Borrowed Sword

Chapter 61: Man Is the Sword

“Cry out, go on, cry out!”

Chu Huaixu thought it would sound rather pleasing.

But his expression and tone only made the delicate youth in the water feel as though his senior was mocking him.

“In Senior Brother’s eyes, am I really so pathetic?” His eyelids drooped slightly, jaw clenched tight, heart full of humiliation.

That rebellious streak unique to adolescence was completely triggered.

He no longer even let out muffled grunts of pain. Though his entire body trembled from the agony, he endured the torment of a thousand cuts in utter silence.

“Oh! Still so stubborn!” Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

In truth, he too had a stubborn nature—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been constantly butting heads with the《Sword Refining Art》.

As for Han Shuangjiang, who lived next door, she was even worse.

Now, it was essentially three hard-headed individuals living under the same roof.

He looked down at Xu Ziqing and said, “Once the Body Tempering Medicine Liquid is fully absorbed, come out immediately. Don’t linger in the water. Understood?”

“Yes!” the delicate youth replied loudly and clearly.

“Why are you shouting so loud?” Chu Huaixu frowned again.

But he quickly figured it out—it was clearly just a way to release the pain. Taking advantage of the chance to speak, the youth had yelled loudly to let it out.

With a smile at the corner of his lips, he stopped provoking Xu Ziqing under the water.

“When you come up later, the first thing you must do is practice. Got it?” Chu Huaixu gave him another chance to yell.

“Alright!” Xu Ziqing shouted again.

In any case, the requirement for passing the third trial was to stay underwater for thirty full minutes. Since Chu Huaixu was instructing him to come up early, it meant he would fail the assessment.

That meant he could enter the water again later and still get more Body Tempering Medicine Liquid.

Chu Huaixu had previously stayed submerged for thirty minutes purely to reach the hidden chamber and see if he could exploit another bug to gain the dungeon’s clearance reward a second time.

Time passed. After just over the duration of one incense stick, the Body Tempering Medicine Liquid in the water was fully absorbed.

Xu Ziqing really was a naturally gifted Body-Tempering Saint Physique—extraordinary to a perverse degree.

The youth climbed out of the water, his entire body shaking, face deathly pale.

He had wanted to rest a bit before practicing the《Sword Refining Art》.

But upon realizing that Chu Huaixu was watching him, he instantly recalled the message in the second Silk Pouch and that string of ridicule.

—He got fired up.

Drenched and ragged, Xu Ziqing sat cross-legged and immediately began circulating his qi.

As spiritual energy surged toward him from the heavens and earth, that feeling of being crushed by some immense weight returned once again.

The youth steadied his heart and warned himself never to give up halfway.

Chu Huaixu sat casually in front of him, not caring if his robes got dirty—after all, it would be this very youth doing the laundry later.

He watched Xu Ziqing with a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

He could tell the boy’s body was growing increasingly rigid.

Even his lips were trembling slightly without control.

And yet, amidst this torment, Xu Ziqing’s heart gave rise to boundless joy!

That unbearably obstructed aperture—it now felt like it was loosening.

As if he only needed one more push to break through it!

All the grievances pent up in his heart now had an outlet.

He circulated his qi nonstop, again and again, until finally—he succeeded in breaking through the first aperture!

“A breakthrough?” Chu Huaixu, seated on the ground, had been monitoring him with【Information Probe】the whole time.

He wasn’t surprised in the least that Xu Ziqing could make a breakthrough.

But the anticipation in his eyes hadn’t faded either.

It was as if Chu Huaixu was still waiting for something.

At last, Xu Ziqing let out a heart-wrenching scream, uncontrollably, exactly like Chu Huaixu had that night!

Immediately after, his body tilted backward as he passed out from the pain.

“Ahhh, feels so good.” The Dead Fox smiled, utterly satisfied.

“I knew it—it wasn’t my problem!”

......

......

Pain! So much pain—!

After a long while, Xu Ziqing finally awoke groggily.

“You woke up this fast?” Chu Huaixu looked mildly surprised.

Seemed like the youth had fainted too many times recently—he was becoming a seasoned pro at it.

Never had he imagined that the pain of a breakthrough could be even more terrifying than the daily cultivation torment!

