"*Three-Star Glory Badge?!*"
Murmurs erupted like startled birds.
"Did Dongfang Xiaoxue just invoke her family's *Three-Star* honor? That's *city-founder* tier!"
"Pfft—it's her *father's* badge! If they inherit it, the law downgrades it to Two-Star anyway!"
"Still elite! One in a thousand!"
Xu Zong's face tightened. He'd hoped to crush Xiaoxue for clout—not trigger a blood feud between families.
Shen Lili, sensing his hesitation, screeched, "Hiding behind daddy's medals? *Pathetic!*"
Xiaoxue whirled. "You want a *duel*? Just you and me?"
The venom in her glare froze Shen Lili's tongue.
---
The walk to the dean's office passed in heavy silence. Even Wanjun held her chatter.
Finally, Yun Xi spoke. "My apologies. For the trouble."
Wanjun huffed. "*Now* you talk? Where were you when Xiaoxue fought your battle?"
"School rules forbid killing."
"...Oh."
Xiaoxue sighed. "It's over. Let it go."
At the office door, she hesitated. "Yun Xi... about the Moon God Realm... we were wrong."
"It's forgotten."
Wanjun beamed. "Oho! Look who's growing a *spine*!"
"A spine?"
"Generosity! Grace! Letting girls win!"
Yun Xi: "..."
Xiaoxue bit her lip. "Those Skyrend Strikes... did you... *invent* them?"
Wanjun gasped. "Teach us! With those moves, Xiaoxue could *easily* clear Tier-1!"
Yun Xi nodded. "After classes. The technique relies on qi control and timing."
Wanjun whooped. "You've *changed*, Dongfang!"
Xiaoxue's smile—genuine now—lit the hallway. That single nod had dissolved months of tension.
Yun Xi watched her, a pang striking his chest.
*Dongfang... you had family who cared. What a waste.*
---
Paperwork consumed the afternoon. Though Starcrest Academy prized discipline, it couldn't chain its students.
As dusk fell, Yun Xi strode toward an armory near campus.
A swordsman without his blade was a bird without wings.
Fifteen days unarmed violated every tenet of his creed. Tonight, he'd find steel worthy of forging a *sword soul*.
The Eight Extremities Sword Qi had four realms.
First: Primordial Breath.
Second: Dividing Chaos.
In the Common Era's qi-starved world, Yun Xi had mastered Primordial Breath to perfection—yet never breached the second realm. His greatest regret.
Now, with fourth-tier qi circulating, he began the ritual anew.
*Whoosh!*
Every drop of essence in his body churned. Primordial Breath demanded *life's first spark*—the infant's umbilical breath that sustained existence before worldly contamination.
To extract it meant refining *jing*—the vital essence stored in bones and marrow.
Sweat poured as Yun Xi's complexion grayed. One misstep, and this fragile embryonic qi would vanish forever.
Then—
A glimmer.
Pure as dawn's first light, it pulsed within the crucible of his dantian.
*Primordial Breath!*
With a roar, Yun Xi fused it with his qi. Not yet true sword energy—but the foundation was laid.
"Body as sword. Qi as sword. Will as sword. Now... I need the blade to forge *intent*."
---
Dusk had fallen when knocking interrupted his recovery.
Xiaoxue gasped at his pallor. "You look—!"
"Starved," Wanjun finished, then blinked. "Unless... *private activities*?"
"*Wanjun!*"
Giggling, the girl retreated as Xiaoxue reheated dinner.
One hour and seven bowls later—
"*Seven?!*" Wanjun gawked. "Did Xiaoxue *starve* you?"
"Training exhausts essence," Yun Xi said between mouthfuls.
Xiaoxue studied him. "You mentioned needing a weapon earlier..."
She vanished into storage, returning with a cloth-wrapped bundle.
"A rusted sword."
---
Chapter 23: Sword of Longing
The stained curtains fell away, revealing a corroded relic.
"Fourth- or fifth-century craftsmanship," Xiaoxue explained. "Pure wrought iron—decent antique, but useless against modern alloys—"
Her words died as Yun Xi lifted the blade with trembling hands.
*Zing!*
A chime like struck crystal filled the room. Rust cascaded off in flakes, unveiling moonlight-forged steel.
Along the spine, two characters glowed:
望羲.
*Longing for Dawn.*
Wanjun squealed. "It *cleaned itself*!"
