Chapter 18: Dragon Overlord’s Triumph (17)

She wouldn't fall for that!

Yun Zhu turned her head away and huffed, "I don't cultivate the sword, so how could I possibly beat you?"

As soon as the words left her lips, she realized she had lost face and scrambled to recover, adding, "Don't think I can't compare to you. Since you were able to defeat Junior Brother Qin, if I had been cultivating the sword all along, I might not be your match either!"

The lack of conviction in her tone was obvious.

Yue Nianxin, standing nearby, covered her mouth to hide a giggle.

"You can't even beat Nianxin right now, so how would you fight me?" Su Bai remarked. "That is a simple fact."

"Who says I can't beat her!"

Stung by the truth, Yun Zhu slammed her hand on the table, her face flushing crimson as she stood up abruptly. "What is so hard about cultivating the sword? I have had a photographic memory since I was a child; you only need to demonstrate your sword techniques in front of me, and I can replicate them perfectly."

Su Bai let out an "oh" and raised an eyebrow. "That strong?"

Driven by her competitive nature, Yun Zhu picked up a wooden sword from the floor, posturing as if she were truly going to spar with Su Bai.

Seeing Su Bai bend down to pick up her own wooden sword, Yun Zhu recalled the sight of Qin Yang’s crushing defeat that day. Her legs trembled, and she quickly shouted, "No, no! You have to teach me first!"

Su Bai’s outstretched hand paused, and she looked up at her.

"Are you afraid?"

"I... I..."

Yun Zhu’s ears turned blood-red, but she refused to back down. "I am not!"

Alchemists were naturally peaceable, and the techniques they practiced were mostly for self-preservation. It was precisely because of her lack of combat prowess that Yun Zhu had been so moved when she encountered Qin Yang in the wilderness, protecting her with his life even as he bled.

Her master had once said that because she had achieved fame at a young age, her heart was too proud and she had been too well-protected. Though she had talent in alchemy, she lacked the mindset of breaking through destruction to reach rebirth.

Thus, the young girl, newly stepping into the world, had left the valley with her pride intact. For a single Blaze Lotus, she had faced death to kill a Golden Core stage demonic beast alone. This was the first time Yun Zhu had killed an attendant beast by herself.

But before she could even celebrate, she had fallen into the hands of a demonic cultivator. It was that youth with a long sword who had descended from the sky, disregarding his own life and fame. Despite being a full major realm lower than the demonic cultivator, he had stubbornly shielded her behind him.

In that moment, Yun Zhu had suddenly understood what her master meant: a cultivator must not be trapped by fate; one must maintain their core intent even in the face of despair.

A delicate flower raised in a greenhouse would naturally admire an eagle soaring freely in the wild.

A warm hand landed on Yun Zhu’s wrist, breaking her train of thought.

"What are you doing?" Yun Zhu turned her head and demanded fiercely.

The young girl smiled slightly. "Your grip is wrong."

Su Bai leaned in, prying Yun Zhu’s fingers into the correct position one by one. "Since you want to learn the sword, then learn it properly."

"Heaven-grade spiritual herbs often grow alongside attendant beasts. If you alchemists want to craft medicine, knowing how to refine pills is not enough."

She stood up and lifted Yun Zhu’s arm. "With sword skills for protection, your path in alchemy will be much easier to walk."

Yun Zhu froze where she stood. *With sword skills for protection, your path in alchemy will be much easier to walk.* Her master had once told her something similar.

Yue Nianxin also chimed in from the side, "Zhuzhu, you’ve been with Qin Yang for so long; has he never taught you how to hold a sword?"

A look of bewilderment crossed Yun Zhu’s face. She refined pills and Qin Yang cultivated the sword; their roles were clearly defined, and there had been no need for her to hold a blade.

Perhaps driven by her competitive spirit, Yun Zhu practiced sword drills with Su Bai for an entire afternoon. From sunset until the moon hung high in the center of the sky, the sound of clashing wooden blades never ceased in the courtyard.

Yun Zhu gritted her teeth, leaning on her knees as she stood up shakily. Across from her, the young girl held her wooden sword, the moonlight stretching her shadow long and thin.

Even after a full day of practice—from Su Bai sparring with Yun Zhu, to Yun Zhu and Yue Nianxin sparring together, to Yun Zhu finally resorting to channeling spiritual energy to cheat—she had remained undefeated.

Yun Zhu admitted she wasn't good at combat, but she was a solid Golden Core Perfection cultivator!

Yet...

The girl’s long shadow stretched over her in the moonlight. Yun Zhu looked up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and raised her sword with trembling hands.

*I won't accept this! I won't accept this! It’s been an entire day, why can't I win just once!*

Yue Nianxin was already exhausted, slumped over the table, with only her eyeballs moving back and forth. Being an alchemist and a magic cultivator respectively, they didn't have the physical stamina for this without using spiritual energy.

After witnessing Yun Zhu’s mad-dog, unconventional sword style, Yue Nianxin had updated her perception of the childhood friend she had grown up with. Yun Zhu truly had no talent for the sword.

For instance, the series of movements she had just made—standing up from the ground and lunging at Su Bai—made Yue Nianxin struggle to look away, her face full of unbearable sympathy.

*Ah. To look closely is a cruelty.*

This was the first time she realized someone could perfectly embody what it meant to "darkly writhe, crazily crawl, and sunnily fly." To pull off such high-difficulty, contorted movements—one had to be a talent!

