The silence in the valley was no longer oppressive. It was a forge, and Han Li was the metal.
Ten days. The number hung in his mind, a finite clock. In these ten days, I must practice these arts to their absolute limit. I must plan. And now… I have a guide. The thought of the ancient spirit in the tower was not a comfort, but a strategic asset—a dangerous, cryptic library he would learn to plunder.
Perfection was not a goal; it was a requirement for survival. If others are faster by talent, I will be faster by effort. If they practice twice as hard, I will practice ten times. Rest is a luxury for the safe. I will forge myself in this fire until every threat is uprooted.
For days, he drilled. The Lightning Swift Steps turned his body into a controlled blur, the Seven Blade Form Art transforming a simple branch into a lethal extension of his will. But the branch was a lie. It would shatter against true metal, against the demon's hide, against the world's cruelty.
I need a blade.
Sister Xu was his only link to the tangible world of tools. Would she be at the clearing? He had to try. An exchange, not a request. He went to his chamber, changed into a simple green robe for practicality, and took a single, high-grade Energy-Gathering Pill—a decent trade for a decent weapon.
He did not run. He moved. Activating the Lightning Swift Steps, he was a streak of emerald motion. The wind tore at his clothes, the world blurring. In just over a minute, he covered the distance that used to take half an hour, skidding to a silent halt at the clearing's edge.
She was there. Sitting on their usual rock, wearing a robe of deep forest green that made her seem part of the landscape. Her smile, when she saw him, was bright and immediate, a striking arrow of warmth.
To Han Li, whose heart was layered in ice and calculation, it registered as data: Friendly. Unaware. A potential resource. He acknowledged it and filed it away.
"You brat!" she called, standing. "I've been waiting. I've come here every day since I gave you those scrolls."
"Sister Xu, do you regret giving them to me?" he asked, approaching.
"No, brat. I just… wanted to see you every day," she said, her voice softening slightly before she shrugged, covering the vulnerability. "It's nothing."
"I didn't give you a weapon that day," she continued, pulling a cloth-wrapped bundle from behind the rock. "I bought you a blade. I've been coming here at this same hour. You never came."
Han Li's mind raced. Her consistency was a variable he hadn't fully calculated. "Oh. I… I was busy. Making a pill for you, Sister."
Her eyes widened. "What? For me? You were making a pill for me?"
"Yes." He reached into his robe and offered her the vial. "It's an Energy-Surge Pill. Don't take it lightly. Use it only in the middle of a fight you cannot win. It will give you a single, powerful burst to turn the tide or escape."
She took the vial, her teasing demeanor melting into genuine, touched concern. "You brat… you're worried about me?"
"Of course I am. You are the only person I know in this… wilderness." He almost said 'this prison.'
"Wilderness? Why the poetic terms?" she chided gently. "Don't you have your master?"
"He is away. I am alone."
"Alone?" A flicker of protective fierceness crossed her face. "Then why don't I come stay with you? I could—"
"No!" Han Li's refusal was swift and sharp. He forced calm into his voice. "No, thank you. My master is… very strict. He would not allow an outsider. It would cause trouble for both of us."
She studied his face, seeing the unspoken tension. "Okay," she relented, letting the subject drop. "Let's put that aside.
Sister , Do you… want to have a duel?"
"A duel? With me?" She blinked.
"Yes! It's been, what, a few days? You think you've mastered my arts already? Don't joke. I won't go easy on you." She grinned, unwrapping the bundle to reveal two simple, well-balanced iron training swords. She tossed one to him.
Han Li caught it, the weight solid and reassuring in his grip. "Sister Xu, don't underestimate a cultivator."
"A what—?" she started, but he was already moving.
"I meant, a man with a sword," he finished, falling into the opening stance of the Seven Blade Form.
"Okay then." She mirrored him, her smile turning focused. "Show me."
---
The fight began not with a clash, but with a shift. Han Li activated the Lightning Swift Steps. He didn't charge; he flickered, closing the distance in the space between heartbeats. Sister Xu's eyes widened, but her reflexes were sharp. She brought her blade up in a perfect 'Returning Mountain' parry.
CLANG!
The impact jarred up her arm.The force behind his blow was immense, far beyond what she expected from a new practitioner. He wasn't just using the form; he was powering it with the dense, potent qi of a Peak Tier 3 cultivator expertly constrained to feel like Tier 2.
He flowed into 'Ripping Stream', a lateral slash. She deflected, dancing back with her own graceful footwork, but he was a ghost attached to her shadow. 'Circling Hawk'—he spun around her probing thrust, his blade a silver arc aiming for her side. She barely twisted away, the wind of its passage ruffling her robes.
He was relentless. Each of his 'Thrusting Peak' strikes was a piston shot, straight and devastatingly fast. She parried, countered with a clever 'Falling Leaf' feint, but he saw through it, his Lightning Swift Steps allowing him to lean back just enough for the tip to whisper past his chest.
The real shock wasn't his speed or power alone, but their fusion. He used the explosive redirection of the Steps not to run, but to fuel the transitions between blade forms, making his attacks a seamless, unpredictable storm. She was a skilled practitioner of the forms. He was becoming a force of nature wielding them.
Finally, he saw an opening. As she committed to a powerful 'Shattering Rock' overhead strike, he didn't block. He vanished from beneath it with a micro-burst of the Swift Steps, reappeared at her exposed flank, and gently tapped the flat of his blade against her ribs.
The fight froze.
She was breathing heavily, a sheen of sweat on her brow. He stood poised, calm, his sword point resting lightly against her side. The silence was broken only by the forest sounds rushing back in.
A slow, incredulous smile spread across her face, chased by a wave of sheer astonishment. She lowered her sword.
"You… you monster," she whispered, the words for her alone. It took me four years of daily drill to reach that level of integration. He did it in days.
Out loud, she laughed, shaking her head. "Not bad! Not bad at all! I, of course, learned it all in a single day, so you did… acceptably."
He lowered his blade, the faintest ghost of a smile touching his own lips. They moved to their familiar spot, sitting back-to-back on the sun-warmed rock, sharing strength without seeing each other's faces.
They talked then, of small things and nothing. The simple, weightless chatter was a balm Han Li hadn't known he needed. For a time, the calculations, the demon, the ancient spirit, all receded.
Finally, the sun began to paint the sky in hues of orange and purple.
"You brat," Sister Xu sighed, leaning her head back against his. "Time with you goes so fast. It feels like only a few breaths."
"How about you?" she asked.
Han Li was quiet for a moment. "I feel… clearer. Some of the tangled thoughts in my mind were cut away today. But for my path, that is not always a good thing. Clarity shows how steep the climb is."
"Forget it," she said, standing and stretching. "Let's say goodbye. I… have some important things to attend to in the sect these next few days. I'll come back here in one month."
"One month," Han Li repeated, standing as well. He bowed slightly. "Stay safe, Sister Xu."
"You too, brat. Don't do anything too stupid." She gave him one last, searching look, then turned and melted into the shadows of the trees.
Han Li watched her go, the training sword heavy in his hand. They parted like distant stars, their orbits set, their light traveling alone through the dark for a time. He had his blade. He had his proof of progress. And he had 5 days left to turn this forged edge into something that could slit a demon's throat.