Almost simultaneously,

the two shouted in unison,

"Great! Sun! Soaring! Sword!"

Yet, at the moment the sword move was called, Luo Qingyao once again became entranced.

Because she didn’t expect that the opponent would also use the Great Sun Soaring Sword.

She had never considered that besides the Great Sword Immortal Li Yuan and herself, there would be a third person who knew this sword move.

The victor had been decided, just in that instant of her distraction.

A downturned rainbow penetrated all twenty-four of her flying swords. Then, the rainbow light exploded, transforming into a hanging round sun in the sky.

Clang!

The sharp sound of shattering echoed across the plain.

The twenty-four flying swords that Luo Qingyao had spent nearly fifty years refining were all crushed at the same time.

And what crushed these twenty-four top-tier flying swords was a single blade of grass.

The man in the dragon mask, standing in the area illuminated by the great sun, looked down at her,

"I told you, you don’t understand the sword at all."

Luo Qingyao stared blankly at the man.

She sat on the ground, lost and bewildered.

The man spoke,

"Even if you had not just twenty-four flying swords, but a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, the result would be the same. Because, no matter how many swords you have, you can’t beat a single blade of grass in my hand."

"Why... why?"

"Because I firmly believe that as a swordsman, what matters is not the sword, but the person! Whether it’s a sword or a knife, they’re just tools, weapons, means for fighting. And it’s the person who leads the battle! You must first learn how to be yourself before you can wield your sword properly!" the man’s words were full of sharpness, "You roam the world with your sword, yet you do not appreciate the beautiful landscapes and scenery, only the sword and battles to prove yourself! You rush forward with your head down, moving faster and further, yet you don’t even know where you have arrived!"

The man turned around,

"When was the last time you looked up and gazed at the stars?"

Luo Qingyao, somewhat bewildered, uncertainly said,

"Twenty years ago? No, twenty-five... no, thirty... thirty—" her voice abruptly halted.

Because she had forgotten.

The man sighed heavily,

"Some things might be destined."

He suddenly recalled something. Years ago, when they were at the Eternal Immortal Sect, he had taken Luo Qingyao to participate in the novice trials. At the final stage, the Long Stairs of the Immortal Path, she lost her direction, and at the last moment, he appeared just in time to help her find the way.

He realized that perhaps from that moment, it was destined that Luo Qingyao would become like this.

Because she had never lived for herself.

The man no longer knew what to say; he started walking towards the distance.

Suddenly, he sensed danger, quickly stepping back, and the next moment he saw a lock of his long hair being cut off.

"It’s not over yet." Luo Qingyao’s voice sounded from behind.

The man turned to look.

Luo Qingyao struggled to stand up, "I still have one sword."

"What sword?" the man asked.

"Its name is Star-Plucking!"

Star-Plucking was the name Luo Qingyao had given to herself.

Out in the world, she was known by the title of Star-Plucking Great Sword Immortal.

Luo Qingyao was panting heavily, her face pale, seeming as though she might collapse at any moment,

"You’re right, I’ve always moved forward blindly, treating the Sword Dao as a goal that must be completed. With the destruction of the twenty-four flying swords, my goal seems unreachable now. In that case, I can only stake everything I have. Now, I must tell you, I’m not here to prove anything but have resolved to reclaim what I’ve lost!"

She held the Shadowless Sword, pointing it at the man,

"This sword is called ’Starlit Awe’!"

In her hand, a long sword slowly materialized, with a blade three feet three inches and three parts long, seemingly holding a fallen Milky Way, dazzling and brilliant.

In that instant,

the man felt the cosmos collapsing towards him, the stars rushing at him.

Even the cultivation at the Mahayana Stage couldn’t stop it!

One Tribulation Immortal level? No way!

Second level? Still no way!

The man could hardly gauge how much cultivation he needed to fend off this sword of hers.

The sword was already before him, leaving no time for thought.

Thus, he gave it his all, using all his cultivation.

"Moon Pointing!"

He drew a long sword named Moon Pointing from his chest,

"This sword is called ’Crescent Chaos’!"

The moment the two swords clashed,

stars and rivers were overturned, hooking the moon and sweeping the sky.

They were taken back to that thick fog fifteen thousand years ago during the Heavenly-Human War, which reappeared, only to be scattered in an instant, revealing the true form of Sun-shooting Pass, with ruins and scattered walls, and Sword Qi everywhere, where swordsmen were honing their Sword Intent.

Thus, the swordsmen witnessed the most spectacular scene they could imagine.

The entire Sun-shooting Pass, centered on the collision of the star and the moon, was torn in half. The outer walls, forged from the hardest Celestial Tribulation Stone, were instantly crushed. The Sword Qi trapped within Sun-shooting Pass frenziedly dispersed, pouring outward recklessly.

This duel, in the end, concluded with the man’s defeat.

Because the dragon mask on his face was shattered.

Yet Luo Qingyao remained unharmed.

At the moment their eyes met, Luo Qingyao was stunned.

Fan Wubing, however, looked a bit embarrassed, scratching his head, and said with a smile,

"Your potential truly exceeds my imagination."

Luo Qingyao’s expression rapidly transformed, from dazed, to astonished, to perplexed, to lost, to understanding, to delight, and finally to shyness.

She covered her face, squatting on the ground, and said in a muffled voice,

"I... I don’t want to live anymore!"

"Uh, why!" Fan Wubing was taken aback.

Luo Qingyao broke down, shouting loudly,

"Having my senior brother see me this ugly, how can I go on living!"

Fan Wubing also squatted down, saying to her,

"Then there’s no need to hide your true self anymore. Whether you’re tall or short, fat or thin, beautiful or ugly... aren’t we already engaged to be married? Besides, your ’Starlit Awe’ is truly beautiful."

"Really?" Luo Qingyao asked softly.

"Really."

Luo Qingyao suddenly fell silent, stood up, and looked up at the sky.

The night canopy shrouded the firmament, with stars dazzlingly bright.

She pointed to the brightest star in the sky,

"Just now, I felt the call of that star, and the sword technique of ’Starlit Awe’ suddenly appeared in my mind. It seemed to be telling me that only a true swordsman can comprehend such a sword."

"I see."

Luo Qingyao asked, "Senior brother, when did you comprehend ’Crescent Chaos’?"

Fan Wubing laughed, "Just like you, it was just now, at the moment of feeling the call of that star."

Luo Qingyao’s eyes lit up, becoming like a child full of innocence, and she leaned her forehead against Fan Wubing’s chest,

"We truly are a match made in heaven!"

Fan Wubing embraced her.

Just now,

besides comprehending this sword of "Crescent Chaos," that star also granted Fan Wubing another harvest,

its name being,

the "Seven Luminaries Star Formation Skill,"

a Divine Technique governing the cosmos of the starry sky.

Or rather, a Divine Technique governing space.

"Master! You’re here!" Zhuge Hong’s surprised call interrupted the couple’s tender moment, "So it was you two who caused that scene just now!"

Fu Manman followed closely, and upon seeing Fan Wubing and Luo Qingyao embracing deeply, her heart trembled, and for some reason, she suddenly felt a suffocating sensation.