Ye Luoxue's Amazement: Dare to Sacrifice This Body upon the High Tower!

At his words, Ye Luoxue opened her fair palm.

The next second, a pitch-black Tang saber abruptly appeared in her hand.

Its scabbard bore no unnecessary ornamentation, only a few shallow blood grooves. It looked plain and unadorned, yet exuded a keen killing aura.

"Her Highness had this saber forged from meteoric iron. Though it cannot compare to my Field Paths, it certainly qualifies as a treasured blade."

"However, Her Highness worried you might not be satisfied..."

"So she left the Capital three days ago. She said she had discovered the whereabouts of Dao Slaying, ranked third among Great Yu's ten famed sabers."

"She will personally retrieve it for you."

"Is that so?" Hearing Ye Luoxue's words, Xu Changsheng lowered his eyes slightly.

Qi Zhaoyue, what am I supposed to say to you?!

After a long while, Xu Changsheng let out a long, turbid breath and suppressed the emotions in his heart.

He looked up at Ye Luoxue and said evenly:

"Then, as for the next saber..."

"Tell Qi Zhaoyue to deliver it herself."

Ye Luoxue nodded slightly.

Xu Changsheng dwelled on it no further. He gently slid three inches of the blade free, gazing at its chilling gleam, which clearly reflected his face...

He turned his gaze back to Ye Luoxue, a trace of confidence and unbridled boldness in his eyes.

"Little girl, watch closely!"

"This is how you execute Lone Star Moon Slaying!"

As he spoke, Xu Changsheng flicked his thumb lightly against the hilt. The long saber instantly spun in a beautiful flourish in his hand, then he caught it in a reverse grip and drew it with a swish.

Without any flashy movements, Xu Changsheng began performing Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction, from the first form through the thirteenth, one by one.

At first, Ye Luoxue still looked rather unconcerned, even taking out a handkerchief to wipe the dampness from her legs.

But soon, surprise flickered in her eyes.

After all, Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction was a closely guarded secret of her Lineage. Apart from her, no one else in the world knew it now.

Xu Changsheng memorized the entire Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction after seeing it just once?

Still, Ye Luoxue did not think too much of it.

After all, Xu Changsheng possessed the Divine Yang Sacred Physique, a supreme martial aptitude.

But soon...

Ye Luoxue's pupils abruptly contracted, disbelief flashing in the depths of her eyes.

She realized that although Xu Changsheng's saber technique seemed just a little less practiced than hers...

His saber held something hers lacked entirely.

It was a saber intent that pressed forward without retreat, utterly resolute and free of all misgivings.

As though, once this strike fell, either his opponent would die or he would, never once considering leaving himself the slightest path of retreat.

Once the saber was drawn, there were no regrets; life and death were both on the line!

And it was precisely this trace of resolute saber intent that completely compensated for that slight lack of familiarity.

In fact, the Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction Xu Changsheng performed brimmed with even more killing intent and destructive power than hers.

Every slash seemed capable of severing the stars and cleaving the bright moon...

"Xu Changsheng!"

At that moment, Ye Luoxue fell into a complete daze.

I wondered why my Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction always fell just a little short, why I could never break through to major accomplishment in saber intent.

I always thought I hadn't practiced enough, that I wasn't proficient enough, so I trained bitterly day and night.

So that was it...

Now I understand.

What I lacked was never proficiency, nor strength or speed, but that trace of resolve to cast myself into certain death without caring whether I lived or died.

Whenever I strike, I instinctively hold something back, always thinking about how I should defend or retreat if the blow misses.

It is precisely those misgivings that leave my saber forever lacking that most crucial sliver of soul.

"A lone star brings down the moon and cleaves the dark heavens, yet alas, a beauty's heart...

The stars lie scattered across the evening wind.

Though all the warriors' hundred-battle songs unfold, how could they fathom the lone star's first realm?

Why fear the moon's waning or its light? Dare to sacrifice this body upon the high tower!

When the cycles of life and death are spent, draw down the heavenly river once more...

To wash the saber's edge!"

As the poem ended, Xu Changsheng put away his saber.

With a swish, the sound of the blade sliding into its scabbard pulled Ye Luoxue out of her daze and back to reality.

"Did you understand?"

Xu Changsheng walked up to Ye Luoxue. Seeing her stunned expression, he reached out and patted her head.

"Though all the warriors' hundred-battle songs unfold, how could they fathom the lone star's first realm?"

"Why fear the moon's waning or its light? Dare to sacrifice this body upon the high tower!"

Ye Luoxue's red lips parted slightly as she softly murmured the essence of Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction that Xu Changsheng wanted to convey to her.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded solemnly. "I understood."

"Thank you, Xu Changsheng."

Ye Luoxue spoke those words of thanks with utter sincerity.

She felt that, without Xu Changsheng's guidance today, because of what had happened back then... she likely would never have been able to reach perfection in lone star moon-slaying saber intent in her lifetime.

"You can be taught."

Xu Changsheng nodded in satisfaction, walked over to a nearby bench, and sat down, placing the Tang saber on the stone table.

Ye Luoxue watched his retreating back, her gaze incomparably complicated.

"Xu Changsheng..."

"Hmm?"

"I had you wrong all along."

"Oh?"

Xu Changsheng picked up the teacup on the stone table and took a small sip.

"I always thought you were simply someone born lucky, blessed with a supreme physique like the Divine Yang Sacred Physique."

"Without Her Highness Zhaoyue, you might have become a powerful figure in your own corner of the world, but nothing more."

Looking at Ye Luoxue's earnest gaze, Xu Changsheng chuckled softly. "And now?"

"Whew!"

Ye Luoxue did not answer immediately. Instead, she took another deep breath before speaking:

"Now I realize you're an unparalleled martial prodigy."

Ye Luoxue's tone was utterly solemn, admiration in her eyes.

"Your talent in martial arts is unlike anything I have ever seen."

"After watching me perform Lone Star Slashes the Moon * Saber Instruction just once, you grasped its essence and performed it more perfectly than I did."

"In fact, purely in terms of martial arts..."

"I'm afraid even Her Highness Zhaoyue cannot compare to you."

At this point, a trace of guilt flashed through Ye Luoxue's eyes. "Her Highness and I have wronged you..."

"If you hadn't been imprisoned, you would certainly have stood at the pinnacle of this world's martial arts in the future, looking down upon the multitude of living beings!"

Seeing Ye Luoxue's admiration and remorse, Xu Changsheng's lips curved into a smile.

He set down his teacup and patted the stone table in front of him, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"So, shouldn't you make it up to me?"

Ye Luoxue walked up to Xu Changsheng. "How?"

A playful smile curled Xu Changsheng's lips.

"You still remember how your Highness made it up to me when you first met me, don't you?"

Instantly, an alluring blush rose on Ye Luoxue's cheeks, spreading all the way to her ears.

She instinctively recalled how Her Highness had "made it up" to Xu Changsheng when she first met him...

Ye Luoxue bit her lip, her pearly teeth leaving a faint mark on its soft pink flesh.

Her gaze shifted evasively, not daring to meet Xu Changsheng's eyes.

"I... I've never done anything like this before. I might be a little clumsy."

As she spoke, she slowly knelt before Xu Changsheng.

Her long black hair fell down, hiding her flushed cheeks.

"It's fine. I'll teach you," Xu Changsheng said, reaching out to tuck her long hair behind her ear as he looked at her face.

"According to Qi Zhaoyue..."

"The Divine Yang Sacred Physique's source essence has to be savored slowly to better help your cultivation improve~"