Seeking a Worthy Opponent

Chasing the Wind was incredibly fast—almost no one in the Land of Immortal Legacy could keep up with him.

But there were always exceptions.

Not long after they flew out of the Land of Immortal Legacy, they noticed someone waiting for them ahead.

By the roadside, a disheveled man with an unkempt beard sat beneath a poplar tree, clutching a sword.

His eyes were closed as he waited in silence.

He was waiting for someone—or rather, he was waiting for a defeat.

Chasing the Wind descended from the sky, landing beside him. His form shifted to an appropriate size as he raised his front paws in a respectful gesture. "Senior Brother Lu!" he greeted.

Lu Junxing opened his eyes, their once-clear depths now clouded. He looked at Chasing the Wind and smiled faintly, nodding. "You're fast."

"Not as fast as you," Chasing the Wind replied cheekily, unable to resist teasing.

Qin Ran approached, retrieving a flask of wine from his Universe Bag and tossing it to Lu Junxing. "How did you end up like this?" he asked.

"I cultivate the Mountain and River Sword," Lu Junxing replied. "To master it, I must truly experience these lands—measure the heavens and earth with my own steps."

He accepted the wine, broke the seal, and took a small sip.

Though Lu Junxing appeared to be in his thirties, his aura was that of a man on the brink of decay, as if life had drained from him.

Qin Ran sighed as he looked at him. "It's been over forty years since we last met."

When the war with the Boundless Sword Sect had erupted, Lu Junxing had not returned.

"There are still long years ahead," Lu Junxing said with a faint smile.

Qin Ran produced another flask of wine, raising it in a silent toast.

One stood, the other sat—both drinking under the open sky.

For cultivators, there was no need to dwell on trivial matters. Life was about moving forward and cherishing what came along the way. At most, they poured their emotions—both joy and sorrow—into wine and drank it all in one go.

Once the wine was finished, the reminiscence was complete. Qin Ran held his flask and finally asked, "Do you still fear defeat?"

Lu Junxing gestured to his own wretched state—the answer was obvious.

Tormented by inner demons, how could he not fear defeat?

Lu Junxing had been invincible. No one could defeat him. But he knew his reign wouldn't last forever, and the later his defeat came, the heavier the price would be.

So he yearned for defeat—and in that yearning, his fear of it became his demon.

...He desperately needed to lose.

"I waited here for you..." His gaze shifted past Qin Ran, settling on Li Shiyin behind him. "...because I was waiting for you to grant me that defeat."

Li Shiyin straightened her posture, her presence sharpening like an unsheathed blade. She met Lu Junxing's gaze, her almond-shaped eyes burning with battle intent.

Since the war with the Boundless Sword Sect, she hadn't engaged in a true battle—the earlier skirmish with Young Master Yang had merely been a warm-up.

For over thirty years, she had been a wife, a mother—gentleness and maternal warmth had enveloped her like a scabbard, dulling her edge.

But now, facing Lu Junxing, the strongest swordsman in the Land of Immortal Legacy, her fighting spirit reignited. Her sword was drawn once more.

She was sharp again.

The two peerless swordsmen locked eyes, their gazes clashing like blades in the air. The pressure between them forced Qin Ran to step aside, yielding the stage to them.

"Junior Sister, can you defeat me?" Lu Junxing asked.

"Master once taught me a poem," Li Shiyin replied, extending her right hand. Her slender fingers curled slightly as starlight gathered in her palm. She fixed her gaze on Lu Junxing and recited slowly,

"For ten years I honed a single sword,

Its frost-edged blade yet untested.

Today I present it before you—

Who dares to challenge its might?"

"This blade of mine has been sharpened for thirty years," she declared, her voice clear and resolute. "All for this moment—to show it to you, Senior Brother."

The starlight in her palm flared brighter, and Lu Junxing's dull eyes gleamed in response.

He remained seated, but his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"Shiiing—"

No blade was drawn.

Yet the crisp ring of steel echoed in their ears.

A wind rose—

No, not wind.

It was the dense, interwoven sword energy radiating from the two swordsmen, their auras clashing and tangling, creating a tempest of invisible blades.

"Whoosh—"

The wind surged outward.

"Crunch—"

The poplar tree behind Lu Junxing shattered, its trunk instantly ground to dust by the relentless sword energy. The massive tree collapsed with a thunderous roar, only to be further pulverized mid-fall into fine sawdust.

