Qingque woke up with a strange floating sensation.
Her eyelids felt heavy, as if filled with lead.
She laboriously pried them open a crack, and what first met her eyes was not the familiar ceiling, nor the eaves of Exalting Sanctum outside the window, but an overly azure sky, and a sun that was a little too bright and unreal, so huge it seemed within reach... a sun?
"This sun... it's so big..."
She mumbled groggily, her consciousness still clinging to the edge of sleep.
The next second, she jolted awake, sitting up with a "whoosh"!
(No! This isn't right!)
The sensation beneath her wasn't soft bedding, but damp, slightly hard ground!
She looked around, her pupils widening in shock—
A bamboo forest!
An endless, lush green, towering bamboo forest!
Sunlight filtered through layers of bamboo leaves, casting dappled, swaying light spots on the ground. The air was filled with the unique fresh scent of plants, mixed with earth and a faint floral fragrance.
The rustling of wind through bamboo leaves filled her ears, occasionally interspersed with a few crisp, melodious chirps of unknown birds.
Qingque was completely bewildered, her mind a blank.
She blinked hard, then raised a hand and pinched her cheek fiercely.
"Hiss—!"
It hurt! A real pain!
But... something was off.
The pain also carried a blurry sensation, as if filtered through a layer of water, not as clear and sharp as everyday bumps and scrapes.
Moreover, her mind felt like a tangled mess, her thoughts a bit erratic, intermittent.
(It's not real... Am I dreaming?)
She rubbed her face, trying to concentrate and analyze.
But this dream was too... too real, wasn't it?
Touch, smell, sight, hearing, none were missing, and she could even feel the coolness of the breeze on her skin.
(Could it be... a deep dream?)
Qingque recalled concepts mentioned in the miscellaneous books she used to flip through.
But deep dreams are usually based on memories or strong subconscious desires. Qingque was born and raised on the Xianzhou, her greatest hobbies were playing cards and slacking off. When had she ever seen such an ethereal, immortal-like scene, resembling the "Blessed Land of the Immortals" described in ancient storybooks?
She stood up blankly, patting off the grass clippings clinging to her clothes.
Besides this bamboo forest, not far away there seemed to be a winding stone staircase paved with smooth bluestone, leading upwards and disappearing into the mist-shrouded mountain peak.
(Since I'm already here...)
Qingque's inherent curiosity for new things took over.
Since it was a dream, and it looked quite interesting, why not... go up and see?
Maybe there was something fun at the top of the mountain.
She composed herself and stepped onto the stone stairs.
The stone steps were cold and firm, feeling unusually real to the touch.
The higher she climbed, the more tranquil and extraordinary the surrounding scenery became.
Ancient trees reached the sky, vines hung down, exotic flowers and plants dotted the landscape, and occasionally, small, brightly furred beasts peeked out from the forest, curiously glancing at her before suddenly disappearing.
"Tsk tsk, this dream... it's worth it!"
Qingque walked and observed, marveling repeatedly, completely forgetting her initial panic, even starting to critique, "These bamboos are so handsome, much more vibrant than the few clumps at the Divination Commission! Oh, I've never seen that flower before, its color is so bright... This stone also looks strangely interesting..."
She was like a mortal tourist who had stumbled into an immortal realm, finding everything new.
The richness of detail in this dream far surpassed any of her daydreams or deep slumbers, making her wonder if she had secretly read too many storybooks, leading to such vivid dreams born from her waking thoughts.
As she walked, the summit seemed not far off.
The mountain wind grew stronger, making her clothes flutter.
Just as she was about to make a final push to the summit, a rhythmic and powerful sound, different from the wind, bamboo, or bird calls, faintly drifted from above and ahead.
"Bang!... Hiss!... Whoosh!"
It sounded like heavy objects colliding, mixed with the whoosh of sharp objects cutting through the air and the rustle of clothing.
Qingque's ears twitched, and her gossip-loving soul instantly ignited.
She immediately lightened her steps, crouched down, and skillfully slipped into the dense bamboo thicket nearby, using the bamboo shadows for cover, cautiously approaching the source of the sound.
Pushing aside the last few bamboo leaves blocking her view, the scene before her suddenly opened up.
This was an extremely spacious bluestone platform near the mountain top, as if flattened by an immortal's sword.
At the edge of the platform, a sea of clouds churned, and distant peaks rose and fell, creating a magnificent and extraordinary vista.
