Night had deepened.
Under the gaze of the stars and moon, Yunzhou City had settled into silence.
On the empty street, a young girl staggered along, clearly very drunk.
She was none other than Fang Xiaoyu, who had just claimed victory after a “three hundred-round battle” at the tavern.
“Hehe… Hic! Hehehe… Useless, useless, when it comes to drinking… none of you are my match! Hic! You’re all just too weak!”
Although Fang Xiaoyu had knocked down several drinkers, she had paid the price as well.
The money pouch that had been half full during the day was now completely empty.
She had nowhere to stay tonight.
But Fang Xiaoyu was carefree and optimistic.
In her years of wandering the martial world alone, she had grown used to roughing it.
Hunger, homelessness, illness—she had experienced them all.
But none of these ever defeated her. She was resilient like a cockroach and, just like her name, as free as a little fish, able to live brilliantly even within the limits of her world.
“Heaven as my blanket, earth as my bed~ This is… nature’s gift!”
Fang Xiaoyu wobbled to the foot of a mountain, glanced at the imposing gate ahead, and smiled knowingly:
“Hehe… I’ll spend the night here~”
Maybe this was the territory of some sect or clan, but Fang Xiaoyu didn’t care.
In places like this, where sects occupied mountain forests, the trees were often pruned and maintained, making it easy to find a good tree to sleep on.
Fang Xiaoyu tiptoed into the mountain woods.
As she wandered about, searching for a suitable tree, a light in the distance caught her attention.
“It’s so late… why is there someone here?”
She staggered toward the light.
Before she could get close, she suddenly felt a sharp sword aura—a gust of force that snapped her to sobriety.
“This is…”
Fang Xiaoyu saw that up ahead was an open area that looked like a training ground.
Dummies were arranged everywhere, and a young man holding a sword stood at the center.
After a brief rest, the young man sheathed his brilliant, star-like sword at his waist and grasped the handle of another blade.
In the next instant, the long saber flashed from its scabbard.
A sharp blade aura erupted, shattering all the remaining dummies around him!
Fang Xiaoyu couldn’t even see when he’d drawn the blade—his movements were as fast as thunder, an absolute masterstroke.
To wield both sword and saber—this person was definitely a formidable expert!
But it wasn’t over.
The young man’s heart seemed weighed down with resentment.
After destroying all the dummies, he swung his blade at a massive boulder before him.
With a thunderous crash, the long blade buried itself deep in the stone, and the force from its edge split the trees behind the boulder.
As the trees toppled, the young man stood in place, gasping for breath, then wiped the sweat from his brow and walked off the training ground.
Once she was sure the young man had left, Fang Xiaoyu finally emerged from the woods and tiptoed toward the boulder that had been split nearly in two.
“Wow… He didn’t even use Zhenqi—just the blade alone—how did he cut such a huge stone?”
She couldn’t help but marvel.
But as she drew closer and saw the blade more clearly, her eyes widened in shock.
All traces of drunkenness vanished!
“This… this is… Chi Ming’s saber!?”
Fang Xiaoyu muttered in disbelief.
She thought her eyes were playing tricks, but after rubbing them and carefully inspecting the blade, she was a hundred percent certain—this was the very saber that had been swindled from Chi Ming at the Chema Yi in Yizhou!
“Why is Chi Ming’s saber here? And who was that person just now?”
Her mind was full of questions.
Although she had heard of Li Ruobai’s legendary reputation, she had never seen him in person.
So she had no idea that the young man who had just dominated the training ground was none other than Li Ruobai—the leader of the Ten Stars of the Xingyue Alliance, known as the Smiling Swordsman!
Although called a swordsman, Li Ruobai actually loved sabers as well!
He simply hadn’t found a saber he liked, so he mainly used a sword, earning the title of “Swordsman”!
Fang Xiaoyu didn’t have time to wonder why Chi Ming’s saber was here.
She only knew she had to bring the blade back to Chi Ming.
After meeting Chi Ming, Fang Xiaoyu realized she was a well-behaved, easy-going junior. Yet when she lost her saber, her emotions became unstable and agitated.
Though Chi Ming claimed the blade was unimportant, Fang Xiaoyu believed she was lying.
“This blade… must return to its rightful owner!”
Without hesitation, Fang Xiaoyu gripped the handle with both hands and tried to gently pull it from the boulder.
But to her surprise, the moment she touched the hilt, the boulder split in two and crashed to the ground.
“Bang!”
With the loud crash, Fang Xiaoyu’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest!
She knew instantly that the young man would return at the noise.
Now, she was technically “stealing”—if he caught her, she’d be in big trouble!
Just as Fang Xiaoyu feared.
The commotion from the training ground quickly drew Li Ruobai back.
He had changed into clean clothes and returned to the training ground, only to find the blade that had been embedded in the boulder was gone.
Staring at the broken boulder on the ground, Li Ruobai’s lips curled, but the thought of someone stealing his beloved saber instantly froze his smile.
A chilling, deadly light gleamed in his eyes.
His gaze locked onto the woods, and he stepped forward, moving steadily in that direction.
“Hiss… He came back too fast!”
Hiding in the woods, Fang Xiaoyu sucked in a breath.
If she ran now, she’d definitely be caught.
She decided to conceal herself and find a way to distract Li Ruobai.
Fang Xiaoyu quickly came up with a plan.
She bent down, removed one of her shoes, and threw it in the opposite direction.
Hearing the noise, Li Ruobai immediately changed direction and darted that way.
“Whew…”
Fang Xiaoyu let out a long breath, then began to quietly leave.
But before she could take a few steps, a shadow blocked the light behind her.
Someone was standing right behind her.
Goosebumps rose on her skin, and cold sweat poured down her back.
“To use such petty tricks on me… are you underestimating me?”
Li Ruobai’s cold voice came from behind Fang Xiaoyu.
“You took something that doesn’t belong to you.”
He placed his hand on her shoulder—heavy as a mountain—crushing her with pressure.
Yet in this moment, the brave and optimistic girl showed astonishing courage.
She bit down hard on Li Ruobai’s hand, then stomped on his foot, and in a flash, sprang aside, shouting at him,
“This saber belongs to my friend, not to you! You’re the thief!”
As her words fell, Fang Xiaoyu locked eyes with Li Ruobai’s furious gaze.
It was like staring into a deadly pool of danger.
The next moment, Li Ruobai appeared before her, grabbed her by the throat, and lifted her off the ground.
“You… dare call me a thief?”
He sounded wronged, voice trembling:
“I thought I couldn’t draw out her true power, but that split boulder proved she recognized me. We are a perfect match! She… is mine!”
Her consciousness began to fade.
“I’m sorry… Chi Ming. This senior couldn’t help you… recover what’s important…”
Fang Xiaoyu’s hands grew weak.
The saber she had held so tightly finally slipped to the ground.
Don’t worry, there’s no blade.
It gets even more exciting after this.
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