Chapter 30

Chapter 30: You Look So Much Like Someone I Knew

The situation was dire. Sang Nian instinctively fumbled around in her storage pouch, grabbing anything she could find and throwing it.

The black-feathered hawks dodged them all, their mocking eyes deepening.

Suddenly, Sang Nian touched something cold and hard. Thinking it was a protective artifact, she was overjoyed and immediately took it out.

It wasn’t a protective artifact, it was a sword.

The blade was pure white and ethereal, every detail exquisitely crafted, breathtakingly beautiful.

Her wound was still bleeding, blood flowing down her fingers to the scabbard, staining the ice rose pattern on it, a haunting beauty.

Sang Nian recognized this as the sword that could only be used as a memento. She stuffed it back into her storage pouch and continued searching for other protective artifacts.

The black-feathered hawks finally ran out of patience, their wings whipping up a powerful gust of wind.

She was like a broken puppet, easily thrown into the air.

Then, she plummeted rapidly.

The black-feathered hawks still wouldn’t let her go, screeching and pecking at her, demonic energy gathering on their orange-red beaks.

Suddenly, several blinding white lights shot out from the storage pouch at her waist.

A pure white longsword flew out of the pouch.

It buzzed and landed in Sang Nian’s hand, trembling constantly.

Miraculously, Sang Nian understood what it meant. She gripped the hilt tightly and drew the blade inch by inch.

“Zhen”

The long sword, sealed for years, unsheathed itself.

Time seemed to freeze.

The wind howled, a cold wave sweeping across the land.

Countless ice shards and snowflakes fell from the sky, as if winter had arrived.

Sang Nian swung the sword with force.

Outside the screen, all the elders froze in place.

“Bang!”

At the edge of the crowd, Yan Yuan, who had been sitting silently, suddenly stood up, his teacup falling to the ground, shattering into pieces.

He was oblivious, simply staring at the screen, his lips trembling slightly:

“This sword energy…”

“This sword energy”

In the dark room, a handsome young man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on a certain spot in the void, a trace of bewilderment crossing his face:

“…Jing Xian.”

“Am I seeing things?!”

The Second Elder pointed at the screen with trembling fingers, asking the Grand Elder:

“The sword she’s holding, isn’t that Jing Xian’s Scattered Snow Sword?”

The Grand Elder was equally incredulous, “How could the Scattered Snow Sword be in this little girl’s hands?”

He thought of something, his face changing:

“No good, Yan Yuan!”

Everyone turned to look, but Yan Yuan was gone.

By the cliff.

Sword light shot up into the sky, leaving deep sword marks wherever it passed.

The black-feathered hawk let out a terrified shriek and flew away unsteadily.

Sang Nian was still falling, the wind whistling past her ears, a rumbling sound.

She gritted her teeth, adjusted her posture, and forcefully plunged the long sword in her hand into the cliff wall.

A shower of sparks flew, and her downward momentum slowly stopped.

Sang Nian’s arms clung tightly to the hilt, her toes barely touching a protrusion on the cliff wall. She looked down and was filled with relief.

The teleportation array was less than three meters below.

As long as she touched it, even just the edge of her clothes, she would be instantly teleported back to the square.

Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, Sang Nian began to worry again.

She couldn’t fly with a sword, even if she had one.

Even if this sword looked very powerful.

She hesitated between letting go and climbing up.

A gust of wind from the cliff ruffled a few strands of hair by her cheek, tickling her.

The wounds on her back and hands still hurt.

Sang Nian was uncomfortable from head to toe, just as she was grimacing, a flying sword suddenly stopped in front of her.

She looked up at the owner of the flying sword.

It was a young, handsome man, wearing the most ordinary moon-white long robe, his long hair neatly tied up with a jade hairpin, his eyes as black as ink.

Sang Nian tentatively asked, “Who are you?”

The man looked at her deeply, his eyes filled with an unfamiliar emotion, a complex mixture of feelings.

