"Come on. We can start now."
Hearing Yanqing's voice carry over, Clara flicked her finger. A sword appeared in her hand, woven of black, white, red, and green.
Each color carried traces of Clara and Firefly's presence.
It was almost like a sword born from the two of them.
Clara quickly digested the sword techniques she had copied from Jingliu"s memories, then somewhat awkwardly raised the sword and pointed it at Yanqing.
"Pfft…"
Seeing how stiff and unfamiliar she looked, Yanqing failed to hold it in and laughed on the spot.
"Little sister, are you here to perform comedy or what?"
Yanqing muttered it to himself, never saying it aloud, still offering Clara the bare minimum of respect.
Clara: …
Even though he never spoke it, Clara, who was constantly observing his thoughts, heard every word loud and clear.
A faint black aura seeped out around her.
In the next instant, her figure vanished from where she stood. In less than a blink, she reappeared right in front of Yanqing, sword raised and brought straight down.
"!"
Yanqing was startled by the sudden attack. He had not expected Clara"s speed to be this fast.
But as the foremost genius of the Luofu's younger generation, even if her speed was impressive, her attack was riddled with openings.
With a simple sidestep, Yanqing dodged the strike, then swiftly raised his own sword and slashed back at her.
However, remembering that Clara was a guest personally mentioned by the General, Yanqing twisted his wrist at the last moment, striking her with the flat of the blade instead.
"Hmph."
Seeing through his intentions, Clara snorted softly and brought her sword up to her chest, blocking the blow.
"Hm?"
Yanqing was a little surprised that she managed to block it, but he did not dwell on it, chalking it up to luck.
Clara leapt back and widened the distance between them. She adjusted her grip and lightly swung the sword a few times.
It felt about right now.
With the sword experience of the former Sword Champion of the Luofu, even if she only grasped one-tenth of it, that was already far beyond what Yanqing could contend with.
Clara raised her head and pointed her sword at Yanqing.
"Warm-up's over. Now I"ll show you what a real genius looks like."
Yanqing, you are a genius, sure. But sorry, I've cheats.
She added that last line silently to herself.
Following the method stored in her memories, Clara stirred the power within her body and condensed it into her sword.
Light bloomed along the blade. Clara twisted her body, swung her arm, and a crescent-shaped wave of sword energy tore free, slashing straight toward Yanqing.
Yanqing: ???
"Sword energy?!"
For a split second, Yanqing froze. By the time he reacted, the sword wave was already right in front of him.
It was too close to dodge.
Clenching his teeth, Yanqing summoned countless ice swords around himself. The chill of ice element power erupted without restraint as he formed a hand sign.
The ice swords shot forward as if responding to a command, colliding with Clara"s sword energy. It froze solid, then shattered, scattering into glittering ice crystals across the ground.
"Ha… ha…"
Yanqing gasped for breath. That defense had taken a massive toll on him.
Clara, on the other hand, casually twirled her sword, looking completely unaffected.
"This person…"
Yanqing stared at her, confusion filling his eyes.
Judging by her movements, she had definitely just picked up a sword for the first time.
So why… why…
How could someone release sword energy the first time they ever touched a blade?
Only now did Yanqing finally understand what the General always meant by "there"s always someone better, and skies beyond skies."
"Hahaha."
Lost in thought, Yanqing suddenly burst out laughing.
Clara: ???
Hearing his laughter, Clara blinked in confusion.
"Wait, did I really hit him so hard he broke?"
She wondered, a little puzzled. His mental fortitude should not have been that weak.
"Looks like I underestimated you."
After laughing, Yanqing raised his sword again, the tip aimed straight at Clara.
"But that's fine."
"You're a genius, and so am I. That"s what we have in common."
"This match, I will win, and you will lose. That's what sets us apart!"
Clara: …
Hearing his outrageously confident declaration, the corner of Clara"s mouth twitched.
Seriously? Did he put all his stat points into trash talk?
…
"You lost."
"I… lost?"
The match ended without suspense. Staring at the sword pointed at his throat, radiating icy intent, Yanqing felt dazed, unable to believe it.
"You lost."
As if worried he had not heard clearly, Clara kindly repeated it.
"Come on. Ten thousand Credits."
Clara chuckled as she sheathed her sword. After giving Yanqing a proper lesson, she felt refreshed, like her spirits had lifted.
"…"
Yanqing fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and pulled out his phone.
"Paying this way is fine, right?"
"Of course."
Clara mirrored him, pulling out her own phone and opening her payment code.
Beep.
With that sound, ten thousand Credits officially left Yanqing"s possession.
Looking at the payment confirmation on his screen, Yanqing felt a sting of pain in his heart. But a loss was a loss, and he had no intention of backing out.
Worst case… worst case…
He would live on nothing but dirt this month.
"You lost, so you still owe me one condition."
Jingliu, who had not made a single move the entire time, finally stepped forward.
"Hey, hey, you've got the nerve to say that? You didn't even—"
Yanqing protested, but before he could finish, Jingliu cut him off.
"I know what you're going to say. That's why my condition will be something you can accept."
"And that is—"
Jingliu raised her hand. The black veil slipped away, revealing a pair of eyes so beautiful they defied description.
"Take one sword strike from me."
…
2 Chapters Per Day. For more chapters/fics, goto ErbiumTL on Patreon.