Section Nine: The Enlightenment of a Single Sword (Part Two)

Empty-handed, Bu Jingxian feared no blows, but with Ling Shaobao wielding a weapon, he dared not take the risk. Weapons were ranked by their quality—the finer the blade, the greater its lethality. According to the classifications of Elder Beiling, some divine weapons could amplify destructive power tenfold. When faced with such arms, even superior strength or inner energy could not guarantee survival without harm.

Bu Jingxian imitated the swift force technique from a masterful martial art. He did not evade; he too unleashed the Brave Never Returns move, urging the surge of swift energy before Ling Shaobao could react. As he leapt, his speed doubled abruptly. He had expected to strike Ling Shaobao by catching him off guard, but to his surprise, though he initiated the swift energy first, Ling Shaobao still managed to respond in time, his own flash of speed bringing him face to face with Bu Jingxian. The gleaming longsword radiated unyielding momentum—a resolve to kill in a single blow.

The sword slashed toward him; had Bu Jingxian not also used the swift energy technique and already swung his blade, he would have been caught unprepared. The Sword of Kings, weighing over three hundred pounds, collided with Ling Shaobao’s sword, and combined with Bu Jingxian’s strength, easily knocked it aside. At that instant, Ling Shaobao’s sword was but three inches from Bu Jingxian’s face, yet the Sword of Kings swept it away, ready to sever his neck with ease.

Ling Shaobao’s head flew, his eyes wide open in death, unwilling to yield. He could not have imagined his opponent would use the Brave Never Returns move, nor that he understood the art of swift energy. He died unreconciled, for he had come within a hair’s breadth of victory.

Bu Jingxian, too, felt as if he had narrowly escaped death. Once again, he realized that the techniques he had only imitated lacked the original’s true power in real combat. They sufficed for probing foes, but in true battle, relying on them would only court disaster. If not for his great strength and the overwhelming advantage of the Sword of Kings, Ling Shaobao’s strike would surely have slit his throat.

Of course, knowing the secret of spiritual techniques, he possessed more than one life; he would not perish so easily.

After slaying Ling Shaobao with a single stroke, Bu Jingxian landed on the ground. The surrounding soldiers, seeing their commander fall, lost all will to fight. Only a centurion continued to shout, “Kill him! Avenge the general!”

Bu Jingxian laughed aloud. “Hahaha… According to the laws of Zheng, every guard of a condemned man must be executed, and deserters will have their entire clan exterminated. You are doomed already, yet you insist on dragging your innocent comrades to die with you. Is this not the height of malice and cruelty?”

His words awakened the soldiers, and those uninvolved cast aside their weapons and scattered. Only a dozen of Ling Shaobao’s personal guards exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and charged at Bu Jingxian with desperate cries. Death awaited them either way; if slain in battle, their families might receive some compensation, but if they fled, their clans would be doomed. Only cowards would save themselves at the cost of their kin.

Bu Jingxian understood their plight and did not waste words. He met them head-on, his sword flashing as he slew them all.

Surveying the corpses, feeling the undiminished power that coursed through him as if untouched by battle, he could not help but raise his head and laugh into the sky.

“I curse the heavens for their injustice; the heavens mock my ignorance of their favor. Today, today, I am awakened! Today, today, I am awakened! Today, today, I am awakened—”

Such was his state of mind. For years he had believed fate toyed with him, but only now did he realize that destiny had always favored him in ways he had not understood. Now he saw: he was not unfortunate, but blessed! Hope lay before him. In those years on Beiling Mountain, he had gained the strength he had longed for—he had already received it.

The Soul Technique had no unique moves of its own. Elder Beiling knew its shortcomings well, which was why he had treated him so coldly, allowing him to observe others’ training at will. Everyone thought him a worthless disciple; no one cared if he watched, no one realized what a privilege and stroke of fortune this was for him.

At this moment, he missed his master—the Elder of Beiling—whose whereabouts and fate were unknown. In his heart, he swore a silent oath.

