Star-Plucking Sword (3)

Lin Qianshuang shifted her gaze from the arena and cast an inscrutable glance at Xiao Lanle, who was approaching her. Since sitting at separate tables during breakfast, they hadn’t exchanged a word. When they boarded the painted boat with the Penglai Immortal Sect disciples, Lin Qianshuang sensed Xiao Lanle’s deliberate or unintentional avoidance, maintaining a noticeable distance.

Their efforts to avoid suspicion, coupled with the previous night’s events, left both feeling uneasy.

Lin Qianshuang leaned against the railing, eyes fixed on the shimmering arena. Her chest felt tight, constricted. Why was Xiao Lanle seeking her out now?

Xiao Lanle squeezed between Lin Qianshuang and Xu Zheng, pressing close as she leaned against the railing, pushing Xu Zheng aside.

Xu Zheng, hoping to speak with Lin Qianshuang alone, looked perplexed at being excluded. The Penglai Immortal Sect leader’s daughter, a potential future City Lord’s wife, shot him a threatening glare. Her hand rested possessively on Lin Qianshuang’s lower back, eyebrows arched like a cat defending its territory. Xu Zheng, sensing tension, dared not step closer.

Chen Shangqing stood distant, gaze flicking between the women before turning to Xu Zheng. “Shangying¹, let’s head to the front.”

Xu Zheng felt out of place beside the two women, struggling to find an opening to speak. When Chen Shangqing called him, he quickly followed, relieved to exit the awkward situation.

Lin Qianshuang remained oblivious to the commotion around her, casting a brief glance at Xiao Lanle before focusing intently on the arena at Jinshui Lake. The matches were already underway, with disciples from the Lingxiao Sword Sect and Penglai Immortal Sect engaging in fierce, evenly matched battles. The tide shifted when Liang Jingxuan stepped onto the stage, wielding his peculiar pink Purple Heavenly Sword amidst jeers from the crowd.

As expected, Liang Jingxuan defeated the first Lingxiao Sword Sect disciple. Each subsequent challenger fared no better, falling to his blade. Despite lacking divine power, the Purple Heavenly Sword seemed to sap the strength of those it touched, leaving them weakened and vulnerable after just a few exchanges.

Lin Qianshuang felt a surge of disdain. He wasn’t using his true strength; he must have relied on his “King’s Aura” again. Otherwise, those disciples wouldn’t have performed so far below their usual standard.

“Senior Sister, you’re staring intently at the Star-Plucking Sword on the competition stage. Do you want to obtain it?” Xiao Lanle asked, leaning against the boat’s railing in her spotless white robes. She propped her chin up with one hand, her crystal-like black eyes fixed steadily on Lin Qianshuang, as if she’d been staring for a while.

Lin Qianshuang’s ears reddened slightly, but her gaze remained fixed on the competition stage. “The Star-Plucking Sword is an extraordinary weapon. Naturally, I want it.”

“Even Senior Brother Chen lost to Senior Brother Liang,” Xiao Lanle said, her voice tinged with regret. She watched as Chen Shangqing was forced off the stage by Liang Jingxuan, who had used a clever feint with his sword. Turning to Lin Qianshuang, she asked, “Senior Sister, are you truly confident you can defeat Senior Brother Liang?”

“Senior Brother Liang is the pride of our sect. I naturally can’t compare to him, but no matter the outcome, I must give it a try.”

Lin Qianshuang said humbly to Xiao Lanle, though confidence bloomed within her. She materialized a basic spirit sword in her hand. Although she possessed the cultivation of a demon infant, she couldn’t reveal it excessively. Moreover, her understanding of the Penglai Immortal Sect’s sword techniques was rudimentary at best, forcing her to make do.

On the competition stage, Liang Jingxuan stood triumphantly, his King’s Aura intimidating all. The disciples from the Lingxiao Sword Sect and the Penglai Immortal Sect on the painted boat no longer dared to challenge him. If Lin Qianshuang didn’t step forward now, the Star-Plucking Sword would belong to Liang Jingxuan.

Just as Lin Qianshuang was about to move, Xiao Lanle gently placed the Plain Inquiry Sword, emitting a celadon glow, into her palm. “Senior Sister, your basic spirit sword is of far too poor quality. How could it possibly stand against Senior Brother Liang Jingxuan’s spirit sword? Use my Plain Inquiry Sword for now,” Xiao Lanle said, her expression gentle.

