The Student Surpasses the Master

Meng Tianbai first saw Mu Qinglan beside a reed marsh.

She moved with graceful lightness, smiling brightly. With a turn of her waist, she killed the person before her with a single, fatal strike.

By the time he came to his senses, she was already crouched by the water, wiping her sword with a plain handkerchief.

The laws of the court were strict. Anyone who had not served as a military officer was forbidden from privately forging or keeping weapons. And as a man holding an important post, he could hardly let this lawbreaker go. He immediately reached out to grab her.

But the woman slipped through his hand like a fish, leaving behind only a damp handkerchief scented with orchids. After that, she vanished without a trace.

When they met again, she was gravely wounded and close to death.

As he held her in his arms, her eyes shut and her face deathly pale, without a trace of her usual arrogance, Meng Tianbai lied for the first time in his life.

But her eyes were far too sharp. Before she'd even fully recovered, she simply waved her sleeve and left without a word.

He returned full of joy, only to find the thatched cottage empty. Meng Tianbai raised a hand and wiped the blood that had trickled from the corner of his lips.

The night wind always made one's nose sting and eyes itch. Mu Qinglan fled through the night and stayed on Mount Tianshan in silence for more than half a month.

She thought that this time, she would probably never come to her senses.

When they met again, neither of them felt the joy they had expected.

Mu Qinglan stood at the eastern end, looking straight at him as he stood at the western end.

The emperor, who held the power of life and death, sat high in the center, looking down at everyone below.

"What's the point of judging a contest by victory or defeat alone? In my view, the real spectacle is to judge it by life and death."

In an instant, the cold wind rose and autumn leaves fell.

On the arena, silver light flashed like lightning, and both swords struck at once.

Swords broke. People fell. One died, and one was wounded.

Theme: Submit to fate or choose for yourself.