The duels were supposed to be a quick way to get a sense of their partner’s fighting style and gauge the level of their abilities so they could better work together. From their short clash earlier, Gyuvin had an idea of Ricky being a somewhat more careful fighter, someone who would watch from the side to get a bearing of the situation and make sure he was fully prepared instead of jumping in immediately like Gyuvin would. Ricky didn’t have a holy weapon, but he was adept with the elegant longsword he had sheathed at his waist, and his spiritual energy was on par with Gyuvin’s even without a holy weapon, which was something to be admired. His shielding abilities looked to be much stronger than Gyuvin’s, too.
The rest of the day was spent doing basic drills, training, and trading skills. Ricky showed Gyuvin how to control the central point of his shield with a different part of his mind so it didn’t take up so much of his attention that it would distract him from attacking, and after a few tries of the unfamiliar technique Gyuvin was slowly grasping the concept. His golden shields still flickered every now and then as he struggled to focus on multiple things at once, but it was something he could foresee himself getting used to with practice.
In return, Gyuvin taught Ricky how to use his cloning talisman. Every big sect had their own unique path of cultivation; for example, Lunar Valley’s cultivators were highly skilled in stealth and surveillance, thus their abilities in silent enchantments and spells were much stronger than their close combat abilities. Meteor Court’s location was surrounded by densely populated towns and small cities, and given their tasks so often involved dealing with commonfolk, they found it was much more effective and generally less intimidating to avoid using weapons. Thus, cultivators from Meteor Court largely followed the path of talisman study. Gyuvin himself was one of the anomalies simply because he had a holy weapon, but even so his training with Yuexi was done privately under the sect leader, and most of his day-to-day training was with talismans and spellwork.
The cloning talisman itself was in fact created by one of the seniors at Meteor Court, so unless they had fought alongside a Meteor Court cultivator before it was unlikely that any other sect had ever seen this talisman in their lives. It required precision in the user’s strokes but it had to be completed fast because it was often used in close-range combat, and Ricky grappled with the unfamiliar writing for a couple of tries before he got it. Of course, since Gyuvin was familiar with the talisman’s properties, he could tell the user and the clone apart immediately; he slashed at the clone with Yuexi to make it dissipate into smoke every time Ricky used the talisman to show that he could tell them apart, until Ricky eventually got tired.
“One of these times you’re gonna guess wrong and hit me instead of the clone,” Ricky said, frowning.
“I wasn’t guessing!” Gyuvin protested, laughing. “Besides, you act like you can’t take me in a fight. If you really wanted, I wouldn’t even be able to get anywhere near you.”
Ricky unsheathed his sword from the scabbard hanging from his waist. The blade of the sword was the color of ice, iridescent in the afternoon sun, completely clear like a deadly icicle. Two words were carved in white on the body of the blade, Tianling. Order of heaven.
Gyuvin bent over to look at the blade, curiosity immediately piqued. “What is this made of? How long have you had it?”
“Clear celestite,” Ricky answered. “I’ve had it since I was twelve. Moonrise Palace’s cultivation path is heavily weapon-based. All cultivators begin training with different types of weapons from the age of seven, and at the age of twelve you enter the Palace Forge to have a weapon specially made for you based on your abilities.”
Gyuvin admired the glimmering body of Tianling, agape. He, too, wished he could have a beautiful weapon custom made just for him, but of course, Meteor Court was not even half as rich as Moonrise Palace to be able to afford such luxuries. Then again, since he himself already had a holy weapon, he supposed he should learn to be content with what he already had.
“What about cultivators who receive a holy weapon?” Gyuvin continued.
“The holy weapon becomes a second weapon, but at that point they’ve usually trained with their first weapon for years and might even prefer that,” Ricky said. “Not many Moonrise Palace cultivators attempt the Trial by Fire. There isn’t really a need.”
Gyuvin nodded slowly, digesting this new information. No one would dare to underestimate Moonrise Palace per se, but he was right to think they were a lot more powerful than they let on.
“Enough talking,” Ricky interjected. “Let’s spar.”
Tianling glowed blue in Ricky’s grip, and Gyuvin readied a talisman in his head, his fingers tracing strokes of gold into characters. Fire. Air. Lightning. Those were all basic talismans, the very first ones they’d been taught when they started schooling, but they were effective. He was tired of fighting with Yuexi for now, and he reverted back to the talismans he’d trained with for so many years he could draw them backwards and in his sleep.
