Chapter 38: 38. Chapter 38

38. Chapter 38

Guan San is petting the server, please complete your subscription to defeat him!

She thought distractedly, this feeling of hearts beating as one made her scalp tingle; it was as if someone were peeking at her thoughts in her mind, yet also as if a soulmate were pouring out their heart to her. Regardless of which it was, it was impossible to resist.

At this moment, whoever came to her side would only result in a battle, so when she saw the figure of Bai Xinli appear outside the door, she was delirious with joy.

The Bai Xinli in the words of the Lady Bai and her husband.

The Bai Xinli she had not seen for fifteen years.

The Bai Xinli who had changed her Fate.

The Bai Xinli who could suppress her completely with a single glance.

Too strong, too strong, too strong.

Too good, too good, too good!

She was going to draw her Sword against Bai Xinli!!

Atian knew she was going mad.

A clear-headed madness.

But what of it?

She was never destined to be a well-behaved young lady, so what was wrong with going a little mad?

The Sword hilt in her hand turned from cold to hot, and two flushes of red quietly climbed up her cheeks. Lady Bai, who was bent on raising Atian to be a refined young lady, naturally would not spend money to hire a martial arts master to teach her. All her fighting moves were street-brawling styles; she couldn't even clench her fists correctly, let alone wield a weapon.

However, for a Sword Cultivator, the least necessary thing to learn was how to hold a Sword—if it was something you were born with, did you still need someone to teach you?

Bai Tian, naturally, was the same.

As soon as Bai Xinli's words, "Junior Sister Bai, please," were spoken, she didn't even think before thrusting her Sword backhanded. Flames gathered on the pitch-black blade to form a vortex, coordinating with the tip of the Sword to point straight at Bai Xinli's heart.

Her hand holding the Sword was steady, and the blade was steady too. The thrust was accurate and powerful, as if it had been practiced thousands of times, and even the slight rotation of the Sword tip gave one a feeling of perfection to the millimeter.

This was a Sword Cultivator; they were born for the Sword.

However, there are levels even among Sword Cultivators.

This Sword was blocked an inch from Bai Xinli's chest by an invisible wall. The moon-white hair ribbon obscured his vision and covered his expression, but Atian guessed that he must be like that day, as noble and pure as the bright moon in the sky.

Then, she was sent flying by a powerful impact.

Smashing heavily against the wall behind her, Atian slid to the ground. A tearing pain came from the web of her right hand, and sticky liquid gushed out, dripping down the Sword hilt.

It hurt.

An unprecedented pain assaulted her from her back, instantly sweeping through her internal organs and turning them into a mess, yet she wanted to laugh out loud. Even her fingers trembled slightly from excitement.

Bai Xinli had not drawn his Sword; he hadn't even moved. His protective Sword Qi alone had given her a harsh lesson.

She was to Bai Xinli as Song Zhicheng was to her—a mayfly trying to shake a tree, not worth mentioning. But, oh, but, this was exactly how it should be!

Her Sword Bone Completed, yet Song Zhicheng's was only just sprouting.

Bai Xinli had achieved success in Sword Cultivation, yet she hadn't even entered the gate.

Song Zhicheng wanted to become her, and she wanted to become Bai Xinli.

And what was wrong with that?

Bai Tian climbed up shakily, leaning on her Sword. She shook the remaining blood droplets from her right hand and gave Bai Xinli a brilliant smile, "Again!"

She thrust out another Sword, faster and trickier than the last, yet the flames still could not pierce the invisible hedge, and she fell heavily to the ground once more.

"Haha..." She wiped the blood overflowing from the corner of her mouth with the back of her left hand and raised her Sword again, "Again!"

It was easy to guess that the next time she was sent flying awaited her.

Atian propped herself up with her Sword. Her white undergarment was already stained with spots of red plum blossoms, yet she laughed heartily and said, "Again!"

Raising her Sword time and time again, only to be sent flying time and time again. In the end, the blood on her hands made her unable to grip the Sword, and she could only let the hilt slide from her palm. Her body was enveloped in excruciating pain, unable to execute the commands from her brain anymore. She just leaned against the wall like that, smiling shyly at the approaching Bai Xinli.

As if to prevent her from rushing up recklessly again, Bai Xinli reached out a hand and gently pressed his index finger against her forehead. His body temperature was slightly cool, completely out of place in this room filled with flames.

And as for Atian, she gasped for a moment, then slowly reached out. Her drooping fingertips grazed his chest, leaving a red streak on his moon-white robes.

"Ah, I stabbed you," Atian said with a smile.

Before losing consciousness, she seemed to hear Bai Xinli sigh.

When Atian woke up again, she was still in her own room, only now she was lying on the bed. Everything around her was as usual; only the scorch marks on the walls and ceiling and the pain in her body proved that the raging flames were not a dream.

