Chapter 92: Chapter Ninety-Two

92. Chapter Ninety-Two

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At this moment, no matter who came to her side, the only outcome would be a fight. So when she saw Bai Xinli's figure appear outside the door, she was overjoyed to the point of madness.

The Bai Xinli spoken of by the Bai couple.

The Bai Xinli she had not seen in fifteen years.

The Bai Xinli who had changed her Fate.

The Bai Xinli who could completely suppress her with a single glance.

Too strong, too strong, too strong.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

She was going to draw her Sword against Bai Xinli!!

Atian knew she was going crazy.

A lucid madness.

But what of it?

She was destined from birth to be no well-behaved, rule-following young lady, so what was wrong with a little madness?

The hilt in her hand shifted from cool to warm, and two patches of blush crept onto her cheeks. Lady Bai, who had devoted herself single-mindedly to cultivating Atian into a refined lady, certainly would not have spent money hiring a martial instructor for her. Those fighting moves of hers were all rough street styles; she couldn't even clench her fist properly, let alone wield a weapon.

But for a Sword Cultivator, the most unnecessary thing to learn was how to hold a Sword — something one knew instinctively from birth, did one still need someone to teach it?

Bai Tian was, naturally, no exception.

The moment Bai Xinli said "Junior Sister Bai, please," she thrust her Sword in a backhand strike without a second thought. Flames gathered on the pitch-black blade forming a vortex, and together with the sword tip, pointed straight at Bai Xinli's heart.

Her hand holding the Sword was very steady, the blade was very steady, and the thrust was accurate and forceful, as if it had been practiced thousands upon thousands of times. Even the slight lateral spin of the sword tip gave one a feeling of exquisite precision.

This was what it meant to be a Sword Cultivator — they were born for the Sword.

However, Sword Cultivators too had their high and low.

This Sword strike was blocked an inch from Bai Xinli's chest by an invisible wall. The moon-white hair ribbon covered his vision and concealed his expression, but Atian guessed that he must look, as on that day, as pure and lofty as the bright moon in the sky.

Then, she was sent flying by a powerful impact.

Slammed heavily against the wall behind her, Atian slid down to the floor. A tearing pain shot from the tiger's mouth of her right hand, and a sticky liquid welled up from it, dripping down along the hilt.

It hurt.

An unprecedented pain swept in from her back, instantly engulfing her five viscera and six bowels, churning them into a mess. Yet she wanted to laugh out loud, and even her fingers trembled slightly with excitement.

Bai Xinli had not drawn his Sword; he had not even moved. His protective Sword Qi alone had dealt her a severe warning.

She, to Bai Xinli, was like Song Zhicheng to her — a mayfly shaking a tree, not worth mentioning. But偏偏, but偏偏, this was exactly how it should be!

Her Sword Bone was Completed, while Song Zhicheng's had only just sprouted.

Bai Xinli had achieved success in Sword Cultivation, while she had not even entered the door.

Song Zhicheng wanted to become her, and she wanted to become Bai Xinli.

And what was wrong with that?

Bai Tian, trembling and unsteady, propped herself up with her Sword, shook off the remaining drops of blood from her right hand, and beamed radiantly at Bai Xinli. "Again!"

She thrust another Sword strike, faster and more cunning than the last, but the flames still could not pierce the invisible barrier, and once again she crashed heavily to the ground.

"Haha…" She wiped the fresh blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her left hand, then raised her Sword again. "Again!"

It went without saying that what awaited her was being sent flying once more.

Atian used her Sword to prop herself up as she rose. Her white undergarments were already dotted with red plum blossoms, yet she laughed brightly and said, "Again!"

Strike after strike, and being sent flying time after time. In the end, the blood on her hands made it impossible to grip the Sword; she could only let the hilt slip from her palm. Her body was wrapped in severe pain, and she could no longer carry out the commands her brain sent out. She simply leaned against the wall and gave a shy smile at Bai Xinli, who was gradually approaching.

As if to prevent her from charging at him again without a care, Bai Xinli extended a hand and gently pressed his index finger against her forehead. His body temperature was slightly cool, out of place in this room filled with flames.

And Atian? After catching her breath for a moment, she slowly reached out, and her slightly drooping fingertips traced across his chest, leaving a red mark on his moon-white garments.

"Ah, I stabbed you." Atian said with a beaming smile.

Before she lost consciousness, she seemed to hear Bai Xinli sigh.

When Atian woke again, she was still in her own room, except now she was lying in bed. Everything around her was as usual; only the scorch marks on the walls and roof, and the pain on her body, proved that the raging flames had not been a dream.

"You're awake."

Su Ying, sitting by the bed, frowned at the bronze mirror in her hand. She had recently felt a dry line appearing under her eyes and was terribly vexed by it, though given her true age, a face full of wrinkles would be the norm.

