White clouds and two moons sail, drifting sword guides the rushing gale.
Wun Ching Yeung flicked his wrist and the sword’s tip cut a small circle in the air. Soul energy rushed out of the blade, guiding the air and forming a whirlwind. This was the unique characteristic of Wun Ching Yeung’s black sword martial soul. It was capable of gentle movements but powerful strikes at its user's whim.
“What?” exclaimed Siu Lan. This was the first time she had seen her father use this technique. As Wun Ching Yeung continued to flick his sword faster and faster, the whirlwind drew in more air and grew stronger. Even the thirty fireballs that Wun Siu Lan had fired out were pulled in by the wind, causing her to lose control of them. She was surprised by this turn of events.
Sword forms the gale, turns wind to hail.
All the fireballs were whisked away by the whirlwind, as if they were white clouds in the sky. They drifted midair, caught by the powerful gale. The wind itself was charged with Wun Ching Yeung’s soul energy, which infiltrated the fireballs and bent them to his control.
Siu Lan’s meager soul energy was no match for Wun Ching Yeung’s reserves. In the blink of an eye, all the fireballs had been completely torn out of her control.
Wun Ching Yeung continued to guide the winds. Gradually, the thirty fireballs merged into a giant one, larger than Siu Lan herself. Wun Ching Yeung continued to agitate the flames, causing them to become even hotter than when Siu Lan first conjured them.
Siu Lan pouted and said, “Hmph! You’re just older than me.”
“You get to play dirty and I don’t get to play a little unfair?” said Wun Ching Yeung with a chuckle. However, he did not stop his movements. He flicked his wrist again, launching the giant fireball at Siu Lan!
He didn’t believe tha this simple attack would do anything to Siu Lan.
“The fifth flame, Endless Waters is its name, drowns all beneath the world and its thousand games,” said Siu Lan with a pout. A translucent flame burst forth on her palm. The flame engulfed the giant fireball, which quickly dissipated inside the translucent flame.
“Lethality: Endless Weakwaters Flame,” finished Siu Lan.
Even the power of the tribulations could not do anything against this flame, let alone this simple fireball. It seemed like the Endless Weakwaters Flame was tremendously effective against energy-based attacks. Siu Lan’s incredible powers and rapid growth were unbelievable. There was no doubt that she was a prodigy amongst prodigies.
Wun Ching Yeung was right.
“That is just…” muttered Wun Ching Yeung as he saw how easily she defused his attack. He couldn’t help but wonder even more about her background. Ever since she survived the tribulations and received instruction from Old Lei, she had been growing at a ridiculous pace. Wun Ching Yeung could not help but be curious.
However, there was no point in thinking too hard about it. He couldn’t find an answer anyway.
“Dad,” said Siu Lan suddenly, with a sweet smile. Her smile was so sweet it would probably start attracting ants if she kept it up. Wun Ching Yeung felt unnerved by this sudden change of attitude. If Wun Fan’s bad habit was showing a mischievous smile when he was planning something nasty, Siu Lan’s bad habit was putting on a sweet smile!
Soul energy surged towards Siu Lan’s feet. She stepped forward, leaving heavy footprints on the ground. She quickly approached Wun Ching Yeung as she said, “The sixth flame, Formless Origin is its name, forge of Sacred weapons that shall maim.”
“Lethality: Thousand Armaments Flame,” said SIu Lan.
She made a gripping motion with her hand. There was a flash of gray light as a longsword appeared in her hand. The sword was immensely sharp. The air itself hummed as the blade sliced through it. Wun Ching Yeung stared in disbelief as he exclaimed, “The sixth flame!”
How many flames did she have exactly?
Red soul energy burned on Siu Lan’s hand. The flames quickly spread across the sword, coating in red fire. She cried, “Lethality: Crimson Lotus Karmic Flame!”
She had intended to lunge forward and swing her sword, but Wun Ching Yeung moved before she did. He said calmly, “Lethality: Mistparting Dawnwatcher.”
An invisible line was suddenly drawn between the red sword and the black sword. Siu Lan’s blazing sword was completely controlled by Wun Ching Yeung’s attack. She could no longer control it.
Siu Lan gave up on her sword entirely and shouted, “Thousand Armaments Flame!” Gray flames erupted from her hands, turning into a pair of gauntlets. Pale-white flames erupted around the gauntlets. It was the Turbid Bone-eating Flame!
Wun Siu Lan had switched between several fires and combined them in a matter of seconds without any pause. Her control over her flames was impressive. With her power as a Martial Master and the strange properties of her flames, it wasn’t difficult for her to stand her ground against an opponent of a superior realm. A single mistake from her opponent and she could make them suffer terribly with her flames’ powers.
Wun Ching Yeung switched to defense, intercepting Siu Lan’s punches with his sword. The sound of clashing metal echoed throughout the training grounds.
