The sparring session had clearly come to an end. Everyone present felt a lingering sense of anticipation, the only slight regret being that the passing of the torch between generations of Hushi No. 1 High School's top prodigies hadn't quite been completed. In the end, their familiar Great God Lin had still emerged victorious.
"Are you alright, Shiyue?"
Lin Yichen walked over with a smile. Looking at Xu Shiyue, who seemed somewhat dazed, he fancied he could read two words in her eyes at that moment: *fangirl*?
He shook his head inwardly, banishing these chaotic thoughts from his mind.
Hearing Lin Yichen's voice, Xu Shiyue snapped back to reality. The intense focus from their spar vanished, replaced by a sudden wave of shyness. She shook her head and said, "I'm fine, Lin Yichen. You're amazing!"
Hearing this, Lin Yichen didn't show an ounce of modesty. "Is that so? I think I'm pretty amazing myself!"
At his words, Xu Shiyue visibly blinked, then couldn't help letting out a soft laugh.
That smile left the students watching from the stands completely transfixed, and even Lin Yichen couldn't help staring for a moment.
"So beautiful!"
"Wuwuwu! The thought that such a pretty girl belongs to someone else makes me want to go crazy with heartbreak!!"
"Suddenly I feel like Great God Lin and Xu Shiyue are such a good match!"
"I ship them! I totally ship them!!"
"Oh!!!"
The commotion from the crowd instantly made Xu Shiyue's face flush red. She lowered her head, pulling a classic ostrich routine, though her feet stealthily shuffled a little closer to Lin Yichen in what she hoped looked like an accidental movement.
Meanwhile, Lin Yichen was thinking that he had almost been bewitched by his own "disciple"—what a sin! Lust is a blade hanging over the heart; keep women out of your mind, and your blade strikes with divine precision!
Having finished reciting his "Invincible Mental Method," Lin Yichen glanced down at the blushing Xu Shiyue, turned to combat instructor Xu Qiang, and said, "Instructor Xu, Shiyue probably took some minor hits just now. I'll take her to the infirmary to get checked out."
Xu Qiang wore a knowing, avuncular grin and waved a hand. "Go on, go!"
Nodding in acknowledgment, Lin Yichen raised a hand and patted the little head that was practically about to bump into his chest. "Let's go."
Realizing her little scheme hadn't quite worked, a flash of disappointment crossed Xu Shiyue's eyes as she replied meekly, "Okay..."
In truth, Xu Shiyue wasn't injured at all; Lin Yichen simply felt that if they stayed any longer, the poor girl's head might actually start smoking from embarrassment. So he casually grabbed an excuse and led her away from the training hall.
Along the familiar campus paths, Lin Yichen walked ahead while Xu Shiyue followed obediently behind.
Looking back at Xu Shiyue, who was walking with her head down, Lin Yichen chuckled slightly. "Comrade Xu Shiyue, aren't you worried you'll bump into someone walking like that?"
Xu Shiyue looked up at his words, but after a single glance, she dropped her gaze again. Her soft, timid voice drifted over. "I can see..."
Helplessly shaking his head, Lin Yichen said, "Right, during our spar just now, I noticed a few minor flaws in your swordsmanship..."
With that, he laid out every single shortcoming he had observed.
When he finished, he added with a smile, "Of course, if you have your own perspective, you don't necessarily have to change things according to my advice. After all, your sword must follow your own heart above all else."
After hearing this, Xu Shiyue stood frozen in place. She had listened very carefully to every word Lin Yichen just said.
The issues he pointed out were indeed her weaknesses, and she had silently made a note to fix them later. But none of that was the reason she was standing there stunned.
The reason for her shock was simply Lin Yichen's final sentence: *"Your sword must follow your own heart."*
Those few words instantly helped her make sense of countless things. The swordsmanship style she practiced was a king-tier technique called the Maiden Sword Technique, which she had obtained a little over a month ago from a heavily concealed ruin.
Yet the technique felt agonizingly slow to her. As someone who preferred swift, fierce victories and valued speed above all else, she had felt utterly constrained by it.
Instead of changing the technique—which was far too difficult—she had chosen to "compromise," altering her own mindset to suit the Maiden Sword Technique. This was precisely why her sword forms currently looked so awkward.
While it helped her punch above her weight class, it failed to unleash the true, full power of a king-tier technique. If left uncorrected, this flaw would eventually cause irreversible damage to her future potential.
Blindly compromising for the sake of a technique and twisting her nature might seem harmless now, but down the road, it would almost certainly breed inner demons.
And now, Lin Yichen's words—*"Following your own heart is what matters most"*—had thoroughly awakened her. It was as if Xu Shiyue had grasped a thread of profound insight in her mind. Disregarding her surroundings, she immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot, as a wisp of sharp, fierce sword intent slowly began to manifest around her.
Sensing this surge of sword intent, Lin Yichen immediately turned back to look at Xu Shiyue sitting on the ground, and said with some uncertainty, "Is this... an epiphany?"
*"System Notice: Congratulations to the Host for enlightening the Dao-protection target, preemptively preventing the possibility of future inner demons, and assisting her in comprehending sword intent while still at the Martial Artist realm. As a reward, the Host is granted the divine mental artifact — Extreme Ice."*
*Extreme Ice: A divine artifact that imbues Mental Power with elemental properties. Once integrated with Mental Power, the Host can instantly freeze any area covered by their Mental Power at will. (The one and only such item in existence across heaven and earth).*
"Hiss!"
Seeing the description of the system reward, even Lin Yichen drew a sharp breath. It was common knowledge that Mental Power could not possess elemental attributes. *(Author's note: True or false? All rights reserved by the author. Don't ask—if you must, blame it on the setting.)*
Now, simply by absorbing Extreme Ice, his Mental Power could gain an elemental property. It felt to Lin Yichen like an absolute eye-opener.
The range of his Mental Power would become even more terrifying. As long as a target couldn't stop him, his Mental Power could envelop every single cell in their body, allowing him to end a life without a whisper.
Silently putting the Extreme Ice away, he decided to absorb it later. For now, his priority was to stand guard for Xu Shiyue while she underwent her epiphany.
By now, the cross-legged Xu Shiyue had already drawn the gaze of numerous passing students. Anyone attempting to get closer for a look was firmly blocked by Lin Yichen.
Standing too close might disrupt Xu Shiyue's epiphany, not to mention that the erratic sword intent swirling around her was powerful enough to reduce anyone with weak strength to dust.
Soon, under Lin Yichen's gestures, a hundred-step radius around Xu Shiyue was completely cleared of people.
The commotion here quickly alerted Principal Luo Wenhao, who was busy drinking tea. Accompanied by Liu Luo and several other teachers, Luo Wenhao hurried over toward Lin Yichen.
"Xiao Lin, what's going on here? How is this girl Xu Shiyue..."
Luo Wenhao originally intended to ask for an explanation, but the moment he caught sight of the meditating figure not far away, he froze mid-sentence. An expression of sheer disbelief washed over his face, his very voice trembling.
"Th-th-th-this child is having an epiphany?!"