Xue Qiuling.

Yin Long and Lan Yun looked at the group of five people that said they were from the Heron's Ascension Dojo. The yellow-eyed and brown-haired girl who seemed to be their leader, Xue Qiuling, finished her bow and released the hems of her robe, flashing Yin Long's group a welcoming smile.

"Well, do you wish to see the techniques of our dojo? We can't spar using sharp weapons as that would carry the risk of grievous injuries, but I carry more than a few wooden weapons that we can use. And of course, as it's our technique you want to see, we won't be using any Qi or the like, sound fair?"

Xue Qiuling took a step forward after she finished talking, swiping the bracelet she wore on her left hand and pulling out two normal-looking wooden swords. Yin Long looked at the two swords for a second before nodding his head, the corners of his lips curving up in slight excitement, this was after all the exact reason he had come out here.

Xue Qiuling kept one of the swords for herself and tossed the other to Yin Long, but Lan Yun quickly skipped forward and caught the sword before Yin Long could. She took up position in front of Yin Long and pointed the tip of the wooden sword at Xue Qiuling while casting a quick backwards glance at Yin Long.

"I'm sorry, Young Master, but I'll be the one to spar with her."

One of Yin Long's eyebrows couldn't help but raise when he heard how Lan Yun referred to him. She hadn't called him Young Master ever since they left the clan so he was slightly caught off guard. But thinking back, she hadn't actually called him by his name either after they left the clan so he couldn't exactly call it strange that she would still call him Young Master, it was what she had called him for over six years after all.

Of course, Yin Long understood that Lan Yun hadn't just stepped forward to take over the sparring just because she was worried that the woman might try to harm Yin Long during the duel. It was probably a combination of the fact that she wanted to further show Yin Long her own improvements as well as a touch of jealousy. But Yin Long didn't have a reason to refuse her so he took a step back and raised his arms in surrender to signal that she could do as she pleased.

Xue Qiuling didn't say anything as Yin Long stepped back, silently accepting the turn of events. The four people behind her brought out chairs from their interspatial rings, sitting down while occasionally sweeping the surroundings with narrowed eyes to make sure no one snuck up on them. Yin Long simply sat down on one of the headless corpses, ignoring Jin Wang nudging him in an attempt to get to the corpse.

Lan Yun and Xue Qiuling took up their positions a few steps away from each other, Lan Yun weighing the sword she was holding. She was far more used to wielding a large axe, but she had spent enough time with Yin Long to pick up a thing or two about how to use a sword so she could be considered decently proficient. She held the sword somewhat low with both hands, below her waist, and decided to take the initiative with the first move.

She quickly hopped forward to cross the short distance between her and the Xue Qiuling, the wooden sword flashing as she delivered an upwards cut at the enemy's chin. Xue Qiuling took a quick step back so that the sword missed her and simultaneously raised her right foot, stomping down on Lan Yun's foot, which she had swept out in a quiet sneak attack.

She also cut out with her own wooden sword, chasing after Lan Yun's attack and hitting her sword from below, forcefully increasing its speed. The sudden increase in power temporarily pushed the weapon out of Lan Yun's control, and since she was holding it with both arms it ended up with both her hands raised above her head, leaving her front completely exposed.

Xue Qiuling took advantage of her exposed opponent and quickly stabbed out with her sword, aiming to poke Lan Yun's nose. Lan Yun refused to lose this easily so she exerted all the power she could muster, the veins on her arms bulging slightly as she forcibly halted her sword and reversed its direction, bringing it smashing down as if she was holding a large hammer.

But Xue Qiuling remained unfazed and simple stopped her stab, twisting her sword into a backhanded grab and then raised her arm to block the attack. She allowed Lan Yun's sword to hit the edge of her own blade and then bent her wrist so that Lan Yun's sword slid down along the edge of her blade, redirecting the downward slash so that it continued harmlessly at Xue Qiuling's side.

This was a move that Lan Yun was far too familiar with, she had seen Yin Long perform it countless times, it was to the point that his movements were already burned into her mind. As such, she eased up on how much force she put into her attack the moment her sword started to slide along Xue Qiuling's blade. She then started to put force into the attack again once her blade approached the edge of Xue Qiuling's sword, this way she could instantly change the trajectory into a sideways slash the moment she was clear of Xue Qiuling's sword.

