Rion's sword stroke in a swift movement downward, aiming the celestial ice demon's heart to kill her once and for all. The move of the blade was almost impossible to follow with human eyes, but Valienne was not a human. Her eyes were wide open, watching the tip of the sword gleaming toward her heart.Then his sword pricked a layer of ice, and couldn't move further.The layer of ice that covered Valienne's chest was thin, but it was very strong and had a peculiar dark blue color that swirled on the surface. The color was similar to Valienne's eyes. Frost rose and crackling rapidly along Rion's blade. He also felt a sharp prick of cold on his skin where he made contact with Valienne's body even through the layer of clothes he wore and the spirit energy that naturally flowed throughout his body.A new ice sword materialized in Valienne's left hand. Rion jerked back violently to evade the attack, releasing his hold on the celestial demon. He managed to avoid getting his neck cut. Instead,
Rion reached out one of his hand although he knew the distance between him and Valienne was simply too far. Desperate and outraged, he shouted harshly,"ZEPHYR!!!"The sword swoop down sharply as a response to its master. The blade flashed under the sun as it flew swiftly to stop the celestial demon.Valienne could feel the danger, but she was close, too close. Just a little touch on Ruby and she would be able to bring this half-blood demon into the demon realm. She could deal with Rion after. She wanted to use Ruby as a guarantee, in case if something went wrong and she couldn't defeat the master, at least Valienne's trip to the Human Realm this time still bear fruit in the form of the southern demon's half-blood princess.Therefore, she ignored the warning sign and her instinct to dodge, thinking that she could stop Rion's attack with the Vox clan's special technique like before, and kept extending her hand toward Ruby.The sword stroke fiercely. It pierced through her protective la
Ruby glared at him with those peculiar dark-red eyes. She growled and tried to pull her hands free from Rion's hold, but he held her down firmly."Look at me," Rion repeated.Ruby snarled at him savagely. She bared her teeth and bit his arm. Rion hissed in pain. He held both of Ruby's wrists in one hand and used the other to yank her hair back, so she released her teeth that were latching onto his arm.Ruby hissed and scrunched her eyes shut by the sharp pain on her scalp. It made Rion feel guilty that he loosened his hold a little but didn't let her go completely. Rion pulled her hair slightly so Ruby would have no other choice than to face him. She narrowed her eyes at him, full of anger and very unlike her usual self.
"No."Rion's answer came without a pause. Valienne sighed a little louder, as if she already expected what Rion would say before even asking the question."Rion Ren, one of the seven famous masters from Liebu Mountain. From our fight today, I can see you are not a stupid person. I'm certain at this point you had realized that the half-blood won't be able to live in the human realm any longer, hadn't you?"Rion's jaw clenched. "Ruby's home is in Liebu Mountain in the human realm and nowhere else.""And how would you hide her there, exactly?" Valienne raised a brow at him. "Don't tell me you would just keep her in the mountain and fought off whoever wanted to take her?"
"You can stop talking and let us go if that concerns you so much," Rion answered sharply. He ran out of energy, and he run out of time. All he wanted to do was just to get away from here as soon as possible, as far as possible.Valienne shook her head slightly. "Had you really thought about your apprentice, Rion? Had you really thought about what is best for her? Do you think it would be more merciful for a half-blood in the human realm than in the demon realm?""You want to kill her," Rion spat. "And how would that be more merciful than any other choice she has?"The celestial ice demon scrunched her nose in distaste. "I want to kill her? Why would I want to kill her?""Then what else is your intention of taking he
Ludriev jumped in front of Rion, slashing her sword down harshly right a mere second after the portal Valienne used had closed. Valienne and the other person she held hostage - which Ludriev quite sure was Rion's dearest apprentice from her appearance - were nowhere to be found.The War Goddess looked around her once, making sure there was no other demon that could be a threat to their safety at the moment, and then turned around to face Rion with her brows pinched in bewilderment."Why did you let them go? Why did you let the demon take your apprentice-"At the time, Ludriev's eyes finally flitted away from Rion's bloodless face to his body. Her eyes widened almost comically when she saw Rion's clothes had been completely soaked in blood.
Liebu Mountain Academy was the biggest, most renowned place for those who wished to learn swordsmanship. There were seven reputable sword masters who taught those young talents in this place. From a young master to a beggar on the road, Liebu Mountain didn't look at their background, but at their aptitude and moral conscience.In the middle of the large training grounds, many apprentices crowded the place. Some of them had obtained their spirit sword, while some younger ones still holding their training sword. All of them were equally amazed watching two of their masters sparring in the arena.One of those two masters swung his sword down hard. He smirked when his opponent withstood the blow with her own sword. The impact was so strong that sparks flew from the collided metal."Come on, Lulu. Tired already?" he asked, teasing. Even when he himself was panting lightly.The man was Rion Ren, one of the masters from Liebu Mountain. He was strong and his moves were fast and agile. Many pe
Rion and Ludriev were about to enter the front yard of his bamboo house when he heard a shout from ahead of the pathway."Master!"A young girl ran in his direction cheerfully. Her face was flushed, maybe from running all the way here, as she smiled at him. Rion was about to warn her to slow down and be careful when her feet slipped and she fell forward right into Rion's arms, who was fast enough to catch her."Ruby, what did I say about no running around carelessly like that?"Ruby immediately pulled herself back from his arms. She flushed even harder. "I- I'm sorry, Master. I was too clumsy."Honestly, Rion got worried about this apprentice of his. Ruby was too clumsy. She often stumbled around like that and fell into his arms. Even more so when he taught her a sword move. He even gave her an extra hour for a private lesson because she had difficulty learning it.She stumbled and fell on him over a hundred times in their last private lesson.Rion felt like he should invite Lin over