Chapter 55

55. Chapter Fifty-Five

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He suddenly raised his head, hammered a fist against the ground, pulled the young girl who hadn't yet been wrapped tightly into his embrace, crawled forward on his knees for a few steps, and shouted hoarsely at a figure standing outside the circle of fire: "Master! Master! What sin has this child committed, Master!"

Bai Tian sat up abruptly from her bed. She hadn't dreamed of this scene for many years; it was likely because she had heard too much news about the Fangxian Dao yesterday, which stirred up such distant memories.

Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, she had no intention of going back to sleep. She jumped off the bed, picked up the silk dress from the clothes rack to put on, then tied up her long hair with a ribbon. Atian took the Wanjie she had placed at the head of her bed, pushed open the door, and walked out of the room.

At this moment, the first rays of morning light had not yet pierced through the clouds, and the surroundings were enveloped in a hazy, half-lit atmosphere. She stood alone on the twenty-story high platform, gazing at the Floating Island covered by a thin layer of mist. The slightly briny sea breeze stirred the loose 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 directly in the wake of the Sword.

The image of other disciples leaping between the courtyards played in her mind; every landing point overlapped with those in her memory. Atian rose and fell as if dancing, and finally, with a powerful push, she 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, bleary-eyed, and saw 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 and lift the black longsword. The golden morning light hit her profile, plating her in a layer of gentle, light makeup.

Song Zhicheng was stunned and opened his mouth subconsciously, but until the former's back disappeared from his 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 didn't 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 wasn't quite accurate; just like her sword moves, it was contained within her bones. It only needed a little stimulation to surface in her mind.

Unlike the Duan Yue Sword, which was always throwing tantrums and tripping Zhao Kuo up, the Wanjie was "handy" to drive. It was just like Atian herself, wrapping a lethal interior in a docile appearance. Yet, even so, she almost 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 wearing 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 none could be wasted; each had to be used where they were most needed. For example, the Sect Master Duan Xuan as the face of the sect, Tan Tianming in charge of external affairs, Guo Huai managing internal affairs, Li Ke for his 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. From the fact that she had marched straight to the gates of the Fangxian Dao as soon as the "Heartless Dao" incident broke out, it was clear she 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 Granny Wang at the entrance of the village. This was perhaps a common ailment of those getting on in years.

Atian put the Wanjie back on her back, trotted to Luo Li, covered half her face with her sleeve, revealed a pair of bright, sparkling eyes, and called out gently, "Good morning, Uncle-Master Luo Li."

It feels so good to have a little sister!

Luo Li was almost moved to tears internally, but on the surface, she remained calm. She spat out the dogtail grass she had been chewing, nodded at Bai Tian, and after dropping a "Follow me," she turned and walked 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 sword skills, the stone huts scattered on the mountain 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 on the North Sea and is always mocked by those guys who occupy the mountains and rivers as a small, humble place. But so what? If there's no back mountain, why not just build one yourself?"

Luo Li led Atian through the forest. Her steps were light, as if walking on flat ground, but she didn't 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 break."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to push aside a 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 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-hearted cannot lift it, those who are compassionate cannot swing it, and those who lack 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 the 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 with ulterior motives are not worthy of holding 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; it will only bring shame to your sword."

Luo Li's eyes were like a sword that could pierce the heavens, stabbing straight into Atian's soul.

"However, in the final analysis, the one who uses the sword is still a human."

"A Sword Cultivator's moves come from their Life-bound Sword, a Sword Cultivator's Sword Heart comes from their Sword Bone, but a Sword Cultivator's Sword Bone comes from the Sword Cultivator themselves."

"If you are helpless without a sword, how are you any different from a puppet controlled by a sword? If everything is controlled by the sword, then are you swinging the sword, or is it 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 explore it, pursuing together the ultimate truth that the heavens have bestowed upon you, while also 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 fluttering in her sight.

She didn't know how long they had walked before Luo Li stopped at the edge of a cliff. Bai Tian walked over to look, only to realize 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 rock walls. The mouth of the pit was so large that from a distance, it looked like a circular piece of the sky.

"The Grandmaster asked me to teach you how to retract and release power. However, one must first master the spear to stop the spear; to learn how to condense a scabbard, one must first know how to release power."

"Let me see what you are capable of, you who can give birth to the Sword of Huangye."

Luo Li's voice sounded unexpectedly in Atian's ear. Such close proximity immediately gave her a bad premonition. Sure enough, a force came from behind, and before she could twist her waist to dodge, she was kicked directly off the cliff!

Bai Tian's first reaction was to call for the 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."

Luo Li said, looking through the layers of 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."

Just as they were about to enter the great hall, a gust of sea breeze blew their robes until they rustled. A letter slipped quietly from Li Ke's sleeve, spinning in the air and gradually flying away. On the half-open paper, one could vaguely see the character "Qing."

Atian was falling.

She closed her eyes, feeling the weightlessness of her body. As she was about to hit the bottom, she thrust her sword out. The tip of the sword pointed directly at the ground, and the originally rigid sword body bent into an arc. Relying on this elasticity, she hung upside down in the air for a few seconds, the longsword rotating with her body, dancing a clean sword flower in the air. As the sensation of cutting into flesh traveled from the hilt, Atian landed lightly on one knee, and some liquid splashed onto her face.

In the pitch-black world, pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up.