“You really dare to make a move?!”
Li Xingyao was startled and instinctively raised her arm to block.
Then even she herself was confused.
What am I afraid of?
I’m in the Foundation Establishment Realm!
However, that fist never actually landed. It stopped just as it touched her clothes.
At the very last moment, Xiao Chan still didn’t want her own recklessness to cause trouble for her Senior Brother.
She pressed her lips together and withdrew her fist.
Li Xingyao stumbled back two steps, glaring angrily at her opponent as well.
“You said Senior Brother doesn’t dare accept your challenge?”
Xia Xiaochan spoke up, “That’s just because Senior Brother can’t be bothered to bully you. If you want to fight, I’ll fight you!”
“You?”
Li Xingyao bit her lip, intending to mock her.
But then, a new idea popped into her mind.
Xia Xiaochan was Lin Ci’s Junior Sister, inheriting his skills, one could even say she was personally taught by Lin Ci.
So, if she suppressed her own cultivation and defeated Xia Xiaochan in the Qi Training Realm, wouldn’t that basically be like defeating Lin Ci?
This logic seemed perfectly reasonable!
“Good, very good!”
“Then, the day after tomorrow, we’ll meet at the Sword Duel Platform!”
Li Xingyao quickly spoke, finalizing the arrangement.
The Sword Duel Platform was the designated place for disciples to spar and compete.
There, Instructors watched over the matches to ensure that no one would be maimed or have their life threatened during the spar.
As for setting it for the day after tomorrow, it was because Li Xingyao was busy the next day—her Mother had arranged for two Instructors to guide her cultivation.
“Fine!”
Xia Xiaochan nodded resolutely, showing not the slightest sign of backing down.
Li Xingyao paused: “Of course, as my cultivation is higher than yours, I’ll suppress my realm the day after tomorrow to spar with you, and at the start I’ll only defend and not attack, letting you strike three times first. That should be fair, right?”
To win, she wanted the other party to admit defeat wholeheartedly.
So her opponent couldn’t use losing as an excuse.
“That’s unnecessary. Just give it your all—don’t blame the rules when you lose.”
Xia Xiaochan puffed her cheeks, saying exactly what she’d wanted to say.
Though she didn’t know what Li Xingyao’s cultivation was, Xiao Chan believed that what Senior Brother had taught her would never lose to anyone of the same age.
Li Xingyao: “Such arrogance… don’t you dare not show up the day after tomorrow!”
This sounded oddly familiar to Xia Xiaochan, just like kids picking fights at the village entrance.
She naturally knew how to respond: “Whoever doesn’t show up is a little dog!”
“Hmph.”
Li Xingyao couldn’t get the upper hand, so she stomped her foot, turned, and left.
Leaving the rear mountain,
She took a deep breath, calming herself down.
Don’t get angry, don’t get angry… As for the spar the day after tomorrow, she was still quite confident.
No matter how amazing Sword Intent or Sudden Enlightenment was, it was impossible for those things to turn into combat power in such a short time.
Her own advantage lay in her outstanding talent and the real combat experience she’d gained after years of guidance from many Instructors.
Her spells and sword techniques were both excellent.
Even when facing the Chief Disciple, if the other party suppressed their cultivation, she’d won before—this was the confidence that let her challenge Lin Ci in the first place.
So, defeating Xia Xiaochan the day after tomorrow would be the first step in exposing Lin Ci!
Li Xingyao walked home, her steps gradually relaxing.
The next day, early morning.
Xia Xiaochan returned to her residence. As soon as she entered, she saw Senior Brother sitting in the courtyard reading. It was as if she’d found her anchor.
Xiao Chan said nothing, silently walking over and resting her forehead against Senior Brother’s back.
“It’s all right, Sword Intent is still too hard for you. Failing is perfectly normal.”
Lin Ci saw her a little downcast and naturally assumed the Sword Intent in the Tree Branch had faded away, making it impossible for her to comprehend.
He comforted her with just the right tone.
“It’s not that. Chan’er already comprehended Sword Intent. It’s something else…”
What do you mean, comprehended?
Lin Ci was briefly stunned, not having time to dwell on it before Xiao Chan began describing her encounter with Li Xingyao last night.
She talked about how she’d almost gotten into a fight, but didn’t want to cause trouble for Senior Brother, so she stopped. Lin Ci snorted coldly: “Next time, just hit her in the face.”
“If there’s trouble, I’ll handle it.”
Lin Ci didn’t like making waves, but Li Xingyao had already come right up to his face. If he kept tolerating her, his image as the Chief Disciple would go from ‘indifferent to the world’ to ‘timid and cowardly.’
