Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Ming Yue was speechless by the story. It wasn't from shock or surprise that she couldn't say anything but rather, she just didn't know what to say. Looking at the two, they reminded her of Cui Fen and her daughter. The motherly love in their eyes was the name, something that she had never experienced before in her childhood.

"I'm... I'm sorry to hear that."

The mother shook her head and kept her smile. 

"Don't be, this happened years ago and you had nothing to do with it. Why would you need to feel sorry."

She wiped away the tears and breathed in deeply. 

"It's getting a bit late for me as well. I must put him to bed and you should sleep as well", she said. 

Ming Yue nodded before standing up. 

"Please, let me help you."

She went to grab Xiao Bai, gently lifting him from his mother and carrying him to bed. After some time, both he and his mother were fast asleep and Ming Yue was the only one still awake. 

She looked at the fire before flicking her hand, extinguishing it. Staring into the empty space, Ming Yue then raised her head to admire the night sky. She thought about where she was and what she needed to do next. 

Looking at Blood Moon, she called out to Xue Yue, who finally stored from her slumber.

"Wha- what is it? Ming Yue, why'd you wake me up?"

Her voice was somewhat drowsy but she was awake. 

"What happened? How am I still alive?" Ming Yue asked her. 

"What do you mean? That barrier you created nearly broke but we all ended up getting blown into the skies. Luckily, I managed to get us out of there but I was so tired that I couldn't stop us from falling back down. The last thing I remember was trying my best to break our fall before losing consciousness", Xue Yue explained. 

"Oh... Wait, get us out? Break our fall? How did you even do that?" 

Ming Yue stared at Blood Moon with a bit of confusion before her other counterpart showed her. 

"I'm a weapon spirit now. That means that I can do things like this."

The sword suddenly trembled before breaking free of the young woman's grasp, floating up before flying around. 

Her eyes widened as she watched it happen before her eyes. 

"I could even do this!"

Blood Moon suddenly stopped before raising the blade as if someone was wielding it. And then it began to strike the air, slashing and thrusting at the empty space. Power began to well up in the blade as Ming Yue could feel it draining her energy, using nearly a quarter of it.

On its final strike, it released a slash of wind aimed at the sky and it soared up, cutting through a passing cloud and causing it to disperse. 

Afterwards, Blood Moon returned to Ming Yue's hands who could only stare at the sword in awe.

"Is this what a Sword Spirit can do?"

She wondered but Xue Yue suddenly rebuked her. 

"No, I could do so much more. I can feel it", she said. 

The question was, could Ming Yue keep up?

Now that she had something as rare and powerful as a weapon spirit, that was her next concern. There was no doubt in her mind that there would be people coveting her sword. At the same time, she had to reach a higher level of skill and power if she wanted to use Blood Moon to its fullest potential. 

She let out a sigh while taking another look around her, seeing the quiet and peaceful scene. 

"This isn't so bad, is it?" she muttered. 

"Yes, It's different from those fortresses and camps. That seriousness and constant tension was getting to the both of us."

Xue Yue added. 

It was quiet, calm, peaceful. A welcome change compared to the Demon Continent, especially after her experience with the Hundun Clan and the True Idol. There were few opportunities where Ming Yue could relax and lower her guard.

"How long did I spend in that war? One, two, three years? How many people have I killed?" she thought to herself. 

From meeting Ling Xue in the north to finding Hua Xiong in the forests, she even met up with Xuan Yin by the Cerulean Serpent's Lake, not to mention the serpent itself, Yin Bing. She had accomplished quite a lot and met all sorts of people. On the other side, she had participated in more than a few massacres. 

But now, she was alone in this unknown land. 

Ming Yue looked down at her sword, thinking for a bit. After a while, she smiled.

"I'm alone but maybe that's a good thing. The war is over and the world hasn't ended yet. I guess they think that I'm dead now. Maybe it's time I focus more on myself", she muttered. 

This was an opportunity, a chance to fully realize her potential. 

And this was the Beast Continent, a place she never would have thought she could enter so quickly. 

She couldn't help but feel excited. It was different from the excitement of battle or fighting a strong opponent. It was anticipation and curiosity. There was nothing here binding her down, a clean slate so to speak. 

A time for her to discover herself. 

She spent the rest of the night awake, unable to sleep from the thrill of the unknown. 

When daybreak happened, she did what she had always done, training. Slowly she began to adapt to Blood Moon. With Xue Yue, the both of them tested out all sorts of combinations. If the sword could fight on her own, that brought out so much more variety. 

Facing a nearby tree, Ming Yue let go of Blood Moon, letting it float before shooting forward. It turned horizontally. Her figure vanished the next moment as the Zephyr Claws formed on both hands. 

Blood Moon flew forth cutting the tree at the stump. It didn't even move as if the cut never happened. But then Ming Yue's figure reappeared right in front of the tree swinging her claws out. It wasn't as clean as the first strike as the tree was blown back, separating into ten short logs. The blade whirled around as a blinding speed, leaving behind a blur as it cut off all of the branches. 

As it fell down, it landed neatly with logs in one pile and the branches in the other, separated by a gut of wind that Ming Yue produced. 

She held her hand out and Blood Moon returned to her with the scabbard coming out to sheath it. 

"You can even control that?" 

Her eyes widened in surprise, not expecting that at all. But Xue Yue rebuked her quite easily. 

"I'm the 'weapon' spirit, right? Of course, I can control the scabbard? What kind of weapon spirit would I be if I couldn't?" she asked rhetorically. 

"You're... right..." 

Ming Yue felt slightly embarrassed but also amazed. There were too many things about Weapon Spirits that she didn't know about. 

While lingering on this thought, she heard a very quiet step coming towards her and turned around. 

"Oh, Xiao Bai, what are you doing awake so early?" she asked 

Despite her talking, his eyes switched between the newly cut logs to her and then to her sword. 

"You- how did you do that?" he asked. 

He walked forward, his eyes glued at the trees before looking at her in awe. 

"I've never seen anyone do something like that! Are you stronger than the Seekers of the Tribes too?"

"Wha- Seekers of the Tribe? What's that?" Ming Yue asked. 

"You've never heard of the Seekers? Oh wait but you've never been here before, how could you know?!"