Chapter 54: Speaking Arrogantly
Chu Huaixu had a very, very long dream.
He dreamt he was still living on Earth, dreaming of little things from the past.
But when he woke up, he felt like he was in a different world.
For some reason, he felt a bit listless.
“You’re awake,” Li Chunsong’s voice came from beside him.
Chu Huaixu looked around and found himself back in the bamboo house, lying on the bed.
The Sixth Elder was sitting by the wooden table, pouring himself tea.
The tea’s fragrance was rich and refreshing.
“Want a cup? This is Soul Soothing Tea, you’ll feel better after drinking it,” Li Chunsong said with a smile.
Chu Huaixu got up from the bed and, at the Sixth Elder’s signal, sat opposite him.
He took a sip of the Soul Soothing Tea and felt much more comfortable.
Although he was drinking hot tea, a refreshing sensation spread through his limbs, clearing his mind, making it more effective than coffee.
“Sixth Elder, what happened to me?” he asked.
“We checked your sea of consciousness. Due to this, you’re feeling a bit mentally fatigued. Once you formally enter the First Realm and your sea of consciousness gives birth to Divine Sense, this situation won’t happen anymore,” he explained patiently.
Li Chunsong put down his teacup and, with appreciative eyes, appraised the young man.
When he arrived at the bamboo house, he slapped his thigh in annoyance.
He should have taken the opportunity in the Purple Bamboo Forest to gamble with everyone again just now!
What great material for gambling, he had so many mysterious things about him, he could have played a few rounds!
This was one of the reasons he found Chu Huaixu more and more pleasing to the eye.
This mentality was a bit like: “Streamer, you’re really good at entertaining, heavily followed!”
Chu Huaixu met the gaze of the “Charitable Gambling King” and sincerely sought guidance, “Sixth Elder, are there any problems with my sea of consciousness?”
“It’s hard to explain in a few words. How should I put it, natal spirit swords will produce sword spirits, you know that?”
“That little black sword in your sea of consciousness is a bit like a sword spirit.”
Chu Huaixu’s brows immediately furrowed, “Huh? Sword spirit?”
He didn’t particularly like this analogy.
Swords have sword spirits, which is normal.
People have sword spirits, then what am I? A sword person?
Sixth Elder, don’t play such a low-level pun with me!
Li Chunsong waved his hand, signaling him to calm down, “You don’t need to panic, we haven’t found any problems for now.”
“On the contrary, it’s quite mysterious, and it can automatically protect your sea of consciousness. The Tenth Elder was almost caught off guard by it and was directly driven out,” he said with a sigh of wonder.
Chu Huaixu was also somewhat surprised by this information, he didn’t expect it to have such a useful function?
Suddenly, he remembered that after cultivating the Sword Refining Art, he had drawn for the Spiritual Embryo category, and when he drew “Heart Sword,” the system’s description was:
“A sword slashes the physical body, the heart slashes the soul.”
Was this the meaning behind it?
Seeing Chu Huaixu deep in thought, Li Chunsong smiled and poured him another cup of Soul Soothing Tea, saying, “You don’t need to overthink it. As you are now, you won’t be able to understand even if you try.”
Chu Huaixu nodded.
The Sixth Elder continued with important matters, “By the way, keep this safe.”
He placed a black wooden token on the table.
It was unclear what kind of wood this token was made from; it looked like lightning-struck wood, with a scorched texture.
A golden character “藏” was on the front, and a golden character “灵” was on the back.
Upon seeing the token, Chu Huaixu’s face showed confusion, but his heart was filled with ecstasy.
“This is the pass to Hidden Spirit Mountain!”
Li Chunsong explained, “This is the token to go to Hidden Spirit Mountain, specially permitted by the Sect Master.”
“This is our Daoist Sect’s treasure mountain. Many people obtain their natal magical treasures on this mountain.”
“You will be informed in detail before you go up the mountain.”
“But what’s most important for you now is to break through to the Meridian-Opening Stage as soon as possible.”
“Only when you have Divine Sense can you forge a natal magical treasure. Therefore, according to the rules, you cannot go to Hidden Spirit Mountain in the Meridian-Opening Stage.”
Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu immediately put the token into his storage space, “Disciple understands.”
Li Chunsong thought for a moment and felt he should give a few more pointers.
“Your Spiritual Embryo is special, and now you have awakened your natal Divine Ability. You are essentially a born Sword Cultivator.”
“Therefore, when you go to Hidden Spirit Mountain, sword-type magical treasures will be your best choice.”
“After you pass the numerous trials of the outer sect and officially join the inner sect, you might have a chance to become a disciple of the Seventh Elder. She is one of the current Four Divine Swords and a person standing at the pinnacle of the Sword Dao.”
Although this matter had been discussed and decided internally, the “Charitable Gambling King” did not make any definitive promises, treating it as a carrot on a stick to motivate him, so as to prevent the young man from becoming impatient and arrogant.
“Yes!” Chu Huaixu replied with excitement, as if his blood was surging.
Yet, many thoughts arose in his mind.
“Seventh Elder? Isn’t that the Daoist Nun sitting on the giant rock?”
“Becoming a true disciple among the Four Divine Swords, that is indeed hugging the thickest thigh in the Sword Cultivation world.”
“Moreover, she also possesses the inheritance of the Dao Ancestor!”
“But the problem is that my future master will die in three years! She died in the year 1993 of the Profound Calendar!”
“The shelf life of this thigh is not long,” Chu Huaixu thought.
