Chapter 52 – Dual-Sword Cultivator: Your Luck Is Too Good

{Note: Changing Peak Names to-

Yinxiang Peak – Fragrance-Attracting Peak – Alchemy Cultivators

Qianling Peak – Thousand Spirit Peak – Artifact Refiners

Suiqui Peak – Autumn Peak – Talisman Cultivators

Hanlai Peak – Cold Arrival Peak – Sword Cultivators

Yasui Peak – Elegant Seasons Peak – Residential area}

Free Sparring Day.

“Junior Sister Lian, hurry up and use that move of yours!”

In the sparring arena, two figures clashed, then quickly separated.

A group of sword cultivators watched from the sidelines, waiting for their turn to step up as soon as the match ended.

“…”

Damn it.

Lian Mu propped herself up with her sword, panting heavily. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and glanced at her opponent with a wry smile.

“Junior Sister, don’t hold back—I know you’re not going all out.” The senior brother opposite her didn’t retract his sword but instead looked ready to attack again. “Use the move you used against Qianxue.”

Lian Mu was about to collapse from exhaustion, but since the match wasn’t over yet, she had no choice but to push herself up again.

Sure enough, you can’t hide forever.

Ever since the night she flew around chaotically with Guan Shize, word had spread that she wasn’t sick anymore. With that obstacle removed, all sorts of people started seeking her out for duels.

Today was Cold Arrival Peak’s Free Sparring Day. By late morning, she had already fought six or seven matches, all against senior brothers and sisters who had entered before her, with barely a moment to rest.

Thanks to the incident with Luo Qianxue, all the senior disciples had their eyes on her. Given any opportunity, they lined up to challenge her, declaring duels wherever she went.

Her current opponent was clearly another battle fanatic, convinced she was deliberately holding back and determined to push her into fighting seriously.

Truthfully, Lian Mu was indeed conserving her strength, but only because she had fought too many matches today, depleting a great deal of her spiritual energy. These challengers came at her in waves, not even allowing time for a break.

She glanced at the time—there was still a while before the longest match limit was reached. If she finished this fight, she could reject any further challenges for the morning.

With that in mind, Lian Mu charged forward, raising her sword in attack.

Perhaps because she was too desperate for a break, in that moment, she unleashed a burst of full power, taking down her opponent in a single strike.

The senior brother had been expecting her to use some unusual trick, mentally preparing himself for anything. But the sword that descended was utterly straightforward—no frills, no feints—landing directly at his throat.

“Senior Brother, shall we end it here?”

Her opponent’s eyes widened. “Junior Sister, you’re truly a master of mind games! In your previous matches, this move always had some hidden trick, but against me, it was completely normal. Well played—an excellent feint to confuse your opponent!”

Lian Mu: “…”

Actually, you’re just overthinking things.

She sheathed her sword and stepped off the stage, but there were still people watching her.

“This disciple is quite promising.”

High above, several elders observed the matches below. The Free Sparring Day wasn’t just for disciples to practice—it was also a chance for the elders to scout potential candidates for the upcoming Immortal Sect Grand Tournament.

Unlike regular sparring, the Grand Tournament was far more complex. Winning a single match didn’t prove everything; assessing whether a disciple was suited for the competition required a long-term perspective.

Not just Cold Arrival Peak, but Autumn Peak had also begun selecting dates for free sparring. Some artifact refiners from Thousand Spirit Peak had returned and, along with the alchemy disciples from Fragrance-Attracting Peak, were assisting the talisman and sword cultivators.

With Xin Wanbai absent, Qin Yuan was supervising in her place. His attention had been on Lian Mu all morning—she was the only disciple who had fought seven consecutive matches without a break.

“She’s been under your tutelage since entering the sect?” Qin Yuan turned to ask Murong Yi.

Murong Yi nodded. “Yes, she’s been under me. During the entrance trials, she could’ve earned a spot in the direct disciple selection, but for some reason, she passed up the opportunity.”

