After the announcement, Lan Xiaohui returns to her room at the inn and her heart is swelling with motivation. Perhaps my words had an effect on her but it is more likely that she is affected by all the cheers and declarations that someone else will conquer all fourteen floors of that Pagoda.

Though, at this stage, there is very little my owner can do to improve her chances. The Pagoda tests the heart, not the ability of the cultivator. Naturally, with a strong Dao Heart, one will effortlessly obtain a peerless ability in the martial arts, but the inverse is not always true. It is possible to take shortcuts and obtain powerful martial arts at the expense of one’s Dao Heart.

This is likely another driving mechanism that differentiates demonic from righteous cultivators, on a very basic level, though I suspect that in modern sects this mechanism is warped to a point beyond what it was originally.

A demonic cultivator will prefer power over strong foundations in their hearts, while righteous cultivators will prefer a more stable foundation. Demonic cultivators will not hesitate to burn their life force to make large gains in their cultivation, but the way Li Feng had done it, for example, is not how Lan Xiaohui does it.

Ultimately, demonic cultivators are suited to cultivating their hearts through battle first — at the same time enhancing their abilities as well as building their foundations — while righteous cultivators will approach the same from the opposite direction.

This is likely how these cultivators got the moniker of demonic — bloodthirst. I know that for Lan Xiaohui killing one hundred demonic beasts in my simulated realms has greatly advanced both her technique and her Dao Heart.

With that conclusion in mind, it is much simpler to understand what the Pagoda tests and what the Dao Heart is. The Dao Heart is neither demonic nor righteous, though these terms can be applied to describe someone’s methods of improvement. What the Pagoda tests, and what the Dao Heart contains, is the drive and potential to reach the pinnacle.

A lesser cultivator would falter at the very idea of having to slaughter one hundred demonic beasts, but not Lan Xiaohui.

It is no surprise then that what Lan Xiaohui can do to strengthen her heart is something I can provide after all.

Sitting down on the bed, my owner smiles. “I think I am ready to try the Icy Sword Formation.”

I immediately understand why she did not want to use her sword Qi to attempt the Icy Sword Waterfall; it is less of a challenge with it. As both a deviant and a prodigy, the only way for my owner to advance quickly enough — through the demonic method — is to throw herself at the problem with the least amount of advantages and try to overcome that challenge.

I am not certain if her demonic method is flawed or enlightened. Ultimately, this will not help her ability much — but it could — but it will improve her Dao Heart by large margins. This does not fit my idea of the demonic method, but it is very much in the spirit of it.

“You should use your sword Qi,” I tell Lan Xiaohui.

Her eyebrows knit together thoughtfully at my words. “Why?” she asks.

Lan Xiaohui may be a monstrous cultivator with tremendous abilities, but there are several reasons why I think her approach, in this particular case, is flawed.

First, there is not enough time to conquer the Icy Sword Waterfall before the entrance exam, without sword Qi. This alone would take months, if not years, inside my Inner World. In other words, it would take decades in real time.

Second, I have no doubt that Lan Xiaohui will pass the Pagoda exam; her Dao Heart is strong enough for even Lady Yue to take an interest in my owner. If she cannot match the same achievement of those other geniuses mentioned during the announcement, I would be disappointed.

Lastly, this is a great opportunity for Lan Xiaohui to learn a new martial art and progress it quickly to a degree significant enough that she could help me suppress the undying snake inside my vessel.

“I want to teach you a new external martial art,” I tell her.

At these words, Lan Xiaohui sits up straight and poses herself in a manner that is far more respectful and subservient — in her mind, right now, I am her Master and Teacher again.

She nods slowly, but I also feel an ember of hesitation in her.

“It won’t replace your Heartless Blood Lily,” I reassure her.

She smiles and relaxes, the hesitation in her heart disappearing.

I know she is very attached to the first martial art I taught her, and one day, she will have to move on to something that will match the progress of her cultivation. However, the [Fractured Sword] martial art is not it; not yet.

The [Fractured Sword] is a Celestial grade martial art — one grade higher than Emperor — and even with my extremely deep understanding of the Dao, I can barely glimpse only the first layer of this profound technique.

I estimate that properly using this martial art would require a cultivation of Core Formation, if not higher, and even then, the potential output would still be below its full potential. However, this should not prevent Lan Xiaohui from learning its principles and utilizing them outside of its ideal scenario — combat.

In other words, she can still learn and cultivate how to fold her Sword Qi through the higher dimension and attack the snake within my vessel.

Hopefully.

“T-then we should…” Lan Xiaohui stammers out a few words and then pauses for a brief moment, chewing on her bottom lip. “It would help if we cultivate together.”

Perhaps because Lan Xiaohui is in disciple mode, mentally, she presents the suggestion in such a way. I don’t understand the cultural power dynamic of master-disciple relationships, but it would make sense to me that the disciples wouldn’t ask their teachers to cultivate together.

“Yes,” I simply tell her. I have no desire to dispel her illusion of how this relationship works. Being able to influence Lan Xiaohui’s decisions is a very valuable tool.

She nods and presents a guilty smile as she draws me from the sheath and gives me that same, heated look. I know this is the effect of [Avarice], but I also know that it is more than just that. This kind of pure obsession is not something even [Avarice] can create.

She moans even before my sword tip presses into her chest, and then, just like before, slides not through her physical body, but her spiritual body.

At the same time that all her nerves ignite the pleasure centers in her brain, the engine of her cultivation connects to mine, synchronizing the circulation of our Qi.

She trembles on the bed, her breathing becoming slower and heavier. She moves in a sluggish motion as she reclines backward and wraps her arms around my hilt, holding me close.

I don’t have nerves or pleasure centers, so I can only imagine what this kind of experience might feel like to her.

Is she enjoying this?

I become slightly suspicious of her true motivations because the time it takes her to engage her [Emptiness Prana] to dissolve these distractions is outside of my expectations. It takes her much longer, but eventually, she takes a breath and her heart calms down.

“I-I am ready…”

Her consciousness melds with mine as she speaks those words and at the same time, I push a packet of distilled knowledge and information through the array, containing everything I know about the [Fractured Sword] martial art.