Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Boastful Words

Chu Huaixu had a long, long dream.

He dreamed that he was still living on Earth, reminisced about all the bits and pieces of his past.

But when he woke in shock, he felt as if lifetimes had passed.

For some reason, he found himself a little mentally drained.

“Awake.” Li Chunsong’s voice sounded from nearby.

Chu Huaixu looked around and saw he had already returned to the bamboo hut, lying on a bed.

Sixth Elder was sitting at the wooden table next to him, making tea for himself.

The rich aroma of tea filled the room, soothing body and soul.

“Want a cup? This is Soul-Calming Tea, you’ll feel better after drinking it.” Li Chunsong said with a smile.

Chu Huaixu got up from the bed, and under the Sixth Elder’s signal, sat down opposite him.

He took a sip of Soul-Calming Tea and immediately felt much more comfortable.

He was drinking hot tea, yet a refreshing breath flowed through his limbs and bones, clearing his mind—it worked better than coffee.

“Sixth Elder, what’s wrong with me?” he asked.

“We inspected your sea of consciousness, and that’s why you’re feeling some spiritual fatigue. Once you formally step into the First Realm and Divine Sense is born in your sea of consciousness, you won’t experience this anymore.” He explained patiently.

Li Chunsong set down his teacup and began sizing up the young man with a look full of appreciation.

After arriving at the bamboo hut, he slapped his thigh in regret.

He should’ve taken the chance to gamble with everyone back in the Purple Bamboo Forest!

What a goldmine for betting material—so many mysterious things about this kid, could’ve easily run a few games!

This was one reason he found Chu Huaixu more and more pleasing to the eye.

This mindset was kind of like: “Streamer, you really know how to put on a show. I’m smashing that follow button!”

Chu Huaixu met the Charitable Gambling King’s gaze and sincerely asked for guidance: “Sixth Elder, is there anything wrong with my sea of consciousness?”

“That’s not so easy to explain in a few words… Let me put it this way, Lifebound Spirit Swords all manifest Sword Spirits, you know this, right?”

“That little black sword in your sea of consciousness is a bit like a Sword Spirit.”

Chu Huaixu’s eyebrows immediately furrowed: “Hm? Sword Spirit?”

He wasn’t too fond of the analogy.

Swords having Sword Spirits, that made sense.

But a person having a Sword Spirit—what does that make me? A Swordman?

Sixth Elder, don’t try this kind of low-brow wordplay on me!

Li Chunsong waved his hand, signaling him to calm down: “No need to panic, we haven’t found any problems for now.”

“On the contrary, it’s quite mysterious. It can even spontaneously guard your sea of consciousness—Tenth Elder was nearly caught off guard and directly driven out by it.” He clicked his tongue in amazement.

Listening to this, Chu Huaixu was genuinely surprised; he hadn’t expected it to be so miraculous?

Suddenly, he recalled that after cultivating Refining Sword Formulas, during the Spiritual Embryo selection, when he drew [Heart Sword], the system’s introduction was:

“The sword slashes flesh; the heart slashes the soul.”

So that’s what it meant?

Seeing Chu Huaixu deep in thought, Li Chunsong chuckled and poured him another cup of Soul-Calming Tea, saying, “No need to dwell on it. Even if you tried to figure it out now, you wouldn’t succeed.”

Chu Huaixu nodded.

Sixth Elder got back to business: “Right, keep this safe.”

He placed a black wooden token on the table.

Nobody knew what kind of wood it was—a bit like Thunderstruck Wood, with a scorched black texture.

On the front was a golden “Hidden” character, and the back had a golden “Spirit” character.

When Chu Huaixu saw the token, confusion flickered across his face, but inside, he was ecstatic.

“This is the pass to [Hidden Spirit Mountain]!”

Li Chunsong explained: “This is a token for Hidden Spirit Mountain, specially authorized by the Sect Leader.”

“It’s our Daoist Sect’s Treasure Mountain. Many people acquire their Lifebound Magical Treasures on that mountain.”

“The details will be discussed with you before you ascend the mountain.”

“But your top priority now is to breakthrough to the Acupoint Opening Stage.”

“Once you gain Divine Sense, you can forge your Lifebound Magical Treasure. By the rules, Acupoint Opening Stage disciples can’t enter [Hidden Spirit Mountain].”

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu immediately stored the token in his storage space: “Understood, Elder.”

Li Chunsong thought for a moment and decided to give more advice.

“Your Spiritual Embryo is special, and now you’ve already awakened Lifebound Divine Techniques. You’re basically a born Sword Cultivator.”

“So when you reach Hidden Spirit Mountain, sword-type magical treasures are your best bet.”

“Once you have passed the many Outer Sect trials and officially joined the Inner Sect, you might have a chance to become disciple to Elder Qi. She is one of the current [Four Great Divine Swords], standing at the pinnacle of Sword Dao.”

Though this had already been discussed and agreed upon internally, the Charitable Gambling King didn’t lay it on thick—just dangled a carrot to encourage him, lest the youth get too cocky and full of himself.

“Yes!” Chu Huaixu replied, voice brimming with excitement, blood surging in his veins.

But inside, countless thoughts arose.

“Elder Qi? The Daoist Nun sitting on that giant stone?”

“To become the true disciple of one of the [Four Great Divine Swords]—that’s really clinging to the biggest thigh in Sword Cultivation.”

