Chapter 22: Whispers in the Main Peak
At the main peak of the Heavenly Sword Sect, news spreads fast.
"Liu Guan Yi was sent on a solo mission? Into a cursed village?"
"He went alone?"
"That's Ji Ning's personal disciple for you…"
Whispers fill the training grounds. Core disciples pause mid-practice. Even elders glance toward the forest, uneasy.
Inside one of the cultivation pavilions, Bai Si sits cross-legged, sweat on her brow. Flames flicker over her palm—her true flame. It dances beautifully, but she frowns.
> "He didn't even say goodbye," she murmurs.
Nearby, Ye Chen clenches his sword tighter during practice. He had broken through to Rank 3 middle stage recently, yet he still felt like a shadow compared to that masked figure from the competition.
Even now, he can't forget the feeling—the moment Liu Guan Yi unleashed his true strength. One strike had erased everything.
> "He was holding back the entire time," Ye Chen mutters.
A familiar voice interrupts his thoughts.
> "He's not someone you can chase. Not with effort alone."
It's Elder Fang Tian, the one who oversaw the Outer Sect competition. His gaze is calm but sharp.
"Ji Ning trained him personally. But I suspect even she doesn't know how deep that boy's roots go."
Ye Chen lowers his sword.
> "Then why did she send him alone?"
Fang Tian looks toward the distant sky.
> "Maybe to temper him. Or maybe… because only he can survive what waits out there."
—
Meanwhile, in Ji Ning's cultivation chamber, a few disciples kneel respectfully.
> "Master, are you really going to accept Ye Chen and Bai Si?" one of her older disciples, a cold-eyed man named Shen Mo, asks.
Ji Ning closes her eyes.
> "They have talent," she replies. "But their presence is to balance the mountain—not rival Guan Yi."
Shen Mo frowns.
> "Then what is Liu Guan Yi to you?"
Ji Ning opens her eyes.
> "A sword I must keep sheathed… until the right moment."
—
Far away, at the edge of the Silent Vein Forest, Liu Guan Yi kneels before the body of a young girl—lifeless, yet peaceful.
Her eyes are open, but no soul remains within.
He rises slowly.
> "Third girl this week," he murmurs.
The flute sound rings again.
This time, closer.
He grips his sword.
> "It's time to hunt."