Xiao Ran stepped down from the arena, and the members of the Spirit Hall Academy Team came up to meet him. Xie Yue reached out and patted his shoulder without a word, but there was a hint of relief in his bitter smile. Hu Liena stood to one side, her foxlike eyes curving as though she had expected this outcome all along. Yan crawled over from the edge of the arena, the claw wounds Dai Mubai had left still visible on his chest, yet he still grinned and cursed, "You little bastard. You could've come out sooner, but you just had to squat in there and watch the show."
"If I'd come out sooner, how would you have had a chance to show off?" Xiao Ran shrugged.
Yan froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
In the stands, the spectators began to leave. The Spirit Hall students were ushered backstage amid a crowd, with Xiao Ran bringing up the rear. He did not look back toward Shrek, but his steps were a little slower than usual.
When he reached the backstage entrance, Ning Rongrong was standing beside the passage. She must have been waiting there specifically for him. The light of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had faded, and her face was somewhat pale, but her eyes were clear.
"Xiao Ran," she called, stopping him.
Xiao Ran stopped walking.
Ning Rongrong looked at him, her lips moving as though she wanted to say something. In the end, she only asked softly, "Are you... coming back to Shrek?"
Xiao Ran looked at her for a while.
"No."
Ning Rongrong nodded without another word, then turned and left. She looked composed from behind, but her steps were a little quicker than usual.
Only after her figure disappeared at the end of the passage did Xiao Ran turn and enter Spirit Hall's lounge.
Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan were already there. Xie Yue leaned against the wall, his Moon Blade beside him, the wound on his shoulder roughly bandaged. Hu Liena sat in a chair with her fox tail hanging at her side, resting with her eyes closed. Yan sat cross-legged on the floor, still clutching the Ice Marrow Right Arm Bone and turning it over to inspect it.
"You don't want the soul bone?" Yan looked up at Xiao Ran.
"What's yours is yours." Xiao Ran sat in another chair and leaned his head back against it.
Yan paused, then tucked the right arm bone into his clothes, muttering, "All right, then."
The lounge fell quiet for a while.
Xie Yue spoke first. "That last strike from Tang San—did you see the cracks in his Clear Sky Hammer?"
Xiao Ran gave a quiet murmur of assent.
"There's something wrong with that hammer," Xie Yue said. "An ordinary Clear Sky Hammer couldn't be cracked by a beam of light. That hammer's material was at least ten thousand years old. And with all those hidden weapons and techniques Tang San used earlier, he's hiding plenty of secrets."
"I know," Xiao Ran said.
Hu Liena opened her eyes and turned her foxlike gaze toward him. "Do you know who he is?"
Xiao Ran did not answer. He closed his eyes, as though he were tired.
Yan and Hu Liena exchanged a glance and did not press him. Xie Yue watched Xiao Ran for a while, then said nothing more either.
Only the sound of breathing and the noise of the departing spectators outside remained in the lounge.
After a while, Xiao Ran spoke very softly. "We train as usual tomorrow. The tournament's over, but we still have a long road ahead."
Xie Yue nodded. "All right."
Yan took out the Ice Marrow Right Arm Bone again and inspected it, grinning. "With this thing, I'm definitely roasting that tiger Dai alive next time."
Hu Liena chuckled softly.
Xiao Ran did not open his eyes, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Early the next morning, at the Training Ground in Spirit Hall's Houshan.
Dawn had yet to break. Mist drifted down from the mountains, and a layer of dew dampened the stone posts in the Training Ground. Xiao Ran stood in the center, silver-white light flowing around him. He slowly raised his hands, gathering several silver-blue fireballs in his palms. The Galaxy Fireballs danced in his hands, their flames lighting up the surrounding mist.
"First soul skill, Galaxy Flash Slash."
The crystal on his forehead suddenly erupted with purple light. An enormous purple blade of light shot from his head and slashed toward a distant stone post. The instant it struck, the post exploded from within, sending fragments flying.
Xie Yue stood at the edge of the Training Ground, holding his Moon Blade across his body as he watched Xiao Ran train. Hu Liena sat on a nearby rock, her fox tail swaying gently as she idly twirled a blade of grass in her hand. Yan had yet to arrive. Apparently, he had spent the night sleeping with the Ice Marrow Right Arm Bone in his arms and absolutely refused to get up that morning.
"Xiao Ran," Hu Liena called.
Xiao Ran stopped and turned to look at her.
"Didn't sleep well last night?"
Xiao Ran paused. "How did you know?"
"Your Galaxy Flash Slash was half an inch off today," Hu Liena said. "You never miss your mark."
Xiao Ran was silent for a while, then raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"I've been thinking about some things," he said. "The tournament's over, but it feels like things are only just beginning."
Hu Liena tilted her head, the morning light reflected in her foxlike eyes.
"You mean Shrek?"
Xiao Ran did not answer. He turned around and resumed training. A second Galaxy Fireball condensed in his palm. This time, he put more power into it, and even the space around the fireball began to distort.
Xie Yue leaned against a stone post, watching Xiao Ran's back, and said quietly to Hu Liena, "He's thinking about Tang San."
"Mm," Hu Liena answered.
"What kind of person do you think Tang San is?"
Hu Liena thought for a moment. "A very dangerous one. But there seems to be more than just hatred between him and Xiao Ran."
Xie Yue raised an eyebrow.
Hu Liena offered no explanation. She only watched as Xiao Ran blasted the second fireball at a stone post, reducing it to powder amid the silver-blue flames.
The mist over the Training Ground gradually dispersed, and daylight spilled over the mountain ridge onto Xiao Ran. The silver-blue patterns of light on his body stood out vividly in the morning glow, like a star fallen to earth.
Yan finally arrived. He walked into the Training Ground yawning. The Ice Marrow Right Arm Bone was nowhere to be seen; he had probably put it back in his Storage Soul Tool.
"You're here?" Xie Yue glanced at him.
"Yeah." Yan stood beside Xie Yue and squinted at Xiao Ran as he trained. "What's up with him today?"
"Nothing," Hu Liena said. "He's just been training an hour longer than usual."
Yan blinked. "The tournament only just ended. Didn't he say we'd train as usual today? I've never seen him push himself this hard before."
Xie Yue did not reply. He watched Xiao Ran blast another fireball at a stone post, then slowly ease out of his stance. Standing in the center of the grounds, Xiao Ran lifted his head toward the steadily brightening sky.
"Again," Xiao Ran called from the center of the grounds.
Xie Yue and Yan exchanged a glance, summoned their martial souls, and stepped into the Training Ground.
The moment Yan entered, he started shouting. "Bring it on! You think I'm scared? I didn't get my fill in yesterday's final. That tiger Dai Mubai's got such thick skin, fighting him was no fun."
"Then fight me today." Xie Yue held his Moon Blade across his body, its silver-white gleam dazzling in the morning mist.
"Fine, let's fight. Whoever chickens out first is a dog."
Xiao Ran stood in the center of the grounds, watching the two bicker without interrupting. He slowly raised his right hand. Silver-blue patterns of light gathered in his palm, and a fireball gradually took shape. But this fireball was smaller than usual, and its color was a little paler.
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