True Solution of the Sword Dao

"Despicable?" the golden-clad woman’s eyes flowed. "In a life and death struggle, being able to kill your enemy is the ultimate success. Not understanding even this, how naive."

However, she clearly did not notice the disdain in Yuan Yicheng’s eyes.

Lin Fei slightly shook his head.

This was the difference between a swordsmanship expert from a Sect and a wandering expert who practiced cultivation on their own. Sect experts value honor and disdain such petty tricks; they believe that absolute strength is the true path. In contrast, wandering masters believe that any means are acceptable for victory, going to any lengths to win. After all, they don’t have the protection of a Sect and must rely on themselves from the start.

And Yuan Yicheng was clearly a representative of the Sect experts, while the golden-clad woman was a representative of the wandering masters. This was probably why Lin Fei had sensed discord between the two before. Both had a certain degree of contempt for the other.

But at the moment, both their situations seemed pretty bad. Without Lin Fei present, delaying might have been the only way to achieve victory in the end.

"What a pity," Lin Fei slowly stepped out of the shadows.

With every few steps, he seemed to cross space, instantly appearing several meters ahead. It looked quite eerie.

In just a few seconds, Lin Fei appeared right in front of Xiuya.

The knight was now covered in blood, half-kneeling on the ground, barely able to support his body. The Sword of Neumann could only serve to prop him up. No runes flickered on the blade anymore, as if its strength had been exhausted.

"What..what do you want?!!" The little fairy fluttered in front of Xiuya, spreading her arms to block Lin Fei. She appeared ready to stop him, her face full of vigilance and fear.

Lin Fei curiously sized up the little fairy.

"So there really are fairies in this world?" he muttered softly.

"Of course!" Lillia puffed out her little chest, but then she quickly shrank back. "I...I warn you, Lillia is from a legendary lineage of the strongest fairies. If you dare to..."

Smack.

Lin Fei immediately grasped the midair little fairy in his hand, curiously bringing her closer for inspection.

"Let me go!!" Caught off guard, the fairy struggled fiercely, her transparent wings beating desperately like those of a dragonfly’s.

The fairy before him looked almost like a normal human girl, except that she was smaller in size, with cicada-like wings on her back, and in other ways similar to humans. She wore a tiny pale green dress and had a miniature hair clip on her head.

After satisfying his curiosity, Lin Fei released Lillia and, despite her curses, his gaze fell on the knight. "Aren’t you worried about this little one?" he asked with interest.

"There’s no malice in your eyes," Xiuya replied calmly. "I don’t know what the purpose of those golden threads you’re emanating is, but I can feel their help to those Dream Eaters who should already be dead. It’s something that can reverse the natural order of life and death. Such things shouldn’t appear in the Outer World."

"Oh? You actually know about the Outer World?" Lin Fei was surprised.

"The secrets of the Inner and Outer Worlds were learned when I infiltrated the Inner World. It’s just that I’ve never been there," Xiuya said blandly.

"You’re not afraid I’ll kill you?" Lin Fei became even more interested in this knight.

"I’m already a man meant to die, perhaps it is the heavens that sent you to reap the life I have led against the laws. It is destined," the knight replied, with no fear or anger in his eyes, only a kind of indifference.

Lin Fei had never met anyone like this before.

"Destiny? Heh, and what about this little fairy? She seems very unwilling to see you die."

"It doesn’t matter, life and death have already been decided."

"What if I killed her?" Lin Fei said with a smile, as his gaze shifted to the fairy in midair.

The latter let out a cry of alarm and quickly moved behind the knight.

"That’s your prerogative," the knight said indifferently.

"Right now, your life and death hang on my thoughts. You say death is destined, so what if I choose not to kill you? Is that also destined? Would you then say that fate has many branches, and this is merely one of them?" It was the first time Lin Fei had met someone with such a view on destiny.

"Indeed it is," the knight remained eerily calm.

"You must have used some secret technique to seal away your lifespan, I assume you are also a Dream Eater whose time is nearly up." Lin Fei stretched out his hand and with a surge of Sword Pressure, he pulled the little fairy back into his palm, immobilizing her.

"Now that you’ve been defeated by us, how could you possibly know that I am not the one destined to unify the entire Dream Eater World? Or perhaps, your defeat was destined. My entrance into the Dream Eater World and the dissemination of a stronger path may well be the starting point for the rise of all Dream Eaters! This too, is destined to happen," Lin Fei began to bluster.

The knight, Xiuya, suddenly revealed a look of confusion. Such twisted questions were truly like the chicken or the egg conundrum; any answer could seem logical. Now Lin Fei, basing his argument on facts, began to refute his convictions, causing Xiuya to waver.

Or maybe he was just that naive.

"Your defeat is a fact, proving your downfall was destined. Thus, my rise may equally be fated. My appearance is meant to establish a new order for Dream Eaters. If you truly follow destiny, then following me is the only way to advance the major trend of fate," Lin Fei said with a smile.

Although he didn’t believe in such theories of fate, it seemed the knight before him did. Having fought to a draw with both Yuan Yicheng and the knight in the golden armor, the knight’s prowess was indeed high among the Dream Eaters. Moreover, he claimed to be the master of Forest of the Sky. The potential forces behind him were undoubtedly remarkable. If only he could be subdued...

"Xiuya, don’t listen to him!" The little fairy struggled fiercely, but to no avail.

The knight remained silent.

Lin Fei extended a finger, around which golden threads entwined.