But Xue Qiuling seemed to read Lan Yun's actions from her expression, flicking her wrist the moment Lan Yun's sword was about to slide off of the edge of her blade. Lan Yun's sword was pushed a bit away and her tempo was thrown off, Xue Qiuling instantly taking the chance to bend her wrist until the tip of her sword was pointed at Lan Yun's throat. Lan Yun tried to quickly step back, but Xue Qiuling's hand moved faster, the tip of her wooden sword touching Lan Yun's throat and stopping.

"It seems to be my victory. Looking at how much force you put into the attacks and the way you moved your joints I'm guessing that you aren't used to fighting with a sword like this? But you showed excellent understanding and swift reflexes, you've clearly taken part in your fair share of battle. You may have lost, but it was a marvellous fight and the result might have been entirely different if you got to use the weapon you're used to. Had you used your actual weapon, you would probably have broken my wrist when I deflected your attack like that. And at that point, I might as well be dead. So all in all, you have nothing to be ashamed of, keep fighting and honing your technique, you will end up as a marvellous and ferocious fighter with a bit more training."

Xue Qiuling pulled back her own sword and lowered it, stretching out her left arm to shake Lan Yun's hand while she spoke, praising and advising Lan Yun. But it didn't matter to Lan Yun how much she was praised by this Xue Qiuling, all that mattered to her was that she lost in front of Yin Long, the one person she didn't want to see her lose. But just as she was about to turn to look at Yin Long, she felt his hand land on her head and ruffle her hair. His reassuring smile fell into her eyes, his calm voice soothing any aggrieved feelings she had.

"Don't look like that, losing just means that you've still got plenty of room for growth. It might not be cause for celebration, but it certainly isn't a reason to be depressed either. Accept the loss and use it to keep moving forward, they'll eventually add up to harden your foundation."

Lan Yun drew in a deep breath and nodded her head strongly at Yin Long, showing the most resolute face she could muster. She had lost, but it was just a sparring match so her life hadn't been in danger. She had lost but survived, which meant she could use it as a chance to step forward and grow stronger, that was how she should see it, that was how Yin Long would see it. Yin Long returned the nod with a satisfied smile, snatching the wooden sword from Lan Yun.

"Alright, my turn. I imagine you're still up for round 2?"

He directed the question at Xue Qiuling, who nodded her head and took a few steps back to put some distance between them. Lan Yun knew her turn was over so she stepped away, walking over to Jin Wang who had immediately taken advantage of Yin Long leaving to snatch up the corpse he had been sitting on. She casually leaned against a tree, putting her full focus on Yin Long and Xue Qiuling so that she could try to learn as much as possible from their duel.

Yin Long and Xue Qiuling stood a few steps away from each other, both silently sizing up the other without immediately making any moves. Xue Qiuling frowned slightly while observing Yin Long, a faint light flashing through her eyes after a few seconds. She immediately stepped forward and dashed at him, swiping a slash towards his open left thigh.

But just as her arm started to move, she realized that Yin Long had purposefully created the opening in his defence to lure her in. He stepped forward and swept out with his empty left hand, grabbing onto Xue Qiuling's hand and pushing it aside so that her sword didn't reach him. He stabbed out with his own sword at the same time, aiming at the spot where Xue Qiuling's navel should be.

But since he could react so swiftly, so too could she. She sucked in her stomach and leaned forward to push her stomach back, her left hand shooting out and grabbing onto Yin Long's wrist. She raised and pushed his arm to the side so much that he spun until his right shoulder was facing her, her arm bending so that she could smash her elbow into his chin while still pushing his arm aside.

Yin Long responded by pulling back his head and letting go of his own sword and Xue Qiuling's hand. His now free left hand quickly grabbed onto his sword and stabbed up at Xue Qiuling's chest as her elbow just barely missed his face. She was forced to let go of his right wrist and immediately grabbed onto his left hand, exerting as much force as she could to bend his wrist until his weapon was pointed at his own chest.

Her other hand was now free too so she slashed at him with her own sword as well, catching him in a pincer attack from the side and from below while robbing him of the chance to dodge too much by holding his hand in an awkward angle. But she immediately learned that such an attack was not enough to catch Yin Long.

