Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 20

After returning that night, Fu Yan couldn’t wait to take out the jade slip Bai Yueli had given her. After a moment’s thought, she closed her eyes slightly and immersed her entire consciousness into it.

The insights were not a secret manual, but rather the reflections, simple perceptions, and understandings left behind by seniors who had successfully comprehended the Heart-Piercing Strike. Despite this, such insights were rare treasures that one could seek but seldom find; it was no wonder Fu Yan was surprised that Bai Yueli would gift such an item to her.

The Heart-Piercing Strike: one must feel the trajectory of the flowing sword qi, move according to the heart, and place one’s entire being upon the blade. The person is the sword; the sword is the person.

It looked like an ordinary sentence, but Fu Yan knew that putting it into practice was another matter entirely. This jade slip had been in Bai Yueli’s hands for so long, yet even she hadn’t been able to fully grasp it, which showed how extremely difficult the task was.

Meditation served as both cultivation and rest. Soon, a night passed in a flash.

Despite spending the whole night with the jade slip, Fu Yan couldn’t quite find a breakthrough point. However, she wasn’t in a hurry. She knew that everything required a steady, step-by-step foundation.

After refining some spiritual energy from heaven and earth into True Essence, Fu Yan finally stepped out at noon, when the sun was high, and went straight to the weapon shop.

“Here, the scabbard you wanted.” Seeing Fu Yan’s figure from afar, the shop owner turned around and handed over the finished scabbard.

“Thank you, boss.” Fu Yan reached out to take her Ling Long broken sword.

The scabbard was a greyish-white color, carved with fine, intricate textures. Fu Yan tentatively injected a sliver of spiritual power, only to find it was like a stone sinking into the ocean—there were no fluctuations at all.

“Alright, since I took eight hundred of your low-grade spirit stones, I wouldn’t cheat you. This was made with top-quality saltpeter stone.” Detecting Fu Yan’s small action, the boss spoke up with a look of leisurely pride.

The weapon shops within the sect generally served the disciples, so there were no shady dealings. As long as the spirit stones were provided, everything was negotiable.

“By the way, are you that Fu Yan who shattered Zhou Zhenlie’s Qi Sea?” Yesterday, the boss thought the name sounded familiar when he heard her rank, but he only later recalled the life-and-death challenge that had been a hot topic among inner disciples for several days.

Fu Yan paused slightly and looked at the boss with confusion: “Is there a problem?”

Though they had only met twice, she could tell the boss wasn’t a gossip, so she was curious.

The boss smiled and said, “You haven’t been in the inner sect long, right? There’s a training ground the sect set up for disciples in the back mountain. I think your strength is enough to try and clear the ‘C’ grade trial.”

Fu Yan hesitated. She truly hadn’t heard of this.

After leaving the weapon shop, she thought about it and headed toward the back mountain. The boss’s words had piqued her curiosity, and she currently needed some real-world training.

When she arrived at the training ground, there were already many disciples present. Ignoring them, she went straight to the registration desk.

“Hey, isn’t that Junior Sister Fu Yan, the one with all the hype lately? She actually came to the training ground. What grade trial do you think she’ll choose?”

“Though she’s only at the Early Opening Light stage, her strength is at the Middle stage. She’ll probably choose the C grade trial.”

“…”

Fu Yan’s appearance caused another small stir, which gave her a bit of a headache. Shattering Zhou Zhenlie’s Qi Sea had truly made her famous in the inner sect.

“First time here?”

The elder sitting at the entrance asked without even looking up as Fu Yan approached.

Fu Yan nodded.

The elder didn’t waste words and explained: “The training ground is divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. The recommended cultivation levels correspond to Great Circle, Late, Middle, and Early Opening Light stages, respectively.”

After speaking, the elder finally looked up at Fu Yan and asked, “Which one?”

“C grade,” Fu Yan answered calmly. Since it was her first time and she didn’t know what to expect, C grade was a conservative choice for her current strength.

