Chapter 27: 27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Move aside!"

Qi Han said in a deep voice. His sudden change in attitude made the guarding disciples nervous. Liu Yan, who was holding Bai Tian, looked up; the wooden sword at her waist rose automatically and slashed a blue, crescent-shaped Sword Qi toward him.

Taking the attack head-on without moving an inch, Qi Han covered his face with his hand and paused for a moment. When he lowered his hand, he had returned to his usual demeanor. "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Look, young people are just hot-headed. The wounds on this girl were caused by a magical artifact, right? Let me take a look."

Liu Yan turned her head to look at Bai Xinli. Bai Xinli pointed his right hand again, and a charred black dot appeared on the ground at the tips of Qi Han's toes.

Withdrawing his foot, Qi Han looked at the young man before him with a smile. "What? You don't trust me?"

Although they had never met, Bai Xinli had heard of the great name of this direct disciple of the Immortal-Seeking Path before. This person had become famous three hundred years ago; if it weren't for the fact that the Beihai Sword Sect only had two generations, he would have had to respectfully call the man 'Grand Uncle-Master' right now.

Of course, having lower cultivation and seniority did not mean he would yield.

Bai Xinli pursed his lips. "Senior Brother Qi, Junior Sister Bai is a young lady after all. If you wish to examine her wounds, please prepare a private room."

Qi Han was truly stunned this time. He had never thought of himself as an outsider in his mind, yet he had forgotten that in the eyes of uninformed outsiders, he really should avoid suspicion with her.

"Right, right, right," he chuckled dryly. "It was my oversight. I was just anxious when I saw someone was injured... Junior Brother Zhang! Prepare a clean room for this... Junior Sister of the Beihai Sword Sect!"

Suddenly called upon, Zhang Zeyan looked at his own unusually behaving Senior Brother, full of questions but forced to ignore them for the moment. "Understood, I'll go right now..."

"Wait!"

Duan Xuan, who had previously let his disciples handle the situation, spoke up. He walked over from the outer circle with Li Ke. He first leaned down to check Atian's injuries and found that the girl was looking at Qi Han not far away with her dark, round eyes. Although her complexion was poor, she was still quite clear-headed.

As if sensing the young girl's attention, Qi Han also cast his gaze over, but as soon as their eyes met, the latter immediately turned away, as quickly as if fleeing in a panic.

Duan Xuan took in the interaction between the two, but his expression remained calm. "It's fine, no vital points were hit. Liu Yan, seal Atian's wounds first."

After giving the instructions, he straightened his back and said to Qi Han with a half-smile, "Junior Nephew Qi, you don't have the final say in this matter; your master must come. Tell Wei Sheren that if he continues to fuss over that furnace of his and his Golden Core, I cannot guarantee whether he will still be able to see Luofu Mountain."

These words were extremely heavy, making even the unflappable Daoist Tian Heng raise his eyebrows, let alone the other sects caught in the crossfire. A Sword Cultivator always kept his word; if Duan Xuan said he would raze Luofu Mountain, he would truly go and raze Luofu Mountain.

If the pond were to be razed, could they, the fish, be far from disaster?

Qi Han's brows knotted together. He pondered for a moment, thought of Bai Tian still lying there, and ultimately decided to take a step back.

He raised his hand, and a willow leaf detached from a branch, drifted down, and landed in his palm. Qi Han picked up the willow leaf, held both ends with his hands, brought it to his lips, and began to play.

Atian lay in Liu Yan's arms. The sound of the willow leaf was clear and melodious, making her recall her childhood. But whenever she tried to immerse herself in it, the pain in her chest would pull her back to reality, reminding her that the time that had passed would never return.

This was fine, too; at least she wouldn't dream anymore.

In the Immortal-Seeking Path, playing music with a willow leaf seemed to be a specific method of communication. Not long after Qi Han finished playing, another melody drifted over from the direction of the back mountain. The sound was even more fluid and clean, beautiful as if it were a heavenly melody. Yet, the listeners were not very impressed; Zhang Zeyan couldn't help but widen his eyes after the melody began, as if he had heard something incredible, while Qi Han completely relaxed, his knotted brows smoothing out.

