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  Ancient Fragment #10

  Skinned humans hung from cages on the city wall, their exposed muscles twitching in the night breeze. A few still drew thin, ragged breaths, their eyes glazed yet unwilling to close. They were prisoners, displayed here to remind the world what happened when one challenged the city’s lord.

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  Long Tianyu eventually caught up to Hua Qingqing.

  “Qingqing, I also… I know why my cultivation dropped. It was like we suspected. It was that hateful bastard, the city lord's son, Gao Xiu. He poisoned me and caused me to lose almost all of my cultivation. Just because he wanted to be the center of attention during the sect selections.” Long Tianyu clenched his fist inside his sleeve, his knuckles cracking slightly beneath the fabric.

  ''But imagine his face once I meet him again.''

  Hua Qingqing’s eyes flashed as her soul sense brushed against the invisible blood-red qi erupting from Long Tianyu. Killing intent, dense and violent, coiling around him like a storm waiting to break loose.

  She took a slow breath, steadying herself. Even she felt suffocated by it. It pressed against her senses and made her chest tighten.

  “That was one of the first things I thought about when I woke up,” she said quietly. “There was no way you could lose your cultivation like that.”

  “But it is fine.” Long Tianyu smiled, and the killing intent vanished as if it had never existed. “Now we know what we will do. We will help Aunt Ruyan, go back to Moondragon City, find where Wang Mei is, and visit her sect. Unless we learn beforehand where Nine Tribulations is.”

  Hua Qingqing nodded. Having a clear path ahead of them felt strangely reassuring after everything that had happened.

  The two deviated from the forest path into a wide clearing where enormous red pine trees stretched toward the sky. Their trunks were thick and ancient, their bark darkened by age, branches spreading high overhead like a canopy. Shafts of sunlight filtered through needles and leaves, falling across a carpet of untouched grass.

  There was no sign of humans. No broken branches or footprints.

  “This seems like a good spot for us to practice before we go to the Crimson Heart,” Hua Qingqing said, unfolding the map Jin Haotian had given them. It was crude and lacking detail, but it was enough for direction.

  Long Tianyu glanced around once more, then nodded. “Okay.”

  He lowered himself onto the grass and crossed his legs. The ground was cool beneath him, faintly damp with morning dew that had not yet fully dispersed.

  Hua Qingqing sat down in front of him, back straight, posture calm and composed like a teacher before a lesson. It felt faintly amusing to both of them, considering they had received nearly the same knowledge from Azurythax, yet her bearing naturally slipped into instruction.

  He glanced at her. “Teacher Hua?”

  She sniffed lightly. “Student Long.”

  They both laughed.

  “First, we should start with soul sense,” she said. ''Do you know how to use it?''

  Long Tianyu nodded and focused on extending his soul sense.

  ''How is it for you?'' Long Tianyu asked while his eyebrows furrowed in focus. ''Even though I know I can see about 15 meters outside, I can't see everything around me, I can only see what I focus on.''

  “Right.” Hua Qingqing nodded, her hair bobbing up and down. ''I think it should be different for you and I. My soul sense is currently about 50 meters.''

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  Long Tianyu drew in a breath. From what he knew, Elementary Soul Sense was usually only 15 to 25 meters. Even prodigies rarely exceeded 30 at this stage.

  Hua Qingqing caught the reaction immediately and smiled faintly. “It is because of my bloodline.”

  “Oh, that makes sense,” Long Tianyu said with a small exhale.

  “Mm. That is expected it is only 15 meters now,” she said gently. “But even at this stage, soul sense is extremely useful. We can use it to help our cultivation, search for enemies or treasures, and eventually to interfere with attacks. Once it grows strong enough, it becomes another weapon entirely.”

  She paused, then added, “I can also make illusions. Look. But do not attack back.”

  Long Tianyu focused on her and let his body relax.

  The change came instantly.

  The clearing vanished. The warm forest air disappeared, replaced by biting cold that seemed to seep into his bones. Ice stretched in every direction, a vast frozen landscape under a pale sky. Jagged mountains of blue-white crystal rose into the clouds, their peaks sharp as blades. Wind screamed across snow and stone, carrying a chill that made his skin prickle.

