Xuan Yan stood in the quiet courtyard and the evening breeze gently brushed past his face.
His golden eyes softened as he looked at the girl in front of him. "Yin'er, release your martial spirit,"
Xue Yin obeyed with a small nod, and the air around her shimmered for a moment before an elegant blue sword materialized in her hand, glowing faintly with icy energy.
Now that Xuan Yan could examine it closely, it looked even more refined and beautiful than how he wrote it in his fanfiction.
"Yin'er, what is the name of your martial spirit?"
"Ah! Big brother, this sword's name is Frost Edge," she said, holding it out slightly with pride.
"I don't know who named it, but the name is so cool."
Xuan Yan only smiled inwardly 'Of course, that's me.'
He then stepped a bit closer and said, "Yin'er, now pour your spirit energy into the sword and slash at me."
She hesitated, "But Big brother…" Her eyes wavered with worry at the thought of hurting him.
"Just do it; Big Brother is quite powerful."
Seeing that he wouldn't back down, she took a steady breath and nodded.
Xue Yin stepped back and took a proper sword stance.
Looking at this, Xuan Yan smiled in his heart 'That's... my stance. Seems like she picked it up when I was young and did sword training here.'
The evening light reflected off her blade as she closed her eyes briefly, focusing her energy.
*swoosh* Then with a swift horizontal motion, she released a blue icy slash that shot toward him with surprising force.
Xuan Yan raised his right arm and caught the slash barehanded.
THOOM
The icy attack shattered instantly upon contact, breaking into fragments that scattered like crystal dust across the ground.
Looking at the broken ice piece on his palm, he lightly rubbed it between his fingers, feeling its density and strength.
Xue Yin's mouth parted slightly as she stared at him.
She hurried over, "Big brother… are you alright?".
He turned to her and chuckle "Oh don't worry... I am alright. Also, Yin'er, you should know that your ice is extremely powerful. It's only second to the Ultimate Ice."
She blinked several times before asking with a tilt of her head, "Big brother… what is Ultimate Ice?"
"It is the most powerful ice in the entire world," he answered calmly.
As the thought crossed his mind, he remembered the Extreme North... two certain women and a certain troublesome worm.
'I will visit them in the future...'
"Ohhh…" Yin'er exhaled in amazement and the sound was so innocent that it made Xuan Yan chuckle.
He reached out and gently patted her head, ruffling her soft hair. "Don't worry. In the future, I will turn your ice into Ultimate Ice."
Her eyes lit up instantly. "Okay, Big brother!"
"Good." He lifted his hand and tapped her forehead with his index finger, passing a handful of ice-type and basic sword techniques he bought from the system shop.
Xue Yin shivered for a moment as the information flowed into her mind, but soon her gaze sparkled with excitement.
Looking at her excitement, Xuan Yan chuckled and spoke "Just wait for me here, Yin'er. I will go call Xie. After that, I'll teach both of you a movement technique."
The moment she heard the unfamiliar name, Xue Yin expression stiffened slightly. "Xie… who is that?"
The temperature around them dropped by a noticeable few degrees.
Xuan Yan blinked 'Right... After awakening her spirit, her personality will become colder… and her yandere tendencies will also increase, but thankfully not to a certain degree.'
"Haha, just my friend from the academy," he explained quickly.
Xue Yin stared at him for two long seconds, then slowly nodded. "Oh… I see."
...
Standing at the courtyard, Mo Xie glanced at the girl standing beside her and then at Xuan Yan who was standing in front of her.
"Brother Yan, why did you… bring me here?"
Before Xuan Yan could answer, the faint breeze carrying traces of Xue Yin's cold aura brushed past her.
Mo Xie turned toward Xue Yin, who was standing just a bit too close to Xuan Yan for her comfort.
Xuan Yan looked at the two girls standing before him and spoke "I'm giving both of you a movement technique. You'll train with this technique from today onward."
Mo Xie blinked, tilting her head slightly "Brother Yan, I'm just an auxiliary-type spirit master, so… do I really need something like this?"
Her delicate fingers fidgeted with her sleeve, unsure if she was being troublesome by questioning him.
He simply shook his head. "Even though you're an auxiliary-type spirit master, you still need proper self-defense."
"And besides, I also have a body technique prepared for you."
She nodded obediently, trusting him completely even if she couldn't fully picture herself fighting.
Inside his mind, Xuan Yan called out, 'System.'
[Yes Host!]
'Fuse both Butterfly Steps and Ghostly Shadow Steps.'
[Yes Host!]
[Fusing…]
[…]
[Butterfly Shadow Steps created!]
Xuan Yan's lips curved slightly as he felt the new technique settle in his mind.
'I bought the Sharingan from the system shop earlier and merged its copying ability with my Eyes of Heaven. With that combination, I copied Tang San's Ghostly Shadow Steps easily.'
'For me it's useless, since I have teleportation and my own movement technique.
'Still, for these two… it is perfect.'
He raised his hand and gently placed his index finger on each of their foreheads, one after the other.
A stream of information rushed into their minds.
Both girls trembled slightly at the sudden influx of knowledge.
"There are six stages in this technique," Xuan Yan said as he withdrew his hand. "Train them perfectly. Don't skip steps."
Both Xue Yin and Mo Xie nodded firmly, though Xue Yin subtly shifted closer to him with a small, satisfied smile.
Mo Xie, meanwhile, processed the movements flashing through her mind 'Brother Yan prepared it for me; I should give it my all... so I wont disappoint him.'
Xuan Yan then turned his attention directly to her. "Xie, train this movement technique first. After you're done, I'll give you the body technique."
Mo Xie blinked up at him, and a soft smile naturally bloomed on her face "Okay, Brother Yan," she said quietly.
And Xue Yin, watching from the side, narrowed her eyes just a little 'Another homewrecker.'
Looking at Mo Xie, he spoke "Also, I already told my mom about moving your mother and you to the neighboring house."
"You can move in just tomorrow."
Hearing that, Mo Xie smiled genbtly "Thank you, Brother Yan."
...
After leaving the courtyard, Xuan Yan teleported straight into the main hall of the Spirit Hall.
The instant he appeared there, the guards quickly dropped to their knees "Your Highness!"
He headed directly toward the Hidden Elder Palace, where the elders had summoned him for an "important meeting."
As the Holy Son, he was expected to attend every such gathering, even if most of them were full of repetitive political discussions that failed to catch his interest.
Still, he sat through it, tapping his finger on the armrest while the elders droned on about trivial matters.
But he didn't expect that today's meeting would actually be so important...
As soon as the meeting ended, Xuan Yan stood up from his seat and left without a backward glance.
He walked quickly through the corridor before reaching a familiar door.
He pushed the door open abruptly and stepped inside.
Qian Renxue looked up in surprise, and the brush in her hand paused mid-motion as her long golden hair slid over her shoulder.
Her eyes widened slightly at his sudden entrance.
Xuan Yan crossed the room quickly and gently grasped both of her hands "Sister Xue, you…"
Qian Renxue blinked, but then she smiled and intertwined her fingers with him "I guess you heard about it in today's meeting."
She exhaled softly, "In two days… I'm leaving for the Heaven Dou Empire. It's the start of my mission."
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