CHAPTER

49

Prelude to Battle

I

Hao Zhen sat on the ground, cross-legged, as he let the physical recovery pill in his stomach work its magic. He had just finished a training session with Tian Jin, and he could still feel his heart drumming in his chest as if in protest.

Tian Jin stood some distance away from him, going through sword forms. As usual, the other boy didn’t appear even remotely tired or winded, even though they had been fighting for the past hour. Then again, even when there had only been a difference of a single level between them, things had been like this. Now that the difference was of two levels, the past hour might as well have been a stroll in the woods for Tian Jin.

Hao Zhen tried to follow Tian Jin’s movements with his eyes, paying attention as the other boy seamlessly shifted from stance to stance. Every time Tian Jin waved his sword, Hao Zhen could hear the soft, whooshing sound of the blade cutting through air.

Catching a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye, Hao Zhen turned to the side and saw Lan Yue standing up. He raised an eyebrow, and she simply nodded at him before making her way over to Tian Jin. 

As she approached, Tian Jin looked at her, before returning his sword to the side, drawing himself up.

Lan Yue’s spatial ring flashed, and a sword appeared in her hand. She raised it, pointing its tip at Tian Jin. “Let’s spar,” she said without preamble. She sounded eager, if not excited.

Tian Jin frowned at her. Then his eyes narrowed. “You broke through?”

Oh? Hao Zhen channeled spiritual power into his eyes, focused on Lan Yue’s spiritual aura, and then compared it to Tian Jin’s. They were just as intense, and Tian Jin had broken through to the fourth level of the Red Spiritual Realm yesterday. And that meant…

Hao Zhen sighed, realizing that he was now two levels behind both of his teammates now.

Remaining silent, Lan Yue stared fixedly at Tian Jin, the hints of a smirk on her face.

In response, Tian Jin raised his sword back in front of him and gave Lan Yue a nod. 

Lan Yue then spun on her feet, the smirk on her face now clear, and walked over to the other end of the clearing. Coming to a stop, she turned back around to face Tian Jin, before falling into a stance of her own.  

Hao Zhen watched his two teammates intently. Even though this was only a spar, he felt his body thrumming with anticipation.

Lan Yue held her sword beside her body as she crouched low, the blade perpendicular to her body. Tian Jin held his sword in front of his body, slightly angled forward. Both of them wore expressions as sharp as the weapons they wielded. The setting sun cast the clearing in a dim, red light, its soft gleam reflected on the blades of his teammates. 

Tian Jin and Lan Yue just stared at each other, and Hao Zhen could feel the tension building up between them. Their robes—Tian Jin’s blue, Lan Yue’s green—billowed softly in the wind.

Then Lan Yue launched herself forward, moving so fast Hao Zhen could barely follow her with his eyes.

Within moments, she was in front of Tian Jin, her sword stabbing at his stomach. With minimal movement, Tian Jin snapped into action, flinging his blade downward and batting Lan Yue’s sword to the side. In one fluid movement, Tian Jin then brought his sword back in front of him, connecting the parry into a horizontal cut.

Just as Tian Jin’s blade was inches away from Lan Yue’s robes, a burst of spiritual power erupted from Lan Yue’s body, deflecting the blade. Lan Yue then lunged forward, moving past Tian Jin. Stepping out with her left leg, she used it to pivot herself around. As she twisted her body, she struck at Tian Jin’s back with her sword.

Tian Jin spun on his feet, putting his sword out in front of him just in time to meet Lan Yue’s. The blade of her sword still pressed against Tian Jin’s, Lan Yue threw herself forward, trying to stab Tian Jin in the shoulder. Effortlessly, Tian Jin pushed his sword harder against Lan Yue’s, redirecting it up and to the left.

Even as Lan Yue’s sword pierced past his head, Tian Jin moved his sword away from hers and brought it down on a vertical cut. Reacting instantaneously, Lan Yue leaned her body to the side, and Tian Jin cut empty air.

Lan Yue then struck again, and Tian Jin met her attack before making one of his own. Over and over they exchanged moves in an endless flurry of attacks, dodges, and parries.

