Chapter 71: 71. Chapter Seventy-One

71. Chapter Seventy-One

Guan San is currently stroking the server; please complete your subscription to defeat him! A man's hand gripped the delicate neck of a young girl, cold liquid dripping onto her cheeks. A tongue of flame suddenly shot up with a crackling sound, and the sensation of suffocation and pain grew ever stronger.

Just as her vision went black, the hand that had been gripping her neck like iron pincers suddenly let go, and the young girl, freed from her shackles, let out a weak cough amidst the billowing thick smoke.

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

He suddenly raised his head, hammered a fist into the ground, pulled the young girl—who had not yet recovered—into his arms, crawled forward a few steps on his knees, and shouted hoarsely at a figure standing outside the ring 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; it was likely because she had heard too much news about the Fangxian Dao yesterday that it had stirred up such distant 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 silk dress from the rack to change into, and then tied up her long hair with a ribbon. Atian brought along the Wanjie she had placed by the bedside, pushed open the door, and walked out of the room.

At this moment, the first rays of dawn had not yet pierced through the clouds, and the surroundings were enveloped in a hazy sense of neither light 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 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, lightly tapped her toes, swooping down after the trail of the Sword.

The image of other disciples leaping between the various courtyards played in her mind, every landing point overlapping with those in her memory. Atian rose and fell as if dancing, and finally, with a forceful 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 with sleepy eyes, only to see Bai Tian's graceful, drifting figure landing exactly 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 long Sword. The golden morning light hit her profile, plating her with a layer of gentle, thin makeup.

Song Zhicheng was stunned and subconsciously opened his mouth, but until her back disappeared from his line of sight, the words "Junior Sister Bai" remained stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.

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 down the food.

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 actually inaccurate; it was just like her sword moves, contained within her very bones. It only needed a little stimulation to surface in her mind.

Unlike the Duan Yue Sword, which was always throwing tantrums and tripping up Zhao Kuo, Wanjie was "handy" to drive, much 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 figure 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 mattered most—such as the Sect Master Duan Xuan, who served as the face of the sect; Tan Tianming, who was in charge of external affairs; Guo Huai, who managed internal affairs; Li Ke, who served as a deterrent; and Luo Li, who acted as the muscle.

Luo Li was the Law Enforcement Elder of the Beihai Sword Sect and also their sharp blade to the outside world. Judging by the fact that she had marched straight to the gates of the Fangxian Dao the moment the "Heartless Path" 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 crinkled into a ball, and she shook her head in disapproval, looking exactly like Old Granny Wang at the entrance of the village. This was perhaps a common ailment of those who had aged.

Atian put Wanjie back on her back, trotted over to Luo Li, and covered half her face with her sleeve, revealing a pair of bright, sparkling eyes, and softly called out, "Good morning, Junior Uncle 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 on, 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, vast square, but a rather spectacular floating hill. The lowest platform was where Qi Refining disciples practiced their swordsmanship, the stone huts scattered on the mountain were built specifically for seclusion, and the remaining forests and mountain bodies were the true training grounds for the disciples.

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

Luo Li led Atian through the forest. Her footsteps were light, as if walking on flat ground, yet she did not deliberately speed up, instead slowing her pace slightly to chat with the young girl behind her.

While it was called chatting, it was actually Luo Li rambling on one-sidedly.

"Tan Tianming says there is Demonic Thought contained within your Sword Bone and that it 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 the moment he awakened his Sword Bone and had all his cultivation abolished 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 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 lack the intent to kill cannot thrust it."

Perhaps because it was located 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 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; that will only bring shame upon it."

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 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 helpless once you leave the 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 each other and enemies!"

"You must listen to it, understand it, and explore it, pursuing the supreme truth that the heavens have bestowed upon you, while at the same time suppressing it, subduing it, and driving it! Let it know who the master is!"

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.

It was not until they had walked for a long time that Luo Li stopped at the edge of a cliff. When Bai Tian walked over to look, she 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, and 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 Grandmaster asked me to teach you how to retract and release your power. However, one must first wield a weapon before one can stop the fighting; to learn how to forge 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 Desolate Night."

Luo Li's voice rang out unexpectedly by Atian's ear. The proximity made her feel an ominous premonition, 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 take you along."

As Luo Li spoke, she looked through the layers of the mountain forest toward the distant Yishi Dian. In front of the Yishi Dian, which stood in the center of the Floating Island, two figures were waiting quietly at the entrance.

"Elder Li, 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 quietly drifted 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. Just as she was about to hit the bottom, she thrust her Sword out. The tip of the Sword poked directly into the ground, and the originally rigid blade bent into an arc. Relying on this elasticity, she stayed suspended in the air for a few seconds, head-down. As her body rotated, the long Sword danced a clean sword flourish. As the sensation of cutting into flesh traveled from the hilt, Atian landed nimbly on one knee, and some liquid splashed onto her face.

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