Lin Qianshuang wielded the Plain Inquiry Sword with practiced ease. Though it couldn’t match Liang Jingxuan’s divine sword, it was a renowned high-grade spiritual weapon—light and capable of slicing through iron like mud.

“Many thanks, Senior Sister,” Lin Qianshuang replied. With a graceful leap, she mounted her sword and soared out, the blade gliding over the waves and stirring white foam. In an instant, she stood firmly on the competition platform.

Liang Jingxuan, with his Purple Heavenly Sword in its pink scabbard, exuded superiority. He gazed at the disciples watching from the painted boat, none daring to challenge him again. Basking in the crowd’s admiration and envy, he struck a dashing, arrogant pose.

“Hmph! You ignorant fools, daring to compare yourselves to the master of this immortal?”

The Purple Heavenly Sword Spirit, ever prideful, regarded itself as a primordial divine sword, its status unparalleled. Now, confined to a damaged sword body, its dignity had suffered a blow. Yet, seeing Liang Jingxuan restore some of its honor, it emitted a golden-purple light, its pride renewed.

When it thought about the Star-Plucking Sword being used as material for its reforging, and its true form nearing restoration, its radiance became even more resplendent.

A familiar demonic aura entered the Purple Heavenly Sword Spirit’s perception. Before Liang Jingxuan stood a woman of extraordinary beauty, her sword brimming with murderous intent, descending steadily.

Lin Qianshuang’s sleeves fluttered like butterfly wings, her dark, ink-like hair rippling softly as the sword energy dissipated. A faint blue light flickered in her bright eyes as she extended the Plain Inquiry Sword to the side. She turned to Liang Jingxuan, her lips curving into an enchanting smile, and said tenderly, “Junior Brother Liang, I’ve come to accept your challenge. If you’re ready, let’s begin.”

“Senior Sister, of course I’m ready. We’ll start when you say we do.”

For a moment, Liang Jingxuan’s face revealed an infatuated expression. He instinctively reached for his sword, but a sudden weight pressed down on him, and the vertebrae in his waist let out a cracking sound. He immediately clutched his back, but the muscles in his abdomen were already strained.

He cursed himself for losing face in front of his beloved, his eyes burning like fire as he gazed at Lin Qianshuang. He boldly and blatantly scrutinized her slender, undulating, and exquisite body, his mind already filled with improper thoughts.

The more Liang Jingxuan looked, the more his heart fluttered, and he even forgot to release his King’s Aura. He thought to himself, How could I bear to hurt Senior Sister when she’s come to challenge me? I might as well tease her a bit first, then escort her off the stage.

“How could this yellow-haired girl appear here, still wearing the disciple uniform of a human cultivator?”

The Purple Heavenly Sword Spirit sensed the familiar demonic aura and immediately thought, “Not good! It’s that demonic cultivator who tricked me again.” After arriving in the human realm, my master was mocked and humiliated, only to realize that her sweet talk was all lies. Even female cultivators would find my scabbard’s gaudy color and ridiculous patterns distasteful.

“Perhaps this brat is trying to stop me from obtaining the Star-Plucking Sword.”

But Lin Qianshuang was once the master of the Purple Heavenly Sword’s scabbard, so the sword couldn’t reveal its former master’s name and identity, as that would violate its sword virtues.

The Purple Heavenly Sword suddenly grew agitated, its blade trembling and humming.

Liang Jingxuan, connected in mind with the Purple Heavenly Sword, understood the meaning it sought to convey.

“Senior, are you telling me to be cautious around Senior Sister Lin?”

Liang Jingxuan said with a hint of amused disdain, “She’s just a woman who deserves to be cherished and loved. What’s there to fear about her Foundation Establishment cultivation? If I were to use the King’s Aura, wouldn’t that make me seem foolish?”

“Junior Brother, let’s begin.”

An icy blade swept across Liang Jingxuan’s neck. He reflexively turned his head, and a strand of hair at his temple was cleanly severed.

Lin Qianshuang’s Floating Sword Technique was executed with flawless precision, targeting Liang Jingxuan’s many vulnerabilities with ruthless strikes.

