Chapter 673: Starting Over

Chi Mingjing rose up violently, and a sword flew from her sleeve!

She actually had a sharp weapon hidden in her sleeve!

Tang Zhao was startled, but his reaction was swift; light suddenly erupted around him, and without moving his body, that sword, which was mere inches away, veered off for no reason and flew past his body.

Light—an illusion.

Light can cause illusions, but as a Sword Technique, this illusion can turn the virtual into reality, reversing the illusion into truth; in an instant, the direction of the sword was changed, so naturally, it could not harm Tang Zhao.

But in this split second, Chi Mingjing had already flown backward, and with a beckoning of her hand, her sword finally broke free from the heavy restraints and returned to her grasp.

Seeing this, Tang Zhao also drew his sword and said, "This Acupoint Sealing of the Punishment Chief... has never been very useful. Very well, I am also unwilling to harm someone who cannot resist, so bring your sword and come find me for revenge. Just like the battle you had with that teacher of yours back then."

Chi Mingjing said angrily, "You dare speak of my teacher? At that time, you were not my teacher's opponents at all; you just relied on having more people to gang up on him, how despicable! In a fair and square duel, how could he have lost?"

Tang Zhao sighed, "Compared to this battle today, he was indeed better off. It is all bullying the weak with the strong; your teacher bullied so many children, while I am only bullying you, so it seems he was more 'dignified'? However, thinking about it, at least you came to seek revenge of your own accord and are a Sword Guest, while he actively sought out a bunch of defenseless children to bully; thinking of it that way, I am not considered shameless."

Chi Mingjing said angrily, "Those were all little beasts from the families of the rich and unrighteous, including you! Only when you are all dead will the world be clean!"

Tang Zhao looked at her calmly and said, "So hateful of evil? You think those children deserved to die, so the culprits on Wangliang Mountain surely deserve to die even more? In these few days, what have you done to eradicate them? In this battle of Wangliang Mountain, have you ever rid the people of evil? Or do you only point out who deserves to die and then do nothing?"

Chi Mingjing's face gradually flushed red, and Tang Zhao shook his head: he had never lost a war of words, especially when it came to attacking the heart. Exchanging a few words with Chi Mingjing could be considered winning unfairly. Even if he left Chi Mingjing speechless, she would not abandon her hatred.

Chi Mingjing suddenly leveled her sword and said, "I know you are powerful, but today I am determined to take revenge, even if I have to pay with everything I have..." As she spoke, her Sword Essence spun wildly, and a violent power surged into the sky.

Something is wrong!

Tang Zhao keenly sensed that Chi Mingjing's Sword Essence was surging too violently, far exceeding the limit of a young Sword Guest—no, exceeding the limit of any Sword Guest!

What kind of method is this?

The limit of power is restricted by one's realm and is not easy to surpass; Tang Zhao had surpassed it before, but it was always by borrowing external force, such as the Jinwu Sword, borrowing the power of a Sword Immortal to surpass a Sword Hero, which was also a matter of fortuitous coincidence.

Does this Chi Mingjing have such a fortuitous encounter as well?

No...

Tang Zhao sensitively discovered that this massive Sword Essence was being drawn out from Chi Mingjing's own body, and as the Sword Essence surged, Chi Mingjing's body was gradually undergoing changes.

This is overdrawing!

Many Sword Guests have such methods of overdrawing, but the more powerful the overdraw, the greater the price paid; for Chi Mingjing to reach this point, she is likely paying a permanent price!

"White Hair Three Thousand Zhang!"

Countless white hairs turned into silk ribbons and rushed toward Tang Zhao, containing abundant Sword Essence, and also...

And the Sword Intent condensed upon them!

Must not be touched by it.

Tang Zhao's heart immediately sounded an alarm, and then he swung his Sword Qi, and a golden tiger appeared in the air.

Sword Art, Golden Tiger!

The golden tiger burned with flames of light and crashed into it fiercely!

Countless powerful white hairs evaporated instantly, and even though Chi Mingjing used the sky-filling white hair to protect her body, she was still sent flying and crashed heavily to the ground.

Pfft, sand and soil splashed!

While Tang Zhao watched Chi Mingjing buried in the pile of sand, he noticed that his tiger had a problem: it looked a bit wrong. It seemed... the tiger had aged?

Although a tiger is called a "tiger," it is not born old; there are also little tigers. Although this golden tiger of Tang Zhao's represented the sun and looked like a youthful, lively big tiger, now its skin was wrinkled, its waist was sagging, and its whiskers were drooping; it was truly an old tiger in its twilight years.

Is this her Sword Intent?

Quite formidable.

Although being old is not a particularly immediate threat, any Sword Intent involving time is very powerful. If Tang Zhao had swung his sword directly just now, had he been touched by even a little bit, he would likely have had a significant amount of his lifespan stolen.

Although Tang Zhao was still young, and even if he lived a few more decades it wouldn't be too old, who would willingly lose so many years of life for no reason? He still wanted to enjoy his youth a bit more.

In that case, the price she paid herself should also be...

Tang Zhao looked into the smoke and dust, thinking that this time, an old woman with white hair would probably appear, right?

Who knew that as the smoke and dust dispersed, the first thing he saw was jet-black hair, followed by the face of a young girl.

What, no change? Could it be that the price is not this...

No!

Tang Zhao discovered that Chi Mingjing had indeed not aged, but had become smaller.

Originally, Chi Mingjing was a woman of about twenty, but now her figure had become thin and small, and her features had slightly shrunk; she was clearly a girl of fourteen or fifteen. This was somewhat like how Tang Zhao had first seen her.

So the price is a regression in age? Isn't that great? Returning to youth is something one couldn't even beg for.

No...

Tang Zhao soon understood that if this regression happened to an old person, it would be fine, but for a young person, how many times could one withstand such a regression?

