Chapter 32: 32. Chapter Thirty-Two

32. Chapter Thirty-Two

Guan San is currently petting the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! Of course, Li Ke bringing up the fact that the disciples collectively cross-dressed to farm votes for Bai Xinli was not to make them believe they were actually perverts who enjoyed cross-dressing. At his level of cultivation, the external is merely a skin-deep appearance; sometimes, he is too lazy to even judge beauty or ugliness. Moreover, he is well aware that they certainly did not wear them because they liked it.

As the sect with the strongest offensive power in the world, the Beihai Sword Sect ranks last among the Four Great Immortal Sects, suffering solely from the disadvantage of having too few members. Ever since then, whenever there is any voting activity, they rack their brains to make up for their shortcomings, which has also resulted in most disciples having a few pieces of dark history that everyone keeps secret together.

Life Dual Cultivation: temperament comes first, lifespan comes second. If one wishes to push open the Immortal Gate, one must accept an imperfect self, full of dark history and flaws.

If the morning was just a trial run, the afternoon was a precision strike.

Li Ke knows the embarrassing stories of these disciples who grew up in the sect like the back of his hand. Every sentence can quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly poke at the other person's most painful spot, and the Classroom is suddenly filled with wails.

Zhao Kuo's explanation for this is: "Elder Li cannot easily leave the sect because of the Sick Sword; it is truly bitter for him."

Atian nods in understanding: so, he's just bored.

By the time the day's lessons are over, aside from the two bystanders Bai Tian and Song Zhicheng, even Zhao Kuo did not escape Li Ke's poisonous hands, ending up battered and bruised.

When announcing that it was over for the day, Li Ke smacked his lips as if still unsatisfied, and even his pale complexion flushed with a hint of color. His meaningful gaze swept over Song Zhicheng, making the latter's hair stand on end.

Following the listless Senior Brothers who looked like wandering ghosts to the cafeteria, and then drifting back to the Dizi Yuanshe together, it was clearly a day that could be called dull, yet in the eyes of Bai Tian, who had obediently been a wealthy young lady for fifteen years, it felt full of fun.

Taking off her outer garment and crawling into the quilt, Atian secretly made a wish; she also wanted a sword of her own.

Then, she saw that sword again.

In a daze, she remembered that she had just fallen asleep after listening to a day of lectures, and felt muddled, as if she were still at the bottom of the sea.

Flames filled her entire field of vision, and a long black sword floated in the center of the sea of fire. Flowing light surged over the inscriptions carved on the blade, and the black and red hilt tilted slightly toward her.

Atian has seen many swords so far, whether it is the moon-white Broken Sword containing surging Sword Intent from the Grandmaster, the red-silk White Jade Sword Bai Xinli wears at his waist, or Su Ying's amber short sword "White Colt," and even the heavy sword "Mountain Breaker" that gives Zhao Kuo a headache; all can be called masterpieces of the time, dazzling and mesmerizing.

However, in Atian's eyes, none of them compare to the one before her.

No matter when or where this pitch-black long sword appears, it can easily steal her soul.

The surroundings are filled with crackling sounds of burning. She walks into the sea of fire as if she does not feel it; tongues of flame lick her skin, scorching and stinging. Bai Tian stands before the black sword. She opens her arms to embrace it, pressing her face against the cold blade, feeling the uneven inscriptions, and rubs against it gently.

"Are... you 'me'?"

She grips the blade tightly, not caring if her palms will be cut by the sharp edge.

"If not... then I will snap you."

"Boom!"

The clawing, gnashing flames begin to rage.

Zhao Kuo was woken up by the commotion. He rubbed his eyes roughly, kicked away the quilt tangled around his waist, and while putting on his clothes, he grumbled irritably, "Who isn't sleeping in the middle of the night? If I catch you, I'll beat you to death..."

Having finally managed to put on his wrinkled clothes with squinted eyes, he stumbled to the door. He pulled open the door that had been pounded with a "clatter" in one breath, only to feel a heatwave rush toward him, pushing him back a few steps.

