Daiyu could tell that it was almost time for her to finish the seclusion training. She wondered if Zihan would be impressed by the progress she had made in the last six months. As she meditated to cultivate her Qi, she could feel the presence of someone outside other than the guards.

“Is it time already…?” Daiyu mumbled to herself and got up to see who was outside. Since this area was off limits unless someone wanted to go into seclusion training, no one other than the guards had been coming around.

‘Maybe Zihan has sent someone in his stead.’

Daiyu thought to herself and moved the huge rock blocking the cave entrance. She flinched when the sun hit her eyes after six long months. She had gotten used to the cave’s dim interior so the sudden sunlight was almost hurting her eyes. Haoran had gone into hibernation a few hours ago so he was nowhere to be seen either. It was unlikely that he would appear anytime soon.

“Ah, sister Daiyu, you’re finally out, huh?” Daiyu squinted her eyes to look at the familiar figure standing in front of her. It was the fourth Prince Yuanjun, the son of the Lord’s third wife Lijing and the grandson of the Red Spear Sect’s Patriarch. He was only a couple years older than her but they never had a close enough relationship for him to come greet her.

“Ah, I greet older brother Yuanjun. Did Master Zihan send you?” It was improbable that Zihan had sent him but she had to clarify that either way.

“Oh no, no.” Yuanjun waved his hand and gave a soft smile that made him look unusually kind. He had a handsome and kind-looking face with black hair and soft brown eyes.

“I heard that my sister was learning martial arts so I just came over to see how you were doing. You certainly look stronger than before. Are you enjoying learning swordsmanship?”

“Thank you for coming over to check up on me, brother Yuanjun. I indeed enjoy pushing myself to limits and learning the way of the sword.” Daiyu was certain that Yuanjun had come over to measure her up. Since she was always surrounded by people, it was difficult for others to know what she was doing. Even Ah Duo had failed to plant spies around her.

“Say, little sister, your birthday passed when you were training, right? As your older brother, I came over to give you a present. However, it would be more interesting if we made a bet.” Yuanjun’s kind smile was unwavering but Daiyu could see the deep malice he held for her. It was obvious what he was trying to achieve but she had no intention of giving it to him.

“It is alright, brother. I must say I am a bit fatigued so I wish to rest for now.” Daiyu got down from the cave’s entrance to the forest ground and began walking towards the Azure Protection Hall with her guards in tow. The three men had yet to say anything but it made sense. It wasn’t their place to interrupt the Heavenly Demon’s children when they were talking.

“Even if I say that the gift is something that belonged to Lady Hongnan?” His words made Daiyu stop in her tracks and her face contorted with anger.

“What the hell did you just say?” How dare he use her mother’s name to instigate a fight?

“I recently got hold of a hairpin that belonged to Lady Hongnan. It was her most cherished hairpin that got lost right before she passed away. Apparently, a servant had stolen it from her but my mother managed to get a hold of it and kept it for safekeeping. I thought I could give it back to you as a present for your thirteenth birthday but you had already gone into seclusion training by then.” Yuanjun walked over to Daiyu and showed her a beautiful hair pin with garnets hanging from the end. She could already tell that one of the wives had probably stolen it out of jealousy or anger.

“Hah. What do you want then?” Daiyu’s face was full of contempt but Yuanjun’s expression did not change, even after she had shown him blatant hostility.

“Why don’t we cross our swords? It might be good for my sister to have a friendly spar with me, right?” Yuanjun’s smile did not match with the arrogant look in his eyes. He was looking down on her, so blatantly at that. He had deliberately come a few days before her training ended just so he could spar with her.

The spar was probably just a facade as well. He just wanted to crush her spirit and show her that she could never be a true martial artist. He was definitely under the impression that Daiyu was incapable of using Qi.

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“Haha. You just want to fight, huh? How cheap of you to use my mother’s possessions as bait. Alright, fine. Let us spar, brother. I wonder if all the martial artists like sparring with someone who has way less experience than them.” Daiyu snorted and told her guards to back down. The men behind her were starting to get restless with how things were progressing.

“You’re such a cute sister. It’s alright, I’m just here to teach you after all. It is my duty as your older brother, is it not?” Yuanjun’s kind smile had turned into an arrogant smirk and he took out his sword instantly. Daiyu had just started wielding the Violet Blossom Sword but she couldn’t use a wooden sword against a real one.

