The first round of the melee came to an end. Spiritual energy and stone fragments slowly rained from the sky, and the disciples outside the martial arena erupted into a commotion, their cheers rising in wave after wave.
The Second Elder was both hungry and worried. What were they going to do about Shu Bai’s heart demon?
“Sect Master, that child Shu Bai has already reached the pinnacle of the Unfeeling Dao. It seems this year’s Sword Champion will belong to him without a doubt,” one of the elders remarked with a sigh.
Second Elder: “…”
He glanced to the side. Although the Sect Master said nothing, his expression made it clear that he was pleased.
It seemed no one had dared tell the Sect Master that Shu Bai had a heart demon…
Suddenly, the elder on Second Elder’s left jabbed him with an elbow. It hurt so badly that Second Elder jabbed him back.
“You mention it to the Sect Master…”
Second Elder cursed under his breath, “If you want to bring it up, do it yourself.”
He hated these fasting cultivators the most. They had not an ounce of flesh on them, just bones, and then they went around jabbing people with their elbows. It hurt like hell!
Amid the thunderous cheers, Wen Shubai was unusually silent. His fingertips dug tightly into the hilt of his sword as he lowered his head, doing everything he could to suppress the heart demon in his sea of consciousness.
The chimes rang out once more. Black mist churned and completely swallowed the several disciples in the martial arena. In an instant, the entire area fell deathly silent.
Wen Shubai’s sea of consciousness first became an expanse of nothingness. Then, an utterly familiar fragrance drifted toward him.
Ji Zhaoxi appeared in the illusion wearing the clothes she had worn when she first came to the Heaven-Defying Sect. Back then, she had not yet received a jade identity token and could only stare longingly at the other disciples’ robes.
“Senior Brother, my hand is hurt. Practicing swordplay is so tiring. Can I rest for a little while?” She held out her reddened hand to him, her eyes rimmed with tears.
Wen Shubai pressed his lips together. He closed his eyes and let the fragrance linger beneath his nose as he silently recited the Heart-Clearing Mantra.
When Wen Shubai ignored her, she did not get angry. Instead, she leaned against him and chattered on.
“Senior Brother, you’re so good to me. I’ve got plenty of money from slaughtering pigs. Whatever you want, I’ll buy it for you, all right?”
“Senior Brother, will you always be good to me? You said before that you’d come home with me. Did you mean it…?”
As she spoke, she rubbed herself against him.
Her body carried a warm, living heat. Wen Shubai was not afraid of the martial trials, nor was he afraid of underhanded tricks. What frightened him most was this happiness he could reach out and touch—yet which could so easily disappear.
Just as Wen Shubai struggled, her eyes suddenly reddened, and she began to sob softly.
“Senior Brother, why did you try to kiss me that day? Do you like me…?”
Those words shattered the last of Wen Shubai’s reason.
He looked at the girl beside him. Tears clung to her lashes, yet her hand remained tightly clutching his clothes.
Whenever his junior sister suffered a grievance, she acted like this. He could not bear to see her sad…
Wen Shubai’s hand trembled, but in the end, he could not hold back. He gently stroked her hair.
The moment his fingertips made contact, he sank completely into the illusion.
He liked his junior sister. He wanted to stay with her forever…
The black mist around the martial arena grew denser and denser. The disciples watching from the sidelines all wore grave expressions.
“Pfft—”
A sudden mouthful of blood sprayed from Wen Shubai’s lips. He was suffering a violent backlash, and horrified gasps rang out all around them.
No one had expected such a severe reaction from Wen Shubai. The other two disciples were in pain as well, but nowhere near as badly as he was.
Countless sword auras raced chaotically through his body, while the spiritual pressure around him fell into complete disarray.
The elder beside him suddenly went pale. “This is bad. Shu Bai’s inner demon has already penetrated to the marrow!”
The sect master’s expression darkened as well. The Trial of the Heart had already begun. Unless Shu Bai awakened on his own, the spiritual power he had cultivated over all these years would be ruined here.
