Xayah, who was being held in Rakan's arms, suddenly furrowed her brow. Three featherblades shot from her Feather Robe and lodged in a tree below.
Rakan leaped down from the trunk and bounded over to the tree in just a few steps.
"There are two little brats of age hiding here, eavesdropping on the adults' sweet talk."
Rakan had spotted Jia Ruo and Neeko hiding behind the tree.
Golden light was already gathering around his Feather Garment.
Jia Ruo hurriedly explained, "Don't get the wrong idea. We're not enemies."
Jia Ruo led Neeko out from behind him and said, "We heard that Magic Power was running dry on Western Sea Island, and the trees there had turned pale. It sounds a lot like what happened to her ruined homeland. She's looking for clues about it."
"Neeko wants to go to that island with you," Neeko said timidly.
"Oh, is that so? Where did you two brats hear about it?" Xayah said, dropping down from the branch as well.
"Actually, my senior brother told me. He's a Symi Ape." Jia Ruo scratched his head, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.
Sure enough, Rakan sprang forward and grabbed him by the collar. "The one wearing the red scarf?"
"Uh, yes."
"Is there something wrong with your senior brother's head?" Rakan's reddish-brown brows arched.
"Maybe he's just a little mischievous and likes playing pranks." Jia Ruo did his best to defend his restless senior brother.
"You seem honest enough, but we're not mother hens looking after hatchlings. If you want to travel with us, I'll have to see what you can do first." Rakan pushed Jia Ruo back. "I'll let you make the first move."
Xayah went to Neeko's side and spoke to her in a low voice.
"Then don't hold back."
Jia Ruo looked at Rakan, who had retreated twenty or thirty meters, and slowly drew You Meng.
At once, purple light blazed and cherry blossoms scattered.
"Hey, this kid's even flashier than you, Rakan," Xayah teased from the sidelines.
"Jia Ruo, you can't lose. Sword Saint Master said you've already got half his skill!" Neeko shouted.
Girls' friendships always seemed to form at inexplicable speed. Xayah and Neeko appeared to have already reached an understanding, and stood off to the side, ready to watch the show.
"My gold looks better with yours, darling," Rakan said.
He beckoned Jia Ruo over.
Jia Ruo cleared his mind, gripped the sword hilt in both hands, and lunged at Rakan. All that remained where he had stood was a faint image that quickly faded.
His speed hadn't yet reached the level of Sword Saint Flowing Light, but he could already leave afterimages.
As the blade neared, Rakan flared his Feather Garment and spun, transforming into a golden sphere.
Jia Ruo saw a burst of golden light ahead and reflexively shut his eyes.
But when he passed through the golden curtain, he found that his sword had struck nothing.
He had lost track of Rakan.
Jia Ruo focused his senses. Above!
Grand Entrance!
Rakan plunged down beside Jia Ruo at high speed, then sprang back up.
Golden Magic Power enveloped Jia Ruo and swept him into the air.
Although Rakan's attack had caught him off guard, the Blue Shard had heightened Jia Ruo's senses, and he had also trained under the Sword Saint.
He reacted quickly.
He turned and swept his sword sideways, forcing Rakan back, then flipped backward and landed steadily.
"Nice!"
Seeing Rakan's attack thwarted, Xayah cheered.
As Jia Ruo had only just landed, Rakan fired a quill glowing with blinding golden light straight at his chest.
Jia Ruo slashed the quill aside, then suddenly sensed danger.
Rakan had hidden beneath the golden light and closed in on him, kicking toward him.
A smile tugged at the corner of Rakan's mouth. His specialty was distracting opponents before launching an unexpected attack.
Too fast. There's no way to dodge this.
Facing Rakan's surprise attack, Jia Ruo did the opposite: he leaped lightly, letting go of You Meng.
He clasped his hands together and crossed his legs, as if meditating.
Meditate!
This strange posture greatly heightened his sensitivity to the Magic Power between heaven and earth. It also let him rapidly summon the Magic Power within him and release it, forming a protective Aura around his body.