When Xiao Chan heard Senior Brother say this, all her worries vanished, her heart growing sweet as honey, and she pursed her lips in a smile.
Senior Brother is protecting me…
Originally, Xiao Chan had wanted to tell Lin Ci that she’d arranged another duel with Li Xingyao, but since Senior Brother said this, it meant he supported her.
There was no need to trouble him further.
This was something she would resolve herself!
Thinking of this, Xiao Chan spoke up: “Senior Brother, please teach Chan’er sword techniques today.”
Although she had grasped Sword Intent, she still didn’t know any sword moves. If she could learn them, she’d be even more confident in tomorrow’s match.
“Very well.”
Lin Ci nodded.
On an open space in the rear mountain,
Lin Ci demonstrated the Fenghe Sword Technique once more.
To speak the truth, last night he didn’t know why, but a ray of Enlightenment Light enveloped him, after which he felt no sleepiness at all—his mind became even clearer.
Then, he stayed up all night, not even cultivating, instead practicing the improved mortal Sword Manual several more times.
Because of this, his sword moves today were even more smooth and practiced.
During last night’s Enlightenment Light, he even felt this mortal Sword Manual faintly exuded some trace of the Heavenly Dao.
Xia Xiaochan watched with focused eyes.
This time, she wasn’t distracted by Senior Brother’s looks… though Senior Brother was still as handsome as ever when wielding a sword, what was different was that memorizing the sword moves now felt much easier to her.
“You only need to grasp one ten-thousandth of Sword Intent. Once you learn my sword moves, it will come naturally…”
Xiao Chan remembered these words from Lin Ci.
She only understood after experiencing it herself—so that’s what he meant! Once she comprehended Sword Intent, the sword moves really did become simple…
The sword demonstration ended, and Lin Ci put away the Tree Branch.
“This time, how much did you remember?”
“Senior Brother, Chan’er remembered everything!”
“All of it?”
“Every single move!”
Chan’er, boasting again…
Lin Ci started to feel skeptical. Was this Junior Sister getting a little too cocky lately? Just this morning she said she’d comprehended Sword Intent? If Sword Intent was real, would I not know?
Now, just by watching the sword moves once, she claimed to remember them all.
It took me five days to memorize them!
Is this girl cheating?
But Lin Ci didn’t dwell on such a trivial matter. If Xiao Chan realized she hadn’t remembered, she’d just come back to him again anyway.
This gave him time to take care of other things.
“Then practice here. This Fenghe Sword Technique is a bit complicated for you. If you want to truly master it, at the very least… it’ll take a month.”
Lin Ci clasped his hands behind his back, speaking calmly.
“Eh? Maybe Chan’er won’t need a whole month…”
Xia Xiaochan mumbled, feeling the sword moves weren’t so difficult. It seemed she could learn them in just a day.
But then she recalled Senior Brother had said ‘truly master it.’ Maybe she was misunderstanding.
Anyway, boasting isn’t good.
She nodded, hoping she could quickly master the sword moves and get Senior Brother’s praise again.
And with tomorrow’s match against Li Xingyao approaching, she had to work even harder at practicing the sword moves.
“Oh, that’s right. You shouldn’t just use a Tree Branch—it’s different from using a real sword.”
As if remembering something, Lin Ci reached into his Storage Pouch and pulled something out.
It was an ancient-looking flying sword, long and slender, glowing with a blue-green luster—an extraordinary sight.
“Senior Brother, this is…”
Xiao Chan was stunned. The flying sword looked very familiar.
Though most of the time it had been used as a sickle or firewood poker… but this should be Senior Brother’s favorite sword.
“This Qingyu Sword is yours from now on.”
Lin Ci handed the flying sword over.
“Ah—really? You’re giving it to me?”
For a moment, Xiao Chan didn’t know what to do with her hands.
A sword that feels right is like a second life to a sword cultivator.
Senior Brother was willing to give it to her…
“If I say it’s for you, just take it.”
Lin Ci said, leaving no room for argument.
His mediocre swordsmanship meant that, for him, no sword was really much different from any other.
As for feeling ‘right’… he didn’t even consider it.
So giving it away, he felt no reluctance at all.
Xiao Chan accepted the Qingyu Sword with great care, her heart full of emotion.
This was Senior Brother’s most important possession, and yet he gave it to her.
“Thank you, Senior Brother. I will use it well!”
Cradling the Qingyu Sword in her arms, Xiao Chan declared solemnly.
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