Chapter 25: 25. Chapter 25

25. Chapter 25

A Life-bound Sword is the other half of a Sword Cultivator.

Its appearance, abilities, and type originate entirely from the Sword Cultivator's own essence, Qi, and spirit; it can be said to be another manifestation of the Sword Cultivator in this world.

Bai Xinli's Wuo Sword, Su Ying's White Colt Sword, Zhao Kuo's Mountain-Breaking Sword, and even Atian's own Ten Thousand Calamities, are all another self—a unique "self" that shares a heart-to-heart connection with them.

And now, a long sword almost identical to the Wuo Sword is worn by the young man before her who calls himself "Zhu Huang." He certainly does not possess Bai Xinli's essence, Qi, and spirit, because this is merely a replica, even if it is so exquisite that it is almost impossible to distinguish.

Atian does not know why he would do such a thing—is it out of a deliberate desire to humiliate Bai Xinli, or simply because he thinks this style looks good? In her view, this is just like him wearing a mask of Bai Xinli that fails to cover his entire face, full of ugliness, strangeness, and eeriness.

Disgust is her only reaction.

This is truly, utterly disgusting.

Atian begins to understand why the relationship between Sword Cultivators and Instrument Cultivators is so poor; the former treats the sword as their other half, while the latter treats them merely as weapons whose appearance can be altered at will.

In all fairness, neither is wrong.

A Sword Cultivator's sword originates from their own Sword Bone, and an Instrument Cultivator's sword is indeed a weapon they forged themselves. However, just like oil and water do not mix, some innate disgust and aversion are impossible to ignore.

If Atian were an Instrument Cultivator, she would at most think it strange that Zhu Huang is deliberately imitating Bai Xinli.

However, she is a Sword Cultivator, and she only wants to draw her Sword and hack this disgusting lunatic before her to pieces.

She thinks this, and she does it.

Ten Thousand Calamities leaves its sheath in an instant, thrusting straight at the young man before her. Lotus flowers formed of flame instantly surround the two of them, forcing the surrounding people to quickly move away, carving out a space of moderate size. Zhu Huang's response is not slow; he jumps to the side the moment Atian draws her sword, only to be blocked back by the swarming fire lotuses.

He looks at Atian with a grim expression, "This Junior Sister..."

"Beihai Sword Sect, Bai Tian. Please, enlighten me."

Atian cuts him off. She raises her sword to thrust again, the fire lotuses drifting in the air gathering at the tip of her blade and pouring out toward Zhu Huang. Facing the girl's storm-like attack, Zhu Huang does not hold back; he also draws his sword, and a brilliant, precious aura emanates from the blade, making it somewhat blinding for a moment.

Bai Tian has never seen Bai Xinli draw his sword, but she feels that this definitely cannot be what the Wuo Sword looks like when truly unsheathed. Yet she cannot help but think: if there is a fake Wuo Sword in this world, then are there also fake White Colt Swords and Mountain-Breaking Swords? And many years from now, will there also be a fake Ten Thousand Calamities?

For the first time in her life, Atian feels genuine killing intent toward a person, or even a group.

She wants to snap that sword.

However, at the very moment they truly clash, she perceives the gap between the two of them.

For Bai Tian, wielding Ten Thousand Calamities is an innate skill, as natural as eating or drinking water. She has never had fixed moves; she just swings her sword as she pleases, doing what she feels she can do. But Zhu Huang is not like this; his every move seems precisely calculated, the transitions between moves perfectly coherent, as if he has practiced them thousands of times, leaving her at a loss for how to respond for a moment.

In fact, this is one of the differences between Sword Cultivators and Instrument Cultivators. Sword Cultivators wield their swords based on talent, each with a vastly different style, while Instrument Cultivators learn swordplay according to sword manuals passed down through generations. Each move has been refined and evolved by countless predecessors; once unleashed, it is a continuous, unbroken chain of attacks, aiming to crush the opponent completely from the start.

One has to admit that a beginner like Atian is at a disadvantage when facing Zhu Huang, who has gradually mastered his Sword Technique.

So be it if she is at a disadvantage.

Atian shakes Ten Thousand Calamities, the offensive in her hand changing. No longer trying to find the opponent's flaws, she stomps her foot and thrusts directly at his face. Zhu Huang clearly did not expect the girl before him to dare to force an attack while at a disadvantage. He is far from being a veteran of a hundred battles, and his hand, executing the Sword Technique, subconsciously pauses for an instant. That instant is enough.

Head, eyes, throat, chest, wrist—direct strikes, crushing strikes, followed by upward flicks. Atian erupts in an instant. She has completely forgotten her surroundings and the reason for the fight; there is only one thought in her mind, her spirit concentrated to the extreme.

Slash him.

The Ten Thousand Calamities in her hand is like rain washing away dust, like surging waves crashing against the shore. She has reached her limit.

Slash him.

The suddenly surging flames quickly condense into shape, a black fire dragon roaring down from the sky, violent and fierce.

Slash him!

"Clang!"

The white sword trembles madly with each block. A massive force, inconsistent with the girl's slender frame, travels from the sword. Zhu Huang's right arm goes numb, and he suffers immensely under the increasingly heavy collisions.

