Yunli

A sword hunter from the Xianzhou Zhuming and "the Flaming Heart" General Huaiyan's darling granddaughter. Frank and straightforward.

She has learned swordplay and forging from Huaiyan since she was young, and thus is the second-youngest prodigy swordmaster of the Flamewheel Octet.

Fueled by an intense loathing for the cursed swords that emerged from the Zhuming, she vowed to "hunt down and wipe out all cursed swords."

Watching her father refine swords in the workshop would always stimulate her hunger — more so than usual — probably because of the intense heat emitted by the furnace. As a result, she typically disappears within a few hours, sneaking off to the market to fill her belly, apparently so that she would be in a better frame of mind to observe and learn from her father.

"This shop serves up meat sausages faster than their competitors. The chef easily skewers the sausages with mastery, piercing right through their centers with perfect symmetry. Hmm, if he were to learn swordsmanship, he would probably adopt a brisk style of fighting." She thought to herself as she joined the back of the queue.

The sesame rice balls at this shop were usually prepared by the proprietress, but her husband took over the job today. His forearm was a lot more toned than his upper arm, possibly from regular blade training. Because of that, the way he squashed the rice together had a hint of almost destructive force in it — But each rice ball ended up three times larger than their usual. On noticing this, she eagerly walked over to place her order: "Two rice balls. More rice please~!"

The fried sweet lotus root sold by the guy in green was never consistent in quality. But the one that was sold today turned out to be quite decent: Sweet but not cloying, and crispy on the outside while still retaining its crunchy bite. She had walked a short distance away by the time she finished the one she bought, that was when she stopped to observe the guy. He seemed to be rotating his wrist in a rhythmic fashion while coating the snack in syrup... He actually knew a move used in swordplay! When did he pick that up, though? "Hmm... Looks like the swordsmanship can be applied in cooking too..."

It was already sunset by the time she had her fill and returned home. In the courtyard, her father handed over a brand-new sword to another man in an iron helmet.

"Thank you, Master Hanguang. With this blade... I shall eradicate all evil." That man's raging determination shone bright in the afterglow of the sunset, yet was colored with the hopelessness of twilight.

However, Yunli did not notice the setting sun. Instead, her focus was held by the man in the iron helmet. Before her was clearly a burly and robust man, yet he was given such a lightweight sword. The sword's tip was also broader than that of an average sword's. Such a design would be advantageous when fighting enemies from all sides. But strangely, after accepting the blade, the first thing that man did was to assess the tensile strength of the sword's tassel...

"That man's an assault cavalry, right? Hmph, the sword's already so light, and he's still hoping to grab onto the tassel to keep his sword from flying...? He seems to possess decent horsemanship, but he also looks like someone who would flee on the eve of a battle. He isn't worthy of your sword."

Hanguang stared at Yunli in surprise.

"All that snacking is just for acuity training!"

She followed the sound to a corner of the workshop. Her father was nowhere to be found, and on the ground laid the frame of a large sword made from an iron alloy. Picking it up, Yunli realized that the sword frame even stood taller than her. Curiously running her fingers over it, she then imitated how Hanguang normally worked, pretending to refine the sword frame.

But this large sword never got forged: Hanguang smelt the heliobus-cursed sword instead, bringing a tragedy upon the Flamewheel Forge. Yunli narrowly escaped the fate of the others, only because Huaiyan arrived in the nick of time to rescue her. She became a disciple of Huaiyan thereafter, not forgetting to take the cursed sword billet with her.

"Yunli, your sword's more likely to break if you use raw materials of non-standard composition." A fellow apprentice couldn't help but offer her some advice. His sword soon chimed in, though criticizing Yunli's smithing in a dainty manner.

"Why don't you go out there and scrape more bark instead, snob?"

The other students looked on with confusion and discomfort, prompting Yunli to look up at her fellow apprentice and the now silent sword. "Sorry, that wasn't directed at you. It was meant for your sword."

"My name's Radiance because of my sharp blade and glistening hilt."

But she knew the sword's fate: Its master would only chuck it into the vault, with its radiance forever concealed from the world.

"My name's Jasminette. I like the jasmine flower that is engraved upon my hilt."

She could tell Jasminette was annoyed at the frivolous name that its master chose, but it delighted at being cherished.

While human intentions are indecipherable from their words alone, the voices of swords are much simpler to understand.

Memories of the cursed sword that drove others to lose their sanity and the gruesome sight of blood all over the ground remain deeply etched in Yunli's mind... Perhaps also in that of the sword billet, though it had never once spoken or talked to her about the events that transpired on that fateful day.

"You've also witnessed those blades that permeate bloodlust and killing intent being swung, right?

