Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Something Happened?
The next morning.
The window was open, and a cool breeze blew in from outside. Bright sunlight, accompanied by the gentle wind, shone on the young man practicing his swordsmanship, highlighting his sharply defined muscles.
"Huuu."
Su Xing exhaled. His right hand dropped naturally to his side, the tip of the heavy sword in his grasp touching the ground.
At this moment, Su Xing was shirtless, beads of sweat dotting muscles as gnarled and dense as the roots of an old tree.
He gripped the sword tightly in his right hand and raised it, slowly but forcefully. A series of CRACKING sounds emanated from his body.
Finally, he stopped, holding the sword vertically before him with one hand.
Su Xing slowly opened his eyes.
He could feel an endless stream of power surging from his waist into his arms, finally gathering at the tip of the sword, flowing ceaselessly like a rushing river.
’Right now... I should be truly invincible below Tier 4, right?’
A faint blue system panel hovered before Su Xing’s eyes.
In the [Class Skills] section, Sword Technique, Breathing Rhythm, and Stance—the three basic skills—had all impressively reached Tier 3. At this moment, Su Xing felt as if he had finally been filled, an indescribably comfortable and exhilarating sensation.
Su Xing took a deep breath, feeling the endless power within him, then instantly slashed out with his sword!
VWOOM!
A fierce, surging sound of the air being torn apart erupted. Su Xing didn’t stop. Instead, as if in a real battle, he unleashed one slash after another.
He unleashed a series of fast, high-intensity slashes. Though the blade never touched the floor, the repeated shockwaves were enough to send cracks spiderwebbing across the Sword Hall’s blue rubber mats. A series of CRACKING sounds echoed through the room.
If these slashes had landed on a person, Su Xing would have obliterated them to the point that not even their ashes would remain. Even a Sequencer would likely not escape the fate of being hacked to death.
SWISH!
Su Xing abruptly stopped his slashes.
White energy overflowed, bit by bit covering the heavy sword in his hand.
Only now did Su Xing truly understand what it meant to have a moment of sudden enlightenment. His understanding of "Myriad Sword Convergence" was now fully integrated into his muscle memory.
Su Xing stepped forward with a BANG! He slashed out with the heavy sword, and a stark white longsword of energy formed in an instant, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow before it slammed into the Sword Hall wall!
BOOM!
With a tremendous roar, a massive hole instantly appeared in the wall.
All the dust and debris from the shattered wall were instantly annihilated, leaving no trace behind. The large hole looked as if it had appeared out of thin air.
Bright sunlight streamed in through the hole, shining on Su Xing’s face. He gazed at the massive hole, slowly let out a breath, and murmured:
"This power... If I’d also used the Black Sword and the White Blade, I’m afraid it would be even more terrifying."
Su Xing wiped the sweat from his brow. He slid the heavy sword into its Sword Scabbard, walked over to a nearby weapon rack, and leaned the weapon against it.
At this moment, Su Xing knew with absolute certainty that he had grown stronger again. His strength was now at a level where he was invincible below Tier 4, and he could even hold his own against a true Tier 4 expert.
At this thought, Su Xing broke into a smile, his eyes refocusing on the Sword Hall before him.
But... as he came to his senses, he finally realized that the training hall was a complete mess. There were cracks everywhere from his sword practice, and there was now a large hole in the wall, through which a continuous morning breeze was pouring into the hall.
"Hiss..."
Su Xing couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
He had been so engrossed in the enlightenment from his breakthrough that he hadn’t even realized he was still in the Sword Hall. Now he’d gone and made a mess like this. Su Xing scratched his head, already feeling a headache coming on.
Before the Hall Master left, Su Xing never had to worry about such things.
But now that the Hall Master was gone, he would have to pay for these repairs out of his own pocket... The floor alone would cost a pretty penny, and a hole that big in the wall couldn’t be fixed without a good chunk of change.
’Whatever... I’ll just find a contractor to come take a look.’
Su Xing sighed.