"Apologies, Sect Master Duan," Qi Han wore a composed smile again. "Master said he already knows the ins and outs of this matter. It is indeed the fault of our Immortal-Seeking Path. Any blame you have, we will bear it all."

"Knows? I'm afraid he calculated it!" Duan Xuan sneered upon hearing this. "I don't understand your mystical divination, but he, Wei Sheren, says he will bear my blame? What if I say—I want this boy's life?"

He dragged out the tone of the last sentence, so long that Zhu Huang's complexion changed drastically. At this moment, being stepped on firmly by Mu Yi, whose cultivation far exceeded his own, and unable to break free, he cast a look of help toward his fellow sect members, especially the middle-aged cultivator who had pleaded for him repeatedly before.

After Fang Luo received Zhu Huang's plea for help, his heart was full of anxiety. This disciple of his not only looked good but also had good talent. Most importantly, he was quite gifted in using the Sword; he could learn ordinary Sword Techniques at a glance, and he always had new insights into more profound ones. He was truly quite satisfied, to the point that he had put great effort into cultivating him.

Yes, the master of this Sword-Instrument Cultivator, Zhu Huang, did not use a sword.

The reason for this was also quite sigh-worthy. When Fang Luo was young, he was also a Sword-Instrument Cultivator, but unfortunately, after a battle, he completely lost the confidence to hold a sword. After deep reflection, he abolished his entire cultivation to start over, and only after many setbacks did he reach where he was today.

Therefore, Zhu Huang could be said to be the continuation of his youthful dreams, and one could imagine how much effort he had spent on him. However, Fang Luo could never have imagined that his own disciple would do something like shooting a hidden arrow during a public battle.

"If that is Sect Master Duan's wish," Qi Han glanced at the panicked Zhu Huang, "it is not..."

"Junior Nephew Qi! Absolutely not!" Fang Luo cried out. "Zhu Huang is the most talented disciple of my Sword-Instrument lineage!"

"Right, right, right," as soon as Fang Luo spoke, Zhu Huang grabbed onto it like a life-saving straw and shouted recklessly, "I am the future number one in Sword Cultivation!"

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."

Zhang Zeyan began to cough frantically the moment Zhu Huang spoke, but Duan Xuan had already heard it clearly.

"Oh? The future number one in Sword Cultivation?" He repeated with interest. "This is truly interesting. This old man is untalented, but I have held the title of number one in Sword Cultivation for a long time and have also carefully taught a disciple, hoping he would inherit my mantle. I didn't expect that there would be a future number one in Sword Cultivation hiding here. Interesting, interesting."

If he had only been trying to scare the other party just now, he was truly getting serious at this moment.

"Since that is the case, the opportunity is rare. Deacon Fang, is it? Let this disciple of yours spar with my useless disciple."

"Xin Li!" Before Fang Luo could answer, Duan Xuan said, "You should properly seek instruction from the Senior Brother of the Immortal-Seeking Path."

Fang Luo's heart was filled with bitterness. Duan Xuan's purpose in sending out Bai Xinli was obvious: he was determined to cripple Zhu Huang. This was not because of jealousy of talent, but because Zhu Huang's title had touched the reverse scale of all Sword Cultivators in the world.

If it were merely a matter of personal or sect honor, he could put aside his old face to apologize; Duan Xuan was, after all, a big figure who had been famous for years and would not be too petty with a junior who spoke wildly. But unfortunately, Zhu Huang's words implied a dispute over the Dao Lineage of sword techniques.

A cultivator's life is about cultivating the heart and the fate, but there is one thing that, no matter how high one's self-cultivation is, will lead to a life-and-death struggle: the dispute over the Dao Lineage.

As long as it involves the Dao Lineage, it is basically impossible to end well.

