Chapter 24: The Overpowered Protagonist's Power Fantasy (23)

Qin Yang dared to accept the challenge because although Su Bai had successfully formed her Golden Core, according to conventional wisdom, her cultivation base would be unstable, and having just survived the lightning tribulation and battled a peak Nascent Soul demon beast several times, her vitality must have been severely depleted.

Qin Yang, meanwhile, had been at the Great Perfection of the Heart-Activation stage for a full month. With the Saint Venerable’s guidance and the enhancement of various secret treasures, his foundation was increasingly solid; for him, forming the core was merely a matter of choosing an auspicious day.

Yet, despite having just endured the tribulation, her sword energy coalesced into the form of a dragon. The heat was scorching, the sword light biting. Qin Yang was driven back step by step, and upon this lake surface, with nowhere to anchor himself, he had to divert his focus just to find a foothold.

Su Bai’s toes frosted the water. Where her sword pointed, water condensed into pillars and ice into cones, rising in tandem with her sword aura before shifting direction, sending the torrents and ice shards surging toward Qin Yang. A three-meter-long ice cone whistled through the air. Under the Saint Venerable’s command, Qin Yang dodged, but the sharp tip grazed his arm, easily piercing the skin of a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Heart-Activation stage. Blood began to seep from the wound drop by drop.

"Qin Yang, you are no match for her."

The Saint Venerable could not maintain his spiritual form outside for long. His soul retreated into the jade pendant, whispering within Qin Yang’s sea of consciousness: "This Soul-Nurturing Jade is a Saint-grade artifact. For ten thousand years, I have preserved a sliver of my soul solely through its sustenance."

"But Saint-grade artifacts are rare in this world. Beyond nourishing the soul, if supplemented with secret arts, this pendant has another use: Soul Exchange."

Qin Yang shivered. Soul Exchange?

As if sensing his hesitation, the Saint Venerable continued: "Do not worry. The art of Soul Exchange requires massive spiritual energy and a certain amount of divine sense, along with this jade pendant—none can be lacking. If the support of spiritual energy and divine sense fails, the art will dissipate, and you will naturally return to your own body."

Another sword strike flashed by; as she swung, a bloody line appeared on Qin Yang’s cheek. Facing her aggressive onslaught, Qin Yang gritted his teeth: "But if I must consume my divine sense, my cultivation will surely become unstable. After the exchange, I fear I will regress from the Great Perfection of the Heart-Activation stage back to the peak of the stage."

The Saint Venerable’s voice deepened: "Qin Yang, you must decide."

"If I win this battle today, the world’s foremost Dragon-Singing Sword will be yours."

"You have already glimpsed the threshold of the Golden Core stage. Once you cultivate properly, what difficulty is there in returning to the Great Perfection?"

Indeed. Qin Yang gritted his teeth. As the world’s top sword, whoever could bring the Dragon-Singing Sword out of the Sword Tomb in glory would reap immeasurable influence and gain the attention of the entire cultivation world. This meant his path of cultivation would be paved with countless resources.

Qin Yang hardened his heart, burning his bridges: "Master, tell me what to do. I trust you with this Soul-Exchange art."

The sword body sliced through the void; the Dragon-Singing Sword gathered energy into a dragon, and lightning poured forth from its edge. With a perfect Ten-Layer Golden Core, there were no longer any constraints. In her previous life, Su Bai had started with a mutated Heavenly Lightning Spirit Root; her understanding of lightning-based sword techniques was second only to the Saint Venerable’s.

Qin Yang channeled his spiritual energy to resist, secretly shocked. She had just formed her perfect Golden Core—why was her mastery of lightning so proficient? It was as if she had used lightning for hundreds of years; to her, such techniques were as natural as breathing.

But Qin Yang had no time to think. The Saint Venerable urged him in his mind: "Now, focus your thoughts, inject your spiritual energy into the jade pendant, and then release your divine sense."

The Dragon-Singing Sword shimmered. The sword spirit stared in shock at the runes lighting up around Qin Yang: "This is actually the Forbidden Art of Soul Exchange!"

The Soul-Exchange art was a forbidden technique of the Guiyuan Continent, lost for ten thousand years. It consumed the cultivator's divine sense; any carelessness would lead to a backlash multiplied tenfold. Because the Heavenly Dao could not tolerate it, and those who used it were prone to inner demons, the Immortal Alliance had burned all ancient records of it after its founding.

"Why..." the Dragon-Singing Sword murmured in disbelief. "This is not the Saint Venerable. The Saint Venerable would never do such a thing..."

The true Saint Venerable was a legendary figure who had achieved enlightenment through the Mirror Terrace. He was erudite, upright, and dedicated to justice. Ten thousand years ago, when the Candle Dragon emerged to wreak havoc, the Saint Venerable—who was only a step away from ascension—forfeited his chance to transcend the tribulation and enter the God Realm. He battled the beast for an entire month, ultimately using the world as a prison and, with the help of Venerable Qingyan, sacrificed his soul to seal it.

