"Hey! Hey! Let's get this straight first, no hitting the face." Ye Xiu struck a Sanshou stance he hadn't used in ages, swaying slightly. "And no weapons either, that thing you just used..."

"Enough nonsense, watch how I deal with you today." Ah Jiao replied playfully. "We Water Tribe folks always use weapons when we fight. Didn't you bring a sword yourself? Today I'll show you how formidable this young lady is."

Ye Xiu hadn't originally wanted to bully a girl, but he knew Ah Jiao was no ordinary person. He was also a bit intrigued and interested in sparring with her, partly to observe the martial arts techniques of the Three Sword Realm.

"Watch this move." Ah Jiao roared, hurling the trident spinning in her hand from side to side, then rushing toward Ye Xiu with one hand extended, moving as if dancing. Ye Xiu observed left and right, pinpointing the trajectory of the tridents, then strode forward, intending to subdue Ah Jiao with a direct punch. He lunged forward swiftly, swinging his right hand toward Ah Jiao’s face, only to find her agility was indeed remarkable; she lightly parried his fist aside with a single open palm.

"Didn't you say no hitting the face?" Ah Jiao saw clearly the path of Ye Xiu's punch—it was clearly aimed at her face. "You really are a cheat. Watch my palm." With that, her other hand swept up from below, aiming to strike Ye Xiu’s abdomen. Ye Xiu naturally saw this; he smirked, took a small shuffling step back, and happened to dodge the strike. However, just as he was gloating and preparing to follow up with a straight punch, he suddenly heard a piercing whooshing sound from behind him.

"Blast it." Ye Xiu cried out that things were bad, only then remembering the two spinning tridents he had thrown earlier. Ah Jiao's close-quarters fighting was merely a lure; the truly threatening element was the weapon now sweeping toward him from behind. "Whoa!" Ye Xiu roared, performing a backflip to evade the first trident. He didn't dare relax, as the direction and angle of the second trident were perfectly complementary to the first. At that moment, the weapon, trailing a beautiful arc of blue light, was aimed directly at his ankle just as he landed.

"Still not done?" Ah Jiao swiftly followed up, catching the first returning trident and immediately tossing it back toward Ye Xiu. "How about these?"

"Damn it, you trying to kill me?" Ye Xiu panicked, thinking Ah Jiao was acting recklessly without regard for consequences and needed a proper lesson. So, he lightly tapped the sand with his toe, using the leverage to execute the Ghost Step at high speed, evading the attack from behind. He immediately followed with a somersault roll, landing on the ground and grasping the Famous Sword Heng Chen in his hand.

"Swish..." The blue streak of light followed him down from mid-air.

Ye Xiu picked up Heng Chen with one hand. The sword techniques, long unfamiliar to him, refused to surface in his mind. What was happening? The Heaven's Will Sword Style, the Muzi Sword Style, the Mozi Sword Style—he had completely forgotten them all at this crucial moment. "Clang." In desperation, he barely managed to shield his chest with the sword, but he was driven back several dozen feet by the descending trident.

"If you apologize now, perhaps I'll forgive you." Ah Jiao utilized her lightness skill, once again matching the speed of the flying trident. She waved both hands, tossing the weapon into the air again.

"Apologize? Heh heh." Ye Xiu thought that the Heaven's Will Sword Style was caused by the resentment of an evil sword; forgetting it now might actually be a good thing for him. Fortunately, he had long since mastered the techniques of the Demon Blade and the Ghost Hidden Army Scripture. Thus, he wielded Heng Chen, executing the Ghost Step with his sword, and suddenly vanished from Ah Jiao's sight.

"Where did the person go?" Ah Jiao landed on the beach, looking puzzled. "A shrinking turtle. Couldn't beat me so you ran away. What kind of hero is that?"

Ye Xiu remained calm, considering that Ah Jiao's martial arts, while overwhelmingly powerful in execution, lacked depth in her personal cultivation. Furthermore, this Ghost Step was a supreme technique of Ghost Trace Island; few could decipher it.

"Come out quickly! If you don't come out, I'm leaving." Ah Jiao was genuinely annoyed that she couldn't locate Ye Xiu. "I know you're nearby. If you can hear me, just come out obediently, or I won't speak to you again."

Ye Xiu smiled inwardly, realizing he couldn't do much against this little sister. Being new here, he needed someone to guide him and explain the local customs. If he was lucky enough to meet such a cute girl alone, he couldn't just abandon her. So, he sheathed Heng Chen and flashed, reappearing directly behind Ah Jiao: "Alright, alright, I was scared of you. I apologize."

"Hee hee! Now I’ll catch you!" Ah Jiao grinned slyly, turning around to deliver an open-palm push, intending to send Ye Xiu tumbling into the sea. Unexpectedly, the moment her hand moved, Ye Xiu firmly grasped it.

"Haha, I knew you were planning something sneaky," Ye Xiu gloated internally, pulling Ah Jiao’s other arm into his embrace as well. Looking at her slightly flustered expression, he said, "Now you admit defeat, right?"

"Not so easily." Ah Jiao was inherently quick-witted and willful. Seeing her hands were neutralized, she immediately lowered her head and lunged to bite Ye Xiu's shoulder.