Among the high-ranking officials of the Daoist Sect, he understood Shen Man the least.
When “The Borrowed Sword” was first publicly tested, she was still in seclusion, drawing a circle around herself in the Purple Bamboo Forest to meditate on the Dao Ancestor’s inheritance.
She only came out of seclusion in the year 1992 of the Profound Calendar.
Then, the following year, she died and her spirit vanished.
In Chu Huaixu’s memory, Shen Man did not seem to be the highest in cultivation among this batch of Daoist Sect high-ranking officials.
She should only be at the Great Perfection of the Seventh Realm.
Among the Four Divine Swords of the Eastern Continent, she was also the only Sword Cultivator at the Seventh Realm; the other three were all at the Eighth Realm.
Among them, the current Sword Venerable, the foremost of the Four Divine Swords, was at the peak of the Eighth Realm! He had even achieved the feat of killing someone in the Ninth Realm!
If ranked solely by cultivation realm, she was at the bottom of the Four Divine Swords.
It felt as if she had inherited her master’s position and title from him.
“However, according to the posts on the Forum by the players, during several difficult battles, the high-ranking officials of the Daoist Sect repeatedly lamented sadly: ‘If only our Seventh Junior Sister were still here.'”
“From this, there have been many speculations on the forum about Shen Man’s personal combat power,” Chu Huaixu’s thoughts raced.
When he went to the Purple Bamboo Forest, he only saw the Daoist Nun’s back, not her face.
But for some reason, despite her slender figure making her Daoist robe seem incredibly loose, she gave off a rather ethereal aura.
At this moment, Li Chunsong suddenly waved his hand, removing the sound-blocking magic array, and said, “Shuangjiang, come in. Don’t wait outside. He’s awake now.”
The door was pushed open, and Han Shuangjiang entered with a hint of embarrassment.
When she saw that Chu Huaixu had returned unconscious, she was indeed a bit worried.
Li Chunsong looked at the two young people with a playful smile, as if trying to play matchmaker.
He then set up the magic array again and reminded them, “Do not mention your Clarity of Sword Heart to anyone else. It will not benefit you. Shuangjiang, you must also keep it a secret for him.”
“The Sect Master has already instructed the Enforcement Elder to personally set up a restriction for you. He is a rare master of formations in this era, and ordinary people will not be able to detect it,” the Sixth Elder told Chu Huaixu.
“Yes, disciple understands,” Chu Huaixu replied, and Han Shuangjiang immediately accepted the order.
He knew the principle of “possessing jade invites trouble.” It was fine to show off in front of cultivators, but not too much.
After thinking for a moment, he felt he needed to play dumb, so he asked, “Sixth Elder, I know about the Spiritual Embryo Divine Ability, but could you please explain to this disciple what exactly Clarity of Sword Heart is?”
He knew his specific situation based on the system’s introduction.
Given his current status and realm, the normal state would be: although he had entered a mysterious realm, he was utterly confused and didn’t know what it was.
His understanding was insufficient, which fit his character.
He was always bold and meticulous, and would not make mistakes on such minor issues.
Li Chunsong smiled, thinking this was reasonable, and said, “The so-called Sword Heart is a power born from a cultivator’s profound enlightenment of the Sword Dao.”
“In the current cultivation world, normally, those who possess a Sword Heart are all powerful Sword Cultivators with prominent reputations.”
“But in reality, the Sword Heart is not linked to the cultivator’s realm. It only depends on one word – enlightenment!”
At this point, like many in the Daoist Sect, he began to habitually praise the Dao Ancestor.
“You should also know that before the Dao Ancestor refined the Meridian-Opening Pill, the threshold for cultivation was very high, and not many people in the world could enter the door of cultivation.”
Chu Huaixu repeatedly nodded. This former virtual male model perfectly replicated Li Chunsong’s expression, showing reverence on his face.
Li Chunsong continued, “In that era, there were actually many sword dao geniuses in the world, but they had no chance to cultivate.”
“It is said that many swordsmen in the mortal world, despite having no Spiritual Power, were devoted to the Sword Dao their entire lives. Many of them had touched the threshold of Sword Heart, and could even kill cultivators in the First Realm with their mortal physiques,” he began to tell legendary stories from a thousand years ago.
“It’s a pity that these heroes of the jianghu only touched the threshold and could not produce profound power with their mortal bodies.”
“You may not know this, but among the current four great sects, the Sword Sect’s history is even longer than our Daoist Sect’s. It just went through a period of decline, and is not as prosperous as our Daoist Sect which has flourished for a thousand years.”
“Fifteen hundred years ago, the First Generation Sword Venerable of the Sword Sect once prophesied that the difference between those with and without Spiritual Power is like the difference between clouds and mud.”
“Even if a person without Spiritual Power is a prodigy, they have no hope of developing a Sword Heart in this lifetime.”
“Do you know what this means?” Li Chunsong asked.
He had intended to say that Chu Huaixu was an exception to the exception and should be more careful in the future, as the Sword Sect was known for producing sword fanatics.
Unexpectedly, Chu Huaixu’s reply made him freeze for a moment, and then he couldn’t help but burst into unrestrained laughter!
This was because what the boy said was too shocking, yet it resonated deeply with him.
If these words were to spread, the people of the Sword Sect might become enraged and attack him en masse; even verbal condemnation would be considered mild!
Chu Huaixu replied calmly and seriously:
“It means the Sword Venerable was wrong.”
