Too immature in front of Senior Sister. As expected, although Junior Brother’s sword techniques had some ingenuity, Li Shixue took the upper hand in no time. Seeing Senior Sister make her move, Chu Yuan also became serious.
The next moment, two figures crossed on the arena.
With the final sword, her blade gently tapped on Junior Brother’s wrist. The force was not heavy, just enough to make him lose his grip on the sword.
Only a “clang” was heard. His long sword flew out of his hand, flipped several times in the air, and embedded itself in the ground several meters away, the blade humming and trembling.
The outcome was decided. Junior Brother stood in place, lowered his head to look at his empty hand, and sighed.
“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Sister.”
As he spoke, he walked over, pulled out the long sword, turned around, and handed it back to her.
“Senior Sister, returning this sword to you.”
Chu Yuan’s voice was muffled. He kept his head down, afraid to meet her eyes, fearing he would see disappointment in them.
Seeing his dejected appearance, Li Shixue felt a bit of sympathy. She took the sword and handed it back.
“This sword is yours now! Your self-created sword techniques are actually quite interesting. We can spar again later and perfect them!”
Junior Brother was stunned. He looked up at her. Li Shixue didn’t say anything more. She simply shoved the sword into his hands and walked straight off the arena.
At that time, she only felt that if Junior Brother immersed himself in swordsmanship, he wouldn’t have time to pursue her. In the end, he practiced his sword, and she cultivated her dao. Each going their separate ways was the best outcome.
From then on, Junior Brother never let go of that sword. He stood on the arena, clutching it, smiling foolishly. That smile was brighter than the spring afternoon sun. When she had walked far away and unconsciously looked back, she glimpsed him hugging the sword tightly.
When the scabbard wore out, he replaced it. When the sword tassel got old, he braided a new one himself. Every time after practicing, he would wipe the sword. Li Shixue had seen him wiping it. Back then, she found it amusing: was a practice sword really worth all that?
Now, thinking back, it was! It wasn’t just a sword. It was one of the few things she had given him.
Her thoughts returning to the present, Ji Xuanyuan sighed inwardly: ‘I wonder if Junior Brother still keeps that sword now?’
As she thought this, her vermilion lips parted.
“General Yin, let’s go over!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Yin Shiniang replied, spurred her horse to lead the way, and the imperial carriage slowly emerged from the thicket, heading toward the figure in the distance.
At this moment, Chu Yuan had already stopped moving and heavily exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. His face was full of exhilaration. It had been a long time since he had practiced swords like this. In his previous life, bound by the System, every swing had to follow the script. Back then, his sword was never his own. But now, it was different. In this life, his sword was swung only for himself.
Just as he was about to sheathe his sword into the ring, Chu Yuan’s brow suddenly furrowed.
“Who?”
Following the sound, he saw a team of golden-armored guards escorting an imperial carriage slowly coming along the mountain path under the moonlight. The carriage was embroidered with golden phoenix patterns, glowing faintly in the dimness, as conspicuous as a moving flame.
Chu Yuan frowned even more. ‘This is… the Crown Prince’s carriage? Why is this Crown Prince here again?’
The rustling of leaves rose like a tide and then fell silent. The carriage stopped a few meters away from him. The golden-armored guards lined up in two rows. The carriage curtain was lifted, and a figure in black stepped out. Her palace dress was like ink, and the golden phoenix hairpin shimmered brilliantly in the moonlight.
Ji Xuanyuan stepped out of the carriage, her gaze falling directly on Chu Yuan’s face.
“What a coincidence! Young Master Yuan, are you practicing swords here?”
Upon hearing this, Yin Shiniang, who had dismounted from her horse beside the carriage, was startled: ‘Ah? Coincidence? She clearly remembers that the Crown Prince headed straight here after leaving the city.’ However, Yin Shiniang tactfully did not expose this. She was simply amazed. In all her years following the Crown Prince, this was the first time she had seen Her Highness place such importance on a member of the opposite sex, even to the point of coming out at night.
Recalling the impressive swordplay Chu Yuan had just performed, she vaguely sensed something. She sighed inwardly: ‘Since ancient times, beauties admire talented men! I never thought even the Crown Prince would be unable to escape such romantic entanglements!’
Entertained by the drama, Yin Shiniang tactfully pulled her horse and led the guards to a distance, leaving the space to the two of them.
As twilight deepened, the light in the forest grew dimmer. But the spiritual light from the carriage illuminated this small valley brightly.
Seeing the ordinary long sword in Chu Yuan’s hand, the smile on Ji Xuanyuan’s lips deepened.
“Young Master Yuan has such refined taste. It’s late. Why are you practicing swords here? A few hours ago, weren’t you taken away by Fox Venerable?”
Chu Yuan cupped his hands with a look of disgust.
“And the Crown Prince? It’s late, yet you’re patrolling the mountain?”
As he spoke, he found it even stranger: ‘This time, I also activated the Phantom Ethereal Dharma Robe’s effect to sneak in here. How was I found again? Is my Phantom Ethereal Dharma Robe so useless? No! In my previous life, the robe helped me through countless difficulties. It definitely can’t be that the robe is useless! There must be another possibility…’
Before he could find the answer, Ji Xuanyuan laughed.