Is this damn thing a woman?!

He thinks through gritted teeth. With this momentary distraction, the sword in his hand is shaken loose. The White Jade Sword spins in the air, hits the ground with a "clatter," and is quickly swallowed by the fire lotuses covering the floor.

Such a turn of events leaves Zhu Huang stunned for a moment, and then he panics. Atian returns with her sword to thrust again, aiming straight for his vital point. But at the moment she is about to strike, she feels a pain in her chest, her limbs go weak, and she collapses to her knees, her right hand trembling, barely able to hold onto Ten Thousand Calamities.

What is happening?

She looks down in a daze, only to see blood gushing from her chest. The warm liquid soaks her moon-white robes, quickly staining them with a patch of blood.

"What are you doing, you bastard!"

Mu Yi's roar reaches her ears vaguely. Zhu Huang, who also fell to the ground, is grabbed by someone and slammed hard back onto the floor. Immediately after, Atian falls into a soft embrace. Liu Yan's left hand, glowing with a sea-blue light, presses firmly against the wound on her chest.

"This guy used a hidden weapon; tie him up." Liu Yan's voice is icy cold.

The Beihai Sword Sect disciples gradually gather around the two, nervously surrounding Atian.

"Let go of me! Let me go!" Zhu Huang's struggling voice comes through the crowd. "Are you all blind?! Look at the marks on the ground! The Demonic Thought is so heavy it's almost condensed into a physical form! This person is a natural-born Demon Seed!"

As soon as these words are spoken, whispers immediately erupt all around.

"Demonic Thought? Who are you trying to fool? Zhu Huang is just spouting nonsense because he hit a wall. Pfft!"

"No, no, no, those flames just now really felt wrong! I've never seen a Foundation Establishment cultivator with such fierce power... but she is a Sword Cultivator... it's hard to say, right?"

"Get out of my way! How is Senior Brother Zhu? Did that Demon Seed from the Beihai Sword Sect hurt him?!"

"If you ask me, that bastard Zhu Huang deserves to be killed; it would be doing the public a service. Sneak-attacking because he couldn't win—he's shamed all of us Instrument Cultivators."

"Oh no, Zhu Huang is going to cause trouble this time. Where is the Sect Master? Quickly, go and invite the Sect Master back!"

These voices converge into a huge buzzing sound drifting in the surroundings. Mu Yi glares fiercely at Zhu Huang, whose face has regained a hint of color, and squats down, grabbing him tightly by the collar. "You say my Junior Sister is a Demon Seed?"

Perhaps frightened by his ferocious gaze, Zhu Huang, who had just calmed down, begins to think rapidly. He immediately raises his hand, pulls back his sleeve to reveal his right arm, and points at the hideous scars on it, saying urgently to Mu Yi, "Look! Look at this wound!"

On the back of his hand are claw-like burn marks from the flames, which truly look somewhat like they were made by a monster.

Both are Foundation Establishment cultivators, but Zhu Huang's cultivation is actually superior to Bai Tian's, who only recently reached Foundation Establishment. This is why he targeted her from the start; compared to other disciples with high strength, a girl with slightly lower cultivation who looks beautiful and weak is clearly a better target.

He wanted to have an easy fight to boost his popularity from the beginning, never expecting that this beautiful girl would not be as weak as she appeared.

Mu Yi carefully examines Zhu Huang's wounds and gives his conclusion: "This does indeed look like Demonic Thought."

"Swish!"

The Beihai Sword Sect disciples surrounding Atian all take a step back before the words even finish, pointing their swords at Atian in the center.

Zhu Huang, still sitting on the ground, hooks the corner of his mouth into a triumphant smile and tries to climb up after shaking off Mu Yi's hand. However, in the next second, he cannot smile anymore, as he sees these disciples all turn around in unison, blades facing outward, protecting Atian in the center.

As for him, he was kicked back down by Mu Yi halfway through his climb.

"Are you playing me for a fool, you coward? Whether Junior Sister Bai is a Demon Seed or has a Demonic Thought, does that have anything to do with you shooting arrows from the shadows, damn it?!"

"You were the one who challenged my Junior Sister first, and then my Junior Sister fought you fair and square, yet you launched a sneak attack on her because you couldn't win! What? Did she pull out a divine artifact to smash you? Or did she swallow a Golden Core halfway through to gain sixty years of cultivation? You coward, and you still think you're in the right? Trying to turn the tables and blame the victim?!"

Mu Yi truly wished he could strangle this bastard on the spot, but after a sound of footsteps approached, he retreated to the side with resentment.

A person strolled over from the back of the group, passed through the Sword formation, and arrived in front of Atian; his posture was upright, his moon-white robes billowed in the wind, and the white jade Sword hanging at his waist was crystalline and flawless, just like he himself, who was like a fragrant orchid or a jade tree.

The person who arrived was none other than Bai Xinli.

He cast a faint glance at the disheveled Zhu Huang and turned his gaze toward the members of the Immortal-Seeking Path, who had already fallen into complete panic.

"Immortal-Seeking Path, do you think there is no one left in my Beihai Sword Sect?"