“You’re the one who injured my master?”
The girl spoke, her voice icy cold, carrying far into the night wind.
Qin Ye frowned at her words.
She thought of the fourth one Dongfang Jiang had just mentioned, and the rings on Pandana and Yisela’s ring fingers.
“You mean Dongfang Jiang?”
“Who else?”
The girl’s white dress shimmered like frost and snow in the moonlight.
She raised her katana, the tip aimed at Qin Ye.
“I smelled your scent on him. Lava energy, right? There aren’t many in the Royal Capital who can use that kind of energy.”
Qin Ye understood.
It was a misunderstanding.
But she didn’t explain, because the fighting spirit emanating from the girl before her made her own blood start to boil.
“Listen to me…”
“First take one of my strikes, then talk.”
The girl’s figure vanished from the spot.
Qin Ye’s pupils sharply contracted, and her body instinctively launched upward from the horse’s back.
The next second, a cold gleam slashed through the spot where she had been sitting.
Qin Ye landed on the ground, the long spear already in her hand.
“Fast blade.”
“Not done yet.”
The girl’s voice came from above.
Qin Ye looked up and saw the girl standing in midair, her katana raised above her head.
A thick layer of frost had formed on the blade, reflecting a cold gleam in the moonlight.
“Slash!”
The katana came down.
A massive ice blade shot from the tip of the sword, hurtling toward Qin Ye.
Where the ice blade passed, the air solidified, the ground frosted over, and the temperature in the entire alley plummeted by more than ten degrees.
Qin Ye didn’t retreat.
She held the long spear horizontally in front of her, and the lava energy on the spear tip erupted fully.
“Break.”
The spear tip and the ice blade collided.
The blazing lava energy and the freezing glacier energy clashed violently in the air, producing a deafening roar.
Steam and shattered ice exploded simultaneously, shrouding the entire alley in a white fog.
Qin Ye took three steps back, her hand gripping the spear slightly numb.
The girl also retreated three steps, her expression shifting from cold indifference to a hint of surprise.
“You can receive that strike of mine. You’re not an ordinary person.”
“Neither are you.”
Qin Ye flexed her wrist, looking at the silver-haired girl before her.
A name surfaced in her mind.
The girl raised an eyebrow.
“You’re Gracia of the Maple Language Sword Pavilion.”
“You know me?”
“I’ve heard of you. A once-in-a-century prodigy of the Maple Language Sword Pavilion, the inheritor of Sword Control. You fell into a coma three years ago for unknown reasons and only recently woke up.”
“Your information is quite accurate.”
Gracia held her katana horizontally in front of her, the corner of her mouth curling into a cold smirk.
“But you don’t know enough yet.”
“For example?”
“For example…”
Gracia’s figure vanished again.
This time, Qin Ye saw it clearly—it wasn’t disappearance, but speed so fast that the eye couldn’t keep up.
A thin layer of ice formed under her feet, and she slid across the icy surface, moving more than three times faster than running.
“For example, I’m not just a genius of the Maple Language Sword Pavilion.”
Then a blade glint flashed beside Qin Ye.
“I am also my master’s Glacier Guardian.”
The long spear and the katana clashed again.
This time, it wasn’t a test—it was full force.
Lava energy and glacier energy exploded in the alley, shaking countless cracks into the stone walls on both sides, and the vines along the walls were torn away by the shockwave.
Qin Ye and Gracia both retreated, then charged at the same time.
Spear thrust and blade swing—each strike carried the intent to kill.
Qin Ye’s long spear was like a fire dragon, carving scorching trails in the night; Gracia’s katana was like a cold gleam, silent, fast, and vicious.
Twenty exchanges, thirty exchanges, forty exchanges.
Both were wounded.
Qin Ye’s left arm was cut open by a blade aura, blood dripping down her sleeve; Gracia’s right shoulder was grazed by the spear tip, a bloodstain blooming on her white dress.
But neither showed any intention of stopping.
“You’re quite capable at fighting.”
“You as well.”
Qin Ye shook her long spear, and the lava energy on the shaft erupted again.
Both of them had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment, forgetting their original purposes.
They charged at each other simultaneously.
Just then, a dark green light shot in from the mouth of the alley, precisely hitting the ground between the two.
The ground instantly turned into a swamp.
Qin Ye and Gracia both sank into the mud, their movements forcibly interrupted.
“Enough, stop here.”
A calm voice came from the alley entrance.
Both of them looked over.
Pandana stood at the entrance.
Swamp Moon floated behind her, its dark green light casting her shadow long on the wall.
Her expression was calm, but there was a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
“If you keep fighting, aren’t you afraid of tearing down the Royal Capital?”
“Sister Pandana?”
Gracia recognized her.
She instantly switched to a demure expression.
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Pandana never would have connected the Gracia before her with the one who had just looked so fierce.
“Whew, I didn’t expect Little Xue to be this fierce… Sorry, General Qin, I’ve offended you.”
With that, Pandana murmured something under her breath.
Swamp energy healed most of the wounds on both of them.
Qin Ye waved her hand, felt that her body had mostly recovered, and then smiled at Gracia and Pandana.
“Haha, I got a bit carried away fighting, too. By the way, where is Yisela?”
Qin Ye didn’t name anyone, but the other two nodded in understanding.
Pandana released a large amount of energy, and the three of them were carried away by the swamp energy.
By the time Qin Ye and Gracia realized what was happening, they had already arrived at Yisela’s room.
Pandana found a sofa and sat comfortably on it; the transport had consumed a lot of her energy.
Yisela greeted Qin Ye and Gracia, then had a maid bring Pandana some honey water.
After that, she dismissed the maids from the room.
“That’s really… convenient.”
Today, Qin Ye had witnessed the abilities of Dongfang Jiang’s guardians: Pandana’s transfer ability, Gracia’s combat prowess that rivaled her own, and Xi’s healing power that could cure deadly poison.
“Then let’s talk about Mister Dongfang’s problem, General Qin?”
“Just call me Sister Qin…”
Qin Ye swept her gaze across everyone.
She was a few years older than even Dongfang Jiang, let alone the other young girls present.
“Well then, let’s start with the good news. Tonight, Dongfang got his fourth guardian. Both Daogelas and Yisela have met her.”
“Is it… Miss Fritz?”
“Yes.”
“And the bad news?”
Gracia looked at Qin Ye with cold eyes.
Qin Ye deliberately didn’t answer Gracia’s question.
Instead, she calmly took a sip of honey water before responding.
“Dongfang was poisoned. Miss Fritz used up all her energy to save him, so she’ll need some time to rest.”
“Poisoned?”
“Yes, Dongfang Jiang was attacked by an enemy.”
Qin Ye took a needle out of her storage ring and showed it to the three people who were sitting up straight.
“Finally, Dongfang entrusted me with something.”
Qin Ye took a letter from her bosom.