Xing Lan knelt on the ground in exhaustion, gripping her blade and bracing herself with both hands. Beads of sweat kept sliding down her cheeks and falling to the floor.
Gasping for breath, she looked up ahead in astonishment.
In front of Xing Lan, Liu Xiaogang and Hela were still fighting, each wielding a straight blade. The sounds of their blades clashing rose and fell throughout the enormous basement.
Hela was clearly at a disadvantage. Liu Xiaogang easily blocked every one of her moves, while she could barely dodge his attacks. On top of that, it was obvious Liu Xiaogang was holding back.
Yet Liu Xiaogang did not look nearly so at ease. Instead, he looked somewhat alarmed.
"H-Hela's amazing... We've been fighting for over two hours. I can't even lift my arms, but she can still fight. She really is a hidden expert." Xing Lan swallowed, feeling as though Hela were a fighting machine that never tired.
Liu Xiaogang felt the same way. After fighting for so long, even he was somewhat tired, yet Hela's movements and strength seemed never to have weakened. If anything, she had grown considerably stronger than when they started.
Liu Xiaogang was certain that, with Hela's current strength and her regenerative ability, even an opponent of Xing Lan's "advanced" level could not beat Hela in a fight to the death.
Xing Lan shakily braced herself on her blade and tried to stand, but the weakness in her legs made her collapse back to the ground.
"Need a hand?"
Xing Lan froze and turned to see the fashionably dressed Feng Xuan leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, watching her as he chewed gum.
"What a joke. As if I need..." Xing Lan tried to stand again, but this time, before she could finish speaking, she fell over again.
In the end, she gave in. "Fine, help me up..."
Feng Xuan walked over and held out his arm for Xing Lan to grab, keeping a clear distance between them. With her grip on him, she finally got to her feet.
Then, supported by him, she walked to the side and sat down.
Feng Xuan sat down beside her and looked at Hela and Liu Xiaogang, who were still fighting. "You two did a good job training her. After just one morning, she's already looking the part."
"Hehe, of course! Just look who trained her!" Xing Lan straightened her back again, looking proud.
"Hm? Anyway, what are you here for?" Xing Lan checked her phone. "It's not mealtime yet."
"We can't have Hela doing practical training all the time. Theoretical knowledge is important too," Feng Xuan said evenly, chewing his gum.
Xing Lan nodded and was just about to say something when Feng Xuan called out to Liu Xiaogang and Hela, "Gangzi! It's time for Hela to learn some theory. Stop trying to show off in front of her!"
Liu Xiaogang came to an abrupt halt, and Hela stopped as well.
"Damn you, Fengzi! I didn't say a word about you showing off in front of Xing Lan, and you've got the nerve to say that to me!"
"Bullshit! Xiao Gangzi, if you can't speak properly, shut up!"
"Oh, and what if I don't? Can you rip my mouth apart?!" Liu Xiaogang gave Feng Xuan a hostile look.
Feng Xuan glared right back, refusing to back down. "Heh, a musclehead like you only knows how to solve problems with violence. If you've got the guts, let's settle this one-on-one in a game."
"Games, games! All you do all day is play games. If you've got the guts, go tell a Variant to fight you one-on-one in a game!"
Liu Xiaogang and Feng Xuan pressed their heads together, glaring fiercely at each other as they continued hurling insults.
Xing Lan sat there watching the two of them flirt and bicker like a spectator enjoying the show.
Hela trotted over too and copied Xing Lan, watching the two men.
The two men noticed the women watching them. Their faces reddened at the same time, and they quickly sprang apart.
Feng Xuan straightened his clothes, then glanced at Hela. "Come on. I'll take you to your theory lesson."
Hela nodded obediently and followed Feng Xuan out.
"Hey! Wait, I'm coming too..." Xing Lan had just started after them when Liu Xiaogang grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her up.
"Hela's training is over, but yours isn't."
"Ah..." Xing Lan wanted to cry but had no tears.
Liu Xiaogang set Xing Lan down and silently sighed as he watched Hela's retreating figure.
As Feng Xuan led Hela away, a dim light flashed in his eyes when he heard that Xing Lan still had more training to do. But then he gave a self-mocking laugh. "Heh, the person I like is with my archenemy, while the person my archenemy likes is with me. Fate really does love to toy with people."
With his hands in his pockets, Feng Xuan suddenly turned to look at Hela. "You probably didn't understand what I just meant, did you?"
"I did..." Hela answered honestly.
"..."
"Ah, forget it. If you understood, you understood. It's not as if it's anything to be ashamed of."
Feng Xuan brought Hela to the hair salon's lounge area and sat down on a bench, then motioned for Hela to sit opposite him.
After Hela sat down, Feng Xuan began the lesson. "All right, I'm going to tell you some things about Variants and Night Stars.
"You know what Night Stars and Variants are, right?"
Hela nodded.
"Good. Then I won't waste words. I'll just tell you what you don't know. First are the special weapons we humans use to fight Variants: [Variant Artifacts].
"These weapons are similar to the magical artifacts in cultivation novels, possessing greater power.
"Some [Variant Artifacts] even have special abilities. Our captain has a [Variant Artifact] called [Black Crow]. Its ability isn't all that impressive. It's just that, as if it recognized its master, the weapon can automatically fly back again after being sent flying. Normally, the weapon is just a handle, but when needed, it can transform into a complete scythe.
"It really isn't impressive in anyone else's hands, but when the captain uses it, she can bring out its full power.
"Oh, right, there's also that straight blade Xing Lan always uses. That counts as a [Variant Artifact] too, but it's only a first-tier [Variant Artifact], issued after you finish recruit training."
Feng Xuan held up three fingers. "There are three tiers of [Variant Artifacts] in total.
"First-tier [Variant Artifacts] are also called special weapons. They don't have any special functions; they're just a little stronger than ordinary weapons.
"Second-tier [Variant Artifacts] have special functions. [Black Crow] is in this tier.
"Then there are third-tier [Variant Artifacts]. Any [Variant Artifact] with two or more special abilities can be called a third-tier Variant Artifact.
"All right, that's about it for [Variant Artifacts]. Next, I'll explain the levels of humans and Variants. Have Xing Lan or Xiaobei told you about those?"
Hela shook her head.
"All right, then I'll explain. First are the divisions of human strength.
"From lowest to highest, they're New Star, High Rank, King Master, Transcendent, Ten Thousand Stars, and the strongest, Starlight.
"Your current realm is probably around New Star, but with your strength, you should have no trouble fighting a High Rank opponent above your level.
"Then there are the realms of Variants: Beast King, Homicide, City Destruction, Super Aberrant, Disaster, and Immortal.
"Although there are six realms, just like for humans, Variants are a little stronger than humans at the same realm. In particular, the gap between Disaster and Immortal Variants and humans of the corresponding realms is as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. Sometimes it even takes two Ten Thousand Stars humans to deal with a Disaster-level Variant.
"But it's hard to say when it comes to the Starlight realm, because the polarization is a little severe."