Chapter 13#
Shackles#
The March spring breeze finally carried a hint of warmth.
Luo Mingchuan’s face lit up with an incredulous joy that eventually melted into a smile.
He hadn’t smiled once since parting from Yin Biyue in the dungeon. So this smile was somewhat stiff, tinged with an awkwardness he himself didn’t realize.
He stood there, at a loss for words because of Yin Biyue’s unexpected reply. “Junior Brother, thank you. I, I will definitely keep my word…”
Liu Qishuang asked with concern, “Fourth Junior Brother, have you thought this through?”
Yin Biyue nodded. “Senior Sister, rest assured. I know what I’m doing.”
Jun Yu said nothing, only frowned slightly.
Duan Chongxuan, as if thinking of something, kept smiling as he watched Luo Mingchuan.
Yin Biyue was not as calm inside as he appeared.
“In this day and age, ten protagonists—eight turn dark and seek revenge, one is a yandere beyond saving. A righteous, sincere protagonist is harder to find than a three-legged toad!”
He inexplicably recalled what that technician had said.
But if a saint’s thought process was so bizarre, then…
I’d rather have a dark, twisted protagonist!!
At least then the plot would align! !!
Can I exchange? ! Please! !!
He couldn’t understand Luo Mingchuan’s way of thinking, but when the protagonist invited him, how could he refuse?
Besides, these “fellow disciples backing the villain” around him were truly enough to drive one mad! How could he tactfully achieve the goal of “preventing them from confronting the protagonist”?
But when he saw the joy on Luo Mingchuan’s face, he suddenly felt he understood.
It was like a sudden clarity!
So this script was “the protagonist bares his heart, the villain is a wolf in sheep’s clothing; in the first half, good friends walk together; in the second half, betrayal and a stab in the back.”
What a twist! City folks sure know how to play!
With that thought, he felt reassured. Indeed, the plot routine was still under his control!
Thus his demeanor toward Luo Mingchuan softened a bit, and there was even a hint of a smile in his eyes. “Senior Brother Luo, is there anything else?”
Luo Mingchuan felt as though the perennial frost on Chenyun Ridge had melted, turning into a babbling spring that flowed into his heart.
“No, nothing… Junior Brother, rest well. I’ll take my leave now.”
Though he said he was leaving, for some reason he stood there rooted to the spot.
Not until Duan Chongxuan coughed did he reluctantly turn and go back.
The others talked a bit more about the route for their upcoming journey. After Yin Biyue also excused himself—
Liu Qishuang spoke earnestly, “Keep an eye on Yin Junior Brother. Don’t let him be deceived… Although it’s obvious to everyone now that Luo Mingchuan has deep feelings for him, he once attempted to force himself on him. We can’t just hand Junior Brother over to him like that.”
Duan Chongxuan’s expression turned serious, his usual frivolity completely gone. He said solemnly, “Senior Sister, rest assured. Of course.”
Yin Biyue had told her not to worry, but she naturally wasn’t reassured.
However, when Duan Chongxuan said that, she knew Luo Mingchuan would not have an easy time.
Jun Yu said nothing but shared the same thought.
And so it was decided.
After the visit to the academy, Yin Biyue had found a method for sword practice. He trained day and night, not daring to slack off even a little.
He felt he could vaguely see the threshold of “breaking through obstacles.”
He only wished time would slow down so he could become more proficient in his sword techniques and stabilize his cultivation.
But a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of departure arrived.
The day before setting out, he decided to see his Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister to bid them farewell.
Jun Yu wasn’t in the “First Courtyard.”
Yin Biyue was drawn by the overwhelming sword aura to the cliff behind the courtyard.
Jun Yu was practicing his sword.
In his hand was a newly broken branch.
When Yin Biyue stood ten zhang away, he knew that Jun Yu’s sword intent was now blazing and he was reaching a sublime state. So he stopped there, careful not to disturb.
The next moment, it felt as if a mountain loomed before him, pressing down with such force that it was hard to breathe.
Yin Biyue channeled his true qi to resist the sword aura while focusing his eyes to observe carefully.
Jun Yu was practicing the “Small Heavy Mountain” sword technique, created by the Sword Saint.
Standing on the cliff, facing the vast green mountains, he drew upon their momentum.
Just as Yin Biyue had practiced by the cold pool, using water to temper the sword momentum of his “Yihu” sword.
Mindset, cultivation method, sword moves, sword momentum, and the heaven and earth responded in harmony, flowing smoothly and freely as he wished.
The morning breeze stirred the mist drifting from below the cliff, and the sunlight gilded the distant mountains with gold.
Countless intersecting golden rays gathered on the branch, forming a river. The river split mountains and broke rocks, surging forward unstoppably, sweeping across endless plains and hills, and finally merging silently into the sea.
Jun Yu had already drawn back his sword and stood by the cliff, nodding to him from afar.
Black robes, ink-black hair, sleeves caught by the wind.
Turns out there was no golden light, no river, no plains, no hills, no sea.
