"Mother! Faster! Faster! Tehehehe~"
A young girl's cute, childish laughter echoed through the air. A beautifully mature woman gently pushed a wooden swing, her face radiating maternal warmth.
The little girl was Mu Xinghe. She swung higher and higher, a radiant, silly smile plastered across her face.
"Yueqin, slow down a bit. She might fall!"
A middle-aged man watched from the side. His eyes were filled with an incredibly doting and protective gaze. He looked as if he would slaughter anyone who dared to harm a single hair on his precious daughter's head!
"With you here, what could possibly harm her?" the woman laughed sweetly.
Mu Xinghe felt warmth in her heart. Was this a dream? She had never experienced such happiness in her entire life! She desperately wished to immerse herself in this beautiful reality forever.
She happily turned her head back to look at her mother... but her body stiffened! Her pupils shrank to the extreme! Why did her mother's face look entirely different from the one she knew?!
The strange woman seemed to notice her gaze. She smiled sweetly and increased the speed of the swing.
Boom!
The peaceful scene violently shattered!
Mu Xinghe suddenly found herself lying in a massive pool of fresh blood. Excruciating pain assaulted her senses from every inch of her body. She forcefully gritted her teeth, barely managing to open her heavy eyelids.
Her father's right arm was completely severed! He was engaged in a deathmatch with a blurry figure.
She was extremely confused about what was happening and wanted to run, but due to the pain, she was unable to move a single inch!
Suddenly, a pair of blood-stained hands lifted her up. She looked up, only to realize it was the exact same strange woman who had been pushing the swing!
The woman's face was deathly pale, her elegant robes completely drenched in crimson blood.
"My good daughter, absolutely no one will hurt you today... Hush. Sleep. Mother will take you far away!"
The woman frantically burned her blood essence, desperately fleeing at her maximum speed!
Puchi!
Hot blood ruthlessly sprayed across Mu Xinghe's face!
She stared in absolute terror. A terrifying, blood-soaked hand had brutally pierced straight through the woman's chest from behind!
Mu Xinghe shrieked, tears wildly streaming down her face!
Knowing her life force was rapidly extinguishing, the woman's final thought was pure worry for her child. Using the last ounce of her strength, she firmly embraced Mu Xinghe in a protective hug...
The bloody hand retracted. Mu Xinghe heavily crashed onto the cold, hard earth.
Ignoring the agonizing pain tearing through her own bones, she desperately crawled toward the fallen woman. She simply couldn't understand why her heart felt like it was being ripped to pieces watching this stranger die!
"Please! Get up! Please! Don't leave me..." she bitterly wept, her hoarse voice begging the heavens.
But the woman's life aura had already completely dissipated.
"Heh heh..."
A bone-chilling chuckle suddenly echoed in her ears.
Mu Xinghe looked up, her beautiful eyes widening. She couldn't believe what she had seen! Wasn't this her mother who was still at the Bao Clan?! But her aura was entirely transformed—her face was twisted with terrifying bloodlust, radiating an incredibly dense demonic aura!
"Ahhh!"
Mu Xinghe violently gasped for breath, her eyes snapping open. Cold sweat completely drenched her tattered clothes.
She wildly looked around, her chest heaving heavily. She was still lying on the cold floor outside the room Bao Shou had rented in the inn.
"What a terrifying nightmare..."
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. Even though she clearly knew it was an illusion, why did her mother's demonic form feel so real? She forcefully suppressed her racing heart, blaming the dream on the pressure she currently faced.
When she had initially entered Bao Shou's room, that bastard had raised his hand, intending to torture her. But his bandaged head suddenly started to bleed. In a fit of agonizing pain, he just kicked her out of the room.
She had narrowly escaped a brutal beating!
"I must absolutely pass the Xuantian Sect exam... Only then can Mother and I live peacefully!" She gritted her silver teeth, forcing her exhausted eyes closed once more.
The golden morning sun finally broke through the horizon, casting warm rays over the grand Xuantian Sect. Three entire weeks had flashed by since Xu Xing encountered Mu Xinghe.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Inside the spacious courtyard, seven dazzling flying swords tore through the void, locking onto a devastatingly beautiful woman with cascading golden hair!
It was the Saintess, Yu Yan!
Since Meng Yao was entirely occupied with something today, she had specifically requested Yu Yan to step in to train Xu Xing's combat skills.
Faced with the terrifying sword storm, Yu Yan's beautiful face maintained a gentle expression. She casually stepped through the courtyard. Her footwork appeared incredibly simple, yet it contained profound Dao!
