263: Chapter 264 My Swordsmanship, Now Yours

The secret chamber was very quiet.

There was only the sound of Instructor Su Qing's suppressed, slightly rapid breathing.

She looked at her teacher, who lay motionless on the ground yet whose aura had been forcibly stabilized, and then at the back of the youth walking toward the main control core; her mind was a complete mess.

Everything that had just happened was too much of a shock for her.

Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's "Return to Void," Lin Qi's "Existence."

One represented the apex of this world's Law System, while the other represented a "Truth" that was more primitive and essential, one she could not comprehend at all.

In the end, the latter won.

It won cleanly and decisively.

What was even more absurd was that Lin Qi had finally used an unheard-of method to forcibly drag her teacher back from the gates of hell.

That was not healing; Instructor Su Qing could feel it.

It was a kind of... method similar to a "Seal."

It forcibly froze her teacher's life state on the thin line between "dead" and "not dead."

This kind of operation was simply more unreasonable than the gods.

"What kind of monster is this guy... exactly?" This sentence repeated over and over in Instructor Su Qing's mind.

She suddenly felt how wise her previous decision had been.

Placing her hope on such an "anomaly" that could not be measured by common sense might truly be the only chance to break the curse upon her.

Just as she was letting her thoughts run wild, Lin Qi had already walked beneath that silver cube.

He reached out his hand, not touching it, but letting it hover in mid-air.

"Martial Intent Insight" activated.

In his perception, the essence of this so-called "Abyssal Rift Simulator Main Control Core" was laid bare.

This thing was not a simulator at all.

It was more like a "Coordinate Amplifier" and a "Law Converter."

Its internal structure was extremely complex, engraved with countless runes that Lin Qi could not understand but could perceive the functions of.

The purpose of these runes was to precisely capture the fluctuations of a specific "anomaly"—like himself, a "Blank Slate" without a panel—and then amplify these fluctuations, and through some kind of conversion, "translate" them into a "virus" signal that the System of this world could understand.

Once marked as a "virus," the System would initiate a "virus scanning program," which was the so-called "System Rejection."

And the "skull of the old god" that the Li family had handed over previously should have functioned to provide the initial "virus sample," allowing this machine to precisely lock onto its target.

As for the "Earth Fiend Cave Core Compass" he had snatched from the auction, it was more like a "battery" and "signal transmission tower" providing power to this "virus scanning program."

The three things were indispensable.

"A fine scheme." Lin Qi sneered inwardly.

The mysterious person plotting everything behind the scenes understood the underlying rules of this world quite thoroughly.

This was definitely not a plan that an idiot like Li Qingcang could have come up with.

He withdrew his hand, hesitated no longer, leaped up, and grabbed directly at the silver cube.

Just at the moment his fingertips were about to touch the cube,

"Hum—" An invisible defensive barrier lit up and repelled his hand.

It was the secret chamber's final defense System, directly bound to the main control core.

"A bit interesting." Lin Qi landed on the ground, looking at the shimmering barrier, not surprised.

If it were so easy for him to take, then the S-level restricted area of Longya Academy would be too cheap.

He could feel that the energy source of this barrier was the main control core itself.

To break it, one had to forcibly overwhelm it with energy far exceeding the core's output power.

A full-power strike from a Peak Rank 4 expert might barely be able to shake it.

But Lin Qi did not want to do that.

The commotion would be too great.

He glanced at Sword Saint Ye Qingtian lying on the ground, then at Instructor Su Qing in the corner, and decided to switch to a more "technical" method.

He reached out his hand again; this time, a wisp of "Protective Aura," condensed into substance, lingered on his fingertip.

Then, he used this finger to gently tap the defensive barrier.

It made no sound at all.

The moment the "Protective Aura" touched the barrier, it did not create an energy clash; instead, like mercury, it silently "infiltrated" it.

This was another property of "Protective Aura"—Isolation.

When the energy purity of the "Protective Aura" was far higher than the target, it could ignore the other's energy structure and penetrate directly.

It was like using a hot knife to cut butter.

Instructor Su Qing only saw Lin Qi tap the barrier gently with his finger, and then that seemingly indestructible light curtain began to rapidly dim and disintegrate, centered on his fingertip.

It took no more than three seconds.

"Click." With a soft sound, the defensive barrier vanished completely.

Instructor Su Qing's mouth opened slightly; she no longer knew what expression to use to express her feelings.

Longya Academy's top-tier defense System, a Law barrier capable of withstanding a strike from a Rank 5 Expert, was just like that... poked through by a single finger?

This was even more absurd than going head-to-head with "Return to Void"!

Going head-to-head with "Return to Void" could at least be understood as a collision of two extreme forces.

What was this now? Physical hacking?

She felt that her worldview had been repeatedly crushed, reconstructed, and crushed again in these short dozen minutes tonight.

Lin Qi did not care what she was thinking.

After breaking the defense, he grabbed the silver cube from mid-air.

It felt cold and heavy in his hand, and a peculiar energy rhythm emanated from within.

"Done." He weighed it with satisfaction, then prepared to stuff it somewhere, tossing it aside as casually as a brick.

Just at that moment,

"Wait... wait..." A voice, so weak it was almost inaudible, came from the ground.

Lin Qi paused and looked down.

