The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

As the white flames continued to entwine and spread around Lin Qi, his aura grew stronger and stronger.

At this point, he understood everything.

What about failing an assessment, what about multiple attempts, what about battlefields outside the region, what about becoming a cripple, etc.?

It was all just part of the Sword Monument assessment.

Lin Qi simply waved his hand slightly, and the torchbearer's sword, which was lying on the ground with a familiar tassel, hummed and suddenly rose into the air, flying back into his hand.

Lin Qi, who was holding the sword, had a completely different aura, and his eyes revealed composure, determination and coldness!

That spirited swordsman has returned!

The Moon-Eating Corpse Species sensed Lin Qi's aura, and all three of its pupils constricted sharply: "How is this possible! Weren't you already crippled—"

Before it could finish speaking, a dazzling silver-white sword light flashed, and its body was neatly split in two.

Vivi, who had been being choked by it, also fell to the ground and coughed violently twice.

When Weiwei saw what had just happened, she looked up. In addition to the joy of surviving the ordeal, there was also a hint of shock in her eyes. She seemed to be in disbelief that her husband, who had always been an ordinary person, had suddenly become so powerful.

Little Cai, holding Lin Qi, cheered through her tears, "Daddy is so amazing! Daddy is truly a great swordsman!"

After settling the two of them in, Lin Qi glanced at them with a complicated expression before pushing open the door and leaving.

He understood that it was all just an illusion.

As soon as he stepped out of his house, the white flames on Lin Qi's body burned even more fiercely: he had now burned almost all of his remaining lifespan, and once the effect of the [Lihentian] sword technique ended, his death would not be far away.

What he needs to do next is to resume his responsibility as the swordsman!

He intends to kill all the Moon-Eating Corpse Species that have invaded this place while the [Heaven of Separation] is still ongoing!

Without any hesitation, Lin Qi's figure, burning with pure white flames, soared into the sky and rushed into the densest area of ​​the Eclipse Moon Corpse Seeds.

. . .

After an unknown amount of time, the last Eclipse Corpse fell to Lin Qi's sword. At this moment, the pure white flames on his body had become so transparent that they were almost invisible. His body was covered with bloody wounds, and his breathing was extremely heavy.

The effect of [Lihentian] is about to end, and death is imminent.

And so, Lin Qi squeezed out the last bit of strength from his body, dragging his broken body, and rushed towards 'home' as fast as he could.

Before he could even open the door to his house, Lin Qi finally collapsed to the ground, his vision blurring and all his strength draining away at an alarming rate.

He looked at the doorway to his home, just a step away, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "So close..."

Just then, the door suddenly opened from the inside, and two familiar figures, one tall and one short, walked out. They saw Lin Qi lying on the ground covered in wounds and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

"Archie!!!"

"dad!!!"

Vivi knelt on the ground and held the blood-covered Lin Qi in her arms, sobbing and whimpering, "How could this happen, Qi, waaaah—"

Xiao Cai was also lying next to Lin Qi, crying and calling out, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Lin Qi simply gazed at the two sorrowful figures, then with the last of his strength, he reached out and gently stroked their faces, one large and one small, murmuring in an almost inaudible voice, "Thank...you...you..."

He already knew, of course, that this was a false world constructed by the sword monument, and that everything here was fake.

But so what?!

In this world, he gained love, family, friendship, and other of the most beautiful things in the world, and for him, all of this was meaningful!

Whether it's fulfilling the duty of the Swordholder to kill all the Eclipse Corpse Seeds in the end, or clinging to his last breath to see them one last time.

He did all of this for no other reason than to ensure his own peace of mind!

Finally, his hand slipped limply to the ground, and his consciousness plunged into an endless abyss of darkness.

His death came.

And in the endless darkness, a message arrived: Assessment successful! You have received the reward: Clarity Sword Heart!

Finally, beneath the sword monument, the figure who had been sitting cross-legged opened his eyes.

The moment those eyes opened, countless emotions and expressions—joy, anger, helplessness, dejection, irritability, happiness, sweetness, excitement, relief, pain, satisfaction, and more—emerged.

But in the end, all these emotions and expressions slowly settled down, transforming into a pair of clear and transparent eyes.

Lin Qi let out a long breath, then looked around: it was already evening, the sky was completely dark, and his fellow warriors who had participated in the Sword Monument assessment had long since disappeared, leaving him alone in the Sword Monument Square.

If it were according to his previous personality, he would definitely be overjoyed and excited after passing the fifth test of the Sword Monument, and he would frantically try to share and brag about it to everyone.

But now that he has truly passed the fifth test of the Sword Monument, he finds himself lost in thought.

He didn't rush to get up, but instead lay down, crossed his hands to support his head, and looked up at the countless twinkling stars in the night sky in the Sword Monument Square.

The details of the Sword Stele Illusion resurfaced in his mind.

Lin Qi now understands why those seniors who have passed the fifth test of the Sword Monument call it "the first insurmountable barrier on the path of swordsmanship".

At the same time, he also understood the key to this assessment, or rather, its true purpose.

The restrictions such as death equals failure in the assessment are all designed to mislead the participants!

Or rather, that was part of the test!

There is only one condition to pass this test!

That is to understand one's true nature!

Or rather, to understand one's true intention in wielding the sword!

As for the reward given by the Sword Stele: the Enlightened Sword Heart, it is merely a byproduct of understanding one's true nature.

After lying down for a while, Lin Qi got up, stretched, and slowly walked out of the Investigation Bureau. Then he flew back to his home on his sword.

In the past, he would have practiced his sword for a while before going to sleep, but the fifth level of the Sword Monument test had really drained his energy.

He didn't shower, he just changed his clothes and threw himself onto the bed.

As Lynch felt the soft touch of the pure cotton fabric, his consciousness gradually blurred.

In a daze, he seemed to see those two familiar figures, one big and one small, again.

With his eyes tightly closed, he muttered, "Hmm, I'll go buy a sword tassel tomorrow—"

And so, filled with hopeful anticipation for tomorrow, Lin Qi drifted into a deep, blissful sleep.

And so, the day that belonged to the swordsman Lynch came to an end.

(The End of a short side story about Lin Qi, the Swordsman.)