'Clang!'

The swords collided with a deafening sound. Amon tried to force the strike in as the muscles in his arms bulged as him eyes glinted ferociously. The layer of light covering Windhowler seemed to flash as the light grew even stronger, forming a sharp edge.

However, it was not enough. Brightmoon did not budge one inch under Amon's strength, and the layer of Sword Qi covering Windhowler seemed to have no effect at all on the stalemate. With a sneer, Lya flicked her fingers, and Brightmoon started moving forward, pus.h.i.+ng Amon back.

"Too weak." Lya shook her head, making her luxurious black hair wave behind her back, reflecting the starlight. "Also, your Sword Qi formed too late."

She waved her slender hand, making Brightmoon return to her side, giving Amon a break. He had a weary look on his pale face, and his golden eyes were filled with hopelessness.

"It is still hard to trigger Sword Qi." Amon said as he look down, somewhat downcast. Lya gently nodded her head. It was understandable. Asking a kid to have a killing intent strong enough to trigger Sword Qi at will was not something easy.

"I will demonstrate it once." She said, as Brightmoon flew to her hand and she a.s.sumed a stance. Under the moonlight, Lya seemed like a G.o.ddess as her body was covered in a silver glow and Brightmoon shone in her hands.

Her beauty suddenly turned extremely cold, and Amon felt his hair stand on end as he looked at Lya. Her blue eyes shone like stars, but all Amon could see in them was a blazing hostility. Like a beacon, beams of light shone from the blade of Brightmoon, until it flashed once.

Lya held Brightmoon with both hands, and the light condensed around the blade, in a luminous edge so sharp Amon could feel his eyes hurting. The light seemed to turn fainter as the layer surrounding the blade grew thinner, almost disappering. However, Amon only felt more and more danger as the light retracted. He realized that all the Qi was being compressed in the sword itself, turning almost solid and even sharper.

He looked at Lya hesitantly, and when he locked eyes with her, he knew. He was going to die. There was nothing but thick desire to kill him in those bright blue eyes, and Amon could not even move as Lya waved Brightmoon in his direction.

"See?" She asked with a gentle smile, as the hostility dissipated as if it had never been there in the first place. Amon looked hesitantly at the s.h.i.+ny blade floating millimeters away from his neck, almost feeling its cold kiss.

"You should not hold back any of the hostility you have in you when you use Sword Qi." Lya spoke in a clear and gentle voice. It was a stark contrast to her previous murderous coldness. "You must have the desire to kill your opponent, nothing more, nothing less."

"What you felt from the remnant Sword Qi coming from the Sword Abyss is a good guide for you." She looked at the darkness bellow them and an array of complex emotions showed in her face.

"What you must be willing to do with a sword strike is to utterly annihilate the opposing party." She said with a sad smile.

"I know it is hard, but I spoke of it before, didn't I?" She looked at Amon, not hiding the bitterness that slowly took over her voice. "Sword Cultivators draw their swords to kill."

"I know that, it is just…" Amon remembered her words. There was no way he would ever forget them. The problem was… "I can't see myself trying to kill you."

"Well, you should." Lya look at Amon with a solemn expression. "I told you before, didn't I?"

"The people close to you are the ones that can hurt you the most." She shook her head lightly, giving a bitter smile. "You must be ready to protect yourself in moments like this, even if such moments never come."

"This seems too ruthless." Amon's eyes showed unwillingness as he spoke out what was on his mind.

"Life is ruthless." Lya retorted bluntly. "If you do not adapt, you die. It is how things work."

They lived in a world ruled by strength, a world where the interests of a few far outweighed the interests of the many. It was a world where greed was a common trait in its residents. As Lya said before, you can never fully trust someone, for this could turn out to be a fatal mistake.

"Still…" Amon understood it, but he did not want to follow such a path.

"I'm not saying for you to kill your loved ones." Lya had a weary expression. She seemed tired as she spoke such words, as if they weighted down on her chest as she spoke. "I am saying that you should be ready for it."

"There is nothing more precious than your life." Her gaze was solemn as she spoke, looking at the moon hanging above their heads. "It is something worth protecting at all costs."

"I disagree." He retorted immediately, with a strange light s.h.i.+ning deeply in his golden eyes.

"Oh?" Lya was taken aback. Her expression turned blank for a moment as she faced Amon, not knowing what to say.

"People would not sacrifice themselves if such a thing was really true." He shook his head with a bitter smile on his face.

"I believe some things are more important than my life." He looked at Lya with bright eyes, in a gaze so intense it almost made her look away.

"Like what?" She asked in a cold tone, sustaining his gaze with a blank expression on her face.

"My family." He answered bluntly. A simple answer. The only answer he had.

He remembered clearly the way his mother's red clothes fluttered behind her as she stood between him and that terrifying Silverback Wolf. The way her golden hair glistened on the sun and the wolf's silver fur shone coldly as both moved almost at the same time.

The look in his mother's eyes as she pushed him behind her back. It was a look filled with nothing but savagery and resolve. The look of someone willing to lose everything as long as they could protect something.

Amon knew his mother would have died happily if this meant he could live. This was a weight on his mind, but also something that further fueled his love. He knew it was a reciprocal feeling. It was something that he felt towards Daniel too.

He knew that they were the most precious things in his life. Without them, life would be worthless. He would rather have them live on than live without them.

"A great ideal." Lya looked at him with a gaze as cold as the night. "I hope the day never comes for you to prove it."

Amon didn't know why she suddenly turned so heartless as she spoke these words, but he refused to give in. He looked at her with no hesitation at all in his eyes.

They stood in silence for a long time, almost as if they were competing. Finally, Lya could only sigh as she closed her eyes.

"This should be enough for now." She said, with a somewhat annoyed voice. Her brows were furrowed deeply, and she was clearly unsatisfied.

"I don't think you will advance in Sword Qi until you truly wish to kill someone." She looked to the night sky, pondering deeply. Her blue eyes seemed desolate as she stood alone, somewhat distant. "I believe that you will understand it then."

Even if Lya said these words, she was uncertain. She looked at Amon meaningfully, at those clear and innocent eyes. She was sure life would break him if he did not listen to her advice. He was young, but he lacked flexibility.

She didn't think it was something bad, but such a unmoving stance was dangerous. A lack of flexibility makes something brittle.

They lived in a heartless world. If Amon did not adapt, he would either die or break.

She wanted him to be a decent person, an example that could bring change for such twisted world, but for that, he would need to survive until he was strong enough. It was not an easy balance to find. She suddenly found herself worried.

If Amon ever broke, if he ever lost everything meaningful in his life, she was not sure what would remain. She could only do her best and make sure he would be able to gather his pieces.