Volume 3, Chapter 340 – Junior Sect Sister Chi

Lingxu Sword Sect. The shore of Tianshui Lake.

A clear bell toll rippled out across the mirror-still surface of the water.

As the eastern sky began to pale, disciples of the Sword Sect dressed in yellow rode their swords in from the distance, bathing in the first crisp breath of morning air along the lakeshore.

Cleansing body and mind. Refining their swordsmanship. Tempering their bodies.

This was the daily morning lesson that all inner disciples of Lingxu Sword Sect were required to attend.

And at this moment, among the crowd of girls in yellow, one figure in white stood out with striking clarity.

She stood alongside Huang Shangshang, the Young Sect Master of Lingxu Sword Sect, yet she wore none of the yellow sword robes that Lingxu disciples were known for. She was dressed only in a plain white skirt with no adornment whatsoever, her face veiled in a simple white cloth.

In her hands was an ancient bronze-colored sword.

An antique sword was one of the hallmarks of a Lingxu Sword Sect disciple. Swords worn by age and time suited the sect’s cultivation methods best.

The girl’s swordsmanship was flowing and graceful, her footwork light and quick. Though her body carried not even a trace of cultivated spiritual energy, her pure technical skill with the sword was already a match for the Young Sect Master of Lingxu Sword Sect.

The only difference was that while she was performing Lingxu sword techniques, there was none of the deep, grounded solidity that defined the Lingxu style. Instead it was sharp-edged and pressing, carrying with it a soaring, unbroken arrogance.

When the sequence was complete, the girl in white leveled her ancient sword at the water with one pointed motion. The still surface split apart in a straight line, as though the entire lake might be cleaved in two.

Only a few breaths later did the divided water crash back together, sending up a scattered spray.

The girl in white lowered her sword and stood with it resting against her back.

She breathed lightly, a fine sheen of sweat on her brow.

Throughout the entire sequence she had not drawn on a single thread of spiritual energy. Yet even without it, something had moved on its own as she swung the sword, a natural sword force drawn out through motion alone.

The young disciples around her broke into a wave of admiring murmurs.

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“Junior Sect Sister Chi’s swordsmanship has improved again!”

“That kind of talent is frightening. She has barely just started!”

“I think even without spiritual energy, she could already cut down a third-tier demon beast with ease.”

“Where on earth did the Sect Master find someone like this?!”

“Her talent is well beyond even the Young Sect Master’s, isn’t it.”

“Forget the Young Sect Master. I’d say there isn’t anyone across all Seven Sword Sects with talent higher than Junior Sect Sister Chi’s.”

“It’s a shame though. All that sword talent, and she cannot cultivate spiritual energy. All she can do is temper her blood and qi and be a martial cultivator with no spiritual power.”

Huang Shangshang, who was leading the morning practice, heard the hushed whispers of the disciples and a vein immediately appeared on her forehead.

She turned around and fixed the whispering group with a fierce glare.

“What are you all muttering about back there?”

“Have the teaching elders taught you nothing?”

“Chattering behind people’s backs instead of focusing on your swords.”

“What, do you think flapping your lips back and forth is going to push your cultivation forward?”

“And what’s wrong with being a martial cultivator? That pathetic bag of tricks you call swordsmanship is only good enough to bully martial cultivators at lower levels. The moment you run into a high-level martial cultivator, you’d be punched through the wall in one hit.”

The few disciples who had been quietly gossiping flushed red.

“Shangshang-jie! That’s not what we meant. We just think it’s a real pity that Junior Sect Sister Chi has such incredible sword talent but cannot cultivate spiritual energy.”

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Several of them nodded rapidly in agreement.

“Wasn’t there a rumor going around before, that Chi Family in Beihe Commandery produced a reincarnation of a Sword Venerable?”

“Sword Sacred Physique. A single flash of enlightenment, one night, straight into the Eighth Realm.”

