Yun Heng produced the Tianheng Broken Sword and gripped its hilt.
She closed her eyes and guided the spiritual energy from her dantian into the sword.
As the first ray of sword Qi lit up along the blade, a fine, sharp pain throbbed through her wrist. Yun Heng did not stop. Following the route laid out in the sword art, she compressed her spiritual energy again and again.
A frost-white glow gradually spread across the blade.
Yun Heng practiced from night until dawn, and from dawn into the dead of night.
The Breath-Concealing Array Plate completely suppressed all movement within the courtyard. Outsiders only knew that she remained in secluded cultivation after forming her Golden Core. None knew that inside this small courtyard, sword Qi sliced across the walls every night, leaving faint frost marks along the array's boundary.
Three months later, night fell.
Yun Heng stood in the middle of the courtyard, holding the Tianheng Broken Sword angled downward at her side.
Fallen leaves in the courtyard hung suspended in midair, as if held aloft by an invisible thread of chill.
A moment later, Yun Heng raised her sword.
An exceedingly thin streak of frost-colored sword Qi slashed out from the tip, sweeping past the bluestone paving in the courtyard and landing on the boundary of the Breath-Concealing Array Plate.
A leaf suspended in midair split clean down the center. The cut was perfectly smooth, without the slightest fraying even along its veins.
Yun Heng sheathed her sword as System prompts surfaced in her sea of consciousness.
【Tianheng Sword Art, First Chapter: A Line of Frost, Great Perfection achieved.】
Yun Heng looked down at the sword in her hand.
The Tianheng Broken Sword looked no different from when she had first seen it—its blade frost-white, missing a small section at the tip. Yet after three months of being nurtured by her sword art, the dark gold patterns along its spine were clearer than before, and it felt far more comfortable in her grip.
It was very good to use and truly suited her well, but broken was broken. She would still need to find a way to repair it in the future.
Yun Heng stowed the sword away and looked up past the courtyard. She had not set foot outside in far too long.
From Core Formation to reaching Great Perfection in the first chapter of the sword art, she had spent almost all her time in this guest courtyard. But keeping her doors shut forever was no long-term solution.
Yun Heng changed into a plain dress. Though she had been in the sect for nearly a year, there were very few places she had actually explored.
The guest courtyard sat in a secluded spot halfway up the mountain. Walking down two flights of stone steps brought into view several of the Xuanxiao Sect's main peaks. Clouds wrapped around the mountains, and chimes echoed from afar, while disciples occasionally sped past on flying swords, their robes leaving faint trails of spiritual light behind.
Compared to half a year ago, when disciples saw her along the way, they no longer stared at her as brazenly as before.
Some bowed to her from a distance.
Others paused in their tracks, waiting until she had walked far ahead before whispering among themselves.
Yun Heng simply acted as if she hadn't noticed.
She followed the stone steps downward, finally stopping before a wide stone platform.
The stone platform stood between two peaks, encircled by array pillars. Its surface bore sword gouges as well as scorch marks left by spells. A few Xuanxiao Sect disciples were sparring atop the stage, with a crowd of onlookers gathered around them.
The Martial Arena.
This place existed in the original owner's memories.
Whenever Xuanxiao Sect disciples wanted to spar, they usually came here. The array pillars could suppress any shockwaves, and as long as no one delivered a fatal blow, elders generally would not intervene.
Yun Heng paused below the stage, watching for a short while.
The two disciples on the stage were not particularly high in cultivation—one was late-stage Foundation Establishment, while the other had just entered the Golden Core realm. Sword light flashed back and forth several times before the Golden Core disciple won by half a move.
A cheer erupted below the platform.
Just as Yun Heng was about to leave, a voice called out behind her.
“Miss Yun seems to be in good spirits today.”
She turned her head to see He Zhou walking up from the other side of the stone steps.
He wore the white robes of a direct disciple of Xuanwei Peak, a sword at his waist, and two disciples following behind him.
Yun Heng recognized him. He was one of the names spoken most frequently among the Xuanxiao Sect disciples.
He Zhou, the Eldest Disciple of this generation in the Xuanxiao Sect, and the chief disciple under Sect Master Lu Xuanwei.
In the original novel, he was Su Mingyuan's greatest backing in the early stages.
