Dawn was about to break the next day, and the wind and rain had died away.
Lian Youming had not slept all night.
With his martial arts at this level, the three jewels of essence, qi, and spirit were nearly perfected. Even without sleep or rest for three days and five nights, he could remain full of vigor. He watched the faint light brightening the line where sea met sky, then swiftly drew his gaze back from the horizon to the woman standing before him. A Japanese woman.
Chiba Aoi.
This woman had actually kept watch over him all night.
No, more precisely, she had spent the night watching that ancient sword.
"Are you friends with Gan Xuansu?"
Chiba Aoi wore a fitted black outfit with a cloak over it, apparently unbothered by the heat, and carried two crossed Samurai Swords on her back.
"Not friends... mortal enemies!"
Her cold voice seemed devoid of emotion.
Yet as she spoke, her eyes remained fixed on Lian Youming's bare upper body.
The gaping sword wounds from yesterday had actually scabbed over in a single night. Even the slash across his chest that had nearly cut him in half was now only a faint line of blood.
A body this formidable was simply horrifying.
Lian Youming first put on a teasing air. "Well? Were you stunned by my handsome looks?"
Chiba Aoi snorted coldly but said nothing.
Lian Youming looked down at his wounds, his eyes thoughtful. Running the pad of a finger along that long, narrow cut, he sighed softly. "Still not strong enough. I bled after all."
Chiba Aoi's eyes flickered. "Gan Xuansu was wielding a demon blade. Trying to take it head-on with your flesh was sheer stupidity."
Lian Youming smiled without answering and instead took out the Gall-Illuminating Sword.