Su Bai caught Yun Zhu by the collar with a helpless expression. "Stop tossing about, Senior Sister. Go back and rest."

Yun Zhu had dropped the haughty airs of a spoiled alchemist, spending the day chasing Su Bai with a wooden sword and hacking away wildly. Not only had she forgotten all about Qin Yang, but she also found herself liking Su Bai more and more.

In the past two years, she had rarely felt this refreshed.

The thought made Yun Zhu shudder, her head twitching along with it. She widened her beautiful eyes and shouted, "Who are you looking down on! When are you practicing with Nianxin next? I’m going to fight you again!"

Su Bai stared at the struggling Yun Zhu. Exhausted and having swung her sword for so long, Yun Zhu’s movements were slow, resembling a turtle swimming. Su Bai suddenly puffed out her cheeks, stifling a laugh, and turned her head away to chuckle softly.

"What are you laughing at!" Yun Zhu clawed at the air. "This is only the first day! I haven't lost yet!"

For the month leading up to the opening of the Sword Tomb, Su Bai’s daily schedule was packed: either following Yaoguang to learn the Water Cloud Technique, following the remnant soul of the jade slip to learn swordsmanship, or discussing the sword with the Sword Venerable. She still had to squeeze in time to spar with Yue Nianxin and Yun Zhu.

One day, Shen Xing came to join this private sword-tutoring session. After witnessing Yun Zhu’s indescribable swordsmanship and the pain of holding back laughter for an entire day, he gave Su Bai a thumbs-up.

"Junior Sister, you’re the best! How on earth did you manage not to laugh?"

***

The day before the Sword Tomb opened, the Supreme Elder led fifteen carefully selected disciples of the Wuji Sect to settle into the Xiankelai Inn, located five kilometers from the entrance.

At this juncture, the inn was packed, filled with elite sword-cultivating disciples from the Eight Great Immortal Alliances and the twelve Small Immortal Alliances.

Seeing the Supreme Elder arrive with a group of disciples in Wuji Sect sword robes, some stopped their wine-pouring to come forward and greet him warmly.

The Supreme Elder was kind-faced and gentle-natured, exceptionally well-liked among the Alliances, so he stopped with a smile to exchange pleasantries.

"I heard that the top-ranked disciple of your Wuji Sect's inner sect exam didn't become the Sword Venerable's apprentice as one would expect, but instead ended up becoming sworn siblings with him."

The cultivators drinking in the hall paused, pricking up their ears.

The speaker was a tall, burly man who looked to be near forty. A scar about a finger’s width ran across the bridge of his nose; his tiger-like eyes were wide, and his brow bore a look of unbridled arrogance. He grinned and said, "To be appreciated by the Sword Venerable at such a young age, why haven't you introduced her to us, Supreme Elder?"

The speaker was Elder You of the Heavenly Sword Sect, ranked fifth in the Alliance and known for their expertise in blades and swords. The sect was powerful and famous for being pugnacious, but due to a lack of alchemists and blacksmiths, they only ranked fifth in overall strength.

Su Bai, the subject of the conversation, remained expressionless, but Qin Yang’s face stiffened, and he looked up at her. The girl standing at the end of the line held her sword, eyes downcast, looking indifferent and lazy, as if the person Elder You wanted to see wasn't her, and as if she weren't the one who had sworn brotherhood with the Sword Venerable.

Qin Yang looked away, his heart filled with mixed emotions. The Sword Venerable had only ever taken three apprentices. His two senior brothers had already graduated, meaning Qin Yang was currently the only disciple under the Sword Venerable. Originally, as the Sword Venerable's disciple, he was met with awe and courtesy wherever he went, but now, Su Bai had completely stolen his thunder.

The Supreme Elder waved at Su Bai and introduced her with a chuckle, "This disciple is named Su Bai, possessor of the Heavenly Water Spirit Root. Currently, Yaoguang is guiding her in sorcery. If she has spare time, she often spars with the Sword Venerable."

Seeing that the disciple the Supreme Elder pointed to was merely in the mid-stage of the Heart-Moving Realm, everyone was surprised. The mid-stage of the Heart-Moving Realm was not low in the cultivation world, but among the fifteen disciples brought by the Wuji Sect, it was the baseline.

However, seeing that the approaching disciple was a young woman of exquisite appearance and temperament, they adopted knowing expressions. The Sword Venerable had only had a few dao companions in his youth, all of which ended without result. Now that he was older and held such a prestigious position, it was no wonder he chose to befriend a young girl rather than take her as an apprentice—it was likely just a way to amuse her. After all, having a romance with one's own disciple didn't sound very good if the rumors spread.

Elder You laughed heartily. "I didn't expect that the person who could swear brotherhood and discuss the sword with the Sword Venerable would be such a beautiful young girl."

As an old fox who had cultivated for a thousand years, the Supreme Elder could hear the subtext. His eyes narrowed slightly, and while he kept his genial appearance, his tone deepened. "What do you mean by that, Elder You?"

"What could I possibly mean?" Elder You winked at the Supreme Elder, then waved toward the Heavenly Sword Sect’s table, shouting, "Ling Su, get out here, boy! Didn't you say you wanted to see your 'junior sister'?"

A man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, holding a long sword, stood up from his bench.

Su Bai looked toward the voice.

The man was lean, with narrow, slightly drooping eyes that always seemed to hold a smile when he looked at someone.

Ling Su was the second disciple of the Sword Venerable and Qin Yang’s senior brother, currently at the peak of the Soul-Severing Realm.