Don't be fooled by how she'd just been arguing with Levi over whether work was more important or his life was more important.
In reality, she was only buying time.
If they were seriously weighing the two, then at this moment, Levi's life was obviously more important.
"Hm?"
Feeling a trace of warm liquid land on her shoulder, Fu Xuan's eyes widened slightly.
She grabbed Levi by the shoulders and pushed him a little farther away.
Then she saw the blood continuously pouring from his nose.
"Looks like your injuries are worse than I thought."
She slowly lowered him onto the ground.
At the point where the bleeding wouldn't stop, it was definitely serious… though the expression on his face didn't really look like that of an injured person.
Still, injured people acting strange was normal enough.
"But how exactly did you end up fighting her?"
Hearing Fu Xuan's question, Levi restrained the blissful look on his face. After coughing up a few clumps of blood, he spoke weakly.
"Cough cough… She tried to cut in line. I wouldn't let her, so we started fighting."
After speaking, Levi's ears twitched slightly as he caught faint sounds of gasping nearby.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several streaks of sword light burst out from the smoke. Yanqing stepped on a flying sword, dodged the incoming sword flashes, and landed on the ground.
His expression was grave as he stared at Jingliu, who revealed herself as the smoke dispersed.
Taking advantage of the moment when Fu Xuan looked up and her attention wasn't on him...
Levi swept a completely emotionless gaze across all the spectators present.
Watching the drama was fine.
But don't go spitting it back out.
Especially not in front of Fu Xuan.
Anyone caught doing that was getting a full set of military combat punches.
As Levi's gaze passed over them, the bystanders suddenly felt the temperature around them drop several degrees.
No.
Not "felt like."
It really had dropped several degrees.
"Little brother."
Crack… crack…
The sound of water freezing into ice echoed out.
Jingliu stood in the center with the Transient Radiance Sword in hand, facing Yanqing calmly.
The wound on her shoulder healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to smooth skin in the blink of an eye.
"Did your master never teach you…"
She tightened her grip on the sword and swung it.
"That when you launch a sneak attack… you should go all out?"
The whole point of a sneak attack was striking unexpectedly to secure victory.
Find the right opening, give everything you have, and kill with one strike.
Because once you made your move, there wouldn't be a second chance.
As for fighting head-on…
If you'd already resorted to a sneak attack, you were still thinking about a frontal battle?
People truly confident in their strength didn't rely on cheap tricks like ambushes.
Yanqing gripped his sword tightly, his face tense. His eyes didn't dare leave Jingliu for even a moment.
Whoosh!
Under his watch, Jingliu vanished from where she stood as though teleporting, then suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
Yanqing's pupils contracted sharply.
The Transient Radiance Sword was raised high overhead, then slowly descended toward him under his gaze.
"Slowly" was only relative.
In truth, it all happened in an instant.
Slash!
"Dodged it, huh…"
Jingliu turned her head unhurriedly.
Not far away, Yanqing appeared with one hand clutching his arm.
Blood dripped from the arm hanging at his side.
When he removed his hand, a deep wound exposing bone could be seen across his arm.
Frost energy spread across the injury, preventing it from healing.
Jingliu's strike had originally been aimed at his head. If Yanqing hadn't sensed the threat of death and burst out with power far beyond his usual limits...
he would already have died beneath her blade.
Seeing how miserable he looked, Jingliu didn't mock him. Instead, she sincerely praised him.
"Your skill is impressive."
Jing Yuan's judgment wasn't bad.
For a disciple so young to possess this level of strength...
Barring accidents, the title of Luofu Sword Champion would one day belong to him.
However…
"In the path of the sword, if you do not bleed, if you do not kill, you will never glimpse its true essence."
"Are you teaching me swordsmanship?"
Yanqing glared at Jingliu through gritted teeth. No matter how unwilling he was to admit it, he couldn't deny the brilliance of that strike.
That sword strike was something he, as he was now, might not be able to perform even after decades… perhaps centuries.
"So this was…"
"The strength of the Luofu Sword Champion…"
The two had both recognized each other's identities.
Jingliu had seen traces of Jing Yuan in Yanqing's swordsmanship. After all, more than half of Jing Yuan's martial arts had come from her.