“Master! How I long to see you again, to thank you. But I do not know where you are, and I understand now that your hopes were not for mere gratitude. You wished for me to inherit and glorify the great will of the Divine Soul, to let victory illuminate its brilliance, to let people gaze up in awe at its boundless power, to inspire reverence for the Divine Soul’s will among those who once trampled it into the mud. I swear before you: whatever hardships and dangers may come, I will not fail your expectations, nor the heavy burden I was born to bear, nor the Soul Technique you have entrusted to me!”

Lost in thought, he did not notice Wanxia leading her two junior sisters and Ghostbane through the city tower, searching room by room until they finally found the leader of the Wanxia Sect. Upon seeing her, Wanxia’s eyes reddened with tears, but the gentle smile of her elder sister stopped her from crying. She remembered she was no longer a child and must not cry at will. She held back her tears, bowed low, and said, “Sect Leader, it is so good to see you safe.”

Wanxia’s two junior sisters followed suit, bowing in delight.

“And this is?” the sect leader asked.

Ghostbane had already been dazzled by the beauty of the Wanxia Sect Leader, but he quickly regained composure, pretending to inspect the damaged cell. Before he could reply, Wanxia spoke first: “Reporting to the Sect Leader, this is Ghostbane, a friend of Hero Zuoan. The three of us owe our escape from danger entirely to their help…”

She recounted the main events, inquired after the sect leader’s condition, and helped to unseal her acupuncture points.

The party exited through a gaping hole in the ruined city wall and offered their thanks to Bu Jingxian, which finally brought him back to awareness.

Bu Jingxian circulated his internal arts to the eighth level and, as expected, was able to activate the Divine Eye again. He then discovered that both the Wanxia Sect Leader and Wanxia herself possessed excellent combat prowess—they were by no means ordinary.

The Wanxia Sect Leader had a physical strength of 400, internal energy of 1200, spirit 10, and soul 1. She appeared to have a rare internal energy talent, with a combat power of 3200 and absolute combat power of 6400. Judging by her age, similar to Bu Jingxian’s, and her internal cultivation, her strength was worthy of a sect leader, able to face a hundred enemies at once. In terms of pure martial strength, if she fought Hero Li fairly, though she might not best the supreme techniques of the Tenfold Sovereign, she would not be easily defeated.

Wanxia was somewhat weaker than her sister but still a skilled martial artist. Her stats were: physical strength 300, internal energy 1000, spirit 10, soul 1; she too seemed to have an internal energy talent, with a combat power of 2600 and absolute combat power of 5400—also at the level of one who could face a hundred foes.

Bu Jingxian could not help but sigh in regret; had these sisters trained in the Beiling Sect’s internal arts, their power would have far surpassed what he now saw.

He glanced at Ghostbane and could not help but chuckle. By comparison, Ghostbane was merely a robust man, without any martial arts training.

He had physical strength of 160, internal energy 30, spirit 6, and no soul. His strength likely came from years of hard labor.

“Sect Leader Wanxia, you are too courteous. It was nothing, no need for thanks.” Bu Jingxian then turned to Ghostbane, smiling, “How does it feel to be a hero?”

Ghostbane snorted indifferently. “What’s the big deal? I was born brave and strong. Took out two scoundrels in the tower without breaking a sweat!”

“Very good.” Bu Jingxian then said to Wanxia, “This is no place to linger. The northern garrison will surely send reinforcements once they hear of this, but if we withdraw now, they won’t catch up. You and your sect leader should leave at once.”

Wanxia asked anxiously, “You’re not coming?”

“I want to give this brother a gift before I leave the town.”

Wanxia whispered a few words to her sister, who nodded in agreement. She then said to Bu Jingxian, “We’ll go ahead and wait for you by the waterfall outside town. From there, we’ll take the mountain path to leave Zheng. The army will never find us. Will that do?”

“If your sect does not mind the trouble, I am in your debt.”

Wanxia pursed her lips, feeling that Bu Jingxian forced her to speak so formally, though she really didn’t want to. But with her sister beside her, she dared not act out, so she cupped her fists and said, “Very well,” then accompanied the sect leader away.

Ghostbane exclaimed, “Hey, brother, aren’t we going to run for our lives? Why wait here and ask for trouble? Want to be killed by the Zheng army?”

“Come with me. I promise you won’t regret it.”