Chapter 15: The Owner’s Sword

Lin Yuan drew.

The other man’s sword left its sheath almost at the same moment.

Steel struck steel.

The impact pushed Lin Yuan half a step back.

His opponent was stronger.

Qi Refining Eight and Qi Refining Nine were only one layer apart, but the difference became clear the moment their swords met.

The man stepped forward and swung again.

Lin Yuan didn’t meet the strike directly.

He turned his wrist, caught the blade at an angle, and guided it away from the nearest table.

The sword cut through empty air.

Lin Yuan kicked the table behind him aside, opening a path toward the entrance.

"Outside."

The man gave him a hard look.

Lin Yuan didn’t wait for an answer.

His sword came from the side, forcing the man to retreat or take the blade across his arm.

He retreated.

Lin Yuan pressed forward.

A second strike drove him another step back.

The third sent him through the tavern door.

Lin Yuan followed him into the courtyard.

Cold night air replaced the warmth of the dining hall.

Behind them, chairs scraped against the floor as customers shifted for a better view.

The other two men came to the doorway but stopped there.

Su Mei remained inside.

There was far more room in the courtyard, and Lin Yuan would rather fight here than destroy his dining hall.

The Qi Refining Nine cultivator tightened his grip on his sword.

"You think pushing me outside means you won?"

Lin Yuan raised his sword.

"I think my tables are safer."

The man stared at him.

Then he moved.

Spiritual Qi gathered around his sword as he crossed the courtyard.

Fast.

Lin Yuan shifted aside.

The blade passed close to his shoulder.

He answered with a short cut toward the man’s side.

His opponent twisted away and struck back immediately.

Lin Yuan blocked.

The impact ran through his arm.

He gave ground.

The next strike came before he could fully recover.

Lin Yuan caught it again, but this time his feet slid across the packed earth.

Once the man stopped holding back, the difference in cultivation became much harder to ignore.

Lin Yuan’s inherited sword technique was ordinary. It had no powerful sword arts or hidden moves, only basic movements he had practiced until they became familiar.

Right now, familiar was useful.

Block.

Turn.

Step.

Counter.

The man attacked again.

Lin Yuan caught the strike and redirected it downward.

The sword struck the ground, sending dust across the courtyard.

Lin Yuan’s blade was already moving.

His opponent pulled back.

A thin cut appeared across his sleeve.

The man glanced down.

When he looked up again, the contempt in his expression had disappeared.

Lin Yuan stepped in.

Their swords collided twice in quick succession.

On the third exchange, the man suddenly changed direction.

Lin Yuan barely caught it.

The force pushed his sword toward his chest.

His arm trembled.

The man pressed harder.

Lin Yuan could feel the difference in their spiritual Qi clearly.

If he continued competing in raw strength, he would lose.

He shifted his weight.

Instead of resisting the pressure, he let it carry his sword sideways.

His opponent’s blade slipped past.

The man’s balance shifted forward.

Lin Yuan stepped in.

The point of his sword stopped against the man’s robe.

At almost the same moment, cold steel stopped beside Lin Yuan’s shoulder.

Neither moved.

For a few seconds, the only sound came from an Ironhoof Beast shifting inside the stable.

The man’s eyes dropped to the sword against his chest.

Lin Yuan glanced at the blade beside his shoulder.

Continuing would turn a fight over a guest room into something neither of them could easily walk away from.

Lin Yuan lowered his sword.

"Take your friends and leave."

The man remained where he was.

One of his companions finally stepped out of the doorway.

"Brother."

The Qi Refining Nine cultivator’s expression tightened.

Then he lowered his sword.

"Fine."

Lin Yuan stepped aside.

The other two men returned to their table and gathered their belongings. One placed several spirit stones beside the unfinished food before they came back outside.

The Qi Refining Nine cultivator passed Lin Yuan without speaking.

At the edge of the courtyard, he sheathed his sword.

His companions followed.

Lin Yuan watched until all three disappeared down the road.

Only then did he put away his own sword.

His right hand hurt.

He opened and closed his fingers.

