"Hmm... not bad. You really do have a bit of that chivalrous swordsman aura now."
Yunli swiped her fingertip across her phone screen, her gaze settling on the photo as the corners of her mouth curled upward involuntarily.
At the request of the future Sword Immortal Mo for a commemorative photo, Yunli very obligingly took on the role of photographer.
After Mo Xin had gone through every pose she could think of,
Exhausted both physically and mentally, she finally managed to vent all the restless excitement in her heart.
Even so, Mo Xin still clutched her swords tightly, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.
Why wouldn't she? At such a young and carefree age, who didn't dream of becoming a Sword Immortal?
And on this point, girls were certainly no exception.
However, seeing her foolish Disciple so overly excited, Yunli felt it was time to step in.
"Alright, alright. You've been excited long enough. Calm down a little."
A moment later, after receiving a few "knocks" from Yunli, Mo Xin finally settled down.
But the smile on her face refused to disappear. Anyone could tell this girl's excitement wouldn't fade for at least another three or four days.
It was just that the sweet smile paired with her bruised and swollen face looked so ridiculous that even Yunli couldn't help turning her head away to stifle a laugh.
After a long while, Yunli let out a soft sigh before gently patting the girl's swollen cheek.
"Stop acting silly. Now try putting your weapon away."
Mo Xin, whose face was still throbbing with pain, immediately gripped her swords and began trying.
She stared intently at the blades in her hands, her eyes trembling slightly as she held her breath and focused with complete concentration, not daring to relax for even a second.
The next moment, the swords dissolved into countless tiny particles of light and, with a swish, vanished from her palms.
"Eh? It worked! It really worked!"
"Mm. Once you've practiced a few more times, you'll be able to summon your weapons anytime, anywhere."
With the guidance of her master Yunli, combined with Mo Xin's own Space Ability, she could now freely store and summon her swords even without becoming a Pathstrider.
She simply wasn't proficient enough yet. Sometimes she was a beat too slow when storing them, and summoning them wasn't quite as smooth either. She would need a bit more practice before she truly mastered it.
After Mo Xin repeatedly stored and summoned her swords several times, Yunli finally couldn't help speaking again.
"Alright, let's get going. We should find Mu Yao and have your face treated first. Otherwise... pfft!"
Before she could finish her sentence, she burst into laughter herself.
"Ah? Ya ah ah—!!!"
Only after Yunli pointed it out did Mo Xin belatedly realize the situation. She reached up to touch her bruised and swollen face before immediately stomping her feet in embarrassment.
More importantly...
Mo Xin Ｏ(≧mouth≦)Ｏ: "Crap! I feel like my whole body is falling apart!"
Yunli (๑ ᗜ ˰ ᗜ ๑): "Dummy. Who told you to get so carried away?"
Just like that, the boomerang from a few minutes ago came right back and hit Mo Xin squarely.
...
"By the way, your combat training will temporarily come to an end here."
"Ah? Why?"
"You've passed today's assessment. From now on, just continue your regular training to improve your fundamentals."
"But..."
Although hearing that she had "passed" made Mo Xin secretly delighted,
She still had enough self-awareness.
Some time ago, her training had shifted from dull foundational exercises to genuine combat sparring with Master Yunli—real, no-holds-barred combat. The only reason she had managed to pass was because her master had been holding back.
Today's seemingly impressive performance had actually been built upon countless previous failures.
It was just like grinding a difficult boss manually. After failing dozens of times and memorizing nearly all of its attack patterns, she had finally managed to scrape together a victory.
Among those victories, there had been no shortage of Yunli deliberately going easy on her, nor a lack of Mo Xin relying on little tricks and clever shortcuts.
As if she had already guessed what her foolish Disciple was thinking,
Yunli spoke at just the right moment.
"Don't belittle yourself. Your performance today was already good enough."
"But..."
"No buts!"
Yunli directly interrupted her foolish Disciple.
Immediately afterward, she quickly walked over to Mo Xin.
Before the latter could even react, Yunli hopped forward and lightly flicked her on the forehead.
"Ow?!!!"
Feeling the sting, Mo Xin couldn't help hissing. She lowered her head in confusion, only to meet those golden eyes.
Yunli placed both hands on her hips and spoke in a clear, resonant voice.
"Don't let your imagination run wild. The purpose of combat training isn't to see how well you perform."
"It's to let you experience real combat while integrating everything you've learned during this period as much as possible."
"Recognize your shortcomings, then work to overcome them. Don't aim higher than you can handle."
There was neither criticism nor excessive praise—only a calm explanation of the true purpose behind the training.
After hearing those words, a thoughtful expression flashed across Mo Xin's face, as though she had truly taken Master Yunli's advice to heart.
Seeing this, Yunli nodded inwardly.
Then her tone softened as she decided to offer some well-deserved praise.
"And your performance today was nearly perfect. Compared to how clumsy you were at the beginning, there's already an obvious difference."
"So, the combat training between master and Disciple can come to an end for now."
Hearing Master Yunli's praise, Mo Xin's already swollen pig-like face somehow flushed even redder. She scratched the back of her head with a silly grin, and most of her earlier hesitation gradually disappeared.
Deep down, she accepted her master's explanation.
Watching the changes in her foolish Disciple's expression, Yunli also nodded secretly.
Everything she had just said wasn't empty encouragement.
Thinking back to their very first combat session,
Mo Xin's performance had truly been painful to watch.
Not only had she been completely flustered, but despite having absolutely no combat experience, she had actually charged head-on at Yunli without a second thought.
The result was obvious.
She had been beaten until her face was bruised and swollen.
Sometimes she even pulled off bizarre, heaven-defying techniques with names like "One Sword Heavenly Gate" or "Midnight Crow Slash"...
In short, from that day onward, there had hardly been a single day when Mo Xin wasn't covered in bruises.
Of course, Yunli had always done her best to control her strength.
Making sure it hurt without actually causing injuries—absolutely not affecting the next day's beating... training.
By now, Mo Xin had clearly improved by a great deal.
But because of that, Yunli was no longer the right sparring partner for her.
After all, Mo Xin might appear to be going all out, but when facing her own master, how could she truly bring herself to land a serious blow?
She would unconsciously hold back.
If they continued sparring like this, it would eventually lose all meaning.
As for Yunli, naturally, the same went without saying.
So now, Yunli was considering finding Mo Xin a sparring partner of similar strength.
Only by fighting someone on equal footing could Mo Xin truly understand her own abilities and use that experience to continue improving.
Otherwise, if she only ever sparred against her own people, how could it possibly be effective?
Hadn't she already seen the kinds of sneaky little tricks this girl had started pulling now?
However, given the current circumstances,
She had no choice but to let Mo Xin continue focusing on her basic training.
...
"Oww... it hurts so much... Master Yunli, then I'll get going first."
"Mm."
Yunli quietly watched Mo Xin walk farther and farther away.
Since she also needed to bring lunch to Song Qianqian,
She had no choice but to send the foolish Mo Xin to the Ability Bureau alone to have Mu Yao treat her injuries first.
After Mo Xin had completely disappeared from sight,
Yunli also prepared to head back toward the dormitory.
However, at that very moment,
A notification suddenly appeared on her phone, instantly drawing Yunli's attention.