Chapter 403: Chapter 403

Xiaoyao smiled and said, "This humble one is preparing a good reading environment for Miss Lingxiao. Since Miss Lingxiao wants all books related to swordsmanship, she'll naturally need to stay here for a long time to read. The academy has rooms specifically for studying books—this humble one is leading Miss Lingxiao there."

"Oh, I see. Then lead the way!" Shang Lingjian nodded. This was acceptable, but—

"You still need to bring the books later!"

"Yes, yes, naturally!" Xiaoyao replied, leading the two of them to a private courtyard. Within this academy, there were several small private courtyards—the places Xiaoyao had mentioned for intensive study.

When Xiaoyao brought the two to these small private courtyards, he stopped and asked, "Miss Lingxiao, which place do you prefer? No one is using them now—you can choose freely."

"Any is fine!" Xuanwu Lingxiao said without much concern. She hadn't originally wanted to come to this small private courtyard—she wasn't really here for intensive study but just wanted some peace and quiet.

Now she was thinking that if someone could drive away the fly beside her, she would definitely promise them a favor—anything within her power.

However, this was just thinking, because she didn't believe anyone could drive away this fly at this moment.

Just then, she discovered that the surprise was right beside her. Sometimes it came so quickly that it was hard to accept.

She saw Xiaoyao open the door to a small private courtyard after her words, and she followed him in. Just as she stepped into the private courtyard, the fly was about to follow her in, but at this moment, Xiaoyao suddenly closed the courtyard door, blocking the fly outside.

"Dog slave, what are you doing? You almost hit this young master's nose!" The fly was very angry because of Xiaoyao's sudden door closing and began cursing without any dignity.

"Base Young Master, I'm closing the door!" Xiaoyao smiled and said.

"Who are you cursing?" Shang Lingjian heard the tone in Xiaoyao's voice. This "base" was definitely not that "jian"—it was absolutely a retort to him calling Xiaoyao a dog slave. "You've really rebelled, daring to curse me!!"

"Base Young Master, isn't this your name? I'm rather stupid—sometimes I can only remember the last character of people's names..." Xiaoyao looked as if he was thinking hard, making Xuanwu Lingxiao, who could see him through the door gap from inside, want to laugh.

She hadn't expected this little servant to be so interesting, actually daring to confront the master . He had real courage! Though it was somewhat reckless—provoking this annoying fly wouldn't benefit him.

"You... fine, I won't argue with you about this for now. I'm asking you, what do you mean by closing the door ? Are you trying to make me crash into it?" Shang Lingjian had argued about his name many times before and knew there was nothing good to argue about in this area—it would only get worse the more he talked.

"I closed the door to give Miss Lingxiao a quiet environment for reading. This is a secluded study place that can only accommodate one person. If you want to read here, please go to the courtyard next door." Xiaoyao bowed with one hand gesturing forward, indicating for Shang Lingjian to go to another small private courtyard.

"??" Shang Lingjian was somewhat stunned by Xiaoyao's words and needed time to process them.

When Xuanwu Lingxiao heard Xiaoyao's words, her eyes lit up. She understood what Xiaoyao meant—he was waiting here for Shang Lingjian, using the academy's rules to temporarily prevent Shang Lingjian from approaching her. Wasn't this exactly the result she wanted? This Xiaoyao was very interesting!!

"You..." Shang Lingjian figured it out and wanted to say something to Xiaoyao, but he found he couldn't really criticize him. Because it was he who had called Xiaoyao in the first place, wanting to mess with him. Also, it was he who wanted Xiaoyao to bring all books related to swordsmanship, still wanting to mess with him.

As a result, he hadn't managed to mess with this detestable little servant, but had been led into a trap instead. Most depressingly, it felt like he had dug a pit and fallen into it himself.

"What 'you'? If you need something, just speak clearly. Don't stammer like that! But your matter will have to wait—I need to help Miss Lingxiao find books first!" Xiaoyao squeezed Shang Lingjian without courtesy, then turned to ask Xuanwu Lingxiao, "Miss Lingxiao, what kind of swordsmanship books do you need to see first?"

"I've been practicing the seventh sword of Supreme Sword Arts recently but can't find the key. Find me some randomly—if I'm lucky, I might think of something." Xuanwu Lingxiao replied with a smile. Originally she wouldn't tell Xiaoyao about her cultivation situation, but she was in a good mood now.

"Alright, I'll find some for you!" Xiaoyao nodded, then ran to the sword technique section of the Martial Arts Library to find books.

The seventh sword should be...

Xiaoyao wasn't randomly finding books for Xuanwu Lingxiao. What he was looking for were sword technique books that matched the seventh sword—these would help Xuanwu Lingxiao. If he understood her martial arts foundation, he could even find more precisely targeted books.