"Merge with me, and you will create your own destiny alongside me. Lifespan, strength, none shall limit you any longer. You’re so certain and believe in destiny, surely you must have experienced unforgettable, profound outcomes in the past. Maybe now is your chance for redemption. With power, helplessness and weakness will cease to exist."

The knight stayed silent.

"Fate is like a river with countless branches, and we’re like currents within it. If your influence is strong enough, your current large and vast enough, then your will represents the direction of fate. Your decisions represent the branches of destiny. This is power," Lin Fei said as he uncurled his fingers, the golden threads slowly drifting away and flying toward the knight who was half-kneeling on the ground.

Suddenly, Xiuya’s head shot up, and the Sword of Neumann slashed toward Lin Fei in an instant.

Hiss!

Lin Fei let out a light chuckle, and his figure vanished instantly, dodging the longsword.

The golden thread suddenly plunged into the knight’s forehead, a gold pattern flashing briefly and then disappearing.

"Ah!!"

The knight cried out in agony as wisps of black mist continuously seeped out from his facial features.

If the True Force seed were outside the body, under normal circumstances, it would be very simple to crush, but for the knight in his current state, severely injured, he had no way to avoid Lin Fei’s sudden attack. Now, as the True Force seed had just entered his body, it began to transform the remaining life force within him and a large amount of that black smoke-like Dream Eater power, then unifying it into the form of True Force to supply his life force.

Lin Fei stood afar, watching the knight struggling and resisting as he tried to mobilize the power within his body.

"It’s useless," he said softly. "Fate has decreed that you become one of us." He could clearly see the True Force seed sweeping through every part of the knight’s body, dominating with absolute advantage.

"Knight!" The little sprite cried out, but still struggled in vain in Lin Fei’s palm.

Yuan Yicheng and the man in gold robes, having adjusted their breath and recovered their state, slowly walked to Lin Fei’s side. They watched the knight’s desperate resistance.

The True Force, mixed with the Power of the Divine Artifact, continued to assimilate the Dream Eater power in the knight’s body. Very quickly, like a snowball rolling downhill, it grew more and more substantial. In less than ten seconds, the knight’s body was nearly left with only the aura of the True Force seed. This terrifying rate of assimilation also represented the difference in levels between the two types of energy.

Lin Fei smiled as he looked at the knight enveloped in a swirling black mist. Finally, the overall situation was settled.

The knight’s greying temples began to rapidly revert to shiny black. The dull and lusterless skin also started to regain the glow of youth. A vibrant life force kept emanating from his body. This was the strength of a Level B peak fighter.

"Strength... This is... the power from my prime!!!" The knight stared blankly, opening his eyes wide. He looked at his own hands, where the skin that had been wrinkled was now astonishingly rejuvenated, youthful, and strong once again.

This was the effect of Lin Fei deliberately transferring extra True Force into his body. Unlike Lu Xiuya, the knight’s injuries were recent and nowhere near as severe. His prior lack of resistance was due more to the exhaustion of his energy than anything else.

"Do you feel it?" Lin Fei asked softly. "This is the reward fate has bestowed upon you."

The knight’s face remained unchanged, as he suddenly grasped the longsword at his side and viciously swung it towards Lin Fei. A strand of black flame instantly ignited on the blade.

The massive Sword of Neumann stabbed viciously towards Lin Fei like a spear.

Hiss!

Lin Fei spared a glance at the longsword grazing past him; just as it was about to hit him, he sidestepped one step to the side, easily avoiding it, and the sword pierced into the ground.

"Foolish."

A hint of gold flashed in his eyes.

"Ah!!" The knight cried out, holding his head in his hands as the gold pattern on his forehead continually blossomed with a faint golden light.

Thump!!

The knight’s towering figure was kicked fiercely, crashing into a tree nearby and tumbling down.

Lin Fei slowly walked to the knight’s side, looking down at him from above.

"Still don’t understand?" he said with pity, gazing at the lying knight. "Your fate was destined from the moment I arrived."

The Black Demon Sword was gently drawn, its supremely sharp edge lightly grazing the knight’s cheek, leaving a deep bloody mark that stretched from the corner of the eye to the chin.

Clang!

The longsword was sheathed.

"Let’s go," Lin Fei said, turning to leave.

The knight struggled to prop himself up, but the energy that filled his body entirely restrained his movements. Waves of intense pain continuously bombarded his brain, cold sweat seeped out like water on his forehead.

Yuan Yicheng and the man in gold robes gave him a sympathetic look before turning to follow Lin Fei, the trio slowly disappearing into the depths of the forest.

The little sprite, not known when she was released by Lin Fei, now quietly flew out. Seeing the huge gash on the knight’s face, she couldn’t help but show a distressed expression.

"Knight..."

She kept releasing white specks of light, trying to heal the wound on his face.

"No need," the knight refused the healing. The pain in his body seemed to slowly subside as the three left.

He gently touched the wound on his face, his eyes showing a trace of powerlessness and helplessness. "Let it stay. It’s because I’m not strong enough."

************

In the forest,

"My Lord, if he gives up the True Force seed by himself, if he gives up his life, wouldn’t we have wasted our efforts as well?" Yuan Yicheng asked, puzzled. "For someone as rigid as him, it’s very likely that he would do such a thing."

"No, he won’t," Lin Fei smiled and said, "I know."

************

"Knight, you can give up the golden thread, right?" the sprite asked hopefully. "Don’t let him control you. I can heal you."

The knight was silent. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)