"Hahaha, this girl's fighting spirit is truly scorching! Since she insists on fighting, young man, will he respond?" Suiyang's sinister laugh echoed above Yanqing's head.

Yanqing nodded and said, "Yanqing, I will not retreat."

"Hmm, this is a matter between Cloud Knights comrades. It's fine to be defeated, but abandoning comrades and shaming the Cloud Knights, wouldn't that be a disgrace to the sword in my hand?" Sushang looked back at Huohuo and urged, "I estimate I can't last many more moves. Hurry and find the General! Before he arrives, I absolutely won't fall easily!"

The group immediately left the Prayer Dragon Altar and came to Suizhou Garden. After finding the General and explaining the entire situation, the General's expression also became unusually serious.

"A Suiyang that manipulates people's minds under the guise of teaching swordsmanship? If it could teach according to aptitude, that would be fine. Unfortunately, this monster is too focused on winning and losing, which is truly difficult for a child like Yanqing."

Before leaving, the General asked for more information about this Smelting Ember. Fu Yan stated that it was Liaoyuan's martial will and the most aggressive among their fragments. But it also asked doubtfully, "Who is this swordsman named 'Yanqing'?"

"My disciple," Jing Yuan replied calmly.

Fu Yan immediately began to laugh sinisterly with excitement: "Hehehe, no wonder I smelled a hint of sadness on you. Oh—I see, to rescue her incompetent disciple, the Master has to personally step forward and fight? How I envy 'Smelting Ember'."

"You only know the 'taste of sadness,' but not 'what sadness is.' The disciple is obsessed with winning and losing, losing his mind, and tried to improve his swordsmanship but chose a shortcut. This is the Master's failure, and also the reason for my sadness."

Fu Yan said coldly, "I advise you not to pretend to be relaxed here. Smelting Ember is extremely bloodthirsty. Once it is used, it won't recognize anyone, let alone the Master."

A Certain Scientific Railgun.

"That kind of plot wouldn't really happen, would it?" Mikoto Misaka's voice suddenly dropped, and a hint of unease flashed in her amber eyes. "Master and disciple harming each other... hasn't that already happened once with Jing Yuan? Last time he acted against his Master, this time is he acting against his disciple...? I don't want that to happen!"

"Calm down, Misaka." Touma stared into the girl's eyes. "Unless Yanqing kills Sushang, things can still be salvaged. To be honest, Yanqing didn't cause any damage or harm with this possession."

Misaka's shoulders visibly stiffened: "But I'm still worried. What if Sushang can't stop him, and Suiyang completely takes over Yanqing's body and mind, controlling him to go on a killing spree in the Cloud Knights camp...?"

Touma thoughtfully turned the teacup on the dining table: "...I say, I've noticed since just now, you're not relating Suiyang's possession to Shokuhou's ability, are you? Although both have the effect of influencing people's minds, the difference is still quite obvious."

"Who, who would think of that woman!" Her voice unconsciously rose by an octave, causing several nearby tables of customers in the cafe to look over. Realizing her blunder, she immediately lowered her voice, "It's just that seeing this kind of scene of being controlled and possessed, I can't help but associate it with her ability."

"Yes, Suiyang itself is a fire spirit with consciousness. The precision of its possession and control is very high, but the possessed person hasn't lost their self and can still resist Suiyang. But Shokuhou's control... that's a complete puppet. Although not as precise as Suiyang, the number can be very large."

"For the General to save Yanqing, it will probably be like last time when Qing Que saved Fu Xuan, making his self-awareness waver and resist first—if it really comes to the point where the General needs to take action..." Touma Kamijou showed a helpless smile: "Then Yanqing can only pray for the best."

Baki.

Arriving at the Prayer Dragon Altar and seeing Sushang standing and confronting Yanqing, several people simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

"The Xiaowei of the Seat of Divine Foresight... is only so-so... I originally thought I'd be down the moment you drew your sword." Sushang gasped for air, forcefully supporting her body with the Xuanyuan Sword. "I didn't expect... I didn't expect that I could last until now. I... I'm not as weak as I thought."

Smelting Ember's floating voice carried a hint of disappointment: "Young man, you hesitated, you have been hesitating."

"Facing a swordsman with such a disparity in strength, you actually spent so much time. As a swordsman, don't you have any self-respect? Is the crushing defeat at the Prayer Dragon Altar going to happen again?"

"It's time to act. Only blood can wash away the shame on the sword..."

Yanqing's face stiffened, and he held his breath. The hand holding the sword trembled slightly, a feeling he had never experienced when facing Blade and Dan Heng. He tightened his grip on the sword hilt, swallowed, and said, "I..."

"He won't do it," a lazy voice came from behind Sushang.

Seeing the Master appear, Yanqing's momentum was immediately cut in half: "General..."

Baki.

Seeing Jing Yuan appear, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Hanayama Kaoru's mouth. At the same moment, he felt Retsu Kaioh let out a sigh of relief, his tense body relaxing almost instantly.

Among everyone, only Tokugawa was somewhat disappointed. Given Jing Yuan's personality, it would probably be difficult for him to act against his own disciple—of course, if he was willing to personally step in and educate his disciple, that would be very interesting to watch. He hadn't seen Yanqing and Jing Yuan formally spar yet.

He had seen enough of the fight with Sushang, it was boring. He wanted to see a river of blood!

"Little Brother Yanqing is still afraid of his Master," Miyamoto Musashi chuckled. "I just wonder if he has the courage to draw his sword against his Master? If he can draw his sword, adding Jing Yuan... he would have lost to three people from the High-Cloud Quintet here."

"Miyamoto, are you so lacking in confidence in Yanqing?" Kaku Kaioh shook his head calmly. He took off his sunglasses, revealing those eyes as deep as dark ink, making it impossible to discern his emotions: "After experiencing this upheaval on the Immortal Boat, Little Brother Yanqing has long been reborn. Coupled with Master Jingliu's personal guidance, he has gained immensely. In the path of swordsmanship, Yanqing may not suffer a crushing defeat."

"Hehe, Kaku Kaioh, you're not getting senile, are you?" Fanma Yujiro grinned, showing his fangs. "His Divine Lord is a sharp edge that even his Master Jingliu has to avoid. With Yanqing's current abilities, it probably won't be easy for him to survive, right?"

"Of course, if Jing Yuan uses the Divine Lord, that's another matter. However, the Divine Lord is a power only used against those unfavorable to the Immortal Boat. Would he really use the power granted by the Aeon of the Hunt against a disciple whose conscience hasn't yet been extinguished?"