Qin Yuan marked Lian Mu’s name in the floating booklet before him. “Direct discipleship isn’t that important—you can still teach her well. I think she resembles you in your younger days. It’s a kind of fate.”

Murong Yi: “…That’s unnecessary. I was never as much of a troublemaker as she is.”

Qin Yuan chuckled slightly and gestured to the person behind him. “Huai Lin, you haven’t sparred with your peers in some time. Today is a good opportunity.”

Guan Huailin stepped forward and responded solemnly.

After entering the sect, he had quickly been taken as a disciple by Elder Yuheng. Yuheng rarely stayed in the sect, preferring to travel the world, often taking his disciples with him. For the past two years, Guan Huailin had been away as well.

Qin Yuan was curious to see how a disciple trained in the outside world compared to one raised within the sect.

Back in the sparring arena, Luo Qianxue and Zuo Jue were now facing off.

The two had entered the sect in the same year under different masters and had been rivals ever since. Every Free Sparring Day, they would inevitably fight, and everyone was used to it by now.

Their first match ended in a draw. Just as they were about to start a rematch, Guan Huailin arrived.

“Senior Brother Guan!”

A voice called out from the crowd.

Luo Qianxue and Zuo Jue also noticed him. Luo Qianxue asked, “Junior Brother Guan, why are you here?”

Guan Huailin landed outside the sparring ring, smiling warmly. “Elder Qin sent me to spar with you all.”

The moment he spoke, the crowd was stunned.

Everyone knew that Guan Huailin was one of the rare single-spiritual-root sword cultivators in Gui Xian Sect in the past century. His talent was rumored to be close to that of a Heaven-Spirit Root. After joining the sect, he had immediately become Elder Yuheng’s disciple and progressed rapidly—so much so that many of the disciples who entered before him still weren’t on his level.

He was already considered the top sword cultivator for the next Immortal Sect Grand Tournament.

Now that he had appeared, everyone’s attention instantly shifted. They all wanted to test their skills against him.

Luo Qianxue was just about to issue a challenge when Zuo Jue stepped forward first. “Junior Brother Guan, let me be your first opponent.”

Luo Qianxue: “…”

A step slower when attacking, but quick to steal opponents.

Zuo Jue and Guan Huailin stepped onto the sparring stage. Lian Mu had just retrieved some Spirit Replenishing Pills and was walking over with Ji Mingyue, who was assisting as an alchemy cultivator. As they arrived, they saw the two figures on stage exchanging formal greetings.

Lian Mu paused mid-step. “……”

Ji Mingyue also stopped. “What’s wrong?”

Snapping out of her daze, Lian Mu pointed at the person on stage. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Senior Brother Guan Huailin, the top sword cultivator in the upcoming Grand Immortal Sect Tournament,” Ji Mingyue explained. “He traveled with us on the way back. He had been out wandering before this.”

Lian Mu stared at the white-clad sword cultivator. When the gong sounded, two swords suddenly appeared in his hands. “Why does he have two swords?”

Ji Mingyue was silent for a moment before answering, “Because he’s a dual-sword cultivator… Senior Brother Guan’s swords—’Xuan Ye’ in his left hand and ‘Ming Zhou’ in his right—were forged from spiritual materials taken from a twin-born magical beast. Even I, an alchemy cultivator, know this. And you don’t?”

Guan Huailin’s two swords were distinct—his left sword was entirely jet black with blood-red cloud patterns on the blade, while his right sword gleamed silver, its edge adorned with a streak of golden cloud markings. At the center of each sword was half of a hollowed-out celestial crane; only when brought together did they form a complete image.

Lian Mu: “……”

She really didn’t know.

All her swordsmanship had been centered around single-sword techniques, and in her previous world, dual-sword cultivators didn’t exist at all.

“Is this your first day as a sword cultivator?” Ji Mingyue teased. “Besides Senior Brother Guan, there’s another top sword cultivator in the next Grand Immortal Sect Tournament who’s also a dual-sword user, from the Gong family. Right now, only two sword cultivation clans remain—the Gong family, which produces dual-sword cultivators, and the Lu family, which produces single-sword cultivators.”

