Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 26 Danger Ahead, Pursuers Behind

Lin Xiufeng and Zhao Youyue never expected that Sister Yin would be so crazy, risking her life to descend such a steep icy cliff just to get rid of them.

The two remained silent for a while, both finding the situation rather boring.

Zhao Youyue couldn't hold back any longer. She picked up a tree branch, suddenly ran forward, and poked Lin Xiufei's arm.

"What courage!" Lin Xiufeng took off after him.

Seeing that she was about to be caught, Zhao Youyue turned around, stood firm, and held up a tree branch, saying:
"Didn't you want to learn swordsmanship?"

"Hey—" Lin Xiufeng laughed in exasperation, pointing at her in the air and saying, "Fine, you've got it! I'll take it! Consider it tuition!"

"You stingy person! You even fuss over a mere twig!"

"You're so stingy, let me hit you with a tree branch!"

"Go ahead and hit me! If you do, I won't teach you anymore!"

Zhao Youyue was quite pleased with herself, feeling confident in her abilities.

"I'll endure it! Teach me quickly!"

As Lin Xiufeng spoke, he picked up a stick and threw it over.

"With a sword?" Zhao Youyue was somewhat surprised by his courage.

"Am I asking for trouble? I'll use a stick."

"Ha...weakling!"

Zhao Youyue's initial admiration instantly turned into contempt.

"Swords are divided into foil, épée, sabre... never mind, I won't introduce you to competitive sports, I'll just talk about practical ones."

"Just treat what you have in your hand as a rapier for actual combat. Normally, you would hold a broken blade sword in your left hand, but cold weapons are useless against the Heavenly Martial Soul, so I won't go into details."

"...Unarmored duels are inherently the strongest form of swordsmanship..."

"...The main attack method is thrusting, anticipating the opponent's movements by watching their shoulders..."

“Like this, you attack…”

"Look, by anticipating your movements and using my footwork to close the gap, even though my arms are a bit shorter than yours, I was still able to strike your wrist first..."

"Capture the opponent's center of gravity during a fight, and through movement and anticipation, disrupt their balance to create an opportunity for a decisive blow..."

The two men held sticks, and Zhao Youyue demonstrated as she spoke, repeatedly tapping Lin Xiufei's body and arm.

The force wasn't strong; Lin Xiufeng could feel it, but it didn't hurt.

It was like gently tapping your arm with a mouse.

Lin Xiufeng attacked again, and Zhao Youyue moved to attack, but found that he swung his stick and deflected it, then rushed in and stabbed her wrist.

"Sure, you learn very quickly and are very accurate."

Zhao Youyue patiently taught one technique after another.

Lin Xiufeng was also very interested in rapiers. He felt that once he became a Heavenly Warrior, he could use this fighting style to attack the enemy's Heavenly Martial Heart and achieve a quick victory.

Zhao Youyue was learning while also regressing, while Lin Xiufeng was learning while also progressing.

The two learned swordsmanship while hurrying on their way.

If you encounter bad terrain, go down there first and then practice.

As they taught and learned, neither of them found the journey tedious or the wilderness boring.

They only stopped to rest when they encountered water.

I took the combination tools, filtered the water through several layers, and filled the kettle.

Zhao Youyue looked at the fallen leaves, broken branches, bits of grass, and a little dust on the filter screen... and couldn't help but fall into thought.

"Lin Xiufeng, look how clean this water is."

"The other world in Tianwu Realm is indeed bizarre. Applying it to the ecology of Tianlan Star, everything is questionable. Didn't you notice that there are no living things in the water? And there's no moss on the stones by the river?"

Lin Xiufeng also discovered that the types of trees and plants in the mountains and forests were limited.

It seems like nothing else can grow.

"This is so strange, it doesn't make sense. There are plants, soil, and wind, so there should be dust. How come there's so little dust?"

Is it windy?

Lin Xiufeng's question surprised Zhao Youyue...

She thought about it carefully and realized that she only felt the wind when she was walking.

