Chapter 16: 16. Chapter Sixteen

16. Chapter Sixteen

The sword forging was a success, and Atian had a new worry.

The benefits after forging the sword were obvious; according to Zhao Kuo, she had skipped the tempering of Qi Refining and successfully reached Foundation Establishment directly. Her limbs and bones were filled with an indescribable power. Atian could even hear the sound of flames surging and burning within her meridians, which meant she had officially stepped onto this point of no return in the pursuit of longevity.

However, it was as if she had become a scholar before even passing the preliminary exams; she had to study the Four Books and Five Classics before she had even learned all the characters. If she wanted to progress further, she would inevitably have to cram frantically.

"Elder Li Ke's Enlightenment class must continue," Su Ying said, taking out a scroll and spreading it on the table, then picking up a brush to write and draw on it. "Hmm... whoever chooses 'Master's Star Astrology, Eight Trigrams, and Luck Guide' is an idiot. Cross that out, cross that out."

Atian sat obediently to the side, watching her motherly Senior Sister Su Ying help her select courses, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Logically speaking, having successfully reached Foundation Establishment, she should have been able to withstand the power of "Baiju." The problem, however, was that she was a wild card who had reached Foundation Establishment in a muddled state. She had the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment practitioner 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 without a scabbard proved that a Sword Cultivator could not control their own power with ease. Furthermore, Wanjie didn't 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, such a small matter couldn't stump the Beihai Sword Sect. Since she couldn't control it with ease, wouldn't it be fine if she just practiced until she could?

"There are two paths before you now. One is to accept Elder Luo Li's special training, and the other is to follow Senior Brother to learn the Sword-Nurturing and Blade-Concealing Technique," 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, her expression 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. As for her personality... you'll know when 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 realized what had happened, she wrote a few strokes on the scroll. Seeing her bite the end of her brush and hesitate for a moment, she asked the question anyway, "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, and the second time he beat her up—that is truly very Beihai Sword Sect."

"So?" Atian tilted her head in confusion.

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

The island of bachelors that was the Beihai Sword Sect had always been a difficult problem in the cultivation world. Having finally waited for a cooked duck to arrive, she almost wanted to give a thumbs up to Lady Bai. If the duck flew away because Bai Xinli didn't know his own strength, 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 too much time with men," she saw her cheeks suddenly flush with a rosy glow, and she actually became shy all of a sudden.

"Actually..." Atian covered half her face with her sleeve, "... I've joined the 'Worship Senior Brother' cult. If I have to face him every day, it's just 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, "so much that I want to beat him flying."

When she said this, although she looked like a girl in the throes of first love, her eyes were frighteningly bright. In an instant, she became sharp and dangerous, just like the long black sword she held in her arms.

Su Ying opened her mouth, but finally closed it. A woman's intuition told her that this matter could not be probed further.

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

Thus, carrying Wanjie on her back, pulling Zhao Kuo with her left hand and supporting Song Zhicheng with her right, she appeared in Li Ke's class once again under the horrified gazes of the other senior brothers.

"Yesterday, I spoke about liberating one's nature, and that very night someone succeeded in forging a sword. I am very gratified," Li Ke gave Atian an appreciative look. "If you could all have such an easy time reaching 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 scorched dormitories, their grief grew even deeper.

Although he was also a senior brother, Song Zhicheng, who was completely outside the blast radius, took advantage of everyone's distraction to secretly take off his shoe and pick at his foot.

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

"Since someone has progressed further, let's go deeper into today's content," Li Ke sniffed nonchalantly. "The theme shall be 'Breaking Superstition, Entering Immortal Cultivation'."

"After successfully forging a sword, it does not mean you can breathe a sigh of relief. 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 one's own path?"

Caught off guard and named, Zhao Kuo had no choice but to release the hand that had been pinching his nose. A sour, foul stench immediately hit his crown. 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 blurt out the answer: "Communicate with the sword."

