Xiao Kongtong sighed as he spoke, but did not continue.
Xiuyuan Ke, however, grew excited. "Teacher has returned. As the only student who has seen him, you must have a way to contact him, right? Tell him now—I truly want to learn Sword Thought. I mean it with all my heart!"
Xiao Kongtong shook his head slightly and said nothing more.
The boy in the courtyard snickered. "Xiuyuan Ke, stop being so stubborn. Eldest Senior Brother treats us so well. If Sword Thought could truly be passed on, he would have taught it to you long ago. Why would he make you wait all these years? Besides, Eldest Senior Brother has demonstrated Sword Thought so many times. If you still can't comprehend it, that just means your aptitude isn't good enough."
Xiuyuan Ke's old face reddened. "When adults are talking, little brat, shut your mouth!"
"Hmph!" The boy immediately puffed up in anger, turned his head away, and stopped playing the lute to a cow.
Xiao Kongtong watched the two bicker as they always did, the scene warm and familiar. He tilted his head slightly back and gazed into the distance. By his ear, he seemed to hear his teacher Ba Zunan's voice again. He murmured, "Time passes so quickly..."
That unprompted sigh left both the old woman and the young man stunned, wistfulness rising in their eyes.
"Yes. Several decades passed in the blink of an eye. In the past, everyone merely treated Teacher as a faith. Now, Teacher's voice has spread through the Five Domains. The Five Domains... no, perhaps it is not too obvious in the Five Domains, but Sword God Heaven is bound to fall into chaos," the old woman sighed.
"This is our chance, isn't it?" The young man stopped sweeping fallen leaves and looked