A faint tremor remained from the repeated impacts.

Qi Refining Nine was stronger than he had expected.

If the fight had continued, he wasn’t confident he would have won.

But he hadn’t needed to win.

He had needed the man out of his tavern.

Lin Yuan turned around.

Almost every customer was gathered near the entrance.

They stared at him.

He stared back.

"Food’s getting cold."

Someone looked toward his table.

That seemed to remind everyone why they were there.

Customers began returning to their seats.

Conversation slowly filled the dining hall again as Lin Yuan walked inside.

The guest from upstairs was waiting beside the counter with his water jug.

"Owner Lin."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"Thank you."

"You paid for the room."

The guest paused, then smiled.

"I suppose I did."

He picked up his jug and went upstairs.

Su Mei came over once he was gone.

"Your hand."

Lin Yuan looked down.

The trembling hadn’t completely stopped.

"Qi Refining Nine hits hard."

"You almost beat him."

"Almost isn’t the same thing."

That final exchange could easily have ended differently. Lin Yuan had found an opening, but the other man’s sword had reached him too.

Su Mei glanced around the dining hall.

"At least nothing broke."

Lin Yuan followed her gaze.

One table had been pushed out of place. A bowl had fallen over, spilling some broth across the floor.

That seemed to be the extent of it.

"Good."

Lin Yuan picked up the cloth he’d left on the counter.

Su Mei stared at him.

"What?"

"You just fought a Qi Refining Nine cultivator."

"And?"

"You’re going back to cleaning?"

Lin Yuan looked at the wet counter.

"It isn’t going to clean itself."

Su Mei shook her head and went back to the customers.

Lin Yuan wiped the counter.

His arm still felt heavy, but that could wait until closing.

There were customers to feed.

The last customers eventually went upstairs.

Su Mei retired to her room while Lin Yuan locked the front door.

He should have gone to bed.

Instead, he stepped into the courtyard and drew his sword.

The fight had exposed something.

Lin Yuan raised his weapon and repeated the movement that had nearly caught him earlier.

Once.

Twice.

The third attempt was better, but not enough.

He tried again.

The Qi Refining Nine cultivator had changed the direction of his strike halfway through their exchange. Lin Yuan had reacted in time only because his sword had already been close enough to intercept it.

He repeated the movement.

Block.

Turn.

Counter.

Again.

His inherited sword technique was simple, but simple didn’t mean useless.

There was a difference between knowing a movement and being able to use it when someone stronger was trying to break through his defense.

Tonight had made that difference obvious.

Lin Yuan continued practicing.

His sword cut through the night air again and again.

Gradually, the awkwardness disappeared.

He finally lowered the blade.

Sweat had formed along his forehead despite the cool air.

Lin Yuan looked toward the dark road.

The ninth layer no longer felt like a distant number in his cultivation technique.

He had fought someone standing there.

He had felt the stronger spiritual Qi behind every strike.

And he had felt how close the gap was.

Lin Yuan sheathed his sword and returned upstairs.

He sat cross-legged on his bed.

His breathing gradually slowed.

Then he began circulating his cultivation technique.

Spiritual Qi gathered around him.

The Minor Qi Gathering effect of Wandering Cloud Tavern helped draw it toward the building, making cultivation easier than it had been when Lin Yuan first arrived in Blackstone.

He guided the Qi through the familiar route.

One cycle.

Then another.

His thoughts occasionally returned to the fight.

The weight behind his opponent’s sword.

The pressure of Qi Refining Nine.

The moment their blades had stopped.

Lin Yuan let those thoughts fade and continued cultivating.

Time passed.

Shortly before dawn, his eyes opened.

His cultivation remained at Qi Refining Eight.

But something had changed.

The barrier ahead felt clearer.

Lin Yuan sat quietly for a moment before looking toward the window.

The first light of morning was beginning to appear over Blackstone.

His stomach growled.

Lin Yuan looked down.

He had spent the entire night cultivating.

He stood and stretched his stiff shoulders.

Breakfast wasn’t going to make itself.