The elder tossed Fu Yan a glass bead and explained: “If you encounter a life-threatening danger, crush this bead to forfeit. You will be teleported out instantly.”

Fu Yan nodded in understanding.

“C grade trial is about to open. Anyone else?” Placing a spirit stone into the groove of an array, the elder shouted toward the crowd.

As soon as he finished, a somewhat blunt voice rang out: “Hey! Me, me, me! I want to do the C grade trial too!”

A thick, sturdy figure came running over. At first glance, Fu Yan thought it was a boy, but as the person drew closer, she realized it was a girl around her own age. However, her build was indeed… quite stout and robust.

Fu Yan wasn’t one to judge by appearances; the girl was indeed plump, but she had a certain cute, lively air about her. Her big, watery eyes were very pretty—she had a standard “moe” loli face on a sturdy frame.

The girl was holding a chicken leg as she said to the elder, “Elder, I want to join the C grade trial too.”

Her appearance caused another commotion.

“Who’s that? Never seen her before. Another newcomer?”

“Wait, two Early Opening Light disciples going into the C grade trial? Are the new disciples today all this brave?”

“I understand Fu Yan’s strength, but how does she dare to go? Still, this little junior sister is quite cute being so chubby.”

“What? You’re actually into that type?”

Amidst the chatter, the girl finished her registration and walked toward Fu Yan, waving her chicken leg. “Hello, Senior Sister Fu. My name is Tong Zhen. I’ve been in the inner sect for less than ten days. I hope I won’t drag you down.”

Tong Zhen gave a “hee-hee” laugh and took a bite of her chicken leg, smiling with the satisfaction of a child with candy.

“Hello,” Fu Yan nodded, not saying much.

Soon, a blinding light flashed before their eyes. They had to shield their sight, and in an instant, they landed steadily.

Looking around, Fu Yan realized the array had transported them to an island in the middle of a lake. They were surrounded by water, and more terrifyingly, heads were popping up from the surface.

“Saber-Toothed Giant Crocodiles!” Fu Yan exclaimed in surprise.

These were Level 2 magical beasts, with strength comparable to the peak of the Middle Opening Light stage. And there were so many of them; a pincer attack would be devastating.

Fortunately, the island wasn’t too far from the shore. With Fu Yan’s Wind-Shadow Steps nearing proficiency, crossing the crocodile-infested waters was no problem.

However, for her companion Tong Zhen, it might not be so simple.

“Junior Sister Tong, this should be the first stage. We need to reach the opposite bank. These crocodiles are easy enough to handle one-on-one, but there are too many here, so we have to move fast.” Fu Yan kindly shared her view and asked, “By the way, do you know any movement techniques?”

“Huh?” Tong Zhen scratched her head awkwardly. “I’ve learned some, but my movement skill is… kind of a half-baked job.”

Fu Yan felt a headache coming on. This was training; she couldn’t just carry the girl across, as that would defeat the purpose.

Observing the terrain, Fu Yan said, “We’ll run from here. I’ll demonstrate first. You have to use the momentum, okay?”

“Okay!” Tong Zhen quickly swallowed the last bit of her chicken leg, her expression very serious.

Fu Yan wasted no time. She activated Wind-Shadow Steps and blurred across the water like an afterimage, brushing past countless crocodiles without a single drop of water touching her clothes.

In three breaths, she landed steadily on the shore.

Then, she saw Tong Zhen start to move. Her movement technique seemed only sufficient to keep her from sinking, but it had no speed whatsoever.

Fu Yan watched as Tong Zhen literally walked on the water, step by step, toward the shore. At that moment, the nearest crocodile lunged at her with its jaws wide open.

Fu Yan was startled. Before she could even shout “watch out,” her face turned into a mask of disbelief.

On the lake’s surface, Tong Zhen reached out and grabbed the crocodile’s tail with one hand. Then, she literally swung it into the air. Just like that, the crocodile—which was three times her size—was hurled away, ending up dangling from a tree branch on the shore.

Fu Yan, witnessing the whole scene: “!!!”