Gyuvin thought Ricky must have been unwell earlier during the duel. He was holding out well against Gyuvin now, though that could perhaps be attributed to the fact that Gyuvin was withholding the use of his holy weapon; Ricky’s bladework was clean and precise and deathly quick, and ducking all his attacks while trying to ready his own counterattacks was exhausting Gyuvin fast.
He narrowly escaped as Tianling grazed the air just next to his throat, and he called out for Yuexi, giving in. The polearm materialized in his hand, humming, and for a second Ricky’s blade faltered, the owner taking a step back and lifting his hand to his face for a brief moment.
Gyuvin almost wanted to dismiss Yuexi and ask Ricky if he was okay, but the moment of vulnerability passed so quickly he wondered if he’d imagined it, and Ricky’s face returned to his usual expression of neutrality, his blade once again slashing out in front of him. He stood with his back perfectly straight, his chin poised, and with features as sharp as the blade in his hand and the sun filtering through his blonde almost-white hair, Gyuvin swore he almost looked like a heavenly being who had descended into the human realm.
“Alright, now it’s on,” Gyuvin laughed, spinning the polearm in his hand to warm up. They sparred and trained together until eveningfall. Gyuvin kept a close eye on Ricky to make sure he wasn’t bleeding again like he did earlier, but whatever medicine the senior healer at the infirmary had given him seemed to have worked its magic. The seniors called for all the cultivators training at the field to stop their practice for the day and head to the dining hall to grab a meal.
As the announcement ended Gyuvin turned around, intending to extend an invite for Ricky to eat dinner with him tonight, but Ricky had already started walking in the direction of the dining hall. Gyuvin caught up to Hanbin on the way there, but Ricky didn’t come near him or talk to him at all. It seemed like he had truly taken that senior’s words to heart, to stay away from him unless absolutely necessary.
He fretted a little over this thought as he waited in the line for food. Dinner tonight was a selection of fresh seafood; crab legs stir fried into rice, a fragrant soup made from boiled lobster shells, egg steamed with fresh crab roe, but even the aromas wafting from the trays of food ahead didn’t do much, and Gyuvin walked over to the table to join them with his dinner, head still in the clouds.
“What’s up with your expression, Gyu?” Hanbin looked over, a little concerned.
Gyuvin shook his head quickly. “Just tired,” he answered. “I’m so hungry, I can’t wait to eat.”
He thought about it a little harder as he dug into his food. Other than those baseless rumors about him having the strongest cultivation core in the world (the physician who’d seen him had only said it was exceedingly strong, Gyuvin really didn’t wish for the rumor to be inflated any more lest people have too high of an expectation of him…) and being one of the youngest to master a holy weapon in this generation, there were no other rumors about him; he’d never been arrogant or promiscuous or in any way morally reprehensible, and other than breaking a few rules every now and then, as one did, there was really nothing else that could sully his reputation. He felt quite wronged just then, that there was someone out there who seemed to have something against him, and worse, that there was someone else who wholeheartedly believed in it too.
Hanbin, Jiwoong and Gunwook tried their best to cheer him up throughout the rest of the meal, and Gyuvin in turn tried his best to put the matter aside. He already knew what Hanbin would say if he told him about it, something about being the sweetest peach on the tree and some people just not liking peaches. Gyuvin thought it overly optimistic to regard himself as the sweetest peach on the tree in any situation, but he didn’t see a point in pursuing the matter.
He took a walk around the grounds after dinner, trying to clear his head. The paths outside of the main living quarters were paved with soft white sand and since it was nighttime, the energy stones marking out the paths glowed softly, rejuvenating him with spiritual energy as he strolled.
Gyuvin remembered suddenly that the day’s activities had left him sweaty enough he should wash his hair before he slept, and headed back for his living quarters. There was a shortcut he could take cutting through some white pine trees instead of taking the roundabout way by the corridors, and he went in that direction, using the yellow glow of lanterns as a guide.
As he neared their shared courtyard, Gyuvin could see Ricky through the open window of his bedroom, and he watched quietly from the shadow of a low-hanging tree branch. Ricky was dressed in just a white inner robe, his long golden hair loose down his back like he was getting ready to sleep. He reached for something and put it into his mouth, then drank from a little white claypot of water and swallowed. The medicine he’d gotten from the infirmary, probably.
He disappeared from the view of the window, and Gyuvin’s heart skipped a beat. Just for a second, if he wasn’t mistaken, Ricky’s eyes flashed bright, luminescent gold in the dimness.Â
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