The flying sword raced onward, and the mountains rapidly fell away beneath them.
Chen Xian sat steadily on the sword, listening to the wind howl around him. He couldn't help but purse his lips.
This girl treated people differently!
When he rode the sword, the wind had blasted him right in the face. Now that they had an injured person aboard, she'd gone and activated the Wind-Avoidance Technique.
Still, he only grumbled inwardly. He didn't actually have any complaints.
After all, Shangguan Hongyue stood at the front of the sword, her pretty face deathly pale. She had clearly used up a great deal of energy.
Looking at Lin Xiaoyan, who was still fast asleep, he had an idea and laid a hand on the other man's shoulder.
Almost at once, Lin Xiaoyan's attribute panel appeared in his mind.
[Name: Lin Xiaoyan]
[Realm: Dao Master, Sixth Level]
[Traits: Innate Divine Strength (Mysterious), Heavy Dao Artifact Mastery (Yellow), Sword Dao Affinity (Yellow), Unyielding (White), Betrothal Annulled (Gray)...]
"Good heavens! One Mysterious and two Yellow. His talent's far better than Shangguan Hongyue's!"
Chen Xian's heart jolted. Was this guy the real protagonist? His surname was Lin, and his given name was Xiaoyan. That was a protagonist's profile through and through!
But what was that gray trait? And why couldn't he copy it?
Seeing that the gray trait was called Betrothal Annulled only made Chen Xian more certain that this guy was Heaven's Chosen.
Still, he wasn't the least bit envious.
So what if he was Heaven's Chosen? Chen Xian had cheats!
"Which one should I copy?" Chen Xian studied Lin Xiaoyan's traits, weighing his options.
He could only copy one trait from each person, so choosing carefully was important.
In theory, the Mysterious-Grade trait Innate Divine Strength was the best choice.
[Innate Divine Strength (Mysterious): Increases strength to at least 500% of that of cultivators at the same realm.]
As a Mysterious-Grade trait, Innate Divine Strength had an absurd effect. If he refined it to Earth Grade or even Heaven Grade later, wouldn't that make him dozens, even hundreds of times stronger than cultivators at the same realm?
One-Punch Man?
But this trait was clearly geared toward close combat. He preferred to play it safe—ideally, he'd stay far away from his enemies and shoot them in the back.
So that was out.
That left only the two Yellow-Grade traits. The White-Grade one wasn't worth considering.
[Heavy Dao Artifact Mastery] also leaned toward close combat, and it would only be useful when paired with [Innate Divine Strength].
So that left [Sword Dao Affinity].
[Sword Dao Affinity (Yellow): Increases comprehension speed for sword cultivation techniques by 100%.]
A specialized comprehension talent, and even at Yellow Grade it doubled his speed. What's more, it was a passive ability.
It went hand in hand with the [Mystic Jade Sword Bone (Mysterious)] he had equipped, and their effects could stack.
Mystic Jade Sword Bone already increased his sword comprehension by 100%. If he added Sword Dao Affinity, he'd have 400% the comprehension of an ordinary person!
Everyone knew that one times two equaled two, and two times two equaled four!
That's right, the effects multiplied instead of adding together!
Without hesitation, Chen Xian chose to copy [Sword Dao Affinity (Yellow)].
[Trait copying in progress: 59...58...57]
Copying a trait required a full minute of physical contact with the target. Fortunately, Lin Xiaoyan was unconscious, so Chen Xian could do as he pleased.
"Heh heh heh... Sword Dao Affinity is mine." Chen Xian chuckled excitedly.
"Senior, the boundary of the Hanging Sword Formation is just ahead. It may get a little bumpy as we pass through..."
The flying sword slowed slightly. Shangguan Hongyue turned to warn him, only to see Senior sitting there with a foolish grin, his right hand rubbing Senior Brother Lin's shoulder.
"Senior?"
"Oh, right! Okay!" Chen Xian hurriedly wiped the smile from his face and nodded.
To cover up his embarrassment, he found a topic to bring up, speaking in a leisurely tone. "This young man possesses extraordinary strength, remarkable comprehension of the Sword Path, and the ability to wield heavy weapons. I'm delighted our sect has such a gifted prodigy."
"Wow! Senior, you can tell all that just by looking? Senior Brother Lin is the top disciple of Heavy Sword Peak, and he was born with divine strength!"
Shangguan Hongyue's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Chen Xian to see Lin Xiaoyan's talents. Was he some kind of human talent-testing stone?
