53: Be the number one person in the world

A gentle breeze blew.

Di Yan carried a jade sword on her shoulder, her feet treading upon a branch as she crossed over the lake.

Soon, she arrived at the isolated island in the center of the lake.

The bamboo forest and the small courtyard remained just as they had always been.

It was just lacking a bit of the atmosphere of daily life.

"Revered Master isn't here, so he must be at Yan Quan Peak!"

Di Yan briefly cleared the weeds in the courtyard and then turned to leave.

Yan Quan Peak was the mountain range Su Quan had chosen when he founded his sect; the young girl had spent her ten most beautiful years there.

Traveling through wind and dust, crossing several continents.

It took nearly two years before Di Yan's graceful figure appeared at the foot of Yan Quan Peak.

Due to the abundance of Spiritual Qi, the vegetation here was lush, the fragrance was pungent, and the beauty of the scenery was refreshing to the soul.

"Revered Master, Revered Master!"

"Are you here?"

Before she had even arrived, the girl's urgent voice drifted up.

"Xiao Yan!"

The youth's clear and bright laughter rang out.

It made Di Yan's heart race as immense joy surged forth; her steps were swift as she rushed into the familiar courtyard.

Sure enough, Su Quan was sitting at a stone table, holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other. He looked up, and his stunningly beautiful face, which could captivate all living beings, revealed a warm and tender smile.

"Revered Master!"

Di Yan let out a soft cry and wanted to throw herself into the youth's arms.

But she suddenly realized that she was already past twenty and was a proper young woman; burrowing into her Revered Master's arms might be seen as taking advantage of him.

So her pretty face fell, and she somewhat unwillingly chose to squat behind the youth, familiarly kneading his shoulders for him.

"Revered Master, your Disciple really missed you!"

Having been separated for two full years, time had allowed her feelings of longing to grow intensely deep.

"I missed Xiao Yan as well!"

Su Quan's lips curled into a smile as he gently stroked the girl's head, smoothing her beautiful black hair, and then said, "I've heard about what you did at the Sword Forging Manor. Having sought your revenge, you can consider that matter resolved!"

"I also have to thank you for your guidance, otherwise if it were just up to your Disciple to seek revenge, who knows how long it would have taken!" Di Yan lifted her small head, revealing a happy smile.

Usually unapproachable and as cold as ice, it was only by her Revered Master's side that she would show such a girlish demeanor.

"What are your plans for the future?"

"From now on, your Disciple will follow by your side, bitterly practicing sword techniques, and won't go anywhere else!"

"Silly girl, do you really plan to stay by your Revered Master's side for a lifetime?" Su Quan teased with a laugh.

Di Yan's beautiful eyes widened, and she pouted her pink cherry lips, grumbling, "I want to stay for a lifetime! Your Disciple even wants to take care of Revered Master in his old age and see him off. Revered Master wouldn't dislike me and want to drive me away, would he?"

"Suit yourself!"

Su Quan shook his head somewhat helplessly. He stood up and walked toward the mountain peak, saying, "Come with me. Let me test you and see if your sword techniques have made any progress during this time!"

"Alright!"

The girl picked up her sword and rose.

The two of them took their stances.

Di Yan struck first. After another two years of bitter cultivation, her Realm had already reached the ninth layer of the Nascent Soul Stage, only one step away from entering the Deity Transformation Realm.

In just twenty short years, she had reached a height that ordinary Geniuses could hardly achieve in a lifetime.

This was enough to show the terrifying nature of the Indestructible Sword Body!

"Revered Master, watch out! Take this!"

"Strike with all your strength. If you can wound me, then you can be the Revered Master!"

Su Quan's expression was calm, his pupils reflecting the sky-covering Sword Qi, light splitting and shadows shifting as if from another world.

"Interesting!"

The youth, dressed in a white robe, kept one hand behind his back while using two fingers of his other hand as a sword to battle Di Yan's jade sword.

Two ghost-like figures flashed and moved across the sky.

The crisp, explosive sounds of metal clashing rang out incessantly.

Di Yan's sword momentum was like a tide, wave after wave. It was not only powerful and heavy, fierce and sharp, but also had the eerie transformations of a venomous snake. Her aura was continuous as she successively used several sword technique Divine Abilities.

The look of surprise in Su Quan's eyes grew even stronger.

If the Trial Card lasted for a hundred years, there might really be hope!

After fighting for hundreds of rounds, the True Qi in Di Yan's body was exhausted, and she was defeated.

Her pretty face was flushed, her forehead covered in crystalline beads of sweat, and she panted with fragrant breath, saying full of admiration, "Revered Master, you are truly amazing. Your Disciple couldn't even touch a corner of your clothes!"

