Remould the Glory of Sword Art

But Xie Xuanyi knew better.

Today's farce required a "proper" conclusion.

So when he rose to his feet, he casually drew the "Reed" sword at Yuan Yi's side, and as he approached Xu Nianning, he pointed the Reed sword at him.

A glint of cold light punctured nearly a hundred streaks of sword rain in an instant.

Xu Nianning's pupils constricted.

When the figure in black flashed in front of her, her sword, already half drawn, was gently pressed down by a soft force, causing it to fall back into its scabbard.

The sword rain was broken, but not shattered.

Xie Xuanyi used the tip of the Reed Sword to strike the flying swords, turning them into streams of light that returned to their owners' tables.

Clang Clang Clang Clang!

The entire hall was filled with the pleasant sound of metal.

In the end, he stood still, looking at Prince Jiangning before him with a mix of sympathy and pity.

So far, they had only met twice.

To be more precise,

It was only once.

Their initial encounter at the sect's gate was not even a meeting since Xie Xuanyi did not lift the carriage curtain—

In fact, Xie Xuanyi never really understood.

Why some "hatreds" in this world are so unreasonable.

Just like he did not understand why Prince Jiangning insisted on stepping on his reputation to climb higher.

"Interesting,"

Prince Jiangning, looking at the youth in black before him, asked mockingly, "So you've finally decided to show up... What do you want to do now?"

"It's simple,"

Xie Xuanyi lifted his head, with the tip of the Reed Sword, lightly tapped the ancient bell and talismans above the hall, and said softly, "To prove you are not Xie Xuanyi's equal."

The material of Yuan Yi's Reed Sword was very light.

Xie Xuanyi twirled it lightly, then threw it out.

Whoosh.

The Reed Sword streaked directly towards the ancient bell!

However, the next moment—

The majestic bell was pierced by the Reed Sword's Qi!

A tearing sound came from above the hall!

The talismans that formed the ancient bell were ripped open by the tip of the Reed Sword—

The previously whole bell at that moment deflated, and the imposing pressure that once loomed high swiftly dissipated.

"???"

Prince Jiangning was stunned for a moment.

The next moment.

Xie Xuanyi, with a thread of Divine Thought, controlled the Reed Sword to dismantle the talismans of the ancient bell, and then used Divine Thought to redraw them—

...

...

"Whoosh!"

The wind dispersed the ethereal mountain clouds and whipped up hundreds, even thousands of talismans.

These talismans fluttered in the air, making a crisp, pleasant rustling sound.

Deng Baiyi opened her eyes and was momentarily entranced by the talismans fluttering like butterflies before her.

"Pavilion Master, I'm at a loss,"

Deng Baiyi raised her head and murmured, "What does this so-called 'Sword Qi ringing the bell' mean?"

She looked towards the treetops where a woman lay with a book covering her face.

The Pavilion Master seemed to be asleep and did not reply.

After a while,

She chuckled softly to herself.

The Pavilion Master certainly wasn't asleep. It was just that the four words "Sword Qi ringing the bell" had pulled her into a long-lost memory... She recalled a certain wager from years ago with Xie Xuanyi, a wager that caused her to lose the art of Taoist talismans.

Although she lost, she didn't walk away empty-handed.

Because Xie Xuanyi had revealed to her the secret of Sword Qi ringing the bell.

Today, this formation diagram has been made known to the world. Deng Baiyi had been quietly cultivating on a little hill for several days to no avail, unable to see through the enigma. The talismans had been arranged and recombined thousands of times, and the more they were pieced together, the more incorrect they seemed.

In an attempt to restore the formation, she increased the talismans to thousands, yet she still felt something was "missing."

There was room to add even more.

"Sword Qi ringing the bell is a trick,"

The Pavilion Master lying atop the treetop branches said softly, "The people only hear its name without understanding its meaning. Even if they struggle for a hundred years, they will not find the true solution... If you look at the formation upside down, maybe you'll understand what I mean."

Deng Baiyi was taken aback.

She turned the formation diagram upside down, still looking puzzled.

"And then?"

"Then... you could try tearing it apart. Just randomly put it back together."

Pavilion Master smiled, "As long as you don't try to restore 'Sword Qi Strikes the Bell', you will find that no matter how you destroy or reassemble this formation diagram, it can ultimately be completed. It's just that the final Sword Qi Talisman will not be able to piece together the outline of the 'ancient bell'."