Xiaoxue's breath caught. "A... treasure blade?"
Yun Xi's fingers traced the characters. After four centuries, *Wangxi* had returned.
The moment their spirits resonated, dormant sword intent flooded his meridians—transforming Eight Extremities Qi into true *sword energy*.
*Crack!*
Three hundred sixty-one acupoints shattered open under its edge. Fifth-tier—*complete*.
"*Haaaa—!*"
His exhale became a gale, scattering papers and trinkets.
Xiaoxue's hands flew to her mouth. "*Fifth-tier?!*"
Wanjun bounced. "Just like that?!"
"The sword's intent bridged the gap," Yun Xi admitted.
"Can *we*—?"
He shook his head. "Unless you comprehend *its* will..."
Their blank stares confirmed the impossibility.
Xiaoxue sighed. "Better master Skyrend Strikes first."
Then Yun Xi's question froze them:
"You found this *with* me in Nightblood Forest?"
Wanjun nodded. "You clutched it like a lifeline!"
His grip tightened on Wangxi.
"Then I must return there."
"Nightblood Forest!?"
Yun Xi's nod confirmed it.
That cursed mountain range where he'd died four centuries ago—he needed to see if any traces remained. More crucially: his corpse.
The lunar pendant buried with him could accelerate his recovery to peak strength within three years—if found.
Xiaoxue's protest came instantly. "It's a Category C zone! Even high-tier warriors die there!"
"Not exclusively."
"We can't afford gear for that hellscape! Father's savings barely cover next year's tuition—"
"I'll join a hunter team."
"At fifth-tier!?"
"The matter's settled." Yun Xi rose abruptly. "*You* handle domestic affairs. *I* decide ventures."
The door slammed, leaving two stunned girls.
Wanjun sighed dreamily. "So... *manly* now..."
---
Two days passed in rigorous training—Xiaoxue and Wanjun mastering Skyrend Strikes' fundamentals while Yun Xi replenished his depleted essence.
Then—the Hunter's Guild.
A colossus spanning every city entrance, its halls thrummed with team recruitments:
"*Team to Serpent Lake! Six-tiers minimum!*"
"*Gunslingers wanted—Bloodhawk hunt!*"
Yun Xi bypassed the chaos, registering as a solo hunter. No squad would risk a fifth-tier unknown.
His eyes locked on a Level-6 bounty:
※ Hunt Nightmare Beasts (6th-tier) - 22 Contribution / 1,200 Credits per horn ※
Location: Near Righteous Peak ruins
Righteous Peak—where Ye Haoran's manor once stood. Where he'd died.
The moment he accepted, whispers exploded across the guild:
"*Confirmed—Righteous Peak ruins are the Ye Clan's lost stronghold!*"
"*Rumor says they hid Transcendent techniques...*"
But Yun Xi was already gone—blade at his back, marching toward the graveyard of his past.
Earth's deadliest zones teemed with monsters—none more perilous than Snowpeak Range, the former Himalayas now ruled by dragonkin and ranked SSS.
Below that, eight danger tiers existed—SS to F.
S-tier demanded legendary might; A and B required martial grandmasters. Nightblood Forest's C-rating meant even ninth-tier warriors risked death without Transcendent escorts.
Yet the 420km-long forest lured hunters like moths to flame.
The collapsing Moonfall Realm had drenched Earth in corrupt energy, mutating flora into priceless alchemical ingredients. Even the beasts—their meat saturated with digestible power—commanded fortunes.
A seventh-tier carcass fetched 10,000 credits—a year's wages for most.
---
Dawn's second day found Yun Xi deep in the treeline.
No jeep. No rifle. Just Wangxi Sword, rations, and a crudely inked map.
*Shink!*
A six-tier Razortusk collapsed mid-charge, decapitated mid-leap.
200kg of prime meat—worth 1,000 credits if hauled back.
Yun Xi wiped his blade. "C-tier indeed. Six-tiers prowling the outskirts..."
He turned toward Righteous Peak—until gunfire erupted westwards.
*Boom!*
Explosions lit the canopy.
"Fools."
He pivoted east—then *dove*.
*Crack!*
A sniper round grazed his ear, embedding in an oak behind him.
*Crack!*
The second shot anticipated his landing. Wangxi flashed—splitting the bullet midair.
