Child of Destiny

The flying sword raced forward, mountains rapidly receding beneath them.

Chen Xian sat steadily on the blade, listening to the wind howling around him, and couldn't help but curl his lip.

This girl was playing favorites!

When he rode the sword, the wind blasted straight into his face. Now that there was an injured person, she'd gone and cast a wind-repelling spell.

Still, he only grumbled inwardly, holding no real resentment.

Because at this moment, Shangguan Hongyue stood at the sword's tip, her pretty face pale, clearly drained from the effort.

Looking at Lin Xiaoyan, still unconscious, he had a sudden impulse and reached out to rest his hand on the other's shoulder.

Almost at the same instant, Lin Xiaoyan's attribute panel appeared in his mind.

[Name: Lin Xiaoyan] [Realm: Dao Master Sixth Layer] [Traits: Innate Divine Strength (Mystic), Heavy Dao Artifact Mastery (Yellow), Sword Dao Affinity (Yellow), Unyielding (White), Betrothal Annulled (Gray)...]

"Damn! One Mystic, two Yellows—this guy's talent is way better than Shangguan Hongyue's!"

Chen Xian's heart jolted. Wasn't this guy the protagonist? Surname Lin, given name Xiaoyan—this was a textbook protagonist panel!

But what was that gray trait? And he couldn't copy it.

Seeing the gray trait called Betrothal Annulled, Chen Xian was even more convinced this guy was a child of destiny.

Still, he felt no envy.

So what if he was a child of destiny? He was cheating!

"Which one to copy?" Scanning Lin Xiaoyan's trait panel, Chen Xian deliberated internally.

He could only copy one trait from each person, so the choice was crucial.

In theory, Innate Divine Strength, a Mystic-grade trait, was the best option.

[Innate Divine Strength (Mystic): Strength increased to at least 500% of cultivators at the same realm.]

As a Mystic-grade trait, Innate Divine Strength's effect was already heaven-defying. If he refined it later to Earth-grade or even Heaven-grade, wouldn't it be dozens or even hundreds of times that of his peers?

One-punch man?

But this trait was clearly melee-oriented. He preferred to play it safe, ideally sniping enemies from afar in battle.

So, ruled out.

That left two Yellow traits. White-grade traits weren't worth considering.

[Heavy Dao Artifact Mastery] was also skewed toward melee combat and worked best combined with [Innate Divine Strength].

So only [Sword Dao Affinity] remained.

[Sword Dao Affinity (Yellow): Comprehension speed for sword dao techniques increased by 100%.]

A designated comprehension talent. Even at Yellow-grade, it doubled the effect, and it was passive.

Combined with his equipped [Mystic Jade Sword Bone (Mystic)], they complemented each other, and the effects could stack.

Mystic Jade Sword Bone already boosted sword dao comprehension by 100%. Add Sword Dao Affinity, and that was 400% of an ordinary person's!

As everyone knew, 1 times 2 equals 2, and 2 times 2 equals 4!

Yes, it wasn't additive—it was multiplicative!

Without hesitation, Chen Xian chose to copy [Sword Dao Affinity (Yellow)].

[Trait copying in progress: 59...58...57...]

Copying a trait now required one minute of physical contact with the target. Fortunately, Lin Xiaoyan was unconscious and couldn't resist.

"Hehehe... Sword Dao Affinity is mine." Chen Xian chuckled excitedly under his breath.

"Senior, ahead is the boundary of the Hanging Sword Formation. Passing through it might be a bit bumpy..."

The flying sword slowed slightly as Shangguan Hongyue turned to warn him, only to see the senior sitting there grinning foolishly, his right hand still resting on Senior Brother Lin's shoulder, rubbing it.

"Senior?"

"Oh! Right!" Chen Xian quickly wiped the grin off his face and nodded.

To cover his embarrassment, he proactively changed the subject, speaking in a leisurely tone: "This lad possesses extraordinary divine strength, remarkable insight in the sword dao, and the ability to wield heavy artifacts. For the sect to have such a prodigy brings me great joy."

"Wow, Senior! You could tell all that? Senior Brother Lin is the chief disciple of Heavy Sword Peak, blessed with Innate Divine Strength!"

Shangguan Hongyue's eyes went wide. She hadn't expected Chen Xian to see through Lin Xiaoyan's talents. Was this what a human-shaped dao-testing stone looked like?

She blinked her big, limpid eyes, a faint blush coloring her pale cheeks. "Senior, can you take a look at my talent too?"

