"Teacher, both are Seven Sword Immortals—why is the gap between them so huge?"
"You mean...?"
"Gou Wuyue and Rao Yaoyao. You can slay Saint Jiang with one sword strike, forcing him to use a demi-saint incarnation just to cling to life, but those two aren't like that. They feel... very weak. Well, weak compared to the title 'Seven Sword Immortal.'"
"Then you saw it wrong."
"Impossible! I personally saw Gou Wuyue fight Ba Zunan in Eight Palaces Town. He was no match for Ba Zunan at all. One of the grand Seven Sword Immortals was actually defeated by someone who hadn't even earned the title of Seven Sword Immortal!"
"You only saw the outward appearance."
"Oh? Then... what was the inner appearance?"
"Gou Wuyue and Ba Zunan shared no shallow friendship. His sword, Voice of Nulan, was Ba Zunan's former sword... Can you imagine it? It would be like after your death, Hidden Pain immediately recognizing someone else as its master."
"That's impossible. Hidden Pain would only devour its master."
"But Gou Wuyue did it. After Ba Zunan 'fell,' his former swords were left adrift—some broken, some lost. Gou Wuyue alone took in Voice of Nulan, and Voice of Nulan, a demon sword, was actually willing to acknowledge him as master. What did that tell you?"
"There was something going on between them?"
"..."
"Er, I mean, didn't Gou Wuyue have a sword of his own? With a relationship like theirs, he still took in the demon sword Voice of Nulan. After taking that sword, he still dared enter the Holy Spirit Hall?"
"At that time, Saint Slave did not yet exist..."
"I understand. So because of that past relationship, Gou Wuyue held back during the battle in Eight Palaces Town? He couldn't bear to strike a killing blow?"
"No.