The more Xu Xing stared, the more he couldn't understand! Her steps had no pattern at all! He simply couldn't touch even a corner of her pristine robes!
Suddenly, a silver sword thrust directly toward Yu Yan's flawless face! Yet, she didn't even blink! The sharp blade phased right through her head like mist, completely failing to cause a single scratch!
"Tsk!" Xu Xing clicked his tongue. He had deliberately utilized the Petal-Blade Illusion Technique, but this terrifying woman's perception simply couldn't be deceived! Her combat instincts were far, far more monstrous than his Senior Sister's!
With a low roar, Xu Xing raised his right hand!
The seven swords instantly abandoned their ground assault, explosively soaring straight into the nine heavens! The moment they reached the apex of the clouds, they flipped, their sharp tips locking onto Yu Yan's delicate figure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
They plummeted downwards like apocalyptic, dying stars! All seven blades fell at the exact same time!
Yu Yan's expression didn't fluctuate in the slightest. She gracefully executed her profound footwork, casually side-stepping and lightly jumping, effortlessly dodging the first six strikes!
Finally, the seventh blade—the Skyfall Azure Sword—viciously descended! Yet, Yu Yan completely stopped moving!
The terrifying blade smashed straight down, carrying the might of a falling heaven... and passed directly through her body!
An illusion!
In the very next fraction of a second, Yu Yan casually side-stepped.
Whoosh!
A sword aura explosively erupted from the earth exactly where she had just been standing! This was the true Skyfall Azure Sword!
Xu Xing inwardly sucked in a breath of cold air! This woman's instincts were simply too terrifying! Since the formations completely failed, he could only risk close-quarters combat!
He circulated his spiritual Qi, executing the Drifting Cloud Step! His feet lightly tapped the ground, allowing him to bound forward as if weightlessly stepping on the clouds!
Simultaneously, a terrifying, compressed ball of violent lightning crackled around his right palm! Nine-Fold Thunderclap Palm—Entry Level! He had successfully guided his Qi in a perfect, single cycle from his dantian directly to his palm!
Mentally commanding his flying swords to completely sever Yu Yan's escape routes, he instantly closed the distance!
"Take this!"
His thunder-coated fist blasted forward like a devastating cannonball, unleashing a sharp sonic boom! He was absolutely certain she had to forcefully block this strike!
Yet, Yu Yan's gentle expression merely shifted into a faint, profound smile.
Bang!
The terrifying palm strike squarely hit her chest! Violent arcs of lightning instantly surged over her delicate body, sending her flying backwards, rolling across the ground like a broken doll!
However, Xu Xing's face drastically changed! There was no joy, only extreme shock! He knew this was absolutely a trap! How could a monster like Yu Yan be defeated so easily?!
He instantly released his divine sense, putting up his highest guard!
As expected! An icy, bone-chilling sword light suddenly slashed down from the void directly above his head!
Xu Xing's scalp went numb! He frantically used the Drifting Cloud Step to retreat. But no matter how crazily he altered his trajectory or violently pushed his speed, the terrifying sword strike remained firmly locked onto his aura, relentlessly closing in!
He had nowhere left to hide! He fiercely bit the tip of his tongue to maintain his focus.
"Come!"
The Skyfall Azure Sword instantly materialized in his grasp. He burned every single drop of spiritual Qi in his meridians, swinging his blade upward to meet the descending sword strike!
BOOM!
An earth-shattering explosion rang out! A massive, terrifying crater was instantly blasted open in the courtyard! Thick dust violently exploded into the air, completely obscuring the battlefield!
When the dust finally settled...
Xu Xing stood entirely empty-handed, heavily panting. His Skyfall Azure Sword had already been knocked away, stabbed deep into the ground.
He was utterly dumbfounded. Yu Yan had clearly suppressed her cultivation base strictly to the Golden Core realm... Why was he still suppressed so miserably?!
"What I just utilized was Sword Intent," Yu Yan's calm, ethereal voice drifted over.
All of Xu Xing's doubts were cleared.
Sword Intent! That was an extremely legendary realm that only peerless geniuses possessing a pure Dao heart for the sword could ever hope to comprehend!
Even he was desperately chasing after this legendary intent to finally perfect the seventh strike of his Crossing River Formation!
He carefully recalled the strike he had just faced. It was incredibly pure, lacking a single trace of hesitation! It truly felt as if the cultivator and the sword had completely merged into one supreme entity! Only then could such an unstoppable strike be possible!
But the more he deeply pondered, the more his Dao heart fell into confusion. How exactly could a mortal body perfectly merge with a sword? He wielded swords with immense skill, but he had never truly felt them as an extension of his own limbs.
