Water Breathing: First Form-Water Surface Slash

When the giant water-shadow beast charged, the whole street shook.

It took one step, and a wave exploded outward.

Splintered wood, roof tiles, and stones churned through the water, cracking against the walls.

The children on the raised platform clung to one another, their voices hoarse from crying.

Yuan Yu stood at the end of the street with a blade in his hand.

He was small.

His white clothes were soaked through.

But he did not retreat.

A moment ago, he had saved people by guiding the water.

Now he had to strike.

The two sounded different, but Yuan Yu knew they were really the same thing.

A blade was not only for killing.

But when killing was necessary, he could not hesitate.

The giant water-shadow beast was already upon him.

It opened its jaws, the current twisting into fangs as it lunged at Yuan Yu.

Yuan Yu did not meet it head-on.

His foot slid, and he moved half a step forward with the current.

He was not fleeing.

He was using its force.

His breathing slowed.

Rain, rushing water, crying—all of it faded behind him.

In his mind, the broken images grew clear again.

Someone drew a blade beside the water.

The blade's edge was level.

So was the line of water it cut.

A name rose from deep in his memory.

Water Breathing.

First Form.

Water Surface Slash.

Yuan Yu tightened his grip on the Sun Wheel Blade.

The water pattern on its blade lit up.

The instant the giant water-shadow beast bore down, he swung his blade across.

"Water Breathing: First Form."

"Water Surface Slash!"

Blade light swept sideways.

A water-blue arc skimmed across the flood.

Perfectly level.

As though someone had drawn a calm waterline through the chaos.

The beast's head split apart.

The upper half of its watery body burst apart, while the lower half tried to surge on, only to be swept aside by the force of his strike.

The wave parted.

It never reached the raised platform.

The children stared.

The backlash drove Yuan Yu back several steps. His foot slipped, and he nearly fell into the water.

He braced his blade against the ground and panted.

"Looked pretty cool. Took a lot out of me, though."

The youngest child cried out, "Big brother!"

Yuan Yu looked up and smiled.

"Not so loud. I haven't found my footing yet."

The children laughed through their tears.

But Water God's Illusion had no intention of letting him catch his breath for long.

The giant water-shadow beast he had cut apart had not completely dispersed.

The water gathered again, becoming three smaller shadows that charged in different directions.

One rushed toward the raised platform.

One rushed toward the medicine shop.

One rushed toward the woman and child he had just pushed to higher ground.

Yuan Yu's expression changed.

"Again?"

Water God's voice sounded through the rain.

"A flood won't give you only one choice."

Yuan Yu gritted his teeth.

He had only just learned Water Surface Slash, and his body was already near its limit.

His arms ached until they felt numb.

His chest hurt too.

Even his gums felt as if they had been soaked in cold water.

His legs were beginning to weaken.

If he forced out three more slashes, he might not remain standing.

Don't panic.

The greater the rush, the steadier I need to be.

Yuan Yu drew a deep breath.

Instead of immediately chasing the first shadow, he ran to the middle of the street.

The current was most chaotic there.

It was also where the three shadows had split apart.

Yuan Yu raised his blade and swept it through the water three times.

With the first stroke, he diverted the current rushing toward the medicine shop.

With the second, he pushed half a door panel toward the raised platform to block the wave.

With the third, he let the swift current carry him in front of the woman and child.

The water-shadow lunged.

Yuan Yu had no time to take a proper stance.

All he could do was swing his blade across.

The water pattern lit up.

"Water Surface Slash!"

The second water-shadow split apart.

As the blade light faded, Yuan Yu's arm went numb, and the skin between his thumb and forefinger tore open.

Blood mingled with the water and was quickly washed away.

Yuan Yu glanced down.

"Great. I'll get another scolding when I go back."

He turned and rushed toward the raised platform.

The shadow there had already smashed through the door panel. The wave was about to reach the children's feet.

Yuan Yu leaped from a drifting beam.

His small body flipped through the curtain of rain, and his blade swept across.

A third Water Surface Slash.

The shadow scattered.

But he lost his footing when he landed and crashed into the water.

A piece of broken wood struck his chest, knocking the breath from him and darkening his vision.

He sank beneath the water for half a breath.

A roar filled his ears.

Water God did not urge him on.

He did not ask if Yuan Yu could keep going.

Yuan Yu did not ask himself, either.

Because the last water-shadow was already charging toward the alley behind the medicine shop.

An old man was still there.

Yuan Yu gritted his teeth and climbed out of the water.

He no longer had the strength to perform the full move.

The Soul Power in his body felt drained dry.

The water pattern on the Sun Wheel Blade had dimmed considerably too.

But he rushed forward anyway.

This time, he did not strike.

He plunged the Sun Wheel Blade into the water and gripped its hilt with both hands.

The shadow slammed into him.

Yuan Yu was driven to one knee in the water, his arms shaking violently.

"The people I just saved..."

He clenched his teeth.

"Don't touch them."

The shadow pressed harder.

Water poured into his nose and mouth.

He could barely breathe.

Just as the water was about to swallow him, the pattern on the blade suddenly lit up.

It was not the dazzling light from before.

It was more like a thin stream spreading slowly from the blade's tip.

For one breath, the raging current slowed.

Yuan Yu seized the chance and swept his blade across.

The final shadow was severed.

The flood began to recede.

The figures of the people he had saved turned into water-blue motes of light, one by one, and flew toward him.

Yuan Yu stood in the water, bent over and panting.

His face was frighteningly pale, and his hands were still trembling.

But he had not dropped his blade.

Water God's voice was gentler than before.

"You passed."

Yuan Yu looked up.

"Senior, next time, could you warn me the illusion would hurt?"

Water God said, "Pain helps you remember."

Yuan Yu rolled his eyes.

"You gods really don't care if kids hate you."

Water God seemed to chuckle.

"You now understand water's first principle."

"What?"

"Control and Kill."

Water God's voice faded into the rain.

"Striking down an enemy is easy. Protecting the people behind you while you strike—that is Water Pattern Awakening."

Yuan Yu looked down at the Sun Wheel Blade.

Its water pattern glowed steadily.

He was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Then that beating wasn't for nothing."

The illusion shattered.

Awakening Hall appeared before him once more.

Yuan Yu still stood at the center of the formation.

His clothes were dry.

But his face was as pale as if he had just been pulled from the water.

Ling Yuan stepped forward.

"Yuan Yu!"

Yuan Yu opened his eyes and looked at his hands first.

No injuries.

But they still hurt.

He looked up and smiled at Ling Yuan.

"I'm back."

Ling Yuan had been about to scold him, but she swallowed the words.

Bibi Dong watched him.

Qian Daoliu watched him too.

Everyone in the hall watched him.

The next moment, a water-blue Spirit Ring slowly descended from the Divine Light.

A faint gold rimmed its outer edge, while water seemed to flow within it.

The Water God's voice rang out.

"The first trial of the Ten Thousand Manifestations Nine Trials is complete."

"Reward: a God-given Spirit Ring bestowed by the Water God."

"Reward: Water Element Control."

"First pattern of the Sun Wheel Blade: Water Pattern Awakening."

Yuan Yu looked up at the Spirit Ring.

"This ring... I don't have to hunt a spirit beast for it?"

"No," the Water God said.

Yuan Yu's eyes lit up.

"That's good."

"One less to kill."

In the hall, several Red Cardinals' expressions shifted slightly.

Something hard to name stirred in Bibi Dong's eyes too.

It sounded a little naive coming from a six-year-old.

But he had just rescued people from a flood.

So his words carried weight.