And although the Luofu had intentionally tried to erase Jingliu's name, Yanqing, as the disciple of General Jing Yuan, still knew some scattered details.
Not much, but at least he had seen portraits of her before and could recognize her appearance.
At this moment, Yanqing's eyes carried doubt... Doubt over whether he could truly become the Luofu Sword Champion, whether he was worthy... Whether he had the qualifications.
"I wouldn't call it teaching. Just advice. Whether you listen is up to you."
Jingliu sheathed the Transient Radiance Sword and glanced toward Bailu, who had run over to examine Levi.
"You may give me ten thousand swords, but I only need one in return. Cherish the time you have left alive."
She said nothing more.
Before the Luofu reinforcements arrived, she vanished from everyone's sight.
Knowing they couldn't stop Jingliu, Fu Xuan immediately ordered the Cloud Knights to arrest Blade, who had been standing off to the side.
Blade calmly glanced at the Cloud Knights surrounding him without any visible reaction, allowing them to shackle and take him away.
After all, they'd already delayed long enough.
At this point, of the three Stellaron Hunters who had infiltrated the Luofu, two had fallen into custody.
Only Kafka remained, somewhere within the Alchemy Commission, her whereabouts unknown.
———
[Divination Commission]
After hearing the description of Lumine from the Cloud Knight responsible for escorting Silver Wolf from Cloudford, Jing Yuan continuously tapped his fingers against the table.
His other hand supported his head as he stared blankly into space.
Once he came back to himself, he waved a hand at the Cloud Knight before him, signaling him to leave and continue his duties.
The Cloud Knight acknowledged the order and exited the room.
Jing Yuan lowered his head in thought.
He roughly knew who the person the Cloud Knight described was connected to.
After all, any unfamiliar woman suddenly appearing on the Luofu lately who also happened to be absurdly strong had a ninety percent chance of being related to Levi.
The remaining ten percent was Levi himself.
That guy apparently possessed some ability that let him turn into a woman and grow stronger.
As for what exactly the ability was or how it worked, Jing Yuan had no idea.
Of course he couldn't know.
An ability that ridiculous was probably beyond even the Elation Aeon.
"Sigh…"
Jing Yuan's sigh echoed through the empty room.
"What a mess… I really want to retire…"
"Ida ida ida!"
"Smack! What kind of bird language is that? Speak proper Xianzhou language!"
"Oh ho! Qingque's gotten bold! You dare smack this boss's butt?!"
"You two! Stop moving around!"
Herta cut off her communication with Asta. Looking at the chaotic scene before her, she couldn't help rubbing her forehead.
"I'm suddenly starting to regret switching to him."
"I think he's pretty good."
Compared to Yanqing, who obeyed orders and had already developed a somewhat rigid personality despite his young age...
someone like Levi, with flexible moral boundaries and a head full of bizarre ideas, was much more interesting.
"Hehe, have our opinions swapped places or something?"
Herta smiled as she looked at Levi.
"Putting that aside, are you sure he's the person you're looking for?"
"Mmm…" Ruan Mei pondered for a moment before giving her conclusion. "Not sure."
The figure in her memory was far too vague to accurately compare with Levi.
At most, she could only confirm that Levi's silhouette resembled Them.
As for the voice... she still couldn't distinguish it for now.
"I plan to have him repeat what he said back then."
'Repeat what he said back then?'
Herta stroked her chin.
If she remembered correctly, the thing Ruan Mei had heard back then was apparently him cursing her out.
'So was Ruan Mei voluntarily asking to be insulted?'
'That's a little twisted.'
"Alright, examination's done!"
Bailu wiped the sweat from her forehead and announced her diagnosis while looking at Levi, who was lying with his head on Qingque's lap.
"All bodily indicators are normal. There are no obvious internal or external injuries."
Translated into simpler terms: Healthy as can be.
"The only thing you need to pay attention to is…"
Bailu's gaze slowly drifted downward before finally stopping at both sides of his waist. After a pause, she said, "Drink more... no! Eat more berries!"
Although Bailu phrased it vaguely, Levi understood perfectly clearly.
He raised his head and met Qingque's eyes.
"What do you think?"
"Uh... " Qingque silently looked away toward the distant direction of the Alchemy Commission. "Maybe you could try… mixing berries with rice?"
"..."