Liang Jingxuan struggled to wield the heavy Purple Heavenly Sword, his awkward dodges barely avoiding her relentless attacks. At one point, his overexertion nearly caused the scabbard’s weight to crush his waist, yet he dared not draw the Purple Heavenly Sword. Once drawn, the blade demanded blood, and he had no desire to harm Lin Qianshuang.

Lin Qianshuang, however, saw through Liang Jingxuan’s slow and clumsy movements, which lagged behind hers by four beats. With a sudden shift in her stance, she darted behind him and delivered a powerful kick to his back, sending him tumbling forward. The overwhelming weight of the Purple Heavenly Sword pulled him down, and he crashed to the ground, mud covering his face.

The Purple Heavenly Sword pressed directly against his groin, slicing through his pants. Before everyone’s eyes, a sudden gust of sword wind ripped his trousers to shreds, exposing his lower body.

At once, he pleasure boat carrying disciples from both sects erupted in loud, mocking laughter.

“Am I seeing this right? Senior Brother Liang is actually… a eunuch?” someone exclaimed.

“So, how did he defile that girl from the Chen family under the Matchmaking Tree?” another voice added, laced with ridicule.

“Perhaps that Chen girl tried to take advantage of him, but Senior Brother Liang couldn’t rise to the occasion. Hahahahaha.”

Chen Shangyun, her face twisted in rage, stood on the painted boat as mocking laughter erupted around her. She couldn’t hold back and cursed loudly, “What are you all laughing at? This girl didn’t know that the young master of the Liang family was actually a eunuch! I was deceived, deceived! If I had known, how could I have married such a person?”

Chen Shangqing saw that Chen Shangyun was about to slap their laughing junior sister, Zheng Huan, who stood beside her. He quickly grabbed her hand and said, “Shangyun, this engagement can be dissolved. Why must you be so furious? If you lose face again and it reaches the family head, what will he think?”

Chen Shangyun threw herself into Chen Shangqing’s arms, sobbing pitifully, “Big brother, you must stand up for me! Nothing happened under the Matchmaking Tree. I thought Liang Jingxuan was a noble and virtuous man, someone I admired. I didn’t expect him to be a cripple, a useless person who did nothing to me. If he had, you could use the Chastity Stone to test my blood, and you’d see that I’m innocent!”

Just yesterday, Chen Shangyun had been at Sect Master Xiao Shen’s place, demanding the annulment of the engagement between Xiao Lanle and Liang Jingxuan. She had insisted that she would marry no one but Senior Brother Liang in this life. Yet now, she was making a scene, claiming she had been deceived.

Everyone stared at Chen Shangyun’s sudden change of heart, their sympathetic gazes turning to Liang Jingxuan, who had been jilted twice in a row on the competition stage and publicly exposed as a cripple. His humiliation had not only disgraced the Liang family but also left Xiao Shen, the leader of the Penglai Immortal Sect, looking utterly dispirited. The days ahead for Liang Jingxuan were sure to be miserable.

Liang Jingxuan collapsed to the ground, using the Purple Heavenly Sword to prop himself up. Unaware of what had happened, he only realized the situation when he heard the murmurs from the painted boat and noticed his torn clothing. His cold gaze locked onto Chen Shangqing, who was comforting Chen Shangyun in his arms.

As he fell, Liang Jingxuan had distinctly felt a surge of sword energy strike him from behind. Senior Sister Lin, with her Foundation Establishment cultivation, shouldn’t have been capable of such precise and pure sword energy. It had to be Chen Shangqing—again!

How detestable! This trash actually dared to scheme against him time and again.

“Junior Brother, are you okay? Did I hit you too hard? Are you alright?” asked the woman crouched before him, her clear and delicate face etched with concern for his well-being.

Senior Sister Lin remained as gentle as ever, always there to comfort and warm his heart whenever it ached.

Liang Jingxuan, touched, took Lin Qianshuang’s hand and stood up. His emotional eyes locked onto hers as he asked, “Qianshuang, even now, do you not despise me as she does?”

“Junior Brother, don’t grieve so much…” Lin Qianshuang fought to hold back her laughter, her eyes welling up with tears as she spoke softly.

Seeing the tears in Lin Qianshuang’s eyes, Liang Jingxuan felt a pang in his heart. He took a step closer, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Senior Sister, if you desire the Star-Plucking Sword, I can grant it to you. Don’t grieve—I will not allow you to marry Chen Shangying. I know you still sorrow over this matter.”