After saying that, Ye Qingyun left the room.

Lu Yuan was initially a little down because of his master's words, but after his master left, he got up and walked to the window. He saw a girl making faces at him from the roof of the opposite building, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Junior Sister Crescent Moon, you've been eavesdropping the whole time?!"

"Hmph! Senior Brother Lu Yuan wasn't answering me even though he was in his room, so I had no choice but to jump onto the roof to see where you were! Hurry up and come out, I've discovered something fun!"

Lu Yuan smiled helplessly and had no choice but to leap out of the window.

...

On the other side, the Sword Tomb.

Tonight, the moon is bright and the stars are few. A gentle young man sits in meditation atop the mountain, surrounded by broken swords scattered across the hillside, yet his heart remains restless.

Zuo Huaixin looked up at the night sky, his eyes vacant, and murmured, "What is the Dao?"

Liu Jiantang, who had been accompanying him for a long time, spoke up: "The sword in your hand is your path."

The boy shook his head. "Master...no, this is not the way for me."

"Of all my disciples, only you can truly understand my sword, which means you are destined to follow the path of the sword."

The boy grew increasingly confused. "Master, just because I'm good at swordsmanship, does that mean I have to use swords? Just like how being good at poetry and literature means I have to be a scholar? Can't I choose what I like?"

"So what do you like?" Liu Jiantang asked.

Upon hearing this, the young man became even more puzzled. "This disciple does not know."

Liu Jiantang sat down next to the boy, his eyes particularly sharp. “Disciple, I am not a good master. I cannot be as knowledgeable about the past and present as your grandmaster, nor do I know how to guide you on your path. But your grandmaster once said, ‘Asking the Way is difficult, seeking the Way is even more difficult, and hearing the Way is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Since ancient times, only those with great perseverance can walk on this path.’”

Zuo Huaixin grew up in the Heavenly Sword Sect and had never seen the outside world. He had never even gone down the mountain to train. He had been to Lingsu City a few times, but he always seemed out of place with ordinary people. At that time, he thought this was the difference between cultivators and mortals.

But gradually he realized that he had never truly lived. The principles he had learned and the ways of dealing with people were all copied from what was written in books and what his elders had said.

Even when he learned swordsmanship, it was only because his master told him to pick up a sword. As for why he was to pick it up or what he was supposed to do with it, he had no idea.

"Master, why did you learn swordsmanship?"

Upon hearing this question, Liu Jiantang pondered for a long time before finally giving an answer: "If others were to ask me about this, I would say it was to eliminate demons and uphold justice, right injustices, and kill those who deserve to die. And that's exactly what I did in the first half of my life. But since you asked me today, I've thought about it carefully. It should be that from the moment I grasped the Dragon-Slaying Sword, it told me that I should become the best in the world, that all sword cultivators should look up to me, and that I should use the Dragon-Slaying Sword to make all other swords pale in comparison."

A glint of light flashed in Zuo Huaixin's eyes, "Then... Master, are you the best in the world?"

Liu Jiantang suddenly burst into laughter, “If this were before, I would have drawn my sword to answer anyone who asked me this question, but now… I no longer care, because I no longer need to prove anything to myself. Now, as long as I hold the Dragon Slayer Sword, my heart is unwavering.”

"This disciple also wants to be like Master..."

"Then take up your sword and do what you believe is right."

The boy thought for a moment, as if he understood something.

"Master... Tomorrow is the sect's martial arts competition. I don't know whether I should draw my sword against my fellow disciples."

Hearing this, Liu Jiantang felt even more helpless, thinking that all he had said was in vain. "Huaixin, don't you really want to shine in the sect's martial arts competition?"

"I don't want to, because it's pointless."

Liu Jiantang frowned more and more deeply. "If you win the championship, all your senior and junior sisters might admire you. Don't you want to experience the enthusiastic looks from those young girls?"

The boy glanced at Liu Jiantang with a strange expression. “Master, physical appearance and flesh and bones are all fleeting. The book says that beauty is a steel knife that can scrape the bone, causing people to become confused and unable to extricate themselves.”

Liu Jiantang, with his fiery temper, could no longer hold back and slapped the boy on the back of the head. "Why are you learning those Buddhist tunes? Are you going to become a monk? To be a person, you have to be involved in wine, women, wealth, and power! How can you talk about transcending the world if you don't engage with it? You brat, you're going to make me so angry!"