Chapter 18: 18. Chapter 18

18. Chapter 18

Atian had never imagined she could still dream of the second half of the story.

The man's hand clamped onto the young girl's delicate neck, cold liquid dripped onto her cheeks, tongues of fire suddenly surged and crackled, and the sensation of suffocation and pain grew ever stronger.

Just as her vision went black, the hand that had been gripping her neck like iron pincers suddenly let go, and the young girl, freed from the shackles, let out a weak cough amidst the billowing thick smoke.

The man knelt powerlessly in the sea of fire, his purple robes gradually charring and curling; he covered his face with both hands, and a choked voice flowed out from between his fingers: "Why! Why! What sin did the innocent child commit!"

He suddenly raised his head, hammered his fist against the ground, pulled the young girl who had not yet recovered into his arms, crawled forward on his knees a few steps, and shouted hoarsely at a figure standing outside the circle of fire: "Master! Master! What sin did the innocent child commit, Master!"

Bai Tian sat up abruptly from her bed; she had not dreamed of this scene for many years, likely because hearing too much news about the Fangxian Dao yesterday had stirred up long-buried memories.

Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, she did not intend to go back to sleep. She jumped off the bed, picked up the dress on the coat rack to change into, tied her long hair up with a ribbon, took the Wanjie resting at the head of her bed, pushed open the door, and walked out of the room.

At this moment, the first rays of morning glow had not yet pierced through the clouds, and the surroundings were enveloped in a hazy sense of neither light nor dark. She stood alone on the twenty-story high platform, gazing at the Floating Island covered by a thin layer of mist. The slightly briny sea breeze stirred the loose hair at her temples. Atian raised the sword in her hand, threw it toward the ground, and at the same time, tapped her toes lightly, swooping down following the trail of the sword.

The image of other disciples leaping between the courtyards played in her mind; every landing point coincided with those in her memory. Atian rose and fell as if dancing, and finally, with a forceful kick, her entire body leaped high into the air, her wide skirt transforming into a peony blooming in mid-air.

"Who is it, so early..."

Hearing the sound, Song Zhicheng pushed open his door, eyes still bleary with sleep, and saw the figure of Bai Tian drifting down gracefully, landing right on the Wanjie that had pierced into the soil. He was just about to call out a greeting when he saw the young girl jump lightly off the hilt and pick up the black longsword. The golden morning light hit her profile, plating her with a layer of gentle makeup.

Song Zhicheng froze, his mouth opening subconsciously, but until her back disappeared from his sight, the words "Junior Sister Bai" remained stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.

After leaving the courtyard, Atian went straight to the canteen. The cook of the Beihai Sword Sect was a middle-aged woman dressed in gaudy jewelry, with more rings on her fingers than one could count. She was long accustomed to disciples rising early; seeing Atian, she gave her a large bowl of porridge and a few steamed buns. The latter did not complain after receiving them, found a place to sit, and began to wolf down the food.

Today would be an exceptionally difficult day; she had to consume enough energy in a short amount of time.

The first technique Atian learned at the Beihai Sword Sect was the Sword Controlling Art. To say she "learned" it is not entirely accurate; it was just like her sword moves, contained within her very bones, needing only a spark to emerge in her mind.

Unlike the Duanyue Sword, which threw tantrums all day and tripped Zhao Kuo, Wanjie could be described as "handy" to drive, much like Atian herself—wrapping a lethal interior with a docile appearance. Yet, even so, she nearly crashed into the ground while climbing the suspended Martial Arts Arena, making everyone who saw it break into a cold sweat for her.

The person who saw this was naturally Luo Li, who had come to the Martial Arts Arena early to strike a pose. She was wearing men's clothing, draped in a moon-white outer robe, and with her tall stature and ear-length short hair, if one ignored the scar on her face, she really looked like a dashing young gentleman at first glance.

In fact, there was a reason for Luo Li to dress this way. The number of Elders in the Beihai Sword Sect was pitifully small, so every one of them could not be wasted and had to be used where they were most needed—such as the Sect Master Duan Xuan who served as the face of the sect, Tan Tianming who was in charge of external affairs, Guo Huai who managed internal affairs, Li Ke who provided a sense of deterrence, and Luo Li who served as the muscle.

Luo Li was the Law Enforcement Elder of the Beihai Sword Sect and also their sharp blade to the outside world. Judging by how she had marched straight to the mountain gate of the Fangxian Dao as soon as the "Heartless Dao" incident broke out, she had always played the role of the "unreasonable" one, and over time, she had become what she was today.

"Young people these days..." Her face wrinkled into a ball, and she shook her head in disapproval, looking exactly like Grandma Wang at the entrance of the village; this was perhaps a common ailment of those who had aged.

Atian put Wanjie back on her back, trotted to Luo Li, covered half her face with her sleeve, revealed a pair of bright, sparkling eyes, and called out softly, "Good morning, Uncle-Master Luo Li."

It feels so good to have a junior sister!

Luo Li was almost moved to tears of joy inside, but on the surface, she remained calm. She spat out the dogtail grass she had been chewing, nodded at Bai Tian, and dropped a "Follow me" before turning and walking toward the depths of the Martial Arts Arena.