“Alright, I will let you have the first move, sister. Come at me.” Yuanjun stood lazily with his sword by his side. He had no intention of taking this spar seriously. The sight of him blatantly looking down on her and using her mother’s things as leverage enraged Daiyu. She took out the Violet Blossom sword and took up her stance. After a moment, Daiyu ran towards Yuanjun with an unbelievable speed and swung her sword gracefully.

‘Twelve Movement Violet Equilibrium Sword Technique, Fourth movement.’

Yuanjun instinctively blocked her attack with the back of his blade but he got pushed back by the sheer force of Daiyu’s attack. He had never expected Daiyu to actually deliver such a clean and forceful attack. It was something that was impossible to accomplish without inner qi.

‘Wait, does that mean… My mother was wrong?’ Yuanjun questioned if his mother had been mistaken about Daiyu’s dantian being blocked.

Daiyu took advantage of the disgruntled Yuanjun and delivered consecutive attacks one after the other with unbelievable agility. Her movements were fast yet powerful and flashy yet graceful. It was hard to believe that it had been a year since she started learning swordsmanship.

“Agh!” Yuanjun gave a frustrated scream and pushed back against Daiyu to create a distance between the two of them. However, Daiyu had no intention of letting him assemble his thoughts.

Daiyu used the Crimson Butterfly Footwork technique to close the distance between the two and swung her sword once again. Yuanjun was more prepared for her attacks and he retaliated with his own sword technique. He imbued Qi into his sword which began glowing with a dark blue color. With a forceful slash, he had Daiyu rolling back from the sheer recoil.

“Ugh.” Daiyu could feel that she had sustained some internal injury from that last attack. Yuanjun was someone who had been learning swordsmanship since he was a young child. The two had a vast difference in their experiences which gave him an advantage. However, Daiyu had the element of surprise on her side.

Without wasting any time, Daiyu closed the distance between the two of them and a violet aura illuminated her sword blade.

‘Thirty Two Movement Violet Butterfly Sword Technique, Fifth Movement, The Butterfly Storm.’

The tip of her sword began to shake and a violet butterfly emerged from it, which multiplied to form dozens of butterflies. Yuanjun stood still watching her technique unfold with his jaw slightly ajar. He had never known that such a technique existed within the cult, much less that Daiyu had somehow learned it. He watched the butterflies fly in circles at a high speed and descend downwards. It was only then he realized that he had fallen for an illusion.

“Keuk!” Yuanjun tried to slash the butterflies down but it was already too late. The storm of the fluttering butterflies had already surrounded him and he could feel their wings cut into his skin and give him shallow wounds. Yuanjun stood in shock even after the butterflies had vanished and fell on his knees.

“What… what witchcraft…” He mumbled in a daze. Wasn’t she supposed to be a weak peasant girl who could not even use Qi? Had she been fooling everyone all this time?

Daiyu sheathed her sword and doubled down with pain. She had sustained some internal injuries from Yuanjun’s attack and the sword technique was still too much for her to handle. Even though she had grasped the basic movements of the sword techniques, she was far from actually mastering them.

Daiyu choked back the blood that entered her mouth and walked over to Yuanjun who was still kneeling down with a dazed expression on his face.

“Give me that hair pin.” She extended her palm towards him and gestured for him to give it back. When she got no response from him, Daiyu slapped him across the face out of frustration and anger.

“I said give it back! You petty fucking bunch of thieves.” The slap managed to snap Yuanjun out of thoughts and he handed her the pin reflexively. He had planned on injuring her a bit and maybe breaking her spirit for fun, but he had never expected to be the one on his knees.

“You!” The kind facade had been completely shattered and an ugly expression now colored his face. “You bitch, you’ve been playing us for fools huh?” Yuanjun slowly got up and flinched from the injuries he had sustained. He was bleeding at multiple places from shallow and deep cuts.

“You better watch your back from now, you filthy peasant.” Yuanjun spit at her feet and walked away without glancing back. The guards who had been watching everything unfold had a surprised expression on their faces.

“Let’s go back now. Tell Master Zihan about that petty fool as well.” Daiyu turned around and began walking out of the forest. She clutched the hair pin in her hand, and her heart was thumping with anger. How dare they insult her mother this way?

“I will rip each and everyone of you to shreds.” Daiyu spit out those words through her gritted teeth and placed the hair pin safely inside her vest. She was not going to be bystander to their blatant disrespect anymore.