"Do you really not understand?"
Su Bei's gaze imperceptibly shifted away from Shan Wuque's tightly bound and heaving bosom.
What a pitifully oppressed curve!
It was an absolute waste of natural beauty!
It was such a pity that those slender, round thighs were bare and not wearing any—well, a Su Bei Family style, at least.
He would give Senior Sister a pair tomorrow!
Shan Wuque closed her eyes, carefully savoring Su Bei's words.
Did she really not understand?
She knew that her Fifth Senior Brother had a profound comprehension of the way of the sword. Although his cultivation realm might be a bit low, he must have poured all his energy into comprehending sword intent.
When it came to his attainment in swordsmanship alone, Fifth Senior Brother likely already rivaled Master!
Therefore, every single word he spoke must have a hidden meaning far beyond her comprehension.
Outside the gates of the Sword Hidden Pavilion, only the sound of neat, synchronized breathing could be heard.
Seeing that Su Bei had turned around and was already preparing to venture deeper into the pavilion, Shan Wuque felt a sudden pang of anxiety and hurriedly called out to him:
"Senior Brother! Your junior sister is dull-witted and still doesn't understand!"
Su Bei, who was preparing to make a prompt escape, let out a lingering, long sigh.
He had been caught.
The long sword hanging at his back seemed to sense Su Bei's depression, trembling slightly and emitting a crisp, resonant chime.
"You are too disappointing to your brother."
"..."
A myriad of mixed emotions churned within Shan Wuque's heart.
Indeed, Senior Brother must be looking down on her for her poor comprehension.
Damn it!
Why was it that no matter how she practiced, she could never comprehend the realm that Senior Brother had described to her?
It was simply impossible for Senior Brother to be spouting nonsense!
When she heard of such a realm, even she felt a yearning beyond measure—how could it possibly be sheer fabrication?
"I ask Senior Brother to give your junior sister some guidance!"
Shan Wuque lowered her head and bowed deeply to Su Bei.
...
Guidance?
How was he supposed to guide her?
How on earth would he know how to guide her?
Fortunately, he had exercised a bit of restraint last time and only said that a single blade of grass could slice apart the sun, moon, and stars.
If he had blurted out lines like "Three million sword immortals in this world, yet all must lower their brows when meeting me," or "Had the heavens not birthed me, Su the Sword Immortal, the path of the sword would remain a boundless, endless night"—lines oozing with such overwhelming badassery—he truly wouldn't have been able to talk his way out of it this time.
Well.
He had plenty of poetic nonsense to spare.
Uttering just a little bit of it would surely shock these empty-headed...
Su Bei's long robes fluttered without any wind, exuding the ethereal grace of an immortal. A dazzling radiance illuminated his face, making him supremely handsome.
His sword-like eyebrows parted slightly, and his cool, clear eyes shone brilliantly without even needing to glance around.
He looked calmly at Shan Wuque, appearing utterly like an exiled immortal, and slowly spoke:
"Everyone talks of sword immortals, sword immortals, but may I ask, Junior Sister, do you know what the way of the sword is?"
"..."
As Su Bei's voice faded, everyone present—including Shan Wuque and all the other Sword Sect disciples—instantly fell into deep thought.
This question was the simplest of all.
Yet it was also the most profound question in the entire world.
Who in this world could ever give a definitive answer?
Even the Sword Sect leader Shangguan Wendao, who was rumored to have already stepped into the peak Mahayana realm and stood merely half a step away from Tribulation Transcendence, would not dare claim to know what the way of the sword truly was.
Shan Wuque fell into deep contemplation, resting her chin on one hand propped against her other jade arm, which was squeezed tightly against her full bosom.
After deep and careful consideration, she tentatively ventured:
"Senior Brother, the way of the sword, as your junior sister understands it, is the practice of the sword's path pushed to its ultimate extreme."
"The Wuji sword—a single sword breaks all techniques!"
"It is to merge one's entire body into the sword! The person themselves becomes a sword."
"This is the way of the sword! The sword's path!"
"..."
Hearing Shan Wuque's words, the surrounding Sword Sect disciples snapped out of it as if waking from a dream, and at that moment, everyone seemed to gain a sudden flash of enlightenment!
"As expected! Truly worthy of being the Star Sword Immortal Shan Wuque!"
"The Eighth Elder's understanding of the way of the sword is clearly not something we ordinary disciples can fathom!"
"To transform oneself into a sword! What a terrifyingly powerful technique that must be!"
"Indeed! She is truly worthy of being a martial maniac!"