Hao Zhen watched on, entranced. Everything Tian Jin and Lan Yue did, they used as the foundation for another movement, shifting their stance in a split-second. Not a single movement or action was wasted. There was a certain elegance to the way they fought, almost as if they were dancing. They moved in perfect sync, as if they had rehearsed this before.

The battle became more and more heated, Tian Jin’s and Lan Yue’s movements becoming too fast, too seamless, for him to keep track—two blurs, one green, one blue, clashing with streaks of silver. Their swords sang, clashing over and over, faster and faster, matching the tempo of the fight.

Hao Zhen reckoned both Tian Jin and Lan Yue were now pushing themselves to the limit, fully drawing upon their spiritual aura. If even one of them failed to dodge or parry an attack, the consequences could be deadly. Yet there was no hesitation to the way they moved, confident that whatever they did, the other would be able to handle it.

As for himself… Hao Zhen imagining himself in Tian Jin’s place, then in Lan Yue’s. Even if he were at the same level as his two teammates, he reckoned that he wouldn’t last even a moment against either of them in a physical fight, let alone now that they were both two levels higher.

Hao Zhen clenched his teeth, feeling the taste of envy, burning and bitter, on his tongue. He was no stranger to this taste. He had felt it more times than he could count in his previous life, and more than a couple of times in his current life, mostly throughout the last month.

Hao Zhen didn’t have any doubts that Tian Jin’s and Lan Yue’s lightning-fast reactions and seamless movements were developed over the years through arduous training. He also didn’t have any doubts that their natural aptitude also played a crucial role. There was something unnaturally fluid about the way his teammates moved and reacted—something that wasn’t the fruit of effort, but the gift of talent.

Hao Zhen didn’t think he’d ever reach their level of proficiency in martial arts, but… Distantly, vaguely, he could feel his connection to Ethereal String Puppetry, and he recalled the last couple of weeks.

The envy in him gave way to determination.

He was no longer Amyas, forever overshadowed by his brilliant sister.

He was Hao Zhen, and he would grow stronger in his own way.

II

The fight ended as suddenly as it had begun, all movement coming to an abrupt halt, and Hao Zhen blinked, startled by the suddenness of it.

Tian Jin stood leaning forward, holding his sword in front of his waist, slightly bent to the side. The edge of his blade rested against Lan Yue’s throat. Lan Yue was slightly crouched in front of him, her arms thrust out in front of her. Her sword hovered over Tian Jin’s shoulder, the blade pressed against his neck.

“Draw?” Lan Yue said, her voice hard.

“Draw.”

Lan Yue grinned. Her spatial ring flashed, and her sword disappeared. Tian Jin smiled back, moving his sword to the side of his body as he took a step back.

Without a word, Lan Yue turned around, walked over to the nearest tree, and sat down under its shade, a few feet away from Hao Zhen. The edges of her lips were slightly curled up.

His eyes on Lan Yue, Tian Jin smiled wryly before shaking his head. He then fell into stance again and resumed training, as if the fight just now hadn’t happened.

Hao Zhen watched Tian Jin for a while longer before closing his eyes. Chanting the incantation of the Drifting Moonlight Method in his mind, he took out a spiritual stone from his spatial ring, and started cultivating.

Immersed in cultivation, time trickled by unnoticed.

After a while, thoughts began worming into his head—thoughts of tomorrow—and Hao Zhen found himself losing his focus. Sighing, he ceased the mental chant and opened his eyes.

His surroundings were now dark, and he guessed that it had already been some time since nightfall. He glanced at his two teammates, who were both sitting down nearby, cultivating in silence.

“I think we should be careful tomorrow,” Hao Zhen said, drawing Tian Jin’s and Lan Yue’s attention.

“Du Qing?” Tian Jin asked.

“Tomorrow’s the last day of the hunt,” Hao Zhen said. “That means that tomorrow will be Du Qing’s last opportunity to do something to us in the forest. I think we should just walk back to the entrance of the valley. No hunting.”

The day after tomorrow, in the morning, they were supposed to be at the entrance of the valley.

Lan Yue shrugged. “I don’t mind. There’s little point in hunting more second-level monsters, anyway.”

“We most certainly have already accumulated enough contribution points,” Tian Jin said. Then he paused, focusing on Hao Zhen. “Do you really think Du Qing will try something?”

