All Beings Equal

"Thanks, Sis."

Yun Zimo gently kneaded Yun Yun's shoulders, helping her relax them after they had grown sore from dealing with trivial matters.

"Between us, there's no need to thank me."

"But let the Mo Clan matter end here. Knocking the mountain to scare the tigers is enough."

Yun Yun spoke softly. She didn't want Yun Zimo making too many enemies; that wouldn't do him any good, especially now that he had just taken office.

Yun Zimo was helpless, but he knew there was no other way. The Misty Cloud Sect might not be riddled with factions, but if they started squabbling among themselves over this, he couldn't very well keep going after them. It wasn't as if he could kill them all, right?

"Sis, you have to take what I said to heart."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You remind me every year. I'm just curious—why doesn't Ancestor Potian appear in a dream to me, the current sect master, but instead tells you? Is it because you're a descendant of Ancestor Mo Li?"

Yun Yun rolled her eyes at Yun Zimo and said crossly.

Mo Li, sworn brother to Yun Potian, was the first hall master of the Misty Cloud Sect's Punishment Hall and the ancestor of Yun Zimo.

"Ah, I don't know either. Anyway, the ancestor told me that within two years, disaster would befall the sect. The Misty Cloud Sect might even face annihilation."

Yun Zimo scratched his head and answered earnestly, though his heart felt bitter. He didn't want to use an ancestor as an excuse, either. But the Soul Hall Protectors were all High-Rank Dou Zongs, at the seven-star level, right from the moment they showed up. Though there might only be three of them operating in the Northwest Continent...

In his previous life, he'd been a country boy raised on charity meals. He'd gotten into university as the top liberal arts student in his province, graduated, and served in the military—only to drown inexplicably while saving someone. When he opened his eyes again, he'd just been born.

After learning that he'd transmigrated to the Dou Qi Continent and into the Misty Cloud Sect, a minor villainous faction, he'd considered all sorts of options. Run away? Ha. His father's Judgment Sword, which had never failed to kill a traitor, wouldn't care who he was.

The idea of using his foreknowledge to snatch the protagonist's opportunities and climb to the top had gone up in smoke as soon as he learned his own Dou Qi attribute.

After a full six years, he'd also given up on the fantasy that he might have some kind of cheat.

But he was a determined sort. If fate was bound to come for him, then he'd fight it with everything he had!

From the moment he started school at the age of three, he'd thrown himself into studying every kind of classic and text. For a brighter future, he'd even asked his father to obtain Foundation-Building Medicine from Gu He, soaking in it for three years before he finally began cultivating at age six.

He didn't know whether transmigrating had enhanced his brain, but he could absorb any kind of knowledge in no time. Even the near-standard transmigrator perk of photographic memory was just a small surprise.

It wasn't until Gu He examined him and marveled at his extraordinary soul strength—then lamented that he couldn't become an alchemist—that Yun Zimo realized the many benefits of a powerful soul might be the best cheat Heaven had given him.

Yun Zimo combined certain methods from his previous life with the cultivation notes left behind by generations of the sect's ancestors, and devised a cultivation method for himself that was completely different from the traditional approach.

But the method consumed too many resources and was far too grueling. Yun Yin had no choice but to call upon the retired sect master, who was in seclusion, to personally help Yun Zimo build his foundation, accumulate Dou Qi, and strengthen his body's five senses. Only then did he barely meet the requirements.

From then on, his days settled into a single routine: classes every morning, cultivation every afternoon, and medicinal baths every night.

What Yun Zimo hadn't expected was that his desperate diligence would unwittingly inspire the whole sect to cultivate. The senior and junior disciples got along harmoniously, and everyone they met was eager to learn from one another.

For a moment, it was as if he'd returned to his old school. The only difference was that people at the sect had fewer ulterior motives, and no teachers hounded them every day.

"I really love this family..."

As for what happened with Yun Yun, he swore that the whole thing had been an accident.

Because of his cultivation regimen, Yun Zimo spent every morning buried in books, then went to Sect Master Yun Yun in the afternoon to spar. Under the tutelage of a Peak Dou Wang, his strength naturally advanced by leaps and bounds. As they spent more and more time together, the two grew very close, even privately addressing each other as brother and sister.

But when he was fifteen, his cultivation hit a snag, so he showed up a little early and accidentally walked in on a beauty fresh from her bath. Heaven knew he'd buried himself in books so much in his previous life that he'd never even held a girl's hand. And in this life, he'd been so obsessed with cultivation—how could he have ever seen such a sight? So he'd shamefully gotten a nosebleed. That time, his father had strung him up and beaten him for abandoning his post—he was still listed as part of the Law Enforcement Team.