The disciples below began whispering among themselves.
“What exactly is Senior Brother’s inner demon? How could it be so powerful?”
“How terrifying. What if my inner demon is like this someday?”
“With a brain like yours, what complicated obsession could you possibly have?”
“Say that again!”
Wen Shubai’s face grew paler and paler. The veins in his forehead stood out, while the sword auras around him continued to attack his body.
The Second Elder was frantic. He paced back and forth atop the high platform.
Then he looked at Ji Zhaoxi, who was staring at him with tear-reddened eyes, and let out a deep sigh. “Miss Ji, you should worry about yourself instead of me.”
Ji Zhaoxi clung desperately to the white jade railing. She watched helplessly as the blood soaking Wen Shubai’s white jade dao robes turned them a vivid scarlet.
Seeing Wen Shubai’s aura grow weaker and weaker, she burst into tears, her sobs coming in waves.
“Sect Master, please save Senior Brother…”
The elder beside them could not stop sighing. Shu Bai truly was a tragic loss.
The sect master glanced at Ji Zhaoxi, whose face was streaked with tears, and spoke with a trace of regret in his voice.
“Once the Path of Questioning the Heart is opened, the soul is locked in place. If an outsider forcibly breaks the formation, his sea of consciousness will shatter on the spot.”
Wen Shubai was his first disciple. More than anyone, he wanted the young man to be safe.
But if he could not overcome this trial, it also meant that he was unsuited to cultivate the Heartless Dao—for it proved that he still possessed worldly desires.
Liu Fuyin sighed and steadied Ji Zhaoxi by the arm. “Don’t cry. Surely there will be a way out of this.”
What she actually wanted to say was that if Senior Brother really did lose his spiritual roots, he might as well go to the Ji family and raise pigs.
Ji Zhaoxi cultivated at Sky Severing Sect, so the two of them could still see each other from time to time.
But Liu Fuyin did not dare say it aloud.
Not far away, Liuli wiped away her tears. Senior Brother had always treated her mistress well. Weeping as she wrote, she recorded the following in her notebook:
【Senior Brother’s fall was the first time Immortal Ji experienced what it meant to be heartbroken. Yet it was also because of this incident that Immortal Ji was finally able to mature and become the eldest female disciple of Sky Severing Sect.】
【Although Senior Brother’s spiritual roots were severed, Immortal Ji never looked down on him, even after that. Immortal Ji possessed the purest and noblest character in the world.】
Ji Zhaoxi’s voice had already failed her. As she thought of all the moments she had shared with Wen Shubai, her heart grew heavier still.
Why would the heavens inflict such a terrifying inner demon on someone as kind as Senior Brother?
Even if Senior Brother lost his spiritual roots, she would still take care of him. If Sky Severing Sect no longer wanted him, she would bring him home and let him raise pigs there.
Raising pigs could make a lot of money…
Ji Zhaoxi lowered her head and sobbed helplessly, large tears spilling continuously from her eyes.
Tears fell one by one onto the white jade tiles, yet they suddenly stirred up a storm in Wen Shubai’s deathly silent sea of consciousness.
The scene within the illusion began to warp. Wen Shubai’s breathing grew increasingly ragged, and he jolted awake.
If he stayed here, what would happen to his junior sister?
Her spiritual roots had only just been reforged. Who would accompany her to the Marrow-Cleansing Pool? What if she was assigned to an irresponsible elder? What if she was bullied by the other disciples during her trial?
“Junior Sister…”
Wen Shubai’s gaze instantly cleared.
Looking at the person before him, he murmured in a low voice, “I’m sorry.”
The next moment, the Chongli Sword cleaved through the dream, shattering the illusion.
Wen Shubai abruptly opened his eyes. They were bloodshot, and he forcibly suppressed the coppery taste of blood rising in his throat. Through the astonished gazes of the others, he stared fixedly at Ji Zhaoxi, who was crying so hard her eyes had turned red on the viewing platform.