Even so, Xuanwu Lingxiao was greatly surprised. Originally she had just spoken casually, not knowing where to start in cultivating this seventh sword of Supreme Sword Arts. Now she discovered she already had a path—right in the books Xiaoyao had given her.

Was this a coincidence?

Xuanwu Lingxiao didn't think deeply about Xiaoyao's reasons. This thought just flashed by, then she desperately tried to comprehend the sword techniques described in these books, feeling the artistic conception of those techniques, and combining them with the seventh move of Supreme Sword Arts.

She had a feeling of enlightenment, though this feeling wasn't much yet and needed continued accumulation and more reading!

Xuanwu Lingxiao thus entered a state of secluded cultivation. Previously she hadn't planned such seclusion, but now the opportunity to comprehend the seventh move of Supreme Sword Arts was before her—she couldn't let it pass. Nothing would disturb her.

Fortunately, this place was well-equipped and had servants, so even if she went into seclusion here, her daily life wouldn't be a problem. She could remain in seclusion until any time.

Seeing Xuanwu Lingxiao enter a state of secluded cultivation, Shang Lingjian waited for a while before leaving the academy. Originally, he thought Xuanwu Lingxiao wouldn't take too long, so he actually read books in the adjacent small private courtyard while ordering Xiaoyao to fetch books—some very difficult and obscure volumes he could think of.

Xiaoyao just smiled disdainfully at this. What obscure books? Any books Shang Lingjian knew couldn't be truly obscure. Really obscure books were ones he had never even heard of.

In the following days, Shang Lingjian came almost every day to check on Xuanwu Lingxiao's situation while incidentally messing with Xiaoyao—of course, all small tricks, as he didn't dare play big ones now.

Xiaoyao had dealt with such small tricks countless times—not just from Shang Lingjian. As a servant, he would always encounter some difficulties from the masters. Successfully dealing with such difficulties was something any competent servant could handle with ease. Content orıginally comes from novel fire.net

Therefore, Xiaoyao just smiled mockingly and continued his work. This made Shang Lingjian grind his teeth in hatred—his resentment toward Xiaoyao grew higher and higher. There would be an eruption someday.

Xiaoyao continued to show disdain for this. He didn't think Shang Lingjian could cause him trouble, at least not the kind he couldn't solve. And the kind he could solve, he didn't care about—he would be leaving here before long anyway.

Soon, he would finish reading all the books here. Recently he could even access top-level books during the day under Xuanwu Lingxiao's name, which accelerated his progress even more.

Originally, Xiaoyao had been here for a long time and others trusted him greatly. Plus, he was helping Xuanwu Lingxiao get books, so the top-level library was opened to him.

This excuse of Xuanwu Lingxiao wasn't something Xiaoyao had deliberately arranged—it was her own need. She wanted Xiaoyao to find books helpful to her, but such books were no longer in the regular library. Only the top-level library that ordinary people couldn't enter remained.

These "ordinary people" referred to ordinary people of the Xuanwu Family's main branch. However, Xuanwu Lingxiao happened to have this authority—she could have Xiaoyao help her get them.

On the seventeenth day of Xuanwu Lingxiao's seclusion, a strong sword intent emanated from her small private courtyard, attracting considerable attention...

"Who is this? If it's from there, it should be Lingxiao... Very good, she's comprehended another move." While Xuanwu Wenyuan was still working with his head down, feeling Xuanwu Lingxiao's sword intent, his face was full of smiles. He thought to himself that this generation of the Xuanwu Family hadn't disappointed him—they wouldn't be weaker than the White Tiger Family and Vermillion Bird Family.

Many others shared Xuanwu Wenyuan's thoughts, mostly Xuanwu Lingxiao's seniors, all sighing about having successors.

"Xuanwu Lingxiao, I definitely won't be inferior to you!!"

Similar words were also numerous—these came from Xuanwu Lingxiao's peers who were all competing with each other, not wanting to be surpassed.

"This is—Lingxiao is about to come out of seclusion! I must go see her immediately!!"

The owner of these words was someone Xuanwu Lingxiao wouldn't want to see, because seeing him would diminish most of her good mood from just comprehending a move of Supreme Sword Arts. This person was that annoying fly—Shang Lingjian.

If Xuanwu Lingxiao knew Shang Lingjian would rush over next, she would definitely choose to continue her seclusion to practice the next move of Supreme Sword Arts. This time, she would choose the eighteenth move.

People practicing Supreme Sword Arts wouldn't learn the moves in sequence but would jump around, first learning what suited them best. The twenty-three moves of Supreme Sword Arts contained various styles of sword techniques. Everyone would have what suited them best, and what suited each person best would differ according to their individual characteristics.

"The weather is really nice today, and my mood is good too. I should go out for a walk. Yunyun, Yunyun—that little thing must have run to Xiaoyao's side again. Really, people who don't know might think he's the master." Xuanwu Lingxiao said while going to look for Xiaoyao—of course, to find Yunyun.