Chapter 4: A New Resolve

Within the pristine expanse of the Pure White Domain, in the quietude of the cultivation chamber.

“Master, I’m back.”

Seated cross-legged, Bai Huo noted Lin Na’s expression with considerable surprise; her usual coolness had intensified, chilling to an absolute zero.

Bai Huo had already caught wind of the events, and it was entirely reasonable that Lin Na would fall to the Sword Dao Demonic Venerable. Her very survival was a stroke of immense fortune.

“Do you have a countermeasure?”

“None,” Lin Na replied, her head bowed, her beautiful lips pressed tightly together. After a moment of visible struggle, she added, “I cannot win, not at all.”

“Oh?” Bai Huo mused, gently stroking his white beard. Lin Na’s tightly furrowed brows struck him as particularly unexpected.

This child possessed exceptional comprehension, and her meticulous perceptiveness was nothing short of divine.

Having cultivated under his guidance since the tender age of seven, she had ascended to the Emperor Domain in a mere nine years—a testament to unparalleled talent, truly unprecedented.

It was well-known that every time she sparred with him, she would subtly glean new techniques, always achieving some profound realization.

Yet, on this occasion, she was unequivocally declaring her inability to win?

“What led you to this conclusion?”

“He parried the Thunderous Overlord Slash with merely two fingers.”

Upon hearing this answer, even the habitually composed Bai Huo felt a tremor of shock.

That technique was incredibly swift and devastatingly powerful; Bai Huo himself wouldn’t dare receive it with his body. Yet, this person had used only two fingers?

Could it be that… that individual had already ascended to the pinnacle of the Saint Domain, reaching the Divine Realm?

“Master… I have a question.”

As Bai Huo reeled from the profound shock, Lin Na, head still bowed, posed her question with a voice that trembled slightly.

“I… should I listen to my enemy’s advice?”

Lin Na’s lovely face was contorted, her elegant brows tightly knit. Her clenched fists, nails digging into her palms, drew blood that spattered onto the ground like crimson blossoms, a vivid testament to her fierce resistance and inner turmoil.

In the past, she would never have entertained a single word of nonsense from an enemy, let alone consider their advice.

This time, however, she found herself compelled to ponder her adversary’s words.

She needed to grasp their true implication.

After breaking through to the Emperor Domain, Lin Na had come to realize that this realm was akin to a vast, boundless cosmos, and she, herself, merely a minuscule speck of dust within it.

She felt like a child plunged into the deepest ocean, adrift without direction or purpose, consumed only by boundless panic and helplessness.

Having glimpsed her enemy’s power, Lin Na felt more like someone on the brink of drowning, her desperate emotions constricting her breath, her heart scorching with an anxious fire.

If things continued this way, when would she ever avenge herself?

“What did he say?” Bai Huo inquired, his curiosity piqued.

“Discard the extraneous, purify your thoughts.”

Had Zhang Liang heard this, he would undoubtedly have been utterly bewildered, loudly exclaiming, “What in the world are you conjuring up in your mind?”

What he had actually said at the time was, “Such an overly intricate sword path is truly laughable.”

In plain terms, his meaning was: ‘You are utterly incompetent, so much so that it’s amusing.’

Of course, this remark was merely a bluff; Lin Na’s swordplay was consistently clean, direct, and straightforward—there was no complexity to speak of.

Zhang Liang’s sole intention had been to wound Lin Na’s self-esteem, causing her to lose confidence and thereby impede her progress.

Yet, somehow, it had been interpreted this way in Lin Na’s mind.

“Indeed, it perfectly reflects your current state,” Bai Huo affirmed, stroking his beard, thereby validating Zhang Liang’s advice.

He had never imagined that individual could discern Lin Na’s predicament with merely a few gestures. Such a profound insight was truly beyond his own grasp, a realm he could only aspire to.

“What is your ultimate objective?” Bai Huo asked, his tone laden with deeper meaning.

“Revenge.”

“How will you achieve it?”

“By growing stronger.”

“Then what is there left to be conflicted about?”

Upon hearing these words, Lin Na lifted her head, her violet eyes widening slightly. Her hitherto tightly pursed lips now curved upward at an almost imperceptible angle, suggesting a sudden, profound understanding.

Indeed, the identity of the person offering the advice was irrelevant; what truly mattered was whether it would lead to greater strength!

Distractions, baseless conjectures, and anxieties were all fundamental roots of a disturbed mental state.

Her mental state…

Lin Na began to reflect on her past. Ever since she had ascended to the ranks of the Ten Prodigies, she had, at some unknown point, started to care deeply about the opinions of others, focusing more on proving herself than on the pure pursuit of strength.

‘Her heart was in disarray, and her blade had grown dull.’

“I understand, Master, I’ll go back now.”

“Wait,” Bai Huo interjected, a smile gracing his lips as he stroked his white beard, observing the renewed vigor in Lin Na’s eyes. With his other hand, he offered her a work badge. “The academic season begins in a few days; why don’t you take on some new recruits?”

Prior to Lin Na’s arrival here, Zhou Dazhuang had resigned from his teaching position, claiming he needed to embark on outdoor training to return stronger and resume his lectures.

“This…” Lin Na began, taking the work badge with evident hesitation. “I still need to cultivate…”

Having finally discovered her true cultivation path, she felt she ought to enter secluded training. Taking on students would surely impede her progress.

“My child, to review the old is to learn the new. Guiding others is, in fact, the swiftest path to self-improvement.”

“I understand.”

Lin Na would never doubt Bai Huo’s words, particularly since he himself had transcended to sainthood through this very method.

****

In a spartan bedroom, furnished solely with a cabinet and a bed.

Lin Na opened the cabinet and placed lit incense sticks before two ancestral tablets.

“Father… Mother, I will not lose again,” Lin Na whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

She knelt before the spirit tablets for a long, long time, her beautiful lips trembling uncontrollably as tears streamed down her cheeks, landing softly upon the pale skin of her hands.

All the emotions she had suppressed for so long erupted completely in that moment.

To outsiders, she was an impenetrable iceberg, yet who could truly fathom the profound unease and fear that gnawed at her heart?

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