Moonlight Sword Dance

Silver light carpeted Sea God Lake, like a shattered mirror that had gathered itself back together.

Yun Jingheng sat cross-legged by the lake, moonlight falling upon him, soft and cool.

For the past month, he had done nothing else. He did not draw blueprints, make Soul Tools, accompany Ye Xinglan in sword practice, or even practice swordsmanship much himself.

Every day, he cultivated—during the day and at night.

Meditating beneath the moonlight was several times more efficient than during the day, so he made use of that, cultivating night after night and gradually pushing his Soul Power higher.

Level 39, halfway through Level 39, eighty percent through Level 39, ninety percent through Level 39.

Tonight was the full moon, when the moonlight was at its strongest. He could feel that threshold right before him.

Within the Sea of Spirit, that moon revolved far faster than usual.

Xiao Jiu lay beneath the moon, its nine tails wrapped around itself into a ball as it slept deeply.

Its ears twitched.

Soul Power surged through his meridians several times faster than usual.

Moonlight poured in through the top of his head and flowed through his entire body along his meridians. With every circulation, his Soul Power rose another fraction.

That threshold drew closer and closer, becoming clearer and clearer.

Yun Jingheng took a deep breath and mobilized all his Soul Power, sending it crashing toward that threshold like a tidal wave.

"Boom—"

A burst of silvery-white light exploded within the Sea of Spirit, scattering across the entire surface of the sea.

Xiao Jiu's ears perked up.

It opened its eyes, its pupils faintly gleaming beneath the moonlight.

It rose to its feet, all nine tails spreading out, every strand of fur glowing.

It raised its head toward the moon as the moonlight grew brighter and brighter.

Moonlight spilled from the Sea of Spirit and from Yun Jingheng's body. The silvery-white radiance illuminated all of Sea God Lake, making its surface look as though it had been covered in shattered silver.

Three Soul Rings lit up beneath his feet—two purple and one black—slowly revolving.

Then, a fourth Soul Ring appeared, rising from beneath his feet.

Fourth Soul Ring, ten thousand years.

Yun Jingheng did not open his eyes.

He could sense Xiao Jiu awakening. He could sense it absorbing the moonlight, growing stronger.

He noticed his first and second Soul Rings trembling, as though something was being poured into them.

The color of his first Soul Ring changed, shifting from light purple to deep purple. His second Soul Ring changed from deep purple to purplish-black, only a hair's breadth away from ten thousand years.

He opened his eyes and looked down at the four Soul Rings beneath his feet.

Within the Sea of Spirit, Xiao Jiu lay beneath the moon, its nine tails swaying gently.

Yun Jingheng sank into the Sea of Spirit. Seeing it lying there, the corners of his lips curled up.

He walked over, crouched down, and reached out to rub its head.

Xiao Jiu's ears twitched. It looked up at him with bright eyes.

"Finally willing to wake up?" he asked.

Xiao Jiu rubbed against his hand. "Couldn't be helped. You kept eating random things, so I had no choice."

"Sorry, sorry. How are you feeling?"

Xiao Jiu thought for a moment. "Not bad, but I need to remind you of something."

"What?"

"I can raise the age of your Soul Rings one last time, and I can no longer provide Soul Rings."

Yun Jingheng's expression froze for a moment. "Mm... it's fine."

It rested its head on its front paws. "Aren't you going to try that Fourth Spirit Ability of yours?"

Yun Jingheng pressed his lips into a smile and gave it a hard rub. The latter seemed somewhat unwilling and twisted about.

He withdrew from the Sea of Spirit and stood up.

The Moonlight Sword condensed in his hand. He lowered his head to look at the sword, then glanced at the Soul Ring beneath his feet.

The fourth Soul Ring lit up.

"Hmm?"

Yun Jingheng froze. What was going on?

Nothing happened?

He stared at the sword for quite a while, yet still nothing happened...

Within the Sea of Spirit, Xiao Jiu lay beneath the moon, the corner of its mouth twitching.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm using my Fourth Spirit Ability." Yun Jingheng sounded a little confused.