For several days after that, he didn't see Yun Yun at all, and he didn't dare seek her out. When he finally worked up the nerve to apologize, Yun Yun had only looked a little embarrassed and annoyed, leaving Yun Zimo baffled. And so, that year, he somehow seemed to have won over his own silly, sweet sect master?

Perhaps he'd been overthinking it, or perhaps it was something else. After Yun Yun opened her own residence and took on disciples, Yun Zimo gave Nalan Yanran a scolding, then asked to go down the mountain and travel. Over the next five years, he roamed the entire Jia Ma Empire. He'd raided nests in the Magical Beast Mountains, played in the waters of the great desert, and even spent a year making his way through the Black-Corner Region.

Facing death had become as ordinary as eating and drinking. Fortunately, he had an astonishing ability to heal, and in the end, he'd managed to pull through.

Under threat of death again and again, Yun Zimo learned to be tactful, to be cunning, and, above all, to be ruthless...

"Come on. Since you came back, we haven't had a proper spar. Sis can train with you today."

As she spoke, Yun Yun instantly formed a battle armor around herself. The tight-fitting, sea-blue armor showed off her curvaceous figure to the fullest. Her valiant, dashing appearance made Yun Zimo, who had just returned to the present from his memories, freeze in place again.

"What a striking presence..."

Yun Zimo murmured in a daze. A sword light came slashing toward him, and he snapped out of it, darting aside with a quick step.

"Cough, cough... Sis, well... I, uh..."

Looking at Yun Yun's flushed, lovely face and the battle armor covering her from head to toe, Yun Zimo awkwardly scratched his head.

Blue and white battle armor flowed over Yun Zimo like water. His wandering gaze instantly settled, and his sharp eyes reflected a fathomless pool that had stood unmoving since time immemorial.

He raised a hand and gave a gentle clench in midair. A black-and-white Judgment Sword appeared in his grasp. The colors of his clothes and the sword's blade complemented each other, lending him an indescribable air of dominance.

A hint of amusement flickered in Yun Yun's eyes. She lightly lifted her three-foot sword, her body rising like willow fluff caught in the wind. In an instant, she was before Yun Zimo.

"Clang!"

Their swords met. Zimo followed through with a slanting stroke, hoping to knock the sword from Yun Yun's hand. She twisted her wrist, deflected the Judgment Sword, then thrust straight at Zimo's chest.

Every sword strike between them brimmed with killing intent. Neither used Dou Qi, but their powerful physiques still gave rise to a dizzying storm of overlapping sword shadows.

Dozens of exchanges passed, yet they remained locked in a stalemate. They knew each other too well. Often, the moment one of them lifted a hand, the other already knew what the next move would be.

"Zimo, watch out!"

Yun Yun suddenly called out a warning. Streams of azure energy flowed like swallows returning to their nest around her raised sword.

"Extreme Wind: Sun Flare!"

Brilliant light burst forth. Yun Zimo instinctively shut his eyes and sprang backward.

"When the wind is fair, it bears me up to the blue clouds!"

Yun Zimo murmured softly. A wave of azure clouds surged from the ground, a white cloud tornado howling as it collided with the Sunlight Sword Light falling from the sky.

"Clang!"

The two clashed again amid layers of white mist. Blue and white Dou Qi collided again and again, sometimes striking on the ground, sometimes carrying them into the air as they unleashed Dou Techniques.

"Sis, it's over!"

When they clashed once more, Yun Zimo spoke calmly. Yun Yun's heart tightened. She flashed tens of meters away, then heard Zimo's gentle voice emerge from the mist.

"Beneath my sword!"

Zimo's eyes were half-closed. The phantom image of a Xiezhi appeared between his brows, and in a single breath he sent thirty-six sword shadows across the air, sealing off every path Yun Yun could take to escape.

"All Beings Equal!"

Yun Yun furrowed her brows. Breaking through the obstruction wouldn't be difficult, but those one or two seconds were enough for Zimo to defeat her. With no choice, she turned and faced the sword Zimo had already raised.

That sword wasn't particularly fast, but in Yun Yun's eyes, it carried an inescapable, helpless force.

The light, airy thrust drifted toward her, yet seemed to cross the distance between them in an instant. An indescribable meaning lingered within the sword light, making Yun Yun feel faintly uneasy.

"Not good!"

Only when the sword was right before her did Yun Yun release her full Dou Emperor strength, forcibly stopping Zimo's attack. She struck back, turning her Dou Qi into a great azure wind palm that sent him tumbling from the air.

"Cough, cough..."

"Sis, you..."

"Alright, alright, I'll say I lost."

"What do you mean, 'say'? Hey!"