Chapter 52 Reigning Supreme: Something Must Be Done! "Your future swordsmanship..."
When Shen Yubai uttered the words, "I have a request that I cannot make," the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The moonlight fell on his expressionless face, which subtly revealed a hint of tension, and even his reddened ears showed a strangeness that was quite different from his usual cold temperament.
Jun Lintian and Rong Yan instantly became alert, their gazes fixed intently on him.
Jun Lintian even subconsciously gripped the sword, which was not yet fully sheathed, tighter.
Shi Liuying was not on guard at all, her eyes curious and clear: "Senior Brother Chen, what is your request? Tell me."
Shen Yubai's gaze involuntarily drifted back to the crimson longsword she was holding in her arms: "I... have a friend."
He paused, seemingly considering his words.
Rong Yan's eyes seemed to see right through her: "Yes, you have a friend."
Shen Yubai: "My friend also desperately needs a good sword that suits his taste. Today, I saw my junior sister's 'Bling'. Its ingenious design and awe-inspiring power have impressed me... and my friend."
He glanced quickly at Buling, then spoke faster: "Therefore, I would like to ask about the forging process, to create a sword of different shape, yet capable of exerting extraordinary power."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but he still stood ramrod straight, waiting for a response.
The leaves on the tree rustled softly, while Chen Yubai's heart pounded loudly.
Shi Liuying looked at him, then down at the Buling in her arms, and then at his eyes, which were almost glued to the sword and seemed to be filled with longing. She suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" as if she had just realized something. A look of certainty, as if she had completely understood, appeared on her small face. She nodded and said in a light tone, "I understand."
She even leaned forward considerately, lowered her voice, and gave a knowing look: "Senior Brother Shen, your 'friend'... is actually yourself, right?"
"It's alright, just say you like my sword, there's no shame in it!"
"no!"
Shen Yubai retorted almost instantly, his ears turning bright red.
"It was indeed a friend, not me!"
He tried to remain calm, but his slightly flustered explanations seemed weak and powerless under Shi Liuying's knowing gaze.
"Okay, okay, it's 'friend,' it's 'friend.'"
Shi Liuying nodded readily, but her eyes were full of a knowing smile that said, "You don't need to explain, I understand."
"Why did you have to ask me about such a trivial matter, Senior Brother Shen? If you want to study and learn from it, just take it and ponder it."
She was very generous; in her view, it was an honor for a good sword to be appreciated by fellow enthusiasts.
Shen Yubai, however, remained unusually insistent, shaking his head and saying earnestly, "No. This is your natal sword, and its forging philosophy and dedication are unique."
“The sword my friend sought, though different in form, was fundamentally inspired by this sword. To do so without the sword's owner's permission would be an overstepping of authority.”
He spoke these words in a very formal and methodical manner, carrying with him a kind of almost pedantic respect that is unique to sword cultivators.
Upon hearing this, Shi Liuying's eyes curved into crescents, her expression became even more resolute, and she even had a hint of smugness, as if to say, "See, I knew it."
Shen Yubai: "..."
He opened his mouth, seemingly trying to explain that he was "really a friend," but faced with Shi Liuying's pure trusting yet slightly mischievous gaze, all the words stuck in his throat.
In the end, he only sighed almost imperceptibly, nodded slightly stiffly to Shi Liuying, and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Junior Sister. Farewell."
Then he said earnestly, "I will repay you tomorrow."
Having said that, he turned around, his steps seemingly steady but actually swift, and quickly disappeared on the path leading to his cave, his back revealing a hurried attempt to cover up his true intentions.
Jun Lintian's brows did not relax.
Back at the Myriad Manifestations Sect, Jun Lintian sat alone under the lamp, his mind unsettled.
The inexplicable atmosphere surrounding the "sword" between Shi Liuying and Shen Yubai was difficult for outsiders to intrude upon.
enter……
Does Shen Yubai truly have no ill intentions towards his junior sister?
He picked up the communication jade slip, a faint light flashing at his fingertips, and carefully typed in the input.
[Junior Sister, the people of the Sword Sect, especially Shen Yubai, are unfathomable and not as simple as they seem. He…]
Jun Lintian paused after typing this part.
Does saying this make me seem like I'm gossiping behind people's backs and that I'm petty?
Will this make his junior sister feel that he, as her senior brother, harbors inexplicable hostility towards her newly made "like-minded" friend, and is not generous enough?
He hesitated for a moment, then swept his fingertips with spiritual energy, erasing the second half of the sentence.
After careful consideration, he retyped: "The Sword Sect environment is complex, and people's hearts are not necessarily pure. Your focus on the sword path is a good thing, but you also need to be wary of Shen Yubai, keep your distance, and be cautious."
send.
A moment later, the jade slip glowed slightly, and Shi Liuying's reply, delivered in her characteristically light and cheerful tone, came through.
[Okay, Senior Brother, I'm doing great here. I have a huge cave and a training ground!]
After watching Senior Brother Shen's duel with you today, I have some new ideas about swordsmanship and am thinking of practicing them.
Don't worry, Senior Brother Shen is a sword fanatic; he only has eyes for swords. He won't be in any danger.
"Senior Brother, I'm going to practice my sword now!"
bite--
bite--
bite--
bite--
Shi Liuying replied to many messages, like a lively, chirping little bird.
Between the lines, there is a sense of novelty and burgeoning interest, and even... a subtle defense of that "sword fanatic".
She came quickly, chattering away, and left quickly, chattering away again.
Jun Lintian held the slightly warm jade slip, not putting it down for a long time.
Things started to go wrong.
His junior sister, the girl who used to follow him around calling him "Senior Brother" in a clear voice, whose eyes were only on the Wanxiang Sect and her relatives and friends, is now in another place, experiencing new sights, new "comrades," and new joys.