He glanced at the somewhat cold and empty Sword Hall and suddenly remembered that Su Yu and Shen Ruyun had been gone for more than a day.
Ever since Su Yu had come to the Sword Hall, Su Xing had seen him almost every day. Not seeing him now actually made him a little worried.
’Still, Yu should be fine in the organization.’
’Surely those Spiritualists aren’t crazy enough to launch a blatant attack on the special organization’s building.’
At this thought, Su Xing just shook his head, picked up his phone, and called a repairman to come look at the Sword Hall and discuss how much the repairs would cost.
...
「The next day.」
After finishing his online classes in his room, Su Xing walked to the training hall and saw that the repairman he’d hired had already enthusiastically begun work on the Sword Hall.
He appreciated the efficiency, but the price was just too high.
Thinking about the expense, Su Xing’s expression darkened. He couldn’t make such a big mess in the Sword Hall next time. Otherwise, by the time he reached Tier 4, he’d probably demolish the whole place.
Su Xing glanced at the darkening sky and thought, ’It’s been two days. Still no word from Yu?’
...
「Two more days passed.」
After his online classes, Su Xing sat in the training hall, spacing out.
The repair crew for the Sword Hall had already gone home for the day, leaving Su Xing sitting there alone. He watched the sunset slowly sink below the horizon, and just as night was about to fall, he started to feel restless.
Su Xing stood up, dusted himself off, and walked out of the Sword Hall.
As he walked, he used an app on his phone to book a ride-share. Su Xing planned to go directly to the special organization’s building. He knew that ordinary people couldn’t get in, but he didn’t need to; he just wanted to make sure his younger brother was safe.
Su Xing stood on the road outside the Sword Hall and waited for about ten minutes before the ride-share driver pulled up in a solid black car.
Su Xing had just gotten into the car and confirmed the last four digits of his phone number with the driver. Just as he was about to relax, he suddenly heard Su Yu’s voice—a voice he hadn’t heard in days. It was very weak and hoarse.
"Bro, come to the hospital... I’ve got something good for you."
’The hospital? Is Yu hurt?’
Su Xing processed Su Yu’s words. He waited, but nothing more came. Worried and a little exasperated, he muttered, "Come on, little bro... you could at least tell me which hospital."
Su Xing didn’t press Su Yu for more. His brother was clearly in a bad state and probably wouldn’t be able to reply to a text right away. After a moment’s thought, he opened his chat with Bailan and typed:
"Teacher Bai, do you know where my brother is? He hasn’t been home for two days."
The chat history showed this was the first time Su Xing had ever replied to Bailan. Above his message was a flood of greetings and chatter from her, all previously unanswered.
After about half a minute, Bailan typed "...", then sent another message:
"I just got the news myself. Yu suffered some minor injuries and has been taken to Cang City First People’s Hospital for treatment. You don’t need to worry too much, Brother Su."
...
「Cang City First People’s Hospital. Inpatient Ward, Room 19.」
Bailan, dressed in a blue and white hospital gown, leaned against the sterile white wall, staring blankly out the window.
’Normally, as a member of the special organization, I shouldn’t have told Su Xing where another member was recuperating. But his relationship with Su Yu is so close, and special.’
’Besides, I have a pretty good impression of Su Xing myself.’
’So after a bit of thought, I told him.’
’As long as I don’t leak any mission-related information to him, it should be fine.’
’This hospital is in the city center, and a lot of our injured members are here. To protect them, the security is definitely reliable.’
’Strictly speaking, the security here is much better than it was at the organization’s building when it was attacked a few days ago. Su Xing is just a civilian; he should be safe here.’
’The Spiritual Sect couldn’t possibly launch two suicide attacks in such a short period of time, right?’
She shook her head, her long hair swaying with the movement. Bailan shrank back under the covers, staring at the white ceiling as the events of the Spiritual Sect’s recent attack replayed over and over in her mind.
Her hands clenched unconsciously, her nails digging into her palms. A few words slowly escaped her pale lips.
"The Spiritual Sect... they’re a bunch of lunatics."