“I think if Junior Sect Sister Chi could cultivate spiritual energy normally, she wouldn’t be any weaker than that so-called Sword Sacred Physique!”

They were getting more and more absurd.

The corner of Huang Shangshang’s mouth twitched stiffly. She raised her voice. “Alright, alright. Morning practice is over. Go do what you’re supposed to do. Stop standing around getting in everyone’s way.”

The disciples from morning practice scattered off sheepishly.

Huang Shangshang clicked her tongue in quiet annoyance.

Did Song Shiyuan’s sword talent really need their commentary?

That girl was the apprentice of a Sword Venerable.

Could someone favored by a Venerable possibly lack talent?

Huang Shangshang had no doubt that if not for the seal on her cultivation and her memories, the girl would likely be approaching the threshold of the Sixth Realm by now.

Back in Fox Palace, Song Shiyuan had fallen into demonic corruption at the Fifth Realm, and if not for two Sword Sect masters stepping in to intervene, the Young Sect Master of Lingxiao Sword Sect would have been cut to pieces right then and there.

Huang Shangshang certainly did not think her own talent surpassed Song Shixuan’s.

Thinking back to what had happened in Fox Palace, she felt a trace of envy for Song Shiyuan.

These younger disciples of Lingxu Sword Sect were here sighing over Song Shiyuan being unable to cultivate spiritual energy.

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But she had faced the Fox Monarch head-on.

Could any other sword cultivator say the same?

Ahem. She was getting sidetracked.

Huang Shangshang gave a quiet cough, turned her head, and found that Song Shiyuan had appeared beside her at some point without her noticing.

The girl who had lost her memories had grown cold in her expression. Her emotions had become increasingly detached and distant as well.

In this moment, Huang Shangshang had the inexplicable feeling that the girl in front of her was looking more and more like that Immortal Venerable Qingzhi of Qinglan Sword Sect.

Though the girl had not quite reached that level of coolness yet.

Huang Shangshang could see it, the dim shadow behind the girl’s eyes.

She simply did not know how to show her feelings. It was not that she had none.

“Junior Sect Sister Chi.” Huang Shangshang scratched the back of her head. “Don’t take what they said to heart.”

“A bunch of hothouse kids who’ve never seen the world. What do they know about sword cultivation.”

Song Shiyuan’s lips moved slightly. She gave a faint smile.

“Senior Sister, I understand.”

“I did not take it to heart.”

Song Shiyuan held the bronze sword out horizontally, her eyes dropping to look at the blade.

“I was only wondering. Am I truly suited for the sword?”

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Ever since the day Huang Shangshang had come running to tell her, full of enthusiasm, that she could study the sword, she had been practicing alongside the others for some time now.

She had taken to it quickly. The feeling of swinging the blade in her hands made her happy.

But the more she studied the sword techniques, the more she felt that she and Lingxu Sword Sect’s forms did not quite fit.

It felt as though she was simply using her hands to control the sword, to imitate the shape of Lingxu swordsmanship.

She had never truly absorbed the sword intent of Lingxu Sword Sect into herself.

The sword in her hand was only an object. There was no exchange between them.

Song Shiyuan could not find words to describe this feeling. But she had a quiet, formless sense that Lingxu Sword Sect’s sword intent was simply not in harmony with her.

Huang Shangshang saw her expression and another vein appeared on her forehead.

What was this girl getting tangled up in now?

She sighed inwardly and gave a light laugh. “I already told you, stop overthinking things.”

“What they said just now was not wrong. Your talent is no weaker than mine.”

“Maybe the reason you cannot cultivate spiritual energy right now is just a temporary block.”

“Perhaps one day you’ll come across some opportunity, and the block will break open on its own.”

“When that happens, reaching the Fifth Realm in an instant wouldn’t be a dream.”

Whatever else could be said, Huang Shangshang knew Song Shiyuan’s background.

Her entire foundation was still there and intact. When the day came for the seal to be lifted, that would be her moment to soar.