Chapter 83: 83. Chapter 83

83. Chapter 83

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The benefits of forging a Sword were self-evident; according to Zhao Kuo, she had skipped the tempering of Qi Refining and successfully reached Foundation Establishment. Her limbs and bones were filled with an indescribable power, and Atian could even hear the sound of flames surging and burning within her meridians. This meant she had officially stepped onto this point of no return in the pursuit of immortality.

However, it was equivalent to becoming a scholar before even taking the entrance exam; she had to study the Four Books and Five Classics before she had even learned all the characters. If she wanted to progress further, she would inevitably have to cram frantically.

"Elder Li Ke's Enlightenment class must continue," Su Ying said, taking out a scroll and spreading it on the table, then taking a brush to write and draw on it. "Hmm... 'Master's Guide to Star Astrology, Eight Trigrams, and Luck'—whoever chooses this is an idiot. Cross it out, cross it out."

Atian sat obediently to the side, watching the motherly Senior Sister Su Ying help her select her classes, not daring to even let out a loud breath.

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

A Life-bound Sword without a scabbard proved that a Sword Cultivator could not freely control their own power. Furthermore, Wanjie did not look like a pushover; if Su Ying were to strike at her now, the consequences would truly be unpredictable.

In any case, 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 more likely to be the unlucky one.

Of course, such a small matter could not stump the Beihai Sword Sect. Since she couldn't control it freely, she just needed to practice until she could!

"There are two paths before you now: one is to accept special training from Elder Luo Li, and the other is to follow Senior Brother to learn the Art of Cultivating the Sword and Hiding the Edge," Su Ying said, counting on her fingers.

"Elder Luo Li?" Atian blinked.

"Oh, right, I forgot you haven't met her yet," Su Ying slapped her forehead, her expression quite complex. "Elder Luo Li is the only woman among our sect's five Elders. Her Life-bound Sword is a very rare pair of twin swords. As for her personality... you'll know when you meet her in person."

"Oh, then I choose her." Atian gave her answer readily.

Such a quick decision made Su Ying pause. After she realized it, she wrote a few strokes on the scroll. She bit the end of her brush, hesitated for a moment, and then asked the question, "Speaking of which, you and Senior Brother have a marriage contract, right?"

"Mm." Atian nodded.

Su Ying sighed upon hearing this.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just lamenting that even though I raised him, Senior Brother is indeed a disciple of the Beihai Sword Sect after all."

She had a complex look on her face when she said this.

"Meeting his fiancée, the first time he scares her until she collapses, the second time he beats her up—this is truly so Beihai Sword Sect."

"So?" Atian tilted her head in confusion.

"So..." Su Ying became uncharacteristically hesitant. "Are you not choosing him... because he was too heavy-handed?"

The island of bachelors that was the Beihai Sword Sect had always been a difficult problem for the cultivation world. Having finally waited for a cooked duck to arrive, she almost wanted to give Lady Bai a thumbs-up. If the duck flew away because Bai Xinli didn't know his own strength, she would definitely rush to the Martial Arts Arena and strangle him.

"No." Atian shook her head decisively.

"Then why?" Now it was Su Ying's turn to be confused.

Just as Su Ying thought Bai Tian was going to spout some nonsense like "fiancés should see less of each other before marriage" or "a young lady of good breeding shouldn't spend long periods with men," she saw her cheeks suddenly flush with a rosy glow, and she actually became shy all of a sudden.

"Actually..." Atian covered half her face with her sleeve, "... I've joined the 'Worship Senior Brother' cult. If I have to face him every day, it would be too embarrassing."

"... Ha?" Su Ying was truly dumbfounded this time.

"Because I like Senior Brother very much," Atian said with a smile, her eyes curving. "I like him so much that I want to beat him flying."

When she said this, although she looked like a girl in love, her eyes were frighteningly bright. In an instant, she became sharp and dangerous, just like the black Sword she held in her arms.

Su Ying opened her mouth, but eventually closed it. A woman's intuition told her that this matter should not be probed further.

Although she had made the bold declaration of wanting to beat Bai Xinli flying, the chasm-like gap between the two still remained. The first thing Atian had to do was go to class obediently.

Thus, carrying Wanjie on her back, pulling Zhao Kuo with her left hand and supporting Song Zhicheng with her right, she appeared in Li Ke's class once again under the horrified gazes of the other Senior Brothers.

"Yesterday, I spoke about liberating one's nature, and that very night, someone succeeded in forging their Sword. I am very gratified," Li Ke gave Atian an appreciative look. "If all of you could reach Enlightenment so easily, how much worry I would be spared!"

The male disciples who were Senior Brothers hung their heads, looking like frost-bitten eggplants. Thinking of their own scorched courtyards, they felt even more sorrow in their hearts.