The powdered wood swirled in the wind, spreading outward.

Wherever the wind passed, grass, flowers, trees, rocks—even the earth itself—were reduced to dust.

Qin Ran couldn't withstand the sword energy or the oppressive pressure of the two masters' confrontation. Gripping Chasing the Wind's tail, he retreated again and again, putting two miles between himself and the battlefield.

Within a two-mile radius, the sword energy formed a terrifying domain—a place where everything was annihilated, the ground itself sinking by several feet.

Beyond it, a barrier of swirling dust and debris marked the boundary, spinning like a grinding wheel from the earth to the heavens.

The rotating dust barrier churned the air, drawing clouds inward. Layer upon layer of dark clouds piled up, pressing low over the land.

Thunder rumbled; lightning snakes flickered within the gloom.

Qin Ran stood outside the barrier, still holding Chasing the Wind's tail, and looked up. The sky had turned black.

"Dad..." Chasing the Wind muttered. "There's a chance I could beat them. You didn't have to drag me away."

Qin Ran shot him a glance, and the beast wisely fell silent, resigned to having his tail tugged.

...Clearly, his father wasn't pulling him to safety.

"Crack—"

A bolt of lightning split the darkened sky, striking the ground in the same instant the dust barrier abruptly stilled. The swirling particles hung suspended in the air.

"BOOM—"

A deafening thunderclap followed.

The pressure within the barrier exploded outward, sending the floating dust scattering in a gust.

Qin Ran instinctively narrowed his eyes against the dust—just in time to see two streaks of sword light ignite within the chaos.

"Clang—"

The sword energies collided, their impact resonating across the heavens.

Before the dust could settle, the overwhelming noise left Qin Ran's ears ringing. Standing amid the swirling debris, the world seemed to fall into silence.

And before his hearing could recover—

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

A rapid series of metallic clashes erupted.

As the dust cleared, he opened his eyes and looked ahead—just in time to see two streaks of light shooting from the ground into the sky.

The ground had already become a perfectly cylindrical pit, two li in diameter and ten feet deep.

They darted and clashed between heaven and earth, moving at such incredible speeds that his eyes could barely keep up. Their exchanges were lightning-fast—a single encounter lasting mere moments could involve over a hundred strikes.

This was a duel between two supreme sword cultivators, yet there were no dazzling sword beams, no flashy techniques. Both condensed their sword energy, channeling it into their blades, engaging in a battle that was deceptively simple yet devastatingly potent.

In one close-quarters exchange, Li Shiyin failed to keep up with Lu Junxing’s rhythm and was sent flying by a single slash. She crashed into a small mountain, her body embedding itself deep into the rock before punching straight through to the other side.

Lu Junxing pursued, his sword slicing through the tunnel Li Shiyin had carved as effortlessly as if it were tofu.

By the time he emerged on the opposite side, the tunnel had expanded several times over, forming a massive hollow that pierced straight through the mountain.

Li Shiyin was already prepared. As Lu Junxing exited the tunnel, she swung her sword down in a devastating slash. He raised his blade to block, but the force of the impact drove him straight back into the mountain.

"Celestial Soaring Immortal!"

Not daring to pursue, Li Shiyin summoned two colossal beams of stellar sword energy and blasted them into the human-shaped cavity Lu Junxing had left behind.

Instantly, rocks exploded outward, and dust billowed into the sky!

Unable to see through the chaos, Li Shiyin gripped her sword and waited outside.

"Mountains and Rivers Descend!"

Yet before the dust could settle, a torrent of sword energy—manifesting as a landscape of rivers and peaks—surged forth, swallowing her within its domain.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin!"

Faced with this overwhelming technique, she spun her blade, unleashing countless sword beams that collided with every single strike within Lu Junxing’s domain.

One stellar sword beam met one mountain-and-river sword beam, shattering his domain apart. Seizing the opening, she shot forward, sending a slash of sword energy straight at Lu Junxing.

The beam split through the dust, but Lu Junxing sidestepped, countering with a sweeping slash—

"Sword Walking Through Mountains and Rivers!"

Black-and-white sword energy spilled forth like ink, spreading toward Li Shiyin in an unstoppable tide.

"Dream Fantasy Nebula!"