"Did you use it?"

"No."

Xiao Jiu sounded speechless. "If you had bothered to sense your Spirit Ability, you wouldn't be standing here like an idiot."

Yun Jingheng paused, then touched his nose in protest.

"I was happy because you woke up, so I forgot."

"Mm-hmm~"

He closed his eyes and sank into the Sea of Spirit, sensing that newly formed Soul Ring.

A stream of information flowed into his mind.

Fourth Spirit Ability: Moonlight Sword Dance.

Sword energy was fired while flourishing the sword.

The sword energy took the shape of crescent moons, thin as cicada wings. Upon striking a target, it shattered and inflicted tearing damage.

The faster the sword flourish rotated, the denser the sword energy became.

It could be released while moving, and both rotation speed and direction could be adjusted.

As long as the sword flourish did not stop, the sword energy would not cease.

He opened his eyes and looked at the Moonlight Sword in his hand.

He tightened his grip on the hilt, and his wrist began to turn.

Slowly, on the first rotation, the sword tip traced a silvery-white arc.

A crescent-shaped blade of sword energy shot from the spinning sword tip, thin as a cicada wing. It flew out and sliced across the lake's surface, leaving behind a fine gash. The cut was straight and deep, and it took several seconds before the lake water surged back over it.

The sword energy dissipated thirty meters away.

He stopped and narrowed his eyes as he felt it out.

While he rotated the sword, the sword energy emerged. Once he stopped, it vanished.

This was a sustained field-control skill.

Activating the Spirit Ability consumed almost nothing, but every blade of sword energy fired consumed Soul Power.

In other words, as long as he had enough Soul Power, he could suppress the other side to death.

That was a little overpowered...

And it stacked passives rather quickly.

He glanced at the sword guard. It was already nearly at Full Moon...

If he paired it with the Soul Bone skill, locking the Full Moon passive in place to avoid entering Blood Moon, then used sword flourishes to fire sword energy, every blade of sword energy would carry mental interference, frost slowing, and true damage.

High frequency, high damage.

He held a Milk Bottle to replenish his Soul Power, then activated the Spirit Ability once again and began turning his wrist.

Neither too fast nor too slow, sword energy flowed from the sword tip like running water.

He rotated the sword as he walked forward, sword energy paving the way while moonlight opened the path.

One cut after another appeared across the lake's surface, neat and orderly, as though measured with a ruler.

When he reached the lakeshore, the sword energy veered slightly, drifting a little to the left.

The sword energy could drift while moving. It would also drift if he spun too fast, while spinning too slowly would not make it dense enough.

He took a deep breath and continued rotating.

This time, he began slowly, accelerating one stroke at a time as he walked. His eyes remained fixed on the sword tip and the direction the sword energy flew.

If it became too fast, he pulled it back a little. If it drifted, he corrected it slightly. If it became too dense, he loosened up a bit. If it grew too sparse, he tightened his control.

After ten steps, the sword energy stabilized.

After twenty steps, the sword energy became denser.

After thirty steps, the sword energy was fast, stable, and dense, like a silvery-white ribbon drawn from the sword tip and spread across the lake's surface.

He stopped, panting heavily, but the corners of his lips were raised.

"You can already release it steadily while moving?!" Xiao Jiu's voice was filled with astonishment.

"I can."

Yun Jingheng looked down at the sword in his hand. "But I can only walk in a straight line. It still drifts when I turn."

...What a cheat!

Yun Jingheng put away his martial soul and turned toward his room.

Ya Li stood at the door, holding a bowl of noodles.

She handed the noodles to him. He took them, sat down by the door, and lowered his head to eat.

Ya Li sat beside him and watched him eat. "You broke through?"

"Mm-hmm. I'm a Soul Ancestor now."

"Did you test your Spirit Ability?"

"Mm-hmm. It's very useful, a sustained field-control skill."

"Good, good. My son is amazing!"

Long Yeyue leaned against the windowsill, calmly taking a sip of tea before her brows drew together.

"Ptooey."