Although he was also a Senior Brother, Song Zhicheng, who was completely out of the blast radius, took advantage of everyone not paying attention to secretly take off his shoe and pick at his foot.

Zhao Kuo, who also possessed a Life-bound Sword, pinched his nose with an expressionless face.

"Since someone has made progress, let's go deeper into today's content," Li Ke sniffed nonchalantly. "The theme shall be 'Breaking Superstition, Entering Immortal Cultivation'."

"After successfully forging your Sword, it does not mean you can breathe a sigh of relief. Sword Cultivators often face a more important hurdle, which is determining their own path."

Li Ke's eyeballs rolled around.

"Zhao Kuo! You tell us, how does one determine their own path?"

Caught off guard and named, Zhao Kuo had no choice but to release the hand that had been pinching his nose. A sour, foul odor immediately hit his crown, yet the culprit was still looking at him with an innocent face.

Zhao Kuo, whose brain ached from the stench, swayed his body and used his willpower to state the answer: "Communicate with the Sword."

"Very good, sit down," Li Ke, who had nonchalantly set up his grand-nephew, nodded with satisfaction. "Communicating with one's Life-bound Sword is indeed the most efficient method."

Having said this, he changed the subject. "However, those of our generation, besides seeking immortality, must also comprehend the Dao. And the Dao is the ultimate principle of heaven and earth, the beginning and end of all things. Your Sword Heart is inextricably linked to the Great Dao you wish to comprehend."

Atian nodded thoughtfully, yet she didn't understand what this had to do with breaking superstition.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough," after a series of coughs that made one suspect he was going to cough up his lungs, Li Ke extended two fingers and pointed at one of them. "Like me, who comprehends Life and Death, or Senior Brother Tan Tianming, who comprehends Fate—all are within the Three Thousand Great Daos. Choosing one and walking it to the extreme is the moment one pushes open the Xiuxianmen."

As he said this, he took a small booklet out of his robes and said with a smile, "A few days ago, I collected the Great Daos you privately yearn for. Now, let's see what they all are."

Many people's expressions changed drastically when he took out the booklet, and upon hearing what he said, most couldn't help but wail. The old disciples of the Beihai Sword Sect all knew that once this monster Li Ke took out his private notes, a tragic and inhumane humiliation was about to descend.

Sure enough, he opened the booklet happily and flipped to the middle, forgetting even his customary cough. "Let me see, ah, the undisputed top of the list, having won with an overwhelming advantage, is—the Heartless Dao. The people who yearn for it are..."

As one name after another was read out, the disciples who were named covered their faces one after another, looking as if they wished they could crawl under the table. Even Zhao Kuo, at Atian's side, stiffened his body; only Song Zhicheng was still happily picking his foot—he had been stifled for days.

Atian, who didn't understand the mystery of it, cast a curious gaze at the nervous Zhao Kuo. The latter, noticing this, squeezed out a stiff smile. "Everyone, everyone has a time of youthful recklessness, Junior Sister Bai."

"I get it, I get it," Song Zhicheng turned his head, looking like someone who had been through it all. "When I read those storybooks as a child, the immortals in them also said they practiced the Heartless Dao. But 'heartless' is clearly a state of being; how could it be a Dao?"

Zhao Kuo buried his head even lower.

By this time, Li Ke had finished reading the long list of names and was very satisfied with the mass-destruction damage he had caused. "Very good, it seems you have all realized your mistakes. I am very gratified. Zhao Kuo! You tell us, where did you go wrong?"

Zhao Kuo, named once again, was on the verge of tears. He deeply suspected that his master was afraid he was having too comfortable a time with his punishment and had said something to Li Ke.

"Because..." he said with a mournful face, "the Heartless Dao is a term used by Dharma Cultivators."

"Correct, and also incorrect," Li Ke shook his head. "The Heartless Dao that the world spreads by hearsay is actually derived from the Taixuan Sect's 'Supreme Forgetting of Emotions.' It is not a principle, nor is it a cultivation method, but rather an ideal state they pursue for their entire lives."

"'The sage forgets emotions, the lowest cannot reach emotions.' This does not refer to a 'heartless' Dao without feelings, but rather a state of having feelings yet not being tied down or trapped by them—a free and transcendent realm."

"Counting the successors of the Taixuan Sect, those who have finally reached the realm of 'Supreme Forgetting of Emotions' can be counted on one hand; for you lot of Sword Cultivators to still want to blindly imitate them, it is simply having water in your brains!"

The disciples, having been angrily rebuked as having "water in their brains," were nearly burying their heads into their knees.

"There are Three Thousand Great Daos, and the paths to the heavens also have ten million variations; however, a real man living in this world has things he will do and things he will not do. If you cannot even understand this principle, then leave the island of your own accord!"