"You're awake."

Su Ying, sitting by the bed, frowned at the bronze mirror in her hand. She had recently felt that a dry wrinkle had appeared under her eyes and was troubled by it, though for her true age, a face full of wrinkles would be normal.

"Does it hurt? It should hurt, let it be a lesson to you! Provoking Senior Brother, you really have a death wish!"

Su Ying didn't even look up, but that didn't stop her from lecturing.

"Come to think of it, I heard the commotion you made last night was quite something. Luckily I was on night duty, otherwise, the one facing you last night would have been me. I don't have Senior Brother's ability; I might not have been able to restrain you."

Finding her Life-bound Sword at the head of the bed, Atian reached out to touch it and felt a little more at ease. She felt a chill on her chest, and looking down, she discovered she was wearing only a single undergarment.

"Ah!" She shrieked and shrank into the quilt.

"Ah what, ah," Su Ying put down the mirror, her tone filled with lingering schadenfreude, "You were the one wearing this outfit last night, pestering Senior Brother and not letting him leave. What's the use of being shy now!"

"A refined young lady must be shy," Atian retorted seriously.

Su Ying was surprised by her dedication and, deeply moved, handed her a bronze mirror, "Wake up! I've never seen a refined young lady who drags a man to spar in the middle of the night and starts a fire!"

Atian rubbed her forehead where she had been hit, feeling a bit aggrieved.

"Then again, helping Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters overcome the restlessness brought on by Sword forging is also one of Senior Brother's duties, so you don't need to feel bad."

"Restlessness?" Atian, who didn't feel bad at all, repeated thoughtfully.

"A Sword is a lethal weapon. Once it leaves its sheath, the desire to fight will inevitably rise, and your Life-bound Sword is closely linked to you yourself; being affected is unavoidable."

Su Ying explained seriously.

"A Sword is sharpest when it first leaves the sheath, relying on an indomitable sharpness. If you aren't allowed to vent that sharpness completely at that moment, I fear your Sword Heart will be damaged in the future."

Atian felt embarrassed to tell her Senior Sister that she was usually just as crazy, so she could only nod repeatedly to show she was listening.

"Since you have successfully forged your Sword, there are some things that must be said," Su Ying said, her tone suddenly becoming serious. "Have you felt it, your Sword Heart? Do you know it, your Sword name?"

Sword Heart and Sword name, the two most important things for a Sword Cultivator.

Bai Tian gently stroked the long Sword in her hand, but brought up another completely unrelated topic, "... Senior Sister Su Ying, Senior Brother, he is very strong."

"Why bring this up all of a sudden?" Su Ying frowned.

Atian smiled, "Because I also want to become that strong!"

Su Ying fell silent upon hearing this. She pondered for a moment, then finally sat on the edge of the bed with her legs spread wide in a bold, unconstrained posture, and said to Bai Tian, "Junior Sister Bai, do you know what Senior Brother's Sword is called?"

Atian remembered the beautiful red-silk White Jade Sword worn at Bai Xinli's waist and shook her head.

"Senior Brother's Sword... is called 'No-Self'," Su Ying's face was solemn. "Three thousand Daoist methods, in all methods there is no self; that is this 'No-Self'."

"The reason Senior Brother is highly praised as 'the person of the younger generation closest to the Heavenly Dao' lies in this. What others pursue for a lifetime, he attained from the very beginning, but a higher starting point also means the path ahead is even harder to walk."

"How can one maintain 'No-Self'? Losing one's self leads to eternal damnation, while being too self-centered makes every step impossible. With the Sword Heart lost, the hardship and suffering involved, I fear only he himself knows."

"I am already beginning to forget Bai Xinli."

That sentence, which Atian could not fathom, echoed in her ears.

Speaking of this, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of Su Ying's mouth, "Come to think of it, I am a few years older than Senior Brother's mother, and I raised him from a young age. It is a pity that ever since he began to nurture his Sword and hide his edge, even I cannot quite understand him anymore."

However, the self-pitying mood did not last long; Senior Sister Su Ying, who could never help but break character, slapped the head of the bed indignantly, "How could that brat hide things from a motherly Senior Sister like me? It is truly unfilial! It is simply outrageous!"

Atian nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice.

Calming her emotions, Su Ying changed the form of address back, "A Sword Cultivator cannot choose their Sword Heart, nor can they change their original heart. Even though this path is incredibly difficult, Senior Brother can only face the difficulties head-on."

"I say these things because I want you to know that if you want to be as strong as Senior Brother, I fear you can only—face the difficulties head-on."

"On the path of Xiuxian, there are no shortcuts. Only by keeping to one's original heart and perceiving the Great Dao can one fight their way out from among millions to forge an Immortal Path!"