Chapter 95: 95. Chapter 95

95. Chapter 95

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However, she was essentially a scholar before even taking the elementary exam; she had to study the Four Books and Five Classics before she had even learned all the characters, so if she wanted to progress further, she would inevitably have to cram like crazy.

"Elder Li Ke's Enlightenment class must continue," Su Ying took out a scroll, spread it on the table, and then picked up a brush to write and draw on it, "Hmm... Master's Star Astrology, Eight Trigrams, and Fortune Guide—whoever chooses that is an idiot, cross it out, cross it out."

Atian sat obediently to the side, watching her Senior Sister Su Ying, who was acting like a kind mother, help her select her classes, not daring to even let out a big breath.

Logically speaking, having successfully reached Foundation Establishment, she should have been able to withstand the power of "White Colt," but the problem was that she was self-taught and had reached Foundation Establishment in a muddled state; she had 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 control their own power with ease, and since Wanjie clearly didn't look like a pushover, if Su Ying were to strike a sword at her now, the consequences would truly be unpredictable.

Either way, if it wasn't her who was unlucky, it would be Bai Tian who was unlucky; judging by the gap in strength, the latter was more likely to be the unlucky one.

Of course, this little matter couldn't stump the Beihai Sword Sect; since she couldn't control it with ease, wouldn't it be fine if she just practiced until she could?

"There are two paths before you now: one is to accept Elder Luo Li's special training, and the other is to follow Senior Brother to learn the Sword-Nurturing and Blade-Concealing Art," Su Ying said, counting on her fingers.

"Elder Luo Li?" Atian blinked.

"Oh, right, I forgot you haven't met her yet," Su Ying patted her forehead, the expression on her face quite complex, "Elder Luo Li is the only woman among our sect's five Elders. Her Life-bound Sword is a very rare dual sword, and as for her personality... you'll know when you see her in person."

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

Such a swift decision left Su Ying stunned. After she reacted, she wrote a few strokes on the scroll. Seeing her bite the tip of her brush in hesitation, she asked the question anyway, "Speaking of which, you and Senior Brother have an engagement, 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."

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

"Meeting his fiancée, the first time he scared her until she collapsed, the second time he beat her up—this is truly so Beihai Sword Sect."

"So?" Atian tilted her head in confusion.

"So..." Su Ying became hesitant for the first time in her life, "Is it because he was too heavy-handed... that you didn't choose him?"

The island of bachelors that was the Beihai Sword Sect had always been a difficult problem in the cultivation world. Now that a cooked duck had finally arrived, she almost wanted to give Lady Bai a thumbs-up. If the duck flew away just because Bai Xinli didn't know how to hold back, 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 more nonsense like "fiancés should see less of each other before marriage" or "a young lady from a good family shouldn't spend too much time 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, so if I have to face him every day, it's just too embarrassing."

"……Huh?" Su Ying was truly dumbfounded this time.

"Because I really like Senior Brother," Atian smiled with her eyes curved, "I like him so much that I want to beat him flying."

Although she looked like a girl in love when she said this, her eyes were frighteningly bright, and in an instant, she became sharp and dangerous, just like the black sword she held in her arms.

Su Ying opened her mouth, but in the end, she closed it again; 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, and the first thing Atian had to do was go to class obediently.

Thus, with Wanjie on her back, Zhao Kuo in her left hand, and Song Zhicheng in 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 you could all have such an easy time reaching Enlightenment, how much worry I would be saved!"

The male disciples who were senior brothers hung their heads one by one, looking like frost-bitten eggplants, and thinking of their own scorched dormitories, 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 already possessed a Life-bound Sword, pinched his nose with an expressionless face.

"Since someone has progressed further, let's deepen our content today," Li Ke sniffed nonchalantly, "The theme shall be 'Breaking Superstition, Walking into Immortal Cultivation'."

"After successfully forging your sword, it does not mean you can relax. Sword Cultivators often face a more important hurdle, which is determining your own path."

Li Ke's eyeballs rolled around.

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

Caught off guard and called upon, Zhao Kuo had no choice but to release the hand that had been pinching his nose. A sour, foul stench 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, through sheer willpower, stated 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 your Life-bound Sword is indeed the most efficient method."

Speaking of this, his tone shifted, "However, those of us in this profession, besides seeking longevity, must also comprehend the Dao. And the Dao is the ultimate truth between heaven and earth; it is the beginning and the end of all things. Your Sword Heart is closely related 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 to one of them, "Like me, comprehending Life and Death, or Senior Brother Tan Tianming, who comprehends Fate—these are all within the Three Thousand Great Daos. Choosing one and walking it to the extreme is the moment one pushes open the Xiuxianmen."

Having said this, he pulled a small booklet from his bosom and said with a smile, "A few days ago, I collected the Daos you privately yearn for. Now let us see what they all are."

Many people's faces changed drastically when he took out the booklet, and upon hearing what he said, most couldn't help but let out wails. 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 would descend.

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

As one name after another was read out, the disciples who were called covered their faces, 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 at 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. Upon noticing this, the latter squeezed out a stiff smile, "Ev-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 was little and read those storybooks, the immortals in them also said they cultivated the Heartless Dao. But 'heartless' is clearly a state of being; how can 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 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, called upon once again, was on the verge of tears. He deeply suspected that his master was afraid he was living too comfortably and had said something to Li Ke.

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

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

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

"Counting the successors of the Taixuan Sect, those who have reached the realm of 'Supreme Forgetting of Emotions' can be counted on one hand. For you lot of Sword Cultivators to want to imitate them—you must have water in your brains!"

The disciples who had 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 path to the heavens has ten million variations; yet, a true man in this world must know what to do and what not to do. If you cannot even understand this principle, then leave the island of your own accord!"

Li Ke spoke these words with great severity; aside from his love for Eight Trigrams, this sickly Elder was a good-tempered senior most of the time, but this time, he was clearly truly angry.

His outburst was somewhat inexplicable, yet none of the disciples present were dissatisfied; instead, each of them wore a look of shame, as if they wished the ground would swallow them up, leaving Atian and Song Zhicheng completely bewildered.

"Because of the dispute over Sword Technique that has continued since the ancient times," Zhao Kuo said in a low voice while covering his face, "the Heartless Dao is a lure deliberately tampered with and thrown out by the Dharma Cultivators, intended to confuse low-level Sword Cultivator disciples and ruin their foundations. This matter has dragged both us and the Taixuan Sect into it; killing two birds with one stone and sowing discord—I bet a cucumber that such a malicious idea was the work of the Fangxian Dao."