Beyond the Zenith

The dead iron straight blade whirled in a counterclockwise semicircle, as if caught in a vortex or guided by an invisible hand, carving a strange arc as it sliced toward Shao Xuan from behind.

A dead iron straight blade could naturally be thrown. Source energy from the body simply propelled it forward. It was a similar concept to a throwing knife. The downside was that its power dropped compared to a hand-held strike and weakened further with distance. The slower speed also made it easier to dodge.

In battles between the Coalition and the Sharpies, a single blade strike rarely resulted in a kill. A soldier wielding a dead iron blade typically had to swing at the same weak point repeatedly to deal enough damage, let alone hit with a thrown blade. The Coalition also didn’t exactly have dead iron blades to spare.

As for other weapons, bows had the problem of the bowstring, where raw power didn’t come from the human body. Traditional spears and hammers, on the other hand, required shafts made of dead iron just to survive combat, making them too costly to mass-produce. Thrusting attacks were also less effective against Sharpies.

Thus, over its hundred-year history, the Coalition had ultimately chosen the straight blade as its standard-issue weapon.

A few specialized weapons still existed, though. For example, a Nordic micro-nation rich in dead iron fielded a first-wave spear formation. There were also ?custom weapons awarded to top-tier fighters, earned through merit. This included long spears, extra-long two-handed swords, heavy cleavers, massive broadswords, and even war hammers.

The gasp that followed in the arena hall came almost entirely from the recruits.

What made Han Qingyu’s thrown blade unusual was its suddenness and stealth. It had been released during the inverted V-shaped rush, and its trajectory defied common sense.

The blade closed in on Shao Xuan’s back. It was a live blade.

That’s Shao Xuan, though, the veterans thought. Even if it hits... well, if it actually hit him, that would just be embarrassing.

Thank god it’s Captain Shao up there, Qin Guowen thought from the sidelines. Holy shit, thank god I was smart enough to back off. If that had been me up there, that definitely would have hit me, but the gap between the two of them is just too wide. Platoon Leader Shao can overwhelm him with sheer intensity and precision of source energy control.

This was the first time since stepping onto the arena that Shao Xuan showed the expression, composure, and reflexes of someone in real combat.

Gone was the air of a leisurely stroll. Shao Xuan’s body twisted like a bolt of lightning, the rotation so fast it cracked the air around him. He whipped around and swung his blade, deflecting the thrown blade at the very last second.

The dead iron blade hit the ground with a clang, the lingering force of the impact causing it to vibrate and ring even after it fell.

“The trajectory, speed, and force of that thrown blade...” Shao Xuan paused to replay it in his mind, then let out a breath. “Whew. Almost got blindsided.”

Looking over at Han Qingyu, he smiled and added, “It’d be even better if it were silent.”

Han Qingyu nodded. “Yeah.”

“Want me to teach you?”

“Yeah, thank you.”

Both of them powered down their devices, sheathed their blades, and huddled together right there in the arena to talk.

Meanwhile, someone in the stands slapped his knee in frustration. “Ah, what a waste! That sneak attack could’ve been so good... If I were Han Qingyu, I’d have kept it to myself and saved it for an ambush.”

“Keep it to yourself?” A veteran with serious combat ability shook his head. “There’s no need for that. You couldn’t hide it for long anyway. Combat techniques rust if they’re not used. Unused means wasted. Hiding a move does nothing to build your combat strength. A blade has an edge, and an edge is meant to be wielded.”

The offhand remark had turned into a lesson. The recruit let out a quiet oh and shut his mouth, looking a little wounded.

“Don’t think that just because you’ve seen this move you’d be able to defend against it, either,” the veteran continued. “Source energy control is never about the specific technique. It’s about the ability itself. If he can make a blade move like that today, he can just as easily make it move completely differently tomorrow. Next time, that strike might land without a sound.”

