80: Chapter 80 "Defeat"

The elder's cold voice rang out; he was not prepared to give Ye Jingjun much time.

A few beads of cold sweat slightly emerged on the young girl's smooth forehead.

The second attempt yielded the same result.

This time, the height of the sword energy was not even as good as the first, not even reaching half the height.

"Two breaths!"

Ye Jingjun gasped heavily.

She could feel the gazes of the surrounding Penglai Sect disciples, filled with either mockery or pity.

She felt the heavy pressure coming from her father's side.

She couldn't do it; she was indeed still too weak.

Just at this critical moment.

Su Chen focused his intent, and his source power as a sword soul vibrated slightly.

A pure and gentle sword intent, like a trickling stream, quietly flowed through the hilt and into Ye Jingjun's right arm, which held the sword.

Ye Jingjun's delicate body trembled slightly.

She could clearly feel that familiar and powerful force.

Rippling repeatedly within her sword-wielding right arm.

Just like when she practiced swordplay in the small courtyard on ordinary days.

It was as if Master Su... was holding her hand and guiding her.

There was no time to think; three breaths passed in an instant.

Borrowing this power, she instinctively thrust out with all her might.

A white ray of sword light shot with absolute precision into the rock crevice of the "Line of Sky."

With a muffled thud, stone chips flew everywhere.

The sword energy penetrated deep into the stone wall, far exceeding the three-foot depth required by the elder.

This sword strike, in terms of speed, power, and precision, far exceeded her own cultivation realm.

For a moment, all the surrounding Penglai Sect disciples widened their eyes, and even several elders showed shocked expressions, exchanging glances back and forth.

From their perspective, the young girl's first two strikes were very immature, relying almost entirely on brute force.

But the third strike suddenly seemed as if she had achieved enlightenment on the spot.

Its power had increased geometrically.

In their view, there was no one else assisting the young girl.

In other words, she had realized it herself without any systematic training.

How could such talent be summarized by the word "genius" alone!

Although Ye Yuan could not see, his powerful divine sense clearly captured the brilliance of that strike.

For the first time, an extremely complex expression appeared on his face.

Even Ye Jingjun herself looked up in disbelief.

Panting slightly, her delicate red lips were slightly parted.

She could feel it.

The help from Master Su just now not only helped her handle the current assessment but also fundamentally changed her right arm and even her sword technique!

If she were to try again now, she had a good chance of wielding another strike with at least ninety percent of the power of this one.

However.

"Three breaths have passed!"

The stiff elder's indifferent voice broke the silence.

"Time is up; the test is a failure."

He deliberately ignored the brilliance of that strike and only seized upon the issue of time.

Ye Jingjun froze in place.

All her strength seemed to have been drained away, and her face was as pale as paper.

An elder with a relatively gentle expression sighed and spoke.

"Young girl, your talent indeed exceeds our expectations."

"This sword strike has quite a bit of spiritual essence."

"If it were any other day, we might have made an exception to accept you. But today."

He swept his gaze over Ye Yuan, whose face was livid, and shook his head; the unspoken words were self-evident.

The Penglai Sect could ultimately not accept the daughter of a "traitor."

Especially when this "traitor" was still present.

In the end, the stiff elder flicked his sleeve, setting the tone for Ye Jingjun's assessment as a failure.

"The assessment result is decided; no need for further words. Send them away!"

Ye Yuan stood there, silent for a long, long time.

In the end, he said nothing, just silently bowed to those familiar sect elders.

Then he took back the su chen sword that Ye Jingjun returned to him, his hand gripping the hilt.

Gripping it very tightly.

He glanced at the su chen sword in his hand.

Then he turned his head and saw Ye Jingjun's dejected face.

As if having secretly made some kind of resolution.

Then, he flew into the air with Ye Jingjun on his sword.

Never looking back.

...

When they returned to the abandoned courtyard in Donglai Prefecture, it was already dusk.

Ye Yuan, whether because of the humiliation before Penglai Mountain or for some other reason, did not say a word.

His face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip from it.

He did not even glance at Ye Jingjun, but walked straight into the only room that was still relatively intact and slammed the door shut with a "bang."

He claimed he needed to go into seclusion to break through his bottleneck and restore his cultivation, and was not to be disturbed unless it was an urgent matter.

The heavy wooden door cut off the inside from the outside, and it also seemed to cut off the last faint connection between father and daughter.

Ye Jingjun stood alone in the overgrown courtyard, holding the su chen sword in her arms, looking at the tightly closed door.

Her clear, cold, and beautiful eyes suddenly became dull and lusterless.

The change in Ye Yuan's attitude toward her was simply too sudden.

Her performance today shouldn't be considered embarrassing for her "father," right...

She lowered her head and stroked the cracked body of the su chen sword.

That cold sensation made her feel slightly more awake.

Right, there was also Master Su.

Today at the Penglai Sect, Master Su should have openly admitted that he was the sword soul within the sword.

Next time she saw him, she would have to ask him properly.

What was it like to live inside a sword?

Was it dark and sunless every day, or could he perceive the outside world like an ordinary human?

And there was that most important question.

What kind of power sealed Master Su into the sword, or how was he born?

Before being sealed into the sword, had he ever been married...

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

It was whether he had ever taken any other disciples!

The young girl took a deep breath.

After this series of internal struggles.

The bitterness in her heart had completely vanished.

She decided to go out for a walk.

At least, before Ye Yuan decided to leave, she wanted to familiarize herself with this strange city where she might live for a long time.

On the streets, compared to when they left, there seemed to be a bit more vitality.

Many sallow and emaciated commoners actually had a bit of color in their faces, and the scales on those with milder symptoms were indeed receding.

Large pots for brewing medicinal soup were lined up in front of the City God Temple, steaming hot, while disciples dressed in the attire of the Penglai Immortal Sect and government officials were busy maintaining order and distributing the medicine.

Such a scene had been going on for a day, from the time they went up the mountain until now.

From the surface, no matter how one tried to find fault.

The Penglai Sect and the new Prefect, as those in power, could completely be called people who loved the commoners as their own children.

In handling this epidemic and the Prefect's demonization incident, there wasn't a single mistake.

Not only did they quell the plague, but they even won over the hearts of the people who originally did not trust the government.

"Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you, Prefect!"

"The Penglai Immortal Sect is truly saving the suffering!"

"Heaven has eyes; our East Lai is saved!"

Sounds of tearful gratitude were endless.

The reputation of the new Prefect and the Penglai Immortal Sect, in this short time of less than a day, was at its zenith.

However, in this harmonious atmosphere where officials and civilians mingled.

Su Chen, as the sword soul, keenly captured some discordant noises.