At Ease

"Martial Master Xu, do you mean..." Grandmaster Zhou Zhun carefully chose his words. "Even if the sword hadn't broken, you still would have won?"

Xu Wuyi looked at him without answering directly.

But that look said it all.

Grandmaster Zhou Zhun asked no more. He took a step back, solemnly cupped his hands to Xu Wuyi, then turned and returned to the ranks.

At the other end of the plain.

Li Xuangang stood beside Zhou Chen, his gaze crossing five hundred meters to settle on Xu Wuyi.

The young man was speaking with his companions, his expression calm as he nodded occasionally.

Li Xuangang watched him for a long time.

Then he withdrew his gaze and turned to Zhou Chen.

"Your Highness."

Zhou Chen raised his head.

His complexion had improved somewhat from before, but his eyes remained dim. The broken sword had already been sheathed, its half-blade lying silently within the scabbard, stripped of all its radiance.

"Imperial Preceptor." Zhou Chen's voice was hoarse. "I..."

Li Xuangang cut him off. "We'll talk after we return."

He turned toward the Great Liang ranks. His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly to every ear.

"Form up. Return."

The accompanying officials and Imperial Guard soldiers immediately moved into action. No one spoke, nor did anyone whisper among themselves.

The fifty-man party silently turned and headed toward the spatial passage beyond the plain.

Zhou Chen walked in the middle of the formation, head lowered, without a word.

Li Xuangang walked at the very front, leaning on his cane, his steps slow yet steady.

He did not look back.

But he knew that the young man with the spear was watching them leave.

It was not a show of force. He was simply seeing them off.

Just as throughout this entire