The Beihai Sword Sect itself was a massive Floating Island, and the Martial Arts Arena was a floating city upon that island. It was not a simple, vast square, but a rather spectacular floating hill. The bottom-most platform was where Qi Refining disciples practiced their swordsmanship, the stone huts scattered on the mountain body were built specifically for seclusion, and the remaining forests and mountain terrain were the true training grounds for the disciples.

"Our Beihai Sword Sect is located above the North Sea and is always mocked by those guys who occupy mountains and rivers as a small, cramped place. But so what? If there is no back mountain, why not just build one yourself?"

Luo Li led Atian through the forest. Her steps were light, as if walking on flat ground, yet she did not deliberately speed up; instead, she slowed her pace slightly to chat with the young girl behind her.

Calling it a chat was actually Luo Li rambling on one-sidedly.

"Tan Tianming said that your Sword Bone contains Demonic Thought and is a Demonic Sword. This is actually a lingering poison he contracted during his early years at the Taixuan Sect. Although he was sent over as soon as his Sword Bone was awakened and had all his cultivation abolished to start over, some habits were ultimately impossible to correct."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to push aside a tree branch.

"For us Sword Cultivators, there is no such thing as Demonic Thought or not. In this world, there are swords that destroy the world and swords that save it. The Sword Heart of a Sword Cultivator is strange and varied, and the Sword Intent is also different, but no matter how it changes, one thing will never change—they are all swords for killing."

"A sword is a lethal weapon."

"Those who are weak-hearted cannot lift it, those who are compassionate cannot swing it, and those who do not harbor the intent to kill cannot thrust it."

Perhaps because it was located above the sea, the soil in the mountain forest was soft and even had a freshness unique to after the rain. Atian reached out to steady herself against a towering tree, and Luo Li also stopped and turned to look at her.

"But a sword is also a gentleman."

"Those who harbor evil intentions are not worthy of holding it, those who are hypocritical and fake-kind are not worthy of swinging it, and those who are bloodthirsty and cruel are not worthy of using it."

"If you have even the slightest hesitation regarding the above, do not draw your sword; that will only bring shame to your sword."

Luo Li's eyes were like a sword that could pierce the heavens, stabbing straight into Atian's soul.

"However, in the final analysis, the one who uses the sword is still a person."

"A Sword Cultivator's moves come from their Life-bound Sword, a Sword Cultivator's Sword Heart comes from their Sword Bone, but a Sword Cultivator's Sword Bone comes from the Sword Cultivator themselves."

"If you are helpless once you leave the sword, how is that any different from a puppet controlled by a sword? If everything is controlled by the sword, then is it you swinging the sword, or is it the sword swinging you?"

Luo Li turned around, her moon-white outer robe drawing an arc in the air, and she began to stride into the forest.

"Remember! You and it are both halves of a whole and enemies!"

"You must listen to it, understand it, and explore it, pursuing together the ultimate truth bestowed upon you by the heavens, while at the same time suppressing it, subduing it, and driving it! Let it know who is the master!"

This time, Luo Li did not wait for her. Atian began to run, not caring about the mud staining her shoes, her eyes fixed only on the moon-white hem of the robe drifting in her sight.

She did not know how long they had walked before Luo Li stopped at the edge of a cliff. Bai Tian walked over to take a look and realized this was not a cliff, but a rather spectacular sinkhole.

Having grown up in a small town, Atian had never seen such a magnificent sight. This sinkhole was over a hundred meters deep; as far as the eye could see, there were swirling clouds and mist, and vines clinging to the steep stone walls. The mouth of the pit was so large that, from a distance, it looked like a circular piece of the sky.

"Sect Master Senior Brother asked me to teach you how to retract and release power. However, one must first learn to wield a weapon before one can stop the conflict; to learn how to forge a sword sheath, one must first know how to release power."

"Let me see what kind of ability you, who can give birth to the Sword of Huangye, possess."

Luo Li's voice sounded unexpectedly in Atian's ear. Such close proximity immediately filled her with a sense of foreboding. Sure enough, a force came from behind, and before she could twist her waist to dodge, she was kicked directly off the cliff!

Bai Tian's first reaction was to call for Wanjie, but the black sword remained motionless on her back. The mountain wind carried her as she plummeted rapidly, and she soon disappeared from the mouth of the sinkhole.

"Work hard. I've already made an agreement with them; if you succeed, I'll bring you along."

As Luo Li spoke, she looked through the layers of the mountain forest toward the Yishi Dian in the distance. In front of the Yishi Dian standing in the center of the Floating Island, two figures were waiting quietly at the entrance.

"Elder Li, Senior Brother Bai," the Sword Attendant Boy pushed open the door and bowed to the two, "The Sect Leader invites you in."

Just as they were about to enter the great hall, a gust of sea breeze blew their robes until they snapped loudly. A letter slipped quietly from Li Ke's sleeve, spinning in the air and gradually flying away. On the half-open paper, one could vaguely see the character "Qing".

Atian was falling.

She closed her eyes, feeling the weightlessness of her body. Just as she was about to hit the bottom, she thrust her sword out; the tip of the sword pointed directly at the ground, and the originally rigid sword body bent into an arc. Relying on this elasticity, she stayed suspended in the air for a few seconds, head down. The longsword rotated with her body, dancing a clean sword flower in the air. As the feeling of cutting into flesh traveled from the hilt, Atian landed nimbly on one knee, and some liquid splashed onto her face.

In the pitch-black world, pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up.

Atian opened her eyes, and bright yellow flames danced in her pupils.