CHAPTER 22: SWORD SAINT’S TRIAL

The Sword Saint's mountain was not a place—it was a warning.

Sheer cliffs rose like the edge of a blade, their peaks lost in clouds that swirled with the remnants of slashed-apart storms. The path upward wasn't a path at all, but a series of jagged outcroppings, each one carved with a single character:

忍 Endure.

斩 Sever.

死 Die.

Luo Feng stared at the last one, his ribs still aching from the Inquisitor's near-fatal lesson. "Charming."

Li Qing, her arm wrapped in frost-bandages from their last battle, didn't look at him. "My master doesn't welcome visitors. Especially not you."

The Fox Spirit—now down to three and a half tails—winced as her severed stump twitched. "Yeah, well, unless you've got a better idea for fixing this, we're fresh out of options."

[System Alert: New Check-In Location – Sword Saint's Peak]

[Mission: Survive the Trial of Severing]

[Reward: Sword Intent (Tier 1)]

[Failure Penalty: Death (Duh)]

A gust of wind howled down the mountain, carrying with it a voice like grinding steel:

"LINGERING CLOUD DISCIPLE. YOU DARE BRING TRASH TO MY DOOR?"

Li Qing dropped to one knee. "Master. This one begs—"

"SILENCE."

The air split—and the Sword Saint stood before them.

He wasn't tall. Wasn't imposing. Just an old man in patched robes, his spine straight as a blade. But his eyes...

Luo Feng had seen the Void Emperor's gaze. This was worse.

The Sword Saint looked at him, and Luo Feng felt it—a sensation like a knife pressed to his soul, testing where it might slip in easiest.

"HMPH. WEAK." The Sword Saint turned to Li Qing. "YOU WISH ME TO SAVE THIS WRETCH?"

Li Qing's fists clenched. "He has… use."

The Fox Spirit coughed. "Also, the world might end if he dies? Just saying."

The Sword Saint's laugh could have flayed skin. "LET IT."

Then—

He moved.

Luo Feng didn't see the draw. Didn't feel the cut.

Just suddenly knew, with absolute certainty, that his left lung had been punctured by a sword that hadn't touched him.

[Warning: Spiritual Veins Severed (Temporary)]

[Sword Intent Detected: "Death by a Thousand Cuts" Style]

The Sword Saint sheathed his blade. "PROVE YOU'RE WORTH SAVING. CLIMB."

He vanished.

Li Qing didn't help Luo Feng up. Just whispered, voice raw:

"Don't bleed out before the top."

[The Trial: Three Cuts to Enlightenment]

1. The Cut of Flesh

The path became knives. Every step shredded Luo Feng's soles, his blood sizzling where it touched the stones. The Fox Spirit tried to help—until her tails stuck to the ground, frozen by unseen sword aura.

Li Qing walked ahead, her back rigid. "The first trial is pain. Master believes it purifies."

Luo Feng spat blood. "He's a sadist."

"CORRECT," boomed the mountain.

[Progress: 30% (You're Not Dead Yet)]

2. The Cut of Heart

Then the visions came.

His mother's face (did he have a mother?). The Verdant Cloud Sect burning (why did he care?). Li Qing turning her sword on him (why did that hurt?).

The Sword Saint's voice whispered: "WHAT ARE YOU WITHOUT YOUR LIES?"

Luo Feng's knees hit the rock. The System glitched, screeching:

[MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED]

[USER WAS NEVER—]

He screamed through the noise.

[Progress: 65% (Heart Still Beating)]

3. The Cut of Soul

The final stretch had no path at all—just a chasm, and across it, a bridge of swords humming with killing intent.

Li Qing finally looked back, her eyes haunted. "This one… I can't help you cross."

The Fox Spirit, for once, had no jokes.

Luo Feng stepped onto the first blade.

His soul bled.

[The Reward: A Sword's Truth]

He woke in a pool of his own blood at the peak, the Sword Saint standing over him.

"YOU'RE A PATCHWORK ABOMINATION," the old man said. "BUT YOU HELD."

A flick of his wrist, and something unclenched in Luo Feng's chest—the Sword Intent settling into his meridians like a shard of ice.

[Reward Get: Sword Intent (Tier 1)]

[New Ability: "Fading Cut" – One attack ignores 50% of enemy defenses.]

The Sword Saint turned away. "NOW GET OFF MY MOUNTAIN BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND."

Li Qing didn't thank him. Just bowed.

As they staggered back down, the Fox Spirit's tails twined together nervously. "So… uh… that 'patchwork' thing he mentioned—"

Luo Feng touched the still-bleeding cut over his heart. "Later."

END OF CHAPTER22