Chapter 63: Believe That You Can
Long Yan stood quietly like a lone warrior in a silent courtyard.
Li Shuang spoke slowly, “To tame a corrupted Sword Spirit is like trying to smooth a rough jade. As disciples of our Sword Sect, you know the weight of this task.” The gathered disciples bowed their heads in understanding.
Many among them had been burdened with a corrupted Sword Spirit. Most had chosen to cast it aside, while a few daring ones tried to mend its spirit—but their efforts rarely rekindled its lost brilliance.
Long Yan was unlike the others. His soul had been stained from birth, making him the most troubled of all corrupted spirits.
Yet Li Shuang had guided him to where he now stood!
The effort was as grueling as forging a legendary blade in the heat of battle!
“Senior Sister Li, how did you achieve this?” a disciple asked with a tremor of hope.
Li Shuang replied with calm resolve, “A Sword Spirit marred at birth always risks falling back into darkness, even after it awakens. I watched him as one watches the flow of a river. At the first sign of corruption, I cleansed him with pure Sword Energy. Through long hours of practice, refining my Sword Energy into a honed blade, my control has grown sharper. If any of you face a similarly tainted spirit, come to me. I will share my Sword Energy Cleansing Technique with you. But be warned—condensing Sword Energy is as perilous as wielding a razor-sharp sword. It can cut through one’s meridians if not handled with care. I myself only mastered it when my own meridians ceased to bleed.”
As her words fell like gentle rain, all eyes turned to Long Yan.
To train this defiled spirit, Li Shuang had borne countless pains and injuries to her meridians!
Burdened by a flawed spirit and a master’s bias—and still finding time to train her junior disciples—she had reached the Golden Core stage in three years and ascended to the Nascent Soul stage in ten!
Had fate been kinder, her achievements might have soared even higher.
Now, she offered her hard-won cleansing technique freely, and the disciples admired her all the more. Some even stepped forward, eager to receive a Jade Slip inscribed with the method.
Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes shifted, dark with a secret [this was not the plan I envisioned]. She had gathered the disciples to denounce Li Shuang, not to sway them to her side.
With a sorrowful tone, Ye Zhao Zhao said, “Senior Sister, I know you sacrificed much for Long Yan. But Long Yan cares for you deeply. That is why his heart aches so since you turned away from him.”
She then looked at Long Yan, silently urging him to speak—a single word to evoke pity.
But Long Yan’s lips trembled, and no sound emerged.
[Useless wretch! Now he is of no use at all.]
Li Shuang chuckled softly and declared, “When Long Yan was merely a corrupted spirit, I did not abandon him. When he gathered filth, I stayed. Even after he took on human form, and I had learned the cleansing art, I still did not forsake him. So why did I eventually walk away? There must be reason in every step.”
Ye Zhao Zhao’s face paled, ready to retort.
In a steady voice, Li Shuang continued, “Before the Sect Leader, I made it clear: on that fateful day atop Snow Mountain, I risked my life to cover our retreat. When I reached my limit and was exhausted, Long Yan turned his sword against me—the Dragon’s Roar Sword struck my dantian! I, Li Shuang, do not abandon my companions because they are weak or burdensome.”
A cold smile touched her lips. “But those who betray me? A sword that turns on its master will never again be held in my hand.”
Once more, Li Shuang spoke of Long Yan’s betrayal.
Sheng Yuan and Shen Yue stiffened, their eyes fixed upon him.
They had once struggled to accept the truth, but now they knew how much Li Shuang had poured into nurturing Long Yan.
She would rather wield the feared Black Abyss Sword than cling to the honor of the Dragon’s Roar.
Could it be that the events on Snow Mountain were as Eldest Senior Sister had revealed?
Ye Zhao Zhao’s anxiety grew, and she said, “Senior Sister, is it that you find Long Yan too troublesome to cultivate, and that is why you left him? The events on Snow Mountain were not as you described. I was beset by scores of Snow Monsters, yet you, Senior Sister, did nothing to save me!”
Li Shuang’s laughter was soft but as sharp as a forged blade. “Ye Zhao Zhao, Snow Mountain births new Snow Monsters with each passing season. Let us return there. Face the encirclement of Snow Monsters once again. We shall see if you can break free and survive without my aid.”
Ye Zhao Zhao’s face changed, her words stumbling, “Senior Sister… that is absurd…”
Yet she could not name what was absurd.
Shen Yue looked at her, troubled.
In today’s Arena, their little junior sister had abandoned her sword and fled. Anyone could see that Ye Zhao Zhao had not truly mastered the way of the sword.
The Snow Monsters were formidable. Only those like our eldest senior sister and the little junior sister, both at the Nascent Soul stage, had managed to reach the mountain’s peak. Those still at the Golden Core stage had barely fought through the biting winds halfway up.
A siege of dozens of Snow Monsters… Even with high spiritual energy, could Ye Zhao Zhao alone pluck the elusive Snow Lotus, fend off the horde, and escape unscathed?
[She cannot do this alone.]
Others around shared the same thought, their gazes turning mysterious as they looked upon Ye Zhao Zhao.
“Senior Sister Li… must you dredge up the past?” Ye Zhao Zhao insisted, standing stubbornly. “You claim Long Yan betrayed his master, but that is only one view. Yet, it is undeniable that his spirit was damaged by you. You have aided him so many times before. Could you not help him once more?”
“It would not be enough,” Li Shuang said evenly. “He is now your Sword Spirit, Ye Zhao Zhao. You must find your own path.”
“Senior Sister Li!” Ye Zhao Zhao cried, anguish twisting her face. “If you refuse to act, then we shall remain here, kneeling until death claims us!”
She stood there, stubborn as a lone pine in a storm, refusing to rise.
Li Shuang remained calm. “Ye Zhao Zhao, why do you beg me? I am still at the Energy Refining stage, while he has taken shape as a Sword Spirit. The corruption within him—I cannot purge it. But you… you can.”
With deliberate care, she inscribed the cleansing method onto a Jade Slip and handed it to Ye Zhao Zhao. Her face shone with gentle encouragement. “I mastered this technique step by step. In the beginning, I was but a novice, yet I never harmed Long Yan. If you proceed slowly and carefully, your meridians may suffer a little, but Long Yan will remain unharmed. I see his condition is grave. You must begin soon. After all, he is your Sword Spirit. Surely, you would not cast him aside simply because he is a corrupted spirit? I have faith in you. To save him, you must be willing to endure even the pain of torn meridians.”
Ye Zhao Zhao stared at the Jade Slip, utterly stunned.
What… what was unfolding?
She had come to morally coerce Li Shuang, yet now… [It feels as if fate has chosen me instead.]
The path of the Sword is fraught with pain and sacrifice—and now, Ye Zhao Zhao felt its heavy burden on her soul.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation