The Game in the Shadows

"A swordsman with a cyan sword is coming. He looks like an Immortal Elder. I figured he was coming to help you, so I brought him over," the Boatman on another boat explained to Jia Ruo, leaning on his oar.

Such an obvious description, it's almost certainly the Sword Saint, Jia Ruo thought.

He chuckled foolishly, "Perhaps my Master was worried about me and followed."

"Your Master? Who is he?"

Rakan seemed to have found a topic of interest.

Jia Ruo leaned in and whispered into Rakan's ear, "Let me tell you a secret, my Master is Master Yi."

"The Wuji Sword Saint? You must be kidding me." Rakan was a bit surprised. "You, of all people, are a disciple of the Wuji Sword Saint?"

That Wuji Sword Saint became famous overnight during the Noxian invasion. His deeds were known to every household in Ionia.

However, he rarely took off the helmet with the strange goggles, so few people knew his true face.

Rakan had certainly heard of him. But... wasn't the Wuji Sect of the Wuji Sword Saint already destroyed? And...

He sized Jia Ruo up again, truly unable to imagine Jia Ruo being the kind of talented young man taken in as a disciple by the Wuji Sword Saint.

Jia Ruo rolled his eyes. "Didn't you meet my senior brother before? He was a Symi Ape."

Rakan stroked his beard, feeling that these powerful individuals seemed to have rather unusual tastes.

On another beach on the island.

Yi drew his sword.

Standing before him were Zed and his ninja disciples, who were planning to leave this place.

Zed's escape from the temple did not mean he feared Xayah and Rakan.

On the contrary, Zed was confident he could defeat them, though it would be troublesome.

However, since rebelling against the balance, Zed no longer cared about personal honor or emotions.

He only wanted to become stronger.

Everything is permitted, everything is permitted.

Only the power in his hands was real.

Moreover, he needed enough strength to realize his ideals...

Now that the stone ring had been destroyed, instead of causing unnecessary trouble for mere revenge, it was better to save himself some hassle.

It was the rational choice to return to the Shadow Order earlier and plan the next step.

But things didn't go as planned.

The tree may wish for stillness, but the wind will not cease.

This man blocking their path gave Zed a dangerous aura.

Zed signaled for the others to go ahead; he would deal with this man alone.

Yi did not stop the Shadow Order Disciples from disappearing one by one.

Zed was staring at him; this was a true battle between masters.

Both were observing each other—a hasty attack would be the beginning of their downfall.

Soon, only Zed and Yi remained on the beach, locked in a standoff.

Zed broke the stalemate and launched the first attack.

Two shurikens, trailing tails of black mist, shot towards Yi.

Of course, this was just a feint. Zed and two shadow clones attacked simultaneously.

They were all shrouded in the black mist formed by shadow energy, making it difficult to distinguish the real one.

Yi sidestepped slightly, effortlessly dodging the shurikens.

But the trouble was how to deal with Zed's attack next.

Through the Sevenfold Insight Goggles, Yi clearly saw that the Zed on the left contained slightly more shadow magic energy than the other two.

He had already prepared his counterattack, the mana required for Alpha Strike gathering within him.

At the critical moment, Yi hesitated for a split second: No, anyone who can wield shadow magic to this extent wouldn't have such a flaw.

This was a trap.

Yi narrowed his eyes beneath his helmet.

In that case, I'll cut them all down in one strike.

He moved faster than they could react, passing through the three Zeds in mid-air.

Only after Yi solidified behind them did sword light flash across the bodies of the three Zeds.

Puff, puff, puff.

All three Zeds collapsed into dissipating black mist.

None of them were the real body!

Then where is he now?

Yi raised his guard, his Sevenfold Insight Goggles finding no clues.

He abandoned sight, using his ears, breath, and heart to sense everything around him.

Still, he found nothing.

Yi sheathed his sword and slowly departed.

After a long while, Zed appeared out of thin air on the beach.

