Chapter 212: The Eight Blades of the Blazing Wheel — Yunli and Her Greatsword

"Three feet of water... enough to sever the clouds?"

Evan watched from the rooftop, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"So the kid has already grasped the Four Seasons Sword Intent."

"As expected of someone born with a warrior’s talent."

"Every time his Sword Heart shatters..."

"He manages to forge an entirely new Sword Intent."

"Well done."

A flying sword condensed from Imaginary energy had already formed beside him.

If Yanqing couldn’t handle the Borisin before him...

Evan would intervene.

If Yanqing could...

Then there was no need for him to interfere.

Fortunately...

His concern proved unnecessary.

The Borisin were undoubtedly among the Xianzhou Alliance’s greatest enemies.

But...

Yanqing was no weaker.

Back when he first stepped onto a battlefield...

He had encountered Fangfeng, the gigantic war beast created by the Denizens of Abundance.

The monster’s enormous body had crushed Cloud Knight formations like ants beneath its feet.

Yet...

Yanqing had severed its head in a single exchange.

The enemy army collapsed before the battle had even truly begun.

Still...

In Jing Yuan’s eyes...

Yanqing’s growth had always been too rapid.

A blade that was too sharp would eventually break.

A sword needed not only an edge...

But also a sheath.

What Yanqing lacked wasn’t strength.

It was the experience to control and restrain that strength.

And that...

Could only be earned through time.

Watching Yanqing battle the Borisin now...

Evan had absolutely no intention of stepping in.

There simply wasn’t any need.

Just as Yanqing’s final sword strike cut the Borisin warrior down...

Something caught Evan’s eye.

A petite figure carrying an enormous greatsword leaped gracefully across the rooftops.

The sword was almost larger than the girl herself.

The moment he saw her...

He recognized her.

Yunli.

The representative of the Xianzhou Zhuming...

Here to participate in this year’s Wardance Ceremony.

"Why is there a Borisin here?"

"Not good!"

Before Yanqing could react...

Another Borisin suddenly burst from the shadows and fled.

Yanqing immediately sent several flying swords after it.

Unfortunately...

The Borisin’s speed was astonishing.

So fast...

That even his flying swords couldn’t catch up.

He could only watch helplessly as it escaped.

At that exact moment...

A blazing figure shot past him like a streak of fire.

She barreled directly into Yanqing...

Scooped up one of his flying swords...

Then kicked the fleeing Borisin square in the back.

With a flick of her wrist...

She hurled every flying sword she had gathered into the creature.

Scarlet flames erupted around her.

A massive crimson greatsword descended from the sky.

Boom!

Smoke billowed outward.

When it cleared...

The gigantic blade had already impaled the Borisin through the chest.

Against the Denizens of Abundance...

Simply wounding them was meaningless.

Their bodies had to be dismembered completely.

Otherwise...

They would continue regenerating.

That was the true terror of the Abundance.

Even the Xianzhou themselves...

Shared the blessings of long life.

They understood those regenerative abilities better than anyone.

Even if an immortal’s head was severed...

As long as it was reattached in time...

They could survive.

After centuries of war...

The Xianzhou had developed countless methods for fighting the Denizens of Abundance.

That was why...

Although their weapons resembled ancient cold steel...

They were actually masterpieces of advanced technology.

Their preference for swords wasn’t simply nostalgia.

There was another reason.

Long ago...

When Jingliu first followed the army into battle...

She discovered that no matter how many sword strikes she landed...

She couldn’t kill a giant Long-Life Species warrior.

Instead...

A mechanical incendiary ballista blew the creature’s head apart with a single shot.

The young Jingliu immediately lost all motivation to learn swordsmanship.

She had asked her master...

"If machines can do it better..."

"Why must I learn the sword?"

Her master answered...

"From the General..."

"To the newest Cloud Knight..."

"Every one of us begins with the sword."

"The weapons forged by the Artisans Commission can certainly kill our enemies."

"But those are merely machines performing their function."

"What happens when the arrows are gone?"

"When the starskiffs fall?"

"When the automatons cease moving?"

"Who will protect the Xianzhou then?"

He placed a sword into her hands.

"Remember this."

"Only when Cloud Knights wield their own blades..."

"Does humanity truly fight."

"With our own flesh."

"Our own skill."

"We prove to those inhuman abominations..."

"That it is we who shall defeat them."

"Not our machines."

That philosophy...

Defined the Xianzhou.

Their swords weren’t primitive.

They were simply advanced technology hidden beneath ancient craftsmanship.

Against the Denizens of Abundance...

There were only two reliable methods.

Reduce them to ashes.

Or cut them apart.

Several flying swords rained down from above.

Then...

A silver-crowned girl descended gracefully from the sky.

Her delicate bare feet landed lightly atop one of the hovering flying swords.

She looked utterly unimpressed as Yanqing finally caught up.

Without even sparing him a glance...

She reached down...

Pulled one of his flying swords out of the Borisin’s corpse...

And began examining it with obvious curiosity.

Honestly...

She seemed far more interested in Yanqing’s flying swords...

Than in Yanqing himself.

Just then...

Evan dropped lightly from the rooftop and landed beside March.

"Over here!"

March waved enthusiastically.

Stelle and Dan Heng quickly made their way through the crowd.

"Evan!"

"Look at that girl!"

March whispered excitedly while pointing toward Yunli and the rather bewildered Yanqing behind her.

"Oh?"

"That’s Yunli."

"She’s General Huaiyan’s granddaughter by apprenticeship."

"...Huh?"

March blinked.

"Wait."

"How do you know so much?"

"Trade secret."

Evan casually flicked her forehead.

Then...

Without missing a beat...

He flicked Stelle’s too.

He was just about to do the same to Dan Heng...

When Dan Heng calmly took one step backward.

Absolutely not.

That man was dangerous.

Yunli had indeed been raised by General Huaiyan.

Her father...

Like Yingxing before him...

Had once been one of the Xianzhou Zhuming’s greatest swordsmiths.

Unfortunately...

He became obsessed with forging weapons by sealing Heliobi into blades.

The result...

Was the birth of countless cursed swords.

Those Heliobi-corrupted weapons twisted people’s minds...

Driving them toward violence and madness.

Those unable to obtain the swords...

Those disappointed after obtaining them...

And those consumed by simple greed...

Eventually rioted throughout the Blazing Wheel Forge Palace.

In the chaos...

Yunli’s father was killed...

By one of the cursed blades he had forged himself.

Her mother sacrificed her own life...

To help Yunli escape.

In the end...

It was Huaiyan who suppressed the rebellion.

And raised Yunli as his own.

Despite her young age...

She had already mastered both swordsmanship and smithing.

Becoming...

The second-youngest sword prodigy among the Eight Blades of the Blazing Wheel.

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