"Momma!" Ye Xiu screamed in agony, unable to withstand the sharp teeth of a girl. "Stop, stop! I surrender, I was wrong, I apologize."

"Hee hee, I won in the end!" Ah Jiao chirped happily, grinning foolishly at Ye Xiu. "Since I was little, I've been the top master here. No one has ever surrendered to me before."

"Sigh..." Ye Xiu sank onto the beach with a look of helplessness. Looking at the small set of teeth marks on his shoulder, a wave of melancholy washed over him. Back in university, Mei Yi often bit him. He wondered what Mei Yi was doing now? This girl named Ah Jiao indeed possessed the willful nature of modern girls.

Amidst her joy, Ah Jiao noticed Ye Xiu sitting on the ground looking crestfallen and couldn't help but feel concerned. "Hey, Ye Xiu! You're not such a sore loser, are you? Why are you so quiet?"

"No, just... resting for a bit," Ye Xiu stammered evasively.

"What's wrong? Are you angry?" At this moment, Ah Jiao suddenly became incredibly gentle, sitting down right beside Ye Xiu to look at the wound on his shoulder. "Do my teeth look nice? My daddy always compliments how beautiful my teeth are."

"That's because your daddy was scared of being bitten by you," Ye Xiu quipped back, though he had briefly slipped into nostalgia, he knew those were just memories and not worth lingering over. "Didn't you want to know how I got here?"

"Mhm, tell me quickly!" Ah Jiao’s curiosity was piqued again. She nudged Ye Xiu impatiently. "My dad mentioned that only the humans of Ten Thousand Sword City have been to the outside world. I don't even know how wonderful the outside world truly is."

"Oh, the Human Race." Ye Xiu seemed to have found the path forward. Since someone in Ten Thousand Sword City knew the method to enter and exit the Central Plains and this Realm, they must know the rumors about Heng Chen and the Three Swords. "Ah Jiao, do you see anything special about this sword in my hand?"

Ah Jiao took Heng Chen and turned it over, finding nothing remarkable besides the carvings of birds, beasts, and swimming fish on the blade.

Ye Xiu sighed and explained slowly: "I came here from the Central Plains using this sword. This sword is the key connecting the two worlds."

"That's strange... When the Beast Tribe and Wing Tribe were fighting, I was watching the commotion from the shore. Suddenly, a ray of rosy light flashed by. When I looked again, I found you lying among them," Ah Jiao recalled the scene carefully. "That light wasn't special at all, just a little brighter than sunlight."

Ye Xiu nodded, confirming, "I also saw a light just like that. When I woke up, I was already here."

Ah Jiao didn't doubt Ye Xiu’s words. Through their short time together, she firmly believed Ye Xiu was a good person, even if he always teased her. "Then what are you trying to do here? If you’re not seeking refuge, are you looking for something?"

Ye Xiu carefully examined Heng Chen. "Do you think this sword might be a product of the Three Sword Realm? Do you know why the Three Sword Realm is called the Three Sword Realm?"

Ah Jiao shook her head. "I’ve been here since I was born. No one ever told me why it’s called the Three Sword Realm, and no one ever asked such a question. But the birds carved on your sword—doesn't that refer to the Wing Tribe? The beasts to the Beast Tribe? And the swimming fish to us, the Water Tribe?"

"The little girl is quite smart," Ye Xiu said appreciatively, gently stroking Ah Jiao’s delicate hair. "I think the same about this sword. Also, the 'Three Swords' in the Three Sword Realm, I believe, refer to the Ferocious Forest Beast Tribe’s Sandstorm Sword, the Cold Sky Valley Wing Tribe’s Wind-Breaking Sword, and your Water Tribe’s Wave-Roaring Sword."

"But no one in our Water Tribe uses swords, and the Wing Tribe certainly aren't sword users either. Among these three tribes, the only ones who use blades are the Beast Tribe," Ah Jiao stated the facts as she knew them. "Water Tribe members all use long or short halberds or spears. Wing Tribe members all use bows and arrows, using feathers as weapons. Only the Beast Tribe has sword users, but not as many as blade users. If we must speak of sword users, only the humans of Ten Thousand Sword City use swords exclusively."

"Oh, is that so." A plan formed in Ye Xiu's mind, finally solidifying his next move. "It seems if I want to gain anything, I must go to Ten Thousand Sword City. I wonder how far Ten Thousand Sword City is from here."

Upon hearing Ye Xiu wanted to go to Ten Thousand Sword City, Ah Jiao immediately became excited: "Let me accompany you! Although I don't know the way, at least I'll have company on the road. You know I'm powerful; I can protect you anytime."

"You don't know the way, and I don't know the way. How are we supposed to travel together? Are there signposts or milestones in this place?" Ye Xiu spread his hands, rendered speechless for a moment.

Just then, the loud sound of a bell suddenly drifted onto the beach, followed by a dry, old voice that floated over: "Divining fate through characters reveals life and death; a thousand miles of sorrow signal the return path. If you wish to know the count of your destiny, you must seek Zhou Yanzhi where you pass."

"Oh, a fortune teller?" Ye Xiu looked toward the direction the sound came from. An old man dressed in plain white robes was slowly approaching on a white canvas tarp. His steps were light, his demeanor extraordinary; he didn't seem like just a fortune teller.