Yunli's Second Defeat

Jingxing woke up in pain early the next morning.

Although he hadn't let Yunli land a single blow with her sword yesterday, the accumulated soreness was making itself felt. He sat up and tried clenching his fists. His knuckles cracked a few times, but fortunately, they still obeyed him.

Jingxing had no intention of using the Light Cone, an item restricted by the company, on his own. He tucked it away and followed the covered corridor toward the front courtyard. The morning mist had yet to clear, and the corners of the General's Residence's eaves were bathed in pale blue light.

Sure enough, Huaiyan was sitting beside the little table under the eaves. Jingxing couldn't help wondering if the old man slept at all.

When Huaiyan saw him, he got straight to the point and gestured for Jingxing to sit opposite him. "Come on, I'll watch you use this Light Cone."

"General, how do I use it?" Jingxing took out the Light Cone, unsure where to begin. It was his first time handling something so precious.

Huaiyan tipped his chin toward the cushion opposite him. "This is the second version. When Feixiao heard from me that someone wanted to learn her skills, she got so excited she wanted to cram all her martial arts into it. But I sent her back to record it again."

"Why?"

"Half her skills have everything to do with her species, and the other half includes secrets of the Xianzhou Alliance," Huaiyan said unhurriedly. "You wouldn't want to be kept on our Xianzhou for the rest of your life, would you?"

A chill ran down Jingxing's spine. Although he could live quite well with an official position on the Xianzhou, leaving aside the Xianzhou Alliance's peculiar view of so-called "outworlders," even this man's beloved disciple, Yingxing of the High-Cloud Quintet back then, hadn't he...

Jingxing gathered his thoughts. "So this version is..."

"The version General Tianji sent back contains only the fundamentals of martial arts." Huaiyan took the Light Cone from Jingxing. "Footwork, how to exert force, breathing, and how to channel strength. There isn't a single move or technique in it, but don't underestimate those things. Yunli's sword, Feixiao's spear and axe—break them all down, and you'll find these same fundamentals. Their techniques differ, but the foundations are shared."

He paused, then continued, "In a moment, I'll transfer the memories in the Light Cone into your head. It'll feel like someone is practicing punches inside your mind for you. If you can't take it, let go. Don't force yourself."

Jingxing nodded. He watched Huaiyan place the Light Cone on his palm and close his eyes. Then Jingxing's vision went white, and a vast surge of Imaginary Energy poured in through the top of his head before slowly spreading through his limbs.

Jingxing couldn't make out the face of the person in the memory at all. All he could see was a pair of fox ears and hands that never stopped moving.

The body moved before conscious thought: how to bend the knees, which muscle to move first, and how to shift the feet.

He "saw" Imaginary Energy flowing effortlessly through the person's body before finally being flung out through the fingertips.

So that's how you exert force?

So I could have counterattacked like that yesterday?

So Yunli's move could have been countered in advance?

So Path energy can be used like that too?

The more Jingxing watched, the more he understood. All of General Tianji's martial arts fundamentals poured into his mind, turning someone who had stepped onto a martial arts arena for the first time only yesterday into a person with a solid grounding in martial arts theory.

A warmth spread beneath his nose. Jingxing smelled blood. A buzzing sounded in his ears, and it was as if someone had pulled him up from the bottom of the water.

He opened his eyes. The eaves of the General's Residence swayed before him. Once his gaze steadied, Jingxing saw that the Light Cone before him had dimmed, completely losing its luster in Huaiyan's palm, like a piece of scrap metal.

"Wipe it off." A towel landed in his lap. Huaiyan nodded with satisfaction. "Looks like you learned quite a bit from it. General Tianji really is a straightforward person."

With that, he stepped back twice, hooked a training spear propped against the wall up with his toe, and kicked it to Jingxing. "Come on, try a few moves."

Jingxing caught the spear, but before he could decide what moves to try, his body moved first. He flicked the spear tip upward, took two steps forward, twisted his waist, and drove his shoulder forward. By the time he came to his senses, he had already completed a sequence of footwork, and the spear tip hung motionless in the air.

Jingxing was stunned for a moment. The sensation really was marvelous.

