The boy lowered his head to check the wishes of Little Cat in his arms, handed him to He Yaoyao beside him, and smiled at everyone. "In any case, thank you for thinking so highly of me. I'll go down and give it a try, then. If it doesn't work out, I hope you won't laugh too hard."
He Yaoyao took Little Cat and watched him from the side with admiration written all over her face.
The boy composed his expression and walked down toward the pond with his head lowered.
With every step, he seemed to grow quieter. By the time he reached the pond's edge, step by step, he seemed as still as wood and stone, a place where birds and butterflies might alight.
Then the soles of his boots touched the water. He raised his head and stood quietly on its surface.
His reflection rose opposite him.
Only then did everyone see, for the first time, that blazing, razor-sharp, unrestrained Sword Intent.
It struggled free of the shell formed by clothing and flesh and burst forth like an immortal's long sash, seizing the entire realm of the Heart Sword in an instant.
If Lu Wei was a deep mountain and Shang Yunning a snowy wilderness, then the boy truly seemed like a sword immortal descending to earth.
But it came not from the boy standing quietly on the pond, but from the figure slowly rising opposite him.
It actually raised its hand first and tore away the ribbon binding its hair. Then its long hair, cuffs, and hems billowed fiercely together, like a mass of gray, burning fire.
The boy himself remained quiet. He studied it intently, a longsword floating behind his waist without any wind, making him look very much like a heavenly youth commanding a