It was Sword Saint Ye Qingtian.

He had actually woken up.

Or rather, it was a flash of brilliance before death.

The light in his eyes was much brighter than before, but Lin Qi knew this was the final burning of the Soul's fire.

"I... have something... I wish to gift you..." Sword Saint Ye Qingtian used all his remaining strength to lift his only remaining left hand, trembling as he pointed toward his own brow.

"Teacher!" Instructor Su Qing exclaimed, quickly crouching down.

"Don't come over." Sword Saint Ye Qingtian stopped her, his gaze remaining fixed on Lin Qi.

"This is... my respect, as a loser, to the victor."

His fingertip tapped lightly on his brow.

A silver speck of light, extremely faint but so sharp it felt as if it could pierce the Soul, emerged from his brow.

The moment that speck of light appeared, the air in the entire secret chamber seemed to be sliced open.

Instructor Su Qing only took one look and felt as if her spirit were being sliced by countless small knives, causing intense pain, so she quickly looked away.

"This is..." Lin Qi's eyes narrowed.

He recognized this thing.

"Sword Intent Seed."

The essence condensed from a swordsman's lifelong cultivation, insights, and mental will.

Sword Saint Ye Qingtian was going to give his entire life's Dao of the Sword to him.

"My Dao... was wrong, but my sword... was not wrong." There was an indescribable pride in Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's voice.

"It remaining with me... will only rot along with me... that would be too wasteful."

"You... are more qualified than I am... to possess it."

That Sword Intent Seed drifted wobbly toward Lin Qi.

Lin Qi did not move.

He looked at the "seed" that represented the pinnacle of the Federation's swordsmanship, his heart devoid of ripples.

To be honest, this thing was of no use to him.

His martial arts experience was solidified in his Soul; it was the master syllabus of the entire game world of "martial arts era," the Origin of the "Dao."

No matter how strong Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's Dao of the Sword was, it was only a "Technique" within this world's System, not even touching the edge of the Law; for him, the reference value was not great.

But he did not refuse.

Because he saw the entrustment and expectation in Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's eyes.

This was a pure Martial Artist, in the final moment of life, looking for a successor for his own "Dao."

This was dignity.

Lin Qi reached out his hand, letting the Sword Intent Seed fall into his palm.

The moment the seed touched his hand, a vast and complex torrent of information, mixed with countless images of Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's hundred years of sword practice, flooded into his mind frantically.

From the most basic sword holding and slashing, to comprehending Sword Momentum and Sword Heart, and finally, merging with the Law of Space to execute the "Space-Severing" strike...

A swordsman's life flashed through Lin Qi's mind at high speed.

If it were anyone else, even a Rank 4 Expert, being hit by this torrent of information would cause their spirit to collapse on the spot, turning them into an idiot.

But Lin Qi only raised an eyebrow.

His Soul will, tempered by the memories of the Martial Saint, was like an eternal, unmoving sacred mountain.

Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's insights into the Dao of the Sword rushed in, like a small stream merging into the ocean, not even stirring up a single splash before being instantly assimilated, absorbed, and archived.

"So that's how it is; this world's Law of Space is used like this."

Lin Qi used less than a second to digest all the information, and by drawing inferences, he gained a deeper understanding of the "Protective Aura" and "Taiji Neutralizing Force" he had previously comprehended.

Drawing parallels.

For him, this was like a PhD student looking at an elementary student's homework; he could identify all the knowledge points with a glance and could even preview the middle school problems for him while at it.

"Many thanks." Lin Qi said the most polite sentence of the night to Sword Saint Ye Qingtian.

Although the item was not very useful, he accepted the sentiment.

"Good... good..." Seeing Lin Qi accept the Sword Intent, a look of relief appeared on Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's face.

The last light in his eyes extinguished completely, his head lolled to the side, and he "died" again.

But this time, he left with a smile.

Instructor Su Qing watched from the side, tears sliding down silently, but she did not cry out again.

She walked to her teacher's side, silently tidied his disheveled robes, then stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Qi.

"Thank you." This bow of hers contained too many emotions.

Thanking him for his mercy, thanking him for giving her teacher his final dignity, and even more so, thanking him... for letting her see a brand new world.

"Don't thank me, this is a transaction." Lin Qi put away the main control core and the Sword Intent Seed, his tone returning to that coldness.

"I got what I wanted, he verified his Dao, it's very fair."

He glanced at the exit of the secret chamber.

"This place is not suitable for staying long; it's time to leave."

"I'll see you out." Instructor Su Qing wiped away her tears, her eyes becoming firm again.

"Although teacher has fallen, the Sword Intent he just released should have alerted the academy's higher-ups. I can still use my authority badge to help you cover your tracks."

"No need." Lin Qi shook his head.

"The commotion has already been made; trying to sneak out now would only make it easier to get blocked."

"Then what should we do?" Instructor Su Qing was stunned.

Lin Qi's mouth tugged up, revealing a smile that made Instructor Su Qing a bit creeped out.

"Of course, it's to... walk out openly and honestly."

After saying this, he did not care about Instructor Su Qing's reaction and walked straight toward the open door.

His demeanor did not look like an infiltrator who had just broken into a restricted area.

It looked more like a young master who had finished strolling through his own back garden and was preparing to go home for dinner.