"You came early." Bai Xifeng commented casually, using the back of her sleeve to wipe a fresh smudge of dark dirt from her flushed face.

"Yeah. Early enough to watch you get thoroughly thrashed." Xie Lanying replied with a voice that was entirely devoid of a single shred of mercy.

"You really know how to mock a friend when she’s down." Bai Xifeng clicked her tongue in annoyance before shifting her gaze, her eyebrows knitting together. "By the way, why on earth is Shoukai here with you?"

"I wanted to tag along the moment she mentioned she was heading over to your place. I honestly never expected to see the great, invincible Bai Xifeng in such a miserable, bedraggled state." Ning Shoukai grinned with an expression that radiated a shameless level of amusement.

"And you seem to be thoroughly, unapologetically enjoying the view." Bai Xifeng commented dryly, her tone dipping into a dangerous pitch.

"Well, it is a pretty rare situation, you have to admit. I usually only get to watch you beat someone else into a pulp, not watch someone else mop the pristine floors of the division with your body." Ning Shoukai replied, his honesty becoming increasingly irritating.

"Oh?" Bai Xifeng narrowed her eyes into two sharp, lethal slits before slowly turning her head toward her master. "Teacher Ji, can I choose him as my primary sparring partner for today’s practical lesson?"

"What?!" Ning Shoukai’s wide grin vanished instantly, replaced in a heartbeat by a look of sheer, unadulterated horror.

"Eh? Xifeng, what about me?" Xie Lanying protested immediately, crossing her arms as she felt entirely left out of the equation.

"You can be her only sparring partner! Please, by all means, take her! Just don’t drag me into this ungodly mess!" Ning Shoukai pleaded quickly, already taking several cautious, exaggerated steps backwards to create some safe distance between himself and the two girls.

"You may have both of them serve as your sparring partners simultaneously if you so wish." Ji Yuan stated indifferently, his voice sounding like a neutral judge passing a lifetime sentence.

"Oh?" Bai Xifeng’s entire expression shifted.

A slow, truly frightening, and deeply predatory grin began stretching across her face as she turned her full attention directly toward the trembling Ning Shoukai.

"You just want an excuse to beat me up!" Ning Shoukai shouted in pure, unmasked disbelief.

"The exact same rules as yesterday apply." Ji Yuan added, laying down the law with a cool, detached authority that brooked no argument. "Xifeng, you may only use runes as your weapons. And one more thing to keep in mind. Do not focus your energy on only one opponent. You must fight both of them equally."

Ning Shoukai suddenly felt a profound, overwhelming urge to burst into tears. He had only tagged along this afternoon out of a sense of idle, harmless curiosity. He absolutely had not planned on volunteering to become Bai Xifeng’s personal, rune-blasted punching bag for the rest of the day. Letting out a long, deeply regretful sigh, he immediately began questioning every single life choice that had eventually led him to walk into this specific division today.

Ning Shoukai desperately wanted to leave. He immediately retreated several more steps the moment Bai Xifeng stood up to her full height and began stretching. Frantic, his mind raced to manufacture a plausible excuse to make a swift exit.

"Teacher Ji, I suddenly remembered that I still have a highly important matter to attend to later this afternoon." Ning Shoukai spoke with absolute seriousness, his eyes wide as he tried to convey a sense of urgency, terrified that they would not believe him.

"No, you don’t. I already asked around before we left." Xie Lanying cut in smoothly, sidestepping to physically block Ning Shoukai’s only available retreat route.

"You..." Ning Shoukai was left entirely speechless, his betrayal complete.

Bai Xifeng instantly burst into a wave of clear laughter. She slowly rolled her shoulders, testing her range of motion. Her body was still aching badly from Ji Yuan’s relentless, merciless beating from earlier, but strangely enough, the thought of this upcoming fight felt much easier compared to before. After suffering through Ji Yuan’s terrifying, brutal training sessions every single day without fail, her overall tolerance for physical pain and fatigue had risen to a monstrous level.

"You two better not hold back." Bai Xifeng warned, her eyes gleaming as she cracked her knuckles one by one with an ominous series of pops.

"What a sin. I am making a solemn promise to myself right now. If I see Xie Lanying anywhere near me next time, I will turn around and run away without looking back." Ning Shoukai muttered miserably to the heavens.

"You cannot run from me, Shoukai." Xie Lanying grinned, her hand resting comfortably on the pommel of her sword.

"Let us begin now." Ji Yuan said, his calm voice signalling the end of the banter.

With that, the battlefield was set. It was Ning Shoukai and Xie Lanying acting as a unified front versus a solitary Bai Xifeng.

"Begin." Ji Yuan commanded.

The very millisecond his voice fell, the heavy atmosphere inside the courtyard instantly exploded into frantic motion.

Ning Shoukai was the first to unleash his attack, determined to keep Bai Xifeng at bay. A massive wave of blazing, crimson flames erupted from his palms, rushing forward across the clearing toward her like a roaring, hungry beast. The ambient temperature of the surrounding area rose sharply almost immediately, the heat distorting the air.

At the exact same time, Xie Lanying moved flawlessly from the flank. Unlike Ning Shoukai’s loud and aggressive approach, her movements were far lighter, swifter, and immensely difficult to predict. She rapidly circled through the rustling bamboo, aiming directly for Bai Xifeng’s blind spot.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***