No more than ten steps from where the Sword Saint had originally stood.

Yi didn't continue searching for Zed in the same spot, as that would reveal a weakness.

And Zed didn't seize the opportunity to ambush Yi after he sheathed his sword and turned, because that would have fallen into Yi's trap.

The two Masters, even without a direct confrontation, had engaged in another game of wits in secret.

Jia Ruo was sitting on a bollard used for tying ships, pretending to gaze at the sea, but actually circulating his Mana in secret.

Although the Sword Saint had praised his extraordinary talent many times, he understood that even a genius's growth couldn't be achieved without sweat.

Moreover, he had started late and needed to work twice as hard now.

"Jia Ruo, working hard, I see."

Yi's voice suddenly sounded behind Jia Ruo.

"Master, it really is you. When the boatmen mentioned a Swordsman with the Green Sword arrived, I guessed it was you. You must have been worried about your promising precious disciple."

Jia Ruo leaped from the bollard, saying to Yi with joy.

"Yes, my promising Great Hero Jia Ruo, you didn't even notice me walk right up behind you."

In the half year since taking Jia Ruo as a disciple, Yi had influenced Jia Ruo's state of mind.

And Jia Ruo, it seemed, had also made Yi speak more.

In fact, it wasn't just Jia Ruo.

Neeko squatting by the coast playing with seaweed, Xayah and Rakan snuggling together watching the sunset, and the boatmen chatting on their respective boats, none of them noticed Yi approaching.

It wasn't until Yi started talking to Jia Ruo that they realized there was an extra person on the dock.

"How can I compare to you, old man? Even if I trained for another hundred years, I still wouldn't be able to match you, Master."

Jia Ruo hurriedly followed with flattery.

"Sword Saint Master!"

Neeko and Xayah and Rakan also came over.

"These two must be the Vastayan couple Wukong mentioned. My disciple told me he caused you both a lot of inconvenience. I apologize on his behalf."

Rakan and Xayah hurriedly shook their heads: "It's nothing, you're too kind."

"You..." Rakan lowered his voice: "Are truly the Wuji Sword Saint?"

Yi looked towards Jia Ruo; no need to ask, it must have been him.

"Mm."

Yi softly agreed.

Actually, Yi didn't want to mention this title.

Back then, he was called the Wuji Sword Saint because of the Wuji Sect; only he remained as a swordsman.

"In that case..."

Rakan said halfway, looked towards Xayah, and seeing Xayah nod, he continued: "I have an impolite request."

The Sword Saint's age is actually not as great as Rakan's, but Rakan still used a respectful title.

For Yi, who had made great contributions to Ionia, this was deserved.

"Feel free to speak."

"I want to spar with you."

"Alright, right here."

"Here?"

Rakan looked at the not-so-spacious dock, and the boatmen looking this way.

"Mm, here."

Yi still said so.

"Alright, then please forgive my rudeness."

Golden light began to gather on Rakan.

Suddenly, with a soft snap.

The golden light around Luoshen shattered in response, and between Yi's index and middle fingers appeared a purple plume.

That plume was from the ornament on Luoshen's chest—a unique ornament of the Lotlan tribe, composed of a bird's skull and several plumes, looking like a little bird.

Luoshen's ornament was made from Xayah's plumes.

Before Luoshen could react, he saw Yi holding out the purple plume.

Only then did he realize that one plume was missing from the ornament on his chest.

He hadn't even seen Yi make a move.

"I yield."

Seeing Luoshen take back the plume, Yi spoke.

"Divine skill."

Luoshen was genuinely impressed and bowed.

Yi, in turn, gave a slight nod.

"Sword Saint Master, we encountered the culprits behind the Magic Power depletion. They are a group of ninjas from the Shadow Order..." Neeko finally found an opportunity to speak.

She was eager to tell Yi about the progress of their mission.

Yi, however, interrupted Neeko: "Let's discuss it on the ship. It's getting dark."