He couldn't let go of his weapon since she was clutching onto his left hand, but his right hand was free so he could grab onto her shoulder. He jumped up and leaned forward, his foot landing on the flat side of Xue Qiuling's wooden sword and allowing him to exert enough force to jump once more. He vaulted over Xue Qiuling's body, her grip on his left hand resulting in the stab that was aimed at his own chest now pointing directly at her face while he vaulted over her.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she quickly leaned to the side so that the stab missed her but she was forced to let go of his hand in the process, otherwise she would end up hitting herself in the chin when the handle reached her. Yin Long could pull his arm back now that his hand was no longer being restricted, flipping the weapon into a backhanded grip so that he could aim a stab at Xue Qiuling's lower spine while he stretched out his right arm to catch himself into a handstand.

Xue Qiuling's instincts kicked in as the wooden sword approached her lower spine, her leaning body suddenly accelerating drastically as she spun around, the edge of her blade making contact with Yin Long's neck. Her weapon reached him before his reached her, but she didn't carry the look of a victor, she actually looked somewhat bitter.

"You're... really annoying, did you know that? It's my loss, I set the rules but couldn't even follow them. I fell for your first feint and had to fight reactively as a result, handing all the initiative to you. It was one marvellous and quick-witted move after another, but by the Celestial Emperor if it isn't stifling to be on the receiving end of that."

Xue Qiuling pulled back her wooden sword and straightened her body as she spoke, her lips curling up into a somewhat frustrated grimace. The only reason she was able to reach him before she reached him was due to the fact that that she used a bit of her Qi to speed up her body. But as she had been the one to say that they would fight without using any Qi, it could only be called her loss. Yin Long flipped his body out of the handstand and tossed the wooden sword back to Xue Qiuling, clicking his tongue slightly while shaking his head.

"Nah, no point in considering it your loss. Looking at that final move, a lot of your swordplay is based on the law your cultivation manual focuses on, not using the two in tandem drastically reduces the potential of your techniques. You might have been forced to use your Qi, but you've been fighting with a massive handicap this entire time. I'll consider it my loss and take it as a lesson that I need to integrate my own laws into my swordplay, just having the technique isn't enough."

Her final attack, just thinking about it caused Yin Long's heart to throb slightly. It looked to be moving in a straight manner but it was actually full of minute wave-like motions that allowed it to move even faster and more unpredictably, it even produced the faint illusion that it was further away than it actually was. By the time the sword registered in his senses, it was already at his throat, it was an attack that he could only describe using the word beautiful.

There was also the matter of Xue Qiuling's cultivation, which Yin Long had only been able to see when she unleashed a bit of her Qi. She looked like she was a year or two younger than him, but she had already reached the 4th Immortal Door, he probably wouldn't stand a chance if they were to engage in an actual battle. Xue Qiuling smiled but didn't comment on him stating it as his own loss, putting away the wooden swords while stretching out her right hand for a handshake.

"Well, you've seen our skills so what do you think, is our Heron's Ascension Dojo worthy? We've got manuals for all types of weapons so everyone can learn a thing or two from us, and we're always looking for new talent to join us. And if the two of you can't be called talented then I don't think anyone deserves that title, we'll welcome both of you with open arms."

Yin Long looked at Xue Qiuling's hand and then moved his gaze to Lan Yun, checking her opinion without making his own stance clear. Meeting his gaze, Lan Yun could only let out a somewhat drawn-out sigh and nod her head. He could try to hide his stance as much as he liked, she had looked at him for so long that she could easily see through his poker face.

She could see that he wanted to join the dojo since it seemed like he could sharpen his sword further there, and she had no intention of letting her own little jealousy be the reason he didn't join up with people from which he could learn from. Joining this dojo only meant that she would have to focus more on her own cultivation while also ramping up her seduction attempts, otherwise he might get stolen away by someone else once others started to realize just how bright of a sun he was. Seeing her nod, Yin Long stretched out his own hand and shook Xue Qiuling's, sealing the deal.

"Alright, we'll join you. But let me warn you, we'll probably move on once we've surpassed you. So do your best to always stay ahead if you want to keep us there."

Xue Qiuling's slightly frustrated smile blossomed into a blooming smile as Yin Long shook her hand, the beauty of the sight forcing the four others that were still waiting to suck in a short breath. Their eyes slid over to Lan Yun, the four men quietly thanking the gods that their dojo would gain another beauty on par with Xue Qiuling.