novelSusiti Chapter 203 To be cool, you have to be subtle!
Chapter 203 To be cool, you have to be subtle!
"Th-what is that...?"
A middle-aged man stammered, his wine bowl already falling to the ground, spilling wine everywhere, but he was completely unaware.
"Sword intent," another slightly older man said in a low voice, his voice filled with undisguised shock, "That's sword intent!"
"Sword intent?" the man repeated blankly.
"You don't understand," the elder shook his head, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism, "This is a duel between the pinnacles of swordsmanship! An ordinary person might never witness such a scene in their entire life!"
He paused, his voice growing even lower:
"When I was young, I traveled the martial world and was fortunate enough to witness a contest between experts at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm. That scene has shocked me for half my life."
"But compared to the scene before us..."
He looked out the window at the raindrops slowly falling from the sky, and at the two figures standing opposite each other in the rain, his eyes filled with awe.
"It's like comparing heaven and earth."
On the other side, two middle-aged men who looked like swordsmen, who had recently arrived in the corner, also put down their wine glasses and squeezed to the window.
Their insight was far superior to that of the burly men; they could immediately discern the significance of this duel.
"Sword fanatic Liu Bai," one of them whispered, his voice brimming with barely concealed excitement, "It's actually Sword Fanatic Liu Bai!"
"What?!" another person exclaimed, "Is that Liu Bai, the sword fanatic whose swordsmanship was divine and who had never been defeated thirty years ago?"
"Indeed! I once heard my master say that Liu Bai's sword intent had reached a state of perfection, and that he went into seclusion in his later years, disappearing without a trace. I never expected..."
His gaze fell on the figure in gray robes, his eyes filled with reverence:
"I never expected to run into you here!"
"Then who is that person opposite him?" another person asked.
This question left the man speechless.
Yes, who is that person on the other side?
The person who could command such serious attention from the sword fanatic Liu Bai could not possibly be an unknown individual.
But that person... was too young.
He looks to be in his early twenties.
How could such a young man stand up to the legendary sword fanatic?
The man's gaze fell on Qin Mu, his eyes full of doubt.
Just then, he saw the half-open window behind Qin Mu.
A slender figure could be vaguely seen through the window.
She wore a moon-white dress and her long hair was loosely tied up, secured with only a white jade hairpin.
Even from this distance, even with only a blurry outline visible, the aura emanating from that figure was still captivating.
The man's pupils contracted slightly.
That woman...
A thought flashed through his mind, but he shook his head, realizing he was overthinking it.
impossible.
It is absolutely impossible.
How could someone like that possibly appear in a place like this?
.......
On the second floor, in room number one of the "Heaven" section.
Xiao Yu had somehow crawled out of bed and was kneeling on the bed, looking out at the backyard through the half-open window.
She couldn't understand those sword intents or auras.
She only saw two people standing in the rain, motionless.
But she just couldn't take her eyes off her.
Those two people were just standing there, doing nothing.
But the sight of them standing there was like a painting.
A painting that Xiaoyu will never forget for the rest of her life.
Especially that moon-white figure.
His Majesty……
Xiao Yu silently recited the name in her heart, her eyes filled with an indescribable light.
She was just a fisherwoman who grew up by the river and had never seen much of the world.
She doesn't understand martial arts, sword intent, celestial phenomena, or terrestrial immortals.
But she knew—
The person standing in the backyard at this moment is the Emperor of the Great Qin Dynasty.
He was the savior who saved her and took her away from that nightmarish place.
He was the only person she could rely on in her entire life.
This is enough.
Xiao Yu gripped the corner of the blanket tightly, her eyes slightly reddening.
His Majesty……
You absolutely must win.
.......
Zhao Qingxue had stood up by the window at some point.
She stood by the window, looking out at the backyard through the half-open window.
Her pale white dress fluttered gently in the night breeze, making her slender figure stand out clearly.
That peerless face was expressionless at this moment.
Only in the depths of her deep purple phoenix eyes churned complex emotions that even she herself could hardly discern.
She saw the raindrops slowly falling from the sky.
I saw the two figures standing opposite each other.
I saw the invisible domain that enveloped the entire backyard.
Her cultivation was sealed, and she could not sense those sword intents or those auras.
But she could still feel it—
That kind of trembling that comes from the depths of one's soul.
That is the instinctive fear of lower beings when facing higher beings.
Zhao Qingxue's fingers slowly tightened inside her sleeve.
She recalled the scene in the corridor just now, where Qin Mu casually waved his hand and knocked away Liu Bai's three swords.
She recalled the phantom formed by the Emperor Taizu's decree, which couldn't even last three breaths in Qin Mu's hands.
She recalled the giant dragon that had entangled Li Chunfeng for hundreds of rounds, only to be casually dismantled by Qin Mu.
At this moment, she looked at the moon-white figure in the backyard, watching him stand there quietly, surrounded by slowly falling raindrops.
Suddenly, she understood something.
This man was never serious from beginning to end.
From the Nujiang ferry crossing, to the inn's corridor, and now—
He always did things on a whim.
It's like children playing, like chess players manipulating pieces, like gods looking down on humanity.
And all of them—whether it was Zhao Qingxue, Li Chunfeng the Sword God of Liyang, or the legendary sword fanatic Liu Bai before them—
They were all just part of his game.
This realization stirred up an indescribable emotion within Zhao Qingxue.
That was anger, resentment, and humiliation.
But there's also something she herself is unwilling to admit...
In awe.
It is not fearful reverence.
Rather, it is the instinctive awe one feels when facing true power.
Zhao Qingxue closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When I opened my eyes again, they were calm again.
Only deep within her deep purple phoenix eyes remained a trace of something unusual that even she herself hadn't noticed.
What was that strange thing?
she does not know.
I don't want to know.
She simply stood quietly by the window, gazing at the moon-white figure in the backyard.
wait.
Waiting for the next sword strike.
wait……
Just how much more can this man reveal that she doesn't know about?
.......
In the backyard, Liu Bai's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
That kind of brightness was not the burning of fighting spirit, nor the gathering of killing intent.
Rather, it is a purer, more intense light.
That is the light that a seeker of the Way sees when he or she encounters the Great Way.
That is the light that pilgrims see when they encounter a deity.
That's the radiance of a sword fanatic when he sees the true way of the sword.
Qin Mu felt a slight pang in his heart as he looked at Liu Bai's increasingly bright eyes.
This old man is really going crazy.
He originally just wanted to show off and make the other party back down.
Unexpectedly, the other party not only did not back down, but became even more excited.
That's good now.
The attempt to appear sophisticated went too far and couldn't be salvaged.
But what could he do?
We can't just back down now, can we?
Wouldn't that be contradicting yourself?
Qin Mu sighed inwardly, but maintained his composed smile on his face.
"Mr. Liu," he said, his voice still clear in the night breeze, "please."
Liu Bai looked at him, her eyes shining even brighter.
Then, he moved.
He slowly raised his hand.
The movements were very slow, so slow that it seemed as if every joint was bearing an immense weight.
But as he raised his hand—
The entire backyard suddenly changed!