Chapter 63: 63. Chapter 63

63. Chapter 63

Guan San was stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! She turned her head and saw a Beihai Sword Sect disciple flying on his sword right beside them. Taking a closer look, it was none other than Zhao Kuo's old acquaintance, Senior Brother Mu.

In all fairness, Bai Tian had never spoken a single word to Senior Brother Mu, but she couldn't help it—Zhao Kuo viewed this person as the number one archenemy within the "Worship the Senior Brother" cult, and he held a grudge because this man had once snatched away an opportunity for him to speak with the Senior Brother. He complained about it constantly, and even if she wanted to pretend she didn't hear it, she couldn't.

Perhaps her gaze was too obvious; Senior Brother Mu turned his head to look over, and upon discovering Atian, he was clearly startled. "... Bai, Junior Sister Bai!"

Strangely, after seeing Liu Yan beside Atian, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief, muttering things like "Scared the hell out of me" and "To think I ran into the pyromaniac."

Atian had to admit that Zhao Kuo's words were sometimes reasonable; this Senior Brother Mu was indeed very punchable.

As they drew closer to Luofu Mountain, the speed of the Beihai Sword Sect group gradually slowed. Led by Duan Xuan, the team stopped one by one at the mountain gate of the Fangxian Dao. Atian jumped lightly off Liu Yan's wooden sword; having flown in the air for so long, the feeling of having her feet on solid ground actually made her feel a bit unaccustomed.

The disciples dismounted their swords one by one, gathering behind Duan Xuan to reform their formation. Bai Xinli stood beside Li Ke, while Atian, who should have been at the back of the line, was pulled by Liu Yan. Then, the two of them simultaneously extended their feet and kicked the troublesome Senior Brother Mu to the very end of the line.

Mu Yi, bullied by both his Senior Sister and Junior Sister, lay on the ground, life feeling meaningless, completely unable to understand why he was being treated this way.

Duan Xuan squatted down at the very front and tentatively reached his palm forward. As soon as it entered the range covered by the golden light, it sparked a flurry of chaotic fire, accompanied by crackling sounds.

"The Fangxian Dao's mountain-protecting array, the Golden Light Soul-Refining Array," Li Ke said matter-of-factly. "It is said to be an array that attacks the soul. Although it isn't as overbearing as the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array, it is still a rarity in this world."

"As for its power, it's alright," Duan Xuan retracted his hand and shrugged. "It's still a bit worse than our Zhou Tian Star-Dou Sword Array."

"How about it? Shall we break the array and enter?" Li Ke asked calmly.

"No, no, no," Duan Xuan held up an index finger and shook it. "We are here to attend the Qingtan Assembly; we can't be that impolite. We must be very courteous."

After saying this, he, who had just claimed they "must be very courteous," raised his foot and kicked the Golden Light Soul-Refining Array fiercely. The vibration produced when the two collided made the entire mountain range shake.

"You surnamed Wei! Get out here!" Duan Xuan shouted viciously, then kicked the array again. "If you don't come out, I'll tear down your Luofu Mountain!"

Li Ke sighed, unfazed, wearing an expression that said, "I knew it would be like this."

With Duan Xuan causing such a scene, Wei Sheren did not appear, but it did alarm the disciples guarding the mountain. Two young boys in grey Daoist robes came running down the endless stairs in a panic. Upon seeing the Beihai Sword Sect group, they sternly rebuked: "Audacious! This is the vital mountain gate of the Fangxian Dao; how dare you act so wantonly!"

However, they received no response. As these two boys ran down to the mountain gate, the mountain-protecting array naturally developed a gap. Although it was fleeting, Duan Xuan seized the opportunity. With a flick of his sleeves, a sharp Sword Qi enveloped everyone, and he charged fiercely toward the Fangxian Dao's mountain gate, rushing inside the mountain-protecting array before the gap closed.

The two boys were blown off balance by the gale. By the time they climbed back up, they saw a group of uninvited guests already standing on their own steps, looking around in a relaxed and leisurely manner, as if they were tourists sightseeing.

"Y-you!" The boys' faces flushed red with anger, their little fingers trembling as they pointed at them.

"Are these the Crane Boys? It's my first time seeing them," Mu Yi said, squatting down in front of the two little beans and pressing down hard on each of them with one hand. "Shall we catch a few to take back? That way, we'll have cranes too!"

This remark made the other Beihai Sword Sect disciples' hearts flutter with excitement. Duan Xuan, however, glanced at him and scoffed, "No ambition. Why would you need to steal such a thing? We must make the Fangxian Dao give them to us while crying!"

If the two Crane Boys couldn't tell by now that this group of fierce-looking people had come to cause trouble, they would have to be brain-dead. Their little faces turned deathly pale with fright, yet they couldn't escape because they were being pinned down by Mu Yi.

"According to my deduction, judging by the ostentatious nature of these bastards at the Fangxian Dao, the scale of the Qingtan Assembly certainly won't be small. This suits my intentions perfectly; it will be easier to find them," Duan Xuan stroked his smooth chin and pointed another finger toward the end of the stairs. "Disciples of the Beihai Sword Sect, listen to my order: fight your way up from here. It's time to let those guys who drink tea and chat see the style of us Sword Cultivators."