“Not to mention, she also holds the Daoist Ancestor’s inheritance!”

“But the problem is, my future master here kicks the bucket in three years! She dies in Xuan Calendar year 1993!”

“That thigh has a short shelf life,” thought Chu Huaixu.

Of all the Daoist Sect higher-ups, Shen Man was the one he understood least.

When [Borrowed Sword] first launched, she was still in closed-door training, marking out the Purple Bamboo Forest as her self-imposed prison, comprehending the Daoist Ancestor heritage.

In Xuan Calendar 1992, she came out of seclusion.

The next year, she died—her path ended, her beauty faded to dust.

In Chu Huaixu’s memory, Shen Man didn’t seem to be the cultivator at the highest realm among the Daoist Sect leaders.

She was probably only at Seventh Realm Great Perfection.

Among the East Continent’s [Four Great Divine Swords], she was the only Sword Cultivator at Seventh Realm; the other three were all at Eighth Realm.

Chief among the [Four Great Divine Swords] was the current Sword Venerable, at the Peak of the Eighth Realm! Who even killed a Ninth Realm opponent!

So by realm rankings alone, she was the last among the [Four Great Divine Swords].

It felt a bit like she’d inherited her master’s spot—taking over the title from him.

“But according to what players have posted on the [Forum], during several tough battles, the Daoist Sect senior leadership repeatedly lamented: ’If only Seventh Sister were here.’”

“Because of this, the forum had all sorts of speculation about Shen Man’s personal combat power,” Chu Huaixu’s thoughts raced.

When he went to the Purple Bamboo Forest, he only saw the nun’s back—not even a glimpse of her face.

But for some reason, even though she was so thin that her Daoist Robe seemed enormous, she still radiated a real immortal vibe.

Just then, Li Chunsong suddenly waved away the Silence Array and called out, “Shuangjiang, come in, stop waiting outside, he’s awake now.”

The door opened, and Han Shuangjiang came in, looking a bit embarrassed.

She’d seen Chu Huaixu return unconscious, and was genuinely worried.

Li Chunsong looked at the pair with a teasing grin, feeling like he was playing matchmaker.

He set up another array and reminded them: “Don’t mention your Sword Heart Clarity to anyone else—there’s no benefit to you. Shuangjiang, you have to keep it secret for him as well.”

“The Sect Leader had the Law Enforcement Elder personally place a restriction on you. He’s one of the rare Array Grandmasters of the present age; ordinary people won’t notice a thing,” Sixth Elder told Chu Huaixu.

“Alright, Elder, I understand,” Chu Huaixu answered, and Han Shuangjiang immediately acknowledged as well.

He understood the principle of ’a man with a jade in his sleeve courts trouble’—it’s fine to show his skills in public, but not too much.

After thinking it over, he decided he had to play dumb a bit, so he asked: “Sixth Elder, I’m aware of the Spiritual Embryo Divine Techniques, but could you explain to me what Sword Heart Clarity really is?”

He only knew the details thanks to the system’s introduction.

Given his current identity and realm, the normal reaction should be: stepping into a profound new state, but still completely puzzled about what it all means.

His level of understanding should be lacking—that fits his character.

He’d always been a careful and bold person, never slipping up on these small matters.

Li Chunsong smiled, thinking it made sense, and said: “Sword Heart refers to a kind of power born when someone attains deep enlightenment in Sword Dao.”

“In the current Cultivation Realm, generally speaking, anyone with Sword Heart is a formidable Sword Cultivator with a widely known reputation.”

“But actually, Sword Heart has no tied relationship to a Sword Cultivator’s realm level—it’s all about one thing: enlightenment!”

At this point, like many in the Daoist Sect, he habitually began to hype up the Dao Ancestor.

“You should know, before the Dao Ancestor refined the Acupoint Opening Pill, the threshold for cultivation was extremely high, and few could enter its ranks.”

Chu Huaixu nodded repeatedly; this former virtual male model perfectly copied Li Chunsong’s expression, face showing reverence.

Li Chunsong continued: “In those days, there were many Sword Dao prodigies, but they had no chance to cultivate.”

“It’s said that in the mortal world, many swordsmen, though lacking spiritual power, spent their lives enthralled by Sword Dao. Quite a few even brushed against the threshold of Sword Heart—some could, relying on mortal physiques, kill First Realm cultivators.” He began recounting legends from a thousand years ago.

“Sadly, those heroes only touched the threshold, never able to, as mortals, generate the profound power.”

“Perhaps you don’t know: among the Four Great Sects today, Sword Sect has an even longer history than our Daoist Sect, though they did fade for some time and never thrived for millennia like us.”

“Fifteen hundred years ago, Sword Sect’s First Sword Venerable declared: ’Those with spiritual power and those without are as far apart as clouds and mud.’”

“No matter how gifted, a non-spiritual power user cannot hope to manifest Sword Heart in this life.”

“Do you know what that means?” Li Chunsong asked.

He meant to say Chu Huaixu was an exception among exceptions; he ought to be cautious in the future, since Sword Sect is famous for producing sword fanatics.

Yet, Chu Huaixu’s reply stunned him—and he couldn’t help bursting into utterly delighted laughter!

Because this kid’s words were just too outrageously bold—and exactly his style.

If word got out, Sword Sect disciples would be furious—mob justice would be the least of it!

Chu Huaixu replied, with perfect calm and earnestness:

“It means the Sword Venerable was wrong.”

…

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