The echoes reached a particular corner of the training grounds. A pair of eyes were staring at Wun Siu Lan. Its owner was dressed in luxurious and colorful clothes. He looked shocked and frustrated as he muttered to himself, “That damned brat! She’s become this powerful?”
He grabbed the gold medallion on his waist and ran his thumb over the character inscribed on it— ‘Ping’. The action did little to calm his anxious heart. He whispered again, “I took the Mortalmaker Pill and became a Martial Mortal, but the distance between us has only grown wider.”
“What a joke!” he cried. He suddenly found the whole thing so silly. He was trying his best to catch up to them, to use all the advantages he had to defeat them. In the end, he was just a pathetic nobody, stuck as a Martial Disciple. He had only managed to ascend to Martial Mortal realm with the help of the pill. Compared to the prodigious Wun Siu Lan and the talented Wun Fan, all of his achievements were solely because of his father and his status as the second elder.
He let out a long exhale and felt the weight lift from his shoulders. Perhaps, there was no need to compare anymore. Perhaps, accepting reality was the best way forward?
Someone who ranked 190th in a test might look upon a friend who ranked 160th and feel frustration and envy, but when they look upon another friend who ranked 20th, they would feel nothing but awe.
The boy shook his head and cleared his mind. He slowly walked away, a tiny change sprouting in his heart.
“Alright, that’s about enough. Let’s go with one last technique, Siu Lan,” said Wun Ching Yeung, satisfied to have learnt the extent of Siu Lan’s growth. It was a good time to stop as well.
There were still plenty of other paperwork and clan matters he had to attend to…
Wun Ching Yeung felt a headache coming on at the thought of paperwork. He had spent a lot of time and effort running the Wun Clan over the years. He hardly had any time to train and improve. Most people knew him at the strongest person of Green Sea Town, but Wun Ching Yeung knew that the title was worthless.
Even within the Wun Clan, the great elder alone was stronger than him.
“Ok,” said Siu Lan, flashing her sweet smile again. The corners of her mouth rose up, revealing her cute canine teeth. Her smile was bright and sharp, like the full moon cutting through the clouds.
Wun Ching Yeung felt uneasy again. He kept feeling like he might just slip up and lose the spar. He immediately nagged at Siu Lan, “Mm, don’t go overboard.”
“Of course! Do I look like the kind of person that would do that?” retorted Siu Lan angrily. She then stomped her feet out of embarrassment. There was something off about her reaction.
Wun Ching Yeung put on a forced smile. He wasn’t sure how to react.
“You’re right! I don’t just look like it, I absolutely will go overboard!” said Siu Lan. Her expression suddenly changed. Her pupils dilated and the way she carried herself shifted abruptly to a much more malicious countenance. Gray light flashed on both her hands. She swung her hands and chanted, “Lethality: Thousand Armaments Flame.”
In the blink of an eye, over sixty weapons were created out of nothing and hovered in midair. There were swords, spears, knives, halberds, axes, polearms and many more, all aimed at Wun Ching Yeung.
All the disciples in the training grounds gasped in surprise!
“This is…are you a Martial Master or a Martial General?” said Wun Ching Yeung as he stared at the armory of weapons in the sky. He was completely numb with shock. To his understanding, only Martial Generals should be capable of Aether Forging. Her precious daughter was breaking his understanding of the world again and against!
Siu Lan made a hand seal and the dozens of weapons suddenly burned with a white flame. It almost looked like a bunch of white clouds had suddenly appeared in the sky. The girl smiled proudly and said, “Dad, why don’t you try that move from earlier?”
“Alright, that’s enough, no need for something so big,” said a gentle old voice. The great elder appeared in the training grounds. He stroked his beard and chuckled. He was very happy and satisfied with Siu Lan’s performance. She was his favorite, much more so that even Wun Fan.
“Ok…” said Siu Lan. She dispelled the flames and the weapons in the sky, letting them slowly dissipate. She sometimes liked to go against Wun Ching Yeung, but she never dared to disobey the great elder.
In the end, there’s always someone out there who can put you in your place.
“Shall we have dinner as a family tonight?” the great elder suddenly suggested. He never expected Siu Lan to agree, but the girl nodded and said, “Alright! Let’s eat something nice!”
Wun Ching Yeung suddenly felt a tear coming out of his eye when he heard this. He was worried that something was wrong with his daughter, but it seemed like he had been worried for nothing. He waved his sleeves, wiping away the sand that was totally irritating his eye. He replied as well, “Let’s do that!”
“Haha, you’re in a good mood, aren’t you girl?” said the great elder. He was much more straightforward compared to Wun Ching Yeung.
“I don’t know about that,” said Siu Lan with a shrug. Suddenly, she stared at the white clouds and blue sky. She felt as if a great weight had lifted from her heart. She smiled and said, “But, well, the reason I’m happy…”
“It can’t be anything other than him.”98Please respect copyright.PENANAkWtlQkr12V