"Junior Brother Zhao!! You're finally awake!!" The Senior Brother next door, who hadn't yet lowered the hand he was using to pound the door, let out a sigh of relief. "Run! It's on fire!"

On fire?

Zhao Kuo is completely awake now. He pushes past the Senior Brother next door and walks outside, only to see an unprecedented crimson covering the sky; those are the raging flames entrenched on the Dizi Yuanshe.

Is there anyone in this world who can set a fire in the Beihai Sword Sect?

Zhao Kuo, whose brain is filled with "What the hell," can no longer care about his initial morning grumpiness. He hurriedly turns back, grabs the Senior Brother next door by the collar, and shakes him. "Senior Brother Mu! What is going on!"

Zhao Kuo is already in the middle stage of Qi Refining; naturally, someone he can call "Senior Brother" cannot have weak cultivation. This Senior Brother Mu pats him on the shoulder, steadying his panicked Junior Brother, then grabs him by the back of his collar and jumps directly from the tenth-floor platform, landing in the crowd gathered on the lowest level.

"Senior Brother Zhao!"

Song Zhicheng, with sharp eyes, immediately spots Zhao Kuo falling from the sky. He doesn't care about avoiding the disheveled image of this Senior Brother and immediately pushes through the crowd to walk over.

"... Ah, Junior Brother Song," Zhao Kuo sees the newly promoted Junior Brother who has drilled in front of him just as he stands steady, and cannot help but think of another Junior Sister who has not yet appeared. "Speaking of which, have you seen Junior Sister Bai?"

Song Zhicheng reveals a wry smile upon hearing this. "Senior Brother, look at these people present, which one can be called a Junior Sister? I still don't know what happened."

Zhao Kuo slaps his forehead, feeling he is muddled from sleep. Bai Tian lives on the twentieth floor, and Song Zhicheng lives on the first floor; it would be strange if they could run into each other.

"If the Junior Sister Bai you are talking about is the new Junior Sister, then there is no need to look for her," Senior Brother Mu on the side pats Zhao Kuo's shoulder and points to the Dizi Yuanshe that has already been swallowed by flames. At this moment, people are still jumping down from the high floors. "She is probably still in the room, because the fire started from the twentieth floor."

Once these words are out, Zhao Kuo's first reaction is—what to do if the Senior Brother's child bride is about to be burned to death?!

"Then what are you standing there for?! Hurry and go save Junior Sister Bai..."

Halfway through his shouting, he finds himself unable to continue. There are only four people living on the twentieth floor: Senior Sister Su Ying is on night duty tonight, Senior Sister Chen Zhi is not in the sect, and Senior Sister Liu Yan stays in the Sword Scripture Pavilion all year round. Thus, it is obvious who caused the fire.

"... Her time has come, isn't this too fast?" he mutters.

"Sometimes fate is just so wondrous. Our little Junior Sister has really caused a big stir." Senior Brother Mu nods.

Even so, figuring out the cause of the fire does not mean one can relax. For a Sword Cultivator, forging a sword is of the utmost importance, because when the Sword Bone is about to break through the body, it is also the moment when it is most uncontrollable. If something goes wrong, it could end in the destruction of one's root bone. Therefore, there is usually a teacher present to supervise. Moreover, if things continue like this, the Beihai Sword Sect will probably really have to rebuild the Dizi Yuanshe.

Zhao Kuo is so anxious that sweat is breaking out on his forehead. "And Master is not here at a time like this! Go call the Senior Brother! Oh no! Junior Sister Bai is a girl! Better call Senior Sister Su Ying..."

Senior Brother Mu nods in agreement. Just as the two are preparing to head to the Martial Arts Arena to find Bai Xinli, they discover that the disciples who were chattering while looking at the fire fall into silence in an instant, and in the next second, they start shouting excitedly:

"Move aside! The Senior Brother is here!"

The Senior Brother is here!

A simple sentence injects a backbone into the Beihai Sword Sect disciples present. They immediately and consciously move to both sides, clearing a path wide enough for one person to pass.