"See?" Huaiyan clapped his hands and laughed. "That's what Light Cones can do. No wonder the company has always restricted their circulation."

He had asked General Tianji to record a Light Cone because the Yaoqing Xianzhou worked closely with the company, making it far easier for her to obtain one than for him.

After returning to his room, Jingxing had rested for less than half an hour when Yunli arrived, just as expected. With Old Iron on her back, she stood at the courtyard gate. "Grandpa said you've already used that Light Cone?"

"Yeah, but it only had some basic stuff in it." Jingxing set down his teacup.

"Basic?" Yunli raised an eyebrow. "A general's 'basics' must be impressive too."

She turned and walked away, then looked back after two steps. "Come on, go to the Martial Arts Arena with me. Today I'm going to see just how much stronger that Light Cone has made you."

Jingxing didn't move. The corner of his mouth twitched. "You only just said yesterday that Old Iron wasn't for fighting me."

"You're different from yesterday too," Yunli replied earnestly. "Don't worry, I know how to hold back."

Although Jingxing didn't think Old Iron could hold back, he knew he couldn't talk Yunli out of it, so he slowly got to his feet. Just before leaving, though, he added, "If I win, is there a reward?"

"If you beat me, I'll waive the cost of the materials for that Curio you want." Yunli didn't look back.

"That would be wonderful." With a debt of thirty billion on his shoulders, Jingxing naturally had to save wherever he could.

The Martial Arts Arena was the same as yesterday, but the atmosphere was much more tense.

Yunli drew her sword, dragging Old Iron across the brick ground and leaving a long, shallow mark.

Jingxing gripped the training spear, and his body assumed an opening stance on its own, the butt of the spear against his waist and its tip angled toward the ground. Yesterday, he couldn't even hold an opening stance steadily. Today, he was so steady that Yunli hardly recognized him.

Is the Light Cone really that impressive? she grumbled inwardly, but chose to attack first without hesitation.

Yunli raised her sword over her head and brought it down, whipping up a fierce gust. Jingxing didn't retreat. Instead, he stepped forward and turned sideways. As the blade grazed past his shoulder, he thrust the spear tip straight toward her ribs.

Yunli's pupils contracted. She forcibly pulled the sword back and held it across her body. With a clang, the spear tip slid off the blade, sending sparks flying.

"There's so much more pressure than yesterday." She bit her lip and stepped back twice, looking at him differently now.

If Yunli's swordplay with a one-handed sword had been like a torrential downpour yesterday, her movements with Old Iron today were far broader and more sweeping. Yet faced with attacks that each looked capable of splitting heaven and earth, Jingxing handled her with much greater ease than he had yesterday.

He instinctively used Feixiao's footwork, placing every step in a blind spot of Yunli's swordplay. Combined with eyes that could "see" the path of Yunli's force, it left her unable to bring her strength to bear.

Again and again, the spear tip slipped through openings as she drew her sword back. Her ribs, her wrist, the back of her knee—every thrust forced Yunli to twist her waist and turn aside, throwing her footwork into disarray.

Several times, Jingxing even forced Yunli to retreat several steps before she could steady herself, leaving her looking somewhat disheveled.

Yunli's breathing grew heavy. She suddenly opened the distance between herself and Jingxing, gripped the hilt with both hands, and poured Imaginary Energy into the blade as though it cost nothing. Old Iron began to hum, and a dark red glow rose over the entire blade.

"Watch out." Those were her only words before she brought her sword down.

The strike seemed to steal even the sun's brilliance.

Yet Jingxing not only refused to retreat, he even stepped forward into the sword wind Yunli unleashed.

He rushed right up to Yunli and, before she could pull her sword back, swept the butt of his spear across her ankle with a backhand motion.

Yunli's eyes flew wide. Losing her balance, she lost control of her strike, and Old Iron crashed into the ground with a boom, leaving a shallow pit.

The Martial Arts Arena fell silent, save for the sound of the two of them panting.

Yunli's bangs clung to her forehead, beads of sweat dripping down in a stream as she stared at Jingxing standing before her.

Jingxing lowered his spear and stepped back twice. "Thank you for going easy on me."