Chapter 45: 45. Chapter 45

45. Chapter 45

Guan San is currently stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! Atian had never imagined that she could still dream of the second half of the story.

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

Just as her vision went black, the hand that had gripped her neck like iron pincers suddenly loosened; having escaped the shackles, the young girl let out a weak cough amidst the billowing thick smoke.

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

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

Bai Tian sat up abruptly from her bed; she had not dreamed of this scene for many years, likely because she had heard too much news about the Fangxian Daoist Sect yesterday, which 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 hanger to change into, then used a hair ribbon to tie up her long hair; Atian brought along the Wanjie resting at the head of the 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 being neither bright 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 fishy sea breeze stirred the loose strands of 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 various courtyards played in her mind, every landing spot overlapping 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 with sleepy eyes, only to see 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, pick up the black longsword, and the golden morning light struck her profile, plating her with a layer of gentle, thin makeup.

Song Zhicheng was stunned, his mouth opening subconsciously, but until the former's back disappeared from his line of sight, the words "Junior Sister Bai" remained stuck in his throat, unable to be spat out.

After leaving the courtyard, Atian went straight to the cafeteria. The head 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 them down.

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 was not actually accurate; it was just like her sword moves, contained within her very bones, needing only a slight stimulation to emerge in her mind.

Unlike the Duan Yue Sword, which was always throwing tantrums and tripping Zhao Kuo, the Wanjie could be described as "handy" when driven, 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 dressed in 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 each one could not be wasted and had to be used where it counted most—such as the Sect Master Duan Xuan who served as the face of the sect, Tan Tianming who was responsible for external affairs, Guo Huai who managed internal affairs, Li Ke who provided a deterrent presence, 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 for external matters. Judging by how she had directly attacked the mountain gate of the Fangxian Daoist Sect as soon as the "Heartless Way" 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 the Wanjie back on her back, trotted over 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."

Having a junior sister feels so good!

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, crude, vast square, but a rather spectacular floating hill. The lowest platform was where Qi Refining disciples practiced their swords, the stone huts scattered on the mountain body were built specifically for seclusion, and the remaining forests and mountain body were the true training grounds for the disciples.

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

Luo Li walked through the forest with Atian. Her footsteps 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, it was actually Luo Li rambling unilaterally.

"Tan Tianming says 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 here as soon as his Sword Bone was awakened and he abolished all his cultivation to start over, some habits are just impossible to correct."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to brush 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 their Sword Intent is also different, but no matter how they change, one thing will never change—they are all swords for killing."

"A sword is a lethal weapon."

"Those who are weak of heart 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 they were above the sea, the soil in the mountain forest was soft, and there was even a freshness unique to the aftermath of 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 carrying it, those who are hypocritical and falsely 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 upon it."

Luo Li's eyes were like a sword that pierced 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, and a Sword Cultivator's Sword Bone comes from the Sword Cultivator themselves."

"If you are at a loss the moment you leave your sword, how are you 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 probe it, pursuing together the ultimate truth that the heavens have bestowed upon you, 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 fluttering 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 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.

"The Sect Master asked me to teach you how to retract and release your power. However, one must first master the spear before one can stop the spear; to learn how to forge a sword sheath, one must first know how to release power."

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

Luo Li's voice rang out unexpectedly by Atian's ear. Such close proximity immediately filled her with a sense of foreboding, and sure enough, a force came from behind, kicking her directly off the cliff before she could twist her waist to dodge!

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 mountain forest toward the Yishi Dian in the distance. And 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."