"Chen… Xin…"
The night wind brushed aside the loose strands of hair on Li Zhexian's forehead.
His tone was complex as he uttered the name of the white-clad figure.
Chen Xin stood at the corner of the roof's eaves, his white hair and white robes fluttering lightly in the wind.
Lowering his gaze to the youth below, a nearly imperceptible trace of satisfaction flickered deep within his eyes as he spoke calmly:
"Zhexian — so now, you can't even call me 'teacher'?"
Li Zhexian's lips moved.
But that form of address stuck in his throat, never to be spoken aloud.
After all, he was only thirteen years old.
Memories surged back like a tide…
That day, Ning Rongrong had abandoned him and left.
And his teacher — from beginning to end — had not uttered a single word.
That night, with a heavy heart, he drowned his sorrows in strong liquor, and his pent-up frustration turned into a howling sword qi. He was a lonely figure, with only his sword and wine for company.
Chenxin... the person who led him onto the path of the Spirit Master, but was stingy with even a single word of comfort. How could he not care?
"Senior Chen Xin, what brings you here today?"
Suppressing the turmoil within, Li Zhexian's voice was as calm as still water.
Chenxin didn't say much. He slowly extended his hand forward. With the movement, a simple sword hilt appeared out of thin air and fell into his palm
Section by section, the pure white and simple sword body solidified, finally forming a four-foot-three-inch longsword.
On the crossguard, seven blood-red lines meandered like blood, proclaiming the name of "Seven Kills."
The moment the Seven Kills Sword was held in Chenxin's hand, the courtyard, the plum trees, and the fragrant plum blossoms... all the surrounding colors faded and returned to nothingness.d.
Between heaven and earth—
Only Chen Xin and the sword in his hand remained.
Once the sword was drawn, its intent was already clear.
Li Zhexian slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. A burning fighting spirit erupted from his eyes.
Clang—!
A clear, piercing sword cry split the air.
Li Zhexian raised his hand, his five fingers clenching hard at the empty air.
A green light flashed, and the three-foot-six-inch Qinglian Sword appeared.
On the body of the sword, twelve green lotuses bloomed vividly. Sword qi surged from him, making his white shirt flutter wildly.
Chenxin's gaze fell on the Qinglian Sword. His eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well, suddenly gleamed
He could clearly feel the Seven Kill Sword trembling in his hand…
It was the excitement of meeting a powerful opponent, mixed with a hint of an almost imperceptible thrill in the face of an unparalleled sharpness.
"Zhexian, your sword... is sharper. But if the sword is sharp and the wielder is weak, it will backfire and ultimately be an illusion."
Li Zhexian responded with silence. He darted toward Chenxin on the eaves like a flash of light. A purple Spirit Ring instantly coiled around the Qinglian Sword. In an instant, an unparalleled sharp aura filled the air. The air seemed to be cut, letting out a harsh whine.
"First Spirit Ability — Greenblade Severance"
Chenxin stood his ground. His gaze wasn't even focused. He simply gave a very slight twitch of his wrist.
The Seven Kills Sword drew a fine line that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye. There was no overflowing sword light, no howling wind, only a soft, mosquito-like hiss.
Li Zhexian's seemingly indestructible sword strike, the moment it touched that "fine line," disintegrated silently like a soap bubble hitting a red-hot needle.
Li Zhexian only felt a highly condensed power of a "point" that precisely pierced the node where his Spirit Ability was operating.
The subsequent changes came to an abrupt halt. He was forced to retreat half a step to dissipate that tricky force.
Chenxin's calm voice rang out, accompanied by the killing night wind.
"This move's intent lay in 'sharpness,' but it was lost to dispersion."
"The sword has three realms: the lower sword cuts the man, the middle sword cuts oneself, the upper sword cuts the night."
"The lower sword cuts the man — its meaning is in 'cutting,' not in empty intimidation."
"My heart knows no fear, so I could see straight through the flaw in your strike and break it with a single blow."
Hearing Chen Xin's merciless critique—
Li Zhexian's eyes did not dim; instead, an even fiercer fighting spirit ignited.
His fingers brushed along the Qinglian Sword. The edges of the blade split — one side blazing with crimson flame, the other sealing over with frost.
"Qinglian Sword Song, Second Move — Sword of Blazing Frost!"
With a single strike, the red flame sword qi roared like a mad dragon, and the icy sword qi attacked the ground like a cold python
Two opposing yet coexisting forces intertwined into a spiral of ice and fire, swirling toward Chenxin. As it passed, the air was twisted by the heat, and frost condensed on the bluestone slabs.
In the face of this wondrous sword of ice and fire, Chenxin finally moved. He didn't dodge, but instead took a step forward. This step seemed to be in rhythm with the way of the sword. The Seven Kills Sword in his hand was still plain and unadorned.
He simply thrusted it forward. There was no Spirit Power light or complex changes, only a pure sword intent that had been pushed to the extreme of "speed" and "precision."
Li Zhexian's powerful ice-fire spiral, in the face of Chenxin's simple and pure thrust, was like a balloon being accurately popped.
Puff—
A muffled pop.
The red flames dispersed like fireflies across the sky. The cold air disintegrated like scattered snow. The violent energy shockwave swept out, causing the plum petals in the courtyard to dance wildly and the plum tree branches to tremble.
"Borrowing the fierceness of fire and the chill of ice may seem overwhelmingly mighty, yet in truth it abandons the root for the branch!"
For the first time, Chen Xin's gaze turned razor-sharp, stabbing into Li Zhexian like a tangible sword edge.
"The middle sword cuts onself — it severs the clutter in one's heart, and the reliance on forces beyond one's own path."
"This sword… is it truly yours, or have you become a servant to fire and ice?"
Li Zhexian's eyes were clear and bright. He met Chenxin's sharp gaze without flinching. His sword heart was clear, and he had his own path.
How could he be shaken by a few words from another person?! Not even Chenxin could do that!
"Wrong, wrong, wrong!"
"Senior Chen Xin, you are mistaken!"
"All things under heaven can serve as nourishment for the sword!"
"Fire is not me, ice is not me — yet I can command them, fuse them into the sword!"
"To turn external forces into my own — that is my sword!"
"This is mastery! This is inclusion!"
"How could you call it servitude?!"
With that, Li Zhexian's sword momentum changed again. He stole a wisp of brilliant starlight from the quietly falling night sky.
As the Qinglian Sword waved, tiny, dazzling star fragments swirled around the blade, dancing with the sword light.
At this moment, the extreme sharpness of the Qinglian Sword was pushed to its peak! A sharp sword light burst forth from his main vertebra sword bone!
The sword swept across, and it seemed to want to cleave the very space in two.with each stroke.
"Now witness this sword!"
"Qinglian Sword Song, First Move — Yaoguang (Shaking Light) !"
Facing this breathtaking strike—
Chen Xin still shook his head.
"To draw upon the power of the stars beyond the sky… it may seem you've reached the threshold of the third realm — 'cutting the night.'"
"But in truth, your foundation is hollow, like building castles in the air — already straying from the path."
Chen Xin no longer stood still.
He lifted the Seven Kill Sword.
And thrust it into that swaying river of stars.
No earth-shaking roar, no blinding clash of light.
For an instant, time itself seemed to freeze.
Then—
That resplendent Yaoguang sword—
From the point of contact at the tip, ripples spread outward in utter silence.
Where those ripples passed—
The starlight rapidly dimmed, winked out, and vanished…