Could one really regress back into the womb?

Once the exertion goes too far, one would naturally disappear on the spot.

The young Chi Mingjing was still full of hatred, gritting her teeth and saying, "As expected... I can't beat you. Even someone like you is so powerful. But I will absolutely not admit defeat; even if I have to pay with everything I have, I will give you one sword strike..."

Tang Zhao said helplessly, "Do not always say 'everything' so easily. Your 'everything' originally belonged entirely to you. Even if your teacher is very important to you, is it possible that you do not have even a little bit that belongs to yourself?"

Perhaps because she had become a young girl, Chi Mingjing's emotions became more volatile, and suddenly her eyes filled with tears: "Before I was fourteen, I had parents, a home, and snacks and toys I liked, but those are all gone now. After fourteen, apart from my teacher's kindness, what have I ever possessed? My everything comes from him, so naturally, I will give my everything for him."

Tang Zhao said, "You at least still have your sword..."

Chi Mingjing suddenly screamed, "What do you know, someone who grew up in a honey pot? Shut up!" The aura that had already declined suddenly surged, climbing to an unimaginable realm.

Is she really giving her all this time?

The white hair poured down like a waterfall, resembling a Yin He falling from the sky!

This sword strike was comparable to a full-force blow from a Sword Hero!

Hit me!

Tang Zhao looked at the brilliant white Yin He and sighed softly:

Not to mention the Yin He in the sky, even compared to the silver threads under the Ruyi Sword Palace, it is still far behind!

Realms and power, if you have them, you have them; if you don't, you don't. They never deceive anyone.

However, since it was a life-or-death struggle, Tang Zhao had to respond. As his conviction stirred, the light coiling around him suddenly compressed urgently, finally condensing into a black dot.

It was infinitely small, yet it contained immense mass, hiding a bottomless profundity.

When this black dot appeared, the white Yin He immediately began to collapse. It was not just being attracted by the mass, but a distortion of space; the white Yin He became a waterfall cut off at the head!

Yet this was not the end. Tang Zhao pointed, and the black singularity exploded!

A silent, yet insanely frantic explosion!

One could see thousands of white hairs turning into nothingness in an instant, space splitting apart thread by thread, the cracks twisting like black snakes, as if they were going to annihilate along with space itself!

At this moment, Tang Zhao's Sword Technique had advanced a step further than before, beginning to seek the power involved in those endless mysteries. His first opponent after this evolution was Chi Mingjing, a Sword Guest whose strength was not particularly great; it was actually a bit like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.

There was no other reason; this was respect for an opponent who fought with their life on the line.

This annihilation only existed for an instant before space stabilized once more.

The white hair had vanished, and that stubborn young girl had also vanished.

It was not a complete disappearance, however; Tang Zhao saw a baby lying where she had stood.

A baby that looked at most a few months old, crying wailingly. She was wrapped in the girl's oversized clothes, as if they were swaddling clothes.

Tang Zhao understood what had happened in an instant: for that final sword strike, she had paid a tremendous price, and now all her growth had been erased, leaving only an infant.

"This... such a thing exists? You Sword Guests are truly miraculous."

At this time, Jiang Shenyi and the others rushed over. In fact, they had been there for a while, but they had not stepped onto the battlefield, only watching from afar. They all trusted in Tang Zhao's strength and saw no need to come in and get in the way.

Seeing Tang Zhao go to pick up the baby girl on the ground, Wei Se said with a grave expression, "Sir, let me do it."

Jiang Shenyi guessed his defensive intent and said, "She has already turned into a baby, all her past has vanished, and she is completely ignorant. You are being too cautious."

Wei Se said, "Not necessarily. She previously regressed to fourteen or fifteen years old, but her memories did not regress with her, nor did her strength. This shows that while the body regressed, the Soul did not. Perhaps this baby still has a Soul inside her that harbors a deep-seated hatred for Sir. Even if she lacks the strength now, she might very well pretend to be an infant and wait for an opportunity. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall."

As he spoke, he used his peripheral vision to observe the baby girl, wanting to see if she would react to his words. But the baby only cried wailingly, completely ignoring everything said in the Waijie.

Jiang Shenyi waved his hand and said, "Impossible. When it comes to the Soul, I am the professional. Such a young body cannot carry an adult's Soul. Even if it is still the original Soul, it would have long since become a blank sheet of paper, waiting to be dyed with colors slowly after reaching adulthood. What colors it gets dyed with then depends on what she encounters. In any case, it won't be the way it was before."

Wei Se shook his head and said, "Better safe than sorry. Even if she has lost her memories now, what if she finds them again in the future? Wouldn't that be a future disaster? One must never harbor wishful thinking."

Jiang Shenyi said, "You don't mean to... she is still an infant. How could you be so cruel to this extent?"

At this moment, Tang Zhao suddenly said, "She should be gone already."

He picked up a sword from the ground; the Treasure Sword was dull and lusterless: "The Treasure Sword has hidden its own light; the Soul that resonated with the Sword Intent has already vanished. She... ultimately paid everything."

She did what she said she would.

Perhaps it is for the best. For someone whose entire meaning in life was revenge, there was nothing left to cling to once everything had vanished.

It is better to start over from the beginning.

At this time, Zheng Yun, who had been silent all along, said, "I actually think she listened to what Young Master Tang said to her. She could have regressed completely and vanished as a person, but she left herself one year of age. Even if she gave nine parts to that teacher, she kept one part for herself."

He pointed to the baby girl's tiny body: "This remaining little bit belongs entirely to herself."

Tang Zhao felt his mood lighten a little and said, "Senior Brother, please find a good home for this child, provide enough living expenses, and let her live a peaceful life. I will head back first; we shall meet again in Yunzhou."