“Yan Yuan,” he said.

Sang Nian had heard Chu Yao mention this person. She knew he was an elder of the Xiaoyao Sect. Thinking he was here to chase her away, she quickly explained:

“I haven’t touched the teleportation array yet, I’m not out. See, it’s still so far away.”

Yan Yuan ignored her, simply asking:

“What is Jing Xian to you?”

Jing Xian?

Sang Nian had never heard this name, she shook her head honestly:

“I don’t know her.”

His eyes held an emotion that was unclear, whether it was disappointment or anticipation, “Then how did the Scattered Snow Sword end up in your hands?”

So the sword was called Scattered Snow.

Sang Nian didn’t dare tell this stranger its origin, she said cautiously:

“I found it. Is there something wrong with it?”

“You’re lying.”

Yan Yuan said coldly:

“The Scattered Snow Sword recognizes its master. In this world, besides Jing Xian, only her blood…”

His voice trailed off.

“Her what?” Sang Nian hated it when people stopped talking halfway through, she urged, “Continue.”

Yan Yuan scrutinized her face, his brow furrowed in thought.

Sang Nian was puzzled, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He said softly, “You… you look so much like someone I knew.”

Sang Nian’s mind raced, almost immediately understanding the cause and effect.

The Jing Xian he was talking about was most likely the original owner’s mother.

This sword was Jing Xian’s sword, and because it was stained with the blood of her biological daughter, the original owner, the seal was broken.

And he followed the sword energy here.

A perfect logical loop.

Sang Qiyan’s worries were not unfounded.

Sang Nian didn’t know if this man was friend or foe, and she wasn’t going to reveal her identity easily.

After all, she could always inquire about Jing Xian later. The more important thing now was

“Are you here to take me up?” She asked Yan Yuan.

Yan Yuan paused for a few seconds before saying softly:

“I can take you up.”

“But”

He added, “Then you will be considered disqualified.”

Sang Nian understood.

Yan Yuan said, “You can escape by simply letting go.”

Sang Nian: “But then I’ll be disqualified too. I don’t want to be disqualified, I want to join the Xiaoyao Sect.”

Yan Yuan was silent for a long time:

“If you want to continue the selection, you need to climb to the top of the mountain from here. With your current injuries, it’s impossible.”

Hearing this, Sang Nian freed her left hand, opened her storage pouch, and took out a bunch of porcelain bottles filled with pills. She didn’t have time to distinguish the types, she just poured them all into her mouth and ate them like beans.

She didn’t know which pill worked, but her wounds healed quickly, and her depleted energy was replenished.

“Now what?” she asked.

Yan Yuan still shook his head, “You can’t do it.”

Sang Nian thought about it carefully, but still said:

“I’ll try. If I really can’t do it, I’ll give up.”

She put away the Scattered Snow Sword, looked up at the towering mountain peak, pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and slowly moved her body.

Fortunately, although the mountain was high, it wasn’t very smooth. There were many protrusions on the cliff wall, so she wouldn’t be completely without footholds.

Seeing her determination, Yan Yuan said nothing more, turned around, and flew away on his sword.

From a perspective unseen by the girl, he stopped and watched silently.

“Host, are you really going to climb?”

Liu Liu was incredulous:

“Such a high mountain, you’re a city girl with no experience in physical labor, how could you possibly climb it?”

Sang Nian clung to the rock with force, “You won’t know unless you try. Besides, falling won’t kill me.”

Liu Liu said:

“I just think you shouldn’t waste your time. That Yan Yuan, he obviously has history with Jing Xian.”

“Even if you’re disqualified, so what? Tell him you’re Jing Xian’s daughter, he’ll definitely get you into the Xiaoyao Sect, maybe even make you a direct disciple of an elder.”

Sang Nian: “Hmm, you’re right.”

Liu Liu: “Then why are you still climbing?”

Sang Nian: “I love climbing mountains.”