"Does it hurt? It serves you right, a lesson for you! Provoking Senior Brother, you really don't value your life!"

Su Ying didn't even look up, but that didn't stop her from lecturing.

"Speaking of which, I heard the commotion you caused last night was quite something. Fortunately, I was on night duty; otherwise, the one who faced you last night would have been me. I don't have Senior Brother's ability; I might not have been able to subdue you."

Finding her Life-bound Sword at the head of the bed, Atian reached out and touched it, feeling only then a measure of relief. She then felt a bit chilly on her chest, looked down, and discovered she was wearing only a single garment.

"Eek!" She shrieked and burrowed into the blankets.

"Eek what eek," Su Ying put down the mirror, her tone brimming with irrepressible glee. "Last night you were wearing this very outfit, clinging to Senior Brother and refusing to let him leave. What's the use of being shy now!"

"A refined lady must be shy." Atian rebutted earnestly.

Su Ying expressed surprise at her professionalism, and with deep emotion, gave her a bronze mirror. "Wake up! I've never seen a refined lady who drags a man into a duel in the middle of the night and sets fires!"

Atian rubbed her struck forehead, feeling a little wronged.

"Speaking of which, helping Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters through the agitation brought on by forging the Sword is also one of Senior Brother's duties. You needn't feel bad about it."

"Agitation?" Not feeling bad about it in the slightest, Atian repeated thoughtfully.

"A Sword is a lethal weapon. Once it leaves its sheath, the desire to fight will inevitably surge, and since your Life-bound Sword is closely tied to you, being affected is unavoidable."

Su Ying explained seriously.

"A Sword is at its sharpest the moment it leaves its sheath; it relies on an unstoppable, forward-charging sharpness. If we hadn't let you fully vent that sharpness right then, it would likely damage your Sword Heart in the future."

Atian was too embarrassed to tell her Senior Sister that she was usually this crazy too, so she could only nod vigorously to show she was listening.

"Since you've already succeeded in forging your sword, there are some things that must be said," Su Ying's tone suddenly turned solemn as she spoke, "Have you felt it? Your Sword Heart? Do you know it? Your Sword Name?"

The Sword Heart and the Sword Name — the two most important things for a Sword Cultivator.

Bai Tian gently stroked the longsword in her hand, yet brought up an entirely unrelated topic, "... Senior Sister Su Ying, Senior Brother, he's very strong."

"Why bring that up all of a sudden?" Su Ying furrowed her brow.

Atian smiled, "Because I want to become that strong too!"

Su Ying fell silent at those words. She thought for a moment, then finally sat on the edge of the bed with her legs spread wide in a bold, commanding posture, and said to Bai Tian, "Junior Sister Bai, do you know what Senior Brother's sword is called?"

Atian thought of the beautiful red-threaded White Jade Sword worn at Bai Xinli's waist, and shook her head.

"Senior Brother's sword... is called 'Non-Self,'" Su Ying's face was utterly solemn, "Of the three thousand Daos, all laws return to Non-Self — that is what this 'Non-Self' means."

"The reason Senior Brother has been praised as 'the person of the younger generation closest to the Heavenly Dao' lies precisely in this. What others pursue for a lifetime, he obtained from the very start, but the higher the starting point, the harder the road ahead."

"How can one hold 'Non-Self' in proper measure? Losing the self leads to an eternal kalpa; clinging too tightly to the self means one cannot advance a single step, and the Sword Heart will falter. The hardship and suffering within this, perhaps only he himself knows."

"I have almost forgotten Bai Xinli."

That sentence Atian had puzzled over endlessly echoed in her ears.

Speaking of this, a wry smile tugged at the corner of Su Ying's mouth, "Come to think of it, I'm actually a few years older than Senior Brother's mother. I raised him from childhood, but ever since he began nurturing his sword and sheathing its edge, even I can barely understand him anymore."

However, the self-pitying mood didn't last long. Senior Sister Su Ying, who could never help breaking character, indignantly slapped the bedhead, "That stinky brat, hiding things from his motherly Senior Sister me — he truly has no filial piety! How utterly unreasonable!"

Atian nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice.

After calming her emotions, Su Ying switched the form of address back, "A Sword Cultivator cannot choose their own Sword Heart, nor can they change their own original heart. Even though this path is ten thousand times difficult to walk, Senior Brother can only press forward in spite of the difficulty."

"What I'm saying is to let you know — if you wish to be as strong as Senior Brother, I'm afraid you can only — press forward in spite of the difficulty."

"On the path of Xiuxian, there are no shortcuts. Only by keeping faith with one's original heart and comprehending the Great Dao can one fight their way out of an Immortal Path among the thousands upon thousands!"

As she spoke, her brows and eyes softened.

"I'll ask you one more time — what is your Sword Name?"