined not to be a well-behaved, conventional young lady; what was wrong with going a little mad?

The hilt in her hand turned from cold to hot, and two flushes of red quietly climbed onto her cheeks; Lady Bai, who was single-mindedly raising Atian to be a refined young lady, certainly would not spend money to hire a martial arts master to teach her, so her fighting moves were all wild street brawling styles—she couldn't even clench her fists correctly, let alone wield a weapon.

However, for a Sword Cultivator, the thing least necessary to learn is how to hold a Sword—if it is something you are born with, does it need to be taught?

Bai Tian, naturally, was the same.

As soon as Bai Xinli's words, "Junior Sister Bai, please," were spoken, she thrust her Sword backhanded without a second thought; flames gathered on the pitch-black blade to form a vortex, coordinating with the tip of the Sword to point straight at Bai Xinli's heart.

Her hand holding the Sword was steady, and the blade was steady; the straight thrust was accurate and powerful, as if it had been practiced ten thousand times, and even the slight rotation of the tip gave one a feeling of precision to the finest degree.

This is a Sword Cultivator; they are born for the Sword.

However, there are levels among Sword Cultivators.

This strike was blocked an inch from Bai Xinli's chest by an invisible wall; the moon-white hair ribbon obscured his vision and covered his expression, but Atian guessed that he must be like that day, as noble and pure as the bright moon in the sky.

Then, she was sent flying by a powerful force.

Slammed heavily against the wall behind her, Atian slid to the ground; a tearing pain came from the web between her right thumb and index finger, and sticky liquid gushed out, dripping down the hilt.

Pain.

An unprecedented pain assaulted her from her back, instantly sweeping through her internal organs and churning them into a mess, yet she wanted to laugh out loud, her fingers even trembling slightly from excitement.

Bai Xinli had not drawn his Sword; he hadn't even moved, yet his protective Sword Qi alone had given her a severe blow.

She was to Bai Xinli as Song Zhicheng was to her—a mayfly shaking a tree, not worth mentioning—but yet, but yet, this was exactly how it should be!

Her Sword Bone Completed, yet Song Zhicheng's was only just sprouting.

Bai Xinli had achieved success in Sword Cultivation, yet she hadn't even entered the gate.

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

And what was wrong with that?

Bai Tian climbed up shakily, leaning on her Sword, shook the remaining blood droplets from her right hand, and gave Bai Xinli a brilliant smile. "Again!"

She thrust out another strike, faster and trickier than the last, yet the flames still could not pass through the invisible barrier, and she fell heavily to the ground once more.

"Haha..." She wiped the blood overflowing from the corner of her mouth with the back of her left hand and raised her Sword again. "Again!"

It was easy to guess that what awaited her was the next time she would be sent flying.

Atian used her Sword to prop herself up; her white undergarment was already stained with spots of red plum blossoms, yet she laughed heartily and said, "Again!"

Raising her Sword time after time, only to be sent flying time after time, until finally, 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 enveloped in intense pain, unable to execute the commands sent by her brain, so she simply leaned against the wall and gave a shy smile to the gradually approaching Bai Xinli.

As if to prevent her from recklessly rushing up again, Bai Xinli extended a hand and gently pressed his index finger against her forehead; his body temperature was slightly cool, completely out of place in this room filled with flames.

And as for Atian, she gasped for a moment, slowly reached out, and her drooping fingertips brushed across his chest, leaving a red streak on his moon-white robes.

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

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

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

"You're awake."

Su Ying, sitting by the bed, frowned at the bronze mirror in her hand; she had recently felt that a dry wrinkle had appeared under her eyes and was endlessly troubled by it, though for her true age, a face full of wrinkles would be normal.

"It hurts, right? It should hurt, to let you learn your lesson! Provoking Senior Brother, you really have a death wish!"

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

"Come to think of it, I heard the commotion you made last night was quite something; luckily I was on night duty, otherwise it would have been me facing you last night, and I don't have Senior Brother's ability, so I might not have been able to restrain you."

Finding her Life-bound Sword at the head of the bed, Atian reached out to touch it and felt a little more at ease, then felt a chill on her chest; looking down, she discovered she was wearing only a single undergarment.