"Junior Brother! Your beautiful Senior Sister has returned!"
A silver bell-like voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Meng Yao swaggered into the courtyard. The moment her beautiful eyes landed on the massive, terrifying crater, her face instantly turned incredibly dark!
"Junior Brother! Did this iceberg of a woman bully you?!" Meng Yao furiously shouted, pulling up her sleeves. "Tell me! Your Senior Sister will immediately seek justice for you!"
Hearing this accusation, the corner of Yu Yan's lips couldn't help but twitch! Wasn't she the one who shamelessly begged her to guide this kid? Did she really look like the type to bully a junior?!
Pulled back to reality, Xu Xing hurriedly shook his head. "No, Senior Sister. The Saintess actually gave me a lot of help."
Meng Yao's aura finally subsided, feeling satisfied. It seemed her precious Junior Brother was truly cultivating like a madman! Even better, it appeared this iceberg woman hadn't made any moves to covet him!
"Your Junior Brother's talent is quite impressive," Yu Yan admitted. Even she thought his talent was impressive.
Meng Yao's body instantly stiffened! Did she hear that correctly?! This iceberg actually praised a man?!
No! This absolutely proved she was secretly coveting her Junior Brother! Meng Yao's beautiful eyes flashed with intense vigilance. She decided to secretly warn Xu Xing to strictly guard his chastity later!
"Senior Sister, where did you go earlier?" Xu Xing's voice snapped her out of her wild imagination.
"Oh, right!" Meng Yao slapped her forehead, instantly puffing out her chest proudly. "Fufufu! Junior Brother, since those bad rumors about you were spreading so wildly, I specially took a trip to the Administration Hall! I used my massive influence to appoint you as the chief examiner for the upcoming Xuantian Sect Recruitment Exam!"
She looked incredibly smug. "Once they all personally witness your righteous demeanor, those rumors will fade on their own!"
Even Yu Yan nodded. She felt this was a good strategy. If Xu Xing publicly displayed his skills in front of everyone, the rumors would indeed fade away.
However, the only person with an ugly face was Xu Xing himself!
"Junior Brother, it will be after 2 weeks. You can get your token from the Administration Hall."
Xu Xing wildly cursed in his heart! His foolish Senior Sister was forcefully pushing his reputation into the absolute abyss! What if that dog-shit system suddenly triggered while he was standing in front of tens of thousands of people?! He would instantly become the public enemy of the entire region!
He could only desperately pray to the heavens that the system remained dead!
Feeling thoroughly exhausted, Xu Xing just wanted to crawl back into his bamboo house and cry for a while.
But just as he turned around, Meng Yao's silver bell-like voice rang out again.
"Junior Brother, where do you think you are going?"
Xu Xing felt a bad feeling about this.
"To thoroughly temper your arrogant nature and prepare you as chief examiner, I will personally lecture you on the Dao for four hours!" Meng Yao declared, wearing an expression that practically screamed, "I am doing this entirely for your own good!"
Xu Xing's face turned ugly!
Senior Sister, please just spare my dog life! he desperately wanted to scream. Every single time he suffered through her lectures, he could only bitterly nod his head while she unreasonably repeated the exact same points over and over again!
He could only forcefully swallow a mouthful of blood and endure the torture.
Seeing the situation turn sour, Yu Yan smartly turned and instantly vanished, unwilling to be dragged into the muddy water.
"Junior Brother, how much do you know about the Eastern Region?"
Xu Xing was a bit confused by the sudden question. Wasn't he going to be lectured? Still, he did not hesitate to answer.
"I don't know much, only that the Eastern Continent is where righteous sects are dominant."
Meng Yao gave him a look that said "as expected." She suddenly waved her sleeves, and tons of books fell down. Each was about the history of the world, and some even specialized in regions. These were the books she had previously bought from the Treasure Pavilion.
"Junior Brother, then you must study hard! A cultivator must be informed on the history of his predecessors and learn from them."
Xu Xing's heart was suddenly touched. His Senior Sister looked out for him in every way. From paying for his techniques, to delicious food, and she was even going to break Long Wei's legs for him if Yu Yan hadn't stopped her. She was truly too good!
"Senior Sister, this..."
"Don't worry, Junior Brother, no need to be impatient. You can study these later. First, sit down!"
Xu Xing's face darkened. And for the next four hours, he had to suffer absolute torture in the name of a lecture. She repeated the words he said before many times, not leaving him any face at all. He could only listen while bitterly weeping in his heart.