Looking at the girl's enticing appearance, Su Quan subconsciously swallowed his saliva, then returned to normal, showing a loving smile: "Xiao Yan, there's no need to be discouraged. To have reached this step today, you have already surpassed ninety-nine percent of the world's Heavenly Prodigies!"

"If I'm not mistaken, your Ruthless Sword Heart has entered the Minor Achievement Realm!"

"Yes, Revered Master. Your Disciple's Ruthless Sword Heart entered the Minor Achievement Realm a year ago by chance, but I still see no hope for Major Achievement!" Di Yan said.

"No need to be too impatient. A Major Achievement in the Heartless Sword Dao requires discarding the seven emotions and six desires, severing mortal attachments, and having only the sword in one's heart to glimpse its essence!" Su Quan said, looking up at the sky in a somewhat pretentious manner.

"Your Disciple understands. Thank you for your guidance, Revered Master!"

Di Yan replied, but there was a fleeting flicker in her beautiful eyes.

Sever mortal attachments?

Could she really do it?

She wasn't worried about others, but only... the youth before her. Could she really sever those improper feelings? Or rather, was she truly willing to sever them?

Usually confident, for the first time, a shadow cast over her heart.

Su Quan, seemingly unaware of the girl's emotional shift, continued on his own, "I also found that the nine Divine Abilities I previously taught you have all been cultivated to the Perfection Realm. Your Comprehension Ability is truly astonishing!"

Di Yan snapped back to her senses, unwilling to think about those troubling matters anymore, and chuckled, "Of course! Look whose Disciple I am!"

After saying that, she stepped forward and hugged the youth's arm, shaking it while acting spoiled in a sweet voice, "Revered Master, isn't it time you taught your Disciple another Divine Ability!"

"Fine, fine, fine!"

Su Quan's face was full of indulgence as he stroked the girl's small head and said, "I just don't know which of my Divine Abilities you want to Cultivate, Xiao Yan?"

"I want to Cultivate..."

Di Yan's cherry lips parted slightly, and just as she was about to say something, a thought flashed through her mind. She immediately changed her mind and giggled, "Your Disciple wants to learn the Cultivation Technique that Revered Master is always holding!"

"That Cultivation Technique? That won't do!" Su Quan shook his head with a smile.

"Why not?"

Di Yan was somewhat surprised.

Those words just now were originally said in passing, but now they had actually piqued her interest.

Because in her memory, Revered Master had never refused her requests regarding cultivation.

"Because that book... Revered Master cannot give it to you yet!"

"Hmph, Revered Master is still hiding Divine Abilities. Are you trying to guard against your Disciple?" Di Yan pouted her cherry lips and patted her full chest, vowing solemnly, "Revered Master, rest assured, your Disciple will absolutely never draw her sword against Revered Master!"

"Pick another Divine Ability!"

Su Quan's smile faded, and he refused quite decisively.

Di Yan was stunned, somewhat surprised by her Revered Master's reaction. Murmuring in her heart, she immediately changed her words, "Alright then, I want to learn your Demon Lord of Heaven and Earth!"

"You girl, your eye is quite sharp. With one request, you've taken your Revered Master's strongest Divine Ability!" Su Quan laughed heartily and nodded, "Alright, I grant it!"

The strongest Divine Ability?

Di Yan's beautiful eyes flickered.

Perhaps the Cultivation Technique you are unwilling to teach is the truly strongest Divine Ability!

It wasn't her fault for overthinking; since she was a child, she remembered that Revered Master always held that book in his hand, sometimes writing in it and sometimes contemplating it. In all these years, it had never left his side.

However, this thought was merely a passing one.

She wouldn't harbor any other emotions; it was purely out of curiosity.

At this moment, the setting sun was just going down, its golden afterglow bathing the earth as if dressing the world in a golden straw raincoat.

"This girl... there is one more thing."

Su Quan shook his head with a smile and then walked toward the mountain peak, the oncoming mountain wind blowing his black hair.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his tone suddenly becoming serious: "Disciple, years ago I asked you what you practiced the sword for, and you told me it was to seek revenge for the Di Family!"

"Today, the Di Family's great revenge has been settled, so I ask you once more: what do you practice the sword for?"

The youth's voice was deafening, causing Di Yan's Divine Soul to tremble.

She unconsciously walked to her Revered Master's side. Looking out, she took in the beauty of the vast landscape, and a sense of heroic spirit spontaneously arose.

Confusion, longing, struggle, and more flashed through her purple eyes, until finally, only determination remained.

Her sword heart was clear, and her thoughts were unhindered.

The girl's pretty face was cold as ice, a slight curve appearing on her cherry lips. Her delicate body erupted with a brilliant Sword Intent, and her voice was soft, yet it resonated beyond the highest heavens with the wild wind.

"Today, your Disciple practices the sword... to become the number one person in the world!"