"Ah!" she shrieked, shrinking into the quilt.

"Ah what ah," Su Ying put down the mirror, her tone filled with lingering schadenfreude, "You were the one wearing these clothes last night, pestering Senior Brother and not letting him leave; what's the use of being shy now!"

"A refined young lady must be shy," Atian argued seriously.

Su Ying was surprised by her dedication and, deeply moved, handed her a bronze mirror. "Wake up! I've never seen a refined young lady who drags a man to spar in the middle of the night and sets fires!"

Atian rubbed her bruised forehead, feeling a bit aggrieved.

"Then again, helping Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters overcome the restlessness brought on by forging the Sword is one of Senior Brother's duties, so you don't need to feel bad about it."

"Restlessness?" Atian, who didn't feel bad at all, repeated thoughtfully.

"The Sword is a lethal weapon; once it leaves its sheath, the desire to fight will inevitably rise, and since your Life-bound Sword is closely linked to your own self, being affected is unavoidable."

Su Ying explained earnestly.

"A sword is sharpest the moment it is unsheathed, relying on its indomitable spirit; if you are not allowed to fully vent that spirit at that time, I fear your Sword Heart will be damaged in the future."

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

"Since you have successfully forged your sword, there are some things that must be said," Su Ying said, her tone suddenly becoming serious, "Have you felt it, your Sword Heart? Do you know it, your sword's name?"

Sword Heart and sword name—the two most important things for a Sword Cultivator.

Bai Tian gently stroked the long sword in her hand, but she brought up another completely unrelated topic, "... Senior Sister Su Ying, Senior Brother, he is very strong."

"Why bring this up suddenly?" Su Ying frowned.

Atian smiled, "Because I also want to become that strong!"

Su Ying fell silent upon hearing this; she pondered for a moment, then finally sat on the edge of the bed with her legs spread in a bold, unconstrained posture, and said to Bai Tian, "Junior Sister Bai, do you know what Senior Brother's sword is called?"

Atian remembered the beautiful red-tasseled White Jade Sword worn at Bai Xinli's waist and shook her head.

"Senior Brother's sword... is called 'Selflessness'," Su Ying's face was solemn, "Of the three thousand Daoist methods, all methods lead to selflessness; that is what this 'Selflessness' means."

"The reason Senior Brother is highly praised as 'the person of the younger generation closest to the Heavenly Dao' lies in this; what others pursue for a lifetime, he attained from the very beginning, but a higher starting point also means the road ahead is even harder to walk."

"How can one maintain 'Selflessness'? Losing one's self leads to eternal damnation, while being too self-centered makes it impossible to advance even an inch; the difficulty and hardship of a failing Sword Heart—I fear only he himself knows."

"I am already beginning to forget Bai Xinli."

That sentence, which Atian could not fathom, echoed in her ears.

Speaking of this, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of Su Ying's mouth, "Come to think of it, I am a few years older than Senior Brother's mother, and I raised him from a young age, but unfortunately, ever since he began to nurture his sword and hide his edge, even I cannot quite understand him anymore."

However, the self-pitying mood did not last long; Senior Sister Su Ying, who could never help but break character, slapped the head of the bed indignantly, "How could that brat hide things from a motherly Senior Sister like me? It is truly unfilial! It is simply outrageous!"

Atian nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice.

Calming her emotions, Su Ying changed the form of address back, "A Sword Cultivator cannot choose their own Sword Heart, nor can they change their original intent; even if this path is infinitely difficult, Senior Brother can only face the difficulties head-on."

"I say these things because I want you to know that if you want to be as strong as Senior Brother, I fear you can only—face the difficulties head-on."

"On the path of Xiuxian, there are no shortcuts; only by keeping to one's original intent and comprehending the Great Dao can one fight their way out from among millions to forge an Immortal Path!"

As she spoke, her brows and eyes softened.

"I will ask you one more time, what is your sword's name?"

"Wanjie," Atian also smiled, "Ten thousand tribulations, only then can one reach the end."

She tilted her head, and her beautiful face looked surprisingly innocent and naive at this moment.

"I like this name."