Silver stood opposite of Lingxu, his deep dark hair swaying with the wind. His eyes, dark like the abyss, looked upon Lingxu with a discerning gaze. He held his wooden sword in his right hand. Silver, having not fought anyone before, had his hair quite long, as it was the tribe's tradition to cut one's hair only after losing a battle. He looked like a swordsman straight out of those eastern manhua.
Lingxu, who stood on the other side with his blade in its sheath, also held his weapon ready. He wore simple light armor, not for war but for basic protection. Lingxu had ash-white hair and bright yellow eyes. He looked toward Silver, full of intrigue and curiosity, the boy standing opposite him seemed like someone he could not take lightly.
They stood still for a moment. The envoy became the referee, and the warriors and knights of the empire stood guard to intervene if things escalated. When the envoy lowered his hand, he shouted, "GO!"
Silver started by bursting Aura around him, consuming half of his Aura reserve. Lingxu sensed it, the opponent he thought hadn't even awakened Aura was now using it right before his eyes. His face grew cold. He never thought someone so young could already learn to wield Aura. The warriors of the tribe smiled with confidence, while the knights of the East widened their eyes in shock.
Lingxu prepared himself, expecting to be struck by a powerful move right from the start. But when the wave of dark lightning hit him, he didn't feel a thing, it felt like just a gust of wind passing through. What? That's it? Is it only for show? he thought, confused. Seeing that Silver made no other moves, Lingxu decided to probe Silver's strength using his Aura. He dashed across the training ground so fast that even the warriors of the Lunar Tribe were amazed by his speed.
But before Lingxu's weapon could strike Silver, he stopped. Not because he held back, but because Silver's weapon was already aimed at the back of his neck. Silver, who had been standing in front of him just a moment ago, had appeared instantly behind him without anyone seeing his movement.
"What?! Did he just break space?!" said the Captain of the Knight Guards, full of surprise.
The Captain, who had mastered the Eastern Aura Arts and was known for his speed, was utterly shocked. What he saw, or rather felt, was something impossible. The boy didn't move so fast that his eyes couldn't follow, instead, the distance between the two points had simply disappeared for a moment. So fast that even his eyes or senses couldn't register it. It was as if, for a split second, the boy existed in two different spaces at the same time. The Captain felt it, and in that moment, he was terrified by what he had just witnessed.
But Lingxu, a genius of his own era, understood it. Silver didn't move fast, he collapsed the space separating two points and moved through the crack. It was almost the same principle that mages who specialized in space manipulation used for teleportation. But unlike mages who needed time to cast and connect the two locations through the world's mana lines, Silver didn't connect them, he devoured the line separating them, making the two points one in an instant.
"One more time," said Silver with a smile. He knew Lingxu had already grasped the surface of his technique.
As they stood apart once again, the same signal was given to start the spar once more. Lingxu, knowing Silver's power, decided to strike first, ready for any counterattack. Silver accepted the challenge, moving toward Lingxu's left side and swinging his wooden sword sideways. Lingxu reacted, albeit a bit late, something difficult to do. Their weapons clashed. Lingxu expected Silver to be blown away by his sheer force, but what happened next shocked him even more. Silver blinked away once more, now appearing behind Lingxu, thrusting his sword forward.
Even if surprised, Lingxu managed to dodge. But before he could gather his thoughts, Silver blinked again and again, sending a barrage of strikes toward him. What was supposed to be a children's sparring match turned into a full-on fight, so fast that even the knights and warriors couldn't track them with their eyes. Lingxu's reaction time and counters grew sharper and more refined with every exchange, but he still felt himself being pushed into a corner. He had no way to attack, only to defend.
The same went for Silver. He had no way to finish the fight. Even though his movements were instant, he didn't have the power to end it cleanly. The fight continued for five whole minutes, with Lingxu forced to defend against countless strikes that came like lightning from every direction.
Silver, having used up all his strategies and tactics, still couldn't find an opening to end the fight. Then, both of them raised their hands at the same time.
"I lost," the two said in unison, though in their own languages.
Lingxu looked at Silver and smiled, a rare smile he seldom showed even to family. He knew that in his generation, there was another monster in the making. Even if he could defend now, once Silver refined his technique, Lingxu doubted he'd be able to block those strikes again.
Silver too realized this. His attacks, no matter how fast, were useless if the opponent could block them. Lingxu had proven that by deflecting most of Silver's strikes, with only a few grazing his armor. Silver needed to find a way to fight opponents who could read or counter his abilities, otherwise, he'd be forced into long, drawn-out fights without a way to end them.
Lingxu also realized that for Silver to cover just the training area, he had used half of his Aura reserve. In real combat, that meant a huge drawback, enemies could simply move out of range. But Lingxu knew that once Silver found a way to use his power more efficiently, he would become a terrifying force.
"Nice fight, young moon," said Bruda, Silver's fighting instructor, after watching the battle.
"Hahaha, it's a total defeat. He didn't even use his Aura abilities yet," said Silver, laughing. He knew that if the fight had gone on longer, Lingxu would've adapted and turned the fight around.
"Jural, please tell the King of this place, if he allows us to set up a teleportation mark in his tribe, we'll buy five black stones with one kilogram of pure iron, and open up the Cold Iron trade as well," said Lingxu to the envoy, Jural. His eyes, however, were still locked on the boy from the desert.
Ragan, hearing the prince's offer, grew suspicious. Setting up a teleportation mark was possible but dangerous, it could be used to launch an invasion if the Baiyue Empire ever decided to wipe out the Lunar Tribe. He wondered what the prince was planning. Silver, hearing the offer, laughed.
Lingxu saw Silver laugh and smiled in defeat. Silver knew exactly why he wanted to set a teleportation mark on the tribe. Lingxu was a battle maniac, he wanted to fight Silver again.
"Father, allow it. That white-haired guy just wants to fight me again in the future," said Silver, smiling at Ragan, who looked conflicted.
Silver then walked toward Lingxu. Lingxu, being three years older, stood slightly taller, but Silver wasn't intimidated.
"Betray me, and I will surely kill you," he said, still smiling with his usual carefree expression, but Lingxu knew he meant every word. Even the envoy translating his words grew nervous.
Lingxu smiled back, then drew the knife from his waist and stabbed it through his palm. He then took Silver's hand, offering him the knife. Silver immediately understood, this was the Desert way of forming an unbreakable promise, a pact of sworn brothers. He was surprised to see a prince performing such a barbaric act.
The warriors of the tribe were stunned, and so were the knights of the empire, shocked to see what their lord had just done. Silver took the knife, stabbed it into his palm the same way, then handed it back and clasped Lingxu's bleeding hand with his own, sealing their bond as brothers.
"You idiot, you didn't have to stab your hand. You could've just slit your palm, it does the same thing," said Silver, gritting his teeth from the pain.
Lingxu, having learned a bit of the Desert language, smiled at Silver's words. "Is that so? Then is it enough for you to trust me?" he asked, as the envoy translated.
Silver nodded, releasing his grip. "I will learn the Eastern speech," said Silver. Lingxu nodded in acknowledgment. They both knew, the next time they met, and fought again, they would do so not as strangers but as brothers who trusted each other.