She spat out a mouthful of tea leaves, set the cup on the windowsill, and looked at Yun Ming.

"Your tea really tastes awful."

Yun Ming gave a bitter smile. "Elder Long, this is this year's newly arrived Mingqian Tea. I specifically saved the best—"

"Even the best isn't much better."

Long Yeyue interrupted him. Her tone was calm, but the corners of her lips curled up.

She turned to look outside. Moonlight shone upon Sea God Lake, and the gashes cut by the sword energy had already healed. The lake water had returned to calmness.

She watched for a while before suddenly speaking. "His talent is far greater than ours was back then."

Yun Ming said nothing.

Long Yeyue turned to look at him. "Why didn't you give him some resources when he was so young?"

Yun Ming fell silent for a moment, then stood and walked to the window, stopping beside Long Yeyue.

He looked at the lake for a long time. "Elder Long, he is my son."

His voice was calm. "He can't occupy the academy's resources."

Long Yeyue frowned and slapped him on the shoulder.

The sound was crisp and echoed through the room. Yun Ming's shoulder sank from the blow.

"He is my grandson."

Long Yeyue's voice was not loud, but she enunciated every word clearly. "Besides, ask the others in Sea God Pavilion whether they would object. They'd love nothing more than to pile resources onto that little fellow until he became the strongest in the world!"

Yun Ming said nothing.

He lowered his head to look at his hand. The wound on the web between his thumb and forefinger, cut by a Moon Blade, had already healed without leaving even a scar.

He remembered Yun Jingheng standing on the training grounds, pointing his sword at him and saying, "No one below Soul Emperor can beat me."

That boy's eyes had been bright. He had not been arrogant; he had been serious.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Long Yeyue. "Elder Long, I know you care for him. You gave him the Lunar Divine Metal, Zhuo Shi gave him the Jade Rabbit Soul Bone, and Yue'er even let him dismantle the core she had researched for seven years. I remember all of that."

He paused. "But the academy's resources are prepared for students. He hasn't enrolled yet."

Long Yeyue looked at him for a long time. "When you were young, did Sea God Pavilion give you resources?"

Yun Ming froze.

Without waiting for his answer, Long Yeyue continued.

"When you were young, did Sea God Pavilion give you resources? Did your master teach you separately? Did you get a share of the good things in the treasury?"

She paused. "Your master was the Pavilion Master of Sea God Pavilion, and you are the Pavilion Master of Sea God Pavilion too. You could take those things when you were young, so why can't he?"

Yun Ming remained silent for a long time. "Elder Long, that's different—"

"How is it different?"

Long Yeyue interrupted him. "Just because you became Pavilion Master, your son can't use the academy's things anymore? What kind of logic is that?"

She looked at him with a serious gaze. "Yun Ming, you are the Pavilion Master, but you are also his father. You can't deny him the resources he should receive just because you're afraid of gossip. Besides, who the hell would dare gossip?!"

Yun Ming looked at her and suddenly smiled. "Elder Long, are you planning to give him special treatment?"

Long Yeyue snorted. "What special treatment? This is called reasonable use of resources. So many good things are piled up in Sea God Pavilion's treasury; they'll only gather dust sitting there."

"Give them to him. At least they can become something useful."

She paused. "Besides, the core of his Moon Palace came from Cai Yue'er, the Lunar Divine Metal came from Feng Wuyu, and the Soul Bone came from Zhuo Shi. Which of those belonged to the academy?"

Yun Ming said nothing.

Long Yeyue looked at him, the corners of her lips curling upward. "The things he makes are very useful. The Moon Palace is for saving lives, and the Soul Bone improves strength. He takes things and produces results. Isn't that good?"

Yun Ming was silent for a long time, then he smiled. "Fine, fine, Elder Long. You're right."

"We should've done this long ago! Give him the things. All the things I gave you when you were young are still with you, don't think I don't know."

"Give them all to him!"

Yun Ming looked helpless. "Aren't you worried his foundation will become unstable?"

Long Yeyue was extremely serious. "Do you think he'll rush for quick success?"

"No."

"Then isn't that enough?"