After Tian Yan left, Ye Xuan turned to Bi Xiao, “Miss Bi Xiao, she might not let you leave this exiled land alive.”
Bi Xiao smiled faintly, “It seems I’ll have to stick with Young Master Ye for now!”
With a playful grin, she added, “Young Master Ye, you mustn’t refuse, or that wicked woman will really bully me!”
Ye Xuan laughed, “Then stay in my Little Tower, Miss Bi Xiao!”
Bi Xiao gave a slight bow, “Thank you!”
Ye Xuan smiled, “I’ll get back to cultivating!”
With that, he sat cross-legged and resumed his meditation.
Bi Xiao reminded him, “You could use the legacy I gave you, it’d make breaking the circle much easier!”
Ye Xuan opened his eyes, glancing at the scroll in his hand, after a moment, he smiled faintly, “I’d like to try it myself!”
Try it himself!
Qing’er had broken the circle on her own, Nian Jie had too—why couldn’t he?
He wanted to give it a shot!
Sometimes, the path you carve yourself differs from one handed down by others, he’d always relied on inherited legacies before, but now, he wanted to try forging his own way!
Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, a flicker of surprise passed through Bi Xiao’s eyes, but she said nothing and quietly stepped back.
Atop the mountain peak, Ye Xuan sat cross-legged, continuing his contemplation.
Bi Xiao didn’t leave Little Tower, instead wandering around inside!
She couldn’t help but feel shocked—no, awestruck, with her strength, she naturally sensed the extraordinary nature of this tower!
The flow of time here was different from the outside!
Bi Xiao murmured softly, “Time flow… To think someone could suppress the passage of time, such heaven-defying power, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never believe it…”
As if struck by a thought, Bi Xiao left Little Tower.
Outside, she encountered Tian Yan.
Tian Yan hadn’t left!
She didn’t dare touch Ye Xuan, but she had no such reservations about Bi Xiao.
Bi Xiao looked at Tian Yan, “Tian Yan, I think you were right about something earlier, you said the Tianqi Clan lost back then because of arrogance, but it seems you still haven’t learned that lesson!”
Tian Yan’s face remained expressionless, “Are you lecturing me?”
Bi Xiao shook her head, “I wouldn’t dare! Tian Yan, as far as I know, Young Master Ye originally wanted to cooperate with you, but you scorned his offer, why? Because you thought he wasn’t worthy of working with you, or that he didn’t deserve to negotiate terms with you! So not only did you dismiss him, you humiliated him…”
Tian Yan cut her off, “Spare me your hindsight, let me ask you this: if the person behind him hadn’t shown up, would you be fawning over him? Would you?”
Bi Xiao fell silent.
Tian Yan sneered, “The only reason you’re groveling now is because you know he’s got a super powerhouse backing him, without that, would you, Bi Xiao, even glance at an ant who hasn’t even broken the circle?”
Bi Xiao shook her head with a smile, “Tian Yan, you’re wrong! You’ve actually underestimated Young Master Ye!”
Tian Yan’s expression didn’t change, “Have I underestimated him? Or have you, Bi Xiao, overestimated him?”
Bi Xiao laughed, “Tian Yan, at our current realm, could you have beaten him back then? Why judge him by your standards now? Were you truly better than him when you were at his stage?”
Tian Yan said nothing.
Bi Xiao continued, “You had a better option—like choosing to befriend him, if you had, we’d be the ones panicking! But sadly, you didn’t, so now it’s you who’s flustered!”
Tian Yan glanced at Bi Xiao, “I don’t dare kill him, but the person behind him hasn’t interfered in our affairs either, and from what I can guess, they put him here to temper him, meaning as long as I don’t kill him, I’ll be fine! If I give him some hardship, the one behind him might even be pleased.”
She raised a finger, “It’s about balance, as long as I control the degree, I’ll be safe, don’t you think?”
Bi Xiao’s eyes narrowed.
Tian Yan laughed, “You’d better stay in his Little Tower forever!”
With that, her form began to fade.
Bi Xiao stood silent for a moment, then shook her head with a smile and turned to leave.
…
Inside Little Tower, Ye Xuan sat in meditation.
Breaking the circle!
At this moment, he’d grasped what the “circle” was!
The so-called circle was, in essence, boundlessness—or more precisely, a realm!
People in the world cultivate realms, unaware that they’re also bound by them, a realm is like a frame, boxing them in, or rather, in pursuing the Dao, they end up shackled by it.
How could he break free of this frame?
Ye Xuan’s brows furrowed slightly.
He understood what the circle was, but now came the challenge: how to break it!