Upon hearing this, Deng Baiyi was completely stunned.

...

...

In the great hall of Golden Turtle Peak, many witnessed a scene they would never forget.

Xie Xuanyi's Sword Qi, summoned with a touch of the Reed Sword, scattered like splashed ink in the sky above the hall, leaving trails of afterglow.

This immensely expressive Sword Qi was like a long dragon!

Xie Xuanyi gestured through the air, tracing one complicated and obscure Sword Qi Talisman after another, indescribable in their complexity!

These talismans, unfolded, spread above the heads of the crowd, and with the Sword Intent released from the Reed Sword, they began rearranging and assembling anew!

Bell, drum, dragon, snake, mountain, river, lake, sea...

For a moment,

The Sword Qi Talismans transformed in the air.

One moment they took the form of a dragon raising its head and claws; the next, they turned into a tiger roaring in a low growl.

This stream of Sword Qi flickered into existence and vanished just as quickly in the sky.

Both on the mountaintop and at its base, countless people watched this scene in a daze, their minds shaken like never before.

At this moment, every Sword Qi diagram Xuanyi outlined was the dismantling of Prince Jiangning's Sword Qi Strikes the Bell formation talisman—

Ultimately.

The Reed Sword returned to Xie Xuanyi's sleeve.

Countless talismans fluttered down.

They fell like snowflakes, like scraps of paper, piling up at Prince Jiangning's feet.

The lingering Sword Qi reconstructed that great bell, accompanied by a buzzing Sword Sound... causing everyone's Divine Thought to retreat back into their Heart Lake.

Prince Jiangning looked blankly and confusedly at the residual Sword Qi above the hall.

Ten years of enlightenment.

He had always thought he was the one who understood this formation diagram the best... but each strand of Sword Intent Xuanyi had just drawn was all too familiar to him, yet also incredibly foreign.

Only the great bell was truly known to him.

All these years, he had been dedicated to restoring the most authentic 'Sword Qi Strikes the Bell'.

But ironically...

"What Da Sui Sword Palace wanted to impart to the world was never about 'Sword Qi Strikes the Bell'."

Xie Xuanyi said in a tone tinged slightly with pity, "If you're willing to contemplate for another ten years, the three thousand Sword Qi Talismans could expand to five thousand, ten thousand... After all, that's just an Ancient Bell Visualization, what's the point of an accurate restoration after ten, a hundred years of enlightenment?"

Prince Jiangning staggered a step backward, his footsteps faltering.

He asked, his face pale, "So... what exactly is Sword Qi Strikes the Bell?"

"It is 'Sword Dao'."

Xie Xuanyi said sympathetically, "This formation diagram is for all swordsmen in the world to observe and cultivate. Even if the diagram is torn, the Sword Dao remains eternal... The great Dao of the sword should never be confined to any shape or form; as long as there is a sword in the heart, everyone can strike the bell in their Heart Lake."

This statement echoed long in the great hall.

And resonated in everyone's heart.

"This, this?!"

After hearing these words, Prince Jiangning felt the world spinning around him.

He put his hand over his chest, trying to swallow back the sweetness that surged up his throat.

But, ultimately, he failed.

With a retch!

Xie Sheng spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Red Dragon Mark on his forehead became blood-red and was also tinged with a wisp of pitch-black Qi.

The people around hurriedly stepped forward to support him.

Xie Sheng refused with a hand gesture, pressing against a pillar next to him to avoid falling.

He looked dazedly at Xie Zhen, his sight blurring. The figure before him merged vaguely with the most feared and dreaded figure in his Heart Lake.

Next, Prince Jiangning heard the last name he ever wanted to hear.

"Everyone, let me formally introduce—"

Xie Xuanyi took out the lotus jade Token from his waist and raised it high.

He wanted to ensure that everyone on and off the mountain could see this Token.

Xie Xuanyi took a deep breath.

"I am Xie Zhen."

"My teacher, Xie Xuanyi."

...

...

(PS: Everyone, as the plot is very important at the moment, I am writing very slowly, so the update time is uncertain. There's a third chapter tonight which I didn't dare to tell you all about because I hope you won't stay up late waiting... I understand that when following an update there can be emotions involved, but the previous chapter wasn't intentionally left off at a cliffhanger. In order to ensure quality, I can only write so much even if I give it my all in one day, writing any more would require me to stay up late which would disturb my biological clock and make the updates even more unstable. I hope for your understanding TAT)