The next opponents South Star Academy faced, after seeing the fight between Ye Wei and Zhoutian Sword School’s Jian Chen, all surrendered. They didn’t even try to fight, and therefore the public did not see Ye Wei on the martial platforms ever since the fight where he defeated the bloodmoon.
Back at South Star’s palace, Ye Wei sat alone in the courtyard for seven days and seven nights.
In the courtyard, the moon shown silver and produced a silent but elegant atmosphere; the stars twinkled and garnished the empty night sky in concordance with the moon.The bitingly chill night breeze was pecking Ye Wei on his cheek. The slight drop of temperature touched him on the shoulder, and he slowly opened his eyes.
‘The Glacial Emperor created the Selenic Seven Stances. Hmmm…and it is also a mid-level Myst stance, refining this will be in no way easy,’ Ye Wei clenched his fist and thought to himself.
Having cultivated and trained behind closed doors for a week, Ye Wei had gained great understanding about the Zhoutian Sword Notion, Blood Moon Assassin Sword. However, when it came to actually infusing the principles and powers of those techniques to strengthen his own; in short, he was going nowhere.
“I can surely make Selenic Triple-Primal Sword a high-level Myst stance if I manage to infuse Jian Chen’s two stances to it,” he mumbled to himself.
“It would have been nice to accomplish this infusion before the next fight since a high-level Myst stance could really win fights on its own.” He looked up at the moon, sighed and felt slightly deflated
The stars shone bright in the quiet evening sky. Ye Wei had gazed upon the night sky so long and so much the zodiac star alignments and planetary arrangement, the inspiration used to create the Selenic stances, had burned into Ye Wei’s mind. Shutting his eyes, his consciousness followed the night sky’s pattern and entered into a zen state.
“The stars are framing the moon just like a picture.” Ye Wei was in awe, murmuring to himself. The scenic view in his mind amused him., Although still stuck in the refinement process, his mood was lightened.
“Framing the moon…” A spark of inspiration suddenly struck him. The understanding of the stance and what he had been practicing for a whole week finally made sense. An idea bombarded his mind.
“I get it now! I get it now!” After a momentary pause, ecstasy swept the air. Any hint of depression on Ye Wei’s face vanished entirely.
He bent his fingers and flicked them, shooting a screen of runes. The runes lightened the courtyard and turned into Selenic Triple-Primal Sword’s three blades.
“Zhoutian Sword Notion should become the frame!” Ye Wei stared at the stance in front of him, smiled and pointed at the pivots of its structure.
“Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!”
The moment the sword notion used by Jian Chen was infused to the Glacial Emperor’s stance, the rune sequence came alive, the swords deconstructed, and they became a mist of twinkling array of stars.
And the array began to flow and circulate in a mysterious pattern.
“Bloodmoon sword intent!” Ye Wei waved his finger in the air like a sword, shooting out a few more short rune sequences that attached perfectly onto the branches of the original sequence. The rune sequence became a star array that sculpted the stance into a moon shape.
The courtyard then transformed into a miniature milky way.
‘Selenic Triple-Primal Sword!’ Ye Wei gazed upon the downsized star array, once again activated the stance, transforming the runes into swords again.
However, the force waves’ frequency was completely different. It accelerated and pulsed like a newborn star.
“Zhoutian should be its new shape; bloodmoon its new soul, and the Selenic Sword as its new foundation!” Ye Wei intensly stared at the shapes in front of him.
He grunted and stomped the ground. All three spectral blades vibrated in the air; they then all quickly merged together by the gravitational pull of the stars in the pattern’s center.
The runic blades integrated to become a ten meters long ancient sword. The ground shook during the same second the transformation finished. The new stance’s energy was pure, dense, and rotated to the other runes’ pull.
The heavens responded by casting a wide, thick pillar of cosmic energy from million miles away, tearing through the sky and landing on Ye Wei and completely engulfing him.
