Since I left the Central Continent, my swordplay didn’t just stall; it dulled like steel left to drink rain.

That hit me mid-fight with Yuyi Mengliu, the realization cold as morning fog on my skin.

Well, it made sense. After leaving the Central Continent, I fought plenty, big and small, but always at range. I kept flinging Sword Aura and techniques, while close steel-on-steel barely touched me.

In that soil, swordsmanship can’t grow; the roots find only stone.

Alright. This time, I’ll keep it close and fight with the blade itself.

I watched Yuyi ahead, then slowly raised the Shattered Light Sword like dawn lifting a pale horizon.

Augment!

I used a sword art I’d just grasped—Augment.

Augment: a support art that condenses Sword Aura onto the weapon, gathered but not released, so the edge bites like winter ice.

The Shattered Light Sword breathed a golden gleam, a chill power coiling around it like a coiled dragon held tight.

Earthfire Form: Scorching Flame!

Yuyi flicked her small hand along Flame Edge in one swift touch, a gesture neat as falling maple leaves.

Bang!

Purple-red flame leapt from Flame Edge the instant her hand left, and heat warped the air like mirages over a desert road.

So, you intend to fight up close? Good. I planned the same. Again!

She said it and rushed me, her movement quick as a fox crossing snow.

Gladly.

I smiled, raised Shattered Light, and went to meet her like a wave meeting a cliff.

Clang!!

Blade met blade, and cracks spidered across the ground beneath us like dry riverbeds waking.

Falling Edge!

I gripped tight and lifted hard, forcing Flame Edge aside like wind sweeping a banner.

I sprang up and dropped with the point down, a hawk stooping toward prey.

Foxfire Form: Flame Thrust!

Yuyi didn’t hesitate. Flame Edge shot for me like a star darting from the night.

…

Sword point met blade tip, and the shock rippled the air around us, a drumbeat that made space quiver.

Flash Strike!

I flickered. I vanished above Yuyi and appeared behind her, a shadow slipping past lamplight.

Foxfire Form: Reverse Flame!

Before I could strike, she turned in a flash and carved a sultry ribbon of fire toward me, a blossom opening and closing in a blink.

My sudden strike met the flame mid-bloom. The two folded into each other and died like crossing tides.

Tch. Yuyi Mengliu is strong—no seams, no loose thread, just polished steel.

The longer we fought, the more it surprised me. Every attack I had, she caught, parried, or smothered like ash on ember.

You truly live up to the title of Sword Wielder. To trade blades with me this long using swordplay alone—impressive.

She spoke with a respectful warmth, like tea in winter.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a fight this clean.

Yuyi laughed, a smile bright as lantern light, and it was disarmingly cute.

Same here. It’s my first time sticking to close steel with an opponent.

I looked at her and found myself smiling back, like mirrors catching the same sun.

Good. Let’s continue. Tonight, we must decide a winner.

She set her face back into focus, calm as a moon above waves.

Alright.

And so the fight rolled on, like sparks chasing wind.

Clang! Clang! Clang! …

The quiet clearing rang with sharp notes, the crisp music of sword and blade colliding like chimes in a storm.

Sword Qi Dance!

The instant I batted her strike aside, I loosed a continuous sword art—Sword Qi Dance.

I whirled the Shattered Light Sword, a steady rhythm like rain on eaves. With each swing, a blade of Sword Aura flew.

At this distance, she can’t dodge. No chance, I told myself, heart steady as a drum.

Earthfire Form: Dance of Flame!

Things didn’t go my way. Heat surged from the earth around Yuyi, a ring of fire budding like a wreath of poppies.

She stood at its heart and spun Flame Edge fast, her blade weaving like a dancer’s sleeve.

Boom!!!

The enclosing flames roared wild, and great clots of fire streaked toward me like comets. They smashed into my Sword Aura, and both burst like ripening gourds.

A few seconds passed.

The Sword Qi Dance had spent all its blades, and her encircling flames guttered out like candles after dawn.

The aftershock pushed us both back several steps, feet scraping dust like skates on frost.

You’re strong.

I drew a deep breath and couldn’t help admitting it. At this range, to block every strand of Sword Qi Dance—respect.

You’re strong as well.

Her cute lips parted, breath shaky as a reed in wind. That last move had eaten her stamina, but mine was frayed too.

We’re both running low. What do you want to do?

I steadied my breathing and looked at her, calm as a pond before a pebble.

Hmm, our strength is nearly spent. Alright!

She thought for a moment, then nodded, eyes lighting like embers taking air. Let’s settle it with our strongest move—no, the strongest we can unleash in this state. How’s that?

Works for me.

There’s only that path to a result now. I agreed without a second thought, like a blade choosing its sheath.

Then let’s begin.

Mm.

The final bout began, like thunder gathering behind the hills.

Ready? Yuyi asked, voice soft as falling ash.

Mm.

I nodded and kept my words in my throat, quiet as a blade in its scabbard.

Alright, then we begin now.

Got it.

I didn’t hesitate. I gathered Sword Aura with everything left, pulling light tight like string on a bow.

Myriad Swords Unleashed!

Sword after sword, formed from pure Sword Aura, rose behind me like a forest standing at my back.

It’s called Myriad Swords Unleashed, but with my strength, it’s only a few hundred. Still, ten thousand isn’t far—like a horizon I’ll reach.

In a blink, more than a hundred golden blades hovered at my back, each heavy with power, each gleaming like sunlight on ripples.

You truly are strong.

Yuyi’s admiration was clear, and she lifted Flame Edge high, the motion ritual-smooth like a priestess before fire.

Skyfire Form: Esoteric Art—Inferno Scorches Heaven!

Flames bloomed across the sky, countless and crimson, turning the dim heavens into a blazing day. Their heat drank the surrounding mist and left clear air, bright as glass.

Beneath that glow, Yuyi’s red kimono was breathtaking, a vision like a fire goddess descending, stern and sovereign.

Her aura dwarfs mine, I thought, and the admission tasted bitter, like strong tea.

Well, so be it.

The Sword Aura behind me now counted over three hundred blades, and that was my limit today, a line drawn in sand.

I gripped Shattered Light and gave a small forward cut, a conductor’s cue before the storm.

Go!

Whrrr!!

The blades behind me sang, a bright chorus, then streaked forward as streams of light, racing for Yuyi like meteors seeking a moon.

Fall.

Yuyi lowered Flame Edge slowly, and flames in the sky began to drift down like snow, gentle and relentless, a red winter.