When Su Mingyuan first entered the Xuanxiao Sect, her foundation was unstable, so He Zhou broke down and explained many intricate points of cultivation techniques for her one by one. When she lacked pills, he sent her pills; when she wanted to enter secret realms, he fought for her spots; when she was criticized by fellow disciples, he stood in front of her.
He Zhou walked up to her. “I have long heard that Miss Yun remains in secluded cultivation. What brings you to the Martial Arena today?”
Yun Heng spoke in a flat tone.
“Just taking a stroll.”
A faint smile hovered at the corners of He Zhou's lips, but his eyes lacked any warmth.
“I thought a hidden Young Lord like Miss Yun would look down on spars between sect disciples.”
Hearing those words, the surrounding onlookers gradually fell silent, their gazes from below the Martial Arena gathering toward them.
Yun Heng stared at him, her tone anything but pleasant. “Do I need to report to you wherever I choose to go?”
The smile on He Zhou's face faded slightly, and the two disciples behind him changed expression as well.
He Zhou was the Eldest Disciple of the Xuanxiao Sect and a direct disciple of the Sect Master. When the Sect Master was in seclusion, many matters of Xuanwei Peak passed through his hands. Disciples within the sect rarely spoke to him like this.
But Yun Heng was no disciple of the Xuanxiao Sect.
He Zhou quickly suppressed his displeasure.
“Naturally not.”
He looked toward the Martial Arena.
“It is only that since Miss Yun has come here, you surely intend to test your sword. As it happens, I am also looking to loosen my muscles and bones today. Why not exchange a few moves?”
Some subconsciously turned to look at Yun Heng.
He Zhou was already at the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. Although Yun Heng had formed her Golden Core in half a year, a Golden Core was still just a Golden Core after all. There was a full major realm gap between Golden Core and Nascent Soul; for ordinary cultivators, let alone winning, even receiving a few moves would be difficult.
Yun Heng could tell that He Zhou harbored ill intentions.
But having been in secluded cultivation for so long, she truly had not fought anyone in real combat yet. With the first chapter of the Tianheng Sword Art at Great Perfection and the Profound Bone Body-Forging Art at Minor Mastery, she needed an opponent to test her current limits.
He Zhou's cultivation was higher than hers, which was just right.
“Very well.”
A flash of surprise passed through He Zhou's eyes. He had originally thought Yun Heng would decline. After all, no matter how many rumors surrounded her, she had only formed her core recently. If her realm was piled up using pills and secret arts, it might not be stable, let alone able to withstand actual combat.
He had not expected her to agree so quickly.
He Zhou glanced sideways at one of the disciples behind him. Catching his meaning, the disciple quietly withdrew.
Yun Heng saw this and sneered inwardly. If he wanted to call people to watch, let him. The Martial Arena was originally a place for public sparring anyway; the more people gathered, the more Awe Points she would earn once she won this match.
He Zhou stepped onto the stone platform first, and Yun Heng followed him up.
Sensing the aura of the two, the array pillars lit up in sequence. A pale green spiritual light spread along the edges of the stone platform, separating the stage from below.
News spread extremely quickly. In just a short while, disciples from various peaks came rushing over.
“Have you heard? Eldest Senior Brother is going to spar with Yun Heng.”
“Yun Heng? The one who formed a Golden Core in half a year?”
“That's her.”
“But Eldest Senior Brother is at the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. How long ago did she form her core? How does she dare?”
“Who knows? Hurry up! If we're late, we'll have to stand at the back.”
Below the Martial Arena, a crowd quickly gathered.
Disciples from Cangjian Peak, Qinglan Peak, Danxia Peak, and even Discipline Peak came in large numbers. Some landed on distant stone steps atop sword light, while others stood among high treetops, every gaze fixed on the stage.
When Su Mingyuan arrived, most of the crowd had already gathered. She spotted He Zhou on the stage at a glance, her expression shifting slightly.
A disciple beside her whispered, “I heard Yun Heng came to the Martial Arena first. Senior Brother He happened to bump into her, so he invited her to spar.”
Su Mingyuan looked toward Yun Heng, who stood opposite He Zhou with an expression as calm as ever, as though completely unaware of whom she was facing.
He Zhou's cultivation was extremely high, and he was the most reliable among this generation of disciples in the Xuanxiao Sect. If he took action, Yun Heng would certainly not steal the spotlight as easily as she did at the Spirit-Testing Platform or when forming her core.
A ruthless look appeared on Su Mingyuan's face. This time, she would see just how Yun Heng could make a graceful exit.
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