But now, using an ancient forbidden art to consume Qin Yang’s divine sense just to deal with a young sword cultivator who had just formed her Golden Core? How could this be the work of the Saint Venerable?

Spiritual energy rippled violently. Qin Yang hovered in mid-air, veins bulging on his neck, his hair standing on end. His fingers curled like eagle talons, his eyes glowing with cyan-white flames and lightning. An ice pillar rose from the lake. Su Bai landed on the ice, looking toward him.

"Since the Saint Venerable exhausted his soul back then, why did he leave behind this sliver of a remnant spirit?" she asked softly.

The Dragon-Singing Sword reflected Qin Yang’s silhouette, remaining silent. Su Bai’s expression turned somber. She gave a light command: "Ice Jiao, come out."

The bracelet on her wrist came to life, morphing into a three-headed dragon in the sky.

"What is that?" The dragon craned its necks to look at Qin Yang, clicking its tongues in wonder. "What kind of troublesome person have you provoked? He’s actually using the Soul-Exchange art?"

Summoning the Ice Jiao, Su Bai looked down at the Dragon-Singing Sword: "Everyone has selfishness and greed. True righteousness looks past life and death; greed clings for ten thousand years."

The sword spirit manifested, its dark eyes filled with disbelief: "You mean, he is merely a manifestation of the Saint Venerable’s obsession?"

"How could one be without regret or resentment when only a step away from godhood?" Su Bai said calmly. "A remnant soul lingering for ten thousand years requires spiritual nourishment, and the seal created by an Ascendant-stage Venerable loosened after only ten thousand years. Don't you find that strange?"

The sword spirit’s thin frame trembled. It was true—that seal had been set by a Great Perfection Ascendant. The Saint Venerable had fought a desperate battle to end the threat of the Candle Dragon forever. Unfortunately, while his altruism dissipated, only that sliver of resentment remained, eventually coalescing into a fragment of his divine sense years later.

The runes of the Soul Exchange glowed on the lake. Qin Yang’s cultivation skyrocketed. A storm swirled around him; the barrier created by the art was irreversible.

"He is not the Saint Venerable," Su Bai answered. "If your master were still here, his only regret would be leaving behind this sliver of greed, not the sacrifice he made to seal the dragon."

"I can slay the dragon. It is laughable that Qin Yang thinks himself favored by fortune, yet he is merely a pawn of the Heavenly Dao."

The Dragon-Singing Sword looked up at her. The girl’s eyes were clear, as if she had realized something ridiculous: "The Heavenly Dao knew the Candle Dragon would emerge and that the Saint Venerable wished to reshape his body, so it pushed Qin Yang out. It piled all opportunities and resources onto him. If Qin Yang wins, he slays the dragon and reshapes the Saint Venerable. If he loses, he becomes a puppet, allowing the Saint Venerable to slay the dragon once more."

The Dragon-Singing Sword turned serious. The trajectory of events indeed followed this path.

Su Bai’s eyes held deep mockery: "Qin Yang thinks he occupies the best time and place, but in reality, relying on luck, the Heavenly Dao, opportunity, or the Saint Venerable is not as good as relying on oneself."

"He was favored by the Heavenly Dao early on, tasted all the benefits, and began to champion it, never realizing that this path paved with treasures leads only to his cage."

Qin Yang was but another side of her own existence. This body was deceived by the promise of a "heaven-made match," while Qin Yang was hoodwinked by the concepts of empire and righteousness. Those with greater power always use a fraction of their own as bait. Like a fisherman casting a hook—it is sharp and thin, but every fish that survives the hook praises it as a gift from heaven.

*The hook hurts!* one fish finally said.
*But the hook gives us food.*
*Perhaps it is not the hook that is wrong, but us.*

The thought struck the fish like a bolt of lightning. They sought ways to bypass the hook, carefully stealing the bait while avoiding the sharp barb, then chirping joyfully: *The fault is ours, not the hook!*

This body was the fish, love was the bait. She thought she didn't understand the true meaning of love, carefully avoiding the sharp edges, eating it bit by bit; if she was wounded, it was merely because her method of eating was wrong. Qin Yang was the fish, opportunity and luck were the bait. He thought he didn't understand the mercy of the Heavenly Dao, calculating every step to swallow all the bait; if he was wounded, it was the price one must pay for the Great Dao.

Layer upon layer, loop upon loop—underneath all the lies, this world operated normally, provided everyone believed their own lies.

Su Bai sneered. She didn't care for the fates of others, nor did she wish to persuade them. However, since the Saint Venerable insisted on consuming Qin Yang’s divine sense to fight her, she was happy to see it through to the end.

