Beyond the Stars (Second Update!)

Catching a fast-moving object with his eyes closed might have been difficult for anyone else, but not for Xia Lun.

Wind brushed past his ears, its icy chill seeming to whisper.

Though Xia Lun's eyes were closed, Wind Whisperer let him "see" the echoes of everything around him in the darkness.

He "saw" the sonar-like ripples formed as millions of raindrops fell against the wind; the faint echoes rising where his soles met the turning earth; the force that bled away as power traveled through muscle and fascia.

Now that Xia Lun's Swordsmanship had reached this level, his understanding of the sword seemed to have formed a subtle connection with Wind Whisperer.

And the accelerated thought brought by Heightened Focus stretched what should have been a fleeting experience many times over.

Xia Lun felt as though he had become one with his surroundings. Every raindrop, every breath of night wind, every trace of friction extended his senses. So long as something moved or changed, he could grasp its indescribable yet unmistakable echo.

His perception kept expanding. In an instant, he used the connection forged by Life Drain to lock onto Crystal Memory's echo.

Driving off the ground, Xia Lun sprang lightly toward Crystal Memory and its countless legs. His dress shoes left only shallow impressions in the soft mud.

Rain struck his body. With Force Dissipation, he gathered the tiny impacts, while Swordsmanship—Flow gradually turned that force into speed.

Power surged silently through him. Eyes still closed, Xia Lun swung his sword for the first time.

As if by magic, the blade slipped through a gap in the rain without touching a single drop and sliced across the azure polyhedron.

The azure polyhedron jerked to a halt. A nearly invisible crack appeared on its surface.

The Short Sword Night Plume