Chapter 58 - 33: Practicing the Sword Is Entering the Dao

"The winner is Li Shuang!"

Ye Zhaozhao stood below the arena, watching Li Shuang bask in the cheers of the crowd.

She tried to control her emotions. However, being slapped in the face in front of a massive crowd by a native she had always looked down upon made Ye Zhaozhao feel as if she could hear countless mocking voices.

"Everyone is laughing at me, aren’t they?" she thought. "Everyone thinks I’m a clown, don’t they?"

At the same time, Ye Zhaozhao sensed that her cultivation, which had already regressed to the Early-stage Nascent Soul, had suddenly plummeted by a large margin out of thin air! If this happened again, she feared she would immediately drop below the Nascent Soul Stage. According to the system, once she fell below the Nascent Soul Stage, she would be punished! As the host, Ye Zhaozhao knew better than anyone that this system was not benevolent. Its so-called punishment would undoubtedly be incredibly harsh!

"No, I absolutely cannot accept the punishment!" she thought.

Ye Zhaozhao’s expression contorted into an uncontrollable, hideous grimace.

"Zhaozhao, it’s okay, we..." Sheng Yuan came over to comfort her, but then he saw Ye Zhaozhao’s face, looking as twisted as a malicious spirit.

Startled, the rest of his words caught in Sheng Yuan’s throat, leaving him completely speechless. By the time he regained his senses, Ye Zhaozhao had already reverted to her usual gentle and adorable demeanor.

"First Senior Brother," Ye Zhaozhao forced a smile. "I... I just didn’t expect that Senior Sister Li would suddenly strike after I had already surrendered. That’s why I was so scared."

She looked entirely at a loss, as if she had suffered a monumental fright.

Hearing this, a towering rage surged in Chang Le’an’s heart. He glared at Li Shuang, who was already surrounded by the people of Heartless Peak, and gnashed his teeth. "She did it on purpose! Little Junior Sister, you are just too polite to her! Your unwillingness to stoop to her level will only make her push her luck even further!"

Ye Zhaozhao put on a delicate, vulnerable expression. "I... I was just too worried about Long Yan, so I wanted to end the battle as soon as possible. I didn’t expect Senior Sister Li to suddenly attack me."

As she spoke, Chang Le’an’s expression grew even more indignant, looking as if he were ready to march over and settle the score with Li Shuang immediately. Ye Zhaozhao pulled him back tightly, and only then did he manage to calm down a little.

"Little Junior Sister, the Dragon Roar Sword," Shen Yue said as he picked up the weapon from the arena and calmly handed it to Ye Zhaozhao.

He offered no extra words.

However, Ye Zhaozhao’s heart trembled slightly. She hurriedly explained, "Second Senior Brother, I... I didn’t mean to drop the Dragon Roar Sword. I was just too nervous at the time."

A hint of complex emotion flashed through Shen Yue’s eyes. "As a sword cultivator, you must never abandon your sword, no matter the circumstances," he said.

Though his tone held no reproach, Ye Zhaozhao’s face instantly flushed bright red. After a long moment, she muttered, "I... I understand. I didn’t do it on purpose."

"Also," Shen Yue added, "never resort to burning a Spiritual Body unless it is a matter of life and death. Doing so damages the very origin of the Sword Spirit."

As he said this, he felt a mix of conflicting emotions swirling in his heart.

Before coming to the Sword Sect, he had been born into a Sword Dao Family. From the moment he tottered and learned to walk, a sword had already been placed in his hands. From his very first small wooden sword to his later true treasure swords, and finally to his current Fiery Sun Sword. Even though some of his swords had long since lost their use, he still treasured and preserved them meticulously.

Before coming to the Sword Sect, he had grown up bathed in the praise of being a Sword Dao genius. Yet, a mortal Sword Dao genius meant absolutely nothing in the Cultivation World. It was Eldest Senior Sister who had painstakingly helped him rebuild his foundation, move by move, enabling him to stand out among the crowd of new disciples.

Previously, he felt that even without Li Shuang, he would still be a Sword Dao genius. He even believed that, in terms of sheer talent in swordsmanship, he should be above Li Shuang.

But now... he no longer dared to harbor such thoughts. Especially not after witnessing the bloom of that particular Ice Lotus.

He feared there was no hope left in this life for him to ever catch up to Li Shuang, but Shen Yue still considered himself a proud sword cultivator. All sword cultivators valued the swords in their hands immensely. None of them would ever force a Sword Spirit to such extremes just for a minor arena match, nor would they ever so casually discard a treasure sword meant to accompany them through life and death.

Little Junior Sister... couldn’t even be called a true sword cultivator at all.

"Second Senior Brother, are... are you blaming me?" Ye Zhaozhao’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. "It’s not like I ordered Long Yan to burn his Spiritual Body. He did all of that on his own!"

"Second Senior Brother, Little Junior Sister is already heartbroken enough over losing the match. What are you doing right now?!" Chang Le’an immediately stepped in front of Ye Zhaozhao, glaring at Shen Yue with an expression of pure fury.

Watching this unfold, Sheng Yuan felt a headache coming on. He hurriedly interjected, "Second Junior Brother doesn’t mean it that way. Alright, alright. Since Long Yan’s Spiritual Body has been damaged, we should first return to Lingxu Peak and help him stabilize it."

Shen Yue remained silent. Chang Le’an shot him a vicious glare before turning to escort the tearful Ye Zhaozhao away.

Sheng Yuan glanced at Shen Yue, feeling somewhat helpless. "Second Junior Brother, let’s head back as well."

Li Shuang had won, and won so spectacularly at that. If they stayed here any longer, they would only subject themselves to pointless gossip. Shen Yue cast a distant look in Li Shuang’s direction before nodding, seemingly crestfallen.

The multitude of disciples were merely enjoying the spectacle, animatedly discussing the terrifying phantom of the true dragon and the Ice Lotus that had bloomed on the arena stage. However, on the high platform, there was only dead silence.

Meng Yifei, unable to control himself, had long since stood up. The Ice Lotus had vanished, yet he continued to stare intently at the spot where it had bloomed, his eyes caught in a prolonged daze.

After a long time, he suddenly snapped his head toward Lin Qingling. "Was that..."

Lin Qingling appeared relatively composed, though a gratified smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. "It is the Heartless Sword Technique. I passed the Jade Scroll left behind by the Founding Ancestor to Li Shuang. Li Shuang... truly lives up to her peerless talent. To think she has already mastered the first move in such a short period of time."

The Heartless Sword Technique.

It really was the Heartless Sword Technique.

Meng Yifei’s lips trembled.

Back then, the very starting point of the Founding Ancestor’s fame across the Nanyan Continent was when he wielded the Cangmu Sword. With a single strike, a green pine manifested, its layered pine waves endless and unceasing, just like his Wood Attribute Spiritual Power.

Later, this became known as the Founding Ancestor’s Heartless Sword Technique.

Judging solely from the external moves, there was actually not a single similarity between the Founding Ancestor’s swordsmanship and Li Shuang’s. Save for one thing. Both of their sword moves contained their profound understanding of the Dao.

To practice the sword was to enter the Dao.

At this level, the only technique that allowed one to touch the Dao Essence was the Heartless Sword Technique. If, initially, he had still held some doubts about this disciple’s future when she first switched to cultivating the Supreme Forget Emotion Technique...

But now, Li Shuang had even comprehended the first move of the Heartless Sword Technique. Back then, even the Founding Ancestor had not possessed such an understanding of the Sword Dao at her age!

Meng Yifei had a premonition.

As long as Li Shuang could break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, the Sword Sect would truly usher in its golden age of prosperity!