It was not that Fang Luo did not understand Zhu Huang's thoughts. When he was young, he also couldn't understand why he was proficient in many top-tier Sword Techniques and everyone gave him a thumbs up, yet he couldn't occupy a place on the path of Sword Cultivation.

But when he, who thought himself extraordinary, met a true Sword Cultivator, he realized that the Sword Bone was truly a chasm—a chasm sufficient to make one lose the courage to hold a sword.

He had met a Sword Cultivator of his generation when he was in high spirits, just as Zhu Huang was about to face Bai Xinli. The difference was that he still had a chance to start over, while Zhu Huang was afraid... he wouldn't be able to keep it.

He could not defend him, nor could he plead for him. Once he opened his mouth, the dispute over sword techniques initiated by Zhu Huang personally would evolve into a dispute over sword techniques between the Immortal-Seeking Path and the Beihai Sword Sect. Even if he were foolish and narrow-minded, he understood that that would be the beginning of a true disaster.

Bai Xinli took a step forward. His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword, Wuwo, and his expression could not be clearer—he was going to draw his sword in obedience to his master's orders.

Many people in the cultivation world knew that Bai Xinli of the Beihai Sword Sect practiced the Sword-Nurturing and Concealing-Edge Technique. The number of times he had truly drawn his sword could be counted on one hand, but every time he drew it, it was enough for people to talk about it for years.

Everyone present knew that the Sword and Technique paths were incompatible. Once Bai Xinli drew his sword, Zhu Huang would be completely ruined on the path of Sword Cultivation. Not only him, but others also began to get nervous; those closing their eyes or covering their faces were everywhere, and some even wanted to flee immediately, fearing that if they saw that sword light, they would also be immersed in it and break their own future.

Mu Yi removed his foot from Zhu Huang and threw his imitation White Jade Sword beside him. This meant he wanted him to stand up for a fair duel.

Zhu Huang's face was ashen. He had regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. He hadn't even been able to beat a Junior Sister from the Beihai Sword Sect, and now he had to challenge the Senior Brother of the Beihai Sword Sect?

However, under the eyes of everyone, if he chickened out, he would basically be as good as dead.

His slightly trembling hand was placed on the White Jade Sword. Zhu Huang made up his mind, gripped the sword, and used his hand to support himself on the ground as he climbed up. He had forged this sword because he disdained the praise others heaped upon Bai Xinli. And now, even if the news of him shooting a hidden arrow would soon spread among his peers and he would never be able to hold his head high again, he could not, and did not want to, retreat in front of Bai Xinli.

Seeing that he was ready, Bai Xinli gripped his sword hilt. "Senior Brother, please..."

"Wait!"

A weak but firm voice came from behind. Bai Xinli turned to the side and saw Bai Tian using her hand to support herself against Liu Yan's body, forcing herself to sit up. Her face did not show any expression of pain; instead, it was full of solemnity.

Before he could say anything, Qi Han's nervous voice came first, "Lie down! Lie back down!"

Atian ignored Qi Han and called out to Bai Xinli, "Senior Brother."

"Mm," he replied.

"He is my opponent," she said.

"Fine," he released the Sword hilt and stepped to one side.

This sudden turn of events caught Zhu Huang off guard; his legs went weak, and he stumbled a step. Just as he did not know whether to be relieved at having escaped a disaster or furious that Bai Xinli had not put him in his eyes at all, Duan Xuan's voice rang out once more.

"That is also fine; I have always supported doing one's own business oneself," he stroked his chin, "How about this, let us change the method."

"Two days from now, right here, our Atian will compete with this lad of yours once again, only this time, we bet on Life and Death."

"Win and live, lose and die, how about it?"

"Fine."

Without waiting for Zhu Huang to answer, the heavily injured Atian stepped forward and agreed first. She looked at the bewildered Zhu Huang and said earnestly, "I am not a Demon Seed."

Qi Han closed his eyes tightly.