Having said this, he added: "Of course, at the end of the day, we are still guests, so we must be very, very, very courteous."

"However, I will climb up step by step right here. If I catch up to you, I cannot guarantee what kind of treatment you will receive after returning to the sect."

This sentence immediately made many people's scalps tighten.

"Don't listen to the Grandmaster Senior Brother scaring you," Li Ke said with a grin, pulling out his usual small notebook from his robes. "At most, you'll just leave a heavy, colorful stroke in my records. Don't be afraid, just perform as usual!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yi's legs went weak, and he almost failed to suppress the two cranes. Many disciples also turned pale, looking at the notebook in Li Ke's hand as if they were seeing a flood or a wild beast.

"Junior Uncle Li, stop messing around."

A hand pressed down on the hand Li Ke was using to hold the notebook. Bai Xinli's voice was like a calming pill, causing the disciples, who had been thoroughly frightened by the two elders, to calm down instantly. He walked to the front of the team, stood on the stairs, scanned downward, and said to Mu Yi: "Junior Brother Mu, let them go."

As a senior member of the "Worship the Senior Brother" cult, Mu Yi naturally followed the Senior Brother's every command; his body acted before his brain could even react. The two Crane Boys, having regained their freedom, were stunned for a moment before turning back into their original forms and flying away with shrill cries.

Following their escape, the cranes' panicked warning cries soon echoed over Luofu Mountain. It was foreseeable that someone would soon come to intercept them.

Bai Xinli looked up at the mountain peak and called out: "Junior Sister Bai, you take the lead."

Everyone's gaze fell squarely on the named Atian. The latter, upon hearing this, was neither panicked nor nervous, but gave a shy smile and said, "Okay."

She lifted her skirt, walked lightly past the other Senior Brothers, arrived in front of Bai Xinli, and unfastened Ten Thousand Calamities from her back, holding it in her hand.

At this moment, faint footsteps and shouts were already coming from the end of the stairs, and the cranes in the air circled round and round, calling out.

Holding the blade with her left hand and the hilt with her right, Atian slowly drew Ten Thousand Calamities from its scabbard. Tiny sparks of flame spilled out from the scabbard with her movements, and lotus flowers of flame edged in black gathered around her. The temperature gradually rose, and heat waves struck. By the time Ten Thousand Calamities was completely drawn, fire lotuses were blooming everywhere, making one feel as if they had returned to the day the dormitory was burned down.

Atian began to move forward step by step, and wherever she walked, fire lotuses bloomed. Her body trembled slightly, but it was out of excitement. It wasn't that Bai Tian didn't know her own strength was low; she was at the bottom of this Beihai Sword Sect group, let alone compared to the Fangxian Dao, which possessed countless talents.

She would likely not be able to defeat a single one of them.

But so what?

She wasn't standing here to defeat them in the first place.

Winning or losing didn't matter; to her, the act of fighting itself already held sufficient meaning.

Perhaps she was just born a bit abnormal?

No fear, no timidity; what flowed in her veins was less like blood and more like the will to fight.

She was a Sword, and a Sword must always be unsheathed.

And she, she would unsheathe her blade against the strong.

They were all stronger than her; that was the truly wonderful part of this matter.

With every step Atian took, her aura grew stronger by a fraction, and one more fire lotus bloomed from Ten Thousand Calamities. By the time her aura climbed to its peak, the figures rushing toward her appeared in her line of sight.

"Who goes there! Why are you trespassing on our Fangxian Dao mountain gate!" the young cultivator in pale purple Daoist robes shouted loudly. His response, however, was a sharp blade wreathed in flames.

"Bai Tian, a disciple under the Beihai Sword Sect," Ten Thousand Calamities's blade grazed the cultivator's cheek, leaving a bloody mark. Atian's voice was soft and gentle. "I have come specifically to learn the high-level techniques of the Fangxian Dao Senior Brothers."

As she spoke, she extended the tip of her tongue to lick her lips, looking at the clearly stunned Fangxian Dao disciple and the people rushing over in an endless stream behind him. "If you don't give it your all, you might just die, you know?"

"Junior Uncle Li's Enlightenment class must continue," Su Ying took out a scroll, spread it on the table, and then picked up a pen to write and draw on it. "Hmm... Master's Star Astrology, Eight Trigrams, and Luck Guide—whoever chooses it is a moron; cross that out, cross that out."

Atian sat obediently to the side, watching Senior Sister Su Ying, who was like a kind mother, help her choose classes, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Logically speaking, having successfully reached Foundation Establishment, she should have been able to withstand the power of "White Colt." The problem was that she was self-taught and had reached Foundation Establishment in a muddled state. She had the cultivation base of a Foundation Establishment cultivator but didn't know how to use it at all, and the direct manifestation of this was—Ten Thousand Calamities had no scabbard.

A Life-bound Sword without a scabbard proved that the Sword Cultivator could not control their own power with ease. Plus, Ten Thousand Calamities clearly wasn't a benevolent weapon. If Su Ying were to strike her with a sword at this moment, the consequences would truly be unpredictable.

Either way, if it wasn't her having bad luck, it would be Bai Tian having bad luck. Judging by the gap in strength, the latter was much more likely to be the unlucky one.