Book 25 Chapter 1

Unoccupied neighboring seats

-What it should be

Here's a sword.

Sharp and piercing, like steel, the sword was what the people of the world called a master sword, and its name was "White Lightning. The wielder of this sword was one of the greatest masters in the martial arts, a supreme swordsman who sat on a very high pedestal, the Blessed Master of the White Martial Spirit.

The sharp blade of the sword, which could cut through solid rock as easily as tofu, was now pointed at a man's throat. The man with the black hair and night-black clothes was named Yanbi. His back was pinned to the wall, as if he had been pushed to a dead end. He tries to run left and right, but there's no room. All possible routes had been completely blocked by the white lightning. It was indeed an unrivaled sword technique.

Yan Bi clasped her hands together and looked at Nie Bai Tian's face with a bitter gaze, her eyes burning fiercely with anger at the loss of her precious daughter.

I want to swing my sword and slit this prefectural woman's throat right now, Bai Xiaochun thought. Like a swordsman who has reached the level of Divine Qi Unity, just by having a thought in his mind, his body will automatically move according to his mind. The name of his mind right now was 'killing impulse'. The urge to swing his sword and see blood rises up from the depths of his heart. If he didn't suppress the urge with great patience, if he loosened his grip on his consciousness for even a moment, Yan Bi, who had completely lost the will to fight, would be decapitated with a single blade.

But even the fresh blood spurting from the severed nape of his neck could not quench the fiery rage that was now burning within him. The flames of anger that burned in the hearts of parents who had lost their most precious treasure, their children, were just as hot.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Nie Baiqian asked, his voice full of life.

"None."

Yeonbi's amber eyes were very dull as he answered. I'm not sure if they're the same ones that were always full of shiny guns and laid-back Joan of Arc.

Burrrrr.

Bai Xiaochun's beloved sword, the White Lightning, was pointed at Yan Bi's neck, and it rattled, digging into her white neck little by little. Red blood oozed out of Yan Bi's white neck, contrasting with her black clothes, and trickled down her neckline.

"……."

Yeonbi made no excuses. She didn't groan, only gritted her teeth and remained silent. Not because of the pain of the blade digging into his throat, but because he was so angry with himself that he couldn't forgive himself.

"Loud!"

Bai Xiaochun wanted to swing his sword at him right then and there. No matter how great he was, he was on the verge of losing his mind right now.

'Lyna…….'

His lovely daughter, Na Yerin, had suffered many hardships as a child because of her natural beauty. A child had the right to live as a child, so he used all of his abilities and power to protect her. It was the natural duty of adults to protect the rights of children. It was the right and duty of adults to defend the rights of children. If you were a parent, it went without saying.

As the years passed, her beauty grew, and so did the threat. It had taken a toll, and it had been hard work, but the beauty of her old age more than made up for it. She was his precious and priceless Zhang Zhongjiajie, irreplaceable.

And now the person he was most wary of, the person who had inflicted the greatest and most devastating mental wounds on his daughter, had taken that precious treasure, the most irreplaceable of all treasures, away from him. It was a wonder he wasn't going mad.

The man pointing the sword at him now was not a warlord, but the father of a child. He understood that, and he was helpless. She couldn't even think about dodging. For the old man's treasure was just as valuable to him as his own.

"Treasure?

No, that wasn't good enough.

It was his life, his other half.

You can live without treasure, but you can't live without life. I never knew that losing her would weigh so heavily on my heart…….

'It's only when you lose it that you realize its true value…….'

What a pathetic story. His teeth chattered as he stood there like a taxidermied corpse, unable to protest or react.

"This is all because of you. If you hadn't insisted on coming to this crap contest, Rin'a would've been fine!"

The hand that gripped the sword trembled with fury.

"That's just an assumption."

Yeonbi said.

"No, it's not an assumption, it's a certainty. It's all on you. Are you ready for this?"

How am I supposed to take responsibility for this, even if I have the means to do so? Without her, everything is meaningless.

"I'll take all the blame, but I'll hear all the blame after we get lean back."

"Find it? How?"

Nabaxian raised an eyebrow and asked.

"I have an idea."

"Do you think you can get away with that lame excuse?"

Filled with anger, Bai Chen was not easily convinced by Yan Bi's words.

"It's not an excuse, because we don't have time to be doing idle things like that when lean is at risk."

Yeonbi's voice was adamant.

"Let's hear it."

Ye Qingyu, who had been submerged in the depths, forced herself to open her mouth. Right now, she was grasping at straws, so she was willing to listen to her enemies, no matter how hateful they were.

"Say it."

Nabaxian said with a hint of displeasure in his voice.

"We need him."

Yeonbi measures were very short-lived.

"What? You mean there's someone out there who can fix this?"

A gleam of disbelief flashed in his aged eyes.

"There is, and he's the only one who can fix this."

The tone of Yeonbi was firm.

"You mean there really is such a person? Who the hell is that?"

Yeonbi is the name of the game.

"Bi Ryuyeon!"

"……."

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, the reaction was overwhelming.

"Bi Ryuyeon, Bi Ryuyeon, Bi Ryuyeon, Bi Ryuyeon?!"

Nabaxian forgot about his body and went on a rampage.

"That's ridiculous, I'll never admit it!"

"I don't like it that much either."

Ye Qing, who had been silent with a solemn face, listened.

"Of course, how could you do that to me!"

As far as Bai Chen was concerned, Bi Ryuyeon was just another culprit who wasn't there. No, now that things had gotten to this point, it felt like he was to blame for everything. Yes, he was. He was definitely the bad guy. Right now, Bai Xiaochun couldn't stand it without resenting someone. However, Yun Che was steadfast.

"It's not enough for me right now, I need him."

"No, no, no, no, no, never!"

"Why not?"

"No way!"

"Isn't the most important thing right now to save Lean?"

"Well, that's……."

"This is the time to put all personal feelings aside."

"Even so, isn't that Bi Ryuyeon on probation at the Heavenly Martial Academy right now? It would take at least a month round-trip just to summon him, and we don't have time to waste like that right now! No way!"

"Don't waste your time."

"No need to waste my time?"

"Yes, because…… he's here."

Bai Xiaochun's eyes widened.

"Huh? Why is he here?"

"I don't know the details. All I know is that they're here. He must have gotten some secret orders from the Heavenly Academy."

Since she could never tell him the truth, it was best for her to be vague about the reason. Bai Chen and Ye Qing were also in a hurry, so they didn't probe too deeply.

"What a jerk, you did this without consulting me."

Bai Xiaochun muttered to himself, obviously a bit frustrated at that point.

"If I'd told you, I'd have known you wouldn't say yes."

Ye Qing's lightly thrown words pierced into Nie Baiqian's heart like a secret weapon.

"Does that mean I have no credit?"

"No, it's just a simple arm flailing."

"……."

Her words, which implied that he should stop fooling around and act like a martial artist, left Bai Chen speechless.

"Why does it have to be him?"

This time, it asks about Yeonbi.

"Because only he can fix this."

"I don't believe it."

"No, you have to believe it, because saving Rin is the only way to make his world whole again after being torn in half, and he'll do whatever it takes to do it."

"Anything?"

"Anything!"

Bai Xiaochun couldn't help but think for a moment, the emotion that he didn't want to look at him and the rationality that he had to borrow a cat's hand in this situation were fighting a fierce battle within him.

"Blame and recrimination can wait until after you've gotten lean, am I wrong?"

There was no way anyone could have answered that question with a 'no'.

Silence was the answer.