Before long, the body, like a scrap of torn cloth, faded away. Gray mist churned and gathered in wisps, then condensed once more into Zhang Yunlu's shape.
[Enemy: Qi Refining ninth-layer sword cultivator, Flowing Cloud Sword Technique perfected]
[Kill the enemy to end this trial]
The familiar golden text appeared, along with a pill.
Zhang Yunlu snatched up the pill and tossed it into her mouth, then closed her eyes to meditate. A few minutes later, her depleted spiritual power had refilled, and its total had increased slightly.
The sword cultivator's phantom watched in silence. By the time Zhang Yunlu stood with her sword in hand, her spiritual power—already somewhat weakened—had returned to its peak and grown a little stronger.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
This was a boss that grew stronger alongside her and didn't suffer any loss of condition.
After cursing, she charged.
But the result was hardly any better. After only a few exchanges, a sword gleam pierced her heart, then a single slash took her head off.
The next time, she lasted a few more moves before the sword cultivator's phantom cut her in half at the waist. But Zhang Yunlu dragged herself forward on her remaining half and managed to slash its right hand.
On her third attempt, Zhang Yunlu tried to keep her distance and wear it down. She didn't even last through two sword strikes before the phantom pierced her throat.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth attempts went by in a row. Her performance was even worse than the first time; she didn't last a minute.
On her seventh attempt, Zhang Yunlu gave up on keeping her distance and chose to fight the phantom head-on. As they clashed, she kept refining her sword moves. She still lasted less than a minute, but this time she managed to wound the phantom again.
In the attempts that followed, her sword moves grew more and more skillful. Her style retained the graceful fluidity of the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, but now it carried a touch more fearlessness. Their clashes lasted longer and longer, and the sword cultivator's phantom suffered increasingly severe wounds.
On her fifteenth attempt, Zhang Yunlu had lost her left hand. A gaping hole pierced her abdomen, and blood streamed from a wound across her neck.
But the sword cultivator's phantom was in no better shape. Its sword-wielding right wrist had been severed, forcing it to hold the sword in its left hand. Its chest and abdomen looked as if they'd been sliced open, wisps of gray mist escaping from the wounds.
"Hah... hah..."
Zhang Yunlu panted, her vision going dark in waves. It was a sign she'd lost too much blood. She was starting to reach her limit...
It was just a trial. Why make it feel so real?!
Across from her, the sword cultivator's phantom struggled back to its feet.
Damn!
What a freaking monster!
She loved reading. She'd wanted to be the kind of sword cultivator from An Ancient History of Cultivation, dressed in flowing white robes and taking a man's head from a thousand miles away with a flick of the fingers.
Instead, here she was, sword in hand, fighting a monster that couldn't feel pain. She'd died over a hundred times and still hadn't broken down.
"I'm impressed with myself!"
Squeezing out the last bit of strength in her body, she used her sword to force herself upright.
Clang!
Zhang Yunlu dropped the long sword. It was too heavy; she couldn't lift it anymore.
She drew the short sword at her waist. After dying once at the beginning, she'd realized she had one of those, too.
Without a hint of warning, they charged at each other almost simultaneously!
The sword cultivator's phantom aimed its sword straight at Zhang Yunlu's throat. Long sword against short sword—she was bound to be struck first. Dodging in advance would have been the best choice, but...
A ruthless glint flashed in Zhang Yunlu's eyes. She didn't dodge or retreat. The long sword pierced her throat without a doubt, emerging from the side of her neck.
But she didn't stop. She used the last trace of her spiritual power to protect her life force.
Thud!
The short sword in her hand plunged into the phantom's indistinct face, around where its eyes should have been. She twisted it hard!
[Enemy slain: Qi Refining ninth-layer sword cultivator, Flowing Cloud Sword Technique perfected]
[Time taken: seven minutes and twenty-five seconds]
[This trial has ended]
Golden text appeared, but Zhang Yunlu paid it no mind. She watched the sword cultivator's phantom fade away, then burst out laughing.
"Impressive. When cornered, she had the resolve to wager everything, trading wounds for wounds to force the enemy's death."
Inside the villa, an image was projected into the air.
Xu Xing praised her, while Zhang Xiu watched the scene and felt the corner of his eye twitch.
That person, missing a hand, with a sword hanging from her neck, nearly out of breath and still laughing... was that my little sister?!
"She experienced death one hundred and two times. In the end, she killed a Qi Refining ninth-layer sword cultivator who had mastered a perfected sword technique by fighting head-on."
One hundred and two deaths?
Zhang Xiu stared at the figure collapsing in the image, his heart a jumble of emotions.
He felt sorry for his little sister, but he also understood that this was no bad thing for her.
"Senior..."
"You also have a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation. You should know how painful and dangerous it is to gather the sun's essence, condense the moon's radiance, and refine the stars' brilliance."
"..."
How could he not know? The pain of the process was like being hacked to pieces by a thousand blades.
"But looking at her now, that hurdle might not be difficult for her."
Zhang Xiu pictured Zhang Yunlu, half-dead and still smiling, once more. The image overlapped with the Zhang Yunlu who usually sat in the sunshine and read.
Was this ruthless woman really the same Xiaolu who loved reading and always kept to herself?
The Zhang siblings' home.
In the bedroom, a calming incense stick had burned down halfway. Zhang Yunlu lay with her eyes closed, apparently fast asleep.
But in the next instant, the thin trail of smoke rising from the incense was swept away. A surge of spiritual energy billowed through the room, lifting the curtains.
Her tightly shut eyes snapped open, and she sat up at once, her gaze full of wariness.
Everything familiar yet strange came into view, while a steady warmth reminded her that she'd returned to reality.
No. If that had all been an illusion, then what was going on with her spiritual power?
After a long silence, she got out of bed, opened the door, and went to the refrigerator. She opened it and poured herself a glass of juice.
As she savored the cold, sweet juice, she felt as though she'd finally come back to life.
Holding the glass, she slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The evening breeze blew gently, carrying a hint of chill. Bright lights glimmered in the distance, cars came and went, and flashes of light streaked across the sky from time to time.
It was a scene of bustling prosperity, utterly at odds with the brutality of life-and-death combat.
She stood by the window for a long time. After finishing the remaining half glass of juice, she suddenly smiled.
Even the owner of the noodle shop downstairs was at the peak of Foundation Establishment. She was nowhere near his match, so why was she standing around acting all moody?
She set down the glass and prepared to return to her bedroom and go back to sleep, but she stopped after only a few steps.
Something felt missing...
She looked around, scanning the room, until her gaze finally settled on the long sword leaning against the wall.
That was it!
She stepped forward and grabbed the scabbard. The instant her right hand closed around the hilt, her heart grew utterly calm.
"Ah..."
Wasn't there something a little wrong with her state of mind now?
Shing!
The long sword slid from its scabbard. Her eyes were reflected in the blade, its edge gleaming with cold light. But it was only an ordinary sword, which was why she'd left it leaning against the wall.
Just then, a faint rustling came from outside the door.
Huh?!
The bedroom door soon opened. Once Zhang Yunlu saw who had come in, her guard dropped, and she beamed.
"Brother, you're back."
But Zhang Xiu looked at her smile, and especially at the sword in her hand, and felt a chill run through him.
Sis, how about we stop being sword cultivators and switch to body cultivation?!
Before you continue