CHAPTER 167: TERRIFYING SHORTY [1]

Yu Xuan and Lingluo now stood in front of the shorty, both of them readying themselves to attack.

The shorty twirled her cane once, acting like a seasoned master and smirked. "Is your coordination good? If not, then fighting me will be nothing but a disaster. Understand this, when facing a strong opponent, if your movements and attacks aren’t in synergy yet unpredictable, you won’t stand a chance. The key is striking as one, but never in a way the enemy expects."

Yu Xuan tilted his head. "But why the randomness? Wouldn’t it be easier to just keep things simple and coordinated?"

The shorty’s cane tapped the ground, a sharp tok! echoing. "Because, boy, a stronger opponent will adapt. If you repeat the same rhythm, you’re already dead. Randomness is chaos — chaos makes you unpredictable. Combine that with synergy, and you just might kill them before they kill you."

Yu Xuan wanted to say that, she looked smaller than him but he stopped.

Lingluo raised her hand as if she were in class. "What if the enemy is too strong to kill? What if we can’t even scratch them?"

The shorty looked at her as if she’d asked the dumbest question in the world.

"Is that even worth asking, junior sister? Of course you run! Live today, fight tomorrow. Unless the grudge between you and your enemy is so deep that neither of you can live under the same sky... don’t bother with heroic deaths. Heroes don’t come back once they’re corpses."

Yu Xuan crossed his arms and muttered, "Tch. You say that so proudly, sounds like you’re speaking from a lot of personal experience."

"Of course!" the shorty declared, puffing out her tiny chest like a general recalling battle. "I’ve run from fights so dangerous that even immortals wouldn’t dare step foot in them. And I’m still alive, aren’t I?"

Yu Xuan knew she was faking, so he raised a brow and asked. "So your strongest technique is ’strategic retreat’?"

"Better alive than never!" she shot back without shame. "And don’t forget, being defeated isn’t shameful. Every defeat teaches you how to win the next time."

Lingluo giggled behind her hand. "Brother, I think she’s speaking to you directly."

Yu Xuan’s face darkened, he had never suffered a defeated, unless a dream.

"...Just shut up."

The shorty slammed her cane into the ground again.

Tok!

"Enough chatter. Now, come at me! Show me what you’ve got!"

Yu Xuan glanced at his sister. "Sister, should we use the one Father taught us?"

Lingluo smiled faintly, her eyes steady. "Even here, I haven’t been slacking with my sword training."

With a flick of their wrists, both drew from their space rings a pair of treasure swords — low Earth-grade, plain in appearance yet radiating a suppressed sharpness that made the air hum faintly.

The shorty’s eyes twitched. Low Earth-grade weapons... for sparring? She wanted to curse, but held her tongue.

Then it appeared.

A silver radiance, like starlight dripping from the heavens, cloaked their blades. Sword intent.

The shorty’s brows furrowed, both siblings had actually reached intent. She understood Lingluo as she was a genius but also, her brother too, now to her it seems that the Yu family was something special.

Yu Xuan also felt the difference.

His previous red sword intent, was tied to the [Magic Swordsmanship of the Avalon Imperial Family]. This one carried a different resonance, as if its foundation belonged to something different.

Yu Xuan’s grip tightened. Words long etched into his soul echoed in his mind, the same he’d first heard when he bonded with the two eggs:

’The soul is the basis of existence. From the soul manifests the spirit. From the spirit manifests the will. Through the will, we influence the material.’

Through the will... we influence the material.

That line lingered. If swordsmanship stemmed from different principles, then wouldn’t each manifest a different influence on reality itself?

Yu Xuan felt he understood something profound. Every path was unique — every person, every will, every blade. Unless, of course, that uniqueness was stolen, bent by curses or chains.

His expression soured. He hadn’t forgotten, he had lived most of his life under a curse, only recently freed. The taste of that invisible oppression still lingered.

But he set it aside. The fight was here, now.

"Let’s go," Yu Xuan said firmly.

Lingluo nodded, her silver intent flaring brighter.

Together, the siblings shot forward, blades gleaming like twin streaks of starlight, surging toward the shorty.

Their synchronization was remarkable. Years of training under their father and mother, sometimes even alongside Ming Tianmei, had honed their coordination to near-instinctive precision.

Lingluo took the lead, her presence sharp and commanding, while Yu Xuan supported her from the rear with keen timing.

Lingluo’s sword thrust forward in a piercing motion, the blade glowing like falling starlight. The tip extended unnaturally far, reminiscent of a famous bankai, stretching its edge toward the shorty.

The shorty’s expression didn’t waver. With a subtle shift of her foot, she sidestepped the deadly arc. She had watched Lingluo’s training in secret before — enough to anticipate at least a few tricks from this sword technique.

But Yu Xuan was already in the air. Lingluo veered aside, giving her brother the stage.

A glow burst from his sword with otherworldly intensity. At its tip, a tiny orb of condensed starlight swirled, heavy with restrained destruction.

Then, with a motion too sharp to predict, Yu Xuan hurled his sword like a spear.

It missed the shorty, and buried itself into the ground at her feet.

The shorty smirked. "That was a nice move, but your aim was incorr—"

She froze mid-sentence, sensing something.

A heartbeat later, a violent white light erupted from the embedded sword. Within a radius of several meters, everything was instantly annihilated — earth, stone, even lingering spiritual energy torn apart.

Yu Xuan landed, expecting the shorty to emerge with some injuries. But she was nowhere within the obliterated zone.

Instead, her figure flickered into view outside the blast radius, untouched.

"That was a great attack," the shorty admitted, genuine surprise flickering in her eyes. Even Lingluo’s brows rose; she had never thought Yu Xuan would unleash that move.

The sword embedded in the scorched ground shimmered, then vanished, appearing a moment later back in Yu Xuan’s hand as though it had never left.

The siblings tightened their stances, intent burning in their eyes.

The shorty smirked, tapping her cane lightly. "Good. Now we can begin the real training."