And worst of all, it had struck without warning.

He had still been basking in immense joy, completely unprepared mentally.

As he slowly regained consciousness, Xu Ziqing’s vision remained somewhat blurred.

He vaguely saw a figure in black robes, but couldn’t see clearly.

The delicate youth half-lay on the ground, shaking his head hard until his vision cleared.

He finally saw clearly—it was naturally Chu Huaixu.

But for some reason, he felt that his senior brother’s presence had somehow changed.

Having finally grasped the basics of the《Sword Refining Art》, he was struck by a sudden, inexplicable thought: “Senior Brother… he seems like a sword!”

It wasn’t that his aura was particularly sharp or sword-like.

Xu Ziqing himself couldn’t quite describe the feeling.

He just felt that his senior brother resembled a sword.

Yet not one that flaunted its edge.

Rather... a sword with its edge hidden?

Before this, Xu Ziqing had never had such a notion.

He had merely thought his senior brother was tall and handsome, and as a feminine-looking boy, he’d felt envious...

“Why am I getting this illusion?” Xu Ziqing frowned in confusion but ultimately didn’t voice such irreverent thoughts to his senior.

Chu Huaixu, on his part, was also observing Xu Ziqing.

To him, since he advanced using the system, someone like Xu Ziqing served as a good reference.

But no matter how he looked, he couldn’t see anything particularly impressive.

Xu Ziqing was still just Xu Ziqing—nothing extraordinary.

After watching a while longer, Chu Huaixu stood up, ready to leave.

“Every time an aperture is opened, the body needs a short while to adapt. No need to rush back into the Medicinal Bath. Feel things out first.”

“When you soak again, remember—once the Body Tempering Medicine Liquid is absorbed, come up immediately. I’m heading off now.” He gave a few instructions.

“Alright, I’ll remember, Senior Brother,” Xu Ziqing replied.

After Chu Huaixu left, he began stretching and moving about to sense the changes in his body.

After a while, he even used his finger as a sword to perform a set of his family’s sword techniques.

Xu Ziqing could clearly feel that his physique had strengthened.

“This is the wonder of cultivation,” he couldn’t help but sigh.

At last, all the suffering had borne fruit.

The cloud hanging over his heart cleared somewhat.

He looked up, once more missing his departed loved ones. “Did you see? I’ve finally taken my first step into cultivation.”

The youth’s eyes turned red.

But he quickly composed himself again.

“Xu Ziqing, no arrogance, no impatience! You must face yourself with clarity!”

He knew well that his Senior Brother and Senior Sister Han had only started a few days earlier than him.

Yet look at their cultivation speed—they were already on their sixth aperture.

And judging by this momentum, they were maintaining a pace of one aperture a day.

Xu Ziqing understood very clearly: without this mystical Water Pool, without his senior brother’s help, he absolutely wouldn’t have broken through today.

This realization brought renewed frustration to the once exceedingly proud youth.

He had once worn fine robes and ridden fine horses, once basked in the spotlight of his clan.

Had he gone through all this hardship, even serving as a menial, just to join the Dao Gate… only to realize his own mediocrity?

The stark contrast dampened the joy of his breakthrough.

Xu Ziqing turned his gaze to the Water Pool and saw the items he’d left beside it.

Before entering, he had taken off everything on him and placed it on the shore.

The final Silk Pouch was among them.

“Senior Brother said, once I’ve made some small progress, I could open the third Silk Pouch.”

“Now that I’ve opened the first aperture, I guess that counts as peeking through the door.” Xu Ziqing thought.

Though truthfully, he no longer held much expectation for the message inside.

He even suspected it would be another mocking, sarcastic remark.

The youth felt he was starting to understand this Senior Brother.

But fair enough—when someone else was far ahead, and he was so slow in cultivation, why should anyone respect him?

He opened the Silk Pouch forcefully. The note inside had more words than the previous two.

After reading it carefully, Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but look dazedly in the direction Chu Huaixu had left. A warm current surged from deep within his heart. His lips quivered as he mumbled, “Senior Brother...”

Written on the note was:

“Flowing water doesn’t strive to be first—it strives to be unceasing.”