"Very good, sit down," Li Ke, who had pitted his grand-nephew without a change in expression, nodded with satisfaction. "Communicating with one's Life-bound Sword is indeed the most efficient method."

Having said this, he changed the subject. "However, those of us in this profession, besides seeking longevity, must also comprehend the Dao. And the Dao is the ultimate truth of heaven and earth; it is the beginning and the 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 was going to cough out his lungs, Li Ke extended two fingers and pointed at one of them. "Like me, who comprehends Life and Death, or Senior Brother Tan Tianming, who comprehends Fate, we are all within the Three Thousand Great Daos. Choosing one and walking it to the extreme is the moment one pushes open the Xiuxianmen."

Having said 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 customary cough. "Let me see, ah, the undisputed top of the list, winning with an overwhelming advantage, is—the Heartless Dao. The aspiring personnel are..."

As each name was read out, the disciples who were named 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 foot; he had been stifled for days.

Atian, who didn't understand the mystery of it, cast a curious gaze at the nervous Zhao Kuo. The latter noticed and 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 practiced the Heartless Dao. But 'heartless' is clearly a state of being, 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 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, named once again, was about to cry. He deeply suspected that his master was afraid he was having too comfortable a time with his punishment and had said something to Li Ke.

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

"Correct, and also incorrect," Li Ke shook his head. "The Heartless Dao that the world spreads by hearsay 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 that they pursue for their entire lives."

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

"Counting the successors of the Taixuan Sect, those who have reached the realm of 'Supreme Forgetting of Emotions' can be counted on one hand. You bunch of Sword Cultivators want to imitate them? You must have water in your brains!"

The disciples, scolded for having "water in their brains," nearly buried their heads into their knees.

"There are Three Thousand Great Daos, and millions of paths to the heavens. Yet, a man of honor in this world must know what to do and what not to do. If you don't even understand this principle, then leave the island yourselves!"

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

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

"Because of the dispute over Sword Techniques that has continued since ancient times," Zhao Kuo said in a low voice, covering his face, "the Heartless Dao is a lure deliberately tampered with and cast out by the Dharma Cultivators to confuse low-level Sword Cultivator disciples and ruin their foundations. This matter has dragged both us and the Taixuan Sect into it. Killing two birds with one stone and sowing discord—I bet a cucumber that this wicked idea was the work of the Fangxian Dao."

The Heartless Dao, which promotes being devoid of desire and unmatched in power, has been a dark horse rising in recent years and is indeed quite popular among young cultivators. After all, these people have shallow cultivation, weak minds, and little experience, making it the perfect time to trick them.

Sword Cultivators cannot practice the techniques of Dharma Cultivators, and Dharma Cultivators cannot practice the Sword Intent of Sword Cultivators. Once this is confused, one may not notice it in the beginning, but in the middle and later stages, one will find the path becoming narrower and narrower until it is completely blocked and the future is destroyed. For a cultivator, this is a hopeless future that cannot be described in words.

This is also the fundamental reason why Sword Cultivators and Dharma Cultivators have been clearly divided for millions of years; even though the Beihai Sword Sect and the Taixuan Sect are on good terms, the two houses have absolutely no intention of visiting each other.

The "Heartless Dao" affair was handled both shrewdly and foolishly. The Taixuan Sect would not joke with their own sect-protecting techniques and ten-thousand-year reputation, so the only ones who know the Taixuan Sect's mental cultivation methods and could manage such a degree of alteration are the Fangxian Dao, who share the same origin as the Taixuan Sect.

Fangxian Dao.

It was not the first time Atian had heard this name. She recalled that when Zhao Kuo sent her to Shengxian Town, they were pursued by people from the Tianxing Sect, and behind the Tianxing Sect was the Fangxian Dao.

"Why?" she asked, puzzled.

"Because the struggle for the Dao Lineage is a fight to the death."

Atian was stunned; the one who answered her was not Zhao Kuo.