She still called him "senior brother," but that title could now be used to address other people.
The distance is silently widening.
Jun Lintian slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and put away the jade slip.
He couldn't just wait passively any longer. He had to do something.
The next morning, as dawn broke, Shi Liuying had just finished practicing a set of sword moves that incorporated what she had learned the day before in the open space outside the cave. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead when she saw Shen Yubai's tall and aloof figure appear at the end of the path right on time.
He changed into a clean set of Sword Sect disciple robes, still with a blank expression, as if the embarrassment and panic of last night had never happened.
“Junior sister,” he said, his voice as cold as ever.
"Today I'll take you to a place that might help you refine and improve your sword techniques more quickly."
This is a way of repaying kindness.
Shi Liuying's eyes lit up, and she sheathed her sword, leaning closer: "Where?"
"Library".
Shi Liuying exclaimed "Ah!" somewhat surprised.
Is a library, which can be visited anywhere, considered a special place?
Shen Yubai didn't explain much, but simply turned and led the way.
They didn't go to the grand and bustling main library on the Sword Sect's main peak, but rather to a secluded valley behind the mountain.
This is a small, old wooden pavilion with some mottled eaves and upturned corners. Ancient trees tower around it, vines entwine it, and birds occasionally chirp, then it becomes quiet again.
Shi Liuying followed Shen Yubai into the pavilion.
The interior was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the smell of old books mixed with a faint odor of decaying wood.
The bookshelves were tall and densely packed, piled high with all sorts of ancient books, jade slips, and animal skin scrolls.
Many were covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly indicating that few people paid attention to them.
An old woman dressed in gray cloth, with gray hair, was hunched over, slowly sweeping the ground with an old broom that was taller than her.
She looked completely ordinary, with a kind face covered in wrinkles, and her spiritual energy fluctuations were weak, indicating that she was only at the Nascent Soul stage. In the Sword Sect, where experts were numerous, such a person was almost negligible.
Shen Yubai led Shi Liuying directly to the old woman, bowed respectfully, and then said to Shi Liuying, "This is the place. This is Granny Jiang, who guards the pavilion."
He turned to Shi Liuying, his usually dull eyes now filled with an unusual seriousness: "Whether you can gain her approval and learn even a little sword intent depends entirely on your own destiny. If she is willing to instruct you in swordsmanship..."
He paused, then said clearly and confidently, "In the future, your swordsmanship will surpass mine."
That's a very strong statement.
Shi Liuying couldn't help but look at the old woman who was still slowly sweeping the floor, her eyes filled with curiosity and inquiry.
The old woman seemed to only then notice them.
She stopped what she was doing, raised her somewhat cloudy eyes to look at Shen Yubai, then at Shi Liuying, and gave a kind but distant smile. Her voice was old: "Young man Shen, you're disturbing my peace and quiet again."
"I'm just an old woman who spends her days surrounded by piles of old books. How could I possibly know anything about advanced swordsmanship?"
"Little girl, don't listen to him. There are just some old books that nobody reads here."
After saying that, he lowered his head again and continued to focus intently on cleaning the dust in the corner of the bookshelf, his movements slow and meticulous.
Shen Yubai said no more, nodded slightly to Shi Liuying, turned and left, leaving her alone in the quiet old pavilion.
Shi Liuying stood there somewhat bewildered, glancing at her mother-in-law and then looking around at the vast space filled with dusty books.
Shen Yubai's words, "The way of the sword will surpass mine in the future," still echoed in my ears.
But all that was in front of him was a frail old woman who claimed to be an ordinary person, and a room full of dusty books.
Shi Liuying tried to greet Granny Jiang, but the old woman just kept sweeping the floor and didn't even glance at her.
Shi Liuying is pure of heart and unburdened by worries.
If Grandma Jiang ignores her, then she'll just read her book. Once she's finished sweeping the floor, she'll surely have time to talk to her.
She walked to the nearest bookshelf, randomly pulled out a thick classic, brushed the dust off the cover, and opened it in the light coming in from the window.
This is not some profound technique, but rather an ordinary yet detailed analysis of basic sword principles.
The text discusses the subtle differences that spiritual energy can produce by flowing in different directions within the sword, explaining them in a way that is both profound and easy to understand, even more so than any basic textbook she had ever read before.
Since Shi Liuying began her cultivation, she has mostly learned swordsmanship and gained insights through combat. Although this systematic knowledge is dry, she is fascinated by it.
Shi Liuying watched by the light from the window, and became more and more amazed.
Many vague feelings from previous combat have found clear explanations here, and some sword technique variations that I figured out on my own have found more optimized theoretical support here.
She didn't care about the location; she simply sat down on the floor with the book in her arms, leaning against the cool bookshelf, and immersed herself in the book.
Sometimes he frowned in thought, sometimes he suddenly realized something, his fingers unconsciously tracing sword moves on the ground, completely forgetting the time and the old lady silently sweeping the floor beside him.
Grandma Jiang continued cleaning at her own leisurely pace.
The broom made a rustling sound as it swept across the ground. She moved slowly, her gaze seemingly focused only on the small area in front of her.
However, as she turned around again to brush the dust off the top of another bookshelf, her seemingly cloudy old eyes glanced unintentionally at the pale blue figure sitting on the ground.
Seeing Shi Liuying's focused expression, and glancing at the setting sun outside, Granny Jiang paused almost imperceptibly in the rhythm of her broom.
A faint, gentle glint flashed across the depths of those calm eyes.
Like a small pebble thrown into the depths of an ancient well.
-----------------------
Author's note: Red envelope [pat on the head]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