Only the eternal, vast green mountains, silently enduring.
Everything was just the imagery within the sword.
Yin Biyue snapped back to reality. He stepped forward and bowed. “I’ve disturbed you, Senior Brother.”
To his surprise, Jun Yu directly asked, “What do you think?”
Yin Biyue paused, then realized he was being asked about the sword technique he had just performed.
He thought for a moment. “Senior Brother drew mountain momentum from the ‘Small Heavy Mountain’ sword technique. The momentum is full without overflowing, and you wield it with ease, retracting it at will. It seems you have fully grasped the true meaning of the sword.”
These words held no flattery, for Jun Yu’s swordplay was indeed excellent.
Even holding a dead branch without channeling true qi, his sword aura was enough to make Yin Biyue feel an acute sense of danger.
This was a gap in cultivation realm. Moreover, a gap in the way of the sword.
Jun Yu, however, said, “I swing my sword sixty-three thousand times every day, yet I have made no progress for three years.”
Only then did Yin Biyue understand that Jun Yu was exchanging insights on cultivation with him.
True, on Xihua Peak, only the two of them practiced the sword.
Though the gap in cultivation was significant, it was quite generous of Jun Yu to think so highly of him.
A minor flaw in the swordplay of a cultivator halfway to Mahayana naturally couldn’t be spotted by a Spirit Condensation cultivator.
But Yin Biyue still had his past experience. Moreover, he had vaguely sensed where Jun Yu’s shackles lay. Even earlier, when Duan Chongxuan had said “Senior Brother didn’t even use ‘Spring Mountain Smile’ when fighting against a Mahayana cultivator,” the question had been lingering in his mind…
Now he asked directly, “Senior Brother, when you practice the sword, why don’t you use ‘Spring Mountain Smile’?”
Jun Yu replied without hesitation, “I have not reached Mahayana; I am not worthy of this sword.”
Yin Biyue thought, I know where the problem lies.
These fellow disciples had always protected him, but he had never had a chance to repay them.
So now, even though he knew his words might seem presumptuous, he decided to speak anyway.
He looked into Jun Yu’s eyes and said earnestly,
“My cultivation is low, but in my humble opinion, a sword is a sword. A flower branch or a blade of grass cannot be a sword, nor can an axe or a halberd. Therefore, only when you hold a sword in your hand can you be said to practice the sword.”
Jun Yu frowned slightly.
“If it cannot be used by a person, what is the meaning of a sword? Stored in a room, hung on a wall, as an ornament for viewing?”
Jun Yu remained silent.
Yin Biyue continued, “In my view, ‘Spring Mountain Smile’ is indeed a fine sword, but if it is kept only in a wooden case, it is not a divine weapon—it is a shackle!”
“It is binding you!”
His words cut like a sword, striking straight at the heart! Breaking through the fog that clouded the one in the midst!
Jun Yu suddenly looked up, and a sharp sword aura burst forth overwhelmingly!
Yin Biyue instantly pushed his true qi to the limit, yet still felt his blood and qi seething.
But in just a breath, the raging aura before him returned to silence, as deep and still as a calm sea.
“Senior Brother, have you ever considered that since Master gave you the sword, it means that in all the world, no one else is worthy of this sword but you!”
Jun Yu gently flicked his sleeve, as if brushing away an almost invisible speck of dust.
And so, years of suppressed emotion dissipated with that flick.
He said solemnly, “Thank you, Junior Brother.”
Yin Biyue lowered his head. “I don’t deserve thanks.”
But Jun Yu still bowed to him. Yin Biyue hastily stepped aside to avoid the bow.
Jun Yu stood still, gazing at the distant mountains.
Yin Biyue took his leave and descended the mountain alone.
He knew Jun Yu’s mental blockage and shackles had been broken, and he needed time alone to reflect.
He could see all this not because he was more perceptive than Jun Yu; it was simply that those involved are blinded.
Also because everyone thought Jun Yu was very strong. No one would have imagined that Jun Yu harbored any shackles.
Even Duan Chongxuan, when mentioning Jun Yu not using Spring Mountain Smile in battle, spoke with praise.
Jun Yu was indeed very strong. But he bore too much on his shoulders.
The prestige of the Sword Saint’s eldest disciple, the responsibility of senior brother. The stability of Xihua Peak, Cangya Mountain, and even the entire world.
Not just one “Spring Mountain Smile”?
The world wasn’t as calm as it seemed on the surface.
Because there had been no word from the Sword Saint for a long time, and some ill-intentioned people had even spread a very subtle rumor: that the Sword Saint had already left this world.
And Cangya Mountain had no sub-sage.
This meant that if the Sword Saint were truly gone one day, Jun Yu, as Cangya’s most powerful combatant, might have to face more than one sub-sage.
Thinking of this, Yin Biyue felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
Because what he could think of, many others—openly or secretly—could also think of.
They had already deduced every possible outcome among hundreds of thousands of variables. For instance, that Academy Master.