“It depends, really.” Hao Zhen said. “In theory, Du Qing can’t track us anymore, and he shouldn’t be able to get out of the Inner Forest because of the eyes on him. But… Like I said, tomorrow’s the last opportunity for him to do something. I think it’s better to prepare ourselves, just in case. Ultimately, it all boils down to what the Weave wants. If it wants Du Qing to find us, he will.”

Tian Jin tensed up slightly, almost imperceptibly. Over the last few days, Hao Zhen had noticed that this was how Tian Jin always reacted whenever the Weave was mentioned. Even though Tian Jin seemed to accept the existence of the Weave, he clearly wasn’t comfortable with it.

“Right,” Tian Jin said.

Hao Zhen turned to Lan Yue, who shrugged at him.

Seeing that the conversation was over, Hao Zhen sighed and closed his eyes, pushing his worries to the back of his mind. Taking another spiritual stone out of his spatial ring, he resumed cultivating.

III

The next day started as usual. Shortly after sunrise, they left the clearing and made their way through the massive trees, heading South, toward the entrance of the valley.

As usual, Lan Yue led the way, and every once in a while, she’d stop and use her bloodline ability—or whatever magical ability she had—to communicate with the surrounding plants.

The only difference was, unlike in the previous days, she wasn’t searching for nearby monsters or special magical herbs. Instead, she was making sure there weren’t monsters ahead—or other cultivators.

Besides their encounter with Du Jian and his group, they had come across other outer disciples in the forest in three other instances. Thankfully, none of those encounters had ended in conflict—when the outer disciples they met caught sight of Tian Jin and Lan Yue, they promptly ran off—but that didn’t mean a fight was off the table.

It was through those encounters that Hao Zhen confirmed that his soul was indeed the one that was darker than everyone else’s—and not that Lan Yue’s and Tian Jin’s were lighter. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had the opportunity yet to ascertain what exactly that meant for him.

Hao Zhen kept his eyes on Lan Yue as she came to yet another stop. Tian Jin, who had come to a stop beside him, also paid attention to their teammate. The three of them had already been walking for a couple of hours now. The sun hung high above, directly above their heads.

So far, nothing had happened, but whenever Lan Yue halted, Hao Zhen couldn’t help but tense up.

After a few moments, Lan Yue turned around to face them. There was an a small smirk on Lan Yue’s lips, and predatory gleam in her eyes.

Hao Zhen wasn’t sure he liked that look.

“There are three cultivators heading our way,” Lan Yue said, the eagerness in her voice almost palpable. She nodded towards the East. “Two fourth-level redsouls, one third-level.”

Some of the tension fled Hao Zhen’s body. Two fourth-levels and one third-level. Most likely, Du Qing and two other disciples of the Inner Court. No elders, apparently.

In their battle against Du Jian and his lackeys, they had been outnumbered two to one, and still came on top—rather easily, at that. Inner disciples probably wouldn’t be nearly as easy to take down as outer disciples, but he doubted Lan Yue or Tian Jin would lose to anyone at the same level as them. As for himself, as long as he wasn’t up against someone two or more levels higher than him—or multiple enemies—then he was fairly confident in his chances.

Hao Zhen glanced at Tian Jin. The other boy’s reaction wasn’t as strong or as clear as Lan Yue’s, but there was clearly a tenseness to him—narrowed eyes, tight jaw, clenched fists. All signs of anxiousness, but there was a gleam in Tian Jin’s eyes and and intensity to his gaze that made it clear that what he was feeling wasn’t apprehension, but anticipation.

Hao Zhen considered his options. If they managed to run away from Du Qing and made it back to the sect, he was confident that they’d be able to bring the prime disciple down, one way or another. The smart, sensible decision would be not to take any chances and avoid fighting.

He didn’t think there was even a remote possibility of convincing his teammates of that, however, so he didn’t even bother trying.

Since that was the case, he could only do his best to minimize the risks.

“How much time do we have?” Hao Zhen asked, turning to Duo Lan, who had walked over to them and was now standing beside Tian Jin, opposite him.

“They weren’t moving too fast. Unless they pick up the pace, a minute or two.”

Hao Zhen nodded to himself. He spent another moment sorting through his thoughts, then said, “All right. This is what we’ll do.”