  ''Do you see it?'' Hua Qingqing's voice came into his mind.

  It felt real. Completely real. His breath fogged before him, and then the world snapped back.

  Grass. Trees. Sunlight. Hua Qingqing sitting before him, pale and glistening with sweat.

  “See?” she said softly, a faint smile on her lips.

  Long Tianyu’s mouth fell open. “Qingqing, that is too strong. Are you alright?”

  “Mm,” she murmured. “It is just a bit exhausting to use.”

  Long Tianyu frowned deeply. Her breathing was uneven, and sweat beaded along her forehead and temples, darkening strands of her hair.

  “It is alright, I promise,” she said quickly, sensing his concern. “I just have not practiced it much yet.”

  He studied her for another moment before his expression eased. “Alright. But do not overuse it,” he said. “What would happen if you did?”

  Hua Qingqing’s gaze dropped. She reached down and plucked a blade of grass from the ground, rolling it slowly between her fingers.

  “I am not certain,” she admitted. “But it would be very bad.”

  She let the blade fall.

  Long Tianyu watched it drift down, his chest tightening faintly. I hope it will be fine…

  “Anyway,” she said, lifting her head with deliberate brightness and trying to change the subject, “what about your swordsmanship?”

  She lightly tapped on her storage pouch as his blades, the Twin Shadow Swords appeared on the grass between them.

  She grabbed one of them. The familiar weapons felt almost alive in her hands. She grasped one lightly and pulled it free of its scabbard. The blade slid out with a clean whisper. The blade was long and slightly curved, its dark blue surface catching sunlight in deep, liquid reflections.

  She turned it slowly. “Brother Xuanfeng was amazing, even back then at forging.”

  Long Tianyu smiled as he accepted the other sword and drew it free.

  It has been so long…

  Old memories flooded his mind as he stared at the blade, his face reflected faintly along its polished length.

  Finding the ore together with his brothers, Zang Liu and Chen Jie, digging through stubborn stone in the hills beyond their village. Their hands blistered, clothes torn, yet laughing whenever someone struck a promising vein.

  Watching Nong Xuanfeng work the forge, hammer ringing in steady rhythm, sparks flying like fireflies in the dusk. The heat, the smell of metal and charcoal, the awe of seeing raw ore transformed.

  Practicing sword forms from the worn old book Hua Qingqing had saved for months to buy him. The pages were creased and smudged but to him it was precious beyond measure.

  Training against the tough Shadowjade bamboo on the mountain, striking until his arms trembled and his shoulders burned.

  Killing his first demonic beast, heart pounding so loud he could barely hear his own thoughts.

  Fending off bandits on the road to Moondragon City.

  All of it lived inside this steel.

  Long Tianyu stood up and inhaled slowly and lifted the sword into a ready stance. The posture settled naturally.

  Hua Qingqing watched him, eyes soft with recognition. “You have not lost it,” she said quietly.

  He gave a small huff of amusement. “I lost almost everything else.”

  “But not this,” she replied. “The strength of the sword exist inside your bloodline. It will be yours forever.”

  “Show me,” she said, rising to her feet and stepping back to give him space.

  Long Tianyu stood as well. He closed his eyes briefly, feeling the sword’s balance, the alignment of wrist and shoulder, the placement of his feet against the earth.

  Then he moved.

  The first strike cut cleanly through the air, controlled but heavy with restrained force. The second followed in a smooth arc, momentum flowing from his waist through his right arm to the blade. His steps shifted across the grass slowly.

  There was no cultivation behind it now, no qi. Only his form and muscle memory.

  Hua Qingqing’s expression grew serious. Even after all this time, his sword still carried weight. She remembered that Long Tianyu had never truly been taught by anyone. All he had was the old book she bought for him and the two of them sparring together.

  Long Tianyu finished the sequence and lowered the blade slowly. His breath was steady, but his eyes held a flicker of frustration.

  “It feels… slower,” he admitted.

  “It is,” she said honestly. “But the foundation is still there.”

  He looked down at the sword, then tightened his grip. “Then I will build it again.”

  Hua Qingqing nodded once. “Mm!”

  She thought for a little bit and then smiled slightly in amusement, ''Should we try something else?''

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  End of chapter 10 - Illusion and Sword