*Crack!*
The third *curved*, forcing him from cover.
"Advanced Marksmanship."
Yun Xi *charged*.
Five shots came. Three missed. Two shattered against his blade.
*Thud.*
The sniper's head hit dirt before his body did.
In Nightblood Forest, beasts weren't the only predators.
Five hunters emerged from the brush where Yun Xi had stood moments earlier.
"That combat instinct... at least peak ninth-tier!"
"Wang Kuan—a sixth-tier sniper who's killed seventh-tiers—got slaughtered like a pig."
"Not Transcendent, but definitely high-tier."
"The Ye Manor ruins are drawing wolves..."
"Move! Four hundred years shifted the terrain—we might still be first!"
---
As Yun Xi raced toward Righteous Peak, something felt wrong. Three hunter teams in ten kilometers?
Then—the mountain's silhouette.
*Anning Peak.*
Memories flooded back: F-22s circling, satellites watching, an entire division sealing their doom.
Ye Haoran. Wu Que. The last true masters of ancient martial arts.
And himself—cut down by a Lin-family general after the bombardment.
Now, four centuries later, the scorched earth had regrown into a primordial jungle. Vines strangled moss-covered steps leading to—
*The manor gates.*
Rotting beams. Crumbling walls. Nature reclaiming what human glory couldn't sustain.
"Thirteen hundred years... reduced to this."
*Crack!*
A suppressed shot snapped him back—aimed between his eyes.
Yun Xi twisted aside as three more rounds chased him into the trees.
"Tch. Dodged?" A voice slithered through the canopy. "'Ghosthand' Tianju never misses twice—"
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Three sparks erupted midair—another shooter intercepting the bullets.
Yun Xi's gaze locked onto a leaf-camouflaged figure thirty meters away. Their eyes met—
*Plan formed.*
Feigning a stumble, he baited Tianju's shot.
*Crack!*
The ambusher's bullet met Wangxi's edge—while a fourth shot from the ally struck true.
*Thud.*
A body tumbled from a vine-choked tower.
"'Ghosthand' works for Divine Shield Hunters," whispered the green-haired woman already retreating. "They've claimed the ruins. *Run.*"
"Who are you?"
"Your uniform... call me *senior*."
Then—gone like morning mist.
"Starcrest Academy?"
Yun Xi glanced at his uniform's insignia—the emblem he'd forgotten to remove.
That green-haired woman must've been an alumna.
Focus returned to the ruins.
Though only fifth-tier, his Eight Extremities Sword Qi and near-Transcendent reflexes could match seventh-tiers. "Ghosthand" Tianju's ambush had only succeeded because nostalgia dulled his vigilance.
At full alert, he'd have stormed the sniper's perch like he did Wang Kuan's.
"'Divine Shield Hunters' occupy the ruins... plundering treasures..."
His musings cut short by rustling vines. Three men emerged—
"Clear. Targets eliminated."
One checked Tianju's corpse. "One shot. Master-level 'Sonic Pierce' technique."
"Master-gunner? D*mn. The Holy Peak team's coming too—their captain's ninth-tier!"
"Three hours till they arrive. We've found Ye Haoran's tomb—his family buried their martial secrets with him!"
"Imagine! A man who reached high-tier in the Qi-starved era... today he'd be Transcendent!"
Their chatter froze at an icy voice echoing from nowhere:
"You... *desecrate* Ye Haoran's grave?"
"Who's there?!"
"Ye Haoran upheld righteousness! To disturb his rest is *death*!"
The last word struck like thunder beside their ears.
*Shink!*
"Mantis!"
Too late. A blade flashed—Mantis collapsed, throat sl*t.
"Fifth-tier?! *Ambush specialist!*"
"Fall back! Open ground!"
Swordmaster Fu Wang slashed at dust clouds—only to feel steel pierce his neck. His corpse crashed into Bloodblade, whose skull exploded mid-collision from a finger-thrust.
Two high-tier hunters—gone in six seconds.
Yun Xi stepped from the settling dust, gaze locked on the ruins' heart.
Memories resurged: government troops encircling the manor, Ye Haoran and Wu Que standing back-to-back against machine guns.
Lin Zhengying's vengeance had drowned the estate in blood before bombers flattened it.
"Four hundred years ago, my actions doomed your family."
His grip tightened on Wangxi.
"No more defilement. This time... I *keep* watch."