Book 3 Chapter 17 – Sword of the North

　　Whether Li Yiming would still have left the room if he knew what Liu Meng had thought of was a question whose answer could not be known, but having traded the opportunity for his curiosity, Li Yiming quickly arrived to its boundaries. From far away, he judged its size to be at least a few kilometers in diameter. Upon closer inspection, Li Yiming realized that the barrier was actually very thin and nearly transparent. After grazing it carefully and not feeling anything at all when he did so, Li Yiming decided to take the risk and dove head first into it. Nothing seemed to have changed after he entered, but as he progressed deeper inside, he quickly became unsettled by the ominous silence in the streets. There were no pedestrians, no cars, nothing at all except the projected light of the street lamps. Li Yiming took out a long blade from his bracelet and advanced carefully with the weapon in front of him.

　　"You've been following me for the entire day. Are you alone?" The young man with red hair squatted down on top of a car with a half-finished hamburger and looked at the man in front of him.

　　"Am I not enough?" Li Huaibei threw his cigarette b.u.t.t into his plastic bottle and tightened the cap. He swung his arm and the bottle landed right inside a garbage can behind him after a beautiful parabolic flight.

　　"You should quit smoking. It's bad for your health," The young man with red hair slurred between two bites of his hamburger.

　　"What you're eating right now is junk food, and that's also terrible for your health," Li Huaibei answered in his usual, composed voice.

　　"I want to eat good food, but it's hard to find. I've waited the entire day yet only you showed up." The young man put the burger back into its packaging paper carefully and licked away the ketchup on the corners of the lips.

　　"I've been observing you for the entire day. You're a funny guy. Become the spirit of my sword and I'll spare you," Li Huaibei said, calm as ever.

　　"Ha? Confident I see. Do you know who I am?" The young man stood up. The metallic accessories he wore clinked against each other as he jumped down from the car.

　　"Of course, Bi Fang."

　　"Well then, why are you so arrogant? Are all guardians this full of themselves now?" Bi Fang dashed towards Li Huaibei as he spoke the last word, leaving a scarlet shadow behind him. His hand was enveloped by a red halo of light.

　　Li Huaibei raised his hand and challenged Bi Fang with his own ray of white light. The latter twisted his body, dodged the attack and continued on his path toward Li Huaibei. Bi Fang extended his fingers like the claws of a beast after spotting its prey and made ready to tear through Li Huaibei's chest once he reached him. Li Huaibei moved his hand left and right, as if he was working on an invisible drawing. Luminous lines appeared one by one as he moved his fingers, forming a net of light in front of him. The net wrapped itself around Bi Fang and a sizzling sound was heard as it touched him. Bi Fang gazed at the net of light that came closer and closer to his limbs. Suddenly, his figure shrunk until he became small enough to slip through between the threads of light. As he approached Li Huaibei, Bi Fang extended one single finger, on which the skin had turned scarlet, and smiled confidently in expectation of the result of his attack. However, a fraction of a second later, Bi Fang's countenance changed and he quickly moved to the side. A beam of silver light grazed past the corner of his eye, leaving behind it a b.l.o.o.d.y wound. Bi Fang jumped back thrice as he landed and placed himself far away from Li Huaibei.

　　"The projection of your blade? Interesting." Bi Fang wiped away the blood on his face and channeled his energy into a red flame that enveloped his body. The light rose and tumbled and became more and more intense.

　　"You should have done this from the start." Li Huaibei extended his right hand with a flat palm. The silver light that covered his palm rippled and the tip of a slowly spinning sword emerged. The blade was about two feet long and two inches wide, with a yin yang symbol carved on the hilt. It was an ancient, rustic-looking blade that has seen the bloodshed of many battles. The weapon's motion slowly came to a halt and it floated quietly above Li Huaibei's palm.