The recruits nodded. Most of them had studied Defying Physics after entering the armoring stage and generally didn’t question the extraordinary things source energy could produce.

It was only after the veteran sat back down that one recruit quietly asked, “Who is that guy?”

“You don’t know? He came out third overall in last year’s rankings. That’s Lei Guan, platoon leader of 869. Platoon 869 is just a few steps behind the Erasers. He’s famous for cultivating new talent, to the point of committing his life to it. He’s probably heartbroken right now.”

Sure enough, Lei Guan was lamenting over Han Qingyu after sitting down.

“Besides, who knows what else he might be hiding? With that kind of potential, if he could come to my platoon...” Lei Guan sighed.

***

Up in the arena, Shao Xuan had just finished explaining the basics of silent blade control to Han Qingyu. This was the limit of his teaching. The rest depended on Han Qingyu’s own practice and mastery.

After concluding his mini-lecture, Shao Xuan suddenly changed the subject. “By the way, in five years, I’m planning to request an assassination mission against Ye Jian. With your connections, you probably know who he is.”

The Gold Erasers captain had his own sense of pride and restraint. Not daring to make promises lightly, all Shao Xuan could do was hint.

Afraid Han Qingyu would not catch on, he added, “I wonder how much you’ll grow in five years.”

He was implying that Han Qingyu could one day succeed him as the leader of the Gold Erasers. It was a brazen attempt at enticement.

The name Ye Jian had completely captured Han Qingyu’s attention, though, and he glanced up at Shao Xuan, startled. “An A+ going after an S-rank?!”

Meeting his gaze, Shao Xuan smiled. “Why not?”

There was no grand passion behind those words, no bravado of a soldier willing to sacrifice themselves. Just the quiet resolve of a man with the ambition to try. He believed he could fight, so he had simply decided to go and do it.

Han Qingyu stared at him for a moment, speechless.

“He’s the shame of the Ninth Army. Don’t you think it should be us Erasers who wipe that stain clean?”

These words came from an old Eraser to a new Eraser.

Han Qingyu had no response to that.

The conversation ended there, so he gathered his things and headed down from the stage. He had only taken a couple of steps down the stairs when Shao Xuan called out, tone genuinely curious, “Oh, that move just now, that arc, what’s it called?”

Shao Xuan wasn’t the only one curious. The entire hall waited for the answer.

Han Qingyu turned back to look at him. “Rust Girl Vortex Slash.”

His tone carried a calm, matter-of-fact manner, as if naming a dish from the mess hall, like beef noodles or a meat sandwich. There was no hint of awkwardness or self-consciousness in his voice.

It wasn’t that Han Qingyu was immune to that sort of thing, but simply that he had gotten used to it.

That last strike made use of source energy in a vortex pattern. The vortex control technique came from Shen Yixiu’s method of drawing water for bathing. She had taught it to Han Qingyu, and he had adapted it for combat.

During his ten-plus days at the medical station, this dead iron blockhead hadn’t spared a single glance for the pretty nurses. He had spent the entire time focused on practicing this.

When he finally demonstrated the results to the others, Wen Jifei took the initiative to name it the Rust Girl Vortex Slash on the spot. The name sounded strange at first, but everyone had gotten used to it after a few days.

Shao Xuan and the others, of course, had no idea what any of this meant.

“Xiu?[1] Is that a lady’s name?” The captain wrongly interpreted the name, grinning like a buddy sharing gossip about women. “You’re not very good at sweet-talking girls, are you? Even if the control technique is vortex-based, you can’t be this blunt when naming a move after a girl. You need to make it more romantic.”

Han Qingyu was dumbfounded.

“For example... Xiu’s Pear Dimple Slash. That’s so much better.”[2]

1. Rust Girl is pronounced 锈妹 (xiù mèi), which sounds like Sister Xiu ☜

2. Pear dimples are shallower than cheek dimples, usually located diagonally below the corners of the mouth. ☜