[Trait copy successful!]

Sword Dao Affinity secured, Chen Xian withdrew his hand. Though he already knew this girl's panel, he still stood up and pretended to place his hand on Shangguan Hongyue's shoulder.

After waiting a few seconds, he put on a knowing smile. "You were born with a sword bone. Am I right?"

"Yes! Senior, you're amazing! What else?"

His sword bone was identified in an instant, and Shangguan Hongyue looked at him with admiration, pressing for more.

"Uh..." Chen Xian glanced at her status panel.

[Status: Innate Sword Bone (Yellow), Flash of Inspiration (White), Pure Heart (White), Sleeping Like a Pig (Mortal)...]

[Flash of Inspiration (White): Under specific conditions, has a 10% chance of sudden enlightenment, loosening realm bottlenecks.]

"Your comprehension isn't bad either—you have a heart for enlightenment and a pure mindset!"

With that, he intended to withdraw his hand, but Shangguan Hongyue nodded slightly and pressed on: "And more?"

"More?" Chen Xian was taken aback. Seeing her still full of anticipation, he sucked in a sharp breath: "Sigh..."

"Your sleep quality should be pretty good?"

"Huh? What kind of talent is that! Is there nothing else?"

Shangguan Hongyue was a bit disappointed. Aside from her innate sword bone, she couldn't compare to Senior Brother Lin in anything else!

Seeing the girl's disappointment, Chen Xian patted her shoulder and encouraged, "Girl, no matter how good your talent, you still need effort to make it count."

"Don't sell yourself short—This Old Man doesn't have a single talent!"

Chen Xian wasn't lying. Before meeting Shangguan Hongyue, he truly had no cultivation talent at all.

"No way?" Shangguan Hongyue looked utterly unconvinced. She had personally witnessed the senior's lifebound Sword Qi slay the Six-Winged White Tiger.

She just assumed the senior was saying that to comfort her.

Still, it made her feel better. After sulking for a moment, she returned to her usual optimistic self.

Seeing her quickly regain her composure, Chen Xian nodded slightly.

This was the Pure Heart—a natural optimist.

"WOOOOM!!!"

Just then, a sudden hum rang through the air, and the flying sword, which had been gliding steadily, began to tremble slightly.

Chen Xian felt every hair on his body stand on end, as if something had locked onto him.

He instinctively looked up and saw that, at some point, the sky above was densely packed with countless sword lights.

Each sword light radiated an aura far surpassing the lifebound Sword Qi strike Shangguan Hongyue had unleashed when she locked onto the Six-Winged White Tiger!

Moreover, these sword lights completely ignored the suppression of his Mystic Jade Sword Bone, meaning the caster's realm was far above his own.

"So this is the Hanging Sword Formation..." Chen Xian was deeply shaken. To protect mortals, the Profound Cloud Sword Sect had gone to such lengths!

"Profound Cloud Sword Sect disciple Shangguan Hongyue, passing through! This is an Array-Piercing Talisman!"

Shangguan Hongyue took out the Array-Piercing Talisman Lin Xiaoyan had given her from her mustard pouch and raised it high.

The talisman erupted with purple light, and a powerful aura swept across it. Chen Xian could even see a tangible ripple!

"Pass—"

A voice devoid of emotion or tone rang out.

The next moment, the countless sword lights locking onto the flying sword vanished in an instant, and Chen Xian's tension eased.

"Ah!!"

Then he faintly heard a scream from the distant sky. Following the sound—

Far away, three red dots were rapidly shrinking, while countless specks of light converged behind them, caught up to one of the red dots, and exploded violently!

Chen Xian squinted, trying to see more clearly: "What the hell was that?"

"As expected, pursuers! Blood Demons..."

Shangguan Hongyue's gaze was sharp as a sword as she spotted three Blood Demon-like cultivators fleeing in panic.

"Hmph! The Formation Spirit won't let them off!"

She clenched her fist and snorted lightly, feeling a surge of satisfaction.

"WOOOOM—"

Another hum, and Chen Xian clearly sensed they had left the range of the Hanging Sword Formation.

He glanced downward.

Beyond the mountains were still mountains.

"Senior, I'm going to speed up! We'll be back at the sect before dawn!"

Shangguan Hongyue looked worriedly at Lin Xiaoyan, stuffed another pill into her mouth, and then formed a hand seal. The flying sword's speed skyrocketed.

The three of them, one sword, raced onward under the moonlight.