Intrigued by the unfamiliar fighting style, Lian Mu edged closer to watch the match.

Ji Mingyue, however, noticed something else. “What happened to your hand?”

Lian Mu looked down. The bandages on her left hand had loosened, revealing a burn where the skin had peeled away. “It’s nothing, just a minor burn.”

Ji Mingyue frowned. “This wound isn’t normal—it doesn’t look like an ordinary burn… Did you go to the Fire Melt Cavern? Why didn’t you apply medicine?”

Lian Mu hadn’t expected him to notice so quickly. As expected of a Heaven-Spirit-Root alchemy cultivator. She hadn’t mentioned the scorpion incident to Ji Mingyue yet. “I did,” she replied.

In reality, she had just casually applied some ointment, assuming it would heal on its own in a few days.

“Ordinary ointment won’t work. Your wound is already darkening—if you let this drag on for a few more days, you’ll lose that whole hand,” Ji Mingyue warned. “Come to Fragrance-Attracting Peak tonight. I’ll mix a special medicine for you. I even found the spiritual herbs for the prescription I wrote you earlier.”

Lian Mu raised an eyebrow. “So generous? You’re not planning to use me as a test subject, are you?”

She hit the nail on the head.

Ji Mingyue hesitated. “……Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong. Any pills I give you have already been tested for poison.”

“By Wen Yun?” Lian Mu guessed. “You’re really not worried about poisoning him to death?”

Still, she wasn’t too concerned. Free pills were free pills.

“He’s my relative and carries the Ji family bloodline. Even if he only has one breath left, I can bring him back,” Ji Mingyue said. “Just come.”

“Alright.”

As they talked, the match on stage had reached its climax, and Lian Mu turned back to watch.

Zuo Jue was at a disadvantage, and before long, Guan Huailin spotted an opening.

The strength of dual-sword cultivators lay in their seamless offensive flow. A master of the style could wield both swords as fluidly as if they were extensions of their own hands, leaving no room for the opponent to counterattack. Guan Huailin was precisely such a cultivator.

Lian Mu fixated on every one of Guan Huailin’s moves. He never once adopted a defensive stance—his relentless onslaught left his opponent completely unable to retaliate.

Yet Guan Huailin was also tactful. Rather than defeating Zuo Jue in a single stroke, he drew out the fight, giving him face. Only when the gong was about to sound did he finally go all in.

The silver sword blade grazed Zuo Jue’s shoulder. Zuo Jue attempted to block, but it was too late. Just as he raised his sword, the jet-black Xuan Ye sword pierced into his chest.

The match ended. Assisting artifact refiners rushed forward to replace Zuo Jue’s shattered chestplate, while Ji Mingyue, as an aid alchemy cultivator, hurried up to check his injuries and fed him some pills.

Zuo Jue lifted his head and asked, “Why didn’t you end it quickly?”

On the sparring stage, a sword cultivator had no obligation to hold back. Regardless of the opponent’s identity, everything was determined by strength alone—this was an unspoken rule among sword cultivators.

Guan Huailin sheathed his swords and gave a formal salute. “It was merely a friendly exchange, an opportunity to learn, not a battle for victory.”

Zuo Jue stepped down. Having been the first one chosen, it was now Guan Huailin’s turn to pick an opponent.

His gaze swept across the surrounding crowd before locking onto a particular spot.

Lian Mu, still lost in thought over his final decisive move, suddenly felt someone nudge her arm.

Looking up, she met Guan Huailin’s eyes.

An ominous feeling crept up on her.

The people nearby noticed too, their voices dripping with envy. “Fellow Cultivator Lian, Senior Brother Guan is looking at you! He definitely wants to challenge you. Your luck is insane—you always end up fighting the strongest ones!”

Lian Mu: “……”

Again?!