Inside the independent space.
Bei Xinghan stumbled onto the sand once again.
It didn't hurt.
But the humiliation of failure surged even more fiercely.
Beside him was the equally disheveled True Person Canghai.
The contours of their facial features bore a striking resemblance, with only subtle differences in their expressions.
Bei Xinghan’s eyes still held the spark of anger and unwillingness, while True Person Canghai’s expression was undoubtedly calmer.
Anyone who experienced the same situation tens of thousands of times would inevitably become numb.
True Person Canghai had long passed the point of anger. He knelt on one knee, replaying the scene of being sent flying just moments ago in his mind, contemplating his shortcomings.
This was the experience he had gained over a hundred years.
Just as he was regretting the haste in his sword swing, Bei Xinghan beside him drew his sword and charged forward again.
Whoosh—
The Frost Sword cut through the air, letting out a sharp whistle.
The sword body reflected a chilling, cold light.
Even without the enhancement of spiritual power, the Frost Sword remained as sharp as ever.
The direction Bei Xinghan was charging towards was occupied by a slender and graceful figure.
Even dressed in plain cloth, it couldn't conceal the woman’s exceptional demeanor.
Seeing Bei Xinghan charging towards her with murderous intent, she neither dodged nor evaded. Only when Bei Xinghan swung his sword and lunged at her did she slowly reach out and swing a branch.
Clang!
A sound like metal striking stone suddenly rang out.
Bei Xinghan felt a jolt in his right hand, and an immense force surged through his entire body.
Before he could even react, he was sent flying again, rolling several miles on the sand, nearly falling into the sea.
True Person Batian shook her head and sat cross-legged on the reef again, gazing idly in the direction of the sea.
Although she hadn't said a word, her actions made Bei Xinghan feel even worse.
Bei Xinghan couldn't control his temper and punched the sand, his expression dejected.
Bei Xinghan had achieved fame at a young age and had never suffered a setback except at the hands of Xu Yi and Ji Buwang.
Especially in swordsmanship, he possessed absolute confidence.
However, the experiences of the past month had completely broken his proud spirit. Never before had he realized so clearly that his achievements in swordsmanship were but a drop in the ocean, not worth mentioning.
The way to escape the space was simple: defeat True Person Batian, who wielded a branch as her sword.
When Bei Xinghan heard this condition, he instinctively cast a surprised glance at True Person Canghai.
Because he saw that True Person Canghai was holding his life-bound magical treasure, the Heartless Sword.
Moreover, there was no spiritual energy in this place, so there was no suppression of cultivation. Compared to a branch that could be easily snapped, the Heartless Sword, which could cut through iron like mud, the outcome should have been obvious.
Bei Xinghan didn't understand why True Person Canghai was still trapped here, until he faced True Person Batian for the first time.
He still remembered the scene of himself being knocked away by a mere branch.
He had lost cleanly and decisively, not even knowing how he had lost.
Later, he tried almost every trick he knew, but each time, he was sent flying by her branch before he could even get close to True Person Batian, with no power to fight back.
Finally, he began to doubt if that branch was a genuine branch, or perhaps a divine weapon disguised as a branch.
Seeing his thoughts, True Person Batian directly threw the branch in her hand to Bei Xinghan, and casually picked up another branch from under a nearby rock, continuing to use it as a weapon.
Bei Xinghan looked at the branch in front of him, his face flushing with shame.
The branch was a real branch.
Then the problem wasn't with the weapon, but with the person.
His skill was inferior.
Bei Xinghan finally concluded the reason for his failure.
He understood the logic, but accepting it calmly was difficult.
Another failure intensified Bei Xinghan's sense of defeat.
He gritted his teeth and punched the sand repeatedly, venting his unhappiness.
Losing to True Person Batian was not shameful; he was merely angry with himself for not even knowing where he was losing.
The gap between him and True Person Batian was like an unbridgeable chasm.
Let alone a hundred years, even if another five hundred years passed, he had no confidence that he could defeat True Person Batian honorably and leave the space.
A genius sword cultivator?
What a colossal joke.
True Person Canghai watched Bei Xinghan vent his frustration with a cold eye, a strange sense of pleasure arising in his heart.
He clearly remembered the astonished look Bei Xinghan had given him when he first arrived here and heard the rules.
Underestimating True Person Batian would lead to suffering.
As someone who had been through it, True Person Canghai understood deeply.
When True Person Canghai was young, he had met True Person Batian once.
At that time, True Person Batian was already the most famous sword cultivator on the Kyushu Continent.
However, she lacked the sharp edge common to most sword cultivators; instead, she was approachable and very amiable.
True Person Canghai had thought that the rumors about True Person Batian were all slander spread by outsiders.
He had even had the thought of becoming True Person Batian's disciple back then, but hearing that True Person Batian had no intention of taking disciples, he had given up.
Unexpectedly, a thousand years later, he met True Person Batian again, and even met her true self in the inheritance space set up by True Person Batian.
When he first entered the space, his joy outweighed his surprise.
He had entered the secret realm specifically seeking a breakthrough, and if he could receive guidance from True Person Batian, it would naturally help him ascend to a higher level.
However, the only thing True Person Canghai hadn't expected was that he had overestimated himself and underestimated this seemingly gentle and amiable senior.
The blow he suffered was no less than what Bei Xinghan was experiencing now.
Seeing Bei Xinghan so frustrated, True Person Canghai gained a peculiar sense of satisfaction.
His happiness was indeed built upon the suffering of others.
This also made him find Bei Xinghan more and more agreeable, and his sense of rejection towards him was slowly fading.
It was just that he hadn't noticed this yet.
In some ways, he was as slow-witted as Bei Xinghan.
Bei Xinghan was, after all, one of the most outstanding disciples among the new generation of the Xuanqing Sect.
He didn't stay angry for long and regained his rationality.
Since he knew the reason for his failure, he would work hard to improve himself.
His master and friends were waiting for him outside; he couldn't give up on himself.
He looked up at True Person Canghai, pursed his lips, thought for a moment, got up, and slowly walked in front of True Person Canghai.
"Let's cooperate."
This was the first sentence he spoke to True Person Canghai after meeting him.
From the moment Bei Xinghan entered this space, both he and True Person Canghai had tacitly refrained from speaking to each other, as if engaged in a silent confrontation.
Whoever spoke first lost.
Bei Xinghan had intended to hold out for a while longer, but he couldn't wait.
True Person Canghai glanced at him, nodded his head with a calm expression.
True Person Canghai was not someone who was stubbornly opinionated. Even if there were many issues between him and Bei Xinghan, they could be settled later after they left.
The priority was to complete the test and leave this place.
He did not want to spend the next hundred or two hundred years in this space.
"Alright, let's cooperate."