Heaven and Earth Overturned, One Sword Knows Autumn

The wind suddenly stopped.

Outside Tingxue Tower, the withered lotuses ceased their swaying. Even the few ginkgo leaves, poised between falling and staying, seemed held by an invisible thread, frozen mid-air.

A suffocating stillness instantly enveloped the entire waterside pavilion.

The man in black, who had been standing casually, suddenly hunched his back. Every muscle in his body tensed in an instant, like a bowstring pulled to its absolute limit, his eyes fixed on the iron sword Ji Ye had drawn only half an inch from its sheath.

He was a half-step Grandmaster.

Therefore, he understood better than anyone that this "stillness" was not peace, but the terrifying compression before a storm.

Xiao Hongxiu's fingers still rested on the zither strings, but the tips were already turning white.

"Please."

Ji Ye spoke only one word.

The iron sword left its sheath.

There was no dazzling cold light, nor any sword energy crisscrossing the air.

There was only a hazy grey line, like a painter's casual stroke of light ink on Xuan paper, effortlessly slicing through the autumn scenery.

This sword strike was slow.

So slow that even Xiao Hongxiu, who knew nothing of martial arts, seemed able to discern the trajectory of the blade through the air.

This sword strike was also fast.

So fast that the man in black, just as he was about to take half a step forward, had to forcefully halt his movement, a drop of cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Because he realized that no matter how he moved, the edge of that sword had already enveloped this space.

The sword cut through.

The surface of the pond did not part, but the fish swimming beneath suddenly stopped their tail movements.

The falling leaves in the air did not shatter, but the veins of each leaf were, in that instant, snapped by an invisible force.

Ji Ye's wrist flicked lightly.

"Hum."

A faint sword hum, like the final mournful cry of an autumn cicada.

Immediately after, the grey line abruptly expanded.

The hundreds of falling leaves, which had been suspended in mid-air, all flipped over at this moment.

Not blown by the wind, but forcefully turned by an upward-surging killing intent. The withered yellow side, which had been facing down, now all flipped upwards, revealing the pale undersides of the leaves.

In an instant.

The golden hues of the garden turned to a ghastly white.

It was as if heaven and earth had been forcibly inverted under this sword strike.

"Crack."

A fissure silently appeared in the rockery by the pond.

The water surface finally rippled, but instead of spreading outwards, it caved inwards, as if even the water had been frightened into retreating by this sword.

Ji Ye sheathed his sword.

The iron sword returned to its scabbard with a dull thud.

Only then did the belated autumn wind dare to blow into the courtyard.

The flipped leaves fluttered down, covering the ground, pale as frost.

The man in black slowly straightened his back, exhaling a long breath of stale air. In his eyes, there was no longer any trace of contempt, only deep apprehension as he looked at Ji Ye.

Xiao Hongxiu gazed at the ground covered in pale fallen leaves, and for the first time, a look of bewilderment appeared in her beautiful eyes.

She had seen countless swordsmen.

Some swords were like thunder, others like flowing water.

But she had never seen a sword like this.

This sword strike did not cut a person, but rules, common sense, this originally orderly autumn.

Ji Ye stood amidst the fallen leaves, his blue robe stirring slightly, his expression as calm as if he had merely done something insignificant.

He raised his head, looked at Xiao Hongxiu, and slowly spoke:

"When man harbors killing intent, heaven and earth are overturned."

His voice was not loud, but like a great bell, echoing in the spacious waterside pavilion.

Xiao Hongxiu trembled all over.

She looked at the young man standing amidst the white leaves, and the words on her incomplete sword manual seemed to come alive at that moment, perfectly aligning with the earth-shattering sword strike before her.

When heaven harbors killing intent, stars shift and constellations change.

When earth harbors killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the ground.

When man harbors killing intent, heaven and earth are overturned.

This is the general trend.

This is the true Way of Killing.

Ji Ye brushed off nonexistent dust from his sleeves and gave a slight bow to the dazed Xiao Hongxiu.

"Your Highness, I've completed the latter half."

After a long pause.

Xiao Hongxiu took a deep breath and clapped her hands, laughing.

"Well said, 'heaven and earth are overturned'."

She stood up, her red robes like fire, appearing particularly striking amidst the stark white surroundings.

"Someone, come."

"Serve the teacher some tea."

"The best tea."