No one can fly on a sword under the Grandmaster's sword, so Bai Xinli walks over step by step. He walks every step very steadily, which in turn makes the hearts of everyone present steady as well.

"Senior Brother!"

Zhao Kuo is overjoyed and hurriedly steps forward, but unexpectedly, he is pushed aside by Senior Brother Mu next to him. The latter not only occupies his position but also finishes saying his words.

"Senior Brother! Junior Sister Bai is in trouble!" Senior Brother Mu leans close to Bai Xinli, ignoring his own Junior Brother's angry glare.

"Mm."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xinli unties the moon-white hairband from his head and ties it over his eyes behind his head.

Then, he steps onto the stairs occupied by the flames. The flames, feeling provoked, instantly swell three feet high in the wind, but are blocked firmly by an invisible force just as they are about to touch him.

Every step he takes, the flames retreat one step. Just like this, he walks step by step along the stairs to outside Bai Tian's room. The flames are also suppressed by him to the area around this one room, leaving only scorch marks on the other rooms to prove its former rampage.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Bai Xinli raises his hand and knocks on the door. The wooden boards, already burned to their limit, turn into fly ash the moment they touch the external force, revealing the scene inside the room.

Atian is kneeling in the center of the room wearing only a single layer of clothing, while a long black sword is suspended in front of her. The girl's right hand is placed on the blade, and fresh blood flows along the wound, outlining the inscriptions on the sword.

As if hearing a sound, Bai Tian turned her head back and saw the blindfolded Bai Xinli; her eyes lit up instantly, the corners of her lips curled into an arc resembling a smile, and she climbed up somewhat unsteadily, gripping the black and red sword hilt with one hand.

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

Bai Xinli paused upon hearing this and replied, "... Junior Sister Bai, please."

He had almost been shot through, so asking why the arrow appeared here was meaningless; it was obvious that the other party's target was him.

However, this did not make sense.

The mountain gate of the Tianxing Sect was a hundred and eight thousand miles away from Guangkai Town; it was hard to imagine someone traveling such a long distance just to assassinate a Qi Refining disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect like him, and heaven is his witness, this was his first time leaving the island, what kind of enemies could he possibly have!

A thousand thoughts surged through his mind; Zhao Kuo might indeed lack experience, but no one who could enter the Beihai Sword Sect was a fool. Regardless of whether the person who fired the cold arrow came from the Tianxing Sect, they were clearly ill-intentioned. Moreover, the fact that the other party could strike without him noticing meant their cultivation was clearly above his own, so the most urgent priority was to seek cover first.

Thus, while forming a sword seal, he reached out to pull Bai Tian, but unexpectedly, this pull did not move her at all.

Zhao Kuo was greatly anxious, "Miss Bai! You first come with me...!"

"He has left," Atian replied calmly, her left hand gently brushing away the hand the youth had on her right arm, and with both hands, she gripped the arrow that was still crackling, snapping it cleanly and tossing it onto the ground.

Watching the signature magical artifact of the Tianxing Sect break like a withered branch in the young girl's hands, Zhao Kuo felt as if he were dreaming.

"Immortal Elder, are you injured?" Completely unaware of how shocking her actions were, Atian turned her head to ask him.

"Oh... no, no, no," Zhao Kuo shook his head like a rattle-drum, "Are you sure he has already left?"

"He left," Atian nodded, "He ran away very fast."

Fleeing a thousand miles after a single failed strike—this was indeed the style of the Tianxing Sect.

Zhao Kuo felt somewhat flustered; disciples of the Beihai Sword Sect were required to descend the mountain for training once they reached a certain age, and considering his young age and low cultivation, this task with almost no difficulty had been assigned to him. Who would have known that an assassin suspected to be from the Tianxing Sect would appear, completely disrupting his pace. Furthermore, this child-bride of his Senior Brother, who looked like a mortal without any cultivation no matter how one observed her, had not only caught the Soul-Chasing Arrow with her bare hands but could also track the movements of a cultivator, which truly took him by surprise.