60 Xuan Yin

After running for an hour, Ming Yue finally stopped at small clearing followed by Hei Yue and Xiao Yin.

"Whoo, have you finally given up?" a clear panting sound was heard as the stranger spoke, tired from chasing Ming Yue.

Out of hiding, Ming Yue saw a young woman, possibly in her twenties, carrying a recurve bow. It was a beautiful weapon. Black and metallic, its sleek design gave it a sense of power. The young woman was a head taller than her. Unlike Ming Yue and many others, she did not wear a hanfu or any robes of some kind. Instead, she wore a dark green tunic tucked into her black trousers accentuating her athletic frame. She had a clear brown eyes, a scar running across her lips, her hair was tied into a bun. She was a beautiful woman.

A grin of victory on her face, she held her hand out, waiting for prize. But it did not end as she thought, instead Ming Yue grabbed her sword and unsheathed it.

"Eh! that was a sword? I thought it was a walking stick", she said, shocked by this development.

Without saying a word, Ming Yue attacked, swinging at the woman. The woman dodged, drawing her bowstring and launched an arrow at her. She deflected it and started chasing after her. Sending out one or two arrows at every step, the woman darted around shooting at every step of the way. But none of them hit their mark, after all, Ming Yue's speed was top notch. Skirting past every one of them, she slowly gained on her. Another minute and Ming Yue would catch up.

"Grrrrr, you forced me to do this", she said.

With her next attack, she held four arrows between her thumb and the bow string. The bow began to hum, multiple engravings on it glowed with a black aura, covering the arrows themselves. As she drew the bowstring, the aura within the arrows began to spin violently.

"The Four Sins, Hatred"

The first arrow aimed for her hands was deflected by her sword. It fell to the ground bursting into black flames.

"Lust."

The second arrow, faster than before, was targeted her loins and missed. She had avoided it, sidestepping to the left.

"Sadness."

It was slower compared to the other two but followed her wherever she moved. She caught it with one of her bare hand and snapped it in half.

"Corruption."

The final arrow was different. The spinning dark aura merged with its body, creating a completely black arrow. With this, Ming Yue swung forth, the blade met the arrow head for a split second beforeit was cut in half. A resounding clang between metals that lasted seconds. The arrow, now split into two, hit the ground and everything within a meter of it withered away.

"I don't believe it. She survived that move", the archer muttered in disbelief, "That was my strongest one."

A feeling of dissatisfaction welled up within her, this was her strongest attack and a little girl dealt with it so easily. She drew another arrow before a hand took it from her grasp.

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"Hah, give it up Xuan Yin. It looks like this Blood Edge Swallow is not meant to be yours" an old man appeared out of no where, standing right next to her. His energetic voice did not match his aged face.

He was dressed similarly to her with a small beard and a pony tail as well as a fair number of wrinkles on his face. Unarmed, he seemed like a cheerful elder but there was a very mysterious feeling. Ming Yue sensed nothing from him but that was enough for her to stay on guard. If he turned hostile, fighting or even escaping would be difficult.

"But grandfather, that swallow was mine!" she whined, annoyed that he had stopped her from fighting.

"Don't try to trick me, I was watching you the entire time. I know you were just waiting for that girl to get it just so you could take it", he scolded her, a stern tone in his voice, "Now look what you did, this young girl managed to beat you! I hope you learn that no one is what they seem to be. This young girl was actually a master swordsman and if I didn't come out, you would've died. Nothing is easy in life, now go back and hunt another Blood Edge Swallow! Once you do, I'll think about letting you explore the world."

"Wha-fine", she sighed and left the clearing, audibly groaning as she dashed away.

The old man turned his attention back to Ming Yue, who had already sheathed her blade. After that little exchange, she had guessed that he was not an enemy.

"I apologize for that little one", he said, "Take this for your troubles. I hope that you can forgive her actions."

He tossed a bag to her before disappearing into mist. She took a look inside, finding several exquisite animal pelts and a couple of other materials like claws and bones. She was unsure as to what she would sell and keep, she would need to consult with someone. Putting away the bag, Ming Yue sat and rested in the clearing. Those four arrows exhausted her both mentally and physically. It was a profound move that tested her limits. If that Xuan Yin had mastered it, she would have definitely lost the fight. That battle had pushed her to the utmost limits of her current cultivation level, she was a step away from breaking through.

"Tonight", she thought, "I'll get into the sixth level tonight."

Within the confines of the Stone Forest, Xuan Yin's grandfather thought quietly.

"That girl could not have been any more than 15 or 16 years old and yet her swordsmanship is excellent. I wonder who her master is, I've never seen a style quite like it. I suppose I've been out of the loop with the new generation now. I just hope Xuan Yin will have enough strength", he thought.

Then he chuckled a little, "Still, I can't believe she got a Blood Edge Swallow just like that! Maybe I should get myself a Star Owl and see if I can catch one too."

Since he had been watching Xuan Yin, it was without a doubt that he was also watching Ming Yue. That scene of Xiao Yin knocking out the swallow was fresh in his mind. Never in his entire life had he seen something like that.

As for Xuan Yin, she was quietly moving through the Stone Forest looking for another Blood Edge Swallow to hunt. If she could complete the task her grandfather gave her, she could finally get out into the world.

"Next time I see that girl, I'll duel her again and win this time", she made this one of her goals.

The shock from having her strongest attack broken had made her determined to get stronger.

Night came and Ming Yue reached the bottleneck, then she pushed forth revolving her inner force through every part of her body. Several hours passed before her body fractured and reconstructed itself, signalling the success of a breakthrough. As painful as the process was, it had gone without so much as a hiccup. With nonstop training and good comprehension, this result was bound to happen.

Born anew, her body was much stronger than before. Over a year had passed and she had managed to go up four levels from when she first started. This speed was definitely uncommon but it was not yet at the level of geniuses. After all, the Youth Tournament had given her a rough estimate of her strength. She might not be able to contend with top geniuses but she would put up a good fight. Ming Yue had plenty of time to catch up.

She cleaned herself and practiced until the sun rose. Adjusted to her newfound strength and with nothing left to do, she left for the Raging Mountains.