Chapter 195: The Wandering Child

“…Thank you for showing mercy, senior.”

“No problem, but may I ask… where did you derive the title of ‘senior’ from?”

“…”

That swordsman girl also seemed to have a silent personality, and didn’t continue to respond to Miss Vilyric, who had beads of sweat forming on her forehead. After the referee verified the badge numbers and confirmed the qualification for advancement, she quickly left the venue without a word.

The other party maintained a “don’t come near” demeanor, and Miss Vilyric certainly wouldn’t approach her, allowing her to leave.

However, during that brief moment when she retracted her badge, the priestess managed to sneak a glance at the girl’s name registered on it.

Hong Yan

It sounded a bit strange; it probably wasn’t her real name, rather more like a code, a nickname of sorts.

However, the Four Saints Selection Tournament was relatively lenient in this regard and didn’t require participants to register their real names. After all, this world-renowned event often had visitors from beyond the skies participating, and it was simply impractical to identify every single one. It made more sense to loosen the rules.

Hong Yan, Hong Yan… a wanderer, huh?

Watching the girl quietly leave, the priestess pondered thoughtfully.

The earlier standoff seemed confusing at first glance, but in reality, both had already engaged in a true competition, one far more perilous than mere weaponry.

Though Miss Vilyric didn’t have a systematic understanding of swordsmanship, she had at least seen a pig run. To truly formidable swordsmen, the sword’s form itself mattered little; when mastered to perfection, anything—flower, tree, even an aura—could kill without a trace.

Especially true for drawing a sword.

What truly mattered were their sword intent and sword momentum.

Without a doubt, Miss Hong Yan was an exceptional swordsman. When faced with a mysterious adversary whose abilities and methods were hard to gauge, she hadn’t recklessly drawn her sword right away. Instead, she had used her aura to test the waters first.

Like needing to aim before shooting, this essentially meant locking the red dot—representative of her targeting—onto the other’s head; a form of intimidation.

It was a clever maneuver, both offensive and defensive. Against a weaker opponent, this fierce sword intent could easily sap about thirty percent of their strength right there.

In general, to counter such tactics, the most correct approach was to also project one’s own momentum and directly confront the opponent’s. This would neutralize the pressure of the encounter.

But really, how many could best a swordsman in this? Moreover, doing so would clearly expose one’s own strength to the swordsman, leading to the next moment where they would face the genuine overwhelming blow.

Yet someone played outside the norms, relying purely on the ridiculous defense of Feathered Gararuya, standing unfazed in the sword momentum, akin to exposing all vital points before dozens or hundreds of guns—always at the risk of being shot to pieces.

Miss Vilyric had only intended to gauge the true power of that swordsman, but who would have thought that this act of intentionally exposing her vulnerabilities would lead to a strangely peculiar effect?

Miss Vilyric wasn’t quite sure what the other party was thinking, but she could sense the hesitation from her. And sword momentum, being intangible, effectively meant that regardless of outward appearance of strength, once a swordsman shows doubt, their sword loses its cutting edge. Even if Miss Vilyric had done nothing at all, she had wholly placed the other in a disadvantageous position.

Hong Yan was right; she definitely showed mercy. If she truly wished to defeat the other, it could be settled in three moves or less, not dragging on for so long.

But what of it? She was rather intriguing, wasn’t she?

…

Who would have expected such a strong opponent in the first preliminary match?

Master was indeed right; in this vast world, there’s always a higher mountain, and my cultivation is still far from adequate…

As she walked back to the inn, the swordsman girl named Hong Yan repeatedly replayed the encounter in her mind, trying to recall that strange “illusion.”

This was the first time since she left the mountain that she had lost the courage to draw her sword against an enemy. Even with powerful beings like her master, Hong Yan would dare to draw her sword with all her strength. But that strange black-haired girl…

Why did she invoke such inexplicable fear?

During the earlier standoff, the other hadn’t shown even a hint of pressure escaping her body. In Hong Yan’s perspective of sword intent, she appeared utterly harmless, like a kitten, yet it seemed like carelessness would bring instant doom under her sword.

Normally, not being able to withstand a swordsman’s outward pressure equated to being unable to challenge their sword intent. Such an enemy, Hong Yan could easily handle without even drawing her sword—but that black-haired girl was anything but typical.

Though she appeared riddled with vulnerabilities, seemingly easy to down with a flick of her blade, another surge of instinctual warning from her bloodline kept telling her—under no circumstances draw your blade, or you will end up injuring yourself!

This was the first time her intuition, stemming from some special bloodline, conflicted so starkly with her sword intent, leaving her hesitant and wasting time.

Indeed, in a moment of utmost tension, she even envisioned countless blood-red flowers blooming around the girl, only to then transform into dazzling golden flames and halos, rising into the air like an unapproachable sun, placing an indescribable burden on her psyche.

This was the real reason she uncontrollably retreated after the referee announced the end.

“Whew…”

How bizarre… what on earth happened…

It felt like she had only faced that girl briefly, but Hong Yan still hadn’t fully recovered from that strange impact; she walked along feeling dizzy, nauseous, her limbs heavy as if she had run thirty laps around the mountain—utterly confounding.

Because she couldn’t grasp the situation, Hong Yan dared not interact too much with the girl and chose to leave the arena as quickly as possible, returning to her lodging to rest.

On the way back, the swordsman girl even pondered whether the other had subtly used some sort of strange method to influence her mind, like ancient hypnosis or soul-seizing techniques that seemed a bit absurd.

Probably not, though—the other didn’t seem like an evil person. Furthermore, her swordsmanship was finely attuned to aura and spirit, so it was impossible she had been set up without noticing.

…Should I write a letter back to the mountain to inquire with my master?

When she came back to herself, the girl swordsman found herself at the door of the inn where she was temporarily residing. Not only was it her dwelling, but many of her companions who had come to Xingyuan City were inside too.

They had pooled resources to rent the inn, so it could also be regarded as their temporary stronghold of sorts. Although not a tightly organized institution, the lack of conflicting interests made it relatively trustworthy.

Upon entering, she caught sight of a blue-haired girl in a splendid outfit sitting at the window, busily writing and sketching at a table illuminated by the sunset.

Hearing the sound of entry, the girl turned around, her face lighting up with a smile.

“Oh, Hong Yan, you’re back! The competition… ah haha, given your strength, I bet you can guess the result of the preliminaries without asking, congratulations on advancing~”

As one of the closer companions in their team, despite her weariness, the swordsman girl still nodded slightly in greeting.

“Miss Yu, are you working on drafts again?”

“Yes, the initial trials for the literary competition are up in a few days. Though I’m confident, I can’t be careless… Hey? Why do you look unwell? Did you sustain injuries in the competition?”

“It’s nothing, just a bit tired. I encountered an exceptionally strong opponent today, and advancing was rather lucky. This Four Saints Selection Tournament indeed has hidden talents—you need to be careful too.”

“Eh…”

Miss Yu seemed a bit skeptical.

“Is that true? What did the opponent look like? Did you determine their origins?”

“Why do you want to know that?”

“Just curious~”

With an exasperated shake of her head, Hong Yan didn’t respond further to the girl who supposedly had run away from home. Instead, she dragged her weary self up to the second floor.

“She’s a competitor in the martial contest; it’s not likely you’ll cross paths. You should… rein in that curiosity and focus on how to secure victory to report back home.”

   

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