Chapter 8: Blood from the Heart

Without evidence, mere hearsay would likely be disregarded by the enforcing cultivators, even if it were true. Li Lingchen pushed that sense of foreboding to the back of his mind and focused on preparing for the third trial.

The first two trials had gone smoothly, and he had demonstrated impressive strength. Both the great masters on the viewing platform and the arrogant inner disciples were talking about him. Standing in a corner, Li Lingchen could catch snippets of conversation regarding himself—some praise, some criticism—but he paid them no mind.

As the third quarter-hour struck, the ten-thousand-step staircase suddenly flattened into even ground. To the astonishment of the crowd, twelve black, cylindrical platforms rose from the earth, divided by the center of Seeking Dao Peak, with five on either side, clearly delineated.

The enforcing cultivator announced, "Facing my direction, the left side is for the outer sect, and the right for the inner sect. Will the disciples called by the draw please take the stage!"

Among the crowd, twenty-four cultivators flew onto the platforms, looking down from above. Li Lingchen was among them; needless to say, most eyes were fixed on his platform.

A smiling inner disciple remarked, "Finally. The results of the first two trials were not representative; only in the third round do we have a chance to see the tactics they’ve been hiding. In previous years, everyone appeared to have no strengths and low cultivation, yet they all turned out to be wolves in sheep's clothing, hiding their true depths. Let me see what Li Lingchen is hiding, and whether he is truly worthy of being under the Sword Peak."

He, too, had once tried to become an apprentice to Leng Fangxie, though he lacked the persistence of Jiang Yanwen. After being rejected, he quickly sought another master. While his path had been smooth and he was on track for the Golden Core stage, it was impossible to be entirely without resentment. After all, if Li Lingchen could be favored by the Daoist Lord while he could not, did that not imply he was inferior to Li Lingchen?

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting, Yan Hua? Not representative? Then why couldn't you take first place? Was it because you didn't want to? I can smell the sourness in your mouth from several meters away, tsk tsk." Another disciple with her hair in a bun mercilessly exposed his bitter words, rolling her eyes with disdain while toying with a small pouch embroidered with butterflies.

Yan Hua ignored her, tapped his folding fan, and looked at the silent Jiang Yanwen, asking, "Senior Brother Jiang, what do you think?"

Jiang Yanwen replied with only one sentence: "He has talent."

"Oh," Yan Hua interpreted, "Senior Brother Jiang doesn't care about him. That makes sense. The gap between you is so wide that even if Li Lingchen succeeds in entering Sword Peak, he might not surpass you."

"Doesn't care? I wouldn't be so sure," the bun-haired disciple sneered.

Jiang Yanwen paid no heed to their bickering. He only looked toward Li Lingchen’s position, his eyes deep and unreadable.

The first two matches were uneventful; Li Lingchen’s opponents were easily defeated. By the third match, his opponent was a thin, frail figure who had stepped onto the stage without any weapon.

His opponent, Du Wuyue, had taken a unique path in the outer sect by cultivating the Heart Sword—as the name suggests, a sword forged from the power of the mind, which is why he carried no physical blade.

Since entering the outer sect, Li Lingchen had never seen him, having only heard his name mentioned in passing. He knew nothing of the man's strength, only that Du Wuyue seemed to have achieved some success with the Heart Sword.

Du Wuyue was timid and cowardly by nature; under the gaze of the crowd, his frame trembled slightly. He swallowed hard and bowed shakily to Li Lingchen, "Fellow Daoist Li. Please."

"Please," Li Lingchen returned the gesture.

After a brief silence, both struck almost simultaneously.

A beam of white light shot from between Du Wuyue’s brows, reaching Li Lingchen in the blink of an eye. The edge was so sharp that Li Lingchen’s current spiritual strength could not withstand it, and he was forced to parry it bit by bit—that was Du Wuyue’s "sword."

Li Lingchen quickly formed a seal, and the spiritual barrier before him shifted, rippling like water. The Heart Sword, which could cut through anything, suddenly stalled in the water, suspended in mid-air with a resonant clanging sound.