Judging from the light pillar’s size, Ye Wei could tell the Selenic Triple-Primal Sword just became a peak high-level Myst stance. From continuously absorbing the rush of vast cosmic gift, he could also feel his Sentient and dantian expanding.
The energy surge was pure and uncontaminated. It tickled Ye Wei’s skin to open up its pores to speed up the absorption.
‘Three-star condensed prime level!’ Under the nourishment, Ye Wei’s body strength reached a new height as the cosmic energy decompressed within him.
“Zoom! Zoom!”
The surge lingered in and around Ye Wei’s body. The cosmic energy continued strengthening him even after the breakthrough. By the time his body dealt with the foreign yet familiar energy, Ye Wei was already close to another breakthrough.
Ye Wei’s refined stance disappeared; his eyes shone brighter than the stars above.
“A high-level Myst stance! A peak high-level Myst stance!” He lifted his head to gaze upon the moon and the night sky that inspired him. His body shook with excitement.
“That was a great deal of will-force and Qi I just spent. Though I just broke through to become a three-star condensed prime Warrior, I will still need the second evolution of Supernova stance to support this refined Selenic Sword stance” Ye Wei smiled as he thought to himself. He knew that the extra Qi and will-force was in no sense wasted. The new stance could transform his energy to power.
Having achieved a stance refinement and a breakthrough in the same evening, it was almost impossible for him to remain calm. Yet, Ye Wei was still able to sit himself down and began to consolidate his cultivation.
“All the stances I had refined in the past were simpler stances. I could basically find structural flaws and correct them but not this time.” thinking to himself, Ye Wei attempted to learn from his experience while the memory was still fresh, “I was getting close to it, but I need some diversion to see more.”
“Nevertheless, coming up with a stance structure in comparison with shaping one, shaping would still be easier. It’s no wonder the greats always seeked inspiration from Nature and other creatures. Natural existence already makes logical sense.”
Ye Wei’s mind gradually broadened, and he became more and more at ease with himself, realising the more he forced himself the wrong way, the less flexible his thoughts would be.
When Ye Wei was quietly cultivating, a figure sneaked into the courtyard without a sound.
“Who is it!?” Ye Wei shouted. His eyes fell onto a dark silhouette. His hostility evaporated as he recognized who the intruder was.
The pure moonlight fell onto her as the night breeze pushed away a large cloud. The glossy purple hair reflected the moonlight like the surface of a peaceful pond. Her dress, as white as the moon itself, sculpted her body and transitions seamlessly onto her pale, glittering skin.
Her brows were graceful, her cheeks rosey, but her looks could not hide from anyone the loneliness displayed, loneliness that resembled the solitary north star in the sky.
It had been three years since Ye Wei last seen this face. She now had the curves of a woman. The child-like features had faded and was replaced by an air of melancholy.
Lin Ziyan looked at Ye Wei, for a moment the sadness vanished in her crystal clear eyes before returning to a calm, emotionless state.
She did picture their reunion, but it was a different experience than the moment. She could tell that the handsome young man had done a great deal of maturing , more than just the physical aspects. He had matured greatly in his life experience and cultivation.
“Ziyan…” a shiver went down Ye Wei’s spine, he involuntarily stepped forward in sheer excitement.
As he greeted the girl he remembered his sleepless nights. Suddenly, he felt a wall of invisible force brewing in front of him like a storm. He realized this force was Lin Ziyan’s Qi, stopping him from getting any closer.
Not only did Lin Ziyan’s raging Qi stopped Ye Wei from getting closer, it knocked him off balance, causing him to straddle backwards. He could feel her cultivation level was high; so high, he struggled to imagine how she achieved it in a mere three years. He understood their cultivation difference between them didn’t get any smaller.
For three years, Ye Wei always longed for the day when he could be reunited with Lin Ziyan. Now the time actually came. He realized even after longing for this day, he was not ready for it, and he was saddened by the worry and sorrow he could see between her eyes.