The price of this powerful defense was that he couldn't attack.
And the meditation wouldn't last long this time.
Jia Ruo had exhausted his Magic Power, so he could maintain the Aura for five or six seconds at most.
Perhaps because You Meng floated within it, Jia Ruo's Aura wasn't clear emerald like the Sword Saint's. Instead, it shimmered with a hazy purple light.
Perhaps every Wuju swordsman's Aura was connected to their sword.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Rakan kept striking the purple Aura surrounding Jia Ruo.
But whether he punched and kicked, lashed out with his Feather Garment, or fired a volley of quills, his attacks had little effect.
Jia Ruo's gaze sharpened. His Aura was about to dissipate.
He seized a gap in Rakan's assault, reached out, and gripped the hilt of You Meng, which floated point-down in the Aura.
Jia Ruo launched another attack.
Rakan reacted quickly too, dodging to the side. Now that they had both tested each other's abilities, the duel became a back-and-forth exchange of attacks and retreats.
Jia Ruo and Rakan were both agile fighters, their figures constantly crossing through the woods.
Golden light and purple cherry blossoms streamed through the air, dazzling against the sunset.
"That's enough. It's almost dark, and you're not half bad."
Rakan waved a hand. He couldn't get the better of Jia Ruo.
But he was confident that if he and Xayah teamed up, they could defeat five fighters like Jia Ruo.
"Come on, let's see who wins."
Jia Ruo, however, was eager to continue. His training was progressing quickly, but he still needed to fight many different opponents to hone his skills.
Rakan was a rare opponent.
Jia Ruo began to understand. Maybe my senior brother isn't just playing pranks after all.
"Is there something wrong with you, too, just like your senior brother?"
Rakan stared at Jia Ruo in alarm.
"Where did your master find you two? A madhouse?"
Seeing that Rakan was about to lose his temper, Jia Ruo could only grin sheepishly and lower You Meng.
That night, the four of them sat around a campfire beneath a tree. Rakan, Xayah, and Neeko—the three Vastaya—were reminiscing about their former tribes.
Jia Ruo listened from the side.
Suddenly, he asked, "Sorry to interrupt, but your Lotlan tribe—you and Xayah, I mean—how do I put this?"
Jia Ruo scratched his head. "When you have children, do you lay eggs?"
At that, not only Rakan and Xayah but even Neeko burst out laughing.
"Of course not," Neeko said. "Vastaya have babies. We're not much different from humans, except we look a little strange."
Rakan and Xayah looked at the only human beside the fire. They knew the young man hadn't meant any offense, so they began to tell him the history of the Vastaya.
In the distant, unrecorded past, the First Lands were divided by a war between humans and a race of giants who had fallen from the sky.
To awaken the wisdom of their ancestors, the most spiritually gifted humans infused themselves with the energy of the Spiritual Realm and became Vastaya Shuray—immortal shapeshifters who wielded the forces of nature as weapons.
The giants were eventually defeated, and the Vastaya Shuray became heroes revered by all.
But they did not consider themselves superior for it. Instead, they lived alongside humans as equals.
Their descendants came to be known as the Vastaya.
These mysterious hybrid beings were neither mortal nor truly immortal, and they could resonate deeply with the magical energy of Runeterra.
As time passed, balance gradually returned between the material and spiritual realms, and the Vastaya Shuray's abilities slowly faded.
The Vastaya left human society and formed their own tribes.
They proudly inherited the names of their ancestors who had defeated the giants—the noble Kiilash, the loyal Chirean, the clever Lotlan, and the Mistweavers, to which Neeko belonged, along with Xayah and Rakan's Lhotlan, and countless others.
For thousands of years, the Vastaya had worked hard to protect their spiritual heritage. They had never backed down, even when it brought them into conflict with one another.
Now, as humans continued to encroach on the world's magical currents, relations between the tribes had deteriorated.
And though the human world had passed through several generations, no new Vastaya had been born.
It seemed this ancient race had once again reached an age of great upheaval...
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