Unwilling heart

[Don't you have more important things than gossiping like an entitled fool?] 

Seeing those hovering words and the voice that came from the space around Li Chen, the gossipers frowned. 

The first man was about to speak when Li Chen stood up. His height towered over them. His intangible aura suddenly felt tangible, causing them to feel the sharp, cold edges of swords against their skins.

Cold sweat soaked their inner robes as they faced the man whose dark eyes bore an inexplicable gleam. 

[Get lost.] 

Although the tone was low, they fled quickly. Li Chen turned and walked deeper. Walking through a narrow passage, he recalled his experience. 

In those two weeks, he had been battling against the white-robed man, whose strength was at his level. They were both at the same level but Li Chen couldn't count how many times he lost a limb and eventually died by decapitation or a sword through the heart. 

His efforts were futile and not even copying his opponent saved him from a swift, clean death. His mistakes were later brought to light. 

"You are a sword cultivator. Your sword should be everything in both attacks and defense, but you use your fists and legs. You're not covering your weaknesses; you're creating them."

Those were the words of the powerful cultivator, who had transcended the mortal realm by abiding by his path as a swordsman. 

In the end, Li Chen was able to beat the cultivator by tapping into his elemental ability to turn invisible. Though that wasn't what gave him a major edge, the cultivator could also fight an unseen force!

Speed! 

The speed granted to him by his element of light gave him the edge to finally 'kill' the cultivator. 

After defeating the cultivator, he was told to get the sword heart lotus. 

'My eyes will be open to my heart, huh? Is that what made him so great?' Li Chen mumbled. 

****

With narrowed eyes, Li Chen walked into an open space where a man grabbed in red with a broadsword strapped to his back and a lithe woman in purple faced each other.

Their auras clashed. '2nd level sword intent.' Li Chen's eyes narrowed as he approached. 

Suddenly, both figures turned to him, and their eyes flew wide open. 

Far away from them was a lotus in a small pool, surrounded by trees with white leaves. The branches were wide, stretching above the surface of the pool. 

This lotus's petals were like unsheathed blades bursting with energy and it was said the lotus appeared once every decade. 

Tension flared up as Li Chen kept approaching the duo without a flicker of fear. The purple-robed beauty frowned and suddenly stretched her hand toward Li Chen.

Reacting to his sudden movement, he unsheathed his sword and pointed at her face. Little did he expect vines to burst out of the ground!

It dragged him to the mountain wall and more vines slithered around his body, reinforcing the blinds!

Li Chen's eyes gleamed but the purple-robed beauty, known as Ming Yue, unsheathed her sword and soared toward Yan Sen.

The man delivered a heavy upward strike, releasing an intimidating radiance. Li Chen could already see Ming Yue's limp state if she faced that strike head-on.

She deviated mid-air, tapped her foot against the wall and came from above, her sword tip aimed at the top of Yan Sen's head. 

"You snake!" The man cursed, stomped the ground, and leaped up. Their swords clashed, resulting in their separation.

THWACK! THWACK! 

Shocked, the duo turned and saw the vines ripping apart as Li Chen struggled to free himself. 

[!!!!] 

His grunt echoed and the sides of his neck became red yet he broke through those thick vines and turned toward his sword. 

"Do you think I would just let you?" Ming Yue scowled, flickered before him, and slashed horizontally.

Li Chen's eyes flew wide, and he ran up the wall, somersaulted over her, rolled forward, and wrapped his gauntlet-covered fingers around the hilt of his 6-star-mortal-grade sword.

The moment he grabbed the sword, Li Chen's demeanor changed. He caught Ming Yue, summoning a fan from his storage ring and swinging it.

Six blades flew out of the fan; three came for him, and three went for Yan Sen. 

Tilting his head, Li Chen's eyes followed the blades coated with poison whooshing past him. 

What he felt was almost euphoric!

No human wouldn't go crazy discovering he could float temporarily, deal great damage with his bare fist and even perform such amazing skills!

A black mist billowed off the soles of his boots and he flickered. His movement skinned to a phantom!

CLANG—!

CLANG —!

The swords of three cultivators collided, each trying to subdue the other. Li Chen found himself in the center of his opponents yet his state of mind remained in a daze.

Spinning, he evaded both blades, smacked Yan Sen's cheeks with the flat part of his blade and hit Ming Yue's abdomen with the bottom of his sheath.

Both warriors staggered, their brows knitted, and creases appeared on their smooth foreheads.

Quickly, Li Chen struck, delivering two strikes but they defended with their swords and Ming Yue bolted towards him.

"Who are you?" Ming Yue asked, piercing twice. Li Chen flickered away, appeared at her right and slashed upward.

Alarmed, Ming Yue soared backward but the sleeve covering her right arm fell. Following his instincts, Li Chen flung his sheath and it plunged into the wall, right beside Ming Yue's face.

Her delicate eyelashes trembled but she discovered a shimmering silver blade aiming for her chest.

Greatly frightened, Ming Yue summoned a shield artifact, which gave her the opportunity to escape. 

"You…!" Biting her lower lip, she glared at Li Chen, who calmly pulled out his sheath and turned around.

At that moment, his ears twitched, and he turned to Yan Sen, who was sneaking his way toward the lotus.

"You cheat!" Ming Yue yelled. Another clash began, and this time Li Chen received the burn.

[ENOUGH!] 

BAM—!

Li Chen slammed the bottom of his sheathed sword against the ground. A massive burst of energy blasted out, launching both cultivators into the air. 

SHING—!

A gleam of silver! 

A shadow ran out of Li Chen and he ran toward Yan Sen. They both delivered a calculated strike at both cultivators. Ming Yue spat blood. Her face turned pale, while Yan Sen's broadsword saved him.

However, the impact launched him to the wall.

Sheathing his sword, Li Chen crossed his arms, staring at the duo.

[I won.]

Yan Sen struggled to his feet and clasped his fist. "Indeed. I've learned from this battle." With a bow, he turned and left.

Ming Yue also clasped but her eyes revealed her unwilling mind. 'I've trained ten years for this. How can I let it go?!'