"You mean, there's no wind, only the flow of Heavenly Martial Power, and the wind we feel when we move is all energy?" Lin Xiufeng nodded, that was exactly what he meant.

"I think the other world in the Heavenly Martial Realm might be a space created by a mysterious civilization to help humanity evolve."

"Stop talking! It's a bit scary."

Zhao Youyue felt a strange fear whenever she thought about intelligent beings whose evolutionary level far surpassed that of humans.

It's a lack of security, a feeling that one's very existence and even destruction are controlled by others.

"Then I won't think about it."

Lin Xiufeng washed her face and touched her skin, which was now exceptionally smooth and delicate after the evolution.

In fact, after evolving into the Heavenly Martial Soul, I stopped sweating; my body's heat regulation mechanism changed.

Lin Xiufeng plans to try not drinking water and see how long it takes for her body to feel unwell.

He had some doubts that the Heavenly Martial Soul actually did not need to be replenished with water frequently.

The urge to drink, like appetite, is perhaps just a long-term habit.

"What did it feel like when you stabbed those two people with your sword? If it hadn't slid along the ice, do you think you could have pierced them?"

Lin Xiufeng recalled the brief battle by the ice peak and became curious about the Heavenly Martial Soul's ability to withstand attacks.

"I think the sword will break. The Heavenly Martial Soul is too amazing..."

Zhao Youyue herself had thought about this issue.

Lin Xiufeng was chatting away when he suddenly saw a figure moving in the woods at the end of his line of sight!
"Someone!"

Lin Xiufeng called to Zhao Youyue, and together they took their backpacks and went into the water.

When several pairs of eyes swept over the swaying figures, they were already in the water.

Lin Xiufeng took the lead and went downstream for a while until the water became shallower before standing up.

"Go that way, jump straight up into the tree, and don't leave any footprints on the shore."

Lin Xiufeng leaped up and landed on the tree.

Zhao Youyue was a little unsure, so she threw her backpack over first, and then jumped up.

Just when it seemed he was about to fall, Lin Xiufeng grabbed him and pulled him up onto a thick tree branch.

After regaining her composure, Zhao Youyue followed Lin Xiufei and leaped towards another tree.

The trees in the forest were much closer to the shore, so neither of them felt any pressure.

The two of them used trees to leap along the way, grabbing onto low, thick branches to avoid swaying too much.

They crossed another mountain before daring to land.

Zhao Youyue asked nervously, "Is it Sister Yin?"

"How dare we wait until we can see clearly? If we delay even a moment longer, they might see us. I bet, nine times out of ten, who would come to a godforsaken place like this?"

Lin Xiufeng estimated that he would most likely be able to shake them off this time.

Zhao Youyue's expression suddenly changed. She quickly moved closer to Lin Xiufei, hurriedly took the sword out of the stick, retracted the stick, and attached it to the sword.

Lin Xiufeng followed her gaze and saw a wolf...

I guess you could call it a wolf.

It is two meters tall and looks like a wolf, except that it has three bright red eyes, four bull horns on its head, and black fur all over its body like a straw raincoat.

"The 'Hound Wolf' from the Classic of Mountains and Seas? Records say its claws are like steel hooks and its horns can crack rocks. But it couldn't be harder than a weapon, could it?"

Zhao Youyue was very nervous; she wouldn't be this flustered if it were a fight.

"I remember now, it lives alone, eats people, and is a rhinoceros-level behemoth."

Lin Xiufeng felt that this thing was more dangerous than the Armadillo King, even if it wasn't a King-level mutated beast!

"Could the Classic of Mountains and Seas describe another world within the Heavenly Martial Realm?"

Lin Xiufeng thought it was too outrageous. The wolf in front of him was the second creature he had seen that matched the records.

"It's coming!"

Zhao Youyue became increasingly nervous, looking at that size, she had no idea how to start.

Lin Xiufeng didn't want to fight this thing rashly, so he immediately grabbed Zhao Youyue and turned to run!
........................

Bonus chapter, thanks to Silver Alliance Leader Wounded? for Chapter 8.

(End of this chapter)