And at this moment, in the center of the platform, two figures were... fighting?
No, more accurately, they were sparring.
Qingque held her breath, her eyes wide as she watched.
One of them was a tall, graceful, and cool-tempered gray-haired woman.
She wore a crisp white training outfit, bare-handed, without any weapons.
But her movements were precise and concise.
Every step, twist, punch, and block carried a simplicity refined through countless hours of practice, as if she herself was the most reliable weapon.
Where her fist wind reached, the air emitted a low hum; though devoid of flashy lights, it possessed the unmoving, grandmasterly demeanor of its own.
Her opponent was a brown-haired girl with exceptionally agile footwork.
She held an ancient-looking longsword, its blade shimmering with an icy blue glow.
The sword moved with her body, and her body moved with the sword; streaks of icy blue sword qi, like a rainbow piercing the sun, advanced fearlessly, perfectly embodying the concept of "freedom."
(Wow!)
Qingque gasped inwardly, her eyes fixed on the scene.
This swordplay was beautiful!
And this sword qi, condensed and unscattered, with its sharpness contained yet ready to unleash, was definitely genuine skill, not just for show.
It was far superior to the street performances she occasionally saw at the starship dock.
Could a dream simulate such details?
Was her subconscious imagination of "masters" this concrete?
What she didn't know was that the two figures sparring on the platform were Fu Hua and Li Sushang, engaging in a "friendly match" using the Paradise's simulated space.
A little earlier.
Fu Hua looked at the lively girl, Li Sushang, from a later era, who called her "Grand Master." Amidst her emotions, she also felt a genuine desire to understand.
What had her "outside" self experienced? To what extent had martial arts developed in this era?
And how much of the true inheritance had this child before her received?
The most direct way was to test it in combat.
A martial artist's will, foundation, and even character often revealed themselves fully during a confrontation.
So she proposed a sparring match to Li Sushang.
Upon hearing this, Li Sushang was not afraid; instead, her eyes lit up with excitement.
To spar with the legendary "Grand Master"—what an opportunity!
She was already feeling a bit bored staying in this "Immortal Blessed Land," so she naturally welcomed such a chance.
The two then came to this platform, a training ground that Fu Hua had simulated from memory.
They stood still, several zhang apart.
Fu Hua cupped her fist in a salute, her voice steady: "Please."
Li Sushang was even more solemn; she twirled her longsword beautifully, held it vertically in front of her, and with her left hand, brushed her fingers along the blade, declaring loudly: "Li Sushang, head disciple of the Supreme Freedom Gate, requests Grand Master's guidance!"
Her clear voice echoed through the mountains.
Though surprised by the longsword that had inexplicably appeared in her hand and felt remarkably comfortable, her mind was now fully immersed in the upcoming match, attributing it merely to the mysterious nature of this "Blessed Land."
"Begin," Fu Hua nodded slightly.
Before her words even finished, Li Sushang had already made the first move!
She knew that the "Grand Master's" cultivation was unfathomable, and only by seizing the initiative could she hope for a sliver of victory.
With a light tap of her toe, her figure floated out as gracefully as a butterfly flitting through flowers. Her longsword trembled, and three points of icy blue sword light, like sudden cold stars, struck at Fu Hua's upper, middle, and lower paths, swift and cunning.
Fu Hua's gaze slightly narrowed, but she neither dodged nor retreated.
Only when the sword light reached her body did she take half a step to the left, seemingly slowly but in fact incredibly swiftly. At the same time, her right hand, as if plucking something from a pouch, swept diagonally upwards from below, her five fingers slightly spread, precisely brushing against the pulse point near Li Sushang's sword-wielding wrist!
A subtle force, soft yet firm, transmitted through, and Li Sushang immediately felt a numbness in her wrist, causing her sword stance to involuntarily deviate by three points.
"Good!"
Li Sushang lightly shouted, using the momentum to spin around. Her longsword traced an arc, and icy blue sword qi suddenly burst forth, sweeping out like a fan, covering a wide area.
Fu Hua remained calm. Facing the sweeping sword qi, her feet were rooted to the earth, her waist twisted, and her right fist drew a small semicircle from inside out. There was no light on her fist, but it seemed to carry an aura condensed to the extreme, directly colliding with the strongest point of the sword qi!
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, the icy blue sword qi was actually shattered from the middle by that single punch!
The scattered cold air made their clothes flap loudly.
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