She blinked her bright eyes. A hint of pink appeared on her deathly pale cheeks. "Senior, could you tell me what talents I have?"
[Trait copied successfully!]
With Sword Dao Affinity in hand, Chen Xian withdrew his hand. He already knew the girl's profile, but he still stood up and pretended to examine her, placing 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! You're amazing, Senior! What else?"
Shangguan Hongyue's Sword Bone had been spotted at once. She gazed at him with admiration and pressed on.
"Uh..." Chen Xian glanced at her traits.
[Traits: Innate Sword Bone (Yellow), Flash of Inspiration (White), Pure Heart (White), Sleeping Like a Pig (Mortal)... ]
[Flash of Inspiration (White): In specific situations, there is a 10% chance of sudden enlightenment, loosening the bottleneck in one's realm.]
"You have good comprehension, too. You have a heart for sudden enlightenment, and your nature is pure!"
With that, he meant to withdraw his hand, but after Shangguan Hongyue nodded slightly, she continued to ask, "What else?"
"Anything else?" Chen Xian paused. Seeing how expectantly she was looking at him, he drew in a sharp breath. "Hiss..."
"You probably sleep very well?"
"Huh? How is that a talent? Is there nothing else?"
Shangguan Hongyue looked a little disappointed. Apart from being born with a Sword Bone, she couldn't compare to Senior Brother Lin in anything else!
Seeing her disappointment, Chen Xian patted her shoulder and encouraged her. "Girl, no matter how good your talents are, you still have to work hard to put them to use."
"Don't sell yourself short. This old man doesn't have any talents at all!"
Chen Xian wasn't lying. Before he met Shangguan Hongyue, he hadn't had a single cultivation talent.
"Really?" Shangguan Hongyue looked unconvinced. She had seen Senior's natal Sword Qi kill the Six-Winged White Tiger with her own eyes.
She assumed he was only saying it to comfort her.
But she felt better all the same. After brooding for a while, she regained her usual optimism.
Seeing how quickly she had steadied her spirits, Chen Xian nodded slightly.
That was the Pure Heart: she was a natural optimist.
"Vrrrmm!!!"
Just then, a deep humming rang through the air, and the flying sword, which had been gliding smoothly, began to tremble.
The hairs on Chen Xian's body stood on end. He felt as if something had locked onto him.
He instinctively looked up. Without warning, a dense mass of sword lights had appeared high above them.
The pressure radiating from each sword light far surpassed that of the strike Shangguan Hongyue's natal Sword Qi had unleashed when she locked onto the Six-Winged White Tiger.
What's more, the sword lights completely ignored the suppression of his Mystic Jade Sword Bone. That meant their wielder was far above him in realm.
"So this is the Hanging Sword Formation..." Chen Xian was utterly shaken. To protect ordinary people, the Xuanyun Sword Sect had gone to such lengths!
"Xuanyun Sword Sect disciple Shangguan Hongyue requests passage! Here is the Array-Piercing Talisman!"
Shangguan Hongyue took the Array-Piercing Talisman Lin Xiaoyan had given her from her Mustard Seed Bag and raised it high.
The talisman burst into purple light. A powerful aura swept over it, and Chen Xian could even see the ripples in the air!
"Pass—"
A voice without emotion or inflection rang out.
The countless sword lights locked onto the flying sword vanished in an instant. Chen Xian's mind relaxed.
"Ah!!"
Then he faintly heard a scream from the distant sky. He followed the sound—
Far off, three red dots rapidly shrank in the distance. At the same time, countless points of light gathered behind them, caught up with one of the red dots, and exploded violently!
Chen Xian squinted, trying to see more clearly. "What was that?"
"Just as I thought, there are pursuers! Blood Demons..."
Shangguan Hongyue's gaze was sharp as a sword. She saw three demonic cultivators who looked like Blood Demons fleeing frantically.
"Hmph! The Formation Spirit won't let them get away!"
She clenched her fist and gave a soft snort, feeling a rush of satisfaction.
"Vrrrmm—"
Another hum rang out. Chen Xian could clearly feel that they had left the Hanging Sword Formation's range.
He glanced down.
There were still mountains beyond the mountains.
"Senior, I'm going to speed up! We'll be back at the sect before dawn!"
Shangguan Hongyue glanced worriedly at Lin Xiaoyan, swallowed another pill, then formed a hand seal. The flying sword's speed surged.
Three people and one sword raced beneath the moonlight.