Li Shiyin, mid-flight, forced herself to a halt. With a flick of her left hand, she hurled hundreds of shimmering stars into the unfolding landscape, detonating them in a chain of explosions!

"Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!"

The painting of mountains and rivers was obliterated before it could fully form.

Tiny stellar sword beams mingled with fragments of mountain-and-river energy, raining down in all directions like a storm. Cloaked in her Guardian Sword Intent, Li Shiyin charged through the chaotic barrage, closing in on Lu Junxing once more for another brutal melee.

Qin Ran and Chasing the Wind dared not approach, watching from a safe distance.

They saw how the stray sword beams riddled the small mountain with holes, turning it into a sieve, and silently mourned its fate.

Li Shiyin and Lu Junxing fought with increasing ferocity, their movements accelerating as their battle expanded across the land. Gradually, their figures drifted further and further away.

Everywhere they passed was left scarred by razor-sharp sword energy and lingering sword intent. Qin Ran had to tread carefully as he followed, and soon, he fell too far behind. He could only send Chasing the Wind ahead to keep watch.

After three days and nights of tracking their trail, he finally caught up to them at dusk, on the edge of a cliff.

By then, Li Shiyin and Lu Junxing sat slumped against opposite sides of the precipice, both grievously wounded, barely propped up by boulders and their swords.

Chasing the Wind lay between them, his golden fur marred by sword wounds, lazily flicking his tail.

Taking in the scene, Qin Ran asked, "Who won?"

Both shook their heads weakly.

"Who lost?"

Again, they shook their heads.

Chasing the Wind raised a paw. "Me!"

Qin Ran eyed his injuries skeptically. "What does this have to do with you?"

"If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d be looking at two corpses right now," Chasing the Wind muttered with a sigh.

Understanding dawned on Qin Ran.

He glanced left at Li Shiyin, then right at Lu Junxing, before walking toward the latter. Standing before Lu Junxing, he sighed. "A shame. We still couldn’t rid you of your inner demon."

Lu Junxing closed his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips as he shook his head slowly.

"What?" Qin Ran frowned.

Lu Junxing opened his eyes again. Gone was the haze that had clouded them—now they were clear, bright with realization.

"No loss, no victory," he rasped. "No defeat, no triumph."

"So…" Qin Ran ventured, "you’ve figured it out?"

Lu Junxing nodded.

"Congratulations," Qin Ran said warmly.

After tending to Lu Junxing’s wounds, he moved to Li Shiyin’s side, carefully gathering her into his arms before meticulously cleaning and treating her injuries.

As he worked, her eyes gleamed as she watched him, a faint, satisfied smile playing on her lips. She was clearly pleased—no, proud.

Qin Ran glanced at her. "Happy now?"

"Mm!" She nodded.

For Lu Junxing, his inability to lose had been his inner demon. But for every sword cultivator in the Land of Immortal Legacy, their inability to defeat Lu Junxing had been theirs.

Now, she had faced him head-on—and held her ground. Her own demon was finally laid to rest.

Once her wounds were treated, Qin Ran cradled her in his arms as they sat together on the cliff’s edge, watching the sun dip below the horizon.

"Master," Li Shiyin murmured, "will you always heal my wounds?"

"I will," Qin Ran replied.

"Master, will we become immortals?"

"We will."

"Master, will you always love me?"

"I will."

"Master, will we be together in our next life?"

"No. Because in this one, we’ll last until the end of time."

"Master~"

"Hm?"

"I really, really like you."

"I really, really like you too."

"Stop copying me!"

"The sunset is beautiful."

"Huh?"

"If you want to confess to someone you love, instead of saying it outright, you can praise the weather. Like, ‘The moonlight is beautiful.’"

"Ew~"

"Hey!! Dad!" A little golden tiger nearby raised a paw indignantly. "I’m injured too! Did you forget about me?!"

Qin Ran didn’t seem to hear.

"Hey!" The century-old bachelor on the other side waved a hand. "You two lovebirds, have some decency! I’m still here!"

Li Shiyin didn’t seem to hear either.

The setting sun bathed the cliff in warm golden light. On the left, a wandering swordsman leaned against a boulder, his blade resting in his arms, a roguish grin on his face. On the right, a couple nestled close, whispering sweet nothings, their faces radiant with joy. Between them, a little golden tiger, his fur gilded by the sunset, wagged his tail contentedly.

As the wind swept past, the moment crystallized into eternity…