That's it! This is the you I approve of!

"Here?"

His voice was calm and low, like every greeting he had given them in the training hall three years ago.

Wang Dongchen wiped away his tears, straightened up, and answered in a clear, powerful voice.

"Here!"

The corners of Situ Xuan's mouth spread. That smile was no longer warm or gentle, but a beastlike, bloodthirsty grin. He raised both hands and beckoned to them, just as he had done every morning six or seven years ago.

There was no small talk, no sentimentality, no unnecessary nonsense, only a hoarse, low roar that seemed squeezed from the depths of his throat.

"Then come."

Wang Dongchen froze for a moment. His pupils contracted slightly, and countless images flashed through his mind: those sweat-soaked mornings, those mornings when fists had beaten him awake, those days when Situ Xuan had kicked him into a wall and he had climbed back up to charge again.

His blood began to boil, not warming slowly, but exploding from his heart like ignited gasoline and surging through his veins into every part of his body.

His fingers hooked the collar of his coat, and he yanked hard.

The black coat flew from his body, flipping through the air to reveal the tight combat suit underneath. The phantom of the Shadow Leopard appeared behind him, and ghostly blue light shone from beneath his skin, dyeing his eyes deep blue. He crouched slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and shot forward like a spring compressed to its limit.

His leather shoes struck the floor with a thunderous blast, and wooden splinters flew from beneath his feet. His speed reached its peak, dragging a blurred afterimage through the air as his five fingers formed claws and went straight for Situ Xuan's face.

Lily raised her hand, and the Moon Cold