Jun Mo Li began reflecting on everything that had happened in the span of a single stick of incense—from pulling back to create distance, to both sides drawing their swords. Then Li Tonghui called out to begin...
After that, a streak of crimson shadow lashed continuously across Jun Mo Li's body at a speed he couldn't follow.
And then Jun Mo Li was lying on the ground.
As the saying goes, the one involved is confused while the bystander sees clearly. The defeated Jun Mo Li hadn't seen it, but Li Tonghui—who had taken over from little Jun Bai as referee—had.
The moment little Jun Bai gripped the crimson short sword tightly in his hand, that short sword extended to normal length.
And as little Jun Bai swung it, the long sword took on a segmented appearance, capable of extending with Jun Bai's movements.
(Referring to the Eagle Beast Sword in the hands of Kamen Rider Yamato from Animal Sentai Zyuohger.)
(Or Chi Lian's weapon from Qin Shi Ming Yue.)
(I've always felt that this kind of thing looks incredibly cool while also being ridiculously overpowered.)
In this way, little Jun Bai relied on the advantage of his equipment, standing motionless in place, and delivered an instant kill to Jun Mo Li with attacks whose trajectories couldn't be seen.
Those untraceable crimson shadows were afterimages created by the extended crimson short sword whipping through the air.
"Mo Li-ge, are you okay?" Little Jun Bai ran over and asked.
"I'm fine." Jun Mo Li stood up and waved his hand.
It just felt like being viciously whipped with willow branches.
But after Jun Mo Li carefully checked his wounds, he found that although it hurt, there were no actual injuries.
It seemed little Jun Bai still had some restraint.
Though it was also possible that little Jun Bai simply lacked the strength to cause any real damage.
But considering that the latter possibility would be highly humiliating for Jun Mo Li, he rejected it on his own.
"When did you figure out how to use this thing?"
Jun Mo Li looked at the crimson object now tied back around little Jun Bai's waist.
"Hmm... I just thought of it when I wanted to use a weapon."
"You recovered your memories?" Jun Mo Li asked upon hearing this, thinking little Jun Bai's memories had been awakened.
"No." Little Jun Bai shook his head.
Jun Mo Li let out a regretful sigh.
Li Tonghui walked over, patted little Jun Bai's head, and smiled: "It's okay. You'll definitely remember eventually."
Then he turned to Jun Mo Li: "Someone better not change the subject. Don't forget what you promised Ah Bai earlier."
"Of course I won't forget. A bet's a bet."
Jun Mo Li honored his promise to little Jun Bai and began explaining why he practiced the sword: "I want to become the greatest swordmaster in the world because of my family."
"Your family?" Li Tonghui thought seriously but couldn't come up with anything.
"These are things I heard from my dad. I can't confirm if they're true or not."
"Anyway, according to what my dad said before he passed, our family used to be glorious—we were a very famous swordsmithing clan. My great-grandfather's great-grandfather even exchanged forging techniques with Rex Lapis himself."
Li Tonghui's eyes lit up as he suddenly understood: "Come to think of it, the farm tools and implements your dad forged really were better than what's sold in the market. So that's why."
"I mean, you're not seriously buying this, right? Even when I heard the story back then at four years old, I could tell it was fake."
"A figure like Rex Lapis—how could ordinary people like us ever come into contact with him?"
"Your name has the character 'Hui' in it—next time you speak, could you actually use your brain?"
Hearing Jun Mo Li's scolding, Li Tonghui remained completely serious: "Anyway, since you don't know if this is true or false, just treat it as true for now."
"If it were a made-up story, it wouldn't have been passed down all the way to today."
Jun Mo Li shook his head: "I don't believe it anyway. My dad used to believe it, but he stopped after growing up. Now the only one in the whole family who believes it is my great-grandfather."
"Let's get back to my family's story."
"According to legend, one of my ancestors was the first master swordsmith in Liyue's history. The famous swords he personally forged were said to be capable of wounding gods."
Little Jun Bai inexplicably felt a chill down his spine.
"That ancestor's sword-forging technique was passed down through the generations. Legend says that if anyone mastered it, they could forge famous swords capable of wounding gods just like the ancestor. Unfortunately, no one ever succeeded."
"Until my great-grandfather's great-grandfather—that is, my great-great-grandfather—when this sword-forging technique finally reappeared in the world."
"Great-great-grandfather inherited the ancestor's mantle and forged a famous sword capable of wounding gods. This even alarmed Rex Lapis."
"And then comes the part that even I at four years old thought was unrealistic."
"Rex Lapis personally visited our door to discuss forging techniques with great-great-grandfather. Then he left."
"Uh..." At this moment, Li Tonghui fell silent too.
Rex Lapis, personally, visited their door.
He recognized every word individually, but put together it felt like a dream. Even someone as optimistic as Li Tonghui found it hard to believe that the now-orphaned Jun family had once enjoyed such glory.
"After discussing the Dao, Rex Lapis left. Great-great-grandfather then entered seclusion to improve the sword-forging technique left by the ancestor. After emerging, he journeyed far to the snow mountains in the extreme west."
"In the extreme cold, great-great-grandfather exhausted his heart's blood and life force to forge an immortal sword, then had his accompanying great-grandfather bring it back to the Jun family."
"Great-great-grandfather left a final message: Only the greatest swordmaster in the world is qualified to wield this sword. And only the greatest swordmaster in the world can draw this sword."
"That immortal sword is now stored in my family's basement."
This was the only part of the Jun family story that Jun Mo Li was certain was true—after all, the sword was right there in the basement. He often went down to look at it.
Li Tonghui suddenly understood: "So that's why you want to become the greatest swordmaster in the world?"
"Yes, and no." Jun Mo Li stroked the dimmed Vision at his waist. "Becoming the greatest swordmaster in the world isn't my wish or my dream."
"It was my dad's. That wish even attracted a god's gaze."
"Before my dad left, he said that from childhood he'd believed the stories great-grandfather told, even though they now seem like deliberately exaggerated facts. But he really had believed them since he was little."
"The greatest swordmaster in the world, drawing the immortal sword hidden deep underground. That was my dad's dream from childhood, and that's how his Vision came to be."
"But my dad couldn't do it. He practiced the sword from childhood, wandered the jianghu for most of his life, yet in the end he could only be a blacksmith."
"The greatest in the world turned out to be nothing but an illusion."
"When my dad left, there was no sadness in his eyes—only regret. Honestly, I really disliked that look."
Jun Mo Li picked up his Vision:
"I still don't have a wish of my own right now, so I want to inherit my dad's wish—"
"To become the greatest swordmaster in the world."
Little Jun Bai stood up, placed his small hand on Jun Mo Li's shoulder, and said: "Mo Li-ge will definitely succeed! Because Mo Li-ge's swordsmanship is already really amazing right now!"
Jun Mo Li smiled and patted little Jun Bai's head: "Coming from you, that doesn't carry much persuasion."
Suddenly, scenes of those crimson shadows flashed through Jun Mo Li's mind, as if a spark of inspiration had appeared in his head.
But right now, he found it very hard to grasp that fleeting inspiration.
It seemed he hadn't touched the key point yet.
"By the way, Ah Bai, can you teach me swordsmanship? Just that one move you used back then." Jun Mo Li asked on impulse.
Little Jun Bai froze: "But I don't know how to teach."
Don't know how to teach? Jun Mo Li's eyes shifted: "Then can you use it?"
"Yes." Little Jun Bai nodded.
"Tomorrow, can you show it to me? I can..."
Before Jun Mo Li could offer any incentive, he saw little Jun Bai nod happily, looking just like a little dolphin.
"Sure!"