A Fight

The day after Yun Jingheng woke up, the sun was shining brightly.

He stood by Sea God Lake, stretching his limbs.

He had not trained for a month, and his joints had grown a little rusty, creaking as he moved.

In the Sea of Spirit, Xiao Jiu lay down.

"What are you planning to train?"

Yun Jingheng thought for a moment.

"I'll warm up first."

He had just raised his hand, and before the Moonlight Sword could form, he saw someone.

Ye Xinglan.

She stood ten meters away, her golden hair glinting faintly in the sunlight. Her blue eyes were fixed on him, and her expression was different from usual.

It was not the pride of I'm here to challenge you.

Nor was it the stubbornness of I refuse to accept this.

She simply looked at him in silence for a long time.

Yun Jingheng lowered his hand.

"Why are you here?"

Ye Xinglan did not answer.

She walked over, stopped in front of him, and fell silent for a while longer.

"Let's fight."

Yun Jingheng looked at her.

"Are you sure?"

Ye Xinglan nodded.

Yun Jingheng asked no more questions. The Moonlight Sword condensed in his hand.

Ye Xinglan also tightened her grip on the Stargod Sword.

The two looked at each other for a second.

Then Ye Xinglan moved.

She was faster than she had ever been before.

Her sword light was fierce, sword energy crisscrossing as one strike followed another, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

Yun Jingheng swung his sword to block and shifted to evade.

He quickly realized something was wrong.

It was not that Ye Xinglan had become stronger... Well, she had indeed become stronger, but that was not important.

What mattered was the way she fought.

Every time she had come before, every strike had carried the thought of I want to win.

The angles of her attacks, the distribution of force, and the shifts in rhythm had all been meant to seek out weaknesses and secure victory.

But today was clearly different.

Every strike now was an outlet for her emotions.

She slashed brutally and charged fiercely, not caring about defense or whether she exposed openings.

Yun Jingheng frowned.

He knocked aside a strike and retreated two steps.

"Are you okay?"

Ye Xinglan did not answer. Another sword thrust came at him.

Yun Jingheng sidestepped and casually swung out a Crescent Slash.

The Moon Blade grazed her shoulder, leaving a faint mark.

But he did not dart past her.

He merely watched her and continued defending.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes.

Ye Xinglan's assault grew fiercer and fiercer, but her openings also grew more numerous.

It was not that she did not know. She simply did not care at all.

Yun Jingheng seemed to understand.

She had not come to win.

She had only come to hit him.

To keep fighting until she could no longer fight.

He sighed.

His second soul ring lit up.

Silver-white light spread from beneath his feet, instantly enveloping the area within ten meters.

Ye Xinglan only felt her body grow lighter as she uncontrollably slid toward Yun Jingheng.

She did not struggle.

She simply followed that pull and thrust her sword at Yun Jingheng.

Yun Jingheng turned sideways, and the sword tip brushed past his clothes.

He raised his hand and placed his sword against her throat.

The battle was over.

Ye Xinglan stood where she was, staring at the sword against her throat without moving.

Nor did she speak.

Yun Jingheng withdrew his sword.

"Are you done?"

Ye Xinglan fell silent for a moment.

Then she suddenly sat down on the ground.

Yun Jingheng froze for a moment and looked at her.

Ye Xinglan lowered her head, her golden hair falling down to hide her face.

"That day," she said, her voice somewhat muffled, "I didn't have time to do anything."

Yun Jingheng said nothing.

Ye Xinglan continued.

"Even when you were in the most danger, I couldn't fight alongside you..."

"That was the Spirit Ascension Platform. Death in there wasn't real."

"But what if we face a situation like that again in the future?"

She suddenly lifted her head, and the corners of her eyes were slightly red.

Yun Jingheng looked at her in silence for several seconds.

Then he sat down beside her.

"So you came to beat me up?"

Ye Xinglan was stunned.

Yun Jingheng looked out at the lake, his tone calm.

"Will beating me up make you stronger?"

Ye Xinglan said nothing.

Yun Jingheng continued.

"After what happened in the Spirit Ascension Platform, I was unconscious for two days. When I woke up, my dad said I couldn't cultivate or practice swordsmanship for a month."

He turned to look at Ye Xinglan.

"Do you know what I did that whole month?"

Ye Xinglan shook her head.

"I studied Soul Tools."

Yun Jingheng said, "I took apart a pile of scrapped cores, assembled a pile of useless circuits, and drew a pile of blueprints I couldn't understand."