Ye Xuan sank into thought.
Knowing the circle was easy, breaking it was hard!
Time trickled by, and after an unknown stretch, Ye Xuan, deep in cultivation, suddenly frowned, why did he have to break the circle himself?
Why not let Qing’er help him?
With that thought, he drew the Qingxuan Sword, moments later, a faint smirk tugged at his lips as the sword in his hand began to tremble violently.
Breaking the circle!
Doing it himself was one way, but having someone help—or even stepping into someone else’s circle, a stronger one—was another!
In his view, even if he broke his own circle, he’d still be within someone else’s, so why not find a massive circle and leap into it?
And in this world, Qing’er’s circle was undeniably badass—if he could enter hers, even circle-breakers probably couldn’t touch him!
After all, it was Qing’er’s circle.
The thought excited him!
In that moment, he had a goal, no longer lost!
His next step was figuring out how to enter Qing’er’s circle, which wasn’t hard—he had the Qingxuan Sword, he could use it to step into her circle!
Others broke circles, but he, Ye Xuan, would borrow one!
This was a whole new cultivation approach!
Of course, it might only work for him, because he had a circle to borrow!
Mindset determines altitude!
Ye Xuan gazed at the Qingxuan Sword, it trembled faintly, then in the next moment, it burst into countless rays of sword light, which gradually coalesced into the Plain-Skirted Woman!
Qing’er!
Ye Xuan’s eyes slowly closed!
His mind replayed scenes of Qing’er from the past…
Qing’er!
What was her Dao?
Ye Xuan didn’t know, nor did he intend to follow her Dao, his goal was simple: enter her circle, and to do that, two things were needed, first, a medium—he couldn’t just wish himself in, second, Qing’er’s approval!
A medium? He had one—the Qingxuan Sword!
Forged by Qing’er herself, it carried her power and her Dao, making it the perfect bridge.
As for the second point, why would Qing’er ever object?
In the scene, Ye Xuan’s eyes remained shut, his mind filled with memories of Qing’er bit by bit!
Time passed slowly, until the Qing’er formed by sword light suddenly dissolved into specks of light and merged into his brow.
As the last speck entered his body—
Ye Xuan’s eyes snapped open.
Boom!
The spacetime before him shattered instantly!
Little Tower cried out in alarm, “Little Master, don’t mess around!”
Ye Xuan opened his right hand slowly, then with a gentle swipe, the shattered spacetime was restored!
Little Tower asked, “Little Master, have you entered Tianming Jie’s circle?”
A smirk tugged at Ye Xuan’s lips, growing into a wide grin.
Little Tower suddenly said, “Little Master, your smile’s kinda creepy!”
Ye Xuan: “…”
The circle!
Ignoring Little Tower, Ye Xuan closed his eyes again.
He had indeed entered Qing’er’s circle! And upon doing so, he realized its vastness was beyond his perception!
Before, he’d been in a circle too, but compared to Qing’er’s… no, there was no comparison! Stepping into her circle felt like standing alone in the depths of an endless cosmos—boundless, without end.
Breaking the circle?
Strictly speaking, he hadn’t broken his circle, he’d left his tiny one… and entered an invincible greater one!
Naturally, his strength had undergone a seismic shift!
Not just his strength—his swordsmanship had transformed too!
Breaking the circle!
His swordsmanship now was utterly different, he called it “entering the circle.”
And now, he truly stood above the Dao of spacetime, looking back, he saw that boundless-realm experts were like children, he also understood why he’d been powerless against Tian Yan before!
They weren’t even on the same level!
As a thought struck him, Ye Xuan opened his palm, and the Qingxuan Sword appeared, now changed once more!
A sword grows with its wielder!
As he evolved, so did the Qingxuan Sword—both had undergone a monumental transformation!
At that moment, Bi Xiao appeared before him, a hint of surprise in her eyes, “You… broke through?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
Bi Xiao smiled, “Congratulations!”
Ye Xuan looked at her, “Miss Bi Xiao, how about a spar?”
Bi Xiao blinked, “You sure?”
Ye Xuan grinned, “Sure!”
Bi Xiao nodded, “Alright!”
With that, they left Little Tower, arriving in an unknown, mysterious stretch of spacetime.
Bi Xiao faced Ye Xuan, “Go ahead!”
Ye Xuan flicked his sleeve.
Whoosh!
A sword slashed straight at Bi Xiao.
She pointed two fingers forward.
Boom!
A burst of sword light shattered, and in the next instant, Bi Xiao was flung back thousands of feet, her two fingers severed at the roots as she came to a stop!
…