Having to keep distance with Ye Wei, Lin Ziyan was also saddened, but she knew what she must do, or else the attachment would just hurt them even more later on.
“Ye Wei, you should return to Green Moon City as soon as possible! There you will be safer. There have been reports of demonic activity in Ning City, all over Qing State, and even at the capital. They will soon learn your name which means you will be in grave danger.” Lin Ziyan said worryingly, her eyes displayed concern.
“Demons?” Ye Wei was abruptly reminded what the Progenitor had said, “Ziyan, I need to tell you something!”
“Ye?” She looked into Ye Wei’s eyes.
“I came across some information regarding a demon invasion, the Corpse Progenitor, and six ghost emperors had infiltrated a few dynasties. Apparently, they are looking to takeover Zhou dynasty too!” Ye Wei was startled, now the Black Scale Progenitor’s words were more or less confirmed. As well, he was worried if Lin Ziyan was in danger.
She frowned as she heard the news. Caught in a deep thought, Lin Ziyan wondered. ‘If the demons are sending someone of that caliber, it’s easy to narrow the targets down and warn them. That explains the amount of vandalism I’ve been hearing about too. The ghost emperors must have recruited humans to destroy the sages’ statues. Otherwise, they had no way to access those artifacts.’ she snapped out of her deep thought and lifted her head. “Wei, do you still have the piece of jade I gave you?”
“Of course!” Ye Wei reached inside his hidden pocket and presented the spirit jade.
“Good, keep it close to you and don’t show it to anyone. It just might save your life if you’re in danger. Please listen to me, return to Green Moon City, and meet with Master Yi as soon as possible!” Li Ziyan looked wary, ready to bid her farewells, not sure when it will be the next time they would meet.
“Back to Green Moon City?” Ye Wei shook his head determinedly, “What does that solve? I’ve chosen this path, I want to become stronger, and I cannot keep running. No matter what danger I might face!” He lifted his head and looked at Lin Ziyan, ‘You cannot be more incorrect if you think I am still the unreliable kid who always needed help from others! I have my goals and I am not afraid to pursue them!’
“Ye Wei! You don’t understand what kind of enemies you will be facing! Some of them are above returned prime cultivation level!” Lin Ziyan was becoming more emotional as she explained the reasons why she was concerned, “Furthermore, your enemies will not only be demons, they have human associates too. You will not know who you can trust. Who is a friend and who is a foe will be indistinguishable!”
“As I said Ziyan, I will become stronger, partially because of you. To be good enough for you is my dream; it is my goal! It’s too late for me to back down now!” Ye Wei smiled, but the bittersweetness lingered after his purposeful words.
Lin Ziyan was touched and startled by Ye Wei’s heartfelt confession. Nevertheless, she could not decided on her feelings. She was tracking demons before she reached Ning City, and she unintentionally learned that Ye Wei was taking part in the school tournament. She could not contain herself. She had to see Ye Wei since he was one of the only people who made her feel the warmth of home.
After three years, Ye Wei grew up to become someone she was physically attracted to, which made it more important for her to cut ties.
Lin Ziyan turned around and said decisively, “So be it, take care of yourself, and so long.”
Just as she was taking the first step away from him, Ye Wei noticed a trail of blood beside her feet, “You are injured!? Why didn’t you say?”
“Why? Because it’s none of your business!” Lin Ziyan then disappeared into night. She left no trace of ever being there in the courtyard a part from the tiny bit of blood.
Ye Wei thought about chasing after her, but he gave up the idea seeing how quickly Lin Ziyan went away with the speed enhancing stance he had no chance of matching.
“Is that how you greet an old friend? Ha…” Ye Wei felt an ache in his heart. The mental wounds suddenly hurt as much as if they were fresh.
“Three-star condensed prime level is not enough. I need to become a returned prime Warrior at least!” Ye Wei angrily said to himself as he thought about the path before him. The demons and the possible plots from men he would encounter and confront.