Du Wuyue immediately changed tactics. The white light suddenly split into dozens of points, like stars in a formation, and he whispered, "Break." The spiritual barrier shattered instantly.

At this stage, the two were clearly testing each other, trading blows without revealing their true strength. Yet, this alone was enough to prove that both Du Wuyue and Li Lingchen possessed formidable power. In just a few exchanges, Du Wuyue’s control and agility with the Heart Sword, and Li Lingchen’s mastery of spells and formations, far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

"...This wouldn't be out of place in the inner sect!"

"Senior Brother Li is one thing, but I never expected Brother Du, who is usually so quiet and unremarkable, to be this strong."

"It is precisely because he is quiet that he can focus on cultivation. With talent and diligence, how could he not improve?"

Even Lu Mao was astonished. He had thought his estimate of Li Lingchen’s strength was already exaggerated, but it seemed it was not enough. And Li Lingchen’s sword was still sheathed on his back—he was a sword cultivator, after all!

If he was already this powerful now, what would he be like once his spiritual sword was unsheathed?

The crowd’s chatter did not reach the ears of the two, shielded by the barrier set by the enforcing cultivator. They were fully focused on their duel, exchanging dozens of moves in the blink of an eye. Fearing that continuing this way would only deplete their spiritual energy without revealing the boundaries of each other's strength, the two locked eyes, both deciding to unleash their true power.

***

At that moment, Li Lingchen noticed Du Wuyue’s eyes drifting, his focus momentarily lost.

*The youth opposite me has a limitless future; he looks only fifteen or sixteen, even younger than Liuyue. To have such astonishing cultivation at such a young age—no wonder the inner sect is wary of him,* Du Wuyue thought.

*If it weren't for accepting that deal, we might have even become friends.* Du Wuyue had no friends in the outer sect; all his time was spent cultivating or going out on missions. Liuyue was ill and needed medicine, so he had no time for play like others. But he had hoped for a bosom friend or two.

*What a pity.*

Du Wuyue sighed inwardly.

He did not know which inner sect disciple he had made the deal with; he had only heard the voice through a jade pendant. The voice was slightly hoarse, carrying a chill that made it clear the speaker was a high-ranking individual.

The person wanted him to cause trouble for an outer sect disciple named Li during the sect tournament. Upon hearing the name, Du Wuyue knew exactly who it was. He didn't ask how he would be matched against him; he only asked how far he should go.

*Should I kill him?*

Du Wuyue had killed before. Many times, in fact.

But to kill a disciple of the Nine Heavens, a disciple involved with several great masters, right in the middle of the sect tournament under the eyes of all? The cost was too high; even if he succeeded, Du Wuyue would not survive.

The person had said it was not necessary to kill him, but he must act with the intent to kill, regardless of the outcome.

Du Wuyue understood his meaning. If Li Lingchen had stronger methods, then so be it; if not, he would simply become a ghost under his sword. From the person's words, Du Wuyue sensed something subtle—a mix of loathing for Li Lingchen, yet not to the point of murderous hatred; rather, it was a strange, twisted sense of "tough love." What a bizarre client.

As for what would happen after the deed, the person promised that although Du Wuyue would surely die, he would do his best to handle the aftermath. In return, Du Wuyue’s family would receive a large sum of spiritual stones and ten stalks of Heart-Protecting Lotus.

Upon hearing "Heart-Protecting Lotus," Du Wuyue did not hesitate.

Liuyue was afflicted by the Heart-Devouring Demon, suffering in agony day and night, a fate worse than death. He practiced the Heart Sword to slay the demon; he went out to kill to earn money for medicine. The Heart-Protecting Lotus was the only medicine in the world that could destroy the Heart-Devouring Demon. It was priceless and rare; trading his life for it was a bargain.

*What a generous client.*

*So, Fellow Daoist Li, you must die. And I shall die with you.*

The Heart Sword hummed. In an instant, the world seemed to shift, and billions of rays of light converged, blinding and dazzling, like falling meteors.

Li Lingchen focused, his entire body signaling grave danger. Beneath this beautiful transformation lay infinite peril! *Danger!*

The spiritual sword on his back unsheathed three inches.

Du Wuyue looked up at the sky and murmured, "Sword—unsheathe!"

