Chapter 12: Moonlight

The two dashed forward. The vast and wild scenery of Duyuan Peak quickly receded behind them.

After defeating the Sanrenzu led by Hong Xing, White Zhiqing and Lin Dongming left in haste. They needed to reach the foot of Duyuan Peak before they could ride their flying swords.

“The Tiandao Jingxin Jue is really convenient. It’s not only useful in duels and battles, but it can also support allies,” White Zhiqing said with admiration.

If it hadn’t been for the flying sword Lin Dongming threw at the last moment just now, she probably would have ended up severely wounded along with her opponent.

“You flatter me. The Tianjian Seven Absolutes are also very powerful. They grow stronger against strong opponents and are excellent for offense,” Lin Dongming said with envy. “But cultivating both simultaneously isn’t easy.”

Although there were no strict sect rules forbidding it, firstly, it wasn’t easy to find all the Elders to teach the different swordsmanship styles.

Secondly, even mastering one swordsmanship technique was difficult enough—let alone two or more.

This didn’t even consider that the cultivation requirements of different sword methods might be completely opposite.

For example, the Tiandao Jingxin Jue demands that the user’s mind be like a clear mirror, calmly observing all things.

But the Tianjian Seven Absolutes require the user’s mind to be like a fierce tiger, charging forward boldly.

If someone tried to cultivate both at the same time, they would probably end up wasting effort and achieving less.

White Zhiqing nodded in agreement. “But what about your sword? Is it okay?”

In that last strike, Lin Dongming’s Xuan-rank sword had been nicked by the opponent’s Earth-rank sword.

“It’s not a big deal,” Lin Dongming said casually.

“Tiandao Jingxin Jue doesn’t demand much from the weapon. Even an ordinary weapon can exert great power.”

Lin Dongming’s swordsmanship was mainly focused on prediction, defense, and counterattacks. He rarely clashed head-on with opponents. When he first joined Heavenly Mirror Peak, he had already considered this issue.

“Do you think they recognized us just now?”

White Zhiqing asked.

“Probably not. Hong Xing faced me, and we hadn’t directly dueled before. Besides, he makes so many enemies, he probably can’t even remember who everyone is,” Lin Dongming analyzed. “But if they talk about their opponents’ swordsmanship later, there’s a chance they might slip up. But let them be—he doesn’t have any proof.”

Lin Dongming leapt out of Duyuan Peak and landed steadily on his flying sword. “He asked for it, bullying others like that.”

“Nice, that was satisfying to say,” White Zhiqing said with a light jump, landing beside Lin Dongming. “One day, I’ll cultivate to the Tribulation Stage! So no one can bully me ever again!”

Not the Conjunction Stage, but the Tribulation Stage—the top-tier realm in this world.

A faint smile curled at the corner of the young girl’s lips, her eyes reflecting the dazzling stars scattered across the sky.

“You will,” Lin Dongming smiled. Youthful courage knows no fear.

Many years later, when Lin Dongming recalled this moment, he still felt moved by the youthful spirit they had then. The light in their eyes, capable of illuminating the entire world, was the brightest thing about young boys and girls.

The two rose on their flying swords and headed toward Tianjian Peak.

“Should I send you back first?”

Lin Dongming suggested. “Maybe there’s still time to make an alibi.”

“No need. Let him be,” White Zhiqing smiled. “Come with me.”

“Hm?” Lin Dongming followed curiously behind her. They passed through the thick clouds of Tianjian Peak and arrived beside a lake on the mountainside, where a waterfall hung like a white ribbon flowing down from the hills.

The bright moon hung high, its silver light flowing over the scene, perfectly complementing a tree of white blossoms near an ancient bridge.

“This really is a quiet and beautiful place,” Lin Dongming said, looking at the sword marks on the ground nearby. “Do you usually practice your swordsmanship here?”

Lin Dongming vaguely sensed a sharp sword intent from the marks. It seemed that White Zhiqing’s swordsmanship was about to reach a new level.

“That’s right. The mountains and waters here are beautiful—perfect for sword practice,” White Zhiqing said with a mysterious smile. “Also, there are occasional unexpected surprises here.”

“Unexpected surprises?”

Lin Dongming was puzzled.

“You’ll see soon enough,” White Zhiqing said, looking at a bright patch on the horizon.

“Time is fixed?”

Lin Dongming followed her gaze. A pale grass-colored glow was slowly approaching.

Behind the glow was an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy.

A breeze began to stir, and the surrounding spiritual energy was rising rapidly, carrying a stirring atmosphere reminiscent of a great wind rising and clouds billowing.

“This spiritual energy… is it from a beast?”

Lin Dongming said in surprise. “At least Tribulation Stage… Could it be Thunder Dragon Xuanting?”

The Heavenly Extreme Sword Sect was a Human Tribe sect; there were few beasts inside, and those that existed were mostly Elders’ mounts.

The only beast Lin Dongming knew that had reached the Tribulation Stage was the sect’s Guardian Beast, Thunder Dragon Xuanting.

Calling it a Guardian Beast wasn’t entirely accurate. The Dragon Tribe was a proud existence, rarely becoming mounts or guardian beasts for other races.

It was said that Thunder Dragon Xuanting was both rival and friend to the Sect Master, but lost to him in a contest once, and agreed to protect the sect for one hundred years.

Xuanting rarely appeared in Heavenly Extreme Sword Sect, and apart from the Elders, no one else had seen its true form. But rumor had it that sometimes on Moonlit Night, Xuanting would emerge to roam and reveal itself.

“So the rumors are true,” Lin Dongming said. “The spiritual energy surge really is perfect for cultivation.”

Not just swordsmanship—Xuanting’s spiritual inspiration and the Dao’s resonance greatly benefited the cultivation of most Cultivation Techniques.

“This place isn’t bad, right?”

White Zhiqing teased. “If you want to cultivate here, you can.”

“Well then, it’s better to accept politely than to refuse,” Lin Dongming said with satisfaction. “The spiritual energy here is dense, so cultivation should be about ten percent faster than normal. If Xuanting is roaming at night, it might be two to three times faster. And if cultivating Thunder Law, it might be even quicker.”

“Although I don’t cultivate Thunder Law, learning swordsmanship here is still very fast.” White Zhiqing lifted her long sword and slashed out a crescent-shaped Sword Qi, parting the waterfall.

“Swordsmanship from Duyuan Peak?”

Lin Dongming asked, confused. “I was curious before—you mainly cultivate the Tianjian Seven Absolutes from Tianjian Peak, right?”

That was the primary cultivation technique for all inner disciples of Tianjian Peak.

“More like learning secretly,” White Zhiqing did not deny it.

“I carefully observed the swordsmanship and Cultivation Techniques of other peaks. Most of them don’t really go well with Tianjian Seven Absolutes. But the Sword Qi from Duyuan Peak is a bit different—it’s more like a pure sword technique that can be compatible with many Cultivation Techniques and sword methods. After watching a few times, I could roughly imitate it.”

White Zhiqing smiled lightly. “But you can’t tell others about this.”

Lin Dongming was shocked. “You could imitate it just by watching? Your talent is really impressive.”

It was worth noting that many disciples on Duyuan Peak took months just to produce their first sword Qi after starting to learn, even with Elders’ instruction and proper Cultivation Techniques.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Lin Dongming said.

“This might be your trump card in sect duels.”

“That’s what I’m thinking too.”

White Zhiqing looked up sharply. “…Who’s that?”