The Soul Exchange was complete. Qin Yang’s cultivation surged to the early stage of the Soul Separation realm in seconds! The Saint Venerable looked at his hands, showing no joy, only a trace of regret. It was a pity that to protect his cultivation, Qin Yang had only injected enough energy to sustain him at the early Soul Separation stage. The art could only last for the duration of a single incense stick.

"Su Bai," the Saint Venerable’s voice boomed like a distant bell, thick and hoarse: "If you persist in your obsession, do not blame me for being heartless."

"If one is determined to find fault, one will always find a reason."

Facing the pressure of a Soul Separation master, the girl stood straight, her phoenix eyes proud. She gripped the Dragon-Singing Sword. Though the roles were reversed and she now had to look up at him, the burning resolve in her eyes refused to dim.

They knew full well that forming a Golden Core was a life-or-death gamble, yet they stood by on the lake, waiting for her and the Ice Jiao to destroy each other so they could reap the rewards. Seeing her refusal to hand over the sword, they resorted to coercion.

[Cheat mode activated! If not now, when?]
[888 is still a D-rank system; there are few cheats available.]
[Then unlock the attack power panel for Xiaobai! Her stats as a 'preparatory deity' are too absurd!]

But the girl clearly had her own ideas. After signing the master-servant contract, her mind was linked with the Ice Jiao. Su Bai willed it, and thick ice solidified around the dragon’s body, layer upon layer, bending it into a bow. The soft body of the Jiao became the string, forming a massive ice crossbow in mid-air.

The three-headed dragon curled its heads, pointing them directly at the audience of the planar live stream. It sighed quietly. It had no idea what kind of strange logic its master had. With a peak Nascent Soul demon beast helping, a mere remnant spirit of the Saint Venerable wasn't enough to force her to use her full strength.

[The Ice Jiao is so pitiful, hahaha!]
[The person above just laughed away ten years of merit.]
[I never thought the Jiao could be used like this. Look! Three heads, three launch ports!]

Time was running out. The Saint Venerable gripped the Tianyuan Sword, channeling lightning into it, starting with the first form of the Heavenly Derivation Sword Art: "Piercing the Clouds."

The ice crossbow was ready. Su Bai gathered lightning, purple-white flames flickering along the Dragon-Singing Sword. As she swung, the sword intent of "Piercing the Clouds" ignited!

Two sword intents clashed—one bearing the unprovoked majesty of the Soul Separation stage, the other the sharp spirit of a Golden Core cultivator striking against a mountain. The Ice Jiao shot out three ice cones, weakening the Saint Venerable’s strike by forty percent. The two intents collided in the air with a thunderous roar.

It was a draw!

Sword intent manifests a cultivator’s Dao heart; sword aura gathers their spiritual energy. The Saint Venerable’s strike was indeed peak Soul Separation, but Su Bai’s strike, despite being only at the Golden Core level, had reached the threshold of peak Soul Separation!

"To swing such an intent... you are a person who has truly entered the Dao!" The Saint Venerable’s eyes widened. "No wonder! No wonder! The remnant soul in that jade slip boasted of rumors he heard—that you entered the Profound Mystery Array and condensed Dao patterns, a one-in-ten-thousand talent!"

A person who has entered the Dao has a pure heart, and their sword intent is many times stronger than their peers. If their Dao heart is firm and their divine sense strong, crossing major realms to condense sword intent is not impossible.

[A person who has entered the Dao? Holy crap, did Xiaobai really enter the Heartless Dao?]
[I thought it was just a gimmick!]
[What is the Heartless Dao? Being emotionless?]
[Not exactly. It’s the closest path to the Heavenly Dao. Those who enter it have a heart as firm as rock, stubborn to the point of being immovable.]

The Saint Venerable’s eyes turned cold. He flashed in front of Su Bai, his sword descending like lightning. Su Bai dodged, her wrist flicking, and the Dragon-Singing Sword parried. Two sword auras condensed instantly, climbing the blade like a dragon.

The Saint Venerable realized too late—the two fierce auras erupted, forcing him back several meters. Sword intent transformation again! He was terrified. For a Golden Core cultivator to manifest two different sword intents in a single duel was rare, and usually, the second was weaker. But this girl had just manifested another form!

This was the prototype of the second form of the Heavenly Derivation Sword Art: "Invoking the Heavenly Dragon!" But she hadn't learned it yet! Was this her own understanding of the Dao?

The Saint Venerable was shocked. With the Ice Jiao acting as a crossbow, she was fighting him to a standstill. The Ice Jiao, realizing it was being used, played along, spitting ice arrows with glee. It had been beaten by this girl before; now that a Soul Separation master was here, it was only fair that he be "served" too.

