Ten warriors lunged at Shu Yue at the same time, their swords glinting coldly in their hands. Shu Yue sighed and brandished her bamboo sword in response to their attacks. She dodged and countered all of their attacks while keeping her sword sheathed. Hollow clanks of metal against wood echoed through the street. The Springbear warriors were using the Solarburst Sword. In less than a second, they were already pulled into the tempo of battle that Shu Yue controlled.

The ten warriors sucked in their breath, their eyes filled with fear and uncertainty as they realized they were at a disadvantage. But the fierce leader clearly had no intention of backing down. Her eyes glowed with rage and determination.

This one's stubborn.

Shu Yue charged forward, as graceful and agile as the wind, her body becoming a blur. In the next split second, she landed smoothly on the ground behind them. A gentle breeze swayed their hair and robes. The bamboo sheath remained unscathed despite clashing with the sharp blades. The ten warriors blinked, confused. Shu Yue was right in front of them just a second ago. How did she move that fast? She moved faster than the blink of an eye. It almost looked like she transformed into a gust of wind.

Then, like waves crashing on the beach, realization hit them. Their hands were empty. All of their weapons lay uselessly on the ground. And like marionettes whose strings had been cut, they fell on their knees and coughed up blood, suffering an internal injury.

The fierce leader raised her head and looked at Shu Yue. "W-who are you?"

Shu Yue tilted her head, twirling the bamboo sword in her hand. She didn't answer.

The woman was looking at her in a different way. She used to be this fierce and bold woman who could bring fear from anyone, but now she was the one who appeared terrified as she stared at the demure woman wearing a fox mask. Shu Yue looked as harmless as a dove. But when she attacked, it was fast, unseen, and deadly.

Like a serpent.

"Ah, Young Mistress. You never failed to amaze me," Xiao Ran commended as he walked toward her. "The level of your footwork was almost close to mine. I'm so proud of you!"

"Thank you, Xiao Ran."

Shu Yue's heart sped a little bit out of sheer happiness at Xiao Ran's comment. She couldn't help but feel proud.

Lightwind Steps was a high-level footwork technique used by Shu Yue and Xiao Ran to gain the ability of lightness. By altering the distribution and flow of chi, they could make their bodies light in weight and move swiftly and smoothly like the wind. It was the technique Shu Yue used during the sparring match to dodge Dishan's powerful attacks with ease.

This footwork technique wasn't one of the Ophiuchus Clan's martial arts. Shu Yue only learned it from Xiao Ran, but he wasn't originally a disciple of Ophiuchus Clan. With that being the case, Shu Yue and Xiao Ran were the only users of this technique in the clan. It was because of Xiao Ran that Shu Yue was able to possess such powerful skills. It perfectly suited her style of swordsmanship.

Xiao Ran then cleared his throat and put on a serious expression. "But next time, let me fight instead. I know you're strong, but I can't let you waste your chi and time on something so worthless."

The leader glared at him, still kneeling on the ground. Xiao Ran shrugged nonchalantly.

"But this is a rare opportunity for me to fight against multiple opponents. I wanted to test my skill," Shu Yue said.

Besides, I wanted to see if they'd be useful or useless to this clan--to me.

Xiao Ran sighed. "Alright. But next time allow me to handle such trivial matters, Young Mistress."

A clap sounded, and Shu Yue turned around to face the newcomer.

A familiar bulky warrior emerged from the shadows, still clapping. He was carrying a massive sword on his back. "Excellent! You defeated my companions on your own without effort; truly outstanding!" he exclaimed and glanced at her bamboo stick. "And that doesn't seem to be an ordinary bamboo stick."

Xiao Ran appeared next to Shu Yue, his face set in a deep scowl.

"Dishan!" the ten warriors said. They rose to their feet with a groan.

"Dishan," Shu Yue greeted.

Dishan grinned. He appeared to be almost perfectly fine already, but Shu Yue could almost feel no chi emanating from him, implying that his internal energy hadn't fully recovered, so he was still in no condition to fight. He had a bandage over his left eye.

"Don't worry, I didn't come here to fight," Dishan assured as he glanced at the scowling Xiao Ran. He looked at Shu Yue. "I was truly impressed by your fighting skills; it seems that you possess such high-level martial arts. Do you mind sharing this knowledge with me, fellow warrior?"

Shu Yue blinked, then she felt a smile spread over her face. "I don't mind sharing my secret with you, but I'm afraid it won't be free."

Dishan frowned. "What do you want?"

"I know you and Elder Lu are good friends, so I assumed you knew something."

"Spit it out," Dishan said in a low voice.

"How did Elder Lu obtain the soul-binding scroll?"

Dishan's eye widened at her question, clearly indicating that Shu Yue hit a mark. Since hearing about the strange bettor from Xiao Ran, Shu Yue had been trying to piece things together. The soul-binding scroll was such a rare item to acquire. No sane warrior or magus would willingly give it away as a prize to random disciples. That was no different than tossing a sum of twenty thousand gold coins along with a great opportunity.

Lu Baiyu was the master of the Lu family, so the first thing he'd do was keep it for his own family. So what made him think it was a brilliant idea to use that as a reward?

Because it wasn't his in the first place.