Ye Xinglan was stunned.

"Why did you study that?"

Yun Jingheng thought for a moment.

"Because I couldn't cultivate, so I had to do something."

He paused.

"But after a month, I'll still come back to practice my sword."

He looked at Ye Xinglan.

"You're the same."

Ye Xinglan said nothing.

Yun Jingheng looked away and stared at the lake.

"I remember what happened that day."

His voice was very calm.

"When you were knocked away, I saw you."

Ye Xinglan's hand clenched slightly.

Yun Jingheng continued.

"At that time, I wasn't thinking about anything. I only felt that... there was one less person."

Ye Xinglan looked at him.

Yun Jingheng's profile was calm, so calm that he did not seem like a nine-year-old child.

"Later, that bear died, and I lost consciousness too."

"When I woke up, my mom was beside me, my dad was beside me, and everything was fine."

He paused.

"But if it had been real, all of you would have been gone."

Ye Xinglan was silent for a long time.

Then she spoke.

"That's why I have to become stronger."

Her voice was soft, but unwavering.

"Not to defeat you, but so that the next time something like that happens, I can stand beside you."

Yun Jingheng turned to look at her.

The corners of Ye Xinglan's eyes were still red, but something was burning in those blue eyes.

"When you pushed me away, there was nothing I could do. I never want to experience that feeling a second time."

She looked at Yun Jingheng.

"Do you understand?"

Yun Jingheng looked at her for a few seconds.

Then he nodded.

"I understand."

Ye Xinglan was stunned.

"You understand?"

Yun Jingheng nodded.

"When someone blocked an attack for me, there was nothing I could do either."

He paused.

"I know that feeling."

Ye Xinglan looked at him, suddenly not knowing what to say.

The two sat in silence for a while.

Then Ye Xinglan stood up.

"Then I'll go back and train."

Yun Jingheng stood up as well.

"Okay."

Ye Xinglan took two steps, then turned back.

"Yun Jingheng."

"Mm?"

"Next time, we'll do it together."

Yun Jingheng looked at her.

Sunlight fell over her face, and light glittered in those blue eyes.

He nodded.

"Sure."

Ye Xinglan smiled.

It was not the kind of smile that said I won, but the kind that said It's a promise.

She turned and left. This time, she did not turn back to ask for buns.

Yun Jingheng remained where he was, watching her figure disappear into the woods.

In the Sea of Spirit, Xiao Jiu blinked.

"That girl," it said, "will definitely be ruthless someday."

Yun Jingheng said nothing.

He turned and looked out over the lake.

The Moonlight Sword condensed in his hand.

Under the sunlight, the blade glimmered with a faint silver sheen.

He took a deep breath and began to practice his swordsmanship.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Three strikes.

His movements were a little rustier than they had been a month ago, but he quickly began to regain his feel for them.

Sword qi swept across the lake, leaving behind shallow ripples.

In the distance, Ye Xinglan walked along the path, her steps much lighter than before.

She recalled what Yun Jingheng had just said.

"When someone helped block something for me, I couldn't do anything either."

She did not know who that person was.

But she knew that person was just like her.

Both of them wanted to stand by his side.

She tightened her grip on her sword and quickened her pace.

Before the window of the Sea God Pavilion, Ya Li stood still and gazed into the distance.

The figure by the lake was practicing his swordsmanship, sword light flowing like water through the dusk.

Yun Ming walked to her side, his gaze falling in that direction as well.

"That girl came again?"

Ya Li nodded.

"She came. They fought, sat and talked for a while, then she left."

Yun Ming stared at the figure swinging his sword and fell silent for a moment.

"That child doesn't have many friends."

"As for friends," Ya Li said with a faint smile, "quality matters more than quantity."

Yun Ming did not respond.

He looked at his son by the lake. His sword form flowed without end, just like the tone he had used earlier—calm, clear, without the slightest ripple.

"When he said those things just now," Yun Ming slowly said, "he was very calm."

Ya Li was slightly startled.

"You heard it?"

Yun Ming nodded.

Ya Li fell silent for a moment, then raised her eyes to look at him.

"So what?"

Her voice was soft, yet it fell steadily like a bell in the dusk.

"Brother Ming, he is our son."

Yun Ming looked at her.

The dusk spread a layer of gentle light across her eyes.

He suddenly smiled.

"Mm."

He looked out the window again.

The sword light by the lake continued to flow.

And this time, he saw more than just calmness.