"I don't think anyone's understanding could be more thorough than the Eighth Elder's!"
"Let's see what the Fifth Senior Brother has to say!"
"..."
Everyone instinctively looked toward Su Bei.
They wanted to know what the way of the sword was in Su Bei's eyes.
What was the true way of the sword?
What was the peerless way of the sword?
Su Bei smiled faintly, his gaze passing through the Sword Hidden Pavilion to look at the endless array of books placed on the first floor.
To look at the couplet hanging right in the center, which was said to have taken Eldest Senior Sister Wénrén Píngxīn two full months to ponder and write!
First line: "Stared at nothing for two months, no idea what to write."
Second line: "Thought for three days, cobbled together two lines of nonsense."
Horizontal scroll: "Just needs words."
Su Bei remained silent for a long time, then reached out to grasp the sword suspended in mid-air, spinning it in a graceful flourish.
He gently closed his eyes, and the aura surrounding him became incomparably transcendent.
It seemed as though only that single streak of white flowing light remained between heaven and earth.
Then, a refined and gentle voice slowly flowed from Su Bei's lips:
"What is the way of the sword?"
"Whether it is using a blade of grass to slay the sun, moon, and stars, or transforming oneself into a sword, there is a fundamental premise to all of it!"
"The sword serves humanity."
"The so-called way of the sword is the simplest of all, yet it is also the most complex."
"One passes through a lifetime as grass and trees pass through an autumn."
"The so-called way of the sword should use the sword to smooth away all injustices in the world, and use the sword to face without shame anyone in this world who owes a debt!"
"Simple matters, difficult matters, matters of wind and rain, matters of the pugilistic world, matters of dynasties, and matters of the realm—none of them are anything more than a matter of a single sword."
"I, Su Bei, wish that every sincere swordsman in this world may wield a single sword to cleave the heavens."
"A single word: Sword, come!"
"Swords of the world, come!"
"..."
Upon hearing Su Bei's words, all the disciples present, including Shan Wuque, instantly felt an infinitely surging and turbulent tide rise within their hearts.
The shock they felt was beyond all measure!
Their heartbeats accelerated, and a wave of warmth surged straight to their heads, making them desperately yearn to immediately draw the swords in their hands and spill their passionate blood!
All matters of the world are nothing more than a matter of a single sword!
One should use the sword to smooth away all injustices in the world, and use the sword to face without shame anyone in this world who owes a debt!
A single word for swords to come, and every sword in the world answers the call!
This...
In everyone's minds, the peerless figure of a man in white involuntarily emerged.
His gaze was indifferent as he stood at the apex of the firmament, wielding the very sword that had slain every injustice in the world!
Plucking a single blade of grass, he cleaved the heavens with a single stroke!
The vault of heaven shattered, the river of stars shattered, cutting down the nine heavens!
Hiss!
What kind of shock was this?
What kind of dazzling brilliance was this?
This... was this showing off just a bit too hard?
Everyone remained immersed in their own fantasies, unable to extricate themselves. The proud and solitary demeanor of a true sword cultivator was vividly and thoroughly expressed by the Fifth Senior Brother's words!
This was the true way of the sword!
You disagree? I'll slay you with a single sword! Then there will be no one left in this world who dares to disagree!
With a single sword, all living beings are equal!
Overbearing!
Leaking boundless overbearing dominance!
Shan Wuque stared at Su Bei with shocked eyes, her mind completely blank.
Su Bei's words were like a spell, instantly flooding into her mind like a sudden enlightenment!
Fifth Senior Brother could never simply be in the Mid Soul Formation realm!
A breeze swept past.
Ruffling Su Bei's white robes.
Seeing that everyone was still wearing an utterly bewildered expression, the sense of deep satisfaction within Su Bei reached an absolute explosion point!
Awesome!
Fucking awesome!
But it still wasn't awesome enough!
A true powerhouse never looks back at what they leave behind!
Su Bei turned around and walked straight into the Sword Hidden Pavilion, leaving behind nothing more than a dashing, solitary, and peerless white silhouette!
—Dropping epic lines and running away immediately was truly thrilling.
The heaven and earth were serene and tranquil, with the blazing sun suspended high in the firmament, gazing down upon the boundless one hundred and eight peaks of the Sword Sect.
When everyone finally snapped out of their trances, where in this vast expanse of heaven and earth was there still any sign of Su Bei?
Shan Wuque took a deep breath, trying to calm the overwhelming agitation churning within her heart:
"Fifth Senior Brother!"