"Now that I think about it, those heliobi will probably not be able to wield you either. You're big and blunt, and spiritless too."

The sword billet trembled suddenly, kicking up a layer of dark carbon dust that fell like an awe-inspiring nebula.

"So you were abandoned by that person because you rejected the heliobus... A theory that even an unfinished sword understands... Why didn't fath— he...

"But when can a sword be considered 'finished'..."

Unable to help herself, she reached out to run her fingers over the uneven edges of the blade. Despite the lack of a central ridge, the sword could still be considered sharp.

"Not talking again? What a stubborn lump of metal you are... In that case, I'll just call you 'Old Mettle'."

"Don't worry. To others, you might simply be a billet without a point, but that is immaterial to the intent of swordsmanship."

"A blade that I swing will always be considered sharp."

"Let's go, Old Mettle. Come with me to see the world."

"Why did you steal someone else's sword?"

Huaiyan sighed. As for Yunli, she resented the fact that something so minor had been reported to her grandfather once again.

"Although a sword is not made from flesh and blood, it still draws upon the hopes of its swordsmith and absorbs the ambition of its swordmaster. Did it never occur to you that a sword would lose its heart once it leaves the hands of its master?"

"But there are many types of people as well. There are those who make use of their famed swords to show off their status just for the sake of a little convenience, and others who rely on the great swords that they have inherited from their families to bully the weak. Some even go around flaunting the relic blades of their elder siblings, who are Cloud Knights... These are the people whose swords I've taken."

Huaiyan looked at the Blade of Forged Remnants behind Yunli that she had named Old Mettle. Even though the edge of the blade was still blunt and unfinished, it still stood tall and firm — just like the little girl before his eyes.

"I just can't stand for precious swords being wasted like that."

"Since you've won the sword, are you going to take it out with you next time?"

"Umm... But I already have Old Mettle. Wouldn't that be too fickle-minded of me..."

"Then what about the swords you've won previously? Are they being locked away, restricted from being able to showcase their brilliance?"

"Of course not! I haven't thought about it yet... What about sparring? I'll give them to anyone that beats me in a bout of sparring!"

"Forcing the sword's intent and bestowing them with a new purpose isn't the best future for them."

Seeing Yunli's frustration and hesitation, Huaiyan couldn't help but laugh, a crack showing in the stern front that he had put on.

"You're still young. There's no need for you to consider such a serious issue yet..."

However, she couldn't help but think about it as the memories of the past replayed in her mind. Outside, the sun was setting, bringing with it the darkness of the night.

So who actually makes the choice? The sword, or its wielder?

She flipped the sword over to allow the flames to better engulf its body. A sense of bitter resentment rose up within her despite the searing temperature of the Molten Remains.

Yunli stared expressionlessly into the sunset outside the window. With age, she had gradually found answers for the questions she once had.

Heliobi... absorb human emotions and devour their feelings... The blade, a weapon that when pointed at enemies would be filled with killing intent. When used in battle, the sword infused with a heliobus would continuously absorb rage, bloodthirst, and violent tendencies, and would then eat away at the mind of its wielder until it eventually became a "cursed sword."

"Do you know what he felt as he swung his sword? Exhilaration... Pride... A sense of self-importance! He was just an ordinary Cloud Knight who was always at the bottom of the barrel! I realized the wish that he could never have had achieved ever! Just what right do you have—"

She added another kindling to the fire. Why did cursed swords have to be so long-winded even in the face of destruction?

"Heh... Do you know that he once abandoned his sword and escaped on his horse? Humans are such cowards! Do you really think that there's any meaning in what you're doing? As long as humans retain the slightest desire, your hunt will never come to an end..."

From that day onward, she vowed to hunt down all the cursed swords and make up for Hanguang's sins. However, he had committed too many sins to atone for, and she truly felt disdain at having to bear such a sinful burden. Despite distortions in the air due to the high temperature, Yunli's prideful expression could clearly be seen.

"Although I cannot bear to watch good swords wasted on trash, I also refuse to see a good person corrupted by an evil sword.

"Whether it turns out to be a treasured sword or a butcher's knife is not something for you bloodthirsty and evil filth to decide.

"A bad man should be punished, and an evil sword should be melted down. As for you, accept your fate of being reforged in the furnace."

As the flames of the furnace completely engulfed the cursed sword, the molten iron bubbled alongside sparks from the fire, resembling the core of a new sword forming during forging — this was her answer.

"Why not just melt the cursed sword and turn it into beautiful molten iron? Since the sword met its end due to a lack of care, then it can wait for a worthy one to reforge its brilliance."

The temperature rose further as she shut the furnace door, waves of heat enveloping her thoughts.

Everything would undergo rebirth soon.