“Heh! To be honest with Young Master Yuan, it’s just that without your assistance, my cultivation has truly not been as good as before. I had no choice but to come out of the city to gaze at the moon and soothe my melancholy. I never expected to run into you here. Fate really brings us together!”
Her words were half-truth. After all, this trip was entirely guided by the System. Before coming, Ji Xuanyuan really hadn’t expected that this so-called Ten Thousand Emotions Divine Sword would be Junior Brother again. But seeing Junior Brother’s sword technique, she guessed why the System had made that judgment.
Ding~!
Just then, the System notification sounded again.
[Congratulations, Your Majesty, for discovering the Ten Thousand Emotions Divine Sword.]
[As the divine sword has already developed intelligence, please earn the recognition of the divine artifact through sparring and bind it.]
Ji Xuanyuan was intrigued: ‘Oh? This time, binding requires sparring? That’s fine! I also want to see if Junior Brother’s self-created sword technique has improved over the years!’
Thinking this, Ji Xuanyuan spoke directly.
“Young Master Yuan, since we’ve met, why not have a spar?”
Faced with the Crown Prince’s proposal, Chu Yuan felt a surge of interest. Since his rebirth, he had only sparred a handful of times. Before, when dealing with those evil cultivators from the Demon Path Alliance, he had merely crushed them—not even a warm-up. And this Crown Prince before him was hailed as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy in the Zhen Realm. Even though they had never met in his previous life, he had heard countless rumors about this woman. Now that he had a rare opportunity, Chu Yuan cupped his hands, unable to suppress the eagerness in his voice.
“I’ve long heard of Your Highness’s fame. Chu would like to test himself.”
With that, a faint light shimmered on his black ring, and a long sword appeared in his palm. He tossed it directly to the Crown Prince.
Ji Xuanyuan reached out and caught it steadily. But the moment the sword hilt touched her hand, her jade-like fingers trembled. The sensation was too familiar.
Under the moonlight, Ji Xuanyuan quickly looked down at the long sword in her hand. The blade was not sharpened. On the hilt were engraved four small words: “Heavenly Sword Sect · Li Shixue.” The characters had been worn somewhat blurry by time, but they were still identifiable. Exactly the same as the day she had given it away.
Ji Xuanyuan’s eyelashes fluttered, mirroring the turmoil in her heart. Of course she recognized this sword. It was the one she had given to Junior Brother back then. He had actually kept it?
Seeing her expression, Chu Yuan didn’t think much of it.
Ji Xuanyuan gripped the sword hilt and lowered her head even further, not wanting anyone to see her face. The night wind blew, and the black sword tassel gently swayed in the breeze, brushing against the back of her hand, as if trying to tell her the true feelings of her Junior Brother.
Her delicate body trembled, and the corners of Ji Xuanyuan’s lips couldn’t help but rise: ‘So Junior Brother still kept it! Even after being reborn, he still kept it! What does that mean? It means there’s still a place for me in his heart!!!’
Ji Xuanyuan took deep breaths, trying to suppress the surging emotions. But once this thought emerged, it was like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring ripples in her Dao Heart that refused to settle.
Seeing that her Crown Prince wanted to spar with Chu Yuan, Yin Shiniang’s brows were tightly knitted from a distance. She quickly stepped forward and said earnestly.
“You must not, Your Highness! You are a body of ten thousand gold. If you get injured…”
Before she could finish, Ji Xuanyuan interrupted.
“General Yin, Young Master Yuan and I are only sparring lightly. It’s not a life-or-death battle. I’m sure Young Master Yuan will go easy on me.”
Chu Yuan responded politely.
“Your Highness is too modest. Chu is the one hoping for leniency.”
At this, the guards in the distance murmured among themselves.
“The General is overthinking. What strength does the Crown Prince have? How could she lose to some Chu Clan branch member?”
“Exactly! Her Highness has seen all kinds of battles. What could go wrong?”
“Right, right! No matter how tough this kid is, can he be tougher than Her Highness’s sword?”
Their words were filled with admiration for the Crown Prince and contempt for the branch youth. In their eyes, the Crown Prince was a phoenix from the heavens, while Chu Yuan was merely her consort. How much strength could an appendage have?
Hearing this, Yin Shiniang frowned even deeper. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in the Crown Prince’s strength, but from the sword technique Chu Yuan had just performed, this boy was no ordinary person! However, the guards clearly couldn’t see the nuances. Considering the unusual relationship between the two, Yin Shiniang simply sighed and cupped her hands to Chu Yuan.
“Very well! Then please, Young Master Yuan, exercise restraint.”
Chu Yuan cupped his hands in return, accepting the request, then looked at the red-haired Crown Prince.
By now, twilight had completely faded, and the night was as dark as ink. Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, spilling between the two of them.
Ji Xuanyuan took off her long robe and casually handed it to Yin Shiniang. As the black palace dress slipped away, the fitted tight outfit underneath outlined her slender yet straight figure. Her crimson-red hair gently floated in the night wind. She held the long sword, her phoenix eyes slightly lowered, her gaze filled with nostalgia for the past.
Calming her agitated heart, Ji Xuanyuan prepared herself.
“Please, Young Master Yuan.”
The watching General Yin and the others all held their breath. But the spectators were not limited to them; a concealed divine sense was watching from afar.
Chu Yuan tightened his grip on the sword and entered a combat-ready state.