The Heart Sword flew toward Li Lingchen, gathering a massive wave of spiritual energy. Li Lingchen found it hard to track its silhouette, for the sword did not travel in a straight line; it constantly shifted position, flickering in and out of existence, closing the distance inch by inch.

And with every fluctuation, the cold light contained in the blade grew stronger.

At the same time, Du Wuyue, hidden behind the dazzling light, grew increasingly pale.

Knowledgeable disciples had already realized what was happening.

"The technique Du Wuyue is using—is he throwing his life away?"

"Even if he loses this match, he could still make it into the inner sect, why would he..."

On the viewing platform, someone observed Leng Fangxie’s expression and found him unmoved, seemingly uninterested in the match, idly playing with a wisp of cloud.

"The Destruction Form. How long has it been since I saw that technique? Condensing sword intent with one’s own heart's blood; unsheathing it is bound to cause injury, harming both oneself and others. Du Wuyue has decent talent, why destroy himself to hurt another?" A Daoist Lord sighed. In truth, he had already taken a liking to Du Wuyue’s talent in the Heart Sword, but after this, he could no longer accept him as a disciple.

***

Yet no one moved to intervene. Even the Sect Leader remained calm, for the rules of the tournament dictated that swords had no eyes and life and death were fated. Moreover, since the person who cared most about Li Lingchen had not moved, there was no need for them to interfere.

Human eyes cannot look directly into such light; to force oneself to watch would not only fail to yield the desired result but would cost one their sight.

Amidst the light, which grew stronger with every passing inch, Li Lingchen kept his eyes fixed directly forward.

"So, this is your final resort." He gripped his spiritual sword, showing no sign of fear.

The blinding light engulfed him, and everything seemed to fall into silence. But the next instant, a wave of spiritual energy swept through like a gale.

The light shattered in the wind.

"That's enough."

Li Lingchen held his sword with one hand, blocking the way. As the light faded, the Heart Sword was pressed against his spiritual blade, its edge broken, its aura deathly pale.

Du Wuyue’s face was as white as paper. He swayed, unable to stand, and after barely managing to retract his Heart Sword, he immediately collapsed into unconsciousness.

"The winner, Li Lingchen!"

Seeing such a spectacular duel, many disciples erupted in cheers and praise. Jiang Yanwen closed his eyes, hearing someone nearby sneer pointedly, "Not everyone is a fool."

"A hero among youth," the Sect Leader remarked, offering rare praise. "At his age, I couldn't even recite the Qi-Induction formula clearly, yet he already knows how to use sword-control techniques, and uses them so well."

"I originally thought it was rare enough for Sword Peak to have the pair of Fangxie and Liu Jingge, but it seems there is talent in every generation. He doesn't show it much now, but he will surely be a formidable sword cultivator in the future."

The Sect Leader smiled and turned to Fu Heng, "Fangxie’s eye for talent isn't bad either."

The Senior Brother remained silent: "..." *Master, you...*

Fu Heng finally spoke, "Strength is secondary. His fate is at odds with Qinghong; there is no master-disciple bond between them. Forcing it would only hurt both."

With the mention of fate, the Sect Leader could not easily respond. Fate was a mysterious and profound thing. To say one didn't believe in it felt wrong, but to say one did—cultivators were meant to defy the heavens, so why believe in fate?

However, as an elder, Fu Heng’s concern for his disciple was understandable. For him to intervene further would be unseemly.

So, he remained silent.

As for Du Wuyue, who clearly had issues, he was carried away by the enforcing cultivators.

Twelve more matches followed, and Li Lingchen won them all, eventually taking the top spot and becoming the champion of all three trials in this tournament!

Upon hearing the result, Li Lingchen looked immediately toward the viewing platform, where he found that Leng Fangxie had indeed withdrawn his spiritual aura, looking at him with a gentle expression and a rare smile.

He was overjoyed, which in turn birthed an even greater ambition.

Yet, seeing his master’s smile was no longer enough to fill the growing void within his heart.

Fu Heng, observing his changing expression and the undisguised longing in his eyes, felt a gloom settle over his own smiling gaze.