Half the time had passed. The Saint Venerable channeled energy for the second form. He needed the first form’s lingering intent to condense the lightning and water into the dragon’s body. He swung the first form again.

Su Bai had already countered it twice. This time, as the dragon-shaped intent coiled around her sword, she unleashed her own aura. The dragon roared, swallowing the Saint Venerable’s intent whole.

The Saint Venerable broke into a cold sweat. She was learning his sword art in real-time! The first time, she used a high-level array to freeze the water. The second time, she countered with the same art. The third time, she found the flaw and swallowed his intent.

*But,* he thought, *she doesn't know the second form relies on the first as a catalyst. She is being clever, but it will be her undoing.*

Purple lightning gathered on his sword. He believed he had won.

**

The intent of "Piercing the Clouds" shattered, but the massive thunder remained. Under the thick, cyan-violet lightning, the girl’s figure looked tiny. The Saint Venerable channeled all the lightning from the air into his sword, his hand glowing, the space around it distorting from the high-density energy.

He grasped the sword like an eagle, and two giant dragons roared and spiraled up the blade, their scales clearly visible.

"To force a dragon manifestation without the first form as a lead—do you think the true meaning of the Heavenly Derivation Sword Art is something a half-baked amateur can grasp?"

He swung. The dragons spat bowl-thick lightning, which in turn condensed into new sword intents! It was an endless, self-perpetuating cycle!

Su Bai leaped forward, her sword catching a sliver of heavenly light. The dragon she manifested roared and charged at him. The Saint Venerable’s lightning dragon opened its maw, biting her intent to pieces! The shockwave sent Su Bai flying dozens of meters.

The Saint Venerable seized the chance, stepping through the air to deliver the final blow. The Dragon-Singing Sword let out a despairing cry.

Su Bai raised her sword to block. As steel met steel, the Saint Venerable looked down at her with infinite coldness. Just as he prepared to strike, he saw the girl look up. Blood streamed from her forehead, contrasting with the dark of her hair, but her eyes were as bright as frost under the moonlight, reflecting the shimmering sword light.

"Do you think this is the limit of what I can do?" she said.

The Saint Venerable felt a chill. Suddenly, several water pillars erupted from the lake behind her, condensing into a dragon. Clouds formed, and the giant dragon roared.

"Water Cloud Art!" The Saint Venerable sneered. "A desperate struggle?"

Su Bai injected her energy. Lightning gathered on the Dragon-Singing Sword. She broke free from his blade. Standing on the vast waves, she pointed her sword at a shimmering point of light. The water dragon roared and merged with the light. The Ice Jiao spat a stream of water, forming another dragon that joined the first.

"Piercing the Clouds assists the lightning, true," Su Bai said, her sword wreathed in water and thunder. "But you forgot—the second level of the Water Cloud Art shares the same roots as the Heavenly Derivation Sword Art!"

Elder Yaoguang once said that techniques are not about the opposition of elements, but their connection. The Heavenly Derivation Sword Art is lightning; the Water Cloud Art is water. Why was their connection so deep?

She gripped the sword. *Thunder overcomes water, but water assists thunder!*

"Second Level of the Water Cloud Art—Sea Tide Rising!"

Thunder and water dragons emerged with her sword intent. A crescent-shaped cold light appeared in the sky, with thunder on the outside, water on the inside, and sword intent as the foundation, rushing toward the Saint Venerable like a gale.

If not for a master who understood both, how could one combine them so easily? The Saint Venerable’s eyes turned cold. He poured all his energy into this final strike.

Thunder roared. As if infected by their clash, the tens of thousands of swords in the tomb began to hum in unison.

The disciples searching for swords trembled. "What kind of monster is fighting in the southeast?"

"That was eighty-one lightning strikes! I’m terrified!"

Sword intent collided with sword intent. The sky grew dark, but the white light of the sword aura tore a hole through the gloom. Between heaven and earth, there was a sudden silence.

The white line stretched. If one looked closely, they would see it mixed with cyan-violet lightning and azure water droplets. "Sea Tide Rising" used a sliver of divine sense to command the water elements within a range, but its essence was that every drop contained the cultivator’s understanding of the laws of heaven and earth.

On the sword path, this was known as sword intent. But "Sea Tide Rising" was different. To imbue every drop with one’s own Dao required immense divine sense, and its power depended not on cultivation, but on the Dao heart.

Fortunately, she was a person who had entered the Dao.

Su Bai’s wrist exerted force. Every drop of water became a sword intent!

The Saint Venerable stared at her in disbelief: "You..."

Such a pure Dao heart, such wild, surging vitality, such an obsession to cut through everything...

"What Dao have you entered?" he asked urgently.

The girl’s eyes were deep as a bottomless night, but the spark within them was now a roaring inferno.

"I have entered the Heartless Dao," she said, word by word.