Chapter Two: The Prologue Opens, and the Audience Arrives
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Lin successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.
He then voluntarily conceded, ending his journey there.
He needed to ensure he was absolutely prepared to face the sect leader in the illusion trial.
For that, the tournament ranking no longer mattered much.
It’s worth mentioning—
The final match was between Li Changhe and Gu Jianyao.
Second Senior Sister narrowly lost by a single move.
Eldest Senior Brother claimed the championship.
In Xiao Lin’s mind, he could almost see again the dense barrage of comments that flashed across the screen during that duel.
Indeed.
The audience had already appeared five days earlier.
The opening of the sect tournament signaled the broadcast of “The Romance of Sword Mountain.”
However, the barrage of comments did not appear constantly.
Over the five days, they showed up only a handful of times.
They mostly appeared when Li Changhe and Gu Jianyao interacted or fought with others.
Especially during their final battle, the barrage lasted for nearly half an hour.
It was clear—they were the indisputable protagonists.
Born to be favored by the camera.
Xiao Lin’s choice to concede was partly because he knew he would not be the focus.
Fortunately, he already had a plan.
At this moment, the sun was high in the sky.
A massive boulder, its surface etched with countless sword scars, was placed at the center of the arena.
Xiao Lin and the other seven contestants stood in a circle around the Sword Inquiry Stone.
Li Changhe stood at Xiao Lin’s right, Gu Jianyao at his left.
“Why did you concede?”
“Why surrender?”
In the next instant, both turned to Xiao Lin, questioning him in unison.
Xiao Lin was briefly taken aback, caught off guard by their simultaneous interrogation.
He pretended not to hear, fixing his gaze on the Sword Inquiry Stone before him: “This stone really is… quite stony…”
“Don’t think you can brush this off,” Li Changhe saw straight through Xiao Lin’s evasiveness. “You’ve been avoiding me these past days. Clearly, you know it was wrong to forfeit without a fight.”
“If so, why do it?”
“You’d better explain yourself now, or even if I let it go, Junior Sister won’t be so forgiving.”
“After all, she was rather looking forward to facing you…”
As he finished, the “Farewell Song Sword” on Gu Jianyao’s back let out a delicate, harmonious hum.
Xiao Lin opened his mouth, “But Senior Sister, haven’t we sparred before?”
Gu Jianyao gently shook her head. “It’s not the same.”
“How is it different?”
“You’ve never fought with all your strength.”
At this, Xiao Lin let out a sigh. “My dear Senior Sister, you’re at mid-Foundation Establishment, while I’m only at Qi Refinement completion. Even if I go all out, could I so much as harm a single hair on your head?”
Gu Jianyao gazed at Xiao Lin, her eyes calm and steady. “But my sword-heart tells me that facing you… I don’t have absolute confidence in victory.”
Li Changhe was momentarily stunned, his eyes tightening with focus.
Even Junior Sister isn’t certain of winning?
“There’s no need to explain, Junior Brother. Once the tournament ends, I’d like to have a proper ‘exchange’ with you,” Li Changhe said.
“Senior Brother, you really believe what Senior Sister said…” Xiao Lin was helpless.
He trailed off and simply fell silent, as though there was nothing more to say.
In truth, nothing more needed saying.
His goal had already been achieved.
On the screen, the barrage of comments appeared one after another.
By speaking with two characters whom the production teams had spent so much effort developing, he finally received some screen time.
‘A new character?’
‘Seems like the cheeky little junior brother type.’
‘Definitely not proper—who ever heard of a serious junior brother acting weak to hide his strength?’
‘But this model is actually pretty handsome, isn’t it?’
‘To model Xiao Lin, the dev team’s been stalking me for over a decade.’
‘Is this a try-not-to-laugh challenge? I’ve lost.’
‘With such a handsome character model, and the approval of our Jianyao, I bet he’ll get plenty of scenes later on.’
[Popularity +1…]
[Popularity +1…]
In just a short while, Xiao Lin gained quite a bit of popularity, thanks to his looks and Gu Jianyao’s recognition.
He had never forgotten—
Good looks are an essential part of attracting fans.
Of course, Gu Jianyao’s acknowledgment of his strength was likely the most important factor.
Her image as the “sword-obsessed fairy” was already deeply rooted in people’s minds, and with her own beauty, her words served as a subtle but powerful characterization.
In fact, it was even more effective than the production team’s direct efforts.
Still, Xiao Lin was well aware—
This impression would only be fleeting.
If he truly wanted the audience to remember him, he would need either more screen time—
Which was clearly not within his reach at present.
Or else—
He would have to make a stunning debut.
Xiao Lin withdrew from his thoughts.
His surroundings had suddenly grown quiet.
Not only were the Sword Mountain disciples observing the tournament, but there were disciples from other orthodox sects as well.
Sword Mountain, with its generosity, would never impose a “no talking” rule during a match.
The crowd’s murmurs, together with the wind breaking through the clouds, made the place especially noisy.
But now, all sound had vanished.
It was as if everyone present had their hearts drawn by something, and all eyes rose as one.
A young man in dark robes stood atop the Sword Inquiry Stone.
No one knew when he had appeared.
It was as if he had always been there, simply overlooked by all.
Only heaven and earth could sense his arrival, and thus responded accordingly.
No form, no shadow in the heart.
When one steps forth, all falls silent.
The Master of Sword Mountain—Shen Wuya.
Only when Shen Wuya spoke was the silence finally broken.
“I will create an illusion. All you must do is find a way to break it,” he said with a gentle smile.
He formed his fingers into a sword and traced lightly through the air above the Sword Inquiry Stone.
Amidst the countless mottled sword scars, a single slender new mark appeared.
Though it was just one among many, whenever one looked at the stone, that mark always drew the eye first.
All the sword intent left by the dazzling talents of the past seemed mere backdrop before this one stroke.
To outsiders, Shen Wuya’s technique seemed plain and unremarkable.
But the Sword Mountain disciples, seeing it, all drew a collective breath.
The Sword Inquiry Stone was a rare treasure.
It did not judge by cultivation, only by sword intent.
As long as one’s mastery of the sword was deep enough, one could leave an enduring mark upon it.
But as for how “deep” that needed to be…
Even Gu Jianyao, with her Dustless Sword Heart, had spent a whole day to carve a single dot on the stone with her Farewell Song.
Shen Wuya?
Without a sword, without even a true gesture—he left a mark in an instant.
His movement was so effortless, it was as if he had merely dipped his finger in ink and brushed a stroke across white paper.
In that moment, the barrage of comments before Xiao Lin’s eyes multiplied many times over.
Yet Xiao Lin was not surprised at all.
With someone of Shen Wuya’s caliber, it would be odd if he weren’t so popular.
“Gather your spirit and imagine making contact with this sword mark,” Shen Wuya instructed.
As his words faded, Xiao Lin and the others sat cross-legged, closed their eyes, and focused their minds.
Silence returned, the wind the only sound.
Xiao Lin felt the world spin; when he opened his eyes again, everything was a field of pure white.
Only a single figure stood ahead, robes billowing.
“Master?”
The man turned—it was indeed Shen Wuya.
Yet, though he seemed the same as ever, something about him felt utterly different.
Xiao Lin understood at once.
This was Shen Wuya in his youth, not the ageless figure who maintained his appearance through cultivation.
Shen Wuya gazed at Xiao Lin, his voice warm.
“Lin’er.”
“Disciple present.”
“If one day your Master were to do something harmful to Sword Mountain, what would you do?”