Chapter 78: Animation Short: Flying Light • Part Two

"Hey, you… were you excited just now?"

Present world, inside Pu Yuan's shop.

Pu Yuan Xizhu leaned forward, his eyes bright as he stared at the young woman with wheat‑colored skin on the sofa, "It's been a long time I've seen you this excited… The last time I saw Xi Er, you didn't have this expression."

"Of course, because Xi Er's movement is a bit more inexperienced… she belongs to the gifted type, more gifted than I was when I was young."

"Oh? Then what about this one?" Pu Yuan Xizhu pointed at the white‑haired woman in the light screen with his ramen‑eating chopsticks.

"Her…"

Sifengyuan Ye Yi sat opposite him, thought for a few seconds, then clasped her hands in front of her chest: "…Unclear. When she fought Jing Yuan, her movement and instant step were similar, but there were subtle differences. Hmm… how to put it? More like an instinctive reaction?"

Ye Yi's eyes narrowed like a cat's: "If it's instinct… then this woman must have gone through a great many battles; without countless life‑and‑death carnage, she couldn't develop such reaction speed."

"Being praised by 'Instant God Ye Yi' is truly rare."

Pu Yuan Xizhu leaned back on the sofa, lazily crossing his legs. A world‑weary smile still lingered on his face, but the brim of his hat concealed a caring gaze.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, "Being absent‑minded in front of such an exciting battle? Not like you."

"Hmm, I'm just a bit curious."

Sifengyuan Ye Yi showed a mixture of puzzlement and regret: "Jing Yuan is her disciple, she is the master. From the current battle, she has trained this disciple quite well… I just can't understand why she would go all out to kill an outstanding disciple?"

"Moreover, his disciple has become a general, a pillar of the Celestial Ship. In modern terms, that would be… 'excellent graduate', right?"

"I don't know that," Pu Yuan Xizhu shrugged. "Looking at her blood‑red eyes, I guess she's being controlled by something? Her eyes when she was young… hmm, quite pure."

"Ahem, pure…" Sifengyuan Ye Yi almost choked on her own saliva. "You describe a female swordsman who has killed countless people as pure?"

"…That is probably the most distant and unfamiliar word in her whole life."

"Jing Yuan barely dodged, yet still lost a strand of hair."

"Under the icy blade, he seemed to see a massive fire… a fire that covered the sky."

"That was centuries ago, when he was a Cloud Rider Dawn Guard, the scene he encountered: amidst the toppled ruins, a monster that once was a Cloud Rider roared in the fire."

"'Master… he doesn't remember us.'"

"Back then Jing Yuan was still very young, young enough that his voice trembled."

"But before the words finished, a strand of moonlight that seemed stolen from the heavens already pierced the monster's chest, flashing by."

"The monster's roar abruptly stopped."

"'Falling into the demonic shadow body is like this.'"

"Accompanied by a voice as cold as snow, there was a face both beautiful and extremely chilling. Jing Liu stood sideways, as if forever keeping distance from people."

"'The demonic shadow body is the fate of the immortal race; if one day I fall into it, you must not show mercy.'"

"Her words and deeds remained as always, yet in the master's eyes, Jing Yuan also saw fleeting sorrow… and numbness."

"Such things… the master must have witnessed many, many times, right?"

"'Yes… master.' He, just like when he was a child, could only utter those three words when faced with the master's admonition."

Japan, Tokyo.

"One bite per master… not bad, such an obedient student—unfortunately I prefer ones that aren't so obedient."

Angre placed his cigar in the ashtray, looked down at the folding knife on his wrist, "The weapons aren't evenly matched, A Ga… can you act faster than that white‑haired woman in the sky?"

"Hehe…" Inuyama Ga stared seriously at Angre a short distance away, and smiled meaningfully.

His spoken spirit is an instant; during the period when he could reach 128‑times speed, he was once hailed as the Sword Saint among the Eight Families of Snake Ridge. If he swiftly wielded an iai sword, no opponent could see his blade.

In the opponent's eyes, his blade was merely a faintly flashing air.

When Inuyama Ga was young, he had heard legends of swordsmen from the ancient Eastern kingdom, shortly after he first met Angre. The legends said swordsmen would spend countless years honing their swordsmanship, from youthful vigor to twilight years, devoting their whole lives to reach the ultimate meaning of existence.

Such a sword… truly beautiful. Pure as poetry, yet also poetic in its killing intent, lonely enough to cut through time.

The young Inuyama Ga once imagined such swordsmanship existed, but even today… he is near death and has never fully seen it.

Not long ago, he fought a battle with Angre, and that battle finally brought him to the ultimate meaning of his life.

Ninth-level instant, 516-times divine‑speed slash.

The Demon‑maru National Staff in his hand at that moment finally exceeded the speed of sound; the high‑frequency air vibration from the extreme speed briefly sliced the skin on Angre's shoulder, scattering a crimson layer across the arena.

The 516-times divine‑speed slash might wound the principal, but to injure that woman in the light screen… thinking of that, Inuyama Ga suddenly smiled as if relieved.

Her sword technique is not iai, but art. It's an art he spent his whole life pursuing… could never have imagined.

Inuyama Ga closed his eyes; the fantasy of his youth finally reflected reality after 65 years.

"Tenth level, can you do it? A Ga?"

Angre exhaled a puff of green smoke, kicked at Inuyama Ga's sandy hair, "The tenth level might be able to cut off a strand of her hair; didn't you love the scent of young beautiful women's hair when you were young?"

"I'm already old, principal," Inuyama Ga sighed deeply, his voice hoarse, "Are you assigning homework for my next life?"

"After that, many years passed, and Jing Yuan met his master in the Prison of the Haunted."

"'Ugh, ah—!'" In the shadows, the master curled up, collapsed on the ground; even that eternally icy, unmelted face became twisted with pain.

"'Falling into the demonic shadow, Jing Yuan, Jing Liu is gone.'"

Listening to the Prison of the Haunted judge's words, Jing Yuan looked at his master in disbelief.

"The closest master turned into a monster… how pitiful." Yan Zhu clasped his hands together, two streams of tears falling.

"But haven't you noticed? Jing Liu's demonic shadow state differs from others," Butterfly Ninja observed, "It seems she hasn't sprouted branches or anything on her body."

"Indeed… could it be that her demonic shadow is not a physical change but a mental one?" Snake Pillar Xiao Banai suddenly said.